Velvet Buzzsaw: Ending Explained

Rhodora

Rhodora, owner of her very own Gallery, Haze, and the woman that stands to profit the most from Dease's work, is the best saved for last. Framed as a rebellious youth who played in punk band Velvet Buzzsaw back in the day, her presence is the central driving force of the movie - after all, the tattoo on her back is the title of the film, and the last puzzle piece in building a solid picture overall.

Having broken into Josephina's apartment and strong-arming a deal to sell Dease's work, hiding half of it away to up its value, lying, conniving, and generally being the most profit-orientated she could possibly be in a world of money-hungry art grubbers, Rhodora was always going to get it in the neck by the end of the film - no matter how safe she thought she was by removing every other art piece from her luxury home.

In an almost prophetic sequence, Rhodora and her cat line up as a representation of the very piece of Dease work in her home, allowing the spirt to possess the tattoo and saw into her body as the film cuts out.

Perhaps the best part of this is that Rhodora's old punk band is something that was done for her passion for the medium, a force that drove her into the art business for love rather than gain. Losing sight of that as a gallery owner condemned her to death by Dease, using the band that represented Rhodora's own artwork that was done without visibility in mind to remind her exactly why she deserves this death in the first place. The placing of the tattoo is just the icing on the cake - she really did turn her back on Velvet Buzzsaw.