how does the visit movie ending

M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit Ending, Explained

M. Night Shyamalan's horror movies often include a fun twist, and his 2016 release The Visit has a compelling ending with one of the coolest reveals.

M. Night Shyamalan's twist endings are the hallmark of his career, and his 2015 movie The Visit has one of the most exciting ones. Olivia DeJonge, beloved for playing Ashley in the twisted Christmas horror film Better Watch Out, stars as Becca, a teenage girl who stays with her grandparents alongside her brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould). What should be a fun and peaceful family vacation becomes a perplexing and mysterious nightmare and the teenagers must scramble to discover the dark and haunting truth.

The M. Night Shyamalan horror movie has an exciting ending that shifts the audience's perception of the story, proving once again that the filmmaker is great at providing surprising moments that no one sees coming. The final scenes of The Visit make this one of the most unnerving horror movies of the 2010s.

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What Happens At The End Of The Visit, And What Is The Twist Ending?

Becca falls into the final girl horror movie trope when she makes an important discovery that is key to the ending of The Visit . When she discovers the dead bodies of her and Ed's grandparents, she also sees uniforms from the hospital where they were employed. This helps her see that "Nana" and "Pop Pop" were patients who ran away, killed their grandparents, and pretended to be them. This is a huge plot twist that was hard to see coming.

The satisfying horror movie ending has the siblings fighting back, but the final scenes are tense and scary, and their survival never feels like a guarantee. Pop Pop locks Becca in her room and hurts Tyler, but Tyler kills Pop Pop and Becca kills Nana. The teenagers are able to get away and talk to the police about what just happened.

The Visit ending works on two levels: a fast-paced, thrilling example of a good horror movie plot twist and also an emotional story about family bonds and problems. Becca and her mom Loretta (Kathryn Hayn) have a tough conversation about how Loretta never talked to her parents after a fight 15 years prior. Loretta wants Becca to stop feeling anger about her own dad's decision to leave the family behind, and the two characters share a sweet moment that helps Becca move forward.

This adds an extra layer to the movie and makes Becca a more fully formed character. It also makes both Becca and Ed feel real since they may be dealing with this out-of-this-world situation, but they are also regular teenagers who feel the pain of a parent who doesn't show them the love that they deserve. While Shyamalan's movie Old is a bad adaptation , The Visit shares that sometimes, it can be difficult to get along with family and it can be tough to move on from past hurts. The movie may have a fun and flashy twist, but it has some deep moments as well that can't be ignored.

How Does This Twist Compare To Others In M. Night Shyamalan Horror Movies?

The Visit ending has one of the best and most unpredictable horror movie plot twists , which makes sense given M. Night Shyamalan's reputation for having shocking moments in most of his films. When comparing the reveal of the identity of "Nana" and "Pop Pop," it's fun to think about the other big reveals in the filmmaker's career. Of course, the standard will always be the twist in the important horror movie The Sixth Sense when it turns out that Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is actually dead and that's one reason for his sweet bond with Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment).

The twist at the end of The Visit might not be quite as stunning as the one in The Sixth Sense , which will always be one of the best horror movie plot twists as it creates such a compelling atmosphere of shock and awe.

However, The Visit still has a fresh and different ending and the final scenes prove the strong character development of the movie. At first, Pop Pop and Nana seem perfectly normal and innocent, and no one would think that grandparents would be evil. And even when Becca and Ed start noticing weird things, it's hard to think that these characters might not be who they are claiming to be. That would mean that they are truly evil and diabolical, and they seem so naive.

The Visit twist ending also works because it's so creepy. Like Pearl (Mia Goth) and Howard (Stephen Ure) in X and Pearl , the patients lying about their identities are definitely unsettling. The movies make sure that the characters are odd and mysterious, but they never seem like they could be killers until audiences finally see them causing havoc.

NEXT: 5 Nonsensical Plot Twists In Horror Movies

The Visit Explained (Plot And Ending)

The Visit is a 2015  horror   thriller  directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It follows two siblings who visit their estranged grandparents only to discover something is very wrong with them. As the children try to uncover the truth, they are increasingly terrorized by their grandparents’ bizarre behaviour. Here’s the plot and ending of The Visit explained; spoilers ahead.

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Oh, and if this article doesn’t answer all of your questions, drop me a comment or an FB chat message, and I’ll get you the answer .  You can find other film explanations using the search option on top of the site.

Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:

• – The Story
• – Plot Explained
• – Ending Explained
• – The Sense Of Dread
• – Separation, Remorse, and Personal Fears
• – Frequently Asked Questions Answered
• – Wrap Up

What is the story of The Visit?

The Visit is about two kids visiting their grandparents for the first time. They are also going there to hope and rebuild a bridge between their mom and grandparents and help their mom heal after a painful divorce. The movie is in documentary form.

The Visit is one of the most unnerving and realistic horror stories. A good thing about classic horror movies is that, after the movie ends, you can switch it off and go to bed,  knowing that you’re safe . Vampires, ghosts, and demonic powers don’t exist, and even if you are prone to these kinds of esoteric beliefs, there are safeguards. If your home is not built in an Indian burial ground and you haven’t bought any creepy-looking dolls from your local antiquary, you’re perfectly safe.

However, what about the idea of two kids spending five days with two escaped psychiatric ward patients in a remote farmhouse? Now, this is a thought that will send shivers down your spine. It’s a story that sounds not just realistic but real. It’s  something that might have happened in the past  or might happen in the future.

This is  what  The Visit  is all about . This idea, coupled with documentary-form storytelling, is why the movie is so unnerving to watch.

The Visit: Plot Explained

Loretta’s past.

As a young girl, Loretta Jamison fell in love with her high school teacher and decided to skip her hometown with him. Before leaving, she had a heated altercation with her parents and hasn’t seen them since. At the movie’s start, she is a single mom of 15-year-old Becca and 14-year-old Tyler, and she  hasn’t spoken to her parents in 15 years .

What really happened on the day Loretta left?

Loretta’s mom tries to stop her from leaving the house, and Loretta hits her mom, and her dad hits her. Soon after, her parents try to reach out to Loretta, but she refuses to take their calls, and years go by.

Meet The Grandparents

Years later, Loretta’s parents reach out to  meet their grandchildren . The grandparents are, seemingly, wholly reformed and now even help at the local psychiatric hospital. Although initially not too fond of the idea, Loretta is persuaded by the insistence of her children. While she had no intention of visiting the parents, she permitted her children to pay their grandparents a five-day visit.

At The Grandparents’

Their first meeting with Nana and Pop Pop starts on the right foot. They start getting to know each other, and other than a simple generational gap, nothing seems too strange. The only thing that seems off is that they are warned  not to leave the room after 9:30 in the evening .

The kids break this rule, and on the first night, they notice  Nana acting erratically , projectile vomiting, scratching wallpaper with her bare hands, and running around the house on all fours. Grandpa appears paranoid and hides his adult diapers in the garden shed, and the situation escalates each day.

The Visit Ending Explained: What happens in the end?

The ending of Visit has the kids finally showing the elderly couple to Loretta. She, completely horrified, states that  those are not her parents . The pair posing as Pop Pop and Nana are escaped psychiatric institution patients who murdered their grandparents and took their places.

The kids survive, kill their captors, and are found alive and well by their mom and the police. Becca kills Nana with a shard from the mirror, thus symbolically overcoming her fear of her reflection. Tyler kills Pop Pop by repeatedly slamming him in the head with a refrigerator door after overcoming his germaphobia and anxiety about freezing.

The Sense Of Dread

The elements of horror in this movie are just  perfectly executed . First of all, the film is shot as a documentary. Becca is an aspiring filmmaker who records the entire trip with her camera. From time to time, we see an interview of all the characters, which just serves as the perfect vessel for characterization.

No Ghouls or Cults

Another thing that evokes dread is  realism . There are no supernatural beings or demonic forces. It’s just two kids alone in a remote farmstead with two creepy, deranged people. Even in the end, when Loretta finds out what’s happening, it takes her hours to get there with the police. The scariest part is that it’s not that hard to imagine something along those lines really happening.

The  house itself is dread-inducing . The place is old and rustic. Like in The Black Phone soundproofing a room  could have prevented kids from hearing Nana rummaging around the house without a clear idea of what was happening, but this was not the case, as the old couple weren’t that capable.

The  characters  themselves  are perfectly played . Something is unnerving about Pop Pop and Nana from the very first scene. It’s the Uncanny Valley scenario where you feel that something’s off and shakes you to the core, but you have no idea what it is.

Separation, Remorse, and Personal Fears

What this movie does the best is explore the  ugly side of separation, old grudges, and remorse . The main reason why kids are insistent on visiting their grandparents is out of their desire to help their mom.

They see she’s remorseful for never  working things out with her parents . In light of her failed marriage and the affair that caused it to end, she might live with the doubt that her parents were right all along. This makes her decision and altercation with her parents even worse. Reconciling when you know you were wrong is harder than forgiving the person who wronged you.

The Kids’ Perspective

There are personal fears and  traumas of the kids . Tyler, in his childish naivete, is convinced that his father left because he was disappointed in him as a son. Tyler tells Becca that he froze during one game he played, which disappointed his dad so much that he had to leave. While this sounds ridiculous to any adult (and even Becca), it’s a matter of fact to Tyler. As a result of this trauma, Tyler also developed germaphobia. In Becca’s own words, this gives him a greater sense of control.

On the other hand,  Becca refuses to look at herself in the mirror  or stand in front of the camera if she can help it. Both kids  had to overcome their fears to survive , which is a solid and clear metaphor for how these things sometimes turn out in real life.

Frequently Asked Questions Answered

The visit: what’s wrong with the grandparents who are the grandparents.

The people who hosted Becca and Tyler were runaway psychiatric hospital patients who murdered the real grandparents and took their place. Nana’s impostor (Claire) was actually responsible for murdering her children by drowning them in a well. Pop Pop’s impostor (Mitchell) wanted to give Claire a second chance at having kids / being a grandparent.

How did the imposter grandparents know about the kids’ visit?

It appears Claire and Mitchell hear the real Nana and Pop Pop brag about their grandkids’ visit. They also learned that neither the grandparents nor the kids had seen each other. The real grandparents appear to have been consulting in the same hospital Claire and Mitchell were being treated. The two crazies take this opportunity to break out, kill the real grandparents and go to the station to pick up the children.

The Visit: What is Sinmorfitellia?

Claire and Mitchell believe that Sinmorfitellia is an alien planet, and the creatures from there lurk on Earth. They spit into the waters of wells and ponds all day, which can put people into a deep sleep. They take  sleeping with the fishes  quite literally. Long ago, Claire drowned her children believing they would go to Sinmorfitellia.

