MovieChat Forums > Pay the Ghost (2015) Discussion > Abrupt Ending (SPOILERS !!)

Abrupt Ending (SPOILERS !!)

posted 9 years ago by toddb-27700
9 replies | jump to latest

Interesting story with great characters and solid atmosphere ......... but the last reel to wrap it all up just all happened too quickly .... with so many unresolved issues.

SPOILERS BELOW .....

So Nic and his wife run into a housewife at a bonfire who tells them everything they need to know about the legend (including when this year's scenario ends)

And Nic's co-worker finds everything they need to know about the specific story about the witch and her children ...

And the blind homeless guy just happens to know where the ghost witch is and takes Nic there (for a watch) ...

And you're left wondering ....

How did Nic explain to the authorities finding his kid (and two others)

Whatever happened to the cop that was last told about the psychic burning from the outside in (and what was the resolution of THAT case) ?

And why the very last shot with Nic's co-worker ? That made no sense ...except for obvious sequel bait.

Overall , interesting story that ended up feeling a bit rushed to its conclusion

I'll have to check out the Tim Lebbon book it is based on .... it must be quite lengthly to include more about the ending wrap up and the gaps overall.

I rated it 5/10 for creepy mood and overall story.

[–] SteveMiller_MovieReviews 9 years ago

Agree completely

[–] WubbaLubbaDubDub 9 years ago

So glad I'm not the only one that questioned how he has NO explaination where those kids came from. The detective was alredy starting to look at him. I imagined after the scene where they escaped it flashes forward. The mom and son are visiting him in prison. At what point did the kids forget? Was it immediate like it implied? If so wouldn't the other two kids freak out? Weird dark place with bleeding heavy breathing Nicolas Cage.

[–] mysteryman937 9 years ago

So Nic and his wife run into a housewife at a bonfire who tells them everything they need to know about the legend

If you note properly you will realize that the woman at bonfire just told them some basic beliefs and rituals of religion she follows. No big deal.

And Nic's co-worker finds everything they need to know about the specific story about the witch and her children ...

She just find the lores about that sect from some old book which is not something out of blue.

And the blind homeless guy just happens to know where the ghost witch is and takes Nic there (for a watch) ...

He wasn't portrait as an ordinary man. He was some important person who was familiar with that process.
While other points are somewhat valid but the detective was also start sensing something supernatural. While the end scene was totally for the sake of sequel bait.

[–] Tyler-A-Arse 9 years ago

I agree. A few things were left unresolved.

How did Nic explain to the authorities finding his kid (and two others)

We're left to assume he told Officer Jordan about what happened and got the children home safely. But it would've been nice to see a few moments of that. Especially when you consider what a non-believer Jordan was.

And why the very last shot with Nic's co-worker ? That made no sense ...except for obvious sequel bait.

First of all, I wondered why Annie Sawquin even killed Nick's co-worker (Hannah). She wasn't involved in the hunt like Mike was. If she was killing anyone who tried to help, then why did she not kill Officer Jordan. Not sure what that ending meant. Bad story-telling right there.

[–] FullyOperationalSamaritan 9 years ago

I wondered why Annie Sawquin even killed Nick's co-worker (Hannah). She wasn't involved in the hunt like Mike was.

She found out her real name and origin. With her origin story, they could have found a way to kill her. So of course she had to kill Hannah. The cop didn't really know anything other than looking into the missing kids. So no need to kill him.

[–] gmoxie 9 years ago

I figured that Nic's character was honest and told the fantastic truth to the officer. The officer already saw what happened to the psychic so he probably wonders if something supernatural or unexplainable may be happening (which is the reason for the scene in the forensics lab). Given the parents of all three kids have similar stories of their kids disappearing, and then all reporting that they catch fleeting images a year later, and then that all three kids were returned without a scratch (no abuse) and they had no memories of where they had been, the police had nothing more to go on to press any charges - case closed.

The death of Nic's co-worker surprised me but I didn't think it was for a sequel. I think it was more that she found out who the woman was and maybe that was somehow a threat - perhaps the woman/ghost could be prevented (through some kind of Celtic ceremony) from continuing her abductions. What confused me was that the last scene was in daylight and the co-worker's body was lying outside the building when the birds came. This was a university and students/others would have seen her by then.

[–] talkinturtles 9 years ago

Let me start by sayi.g I am not a Cage fan. I really don't get all the hate about him and specifically this film. I thought it had a good story, played out a good legend and wrapped it up nicely. Once you have the kids back, do you really want another half hour of movie of him trying to explain why he had the 3 kids? That wasn't necessary. The movie was about the legend. I actually enjoyed it. The only thing I had a hard time with was that he looked like he should have been great grandpa, not dad.

[–] FieCrier 9 years ago

"Once you have the kids back, do you really want another half hour of movie of him trying to explain why he had the 3 kids? That wasn't necessary."

Agreed, although I've thought for some time it could be interesting to have a movie where most or all of it deals with the aftermath of some catastrophic supernatural event in someone's life.

[–] pullgees 8 years ago

I would have liked the intervening year to have been erased as if the whole thing never happened.