Santa Sangre...WTF did I just watch?!

Okay, so I just finished watching Santa Sangre. Like...I'm speechless. And kinda disturbed? I went into it blind, and the whole circus vibe at the beginning was cool, right? Like, colorful and weird, but also fun. Then... BAM. Things got DARK. The mom is straight-up terrifying, not gonna lie. I kept expecting a jump scare every time she was on screen. And Alejandro (Fenix)??? Poor dude! But also, what's up with the whole like, murder-puppet thing? I get she's controlling, but the whole 'arms' thing was freaky. The scene in the cabaret where she's MAKING him do the act with the doves...I was cringing so hard. And the murders. Ugh. Just...UGH. The magician part was particularly brutal, I almost turned it off then. So, question for anyone else who's seen this because I'm genuinely confused: What's the deal with the elephant? It seemed like such a big part of the story at the beginning, but then it kinda just...disappeared? Was it just a symbol or something? Or am I missing something obvious? Also, was Fenix really completely crazy, or was it all his mom doing? I'm still trying to process this whole thing. Definitely a movie I won't forget anytime soon...even if I wanted to! lol