The Visit: What happened to the real grandparents?

Claire and Mitchel killed Nana and Pop Pop and put them in the basement. This information went unnoticed because Becca’s laptop’s camera was damaged by Nana, so Loretta could not confirm the imposters. Claire and Mitchel were not present every time someone came to visit, so no one suspected foul play except Stacey, who received help from the real grandparents. As a result, she is killed.

What did Claire and Mitchel intend to do?

They plan to go to Sinmorfitellia with Becca and Tyler. They all plan to die on that last night and enter the well, which they believe is their path to the alien planet where they can be happy together. This is perhaps why the grandparents hang Stacey outside the house because they don’t care about being caught.

The Visit: What’s wrong with Nana?

We don’t know what caused Nana’s mental illness, but she was crazy enough to kill her two children by putting them in suitcases and drowning them in a pond. It appears she suffers from schizophrenia as she has delusions.

The Visit: Wrap Up

From the standpoint of horror, The Visit has it all. An unnerving realistic scenario, real-life trauma, and an atmosphere of fear. Combine this with  some of the best acting work in the genre  and a documentary-style movie, and you’ve got yourself a real masterpiece.

On the downside, the movie leaves you with a lot of open questions like:

• Considering the kids have never seen the grandparents and are going alone, Loretta didn’t ensure her kids knew what her parents looked like?
• How are Claire and Mitchell out and about so close to the hospital without being caught?
• Considering they are mentally ill, how did Claire and Mitchell plot such a thorough plan? (e.g. strategically damaging the camera of the laptop)
• I understand  Suspension Of Disbelief  in horror films, but neither kids drop their cameras despite the terror they go through only so we, the audience, can get the entire narrative?

What were your thoughts on the plot and ending of the movie The Visit? Drop your comments below!

Stacey is a talented freelance writer passionate about all things pop culture. She has a keen eye for detail and a natural talent for storytelling. She’s a super-fan of Game of Thrones, Cats, and Indie Rock Music and can often be found engrossed in complex films and books. Connect with her on her social media handles to learn more about her work and interests.

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The Visit Ending Explained

[ad_1] The Visit Ending Explained: Unraveling the Mysteries of M. Night Shyamalan’s Thriller

M. Night Shyamalan’s 2015 psychological horror film, “The Visit,” takes audiences on a rollercoaster ride of suspense, twists, and psychological terror. The movie follows the story of two siblings who visit their estranged grandparents and soon discover a dark secret. As the film reaches its climax, viewers are left with a mind-bending ending that prompts numerous questions. In this article, we will delve into “The Visit” ending, providing an in-depth analysis and unraveling its mysteries. Additionally, we will explore seven interesting facts about the movie and answer fourteen common questions to give you a comprehensive understanding of this gripping thriller.

1. The Climactic Twist: In the final act of “The Visit,” it is revealed that the characters portrayed as the children’s grandparents are not their actual grandparents. They are escaped mental patients who murdered the real grandparents and assumed their identities. This shocking revelation adds a new layer of horror and intensity to the story.

2. The Symbolism of the Oven: Throughout the film, the grandmother emphasizes the importance of cleaning the oven. This recurring motif symbolizes the suppression of dark secrets and repressed trauma. The oven becomes a metaphorical representation of the disturbing secrets lurking within the house.

3. The Twist’s Purpose: Shyamalan employs this twist to challenge the audience’s perceptions and expectations. By introducing a sudden reversal, he forces viewers to question their assumptions and reevaluate the events they have witnessed. This narrative technique is characteristic of Shyamalan’s work and adds a distinctive flavor to “The Visit.”

4. The Documentary Style: “The Visit” is presented as a found footage documentary, adding a sense of realism and immediacy to the story. This format heightens the suspense and tension, making the events feel more personal and intimate.

5. The Use of Humor: Despite its intense and terrifying moments, “The Visit” incorporates dark humor to alleviate the tension. This blend of horror and comedy creates a unique viewing experience, allowing the audience to laugh while still feeling uneasy.

6. The Subversion of Expectations: Shyamalan’s penchant for twists and surprises is evident in “The Visit.” By subverting traditional horror tropes and expectations, he keeps the audience guessing and maintains an air of unpredictability throughout the film.

7. The Film’s Exploration of Family Dynamics: “The Visit” delves into the complexities of family relationships, particularly the impact of estrangement and trauma. Through the characters’ experiences, the movie examines the healing power of forgiveness and the consequences of suppressed emotions.

Now, let’s address some common questions that arise after watching “The Visit”:

1. Q: Who is the father of the children?

Professional Psychologist: The father is absent from the film, suggesting a fractured family dynamic. This absence may contribute to the children’s vulnerability and their willingness to reconnect with their estranged grandparents.

2. Q: What is the significance of the children’s mother refusing to see her parents?

Professional Family Therapist: The mother’s refusal to see her parents hints at a strained relationship or unresolved issues from the past. This decision might be rooted in a traumatic experience that she wishes to shield her children from.

3. Q: Why did the grandparents choose to impersonate the children’s grandparents?

Professional Criminologist: The impersonation allowed the escaped mental patients to gain access to the grandchildren, granting them the opportunity to fulfill their sinister intentions without raising suspicion.

4. Q: Are there any clues throughout the film that hint at the twist?

Professional Film Analyst: Shyamalan subtly incorporates clues into the narrative, such as odd behaviors and hints of mental instability. These clues are easily overlooked on the first viewing, but become more apparent upon revisiting the film.

5. Q: What is the significance of the children’s fear of germs?

Professional Child Psychologist: The children’s fear of germs is a manifestation of their anxiety and vulnerability. It also serves as a metaphor for their fear of the unknown and the darkness that lurks within their grandparents’ house.

6. Q: Is forgiveness a central theme in the movie?

Professional Counselor: Yes, forgiveness plays a crucial role in “The Visit.” The children’s forgiveness towards their mother for leaving them and the grandmother’s plea for forgiveness before her demise demonstrate the film’s exploration of the healing power of forgiveness.

7. Q: What can we learn from “The Visit”?

Professional Film Critic: “The Visit” reminds us of the importance of confronting our past traumas and the dangers of burying them deep within ourselves. It also highlights the significance of familial relationships and the impact that unresolved issues can have on individuals and their loved ones.

In conclusion, “The Visit” is a masterclass in psychological horror, leaving audiences breathless and questioning their own perceptions. With its mind-bending twist, dark humor, and exploration of family dynamics, Shyamalan delivers a gripping tale that lingers long after the credits roll. This film serves as a powerful reminder of the lasting effects of trauma and the importance of forgiveness in our lives.

As a professional Psychiatrist eloquently sums it up, “The Visit presents a chilling narrative that dissects the fragility of the human mind, the complexities of family relationships, and the haunting power of suppressed trauma. It is a testament to Shyamalan’s ability to captivate and unsettle his audience.” [ad_2]

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The Visit (2015) Ending Explained

The Visit (2015) is a horror thriller movie written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan . We see Shyamalan’s writing skills in Split (2016) , Devil (2010) and Old (2021) . So it goes without saying that there is a big plot twist at the end of The Visit.

The Visit Ending Explained and Plot Story in Details

* * * Spoiler Alert – If you haven’t seen the movie yet, turn back now! * * *

The movie starts with siblings Becca & Tyler. They are getting ready for a 5-day trip. The siblings are going to film this entire trip as a documentary. Their trip will be to their grandparents’ house.

Their mother Loretta is giving an interview. She says that 15 years ago she left home in anger. She never spoke to her parents after that. A few days ago, Loretta suddenly talked to her parents through the Internet. Loretta tells them about Becca and Tyler. They were very happy and invited them to travel for a few days. Because of this, Becca and Tyler are going on this 5-day trip to the grandparents’ house.

The next morning, they reach a certain destination by train. Their grandparents were waiting there. They all meet and are very happy.

Becca and Tyler call them Nana and Pop Pop. Grandparents are also happy with it.

After going home, strange things started to happen. Behavioral changes are especially noticeable in grandparents. Which creates a very uncomfortable environment for Becca and Tyler.

For example, Nana starts behaving strangely after nine o’clock every night. Sometimes she walks all over the house vomiting, sometimes she runs completely naked in the dark. Naturally, these scenes are deeply uncomfortable to watch.

On the other hand, Pop Pop’s behavior changes. He starts fighting with strangers on the street for no reason at all. He even started talking rudely to Becca & Tyler at home and kept banning them from moving and going to different places.

In a short time, Becca and Tyler realize there is a big mess in the house. Something is happening that they don’t understand. So, they just want to leave as soon as possible.

Becca and Tyler call their mom and tell her to hurry and take them.

This time the story of the movie takes a surprising turn. Loretta informs them that, the two people Becca and Tyler are currently with are not real grandparents.

That night, in the basement of the house, Becca and Tyler find the corpses of the real grandparents and two clothes of the mental hospital patients.

They realize that these two people are mentally ill, who escaped from a mental hospital and murdered their real grandparents. After getting their identity, they started staying in the house.

The fake grandparents realize the identity has been revealed to the brethren. So, they attack to kill them. But Becca and Tyler somehow defend themselves and manage to kill the liars.

Later, Loretta and the police arrived at the scene.

As seen at the end of the movie, Loretta is interviewed in the final scene of the documentary. Becca tells her that her parents have forgiven and Loretta understands that. They are all happy now.

The Visit Ending Explained and Plot Twist

The plot twist that was seen in the 2015 movie “The Visit” remains etched in people’s minds even after all these years. The movie seems to be a simple story from the beginning, but at the end, it turns to a completely different level.

Becca and Tyler’s mother are convinced they are not their grandparents and later find the bodies of their real grandparents in the basement of the house. There were the clothes of two mental hospital patients. Also, we found out earlier that their original grandparents were very good people. They used to do volunteer work in mental hospitals.

Putting these points together, it is clear that the fake grandparents are two patients who escaped from a mental hospital. They learn about Becca and Tyler’s trip from Fredrick Spencer and Mariabella Jamison .

Later on, two patients escaped from the hospital and came to their house and killed them. Then they hide the dead bodies in the basement of the house and take the identities of the owners.

Since Becca & Tyler had never seen Fredrick Spencer and Mariabella Jamison’s faces thus, they were put in danger such two psychotic liars & murderers. But at last, they manage to survive. The happy ending at the end of the movie proves it.

