There’s Something Wrong With The Children (2023) Ending Explained
Movie Details: Director: Roxanne Benjamin | Runtime: 1h 32m | Release Date: 2023 | Star Rating: 2/5 Stars
Welcome to Knockout Horror. We have an Ending Explained of a brand new film for you today. Released in the past week, as of this writing, There’s Something Wrong With The Children is doing the rounds on streaming services. We reviewed it the other day and, to be honest, didn’t have much positive to say. The ending is also rather vague. Let’s take a look. Obviously, this article is not spoiler-free. If you haven’t watched the movie, why not check out our review first.
⚠️ Warning: Major spoilers follow below.
The Ending in Brief
The TL;DR: The children, Lucy and Spencer, are replaced by “changelings” after falling into a mysterious pit. They proceed to murder their parents. Ben, previously suspected of having a manic episode, also stares into the pit and is corrupted. In the end, Margaret realises they are monsters trying to force her into their “family” and runs them over with her car to escape.
What were the creatures? The film implies they are an ancient insectoid species living in “The Place That Shines”. While they look human, their shadows reveal their true form: jagged, multi-limbed creatures resembling a Praying Mantis.
Why did Ben turn evil? Ben returned to the pit to prove he wasn’t crazy. However, by staring into the pit (or falling in), he was infected/replaced just like the children. His sudden, robotic desire to “have a family” confirms he has been assimilated by the hive mind.
The Resolution: Margaret survives because she rejects the societal pressure to procreate. When the possessed Ben and children block the road, inviting her to join them, she slams on the accelerator and runs them over.
Good to Know: The film uses Ben’s bipolar disorder as a narrative device. Because he has a history of manic episodes, the other characters gaslight him and ignore his warnings, assuming his valid concerns about the children are just symptoms of his mental illness.
Table of Contents
There’s Something Wrong With The Children Ending Explained
No plot recap here of this absolute shitter of a horror movie, let’s get right to explaining. To understand the ending, we need to look at the group dynamic. Ben (Zach Gilford) and Margaret (Alisha Wainwright) are a childless couple joining their friends Thomas (Carlos Santos) and Ellie (Amanda Crew) for a weekend getaway. The trip reveals deep cracks in Thomas and Ellie’s marriage, largely stemming from the stress of parenthood, while Ben and Margaret face constant pressure to start a family of their own.
The Place That Shines
The horror begins when the group finds a mysterious ruins in the woods. The children, Lucy and Spencer, are drawn to a deep pit they call “The Place That Shines”. Later, the children disappear. Ben finds them jumping into the pit, seemingly committing suicide. However, when he returns to the cabin, the children are there, alive and well – but different.
Ben, who suffers from bipolar disorder, is gaslit by the others into thinking he is having a manic episode. However, his paranoia is justified. The children have been replaced by changelings. This isn’t a particularly nice representation of the bipolar experience.
I suffer from the condition myself and this film leans a little too heavily into presenting Ben as if he is utterly undeserving of anyone believing him. This can happen in real life but the lousy writing here practically justifies it. There is never any moment that makes good on the presentation. Nobody ever says “oh he was right, we are all assholes”. That’s a dangerous way to present this worn out horror trope.
Did You Know? Mental Illness as a Plot Device
There’s Something Wrong With The Children relies heavily on the “Unreliable Narrator” trope, weaponising Ben’s bipolar disorder to advance the plot.
This is a common, and often criticised, cliché in modern horror. By giving a character a history of mental illness, writers can conveniently explain why no one believes them when supernatural events occur. It essentially acts as a narrative shortcut to keep characters in dangerous situations long after a “rational” person would have left.
The film takes this a step further by having the other characters immediately suspect Ben of murdering the children solely based on his diagnosis. It reinforces the harmful stigma that those with mood disorders are inherently violent or dangerous, rather than simply people managing a health condition.
The Mantis Reveal
The film uses a specific visual shorthand to explain what the children actually are. During the climax, as Margaret hides in the house, she sees the shadows of the children cast against the wall. They are not human anymore; they are big-ass insectoids, with jagged limbs resembling a Praying Mantis.
