Greed is often seen as one of the worst sins, and we’ve all read books, watched movies, or heard stories where people’s greed led to terrible consequences, sometimes even death. Despite knowing this, it’s a sin we can’t seem to escape, as it’s part of human nature. The movie The Wait dives into this theme of greed and its consequences and explores it through the fantasy horror genre. Here, the story follows Eladio, who is a hunter and watchman who lives in a quiet, mountain desert village with his family. His life takes a dark turn after a hunt his son went on goes horribly wrong. From that moment on, everything changes for Eladio and his family. In this explainer, we’ll explore how Eladio’s greed destroyed his life, which led to his death at the end.
Spoilers Ahead
What happened to Eladio’s family?
Eladio lived with his wife, Marcia, and their young son, Floren, in a quiet mountain village. They had moved there from their old town after Eladio got a well-paying job as a hunt watcher and ranch keeper under the rule of Don Francisco. Although Marcia never really wanted to leave the town, she agreed to move for her husband’s sake. But, as they say, the mountains change people, and living in that secluded countryside ranch changed their lives forever. Eladio spent most of his time working on the ranch or teaching his son Floren how to hunt. Floren, though, had dreams of moving back to town to become a vet, just like his mother, but Eladio was stubborn and wanted him to stay. One day, one of the village leaders named Don Carlos came to Eladio and asked him to set up thirteen hunting stands instead of the usual ten, as Carlos believed more stands would allow them to hunt better, from all angles. But Eladio wasn’t keen on the idea, as he knew the closer the stands were, the more dangerous it would be for the hunters, as stray bullets could hit people instead of animals. But Carlos insisted and offered extra money in return. Eladio was torn, because he didn’t want to risk his son’s safety as he knew Floren would soon join the hunts. However, Marcia convinced him otherwise and told Eladio that they shouldn’t turn down money, especially when they needed it so badly.
Reluctantly, Eladio agreed to set up thirteen stands, as he did not want to be a “coward” anymore, as his wife thought him to be, he wanted to be the man of the house, to be the proud provider his family needed, so he had to agree. Sadly, their fears came true as, during a hunting trip, Floren was accidentally killed by a stray bullet, just like Eladio had feared. Naturally, grief and guilt hit the family hard. Marcia blamed their greed for their son’s death. Maybe it wasn’t just guilt that Marcia felt, as we have heard that Don Carlos had visited their home and convinced her to send Floren on that hunt, even with the danger of having thirteen stands. Marcia knew the risks, but she still let her son go. Why? Perhaps it was the extra money that Don Carlos secretly offered her. Maybe the guilt ran even deeper, and maybe Marcia didn’t just accept the money, but got physically involved with Don Carlos too, thinking it was the only way to secure their financial future. This secret, this betrayal after Floren’s death made her ultimately take her own life, all for the sake of money. She hanged herself from a tree, and wild boars ate her legs like it was a punishment for their sin. Eladio was left to live with this tragic thought, that maybe his greed for extra money had caused the death of his entire family.
What did Eladio find out about Don Francisco?
After his family’s death, Eladio was no longer the same man, he started drinking heavily and became insane. It was clear that instead of accepting his own choices and mistakes, he placed all the blame on Don Carlos, as he believed it was Carlos who had ruined his life. One night, as he was coming home in his drunk state, Eladio crossed paths with Don Carlos on the street, and in rage he killed him to take his revenge. But in truth, it was clear Eladio was avoiding responsibility for his own actions and choices. In one scene, we saw that Saulo told Eladio that if it were him, he never could have lived and would have committed suicide because his greed caused his family’s death. However, Eladio did not want to take that responsibility anymore.
Later that night, while burying Don Carlos, Eladio stumbled upon a strange box in the grave and brought it home. Maybe he was curious, or maybe he hoped to find something valuable, so he took it home and when he opened it, Eladio found a horrifying satanic goat’s head, a comb with hair, and a leg cast. Even though he burned those things down, strange things started happening. His gentle pet dog turned into a savage animal, started to kill the chickens, and even tried to attack Eladio as well. Eladio started to see nightmares too, where in his dreams, he turned into a werewolf, and his wife and son appeared to blame him for their deaths. The guilt became unbearable, and Eladio started to realize that maybe he was the real reason his family had died after all, they would never have moved to this cursed village if it weren’t for him. In the middle of this, something else strange happened. Eladio’s wedding ring fell into the sink and down the drain. Desperate to retrieve it, he went into the drainage, only to discover something even more unsettling, a bundle wrapped in cloth containing his old work uniform, his wife’s dress, and his son’s shirt, as if someone had stolen them and hidden them there like the strange box he had found. It felt like his fate was doomed long ago, as if someone had planned this all along.
Eladio became confused and scared, so he turned to his only friend, Saulo, for advice. Saulo tried to reassure him, by saying that maybe Marcia had lost the clothes and they ended up there by accident. What shattered him even more was when Eladio found out that Don Francisco was firing him as he accused Eladio of being unfaithful to their agreement, because they had only agreed to build ten stands, but Eladio, who worked with Don Carlos to make extra money, had built thirteen stands instead. This betrayal cost Eladio his job, which was his only way to make a living. So being desperate, Eladio went to Don Francisco’s house, only to find it abandoned and locked up as if it had been closed for years. Inside the house, Eladio discovered something chilling when he found photos of multiple families, including his own. Among them was a picture of a boy with a cast on his leg, just like Floren. It became clear to Eladio that these families, including his, were all doomed. Each of them had died within three years of moving to the village, just like Floren had died three years after they arrived. The terrifying realization hit him hard that Don Francisco had known all along about the thirteen stands, but he had played dumb to allow it to happen so he could not only fire Eladio but also rid himself of Eladio’s family. Eladio knew he had to confront Don Francisco and make him pay for what he had done.
But as I said, the choice to set up thirteen stands was Eladio’s decision. He could have turned down the offer and remained loyal to Don Francisco, but he didn’t. Eladio chose greed over loyalty to earn extra money. This decision sealed his fate, as it became clear that Don Francisco was testing him, much like a Bishop who had tested others who had come to the village before. Those who failed the test and gave in to greed faced the terrible fate of losing their families and, eventually, their own lives as punishment. Eladio’s death thus seemed inevitable. Saulo, who was a follower of Don Francisco, took Eladio’s work uniform as it was symbolic of Eladio’s failure as he had not proved himself worthy of the job. As Saulo parted the uniform, Eladio’s body bent and twisted, which led to his ultimate death, almost like a curse had been fulfilled as they were Baphomet’s followers. Maybe Saulo himself had once been like Eladio, but had passed the test which earned him the role of helping Don Francisco punish those who failed. It was most likely that Don Francisco and Saulo would continue this cycle in the future as well to test those who came to the village to see if they were worthy workers to perhaps continue this sinister venture to always punish those who let greed control their actions.