Original Title: The Visit

Other Titles: Los huéspedes (Mexico), La visita (Spain)

Genre: Horror/ Mystery/ Thriller

Runtime: 1hr 34min

Original Language: English

Written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Tagline: No one loves you like your grandparents.

Release date: September 11, 2015 (USA)

Origin Country: United States

Filming locations: Pennsylvania, United States

Awards: 01 Wins, 14 Nominations

Cast of Characters

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The Visit Explained (Plot And Ending)

The Visit is a 2015  horror   thriller  directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It follows two siblings who visit their estranged grandparents only to discover something is very wrong with them. As the children try to uncover the truth, they are increasingly terrorized by their grandparents’ unconvincing behaviour. Here’s the plot and ending of The Visit explained; spoilers ahead.

Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:

• – The Story
• – Plot Explained
• – Ending Explained
• – The Sense Of Dread
• – Separation, Remorse, and Personal Fears
• – Frequently Asked Questions Answered
• – Wrap Up

What is the story of The Visit?

The Visit is well-nigh two kids visiting their grandparents for the first time. They are moreover going there to hope and rebuild a underpass between their mom and grandparents and help their mom heal without a painful divorce. The movie is in documentary form.

The Visit is one of the most unnerving and realistic horror stories. A good thing well-nigh archetype horror movies is that, without the movie ends, you can switch it off and go to bed,  knowing that you’re safe . Vampires, ghosts, and demonic powers don’t exist, and plane if you are prone to these kinds of esoteric beliefs, there are safeguards. If your home is not built in an Indian solemnities ground and you haven’t bought any creepy-looking dolls from your local antiquary, you’re perfectly safe.

However, what well-nigh the idea of two kids spending five days with two escaped psychiatric ward patients in a remote farmhouse? Now, this is a thought that will send shivers lanugo your spine. It’s a story that sounds not just realistic but real. It’s  something that might have happened in the past  or might happen in the future.

This is  what  The Visit  is all about . This idea, coupled with documentary-form storytelling, is why the movie is so unnerving to watch.

The Visit: Plot Explained

Loretta’s past.

As a young girl, Loretta Jamison fell in love with her upper school teacher and decided to skip her hometown with him. Before leaving, she had a heated wrangling with her parents and hasn’t seen them since. At the movie’s start, she is a single mom of 15-year-old Becca and 14-year-old Tyler, and she  hasn’t spoken to her parents in 15 years .

What really happened on the day Loretta left?

Loretta’s mom tries to stop her from leaving the house, and Loretta hits her mom, and her dad hits her. Soon after, her parents try to reach out to Loretta, but she refuses to take their calls, and years go by.

Meet The Grandparents

Years later, Loretta’s parents reach out to  meet their grandchildren . The grandparents are, seemingly, wholly reformed and now plane help at the local psychiatric hospital. Although initially not too fond of the idea, Loretta is persuaded by the insistence of her children. While she had no intention of visiting the parents, she permitted her children to pay their grandparents a five-day visit.

At The Grandparents’

Their first meeting with Nana and Pop Pop starts on the right foot. They start getting to know each other, and other than a simple generational gap, nothing seems too strange. The only thing that seems off is that they are warned  not to leave the room without 9:30 in the evening .

The kids unravel this rule, and on the first night, they notice  Nana vicarial erratically , projectile vomiting, scratching wallpaper with her yellowish hands, and running virtually the house on all fours. Grandpa appears paranoid and hides his sultana diapers in the garden shed, and the situation escalates each day.

The Visit Ending Explained: What happens in the end?

The ending of Visit has the kids finally showing the elderly couple to Loretta. She, completely horrified, states that  those are not her parents . The pair posing as Pop Pop and Nana are escaped psychiatric institution patients who murdered their grandparents and took their places.

The kids survive, skiver their captors, and are found working and well by their mom and the police. Becca kills Nana with a shard from the mirror, thus symbolically overcoming her fear of her reflection. Tyler kills Pop Pop by repeatedly slamming him in the throne with a refrigerator door without overcoming his germaphobia and uneasiness well-nigh freezing.

The Sense Of Dread

The elements of horror in this movie are just  perfectly executed . First of all, the mucosa is shot as a documentary. Becca is an aspiring filmmaker who records the unshortened trip with her camera. From time to time, we see an interview of all the characters, which just serves as the perfect vessel for characterization.

No Ghouls or Cults

Another thing that evokes dread is  realism . There are no supernatural beings or demonic forces. It’s just two kids vacated in a remote farmstead with two creepy, deranged people. Plane in the end, when Loretta finds out what’s happening, it takes her hours to get there with the police. The scariest part is that it’s not that nonflexible to imagine something withal those lines really happening.

The  house itself is dread-inducing . The place is old and rustic. Like in The Black Phone soundproofing a room  could have prevented kids from hearing Nana rummaging virtually the house without a well-spoken idea of what was happening, but this was not the case, as the old couple weren’t that capable.

The  characters  themselves  are perfectly played . Something is unnerving well-nigh Pop Pop and Nana from the very first scene. It’s the Uncanny Valley scenario where you finger that something’s off and shakes you to the core, but you have no idea what it is.

Separation, Remorse, and Personal Fears

What this movie does the weightier is explore the  ugly side of separation, old grudges, and remorse . The main reason why kids are insistent on visiting their grandparents is out of their desire to help their mom.

They see she’s remorseful for never  working things out with her parents . In light of her failed marriage and the topic that caused it to end, she might live with the doubt that her parents were right all along. This makes her visualization and wrangling with her parents plane worse. Reconciling when you know you were wrong is harder than forgiving the person who wronged you.

The Kids’ Perspective

There are personal fears and  traumas of the kids . Tyler, in his unwise naivete, is convinced that his father left considering he was disappointed in him as a son. Tyler tells Becca that he froze during one game he played, which disappointed his dad so much that he had to leave. While this sounds ridiculous to any sultana (and plane Becca), it’s a matter of fact to Tyler. As a result of this trauma, Tyler moreover ripened germaphobia. In Becca’s own words, this gives him a greater sense of control.

On the other hand,  Becca refuses to squint at herself in the mirror  or stand in front of the camera if she can help it. Both kids  had to overcome their fears to survive , which is a solid and well-spoken metaphor for how these things sometimes turn out in real life.

Frequently Asked Questions Answered

The visit: what’s wrong with the grandparents who are the grandparents.

The people who hosted Becca and Tyler were runaway psychiatric hospital patients who murdered the real grandparents and took their place. Nana’s impostor (Claire) was unquestionably responsible for murdering her children by drowning them in a well. Pop Pop’s impostor (Mitchell) wanted to requite Claire a second endangerment at having kids / stuff a grandparent.

How did the imposter grandparents know well-nigh the kids’ visit?

It appears Claire and Mitchell hear the real Nana and Pop Pop brag well-nigh their grandkids’ visit. They moreover learned that neither the grandparents nor the kids had seen each other. The real grandparents towards to have been consulting in the same hospital Claire and Mitchell were stuff treated. The two crazies take this opportunity to unravel out, skiver the real grandparents and go to the station to pick up the children.

The Visit: What is Sinmorfitellia?

Claire and Mitchell believe that Sinmorfitellia is an wayfarer planet, and the creatures from there lurk on Earth. They spit into the waters of wells and ponds all day, which can put people into a deep sleep. They take  sleeping with the fishes  quite literally. Long ago, Claire drowned her children yoyo they would go to Sinmorfitellia.

The Visit: What happened to the real grandparents?

Claire and Mitchel killed Nana and Pop Pop and put them in the basement. This information went unnoticed considering Becca’s laptop’s camera was damaged by Nana, so Loretta could not personize the imposters. Claire and Mitchel were not present every time someone came to visit, so no one suspected foul play except Stacey, who received help from the real grandparents. As a result, she is killed.

What did Claire and Mitchel intend to do?

They plan to go to Sinmorfitellia with Becca and Tyler. They all plan to die on that last night and enter the well, which they believe is their path to the wayfarer planet where they can be happy together. This is perhaps why the grandparents hang Stacey outside the house considering they don’t superintendency well-nigh stuff caught.

The Visit: What’s wrong with Nana?

We don’t know what caused Nana’s mental illness, but she was crazy unbearable to skiver her two children by putting them in suitcases and drowning them in a pond. It appears she suffers from schizophrenia as she has delusions.

The Visit: Wrap Up

From the standpoint of horror, The Visit has it all. An unnerving realistic scenario, real-life trauma, and an undercurrent of fear. Combine this with  some of the weightier vicarial work in the genre  and a documentary-style movie, and you’ve got yourself a real masterpiece.

On the downside, the movie leaves you with a lot of unshut questions like:

• Considering the kids have never seen the grandparents and are going alone, Loretta didn’t ensure her kids knew what her parents looked like?
• How are Claire and Mitchell out and well-nigh so tropical to the hospital without stuff caught?
• Considering they are mentally ill, how did Claire and Mitchell plot such a thorough plan? (e.g. strategically rabble-rousing the camera of the laptop)
• I understand  Suspension Of Disbelief  in horror films, but neither kids waif their cameras despite the terror they go through only so we, the audience, can get the unshortened narrative?

What were your thoughts on the plot and ending of the movie The Visit? Waif your comments below!

The post The Visit Explained (Plot And Ending) appeared first on This is Barry .

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Let's Talk About The Ending Of 'The Visit'

M. Night Shyamalan is back and he is out to let everyone know that he hasn't lost his touch when it comes to freaking audiences out. Sure, he's hit a couple of snags ( Lady In The Water, The Happening, After Earth ) since he set the bar high for himself with The Sixth Sense , but now he has The Visit — and everything you have heard about it is 100 percent true. You'll be sitting at the edge of your seat, thrilled to finally have a great project from the director that will make you jump out of your skin — especially when you get to the ending of The Visit , which, per usual for Shyamalan, contains a massive twist ( spoilers ahead!)

The movie goes back to a style of storytelling that made fans fall in love with Shyamalan in the first place. There's suspense, insane moments that will make you squirm, and unnerving moments that will make you jump. But the best part of The Visit is the big twist ending that makes it an instant Shyamalan classic. But before you get to the very end, some background: using a found footage approach (that actually works, for once), the movie follows young documentarian Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her germaphobe/rapping brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) as they visit their Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), who they soon discover are not your normal set of grandparents.

On a trip to the kitchen for a late night snack, Becca sees Nana walking aimlessly and vomiting. When she questions her grandfather the next day, he insists that Nana had a stomach bug and wasn't feeling well. Becca shrugs it off, but in the next couple of days and nights more crazy things start to happen: Nana running crazily around the house, creepy noises, clawing at the house. There are hints that more is wrong — at one point, a doctor from the mental hospital the grandparents volunteer at stops by to check on them and wonders why they haven't been coming in for the scheduled shifts — but it takes a Skype session with the kids' mom for the really crazy stuff to begin.

