Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our Stalker (2022) Ending Explained article. We checked this movie out a little while ago. We found it to be fairly enjoyable for at least half of its length. It was, however, heavily let down by poor writing, some continuity issues and a messy ending. Today, we are going to explain that ending to you.
Naturally, this article will contain spoilers. If you haven’t watched the movie yet. You should check out our review of Stalker first. Then go take a look at the movie before coming back here.
I’m not going to recap the entire movie here. It’s two people talking in a lift. It doesn’t need a lot of recapping. We will go, pretty much, straight to the ending. Well, after I have ranted a little bit.
Strangers Trapped in a Lift
Stalker’s premise is a rather interesting one. A young actor finds herself stuck in a lift with her stalker. The pair conversate and we learn more about them. It quickly becomes clear, however, that all is not as it seems.
I actually enjoyed this movie for much of its length. The first half or so is really interesting. Sophie Skelton and Stuart Brennan’s excellent acting kept me engaged. I genuinely wanted to know more about the characters. It was like someone took the bathroom scene from the first Saw movie. Realised that the character interactions were quite interesting. And extended them to the length of a feature film.
Sure, movies like this are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Let’s be real. Expecting people to be drawn in by random strangers chatting is a big ask. But the tantalising prospect of something sinister afoot does keep you watching.
All Ruined by a Lacklustre Ending
Despite how much I enjoyed the first half. The ending completely lets it down. It is so horribly messy. Bouncing around between time lines. Mixing flashbacks with scenes that take place in the extremely near future. Before making the viewer suffer through Skelton gurning at the camera for over a minute. It’s a genuinely frustrating and tough watch.
I mean, what is the point in that prolonged final scene? We get it, she can cry and look upset on cue. She’s a fucking actor, is that supposed to be a surprise? I always see scenes like this as the director patting themselves on the arse. Feeling as though they fooled the viewer. And are entirely deserving of a moment of self congratulating.
Well, your congratulations are due Steve Johnson. You did fool me. I actually thought the ending would be far more interesting than it was. I was so disappointed that the movie played it so simple. The ending is dishwater dull. Let’s take a look. I will let you know what I thought should have happened at the end of the article.
A Quick Recap
So there are a few things we need to establish first of all. We have our main character Rose. She has entered a freight lift to get to her room in the hotel. The main lift is out of order because her boss didn’t cough up for a decent place. Rose spends a fair bit of time complaining about three star hotels. She isn’t exactly endearing herself to the viewer.
Rose is the main star of a horror movie. She got the part after the previous actor went missing. This is important later in the movie. The director of the movie wants Rose to get her tits out in the film. This has upset Rose leading to a big argument. The director is played by Bret “The Hitman” Hart for some reason.
Daniel enters the lift with Rose. Daniel is actually working on the movie as well. He films B-Roll for the film. B-Roll is the incidental camera work that is used to fill in gaps. Making the picture less boring so you aren’t staring at the same thing all the time. Daniel has a propensity to filming the female members of the cast. He did it with the previous star of the movie, Alice. And he has been doing it with Rose.
Daniel Is Stalking Rose
So that is the implication. Daniel has been stalking Rose. He follows her around and films her whenever he can. He also did the same to the previous actor. He filmed Rose going one on one with The Hitman over the topless scene. And now he just so happens to be hanging out in the hotel she is staying at.
So what writer Chris Watt wants the audience to believe. Is that Daniel stalked the previous actor on the movie. Murdered her and is now stalking Rose with a view to murder her as well. The movie leans heavily into the creepy, bespectacled, socially awkward weirdo thing. Almost to a degree that is somewhat insulting to people who do happen to be socially awkward. I am sure the vast majority of socially awkward people who wear glasses are completely fine. Best to keep your wits about you anyways, though. Just in case!
But It’s Not as Simple as That
This is the big reveal. It’s not as simple as Daniel stalking Rose and killing the previous actor. Not at all. In fact, it was Rose all along. And she would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for that meddling Daniel. Well, we assume she won’t get away with it. We’ll go into that in a little bit.
Daniel had been following the previous actor. He had been stalking her but he was not responsible for her death. When Rose got the role. Daniel did begin stalking her as well. Him being at the hotel wasn’t coincidence. He was there to follow Rose and get close to her. Little did he know that she had a nefarious plan.
