The ending of The Call — a new South Korean psychological thriller movie that premiered on Netflix on Saturday (November 28) — left many viewers perplexed.
After seeing the movie on Netflix, many viewers took to Twitter to inquire about the meaning of the ending of the movie.
“I just finished The Call on Netflix and I’m inviting anyone who watched the film to talk about that very confusing ending and what do you think really happened?” one viewer tweeted.
Many Twitter users who had seen the Netflix movie responded to the request with various suggestions.
A debate ensued as people offered different explanations of the ending of the movie.
If you are also one of many viewers who were left scratching their heads after seeing the end of The Call, here is what you need to know.
I just finished The Call on Netflix and im inviting anyone who watched the film to talk about that very confusing ending and what do you think really happened?
Go.#TheCallonNetflix pic.twitter.com/m2b89IExfv
— Are Zack’s thumbs in danger? (@CursedSoo) November 27, 2020
What is The Call about?
The Call tells the story of two women, Seo-yeon (Park Shin-Hye) and Young-sook (Jong-Seo Jun), who live in the same house but during different times, 20 years apart. Their lives and fate become intertwined after they connect through a phone.
Young-sook helps Seo-yeon to undo a tragic accident in the past that led to her father’s death, while Seo-yeon warns Young-sook that she will be murdered by her stepmother.
The plot takes a dark turn when Young-sook later becomes a serial killer.
Young-sook learns that she will be sentenced to life in prison in the future for the murders that she committed. So she tries to force Seo-yeon to help her avoid her fate by threatening to harm her younger self and family.
Seo-yeon refuses to help and Young-Sook murders Seo-yeon’s dad in the past and kidnaps her younger self.
The Call: Closing scene
The future Seo-yeon connects with her mother in the past. Her mom rescues young Seo-yeon and kills Young-sook by throwing her down from a height.
However, Seo-yeon’s mom also dies in the fall. In the future, Seo-yeon mourns by her mother’s grave. But viewers were left with questions when her mother appears at the graveside. Seo-yeon is relieved and happy to see her mother.
The closing scene shows her walking away with her mother, suggesting that her heroic mother didn’t die in the past and that she managed to survive the fall.
Post credits: The ending explained
However, the post-credits suggest that Young-sook also did not die in the fall.
Young-sook’s future self contacts her past self and gives her advice on what to do to prevent her own death.
Young-sook appeared to have fallen to her death when Seo-yeon’s mom threw her over the railings, but in the post-credits we see her open her eyes while lying in a pool of her own blood.
After Young-sook opens her eyes, Seo-yeon’s mom, who was walking with her daughter from the graveyard, suddenly disappears.
So we appear to have a late plot twist where Young-sook is able to save her past self and thus initiates an alternative timeline in which Seo-yeon loses her mother.
Some Twitter viewers suggested that the ending was probably meant to set up a sequel for the film.
The Call is streaming on Netflix.
The English translation on the mother’s grave shows her death as December11 1999 but we clearly see the countdown to 2000 on the TV just before the policeman is murdered.It would be imposdible for the mother to turn up at her own graveside. Seems to me a good film got spoilt by an ending which was inconsistent with the logic of its own premise for the sake of a negative twist or the chance of a sequal. I had enjoyed watching the film until that happened as it, for me, cheapens what was an otherwise good film. Then when I think about it there are other inconsistences, particularly surrpunding the main character not being able to remember the creepy girl that lived in the house when they first visited.