Here's where the trademark Shyamalan material starts: when the kids show their mom the grandparents over Skype, the mom quickly realizes that Nana and Pop-Pop are not her parents. They are crazy people posing as Nana and Pop Pop, and so she immediately leaves home to go rescue her kids. Yet in the meantime, Becca finds the dead bodies of her real grandparents, a bloody hammer, and uniforms from the local mental hospital they volunteer at in the basement. When you put two and two together, you realize that the imposters escaped from the mental hospital and killed the grandparents in order to assume their identities and live a "normal" family life.

Fake Pop Pop catches Becca and locks her in a room with fake Nana, who at this point is full-out insane. Meanwhile, the fake grandfather tortures Tyler in the kitchen... with one of his adult diapers. It isn't a pretty sight. There is a violent scuffle in the dark between fake Nana and Becca, which ends with Nana stabbed to death by a mirror shard. Becca breaks out of the room to save her brother, but gets knocked down. Yet Tyler finds enough adrenaline to tackle fake Pop Pop to the ground and bash him to death with the refrigerator door. At the end of it all, they run outside to conveniently find the police and their mom there to rescue them.

The epilogue is the same shot as the beginning of the movie: Becca, interviewing her mom on camera, and opening up about her childhood. The movie ends on a light note, with Tyler rapping through the end credits — but that doesn't mean that some of these horrifying scenes won't be burned into your memory forever.

Image: Universal Pictures

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M. Night Shyamalan had his heyday almost 20 years ago. He leapt out of the gate with such confidence he became a champion instantly. And then...something went awry. He became embarrassingly self-serious, his films drowning in pretension and strained allegories. His famous twists felt like a director attempting to re-create the triumph of " The Sixth Sense ," where the twist of the film was so successfully withheld from audiences that people went back to see the film again and again. But now, here comes " The Visit ," a film so purely entertaining that you almost forget how scary it is. With all its terror, "The Visit" is an extremely funny film. 

There are too many horror cliches to even list ("gotcha" scares, dark basements, frightened children, mysterious sounds at night, no cellphone reception), but the main cliche is that it is a "found footage" film, a style already wrung dry. But Shyamalan injects adrenaline into it, as well as a frank admission that, yes, it is a cliche, and yes, it is absurd that one would keep filming in moments of such terror, but he uses the main strength of found footage: we are trapped by the perspective of the person holding the camera. Withhold visual information, lull the audience into safety, then turn the camera, and OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT? 

"The Visit" starts quietly, with Mom ( Kathryn Hahn ) talking to the camera about running away from home when she was 19: her parents disapproved of her boyfriend. She had two kids with this man who recently left them all for someone new. Mom has a brave demeanor, and funny, too, referring to her kids as "brats" but with mama-bear affection. Her parents cut ties with her, but now they have reached out  from their snowy isolated farm and want to know their grandchildren. Mom packs the two kids off on a train for a visit.

Shyamalan breaks up the found footage with still shots of snowy ranks of trees, blazing sunsets, sunrise falling on a stack of logs. There are gigantic blood-red chapter markers: "TUESDAY MORNING", etc. These choices launch us into the overblown operatic horror style while commenting on it at the same time. It ratchets up the dread.

Becca ( Olivia DeJonge ) and Tyler ( Ed Oxenbould ) want to make a film about their mother's lost childhood home, a place they know well from all of her stories. Becca has done her homework about film-making, and instructs her younger brother about "frames" and "mise-en-scène." Tyler, an appealing gregarious kid, keeps stealing the camera to film the inside of his mouth and his improvised raps. Becca sternly reminds him to focus. 

The kids are happy to meet their grandparents. They are worried about the effect their grandparents' rejection had on their mother (similar to Cole's worry about his mother's unfinished business with her own parent in "The Sixth Sense"). Becca uses a fairy-tale word to explain what she wants their film to do — it will be an "elixir" to bring home to Mom. 

Nana ( Deanna Dunagan ), at first glance, is a Grandma out of a storybook, with a grey bun, an apron, and muffins coming out of the oven every hour. Pop Pop ( Peter McRobbie ) is a taciturn farmer who reminds the kids constantly that he and Nana are "old." 

But almost immediately, things get crazy. What is Pop Pop doing out in the barn all the time? Why does Nana ask Becca to clean the oven, insisting that she crawl all the way in ? What are those weird sounds at night from outside their bedroom door? They have a couple of Skype calls with Mom, and she reassures them their grandparents are "weird" but they're also old, and old people are sometimes cranky, sometimes paranoid. 

As the weirdness intensifies, Becca and Tyler's film evolves from an origin-story documentary to a mystery-solving investigation. They sneak the camera into the barn, underneath the house, they place it on a cabinet in the living room overnight, hoping to get a glimpse of what happens downstairs after they go to bed. What they see is more than they (and we) bargained for.

Dunagan and McRobbie play their roles with a melodramatic relish, entering into the fairy-tale world of the film. And the kids are great, funny and distinct. Tyler informs his sister that he wants to stop swearing so much, and instead will say the names of female pop singers. The joke is one that never gets old. He falls, and screams, "Sarah McLachlan!" When terrified, he whispers to himself, " Katy Perry ... " Tyler, filming his sister, asks her why she never looks in the mirror. "Your sweater is on backwards." As he grills her, he zooms in on her, keeping her face off-center, blurry grey-trunked trees filling most of the screen. The blur is the mystery around them. Cinematographer Maryse Alberti creates the illusion that the film is being made by kids, but also avoids the nauseating hand-held stuff that dogs the found-footage style.

When the twist comes, and you knew it was coming because Shyamalan is the director, it legitimately shocks. Maybe not as much as "The Sixth Sense" twist, but it is damn close. (The audience I saw it with gasped and some people screamed in terror.) There are references to " Halloween ", "Psycho" (Nana in a rocking chair seen from behind), and, of course, " Paranormal Activity "; the kids have seen a lot of movies, understand the tropes and try to recreate them themselves. 

"The Visit" represents Shyamalan cutting loose, lightening up, reveling in the improvisational behavior of the kids, their jokes, their bickering, their closeness. Horror is very close to comedy. Screams of terror often dissolve into hysterical laughter, and he uses that emotional dovetail, its tension and catharsis, in almost every scene. The film is ridiculous  on so many levels, the story playing out like the most monstrous version of Hansel & Gretel imaginable, and in that context, "ridiculous" is the highest possible praise.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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The Visit (2015)

Rated PG-13 disturbing thematic material including terror, violence and some nudity, and for brief language

Kathryn Hahn as Mother

Ed Oxenbould as Tyler Jamison

Benjamin Kanes as Dad

Peter McRobbie as Pop-Pop

Olivia DeJonge as Rebecca Jamison

Deanna Dunagan as Nana

• M. Night Shyamalan

Cinematography

• Maryse Alberti
• Luke Franco Ciarrocch

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M. Night Shyamalan loves a good movie twist. Here’s how ‘The Visit’ stacks up.

SPOILER ALERT: This post discusses the endings of several movies, including “The Visit,” which opened in theaters on Friday.

In a career that has has seen M. Night Shyamalan plummet from the stratospheric heights of “The Sixth Sense” to the critical pits of “The Last Airbender” and “After Earth,” the filmmaker once known for twist endings may have just pulled off his biggest surprise yet. His new film “ The Visit ” is his best-reviewed film in 13 years, not to mention the first since “Signs” to receive a “certified fresh” rating from the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes , which called the new horror-comedy a “welcome return to form.”

After directing and writing a string of four box-office hits with twist endings, Shyamalan largely abandoned his signature plot device with his 2006 release “Lady in the Water,” a bizarre fantasia inspired by a bedtime story he had made up for his kids. (Although some have argued that Shyamalan’s follow-up to “Lady,” an eco-horror story called “The Happening,” has a twist ending, it does not. The substance that is turning people into suicidal zombies turns out to be a toxic agent released by angry trees. Not only is this a stupid idea on the face of it, but it’s revealed early in the film.)

[ Review: ‘The Visit’ is something of a return to form for M. Night Shyamalan ]

Since “Citizen Kane’s” revelation that its antihero’s dying word — “rosebud” — referred not to a secret lover but to a childhood sled, the plot twist has been a cinematic staple. It has been used to great effect in such films as “Psycho” (murderer Norman Bates has been pretending to be his own dead mother); “Soylent Green” (Soylent Green is made out of people); and “The Crying Game” (Dil is a dude).

More recent examples include “The Gift,” in which Jason Bateman’s character turns out not to be the innocent victim of the stalker Gordo (Joel Edgerton), but Gordo’s sociopathic childhood tormentor. The forthcoming “Goodnight Mommy” (opening Sept. 25), is a German psychological thriller about twin boys who come to believe that their mother — who has just had facial surgery — is an impostor. It has a killer twist ending, but we we won’t reveal it here since it hasn’t opened yet.

For Shyamalan’s oeuvre, which has been much dissected, we feel no such compunction. Here’s how “The Visit” stacks up against Shyamalan’s previous twists, from boffo to bust.

1. The Sixth Sense (1999)

Plot: A young boy who claims to be able to see dead people consults a shrink about his problem.

Twist: The shrink is also dead.

Does it work? Seamlessly and utterly. The big reveal retroactively changes your interpretation of everything that came before it, and it is chilling.

If you liked this, you might love: “The Others.”

2. The Village (2004)

Plot: Residents of a 19th-century village are terrorized by creatures that live in the woods surrounding their cloistered community.

Twist: The village is actually in the middle of a modern nature preserve, where it was set up by people fleeing the crime and corruption of contemporary life.

Does it work? If you let it. The stilted dialogue is a tad silly, but in no other movie is Shyamalan so committed to his central conceit.

If you like this, you might love: “Planet of the Apes.”

3. The Visit (2015)

Plot: Two teenage siblings spend a week at the home of their grandparents, whose behavior grows more disturbing and violent by the day.

Twist: They’re not really their grandparents, who lie murdered in the basement.

Does it work? Pretty much. Shyalaman lulls you into a sense of complacency with a seemingly lazy, found-footage style of film-making, only to reveal the clever contrivance underlying what is, at heart, a campy campfire story.

If you like this, you just might love: “Silent House.”

4. Unbreakable (2000)

Plot: An ordinary guy named David — the sole survivor of a train derailment — comes to believe that he is invincible.

