Before I begin this article, I want to note that this is merely my own theory and opinions behind the meaning of the two masks we see in the 2016 film Plank Face. With no real solid ground to work with when it comes to any meaning that I could find, I may be completely off in my ideas.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy this article and maybe even learn something. Now, time for a little background knowledge about the film. Plank Face is a 2016 horror film that, while marketed as a slasher film, actually flows much more like a dark drama.

It follows the story of a man kidnapped by a mom and her two feral daughters. While a husband is present, he dies shortly after the main character Max is kidnapped. The mother and daughters see Max as the new man of the home, removing the father’s mask, a plank, and placing it upon Max’s face.

One other person wears a mask in this movie, one of the daughters known as Rabbit Mask, who, as you guessed, wears a rabbit mask. While it is just one of those plastic masks you could get from a Halloween store, today, we are here to answer the question of the meaning behind the masks in Plank Face.

Why do those two characters wear them? Do they truly mean anything, or are they just there for the sake of horror effect? Come along as I seek to answer those questions.

This article does contain spoilers for Plank Face!!
Trigger Warning: Mentions of sex, rape, and violence

Plank Mask

So first, we have the main character’s mask from which the movie derives its name, Plank Face. Previously worn by the father of the feral family, it looks like a piece of bark that covers the entire face, with a singular eye hole for the wearer’s right eye. The mouth is also uncovered to allow for speech, though neither wearers of this mask ever say anything beyond some grunts or screams.

From how the mask looks, it is likely crafted from an oak tree of some type which I believe is an important aspect of the mask and what it represents. In many cultures, oak trees are seen as wise, strong, and powerful beings.

They are kings amongst the other trees, their roots running deep, holding them against everything nature can throw at them and weathering storms that shatter the creations of humans. Like the oak tree, I believe Plank Face represents a dominating personality and a representation of masculinity itself.

Both wearers of the mask are shown as these strong and dominating figures for the feral family. The father is shown killing a couple in the movie’s opening scene and clearly possesses a lot of strength. Likewise, Max, the second wearer in jail, kills the man who rapes his girlfriend and finally kills multiple people when he becomes one with the feral family.

I believe it is also meant to represent the wearer as the rock of the family, who protects and hunts for them, ensuring they are provided for. He is the strength upon which the family exists and is the one they can rely upon when they need aid.

With Max, though, I believe an additional meaning behind the mask is domination. He is, in the beginning, exploited sexually by the daughters, but shortly afterward, when Rabbit Mask tries to have sex with him, he throws her to the ground before engaging in intercourse.

This scene shows that while he is seen as a figurehead in the family, he is also the dominant force sexually, which ties into Rabbit Mask and why she wears her mask.

Note: I do not condone the sexual exploitation in this film, though the director said he wanted to explore the sexual exploitation of men in this film, compared to how it is women who are normally exploited in horror.

Rabbit Mask

The second character to wear a mask in this film is who I assume to be the eldest daughter, Bunny Girl. Throughout most of the film, outside of a short segment for the later half of the movie, she always wears a rabbit mask, never taking it off, even to eat.

Now, the meaning behind the Rabbit Mask is, I believe, just as deep, if not slightly more, than the Plank Face mask. Throughout history, Rabbits have represented fertility and sex, but also they are prey animals, hunted down and eaten by others.

Instead of having Bunny Girl being hunted down, the tables are flipped, and we see her when she first attacks Max, and then throughout the movie, she doesn’t act like prey. She takes what she wants and acts like a hunter instead of prey much of the time.

The only time she doesn’t is when Plank Face takes control, which is when I believe they slip back into their regular hunter and prey roles. Now, I also believe that she wears the rabbit mask to represent sex and fertility, as one of the first things she and her sister do is have sex with Plank Face.

It is prevalent throughout the movie, with Bunny Girl constantly looking to have sex with Mask, engaging at least twice on the screen. If anything, that is more likely the reason for choosing this mask compared to the flipping of the prey and hunter roles I mentioned above.

Finally, I believe it is part of a deeper psychological desire to hide her face for one reason or another. Though for what psychological reason, I am not entirely sure. Maybe it is part of childhood trauma of one kind or another. Perhaps she simply loves rabbits and managed to get her hands on the mask. These are all questions we will likely never be able to answer.

Conclusion

So now we have reached the end. Plank Face may not have been the greatest film ever and is borderline pornographic, but it is the meaning within the film that I believe we often overlook. I am probably reading far too much into this part of the film, but hopefully, you enjoyed it.

If you have your own theories about the meaning behind the masks in Plank Face, leave a comment below! Until next time my dear readers, stay curious!