In case you missed the clue, we’ve got the Vanished Into the Night ending explained for you! Since its streaming debut last Thursday, Vanished into the Night has become one of the most popular films on Netflix.
Fans are anticipating this Italian thriller because it has a surprising twist at the end: what appears to be a kidnapping turns out to be something very different.
Who is the person who the last scene shows us?
If you’ve watched the movie and are still piecing together the final moments, you’re not alone. Let’s delve into the plot, the climactic ending, and the fate of the key characters to unravel the mystery of Vanished into the Night.
Plot Overview
This new Netflix film, originally titled Svaniti Nella Notte and based on the 2003 Spanish film Séptimo, follows American physician Elena (played by Annabelle Wallis in Peaky Blinders) and her husband Pietro (played by Riccardo Scamarcio in John Wick) as they cope with their children’s unexpected abduction. The story revolves around every parent’s worst nightmare: the sudden and mysterious disappearance of their children.
As the movie progresses, most initially assume the children’s disappearance is a kidnapping. Elena and Pietro wander through a maze of clues, red herrings, and escalating tension. The unfolding plot draws audiences deeper into the complexities of Elena and Pietro’s relationship. Slowly, the film unfolds the secrets they keep and the dark undercurrents that threaten to tear them apart.
The Twist In The Story
In the film’s final act, what appears to be a straightforward kidnapping takes a dramatic and unexpected turn. Through clever writing and cinematography, viewers believe that a sinister force or individual has taken over the children. However, the last scene reveals a twist that recontextualizes everything we’ve seen.
Pietro realizes that Elena faked the kidnapping. The film hints at this revelation through the runtime. However, the closing moments reveal the truth. Elena’s reason and method for the elaborate hoax are revealed in the thriller’s opening scene. As the couple’s lawyers argue over custody rights, viewers are let in on the pair’s past. Pietro is in debt, and Elena previously had an addiction to prescription painkillers. Desperate to leave Italy with her children and get her money back from Pietro, the psychologist devises a twisted plan.
Elena And Pietro’s Relationship Crumbles
Elena uses her medication to sedate her children and smuggles them away from the farmhouse under the cover of darkness. She then hires a random man to pose as a kidnapper and demands 150,000 euros for their safe return.
Pietro, desperate to save his children, uses an underworld connection to collect the huge sum. This is before confessing to his former wife. As he struggles to understand the kidnapping, Elena threatens to expose Pietro’s criminal dealings and blackmails him into signing over their children.
Who Kidnapped The Children?
As the pair prepare to meet at the airport, Pietro finds the pill packet that Elena had tried to flush away at the farmhouse. A call to the doctor confirms his theory. Traces of Oxycodone, a strong painkiller and sedative, shows up in the children’s hair. As the evidence mounts against her, Elena confesses that she faked the kidnapping. Her reasoning? Her former husband had refused to compromise about the children’s custody.
While Pietro doesn’t report Elena to the police, he refuses to let the children leave for New York with her. He states, “I don’t want them to know what their mother did to them.”
Final Scene: The Figure At The Door
The film ends with Pietro enjoying his life at the farmhouse, having used the money to pay off his debts and care for his children. As they play in the living room, a person can be seen through the kitchen’s glass door: Elena.
The film’s ending, with its surprising twist, challenges viewers to reconsider their assumptions about the characters and the nature of the supposed crime. By highlighting the lengths to which a desperate mother would go to protect her children and herself, the movie offers a powerful message about the complexities of familial relationships and the consequences of deceit.
As discussions continue to swirl around Vanished into the Night, it’s clear that this film has struck a chord with audiences, offering a gripping and thought-provoking cinematic experience.