Welcome to Knockout Horror and to another Ending Explained. Today we are bringing you a Tubi Original Hidden Exposure Ending Explained article. We actually quite enjoyed this movie. We thought it was a fairly interesting story supported by strong performances and gorgeous cinematography. In fact, it is one of only a couple of Tubi Originals that we would genuinely recommend.
The only problem? Well, it’s not really a horror movie, is it? In fact, it is barely even a thriller. This movie is far closer to a drama than anything else. Despite Tubi slapping it into their horror section and adding horror and thriller tags. It’s slow paced, doesn’t have any significant horror themes and is more story and character driven than anything. That doesn’t mean we are going to ignore it, though. If we watched it and other horror fans might end up watching it, we will review it. We will also explain the ending to it because I think it needs a tiny bit of clearing up. And by tiny bit, I mean 6000+ words.
Lots of Detail
As always, I like to go into a fair bit of detail about some of the story elements in my Ending Explained articles. Feel free to skip to the part that you are most interested in. We talk a lot about narcissism and mental abuse in this article. If that is a subject you find upsetting, you may want to skip. It may be a case of me waffling on too much, as well, so, again, skim through and go to the part that interests you most.
If you haven’t watched Hidden Exposure yet but have found your way to this article. You are probably going to want to check out our review first before watching the movie. When you are done with that, come back here. This article contains a lot of spoilers but our reviews are always spoiler free. Without further ado, let’s go. We’ll summarise the plot first and then answer a few questions.
What Happens in Hidden Exposure?
Hidden Exposure opens up introducing us to young woman Sabina (Liana Liberato). We learn that Sabina used to be a world class dancer with a very bright future. That was until she tore her Achilles tendon. Her boyfriend, Ramsey (Jordan Rodrigues), helped her with her recovery and now she teaches rather than dancing as a career.
Due to her world class reputation and recent recovery. Sabina is offered a dream position dancing as the lead character in a production of The Beggar King. A friend of hers, Celine (Stef Dawson), is lead choreographer for the show and believes she can get her the job. Sabina mulls the offer over but probably knows exactly how her boyfriend will react so doesn’t immediately accept.
Ramsey, meanwhile, appears to be a wannabe entrepreneur. He is developing anti malware software and hopes to present it to the head of a major tech company, Randall Abbot (Richard Kind). It seems as though Sabina has been supporting him while he chases his dreams.
The pair have been drastically short on money and so Sabina tells Ramsey about the dancing opportunity. Ramsey refuses to engage Sabina on the subject. Reminding her that she was in incredible pain with her injury and he doesn’t want her to go through that again. He reminds Sabina that he will be making his big business proposal tomorrow and that things will get better soon. Although Ramsey seems, initially, to be caring. This will all prove to be an act later in the movie.
Why Did Sabina Stop Dancing?
The Achilles tendon is very important in dancing, particularly ballet. It is used for directional pivoting, pointe technique, and certain complex movements. Ballet dancers often suffer from Achilles tendinitis due to the excessive amounts of strain they put on their ankles. Leading to extreme pain while performing. In this case, Sabina’s tendon completely tore. An injury that requires surgery, a long healing process, and tremendous amounts of pain.
When healed, the strength of the tendon will always be in question. Many athletes never regain full movement and can lose a significant amount of their dynamic capability. Basketball and NFL players often struggle to come back from these injuries. Particularly if their position requires cutting and juking.
Surgery and rehab techniques are becoming more and more successful when it comes to injuries like this, though. If a person were to engage in treatment, there is a strong possibility that they will experience a complete recovery. Enabling them to continue with their sport, or activity, of choice in the future. Sabina would, likely, experience pain and tightness at first. But, with proper aftercare, she would be able to dance again at a high level. The only reason she isn’t doing that, is because Ramsey is controlling and manipulating her.
Ramsey’s Terrible Business Proposal
Ramsey heads off to the offices of Abbot’s business. The only problem is, Ramsey’s proposal is poorly thought out and would quickly violate copyright law. Meaning that no tech company could ever sell the product.
His software would attack viruses pro-actively, mirroring them and fighting back to confuse them. The problem is, this anti-malware program would, likely, have the capability to mirror any kind of software. Just by its nature, it would need to be able to create perfect copies of applications. Even legal software that is not nefarious. Something which is not allowed as it basically amounts to piracy. Disappointed, Ramsey notices Abbot talking to his daughter Alvy (Rumer Willis) and appears to hatch a plan.