Rose Wants to Frame Daniel
Rose spends much of the film attempting to get Daniel to drink. He finally does and eventually passes out. Not before a horribly cringey moment of serial killer-esque tormenting of Rose. Something that would actually turn out to be irrelevant to the plot. Placed there purely as one final red herring for the viewer. Daniel was never going to harm Rose. He was your simple garden variety saddo perv. Content to get close and to take pictures.
Rose actually had a plan for Daniel all along. A horribly convoluted plan. But a plan nonetheless. Apparently realising that Daniel had been stalking the previous star of the film. She sets a trap for him. Rose wants to star in the movie. She was originally offered the role. But the offer was retracted when the other actor came along. This pissed Rose off.
So, the movie goes out of its way to explain. In painful levels of detail, every plot element here. It’s actually pretty fucking hilarious how bad the writing is. Rose spells out everything she did in a childlike manner. “Oh I spiked your drink”. “I didn’t actually drink any of it…….. I was pretending…… Acting, Baby!!”. “I am going to frame you, dumbass”. This whole final fifteen minutes is chock full of painful exposition.
Rose Killed Alice
Rose, realising she had the opportunity for a perfect plan. Decided to make sure she would be the next star of the movie. She noticed that Daniel was stalking Alice. While Daniel followed Alice, Rose followed him. Daniel, seemingly, followed Alice to the same hotel that they are in right now. Only, he didn’t enter the lift with Alice.
This gave Rose the opportunity to murder Alice in the lift. With Alice gone, Rose was offered the starring role by the director Grant. Rose originally thought about framing Grant for the murder. But she decided he was too important to her career. Now all she needed to do was frame Daniel. That brings us back to the present.
So we are in the lift. Rose drugged Daniel. He passed out and is now tied up. He is aroused due to the viagra she put in his drink. He only had a sip so I imagine viagra must be more potent than I initially imagined. Or, perhaps, it is simply bad writing.
Now it’s time for Rose to explain her plan. This is what she intended all along. It was her who stopped the lift. Apparently ancient lifts are actually controlled by iphone apps. Very novel. The app is, also, apparently not overridden by the ancient manual in lift controls.. Cool, great writing.
Rose Frames Daniel For The Murder of Alice
Obviously Daniel has a lot of videos of Alice in his rucksack. He had been following and filming her for awhile. Now Rose needed Daniel to start following her. To make him do this. She repeatedly undressed and showered with her dressing room door open. Allowing Daniel to see her naked and guaranteeing that he would film her.
This, ultimately, meant that Daniel’s rucksack is now full of videos of both Rose and Alice. Videos that make it very clear that he was filming them without their knowledge. Not a good look when one of them has gone missing.
After murdering Alice, Rose took her ring. She puts this into a bag that she drops in Daniel’s Lap. She suggests that she buried Alice’s body outside of Daniel’s home. An absolutely ridiculous thought given the logistics of it all. Imagine her dragging this body out of the hotel. Across town and somehow digging up someone’s garden to bury it. It is farcical. The writing here is terrible. But Daniel having the ring and the footage of Alice. Would imply that he stalked her, murdered her, buried her body in his yard and kept a souvenir.
Alice Calls The Police
So with Daniel tied up and aroused. Alice calls the police. She cries and tells them that she is being attacked by a man that has been following her. She then hangs up. Alice cuts off Daniel’s knob. She explains to him that she intends to tell the police that he tried to rape her. While he was on top of her, she grabbed a knife and stabbed him in self defence.
The police will arrive. They will find the evidence of him stalking her. They will find her clothes torn and also find evidence of him stalking Alice. On further examination they should find the ring he had supposedly taken from Alice. They will investigate his home, find the body and he will be blamed for her murder.
Rose’s Motivation and a Little Twist
So why did Rose do all this? It’s simple. She wanted a starring role in the movie and she wanted publicity. She feels like she is always cheated out of everything. She believes men will always cater to their own needs. Be it in everyday life or when casting a woman in a film. She thinks the only reason she lost the role was because Grant wanted Alice. She was more famous and men always get what they want.
In Rose’s mind, she will get away with the murders. She will get her starring role back. And the added publicity from her being a survivor of Daniel. As well as her starring in what would be a cursed film. Would propel her to superstardom.
