Other (2025) Plot Summary & Ending Explained

The film’s climax reveals that the “beast” haunting the old Minnesota mansion is not a supernatural monster at all, but Alice’s long‑forgotten son. As a teenager Alice was forced into a beauty‑pageant world by her mother Elena, and while she was still a student she became pregnant by her crush, James Houston. Elena helped her give birth in secret, then hid the baby in a tiny, sound‑proofed cellar, treating the infant as a shameful secret. The child grew up in that confined space, crawling on all fours, surrounded by faceless dolls and a distorted reflection that made him terrified of faces. Over the years he learned that the only way to survive the world outside was to wear a mask and never meet an eye.

When Alice returns after her mother’s grisly death, a YouTuber known only as “the boy in the mask” has been stalking the woods, trying to understand why previous victims had their faces ripped off. He discovers that looking directly at the creature provokes it, so he warns Alice to keep her eyes averted. Following his instructions, Alice finally makes her way to the basement, where she sees the cramped room, the missing doll faces, and a collection of home‑video tapes that Elena had recorded of the birth. Watching those tapes forces Alice to confront the fact that she has always been a mother, and that the cruelty she endured was part of a pattern of denial and control.