Waiting outside for Alvy, Ramsey begins flirting with her. Despite his somewhat normal appearance. We are supposed to believe that Ramsey is a charismatic and charming man who simply oozes signs of his tremendous pipe game. Meaning that he can manipulate women to his whim. Alvy and Ramsey agree to meet up.
Over the course of, what seems like, a few weeks. Ramsey and Alvy develop a relationship. The two meet frequently and are romantic. Alvy falling for Ramsey’s manipulation. In reality, he just wants to get close to her so he can get in the good books of her dad. In his mind, if they are together, Abbot will have to bring Ramsey’s poorly constructed project to life. Ramsey doesn’t love Alvy, he is simply using her.
Ramsey Shows His True Colours
Meanwhile, Sabina is concerned about money. She, once again, suggests to Ramsey that she takes the job dancing. She has been putting her dreams on hold to support this loser for years. Now it is her turn to look out for herself. Ramsey disagrees, once again. Attempting to manipulate Sabina and love bombing her. Telling her he can’t see her in that kind of pain again.
When love bombing doesn’t work, like most narcissists, Ramsey becomes verbally aggressive. Showing more of his real personality and dropping his nice-guy facade. We see the real Ramsey. Somebody who wanted his partner to have no ambition, stay at home and raise children. Little does he realise, it has been Sabina taking care of them the whole time. Something which she points to Ramsey who appears furious.
Ramsey Splits with Sabina
Ramsey, like most people with narcissistic personality disorder, has a very fragile ego. When it is pointed out to him that he is, basically, a loser and a perpetual underachiever. And that his grandiose dreams have not come to fruition, leading to him needing to be supported by Sabina. He becomes incredibly angry. He tells Sabina that they are done.
In some pretty decent writing. He claims that he invested in Sabina and she hasn’t delivered. He tells her she perpetuates her past mistakes. The irony here being that those statements apply to Ramsey, not to Sabina. Sabina has invested in him and he hasn’t delivered, not the other way around. He is projecting his own issues and insecurities onto Sabina. A trait common in people like this.
Ramsey walks away leaving Sabina to pick up the pieces. Not knowing why her relationship ended over something so trivial. Little does she realise that she was never anything other than a tool to Ramsey. Something he could pick up and drop whenever he wanted. And something that enabled him to chase rainbows while she did all the hard work. Sabina now has to begin the long road to recovery from this unexpected break up.
Ramsey Was an Abusive, Controlling, Narcissist
Although it might seem as though Sabina is well rid of Ramsey. It’s worth remembering here that she has been in a mentally abusive relationship. The constant cycle of love bombing, combined with demeaning and controlling behaviour, puts victims of narcissists in an awful position. The victim loves the narcissist and remembers all the times they were nice to them.
They feel as though things will be perfect when the narcissist finally manages to stop demeaning and controlling them. They picture a time when they live with the narcissist and the only part of them they ever see is the love bombing part. There are no more arguments, no control, no manipulation and no wild mood swings. It is worth keeping in mind that nobody is ever as affectionate, loving and caring as a narcissist who is attempting to love bomb somebody.
Ramsey Would Never Be Able To Change
The truth is, however, the vast majority of narcissists can never change. They are functionally different from the people around them. Having undergone a different pattern of personality development that has left them with a different perception of the world from what would be considered typical. Expecting a narcissist to recognise their faults and to change is like expecting a paralysed person to stand up out of their chair and walk.
Narcissist are formed from a long period of mal-development and change is something that will take years and years of work. That is if the narcissist is ever capable of even recognising that they have an issue. Spoiler alert, most have no clue.
They have fragile egos, can’t admit when they are wrong, and are incapable of seeing other people’s points of view. How can a narcissist recognise that they have a major personality disorder when they can’t even admit having basic, normal, human flaws? Ramsey has been manipulating Sabina for their entire relationship. This has left Sabina feeling as though she has lost her soul mate. It will take a significant amount of time and work on her part. To ever recognise that she was being manipulated and controlled by an abuser. This is something that Sabina does manage to do. But the threads of control are still there, which brings us on to our next plot point.