She cuts Daniel’s throat before spending over 90 seconds gurning at the camera. Illustrating that she will be crying and upset when the police arrive. Playing the part of a rape victim who simply had to fight back. She is an actor, after all, as she keeps pointing out. What an annoying scene this is. Why would she be doing this for over 90 seconds? Why not just do it before the doors open?
Little does Rose realise, however. That Daniel has been recording their entire conversation on his phone. When the police examine it. They will hear Rose’s ridiculous amount of super villain-esque exposition. They will know her plan. They will know she murdered Alice and then tried to frame Daniel. And they will realise that Daniel was innocent Well, of the murder and rape anyway. Not of the stalking, he was actually guilty of that. There wasn’t really anyone to root for here, was there? The movie ends leaving us to assume that Rose was likely caught for her crimes.
So Many Plot Holes
This plot is utterly ridiculous. Aside from the fairly misogynistic plot. We could go over all the absolute bullshit elements for hours. For example, the ancient freight lift controlled by a smartphone app. The disabled camera and lack of people working at the hotel. The apparently awful 3 star hotel, despite 3 star hotels being rather nice. And the amount of coincidence that the events of the movie require to be feasible. We could also go over the fact that Rose was reluctant to get her tits out in a move. But would happily murder an innocent woman to get the role. Despite allowing Daniel to see her naked repeatedly to frame him.
But the most ridiculous thing of all. Is that Rose expects the police to buy her story. She cut this guy’s dick off and slits his throat. While he was tied up with duct tape over his hands and mouth. No jury in the UK would buy this as self defence. It is farcical. She clearly tied this dude up and killed him. She would have no seminal fluid on her. No abrasions or grip marks from being restrained. No genital wounds or anything. Hell, her bra isn’t even ripped. It is so stupid.
The screenplay here desperately tries to explain what is happening. Despite the fact that it is genuinely inexplicable. None of this makes any sense at all. It goes way beyond being simply unlikely. Ending up somewhere in the far realms of utter stupidity.
How I Think It Should Have Played Out
So I think a lot of this is fairly predictable. I called it a short way into the film but actually ended up getting it slightly wrong. I had figured out that Rose had killed Alice. I was fairly sure of that and I assumed she did it to get the starring role. What I actually thought had happened, however. Was that Daniel was following Rose because he knew she killed Alice.
I thought that he was infatuated with Alice and was stalking her. He happened to be at the hotel when Rose killed her. He witnessed Rose dragging Alice from the lift. And was following Rose around to gather evidence. I thought the movie would end with Rose finding out that Daniel knew. Killing him to make sure he never told anyone. Only to realise that he had already sent the evidence to the police.
I can’t help but think that would have been a better ending. It sure would have been a more logical one. The direction the movie goes in is both underwhelming and rather farcical. The movie just unravels from there. All of a sudden the dodgy camera work becomes more glaring. The awful lighting in the final scenes exposes the terrible caked on makeup. The inconsistent shot continuity becomes more noticeable. And scenes from earlier on in the movie make even less sense.
TL;DR – A Quick Summary
So to summarise the entire thing. Rose was given a starring role on a horror movie after the previous star vanished. The viewer is lead to believe that the previous star was stalked and murdered by Daniel. Daniel is now, apparently, stalking the new star of the movie – Rose. It turns out, however, that this isn’t the case.
Realising that Daniel was stalking Alice and wanting the role for herself. Rose murdered Alice and tried to frame Daniel. She knew the police would find footage of Alice and herself in Daniel’s rucksack. She knew they would think he stalked Alice and murdered her. So she drugged Daniel and tied him up in the lift. Rose planted Alice’s ring on Daniel. She buried Alice’s body in his garden. She called the police and reported Daniel for attempting to rape her.
Rose kills Daniel, hoping to claim self defence. She thinks she will get away scot-free and gain publicity for her new movie. Making her a star in the process. Little does she realise, Daniel was recording their conversation all along. The police will find this recording and find out the truth about Rose killing Alice.
And That is That
Well, that’s all there is to say. It is a silly ending and very much earns the movie its 4.1 IMDB user score. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed and, if you did, why not stick around? Check out some more Ending Explained articles. I also review horror movies and I also recently started writing horror lists. I update nearly every day of the week so there is always something new. On top of that, I never put out fluff. Just substantial horror content for horror fans to get their teeth into.
