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The Ending Of Aftermath Explained

The brutal horror movie "Aftermath" is taking over Netflix and currently sits on the streaming platform's trending list. The creepy horror film is purportedly based on a true story and follows a young married couple named Natalie (Ashley Greene) and Kevin Dadich (Shawn Ashmore) who are facing marital issues after the former's affair. Things start to look up for the couple when they move into a beautiful house, though it does come with a caveat: the previous owners died in the home in a gruesome murder-suicide.

Almost immediately after moving in, strange occurrences start taking place in the Dadich family's new home, including odd noises and doors opening by themselves. The weird events get more sinister until they finally culminate in a huge reveal at the end of the film, giving us an answer as to who — or what — is behind all of the mysterious goings-on.

Here's the ending of "Aftermath" explained.

The answer was within the house all along

Throughout "Aftermath," Natalie and Kevin are tormented in a variety of ways. Though they start out mildly, the events quickly get more and more horrific: their dog Odi is poisoned and has to be put down, illicit magazines are sent to their home in Kevin's name, and Natalie is even attacked at home when Kevin is away one night. Though we learn that some of the unsettling stunts were committed by a disgruntled family member of the deceased original inhabitants of the home, a twist in the story reveals the true culprit is even more creepy.

As it turns out, the original couple who lived in the home — Erin and Jay — were not killed in a murder-suicide. They were, in fact, killed by Erin's secret lover named Otto (Jason Liles), who'd been living within the home the whole time. Since Erin designed the home herself, she included a secret space that allowed her to sneak Otto in and out.

Unfortunately for Erin, when she ultimately chose her husband Jay over her lover, Otto lost control and killed the couple, then continued to live in his secret hideaway and enact his revenge on the new inhabitants of the house.

Is the nightmare truly over?

In the last moments of the film, Otto has Natalie chained up in his hidden room and she learns the truth about his existence as well as the murders. Suddenly, Kevin returns home, and Otto attacks him as well — though Natalie is able to break free, and together, she and Kevin kill Otto. Or do they?

The final scene shows Natalie and Kevin one month later as they finish moving the final things out of their home with the help of their friends. They say their sassy goodbyes to the house and head out the door jovially; this suggests that the movie will end on a happy note. However, the camera keeps panning over to the closet door that they'd left open — only it starts to close on its own, signifying perhaps the terrifying events aren't quite over after all.

Whether Otto ended up surviving or some other horrifying person moved into the vacant house, the ending of "Aftermath" is sure to send shivers down your spine.