Ramsey and Sabina Hook Up
Sabina manages to recover from her relationship breakup. She accepts the role dancing in The Beggar King, fulfilling a long term dream that she had. And now needs to get back into world class shape. Performing every night in productions takes a high degree of fitness. Hence why we see a montage of Sabina training. Sabina is invited to a party by Celine. This is six months after her breakup with Ramsey. She is reluctant to go because it will be attended by the types of people she doesn’t associate with. Despite these concerns, she agrees anyway and immediately feels uncomfortable when she arrives. She takes herself off to a quiet corner only to be greeted, much to her dismay, by Ramsey.
Ramsey tells Sabina that he has a new job upstate. He is at the party representing his boss. He immediately begins love bombing Sabina, telling her she looks good. Something which she has no interest in hearing. She hasn’t spoken to him since the breakup. He literally collected his stuff and vanished without any explanation.
There’s an important point here worth mentioning because, in my eyes, this is a fairly healthy way to end a relationship. With a clean break that leaves no opportunity for false hope. But in the case of Ramsey, this was likely a power play deliberately to hurt Sabina. He is about to make another one as he makes a minor concession regarding his the way he behaved. Before basically blaming the entire breakup on Sabina and her lack of appreciation for the things he did for her. Again, reinforcing the cycle of manipulation that formed the backbone of their relationship.
Sabina Makes a Big Mistake
Attempting to walk away, Ramsey follows Sabina and pushes her up against the wall. She begins crying, likely due to the repressed pain from the breakup and the anger at the way Ramsey treated her. This gives Ramsey the perfect opportunity for more love bombing and manipulation. He pulls the strap off her shoulder in this scene which leads to Liana Liberato spending the entire time trying to stop her boob falling out. Could have done with a re-shoot here, methinks. It gave my fiancee and me a chuckle though. Or maybe I am missing something and this is more of Ramsey’s methods of controlling the situation.
Ramsey apologises for what happened. Again, it is worth remember that this is a narcissist. They never apologise for anything or admit blame. They will make minor concessions to enable them to place the blame on someone else. But they never fully apologise unless they are trying to manipulate. Sabina likely thought that it was unusual for Ramsey to apologise so he must have changed.
The pair kiss (for way too long, do we have to listen to this?) and head back to Sabina’s place where they bump uglies. Apparently, and this plot point is hard to explain on Sabina’s part, without protection. Sabina wakes feeling regretful and then we are exposed to more slightly messy timeline stuff. I don’t mind non-linear time lines but Hidden Exposure is sometimes a little unclear on how long has passed from one scene to another. Anyways, Sabina is suffering from morning sickness and upchucking everywhere. She is clearly pregnant and Ramsey must be the father. To make matters worse, Sabina can’t get in touch with Ramsey. He is not answering his phone and seems to have disappeared again. Ramsey might have manipulated you Sabina but safe sex is a shared responsibility. You shouldn’t have let that loser raw dog you.
Ramsey Was Using Sabina and Now She is Pregnant
More messy continuity here as we see Sabina on a train. She is heading to upstate New York where Ramsey is now located. We see a flashback to the night Ramsey and Sabina knocked boots and the conversation that took place between them. Ramsey made it very clear, after manipulating Sabina and leading her to believe they had worked things out. That this was a one time occurrence. He says that he is happy with the life he has now and that it was nice to meet up and fuck but that was all it was. Nothing more. He hands Sabina his business card and tells her he will contact her when he is next in the city. Implying that he thinks Sabina is so weak that she will be happy to do this again, basically, at his whim.
We see Sabina leaving a doctor’s office carrying a brown envelope. She looks like she is about to pass out. It would appear she has just received test results confirming that she is pregnant. Ramsey is the father but she hasn’t been able to contact him. This is, obviously, the worst case scenario as it makes it impossible for her to make a clean break. She now decides to travel to the town he is living in. Find out where he is and confront him with the fact that he is going to be a dad. In the flashback scene, we see Ramsey pick up a sports jacket and take it with him. This jacket will be important later on. Sabina arrives in upstate New York and rents a room on a complex.
Sabina Finds Ramsey’s New Home
More messy continuity now with a very poorly defined sequence of events. If we are to arrange these things into chronological order. Rather than the haphazard, non-linear, way they are presented in the movie. We get a clearer idea of what is going on. Sabina has arrived in the town and rented a room. She asks the kinda creepy landlord dude whether he knows Ramsey. He does because, apparently, Ramsey is the new handsome face in town. A little difficult to believe he would stand out from the crowd but whatever, it confirms that Ramsey lives in the local area. This leads Sabina to hunt down where he lives.