This confirms that the “changelings” are actually a predatory bug species that wears human skin to blend in. This explains their super-strength, their lack of empathy, and their “hive mind” behavior.
Folklore Focus: The Changeling Trope
The concept of the “Changeling” is centuries old, rooting back to European folklore where fairies or trolls would steal a human infant and leave a look-alike in its place. The replacement would often be sickly, behave strangely, or possess an unnatural appetite.
Horror cinema frequently uses this trope to tap into a primal parental fear: the idea that your child is physically present but fundamentally “gone”. Movies like The Omen, The Hole in the Ground, and Goodnight Mommy explore this terrifying disconnect.
There’s Something Wrong With The Children adapts this by replacing the supernatural fairies with biological, insectoid creatures. The result is the same: the familiar face of a loved one hiding a predatory stranger underneath.
Bad Ben & The Final Confrontation
The most confusing part for many viewers is Ben’s turn. After being tormented by the gaslighting and the children, Ben returns to the pit. Like the children, he stares into it for too long. When he returns to the cabin, he is “different”, too. He suddenly wants children and speaks with the same monotone creepy vibe as Lucy and Spencer.
It is implied Ben threw himself into the pit and was replaced, just like the kids. Or, the infection/possession is airborne near the pit. Either way, the Ben in the final act is not the Ben we knew. He tries to kill Margaret (who he sees as the only obstacle to his new “family”), but Thomas intervenes, allowing Margaret to escape.
The Final Scene
Margaret drives away, only to find Ben, Lucy, and Spencer standing in the middle of the road, blocking her path. They stare at her, inviting her to join their hive mind. This is the ultimate pressure: “Join us, have a family, be like everyone else”.
Margaret’s response is to slam on the accelerator. We don’t see the impact, but the implication is clear: she runs them over. This is a violent rejection of the “family unit” that has been trying to consume her (literally and metaphorically) the entire movie. It’s about as glib a metaphor as you can possibly get in a genre filled with glib metaphors. This movie sucked!
The Social Commentary
There’s Something Wrong With The Children is less about bugs and more about the societal stigma of being child-free. Throughout the film, Margaret is made to feel guilty for prioritising her career over motherhood. The “monsters” (the children and eventually Ben) represent the relentless pressure to conform to the nuclear family ideal.
By killing them, Margaret isn’t just surviving a horror movie; she is asserting her right to choose her own path, regardless of what society (or her possessed husband) demands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the kids die in the pit?
Yes. The film implies the real Lucy and Spencer committed suicide by jumping into the hole. The versions that returned were “changelings” or duplicates created by the entity in the pit.
Why did Ben turn evil?
Ben returned to the pit to prove he wasn’t crazy. While there, he was either possessed by the entity or fell in and was replaced, just like the children. His sudden desire to “have a family” marks the change.
What was the creature in the shadows?
When Margaret is hiding, the shadows reveal the creatures have a jagged, insect-like shape, similar to a Praying Mantis. This suggests the “humans” are just skinsuits for giant bugs.
Did Margaret escape?
The film ends abruptly as she accelerates towards the family. Given she is in a car and they are on foot, it is highly likely she ran them over and escaped, though the cycle of the “Place That Shines” likely continues in the woods.
Final Thoughts
I was really not a fan of this movie. It feels like a wasted opportunity with a runtime that drags. However, the message regarding the pressure on childless couples is interesting. It is rare to see a woman portrayed with such steely resolve in this regard, even if the execution was messy.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this article, why not stick around? I review horror movies and explain horror movie endings regularly.
A Note on Ending Explanations
While we aim to provide comprehensive explanations based on the events on screen, film analysis is inherently subjective. The theories and conclusions presented in this "Ending Explained" feature are personal interpretations of the material and may differ from the director's original intent or your own understanding. That's the beauty of horror, right? Sometimes the scariest version is the one you build in your own head.
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