Twist: The man who convinces David of his invincibility turns out to have engineered the train derailment and other fatal disasters.

Does it work? Not really. Although the movie’s not bad as a whole and the premise is clever, the twist, as such, doesn’t have much torquing power. Doesn’t every superhero movie have to have a villain?

If you liked this, you just might love: “Arlington Road.”

5. Signs (2002)

Plot: Aliens invade Earth, beginning with a small Pennsylvania farm, where a former minister and widower with two children is having a crisis of faith.

Twist: The secret to defeating the aliens is water, which the widower’s young daughter has conveniently left sitting around the house in dozens of half-drunk glasses.

Does it work? No. There’s too much going on here: personal grief, the end of the world, hydrophobia. What was the twist again?

If you like this, you just might love: “Super 8.”

The Visit | 2015

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

The Visit follows two siblings, Becca and Tyler, who go to visit their estranged grandparents for the first time. As they arrive at their grandparents' isolated farmhouse, strange and unsettling events begin to occur. Becca, an aspiring filmmaker, decides to document their visit, hoping to uncover the truth about their grandparents' peculiar behavior. As the days progress, the siblings become increasingly disturbed by their grandparents' disturbing habits and inexplicable nighttime activities. With each passing night, the situation becomes more terrifying, leading Becca and Tyler to question the true nature of their grandparents and the secrets they are hiding. As the tension escalates, the siblings must find a way to escape the increasingly dangerous situation and uncover the shocking truth about their family.

• Olivia DeJonge plays Becca, a teenage girl who, along with her younger brother, visits their grandparents and uncovers dark secrets about their family during their stay.
• Ed Oxenbould's character in The Visit is Tyler Jamison. He plays the role of Becca's younger brother and is a central character in the plot.
• Deanna Dunagan plays the character of Claire Zachanassian in The Visit. She is a wealthy woman who returns to her hometown seeking revenge.

Ending Explained

In the film "The Visit," directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the story concludes with a shocking revelation. Becca and Tyler, two siblings visiting their estranged grandparents, discover that the elderly couple they thought they were staying with are actually impostors. The real grandparents were murdered by the impostors, who turn out to be patients from a mental institution. As the children try to escape, they are relentlessly pursued by the deranged impostors. However, they manage to outsmart them and finally make it to safety. In the aftermath, Becca and Tyler reflect on their traumatic experience, but also find closure and a newfound appreciation for their mother. The film ends with Becca uploading a documentary she made about the events, hoping to bring awareness to mental health issues.

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Let's Talk About the Twist in M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Visit' (Spoilers!)

Olivia DeJonge in ‘The Visit’ (Universal Pictures)

[Warning: We’re going to spoil the big twist of The Visit in the very first paragraph and then discuss the ending, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet, look away.]

For someone who was at one point regarded as the Master of the Mind-Blowing Plot Twist, it’s funny to think how almost every one of director M. Night Shyamalan’s surprise endings are essentially summed up by a single line of dialogue. Think, “ I see dead people ,” in The Sixth Sense , “ They called me Mr. Glass ,” in Unbreakable or “ Swing away ,” in Signs . The director’s new film, The Visit (in theaters today) tosses another one sentence-wonder on the pile: “Those aren’t your grandparents.” Uttered at the pivot point between the second and third acts, those words provide an otherwise formulaic movie with a much-needed kick in the pants as it enters the climactic home stretch.

But let’s back up a minute to explain why that sentence pulls the audience back in at the moment they might otherwise check out. Made in The Blair Witch Project found-footage tradition, The Visit depicts a family reunion that’s being documented by a pair of precocious youngsters, 15-year-old Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and 13-year-old Tyler (Ed Oxenbould). In order to give their single mom (Kathryn Hahn) a chance to take a much-needed vacation with her new boyfriend — her first steady beau since their father split — the kids have volunteered to spend a week with the grandparents they’ve never met. How have they gone this long without receiving a birthday phone call or even a card from their Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie)? Well, as Mom tells it, she fled their household nearly two decades ago under contentious circumstances and has deliberately refrained from seeing or speaking to them since. She’s clinging to that resentment so fiercely, she doesn’t even have any pictures of her parents around…a plot point that will become important later on.

Deanna Dunagan in ‘The Visit’ (Universal Pictures)

After years of silence, the old folks have taken steps to heal this rift by asking to meet their grandchildren. Becca, the budding filmmaker of the two siblings, sees the potential for a heart-wrenching documentary to be made from this week-long vacation and eagerly equips herself with two digital cameras. But rather than teary confessionals and family secrets laid bare, she ends up capturing some truly disturbing behavior not long after she and Tyler pass through the doorway of Nana and Pop Pop’s isolated Pennsylvania farmhouse. On their very first night, Becca records her grandmother roaming about the house, vomiting all over the floor. And at roughly the same time each subsequent evening, Nana is out of her bed doing something bizarre, whether it’s crawling around the floor on her hands and knees or moaning and banging on cabinets and doors. Pop Pop blames her problems on “ sundowning ,” an actual medical condition affecting dementia patients. Meanwhile, he’s got his own problems, including a shed where he keeps poop-filled diapers (he’s incontinent, you see) and a penchant for cleaning guns by sticking them in his mouth.

Much of this potentially paranormal activity has already been teased in the movie’s trailer , which is designed to make you think that: A) The grandparents are demons; B) The grandparents are possessed by demons; C) The grandparents have been replaced by body-snatching monsters from a parallel dimension. As it turns out, though, their crazy behavior is due to the fact that they’re both legitimately crazy. They’re also — big twist! — not Nana and Pop Pop, as Hahn’s character belatedly reveals when Becca and Tyler surreptitiously film the elderly couple during a Skype session on the last day of their stay. (Estranged daughter that she is, she has conveniently not wanted to speak with them in earlier video calls.) Because Mom is hours away by car and the local police aren’t answering, the kids have to stay in the house with these strangers for a full day pretending like nothing has changed.

Watch the trailer:

Too bad for them that Pop Pop decides to prove that being crazy isn’t the same thing as being stupid. Aware that the ruse is up, he fills in the backstory behind the twist. Prior to taking up residence in the farmhouse, he and “Nana” were patients at a nearby mental hospital where the real Nana and Pop Pop were regular volunteers.

Jealous at their happiness over the impending visit of their grandkids, the frauds forced their way into the home and murdered the couple with a hammer, stashing their bodies in the basement. (Throughout the movie, other folks from the hospital have been stopping by the house to check up on the popular duo, but their replacements have conspired to be “out for a walk” during these visits.) They then went to the train station to pick up Becca and Tyler who were none the wiser because, remember, no pictures! Also, no Mom around to warn them otherwise. (Not for nothing, but this twist really does elevate Hahn to Worst Mother in the World status.)

Peter McRobbie in ‘The Visit’ (Universal Pictures)

Of course, now that the kids know, they’ll have to die — a fate they manage to avoid by killing the escaped mental patients instead. As the siblings stumble outside, the cops and their mother finally show up and whisk them away to safety. In a final coda, Becca finally gets the on-camera waterworks she’s been searching for when Mom reveals that she had the opportunity to mend fences with her parents years ago, but decided to hold onto her grudge instead — a choice that indirectly led to their deaths. She tearfully tells her daughter that forgiveness is essential, which in turn allows Becca to let go of some of the lingering anger she feels towards her own father for ditching their family.

In the past, some of Shyamalan’s twists have deepened his movies, turning, for instance, The Sixth Sense into a parable about grief and Unbreakable into a real world exploration of comic-book mythology. With The Visit though, the big revelation cheapens the movie to a certain extent. When you step back and think about it, there’s something deeply unpleasant about the way he’s using the mentally ill as routine horror-movie boogeymen. In the moment, however, the twist achieves its goal of catching the audience off guard. During the screening I was in, a wave of loud gasps swept through the packed house when Hahn said, “Those aren’t your grandparents” — the same gasps I heard 16 years ago in the final moments of The Sixth Sense when everyone figured out at the same instant that Bruce Willis had been dead all along. Shyamalan may no longer be considered “ The Next Spielberg ,” but that reaction to The Visit indicates that he’s still capable of some Spielbergian surprises.

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Home > The Surprise Visit Ending Explained

The Surprise Visit Ending Explained

• UPDATED: November 23, 2023

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“The Surprise Visit,” a suspense thriller directed by Nick Lyon, opens with a scene of a terrified woman in pajamas fleeing through the woods, setting the tone for a film that explores themes of desperation, class difference, and the consequences of actions taken in extremis. The story revolves around Annabelle and Casey, a couple expecting a child, struggling with meth addiction and financial hardship. In a bid to alleviate their financial woes, Casey overhears his boss, Mrs. Dixon, mentioning she will be away for the weekend. Seeing an opportunity, Casey plans to rob her house, knowing she possesses valuable jewelry.

However, the plot takes a turn when Mrs. Dixon’s daughter, Juliette, and her husband, Daniel, decide to make a surprise visit to the Dixon residence, coinciding with Casey’s planned robbery. The situation escalates when Casey kills Daniel, forcing Juliette to attempt an escape to avoid a similar fate. This twist propels the film into its final act, a chase through the woods, as Juliette tries to flee her pursuers​​.

The film’s narrative attempts to blend elements of a home invasion thriller with a critique of social issues, particularly income inequality and the circumstances that drive people to desperate acts. However, the portrayal of the central characters as drug addicts seems to undermine the intended message about poverty and income inequality in America, inadvertently reinforcing negative stereotypes about the poor​​.

Despite its aspirations to delve into deeper themes, “The Surprise Visit” ultimately falls short in its execution. Critics have noted that the film, while presenting a somewhat interesting twist on the home invasion genre, fails to fully engage with its characters, leading to a lack of emotional depth. The ending, in particular, has been critiqued for its ambiguity and the seemingly random and rash decision made by Annabelle, which is followed by an upbeat celebration. This conclusion leaves the audience uncertain about how to feel towards the characters, particularly Annabelle, and reflects a disjointed narrative approach​​.

Overall, “The Surprise Visit” aims to be a gripping thriller that touches upon issues of desperation and social inequality but struggles to balance its thematic ambitions with effective storytelling. The film’s portrayal of its characters and their motivations, coupled with a plot that treads familiar territory, results in a movie that is more suited to a casual viewing rather than a profound cinematic experience​​​​.

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I n Nick Lyon’s film “The Surprise Visit,” two young heroin addicts, played by Regan Ferrier and Serah Henesey, find themselves in a difficult predicament following the failure of a robbery. The narrative follows as the heist takes an unexpected turn, putting the players in a difficult situation where they must decide whether to surrender or […]

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• Breaking Down the Bonkers But Perfect End of <i>Challengers</i>

Breaking Down the Bonkers But Perfect End of Challengers

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Challengers .