She stumbles upon his house as she rides her bike down a long, rural, road. She walks up to the house and around to the back of it. Apparently they don’t lock their doors so she lets herself in. Walking around the house, we can assume that she found some indication of Ramsey being in a new relationship. Although the movie doesn’t really reflect this. She must have seen a photo of Alvy and Ramsey together because, back in the present, when Alvy walks into the coffee shop. It is very apparent that Sabina recognises her and knows that she is Ramsey’s new partner. This allows Sabina to put her plan into action.
What is Sabina’s Plan?
We know that Sabina was in a controlling, mentally abusive, relationship with a person suffering from Narcissistic personality disorder. We also know that he left her spontaneously without giving her an opportunity to talk about her feelings or resolve their conflict. It took Sabina a lot of time to begin her recovery and right as she was starting to get better. Ramsey reappeared and manipulated her once again. Tricking her into spending the night with him, something that made Sabina feel as though their issues had been resolved. Only for Ramsey to tell her it was a mistake and just a one night stand.
Having been a victim of mental abuse and manipulation for their entire six year relationship. Sabina feels as though she has lost much of what made her an individual. She lost her confidence, had to give up her dreams and was made to feel worthless. Sabina began rebuilding all of these things only to lose them again when Ramsey reappeared. She is now pregnant with his child. Sabina’s plan is to confront Ramsey with the reality that he is going to be a dad. She is going to assert herself for the first time since she has known him. Tell him that he can’t control her and that he is a manipulative person with a lot of problems. Basically, she is going to vent to him. Helping her to break free of his control and start finding herself again.
But What About Alvy?
Sabina’s plans likely changes a little when she learns that Ramsey is in a relationship with Alvy. Sabina isn’t angry at Alvy and recognises that the situation isn’t her fault. She knows she is another victim of Ramsey. Another tool for him to further his life. She doesn’t want to do the typical “bitter ex” thing and take things out on Alvy. She wants to warn her about Ramsey. Sabina sees that Alvy is pregnant and realises that she is entering a relationship with a narcissistic loser. She wants to open Alvy’s eyes to Ramsey’s abusive ways. Sabina, likely, realises that she can’t just say this to Alvy because it will make her seem bitter and resentful. So, instead, she comes up with a way to show her.
After spotting her in a coffee shop, Sabina makes a deliberate point to get close to Alvy. Alvy, who has a friendly and personable nature, immediately warms to Sabina. Especially since the pair share a session together at Alvy’s yoga studio. Remember, Sabina is a dancer and, likely, incredibly fit and flexible. Meaning that she immediately catches Alvy’s eye in class. Alvy offers her a position teaching yoga which Sabina refuses only for Alvy to request one on one sessions with her. Something which Sabina agrees to as it affords her a chance to get closer to Alvy. Alvy and Sabina become fast friends. Spending tons of time together, sharing intimate conversations and becoming extremely close.
Ramsey is Still an Asshole
As this goes on, we learn that Ramsey is still a complete piece of shit. He has already begun undermining Alvy’s hobbies and interests. Remarking on her photography in a somewhat dismissive manner and displaying an inability to praise her in a genuine way. He has an increasingly short temper and is displaying controlling behaviour. Trying to influence when Alvy leaves the house and who she interacts with. It also becomes even more clear that the only reason he is with Alvy is because it fits what he wants out of life.
This is fantastic writing here and a very accurate depiction of a person like this. It’s important to note that narcissists can’t keep up the love bombing forever. It is a very temporary thing used to place themselves in the high esteem of the victim. They will love bomb and act like the nicest people in the world. Only to completely change the second they feel secure in their situation. That’s when the real abuse starts and the real personality comes out.
Alvy Starts to Break
Ramsey’s grand plan is a very self fulfilling one. He wants to be a hyper-successful entrepreneur with a successful wife and a family. Despite not being able to actually show genuine love to his wife and family. He feels as though this is an important part of the image he wants to project. Alvy is the daughter of a successful business man, Abbot. The same business man that refused Ramsey’s lame anti-virus software pitch earlier in the movie. She has success and money herself and she is now pregnant with Ramsey’s child. Now all Ramsey needs is for Alvy to show his proposal to her dad and arrange a meeting between the two so that he can become a success.
