Year: 2000
Runtime: 100 min
Language: English
Director: Nagisa Ôshima
During the 1970s, a man's secret relationship with someone from a different ethnic background is exposed, sending shockwaves through his community. The discovery challenges deeply ingrained social norms and forces his friends and family to examine their own prejudices. This drama explores themes of identity, acceptance, and the difficult journey toward equality in a time of significant social change.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Taboo (2000), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Six friends—Christian, Elizabeth, Piper, Kate, Adam, and Benjamin—engage in a provocative game that involves answering personal “yes” or “no” questions anonymously. After shuffling the cards, each question is read aloud and answered by another participant, diving into sensitive topics like incest and sexual preferences. Notable questions from the game include “Would you sleep with a relative?” and “Would you have sex with a minor?”
Fast forward to a year later, the group reconvenes at the newly acquired mansion of Christian and Elizabeth for a celebration that marks the New Year. What starts as a pleasant evening takes a turn when the power goes out and a mysterious package arrives containing six cards with disturbing words: “prostitute, infidel, homosexual, rapist, and hypocrite.” These terms are shockingly reminiscent of the sensitive questions they discussed in their past escapade.
In a bid to comfort the gathering, Elizabeth decides to fetch more wine, but Adam, whose question had been about a minor, confronts her in the cellar, accusing her of orchestrating the sinister delivery. Amidst the chaos, Elizabeth dashes upstairs claiming she’s been assaulted by Adam. When Christian and Elizabeth return to the cellar, they make a horrifying discovery: Adam lies gravely injured with a knife buried in his stomach, labeled with the word “rapist.”
As the couple rejoins the remaining friends downstairs, Piper, inebriated, brings up a scandal from Christian’s father’s past. The tension escalates when she probes into Benjamin’s sexuality, only for him to confess that he is dating Kate to hide his true identity from his family for the sake of inheritance. Shortly thereafter, while Elizabeth seeks a private conversation with Christian, they stumble upon Benjamin’s lifeless body in the bathtub, electrocuted with the “homosexual” card hauntingly placed beside him.
The evening spirals further into madness when Kate confronts Elizabeth with a shotgun, accusing her and Christian of the murders. In her frantic search for Christian, Elizabeth finds Piper’s lifeless form, strangled with a dog collar and labeled “infidel.” As the sinister game unfolds, Kate forces Elizabeth into submission and attempts to guide her to Christian through a tense “hot” and “cold” game. However, the twist comes when Christian shoots Kate in a shocking display of betrayal, alongside disposing of the other bodies in the living room.
In a poignant confrontation, Christian coerces Elizabeth into admitting her responsibility for the game that exposed the group’s vulnerabilities. He chillingly reveals his identity as the killer, insisting that his actions were protective measures against the group’s discovery of her manipulations. Just as it seems the madness has reached its peak, Christian reveals that the group’s deaths were fabricated, orchestrated to force Elizabeth into a confession. Filled with panic, she bolts, with Christian in pursuit.
In an unforeseen turn, Kate unearths the revelation on Elizabeth’s card from a year prior, where she confessed to having sexual desires towards a relative. With little time to react, she finds herself trapped. Later, in a desperate attempt at seduction, Elizabeth tries to win Christian over while unveiling her true identity as his sister from their father’s secret affair. With their newfound bond, an eerie plan emerges—Christian resolves to eliminate everyone left in the house to protect their shocking revelation.
One by one, the friends fall victim to Christian’s wrath: Benjamin is shot, Adam is executed, Piper is bludgeoned, and Kate meets a gruesome end. As the murder spree concludes, Elizabeth demands her share of their father’s wealth, resulting in a chilling negotiation over dinner. Just when the conversation reaches its climax, Christian unveils his ultimate betrayal by poisoning the wine, leading to a haunting conclusion when both siblings share a toast that answers Elizabeth’s final question about their dark fate, leaving them tethered to the twisted motto of their family: “virtue, family, and justice.”
Last Updated: November 08, 2024 at 00:25
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Taut, deceptive stories where intimate betrayals spiral into violent ends.If you liked the intense, suspenseful atmosphere of Taboo, explore more movies like it. These films share a claustrophobic setting, high-stakes deception, and a narrative that charts the bloody dissolution of relationships and morals, delivering a dark and unsettling viewing experience.
Stories in this thread often begin with a seemingly stable social unit—a family, a group of friends, or a small community—that becomes a pressure cooker for hidden lies and resentments. The plot is driven by a series of betrayals and revelations that escalate tension, forcing characters into morally reprehensible actions and culminating in a bleak, often violent, conclusion where no one emerges unscathed.
These movies are grouped together because they create a powerful, cohesive vibe of psychological suffocation and inevitable disaster. They share a fast pacing that mirrors the rapid collapse of order, a dark tone devoid of humor, and a heavy emotional weight derived from watching characters destroy each other in close quarters.
Stories where shocking familial truths lead to manipulation and ruin.For viewers who appreciated the complex web of hidden identities and twisted relationships in Taboo, this section features similar movies about dark family secrets. These dramas and thrillers explore how shocking revelations can manipulate characters and lead to confession, betrayal, and a profoundly bleak outcome.
The narrative pattern involves a central, taboo secret that binds or breaks a family. The plot is often complex, structured around the gradual or sudden revelation of this truth, which is then used as a tool for manipulation. Characters are forced to confront a horrifying reality about their origins or relationships, leading to confession under duress, further betrayal, and a conclusion that offers no catharsis, only the burden of a corrupt legacy.
These films are united by their focus on the destructive power of familial taboos. They share a complex narrative structure with twists related to identity, a consistently dark and unsettling tone, and a heavy emotional weight stemming from themes of incest and moral corruption. The experience is intellectually and emotionally demanding.
Don't stop at just watching — explore Taboo in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Taboo is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.
Track the full timeline of Taboo with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.
Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Taboo. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.
Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Taboo that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.
Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Taboo: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.
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