What is it about tennis that reminds directors of sex? Is it the fact that, unlike swimming or golf, the player must look across the net directly at their opponent? Is it the sheer athleticism on display? Is it the obvious love pun in the scoring? Whatever the reason, movies like Wimbledon , Match Point , A Room With a View , and even The Royal Tenenbaums set stories of lust on the tennis court. Usually a major moment in a game serves as metaphor: A ball that hits the net teaches a lesson about luck; an unlikely defeat represents a rocky moment in a relationship; a furtive glance during a match hints at buried feelings.

The new Zendaya movie Challengers is perhaps the horniest film in the genre to date. Players Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick ( Josh O’Connor ) spend the better part of two nearly decades vying for the affections of one-time tennis phenom Tashi (Zendaya). Their romantic rivalry culminates in a single match laden with erotic subtext, the outcome of which will determine the characters’ romantic futures. Director Luca Guadagnino volleys between the action of the match and flashbacks to the characters’ teenage years. The jumps back and forth in time become ever more erratic as the tension in the match builds. Tashi practically vibrates with each thwack of the ball. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s synth soundtrack crescendos as the boys stretch their long limbs across the court to catch each other’s drop shots.

Read More: Coco Gauff Is Playing for Herself Now

And yet we never learn who actually wins the face-off, let alone Tashi’s heart. Instead, Guadagnino makes a curious decision: He ends the movie not with match point but with an accidental-but-maybe-on-purpose mid-air hug at the net. A hug that thrusts the men together after a long match of lustful looks but no physical contact. A hug that’s more orgasmic than any sex we see in the movie. A hug that defies physics and (probably) the rules of tennis. It’s horny and ludicrous.

But it’s impossible to end a film of this nature any other way. Either man defeating the other would have been anticlimactic because Tashi is not actually the trophy they claim they’re pursuing. The hug makes it clear that two of the three characters are in love—and it’s not the pairing you might expect. And that’s the essence of Challengers : The story of a woman turned on by orchestrating erotic encounters between the men that love her.

The first flashback is key to understanding the drama at the center of this love triangle. We watch as young Art and Patrick—curiously close roommates who geekily call themselves “Fire and Ice”—win the doubles title at the U.S. Open Junior Championships in 2006. Patrick, arguably the better player but less diligent worker, agrees to let Art win their face-off in the singles tournament the next day.

But then the two boys watch the spellbinding Tashi grunt her way to her own juniors title. After flirting with Tashi at a party in her honor, they invite her back to their hotel room. Over a shared beer, Patrick admits that he taught Art how to masturbate. When they’re all sitting on the bed together, she leans back and coaxes—really, coaches—them to reach across her and kiss one another. She smirks.

The boys’ bond begins to fissure when the ultra-competitive Tashi interrupts the make out session to make an indecent proposal: She’ll give her phone number to whomever wins the next day’s match. She then exits the room, insisting she doesn’t want to be a “homewrecker.”

Art and Patrick will spend the rest of their professional tennis careers competing for Tashi’s attention. So much for the bro code. Patrick breaks his promise to Art and wins the U.S. Open match. Later, when Art asks Patrick whether he slept with Tashi, Patrick demurs. He does, however, point out that Art has a habit of placing the ball in the throat of the racquet before he serves. Patrick mimics Art’s move, both mocking Art and signaling to him that he did in fact have sex with Tashi.

A collegiate relationship between Tashi and Patrick fizzles, and she soon faces a career-ending injury. In Patrick's absence, Art swoops in. Eventually Tashi and Art marry, and she becomes his coach.

Read More: The 39 Most Anticipated Movies of 2024

Flash forward to a giant billboard featuring Tashi and Art modeling luxury goods as tennis’ golden couple. Despite his success—or because of it—Art has lost his verve and keeps losing matches. When he mulls retirement, Tashi enters him into a challengers tournament in New Rochelle, N.Y., in hopes that he’ll snag an easy win and a confidence boost. That’s when Patrick stumbles back onto the scene. Living out of his car and finding shelter night-to-night by bedding women he meets on dating apps, Patrick has grown into a scruffy cad. For Tashi, he proves an irresistible counterbalance to good-natured golden boy Art. When all three characters realize the men will face off at the challengers tournament, Tashi makes threats and promises to each of her “two little white boys,” as she calls them during a pivotal scene.

Tashi tells Art she will divorce him if he loses, and promises to coach Patrick if he throws the match. Are these promises genuine? Does she want either of them? Both? All we know is Tashi wants to see a good tennis match. At the beginning of the movie she declares that playing a worthy opponent is similar to entering a relationship: “It’s like we were in love.” She’s turned on by the heat of competition and living vicariously through her husband and his former lover.

The film’s screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes describes tennis as a sport of near-misses: A player tries to get a ball just past another. “There’s a deep intimacy in that, and a lot of repression,” he told Variety . “It’s very sexy. And you usually play tennis against somebody of the same gender, so tennis, by its nature, then becomes almost homoerotic.”

In theory, this is Zendaya’s film. After all, she is the movie star—fresh off the box office success of Dune: Part Two , Zendaya is one of the biggest celebrities in the world, known as much for her acting as her red-carpet fashion. Faist and O’Connor, who broke out in West Side Story and The Crown , respectively, are stupendous in the film. But Zendaya is the center of gravity, and the marketing team knows it. For an original drama with no ties to I.P. and a mid-sized budget, Challengers is everywhere—thanks to her. You’ve probably spotted Zendaya serving dozens of preppy looks on the press tour while her co-stars smile shyly in the background.

Guadagnino, known for the sensual gay love story Call Me By Your Name and the tense, erotic thriller Suspiria , plays with audience expectations. No stranger to fostering movie stars—by casting both Timothée Chalamet and Dakota Johnson in key roles early in their careers, he helped launch them into the Hollywood stratosphere—Guadagnino capitalizes on Zendaya’s offscreen star power: The movie begins and ends on her face.

Read More: Why Is Tennis Scored So Weirdly?

And throughout the film, Guadagnino positions Zendaya in the center of several shots, with the two boys flanking her. When the three first meet in 2006, Tashi invites Art and Patrick to her hotel room. She beckons them both onto her bed, and they scramble to each side of her like eager puppies. Later, during the movie’s climactic tennis match, she sits exactly in the center of the stands, swiveling her head back and forth to look at each man on either side of the court. Though impassive, she’s in the middle of the action. She adopts an iciness reminiscent of Katherine Hepburn as suitors flitted around her in The Philadelphia Story . Zendaya is the unattainable object of desire. It’s how a director frames a movie star.

But it’s a feint. Tashi is nothing but bait. Just as Tashi orchestrated that kiss between the boys in their youth, she lures the men into their final embrace in the film, sitting between them in the stands—the supposed prize—when actually what the boys wanted was one another all along.

Art and Patrick’s suppressed attraction to one another isn’t exactly subtle. Perhaps in a nod to the infamous Call Me By Your Name peach scene , Art and Patrick are constantly munching on phallic foods in Challengers : bananas, hot dogs, even a churro. Before their epic match, Patrick taunts Art with the possibility that he's having an affair with Tashi, but does so while the two men sit in the sauna, clad in only strategically placed towels.

It’s not the only scene that takes in their physical forms: The camera pays tribute to the men’s taut bodies with their polos stretching across bulging pectorals. Guadagnino even shoots the men from below the court, sweat dripping from their faces onto the camera. Despite being billed as a sexy romance, the movie’s steamiest scenes are reserved for the court. Each break point its own small climax. As we flash back and forth to the New Rochelle match, Guadagnino experiments with ways to build the tempo: The camera takes on the perspective of the balls and even the racquets as we watch the men make a number of increasingly desperate shots.

Read More: The 25 Sexiest Movies of All Time

At a pivotal moment in the match, Patrick places the ball in the throat of the racquet before a serve, a callback to Art’s signature move that Patrick used to signal he slept with Tashi earlier in the film. Paired with a smug grin, the gesture signals to Art that Patrick slept with his wife (again). And then the near-comatose Art comes alive. Does he pick up on Patrick’s clues about the affair? Does he somehow know that Tashi has asked Patrick to throw the game? Does he simply hope to impress his wife and prove once and for all he’s the better player? 

One thing is for sure: he feels an electricity from his old partner on the other side of the court. Patrick, for his part, never smiles wider than when he’s provoking his former friend. In this dysfunctional polycule, an affair with Tashi is a means to reawaken the fire in his true object of desire, Art.

The men make eyes at each other, and the pace picks up. The tennis becomes more athletic, the shots more dramatic, sweat all but flooding the court. It’s Fire and Ice, back together again after all these years. Tashi’s head continues to swivel, and she doesn’t know how to react. The boys don’t seem to notice—they’re having fun.

The tennis match becomes foreplay, and a reminder of what they used to be. In the end, the boys embrace. The final shot lands on Tashi’s face, usually impassive but now elated. The puppet master has engineered a reunion of these two men and prodded their competitive spirits once again. The game is so on.

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Write to Eliana Dockterman at [email protected]

Screen Rant

Rust creek ending explained: does sawyer survive the criminals' pursuit.

In the 2018 thriller Rust Creek, Sawyer Scott is lost and hunted in the Appalachian Forest, but an unlikely friendship aims her toward survival.

• Sawyer cleverly escapes her captors, but must face off against Sheriff O'Doyle in a fight for survival by Rust Creek.
• Lowell sacrifices himself to save Sawyer, showing that even unlikely heroes can have a profound impact.
• The ambiguous ending leaves Sawyer's fate uncertain, but hints at her ability to overcome trauma and heal through Lowell's lessons in chemistry.

The ending of the 2018 movie Rust Creek resolved the protagonist's desperate bid for survival—for better or worse. The movie, directed by Jen McGowan and written by Julie Lipson, follows a young woman named Sawyer Scott, who heads out from her college near Louisville, Kentucky, for a job interview in Washington DC. However, when the GPS gets her lost in the deep of the Appalachian Forest, and she is confronted by a duo of criminals, Hollister and Buck, she flees on foot into the trees with a stab wound in her leg. After two days of desperate wandering, Sawyer is found by an unlikely savior.