Remember how Alvy was mentioning that her dad was very sick and they don’t know what it is? Alvy really doesn’t want to burden him with Ramsey’s bullshit but Ramsey is manipulating her into feeling like she has to. Abbot probably doesn’t have the energy to entertain Ramsey but Ramsey is a narcissist who only thinks of himself. He couldn’t give two shits about that, he only cares about himself and needs the opportunity to pitch his proposal to Abbot.
The only problem is that Alvy’s dad recognises Ramsey for the shit stain that he is. He thinks he is unintelligent, he thinks his proposal is pointless and he thinks he is manipulative. Working as the head of a powerful tech company. Abbot has probably seen hundreds of narcissists come and go. They are everywhere in tech and business. He can probably recognise them from a mile off. Still, he agrees to meet with him to go over his proposal anyway to please his daughter. It is clear that Ramsey is using Alvy purely because she has a rich and successful dad.
Meanwhile, Alvy confides in Sabina that she feels incredibly alone. She says that Ramsey has been amazing, prompting a hilarious eye roll from Sabina, but she feels overwhelmed. Alvy is also starting to notice Ramsey’s controlling behaviour. Alvy, likely, feels alone because relationships with narcissists are, often, unfulfilling and unrewarding. They are not emotional supporters and don’t provide much reassurance when you are upset. They fail to pick up on subtle cues because they are only capable of thinking about themselves. Alvy is, probably, starting to suffer the effects of being in a relationship with a manipulative narcissist.
Sabina Puts Her Plan Into Action
Sabina decides it is time to push her plan forward. On a visit to Alvy and Ramsey’s house, while Ramsey is at work. She sees the sports jacket that we saw earlier in the move belonging to Ramsey. And takes it with her when she leaves. She visits the art gallery where Alvy’s work will be exhibited. Knowing full well that Ramsey will be there. Ramsey comes out of the back only to be greeted by Alvy.
There’s some more clever writing here as Ramsey complains to Alvy about the quote he received from the plumber being double. So Ramsey decided he would do the job himself. Again hinting at Ramsey’s narcissistic disposition affecting him even when it comes to interactions outside of relationships. Forcing him to undertake jobs that he is clearly not capable of doing.
Alvy introduces Sabina to Ramsey. Obviously recognising her, through gritted teeth, Ramsey introduces himself. Neither hint to their previous relationship so Alvy is none the wiser. Sabina uses this opportunity to take a jab at Ramsey’s poor plumbing. Likely knowing that this will deeply upset his fragile ego. More comical writing to poke fun at him doing the plumbing himself rather than paying someone. Despite not having the ability to do the job well. Classic narcissistic behaviour.
Ramsey Can’t Control Sabina Anymore
Alvy heads out of the room to use the bathroom. Prompting Ramsey to aggressively demand to know what Sabina is doing there. Sabina tells him that she is pregnant and that she thought he should know. She tried to call him but he didn’t answer. Which is, obviously, because he has a whole new life now.
Sabina has learned a lot from interacting with Alvy. She also knows that Ramsey is a manipulator and a user from their relationship together. So she realises exactly what has happened. She tells Ramsey that she knows what he is doing. The boss that Ramsey made the proposal to told him to screw off. So Ramsey decided to screw the bosses daughter so that he would have a better chance with the boss. Ramsey threatens Sabina, telling her that she won’t ruin this for him.
Ramsey tells her that he will pay for her to have an abortion. But Sabina has no interest in allowing Ramsey to control her any more. She will do what she wants with her own body and is determined to make sure Alvy has that option too. Sabina is giving Ramsey the opportunity to tell Alvy exactly what happened or she will do it for him. She doesn’t think it is fair that Alvy, or the baby, should have to live with him. Spending their entire lives being manipulated and controlled by someone who only has their own interests at heart. Ramsey calls Sabina’s bluff. Telling her that if she hasn’t done it already, she never will. Little does he know that he is completely wrong.
Sabina Finishes her Plan
We now see Sabina writing a note. We can assume this note is to Alvy’s dad, Randall Abbot, as we will later see it addressed to “Abbot International”. This note is, almost certainly, telling Alvy’s dad everything about Ramsey. While also warning him about Ramsey’s intentions for his daughter and how he is using her purely to get a job with him.
Sabina won’t get to send this letter but it seems as though her landlord will. I have terrible handwriting but Liana Liberato’s handwriting here makes mine look positively great. More messy continuity here as we see Ramsey sitting by the fire pit drinking looking a bit worse for wear. That scene is taking place in the present. After his visit by Sabina. Knowing what happened during that visit. It makes sense that Ramsey is disheveled and drunk.
