In 2012, the highly skilled director Mark Tonderai helmed the psychological thriller House at the End of the Street, which prominently featured the talented Jennifer Lawrence in a leading role.
The film masterfully navigates the complex realms of the human psyche, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats until the very end.
Elissa and her mom had just moved to a new neighborhood to start fresh. But turns out the house at the end of their street has a dark past. It was the site of something really awful. As Elissa settles in, she starts to hang out with Ryan, who lives nearby. But things start to get weird, and it seems like there’s more to the story than meets the eye.
House at the End of the Street Ending Explained
In the end, Ryan went on to explain that after his sister Carrie Anne’s death, their parents had implicated their grief and anger on him instead. They blamed him for not keeping a better eye on his sister and for not being there to save her. They punished him mercilessly, physically and emotionally, until he lost his own identity.
His parent’s abuse has so damaged him; he no longer realizes he doesn’t have to replace his sister. Instead, he gets into a sinister idea and holds women hostage, such as Carrie Anne.
Early on, the viewer sees Ryan caring for his sister in a hidden space in the basement of his house. Right from her lens to her tampons, he seems to take care of everything. He keeps her chained and locked up for everyone’s protection.
When she attempts to attack Ryan, he sedates her and tries to reason with her. He questions why she keeps trying to hurt him and escape.
It’s only later in the film that we realize this is just one of many Carrie Annes he has kidnapped and locked away over the years. When Ryan comes upstairs, he realizes that Elissa has figured out that the woman in his basement isn’t Carrie Anne and knocks her out. When she comes to him, Ryan reveals to her that Carrie Anne didn’t kill their parents.
This leads to the final revelation that the Carrie Annes he’s been keeping in the basement was a kidnapped woman who he made up to look like his sister. But it’s a bit too late for Elissa to realize her mistake as she is already held hostage by Ryan, who reveals that Elissa will now be the next Carrie Anne.
After an intense struggle, Elissa escapes from Ryan, who has already killed police officer Bill. Sarah also reachers Ryan’s place in order to help her daughter but is also injured by Ryan. In the final scene, Sarah saves the day by attacking Ryan during his face-off with Elissa, making him fall straight to the ground. Ryan is sent away to a mental institution at the end, as Elissa and Sarah relocate to another house, leaving the haunted place forever.
Who Is Real Carrie Anne?
It is only revealed at the end that the real Carrie Anne, Ryan’s sister, is actually killed in a tragic accident. Carrie Anne’s parents hold Ryan responsible for the incident, stating that he could have saved his sister’s life and should’ve been more vigilant.
Nonetheless, they turn Ryan into Carrie Anne, as he endures pain and physical abuse in the years that followed her sister’s death by his parents. The humiliation and violence and indeed taken a toll on Ryan’s mental health, and have turned into a person who seems like a normal individual who has sustained some trauma on the outside but is evil and psychic on the inside.
Ryan is the culprit behind his parent’s killings, not Carrie Anne, as shown at the beginning of the film.
Ryan, after killing his parents, kidnaps and holds young girls hostage in his basement, trying to make them look like Carrie Anne. This way, he can heal his childhood trauma and also get rid of the sense of guilt he has been carrying all these years, that it was his negligence that Carrie Anne was dead.
Who Is the Killer in the House at the End of the Street?
The killer in the movie is Ryan, not Carrie Anne.
Ryan kills his parents first for the years of abuse and violence he had o endure because of them. After Carrie Anne is killed accidentally falling off the swingset, Ryan is held responsible for the accident. Not just his parents, Ryan is also alleged to have killed his Aunt by the localities of the place he lives.
In the movie, Ryan ends up killing many young women, who he is held hostage as Carrie Anne. He also ends up getting into an ugly fight with one of his college mates and ends up breaking his hands. Towards the end, Ryan also killed police officer Bill, who he believes could’ve served justice if he didn’t help his parents in hiding Carrie Anne’s death. He shoots him to death during his face-off in the basement.
His attempt to kill Sarah, however, remains unsuccessful.
Currently, there are multiple options available to watch the movie “House at the End of the Street.” You can stream it on two popular platforms, Max, Prime Video, Apple TV or Vudu. Additionally, you can choose to purchase or rent the movie on Google Play Movies or YouTube.
Did the crazy plot twist of the movie also give you chills? Were you able to identify the real killer without the big reveal at the climax?
Are you a fan of psychological thriller movies? Let us know below!