Lowell Pritchert, a cousin to Hollister and Buck, is a meth cook who lives in a secluded trailer in the Appalachian Forest. After finding Sawyer unconscious, he takes her to his home, holding her captive but promising to take her to safety once his cousins leave their car with him to make their meth delivery. Lowell and Sawyer develop an unlikely friendship until Hollister and Beck discover the girl. Sawyer cleverly blows up the trailer and escapes, but after Rust Creek 's villain character , Sheriff O'Doyle, murders Lowell and finds her in the woods , things quickly go south.

Is Rust Creek Based On A True Story?

Does sawyer survive at the end of rust creek, sawyer has to fight for her life one last time at the end of rust creek.

In the final scene of the survivor thriller movie Rust Creek , Sawyer realizes that the Sheriff who picked her up on the side of the road wasn't on her side. When O'Doyle says, " I'm the chief, you're the Indian "—the exact phrase Sawyer heard Lowell's boss say outside the trailer—she understands that this man will not bring her to safety. Instead, O'Doyle leads Sawyer to the titular Rust Creek , and after ordering her to wade into the water, he attempts to drown her . Thankfully, Sawyer had already proven she was an exceptional fighter, and she still had Lowell's tool hidden away in her pocket.

Sawyer had stolen a sharp, handheld tool from Lowell, intending to use it against him to escape. Of course, their friendship meant she never had a need to, but when she attempted to return it to him, he told her to keep it as a souvenir of her meth-cooking adventures. It's a good thing he did since the tool was Sawyer's saving grace during her battle with O'Doyle. After stabbing him in the leg and slashing him across the face, Rust Creek 's protagonist stabs the Sheriff in the chest , and the last we see of him is his body floating down the creek.

Why Sawyer Ignores The Police Cars After Killing Sheriff O'Doyle

Help had finally arrived, but sawyer didn't seem to care.

After stabbing O'Doyle, Sawyer exhaustedly makes her way back to the road and sets off in the direction Lowell had instructed her before his death. She focuses entirely on the winding road ahead of her and pays no attention to the half-dozen police cars that pull up behind her. Though the ending of Rust Creek keeps these cars out of focus, it's assumed that these are the Kentucky State Police, sent by Commander Douglas Slattery, who had taken over Sawyer's missing person case. Unlike Sheriff O'Doyle, these officers are there to legitimately help the girl, but she just keeps walking.

This is how Rust Creek ends, so it's never explicitly stated why Sawyer pays the State Police no attention. However, Lowell and Sawyer's earlier discussion provides some answers here. During their conversations about chemistry, Lowell points out that people are just like chemicals. When two meet each other, they create a reaction that changes them forever. They become something new, so when they go out and meet other people, they make a whole new chemical reaction. Rust Creek demonstrates how these changes can be for better or worse.

The meth cook's lesson in chemistry wound up being a metaphor for Sawyer's ending, and the cost of "neutralizing" O'Doyle was catastrophic.

Sawyer meets several characters in Rust Creek , and they each change her chemistry in various ways. The friendship she develops with Lowell leads to positive changes for them both, but someone like O'Doyle would cause a far more dangerous reaction. Lowell had told Sawyer that an acid would neutralize a base like Lye but would create devastating and destructive heat. The meth cook's lesson in chemistry wound up being a metaphor for Sawyer's ending, and the cost of " neutralizing " O'Doyle was catastrophic. Her trauma was so extreme that she couldn't comprehend or trust her own saviors.

30 Best Movies On Netflix Right Now (April 2024)

Lowell pritchert's sacrifice in rust creek explained, lowell sacrificed himself so sawyer could escape.

As much a relief as Sawyer's survival in Rust Creek was, it was bittersweet when considering Lowell Pritchert's death. He was the most unlikely of heroes—a meth-cooking hermit hidden away in the Appalachian Forest—but Sawyer slowly learns throughout the film that he was far smarter and gentler than anyone would assume. This is demonstrated in his decision to take Sawyer in and keep her safe until he can get her to safety and in his final decision to put himself in harm's way to keep her safe.

After movie villains Hollister and Buck discover that Sawyer had been in Lowell's trailer all along, they burst into the meth cook's home with the intention of finally killing her. However, Lowell convinces them that he had beaten Sawyer into submission, requesting that they leave her to be his plaything until the time came when he would " deal " with her. Lowell orders Sawyer to warm him up some coffee to demonstrate that she will follow his every order. She immediately understands that he means the anhydrous ammonia that he had previously shown her was stored away in a coffee thermos .

Sawyer fills a coffee cup with anhydrous ammonia and places it into the microwave, and Lowell instructs her to sit on his knee so that his body would be between her and the inevitable blast . The subsequent explosion kills Buck instantly and greatly wounds Hollister and Lowell, who winds up with a large shard of glass embedded in his back. However, Sawyer is left with only minor injuries, all thanks to Lowell's selfless sacrifice. The meth cook's wounds meant he couldn't escape with her, and he was shot and killed by Sheriff O'Doyle.

Lowell was planning to leave the drug trade behind after Sawyer was safe, which made his death in R ust Creek all the more tragic.

Sheriff O'Doyle & The Pritcherts' Meth Operation Explained

O'doyle aimed to steal an important client from a mexican drug cartel.

By the time Sawyer got lost in the Appalachian Forest, things were already getting pretty intense with Sheriff O'Doyle and the Pritcherts. Rust Creek 's heroine just happened to be unlucky enough to drive through as Hollister and Buck were burying the evidence of their recent murder. Edwin Garro, a Mexican man from outside of town, is revealed to have been involved with a drug cartel and was selling meth to an unknown customer. Hoping to steal their client, O'Doyle ordered Hollister and Buck to get Garro out of the way —and evidently, they did.

Lowell tells Sawyer in Rust Creek that he had been cooking meth since he was 14, and it's assumed that this was something of a Pritchert family business. It's unclear when O'Doyle got involved, but since he tells Hollister and Buck that the sale to Garro's clients is meant to set up his retirement , it seems that the Sheriff had been dealing meth in the minor leagues up to that point. Replacing a Mexican cartel as a meth supplier would elevate him to the next level. Of course, this also meant higher stakes, so things between O'Doyle and the Pritcherts went sour quickly.

It's implied in Rust Creek that Lowell's wife was killed when their house exploded, likely due to an accident while cooking meth. This likely contributed to the tension between the Pritcherts leading up to the film's start.

What Happens To Sawyer After Rust Creek?

Rust creek leaves sawyer's fate ambiguous, but her story contains clues.

Since Rust Creek ends with Sawyer determinedly hobbling down the road, it's unclear precisely what happens to her. It can be assumed that the Kentucky State Police officers would catch up with her only moments after the film's sudden ending. However, given Sawyer's recent traumatic experiences, this might not have been a pretty sight. Throughout the majority of the movie, Sawyer stays remarkably optimistic. As she wandered the Appalachian Forest, she kept saying everything would be okay. She was clever and strong, but this final altercation with Sheriff O'Doyle broke this resolve.

Sawyer had seen how Lowell had slowly found his way back to the light after the death of his wife, all thanks to the chemistry of humanism he had experienced through his time with her.

Still, everything we know about Sawyer after Rust Creek supports the idea that she is a survivor through and through. She had seen how Lowell had slowly found his way back to the light after the death of his wife, all thanks to the chemistry of humanism he had experienced through his time with her. The police would have difficulty getting Sawyer to go with them, but after reuniting with her parents and finding help and trust in other human beings, she would eventually heal. It would be a painful road, but Lowell had already shown her the way .

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Baby Reindeer' s Ending Explained: What Does It All Mean?

The new Netflix limited series ends with Martha revealing the rationale for her pet name and Donny reaching a full-circle realization

JP Mangalindan is a Senior Writer for TV at PEOPLE. He joined PEOPLE in May 2023. JP's work has previously appeared in publications like Fortune , Business Insider , TechCrunch , GQ , Teen People and Entertainment Weekly.

Ed Miller/Netflix

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season finale of Netflix's Baby Reindeer .

Baby Reindeer and its ambiguous ending is getting viewers talking.

The new Netflix limited series, which follows a bartender and aspiring comedian (Richard Gadd) relentlessly stalked by a woman (Jessica Gunning), deals with tricky subjects including sexual assault and mental health.

Not only did Gadd create, write and star in the limited series, but it’s based on a true story: Gadd’s true story.

“It’s very emotionally true, obviously: I was severely stalked and severely abused,” he told The Guardian in mid-April. “But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on.”

While Gadd’s real-life experiences closely mirrors Baby Reindeer’s plot at times, there are distinct differences, too. Yes, Donny and Martha actually met at a bar, and Donny offered her a free drink. But Gadd made it a point to change the character’s names and identifying details for Martha and Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill), the successful TV writer who groomed and raped Donny.

There’s also a lot of truth to Martha’s stalking efforts. Over the course of four years, her real-life counterpart called Gadd “baby reindeer” and went on to send him 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemail, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages and 106 pages of letters.

Though Gadd went to the police about the situation, the authorities weren't much help. The comic said they were skeptical he was being stalked because of the stalker's gender.

“When a man gets stalked, it can be portrayed in films and television as a sexy thing,” he recently told  The Times . “Like a femme fatale who gradually becomes more sinister. It doesn’t carry as much threat of physical violence, is less common and can be trivialized.”

But eventually, Gadd found a silver lining by using his experiences as the basis for his stand-up show Monkey See Monkey Do, which won the Edinburgh comedy award in 2016, and much more recently, through Baby Reindeer.

As the show worked its way to its inevitable conclusion, Martha found Donny’s number and left him a slew of voicemails, which Donny listened to. He decided to hold off on reporting her creepy messages to the police out of “fascination” and “guilt” to keep her “in my life.”

He later visited his parents to discuss the viral video of a recent stand-up performance that became a moving impromptu monologue, in which Donny opened up about his sexual assault and his complex, years-long situation with Martha. Not only were his mom and dad extremely sympathetic, his dad revealed a long-kept secret: that he was also sexually assaulted when he was younger, presumably by a Catholic priest.

In the weeks that followed, Donny spent all his time cooped up in his room until his ex-girlfriend Keeley (Shalom Brune-Franklin) finally checked on him and insisted he move back into her mother’s place, where he previously lived.

But it’s his next move that was a complete surprise: a visit to Darrien at his home where the writer raped him repeatedly. There, Darrien acknowledged that he saw the viral video and it was "really brave" of Donny before offering him a paid writing gig on a show that’s returning for another season.

"It won't be like the last time," Darrien insisted, noting that the gig would be paid. However, he failed to acknowledge his own past actions and the trauma he inflicted on Donny.

The comic agreed to take the job, but after leaving Darrien's home, Donny was visibly distraught by their interaction.