We flash back to the past to see Alvy questioning Ramsey as to why Sabina abruptly left the art gallery. He tells her he doesn’t know and gets quite angry. He tells her she shouldn’t being spending time with her. Again, showing his controlling and manipulative nature. Ramsey hopes that he can convince Alvy to stay away from Sabina so that Albvy doesn’t find out about their past. He is also sewing seeds of doubt in Alvy’s mind about Sabina as a person. So that if she does tell Alvy the truth. Alvy might remember what Ramsey said about her and think that she is lying and a bit nuts.
Sabina Finally Tells Ramsey How She Feels
Alvy heads to New York city to visit her dad. While there, she convinces him, despite his objections to Ramsey as a person, to hear Ramsey out. He agrees to a meeting with him in New York city where he will go over his proposal and see if they can make it work. Obviously this is what Ramsey wanted all along but he is about to blow it out of his ass. Sabina visits Ramsey while Alvy is away. Before she leaves she picks up the jacket she stole from the house earlier on in the movie. Places a picture of her and Ramsey in the pocket along with the envelope that she received from the doctor earlier in the movie.
Ramsey answers the door to Sabina and she forces her way in. Ramsey threatens to call the police which, on reflection, would have been a good idea. Sabina tells him that will be unnecessary and places the jacket with the picture and envelope in the pocket on the counter. She tells him that she is going back to New York and is going to get the lead part in The Beggar King. This makes Ramsey doubt that she was pregnant but she confirms that she is. She tells him that what happens with the baby has nothing to do with him. He made that clear when he wanted to to terminate the pregnancy. Sabina finally gets to say her piece and get the way she feels about Ramsey off her chest.
She tells him that the hole in him can’t be filled with success. He is a hollow, shallow and cruel person who only cares about himself. One day, Alvy will realise that and if he doesn’t fix it he will end up alone. This sends Ramsey into a rage and he grabs her as she tries to leave. Narcissists will not let somebody get the last word. Especially if it is something negative about them. He calls her jealous and crazy which prompts Sabina to do the complete wrong thing and slap him. It’s never cool to resort to violence, regardless of gender. But it is even worse when you do it to someone like Ramsey.
Ramsey Snaps
Liana Liberato is great in this whole scene, rounding up a really stellar performance from her. I thought she was brilliant throughout. Ramsey pushes Sabina hard against the worktop, prompting her to fall to the ground dazed. He rushes over and grabs her violently around the mouth. Demanding that she leave and never tell anyone about what has happened. Once again, a really great depiction of narcissism here. Resorting to violence when coercion and manipulation no longer work. Narcissists frequently become aggressive when someone stands up to their bullshit.
Sabina pushes him away only to be pushed against the cupboards again. Feeling backed into a corner and like she is in danger. She grabs a knife only to turn around and have it thrust into her stomach. Sabina falls to the ground and dies almost immediately.
There’s a few issues here, in my opinion. One being the fact that a knife wound to the stomach is a surprisingly survivable situation. Most people won’t die straight away. There are less blood vessels in that area to cause major bleeding. And prompt medical attention offers one of the better prognosis when it comes to potentially fatal knife wounds. It is fairly unlikely that Sabina would have died within seconds.
My second issue is that Ramsey might have a pretty strong self defense case here. From a legal defense point, Sabina forced her way into Ramsey’s house, she became aggressive and hit him. Likely resulting in a mark to corroborate his account. He pushed her, she picked up a knife to attack him and ended up stabbing herself.
Ramsey is an utter piece of shit. But I think a phone call to the police would have left him standing pretty with a fairly clear cut case of self defense. It’s not at all fair but who could prove otherwise? Especially given that her hands were on the knife. He isn’t a good person so I doubt he would care that this wasn’t the truth. They should have just had him snap and stab her out of anger, in my opinion. Poor Sabina, though. I didn’t see the movie going this way, to be fair.
Ramsey Tries To Cover His Crimes
Sabina is dead and Ramsey needs to get rid of the body. He doesn’t want to lose his opportunity to become successful so Alvy can’t find out about this. He cleans the floor with bleach and drags Sabina’s body to the garden. Before burying her under the fire pit and burning all of his clothes. We are lead to believe that Ramsey is haunted by what has happened. With the messy timeline suggesting that he is having persistent nightmares about it.
