Rekall is unable to implant the memories into Quaid because he has real, repressed memories of being a secret agent on Mars working to destroy a rebellion there. The most straightforward explanation is the one Total Recall presents on the surface: that Quaid's memory implant was botched, and everything he experiences after that is real. Like other movies with ambiguous endings like Inception, ultimately the lack of clarity is the point, highlighting the fragility and unreliability of memories. Either everything that Quaid experiences is real, or it is all (or almost all) a very well-crafted ruse to give him an exciting experience. Everything that happens after that is suspect. He travels to Rekall to implant the memory of being a secret agent on Mars, having always wanted to travel to the red planet. Total Recall begins with Quaid having visions of Mars and a mysterious woman. RELATED: Dune’s Shorter Runtime Is Good For Avoiding Blade Runner 2049’s Failure The resulting movie was a commercial and critical success and one whose meaning has been debated to this day.

Dick, a writer known for bending reality and consciousness in his work, leading to similarly ambiguous movies like Blade Runner and A Scanner Darkly. After going through several planned directors, including David Cronenberg, and dozens of script re-writes, the movie was finally filmed by Paul Verhoeven. Total Recall was a loose adaptation of the 1966 short story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale' by Philip K.

Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger