Netflix's The Last House has become the number one movie among UK subscribers since its release. The film follows a young family who wake up to find themselves trapped in their home, with mysterious creatures lurking outside. As reviews remain mixed, the twists have kept viewers hooked, but many are left with questions about the ending and the nature of the creatures.
What Are the Creatures?
The film's director has confirmed that the creatures hunting the family are "ancient ocean dwellers who have lived on Earth far longer than humanity has." They emerge to take their planet back from humans after generations of pollution and climate change. One character compares them to mythical beings like mermaids, sirens, and a kraken, though they are neither exactly, but a combination or a monster worthy of its own myth.
What Happens at the End?
By the final scenes, the Delgados have been trapped for over five years, with their children now teenagers. The family realizes the creatures can open the doors, and they decide to force one to do so. It enters via the sewage system, and once inside, they capture it. Jason threatens it with a knife, demanding the front door be opened.
However, his daughter Ruth realizes this is not the way. She has figured out that the creatures have been trying to communicate, and any aggression is only a response to violence. Jason drops the knife, and the creature opens the door. As the Delgados venture outside, other creatures approach but eventually let them go.
According to director Louis Leterrier, they are spared because they have shown they understood the creatures' message: to "learn how to live together" and choose coexistence over violence. The family enjoys their newfound freedom and eventually makes their way to a neighbour's boat to sail away.
What Is Heard at the Very Last Moment?
As the family travels on the boat, Ruth's voiceover reveals she is sharing their story over a radio, trying to find a 'new home' and reach out to other survivors. Leterrier has confirmed there are other survivors, hinting that those on higher ground who formed groups could have an advantage. At the very last moment, a voice crackles through the radio saying: "Hello?" Leterrier refuses to confirm who this is but says they are "a very, very, very iconic person."
Wagner Moura, who plays Jason, compares the ending to how people should have approached a post-Covid lockdown world. He said: "Well, I hope they discover that of course, the world changed. But I hope that they discover that there are good things about that change. I think that we came out of Covid. . .the end of the whole pandemic, I was like, ‘Okay, the world is going to change. We are going come out of this with a different mindset.’ And I don’t think we did. So I hope it’s different for the characters of the film."
The Last House is streaming on Netflix.