While strolling to a bar, he listened to one of the many voicemails Martha left him in the days before she was arraigned, sentenced to months of jail time and received a five-year restraining order. Donny had spent a lot of time — perhaps too much time — organizing Martha’s voicemails by theme. He landed on several messages marked as “Complimentary”: one gushed about his “great jawline” and overall attractiveness. Another said he had “it," a kind of star quality.

In the final scene at the bar, a deeply pensive Donny ordered a drink and pulled up another voicemail in which Martha finally explained why she started calling him “baby reindeer.” As it turns out, she had a stuffed reindeer growing up with big lips and a “cute bum.”

“It was the only good thing about my childhood,” she explained in the voicemail, before noting that "they" — who viewers can presume are her parents — "fought all the time."

“Well, you are the [spitting image] of that reindeer. The same nose. The same eyes. The same cute wee bum. It means so much to me," Martha added. "You mean so much to me.”

Her words brought Donny to tears as he sat at the bar alone and came to the realization that he and Martha were more alike than he thought after they each unexpectedly brought a form of comfort to the other.

As the scene wound down to a quiet finish, Donny went to pay for his drink but realized he didn't have his wallet. The bartender, seeing that Donny had been crying, said the drink was on the house.

It was a nod to the very beginning of the show when Donny, as a bartender, served Martha a free drink. Only this time, Donny was alone, left with his complicated emotions, hundreds of hours of Martha’s voicemails and lingering memories of a woman who loved him in the most twisted and misguided of ways.

While it becomes clear that kindness can go a long way, the show also drives home the point that the human experience can be messy and painful, and those emotions can't always be completely resolved and neatly tied up with a bow.

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The Ending of Them: The Scare Connects Back to Season 1

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS

Them is ostensibly an anthology series, and yet the ending of The Scare connects Season 2 back to the first. Episode 8 is particularly guilty of this, and the finale raises some serious questions about whether this is truly an anthology and not just an overarching, connected narrative.

As I briefly mentioned in my review of Them: The Scare , the stories are, for the most part, totally divorced. But the finale’s last-minute efforts to connect the two seasons are worthy of a bit of explanation, at the very least.

How are Dawn and Edmund Gaines connected?

In a tale as old as time, our heroine is deeply connected to the supernatural evil she finds herself battling. And in a similarly familiar twist towards the end of the season, we learn that Dawn and Edmund Gaines were twins.

Despite having been handed over together to Mott, the siblings did not remain together. Mott’s abuses broke Edmund’s psyche. When they were adopted, Edmund’s behavior was too much for Athena to cope with, and she sent him back to Mott. It’s a selfish decision, hard to reconcile.

Edmund’s trauma from the abuse informs his resentment for Dawn. He can’t accept that she doesn’t remember what happened to them when he is so haunted by it. In the finale, Edmund commits suicide to give himself over to The Scare, a symbolic manifestation of his trauma winning.

Dawn Remembers

Them: The Scare Season 2 | Image via Prime Video

One of the aspects of the finale that does work is how it allows the past to creep through into the present, notably in the remnants of old abuses – broken clocks, scratches in the closet – still scarring the Mott house physically (and Edmund emotionally).

It also makes sense that acknowledging these past traumas and tragedies is what allows Dawn to “defeat” the Scare at the end of Them Season 2, or at least pull Edmund away from its influences before he can harm her or Kel.

In recalling some of their shared experiences, Dawn can relate to Edmund on an emotional level. And in doing that she can free him. Sure, he dies as a result, but at least his sister holds him while he does so. At least most of the people complicit in Mott’s abuse are gone.

The Charges Against Dawn Are Dropped

After vanquishing supernatural evil, the investigation into the death of McKinney seems a small affair.

Luckily, Dawn had recorded the racist detective attacking her, proving she killed him in self-defense. All the charges against her are rightly dropped.

Ultimately, though, Dawn leaves the force regardless, and it’s not hard to imagine why.

How is Them: The Scare connected to Season 1?

Okay, so let’s get into the important stuff. The end of Episode 8 reveals some explicit connections to Them: Covenant which binds the narratives together and suggests the show is less of an anthology than first appearances – and Prime’s marketing – suggested.

So, Dawn and Edmund were the children of Ruby Emory, the daughter of Henry and Lucky from Season 1. Ruby had taken the babies to the Mott house in the hopes of them growing up away from the supernatural evil that had plagued the Emory family, but no such luck in that regard.

At the end of Them: The Scare , Dawn roots through the box her mother left her and unearths a photo of the Emory family, noting her resemblance to Lucky.

And that’s not all! The ending of Them Season 2 sees Da Tap Dance Man present himself to Dawn. This could have all kinds of implications for  Them  Season 3 if Prime Video shows an interest in it.

Article by Jonathon Wilson

Jonathon is one of the co-founders of Ready Steady Cut and has been an instrumental part of the team since its inception in 2017. Jonathon has remained involved in all aspects of the site’s operation, mainly dedicated to its content output, remaining one of its primary Entertainment writers while also functioning as our dedicated Commissioning Editor, publishing over 6,500 articles.

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'Abigail' Ending Explained: Does the Crew Make It Out Alive?

"It takes a long time to learn to do the cool sh—."

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Abigail

The Big Picture

• Vampires play a deadly game of cat and mouse with criminals in a twisted heist-gone-wrong scenario in Abigail .
• Unexpected alliances form as Joey and Abigail join forces to take down a common enemy in a bloody final showdown.
• The film's ending sees Joey escape the vampire-filled mansion, leaving behind a trail of blood and a hint of a happy ending.

Combine a heist film with a vampire flick , and you’re bound to get one of the wildest endings of all time. That’s certainly true for Radio Silence’s Abigail , their newest horror film starring Alisha Weir as a pint-sized killer kidnapped by a group of thieves looking to use her as a bargaining chip for $50 million. While the gut-wrenching kills are certainly up to standard for anyone who loves the immortal fanged killers, the duo behind Ready or Not turn the heist side of things on its head, amping the action up for a truly gory ending.

While we enter the movie thinking Abigail’s innocent (well, as innocent as an ancient vampire can be), as it turns out, she’s had the upper hand all along, luring the crew into kidnapping her and taking her to a secluded location perfect for mass murder. She knows all of their real identities — which they were told to keep secret from one another — and is stronger than all of them, putting them in the worst position possible: trying to escape a locked house with a vampire on their tail.

After having dispatched most of the crew — including Kathryn Newton ’s Sammy, who experienced the torture of becoming a vampire herself — Abigail manages to corner both Joey ( Melissa Barrera ) and Frank ( Dan Stevens ), taunting them with the dead bodies of their heistmates and generally proving that there’s no escape. All seems lost, until a shining light of hope appears in the form of Lambert ( Giancarlo Esposito ), who’s mysteriously returned despite his promise to keep away from the crew until Abigail’s father pays her ransom. The two remaining criminals look like they might actually have a way out of their undead prison…until that encounter goes south too.

Abigail (2024)

After a group of criminals kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl.

There Are More Vampires Hiding in the Shadows

See, Lambert’s been hiding something from the rest of the crew just like Abigail: he, too, is a vampire , having been turned by the little vampire’s father ages ago. Joey and Frank are now stuck between a rock and a hard place, with vampires at both their back and front. Lambert, however, is slightly more merciful than the ravenous Abigail, giving them the option to be turned themselves, committing to a life of crime for the rest of eternity.

While Joey unsurprisingly chooses to retain her humanity, Frank makes the decision that he’d rather live forever as a corrupted, sadistic fiend than die a hero, and allows Lambert to turn him. The whole process is rather bloody , but ultimately successful (after a brief scare that Lambert had simply killed him and moved on to Joey), and the blood and guts really hit the fan when Frank comes out swinging, now sporting fangs of his own. He takes it on himself to immediately dispatch Lambert, in an attempt to put himself at the top of the food chain — bad news for Joey, who attempts to flee, only to be dragged into a knock-down, drag out fight with an immortal psychopath.

The Universal Horror Classic 'Abigail' Is Based On Was Ruined by the Hays Code

Frank turns the tables on the idea of staking vampires by impaling Joey through the shoulder, leaving her to watch helplessly as he gears up to kill her with his newfound strength, meaning she now has two undead monsters out for her blood instead of just one. But right when things seem to take a turn for the absolute worst, in comes the most unlikely of saviors: Abigail, injured but unwilling to let another vampire take over her turf.

Abigail and Joey Team Up for the Final Battle

Thus begins the film’s climactic final battle, in which Frank attempts to do what Abigail did to Sammy, by biting her and attempting to control her mind through bloodfasting. It’s a gory fight to the finish , but ultimately (and maybe unsurprisingly), Abigail and Joey team up to take their common enemy down, with Joey faking mind control so Abigail can take him out. She gets her final mic drop line — “it takes a long time to learn how to do the cool shit” — right before Frank explodes, because it wouldn’t be a Radio Silence film without buckets and buckets of blood.

Then comes what is arguably the biggest twist in the entire film: the arrival of Abigail’s absentee father, played by Matthew Goode . Having been referenced multiple times throughout the course of the film, including in the set dressing and a couple of Abigail’s own monologues, he sweeps in to see his daughter and Joey surrounded by the remains of multiple brand-new vampires, looking sinister and rather unimpressed as he does.

It’s implied, on some level, that he’s Dracula , though he’s only ever referred to as Father (including in the credits), and he’s returned to check on Abigail after her desperate attempts to catch his attention by luring the crew to the manor. He sees Joey as nothing more than dinner, but Abigail begs him to let her live, having saved her own life just moments before.

In rather unvampiric fashion, Father acquiesces, if only to get back into the good graces of his daughter. Now covered in as much blood and gore as one could imagine, Joey says goodbye to Abigail and makes her way out of the mansion, limping to the car that brought her there in the first place. She turns the key in the ignition and drives off, back to her own son whom she’d similarly left behind, in the closest thing a horror movie can get to a happy ending.

Does This Ending Work for 'Abigail'?

By letting Joey go free, Radio Silence puts a classic slasher bow on top of what’s marketed as a vampire story. Really, that’s probably for the best, given that Abigail feels less like a monster movie and more like your classic slasher. While Weir puts on a fabulous performance as Abigail, she’s often sidelined, and only really given the chance to fully vamp out when she’s killing someone, aside from the initial discovery of her nature, where she’s shot through the forehead, only to sit up in a bloodthirsty rage moments later. Swap in any kind of killer , monster or not, and the story would likely have turned out much the same, aside from Frank’s demise, which ultimately feels more vampiric than most of Abigail’s story anyway.

Abigail is currently playing in theaters in the U.S. Click below for showtimes.

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