Alvy returns, seemingly unaware of what has happened. A good message here is if you come home to your partner wearing a whole new fit, stinking of booze, the house smelling of bleach, one of your best sheets missing and a fire going in the back garden. They have either gotten so drunk that they have shit themselves in the bed and burned the evidence. Or they have murdered an ex lover who held a troubling secret about them.
Ramsey heads on out to his interview with Abbot while Alvy heads outside to enjoy some s’mores by the fire pit. She grabs Ramsey’s jacket and starts a fire. Meanwhile, Sabina’s landlord notices that she isn’t home. He enters her room and sees the letter addressed to Abbot International on the desk. He reads the letter and realises that she is gone. Remember how the landlord knows everybody in the town? Seemingly troubled by the letter, he takes it with him and heads over to Alvy’s house to deliver it to her mailbox. Seemingly realising that it contains information that she should know about.
Sabina’s Revenge
While Alvy enjoys s’mores by the fire. She reaches into her pocket to find an envelope. As this is happening, the landlord has arrived with his dog to deliver the letter from Sabina. Alvy pulls out the envelope and pictures. They are of Sabina and Ramsey together. There is also a picture of, what I am assuming would be, a 12 week scan of Ramsey and Sabina’s baby.
Shocked, Alvy begins to realise the implications of the pictures. She realises that Ramsey has been lying to her the whole time. And that, in fact, he had gotten another woman pregnant while they were together and while she, herself, was pregnant. Not only that, but a woman that he had been in a relationship with a long time ago. She also probably realises that Ramsey was manipulating her to get to her dad.
If she thinks that is bad, though, things are about to get a lot worse. The landlord’s dog has run away from him while he is delivering the letter to Alvy. The little bugger runs into the garden and immediately smells a bone. The problem is, it’s Sabina’s bone. Her leg bone to be more precise. The dog digs up Sabina who must have only had a few inches of soil on top of her. Pushing the dog out of the way, Alvy realises what has happened. She now is fully aware that Ramsey was hiding a secret and murdered Sabina to cover it up. Ramsey is on the train to the interview when he hears thunder in the distance. A nice metaphor for the flood of bullshit that is about to hit him.
What Did Sabina Want to Happen?
Sabina’s plan, obviously, didn’t go quite right. What Sabina had intended was to plant the images of Sabina and Ramsey together, along with the scan picture, into the pocket of the jacket. Go to Ramsey’s house while Alvy is away and confront him. She was going to give him the opportunity to come clean to Alvy and be honest. She took the jacket with her as a backup plan. Remember, she knows now that Ramsey is a narcissist so she assumes he won’t agree to tell Alvy. Sabina’s hope was that the jacket would be found by Alvy who would find the pictures in the pocket and know exactly what had happened.
Sabina also planned to send a letter to Alvy’s dad in New York city. This way, if Alvy never found the pictures in the pocket. At least her dad would know what a manipulative scumbag Ramsey is and would be able to confront Ramsey himself. Abbot already had his doubts about Ramsey as a person so he wouldn’t take much convincing from Sabina. This would prevent Ramsey from getting a job with Abbot and would, likely, lead to Alvy splitting with him. Meanwhile, Sabina was going to move back to New York City. Take the job dancing in The Beggar King and, potentially, raise her child. This last part is left ambiguous as, really, it’s Sabina’s decision to make either way. Unfortunately, Sabina did not count on Ramsey becoming violent and killing her.
A Bit Silly in Parts
There are a few plot points that don’t make a lot of sense in this movie. I couldn’t imagine Sabina biking around that tiny little town without Ramsey ever spotting her. I also couldn’t imagine Alvy never mentioning her new best friend. Who just so happens to have a pretty unique name that Ramsey would know in an instant. I think Sabina’s motivation for going to so much effort to track Ramsey down is pretty weak. Not to mention the fact that there are a ton of agencies capable of tracking down child support evaders in the United States. Meaning Sabina could have given birth and let them do the work to find Ramsey. But that wouldn’t have made for a very interesting movie now, would it?
The whole landlord visiting Alvy’s house to deliver the letter rather than posting it to Abbot. Purely so we had an excuse for the dog to run off and dig Sabina up felt very stupid. Was that the only way to end the movie, really? A lot of the things that happen in this movie are chance and happenstance. Something which is usually an indicator of lacklustre writing. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Hidden Exposure, though. Which is generally well written throughout. This is still a very watchable movie. Even if it isn’t at all horror related and is barely a thriller.
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