Aahana Swrup
Netflix’s ‘The Matchmaker’ is a thriller drama film directed by Abdulmohsen Aldhabaan that stars Husam AlHarthi, Nour Alkhadra, and Reem AlHabib. The film revolves around a mysterious resort in the middle of the desert. Tarek, an IT worker at a corporate 9 to 5, hears about this resort through a new intern, Salma. Unhappy in his regular life, Tarek leaves his family and seeks out this resort that promises happiness and companionship. However, once he arrives at the resort, he realizes things may not be as they seem. If you’re curious to know more about this uncanny resort and the fate of its guests, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘The Matchmaker.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Matchmaker Plot Synopsis
The movie opens with the story of a young girl named Aliaa and her abusive marriage. Aliaa has a husband who grossly mistreats her. When she tries to look for help from the people around her, no one believes her and leaves her to her fate. Eventually, Aliaa finds help in the empty desert in the form of a strangely featured, unnatural aid. The aid grants Aliaa the ability to burn her husband’s past self— by literally setting him on fire alive— and acquiring a more faithful, all-serving counterpart. Aliaa also comes into possession of the ring of the fabled Siba, the hidden one.
Decades later, Tarek is a timid man with a mundane job and not enough time on his hands for his family. At night, he routinely escapes to the roof and peeks into his neighbor’s bedroom to watch their happy lives together. Meanwhile, in the office, he comes across a new recruit, Salma, and tries to make her acquaintance. He tells her to stay away from his colleague Abu Mouath because he’s a harasser. Salma is uninterested in a conversation with Tarek and tells him she can take care of herself.
The next day, Tarek witnesses Salma leave a metal bag at Mouath’s desk. Tarek sneaks that bag to his office and unpacks a letter and tablet. On the tablet, a video plays for a supposedly magical resort. The resort targets lonely men who haven’t found their calling yet. Mostly it incentivizes a wedding to an extraordinary partner with complete privacy. Tarek books a stay at the resort and hops on a plane shortly after.
When he checks into the resort, he notices the hotel staff is ominous and stiff. He receives a special outfit that he is required to wear around the place, with an added headscarf to promote anonymity. When he tries to find reception on his phone, he finds none. Soon, he’s invited to a wedding ceremony taking place in the hotel. All guests are encouraged to attend as a way to build community. He’s then taken to meet Aliaa, the owner of the resort, who gives him a ring identical to Siba’s ring.
At the wedding, Tarek meets another man, who tells Tarek this resort must be something special as none of his friends that have visited in the past ever returned home. That night, Tarek frantically wakes up after hearing the faint noises of someone screaming. He leaves his room and enters the courtyard. After investigating noises from a room, Tarek finds an old man confined to a bed.
The man claims to be Salma’s father and asks Tarek to find Salma for him. He tells him not to trust anyone at the hotel and gives him directions to an escape route. Tarek follows his instructions and arrives at a well, where he meets a kid. The kid asks him to fill a glass of water for her and leads him to an old couple. Freaked out by the couple’s uncanny muttering, Tarek leaves and, on his way back, sees his own past self.
He wakes the next morning from a maddening nightmare. Later, he talks to the man from last night’s wedding and notices his finger with Siba’s ring has gone black. As a result, the two decide to escape the hotel. Afterward, Tarek waits in the lobby for his new friend, but the man never shows up. Eventually, Tarek knocks on his door and finds that the man has found his future bride, Mona, and is unwilling to leave. When Tarek tries to leave without him, one of the hotel staff knocks him out unconscious. The next time Tarek wakes, he’s at his friend’s wedding.
The Matchmaker Ending: What Happens To The Men After Their Weddings?
Towards the end of the movie, Tarek figures out that it might be impossible to leave the resort. The staff’s weird behavior and demeanor aside, his friend’s story about men not leaving the hotel to return home paints a grim picture. He tries to escape the resort two times and fails on both accounts. The third time he takes a different approach.
After his friend’s wedding, Tarek hides in the grass and sneakily tackles one of the staff members on their way out. He swaps clothes with the staff and covers his face to escape with the musicians after the ceremony. The musicians drive to a remote place in the desert, where Tarek’s friend arrives to meet his bride. However, once he makes his way to Mona, his robes are lit on fire, and he’s burned alive.
Soon a different version of him returns, now a faithful servant to Aliaa. She has been performing similar supernatural ceremonies on every man after their wedding. She lures out morally corrupt men and uses the power granted to her by the mystical force to turn them into obedient shells of men.
What Happens To Tarek?
After witnessing the death and pseudo-resurrection of his friend, Tarek is discovered by the hotel staff. The man who previously claimed to be Salma’s father knocks Tarek out, and he later wakes up in Aliaa’s office, where he is mystically bound to his chair. There, Aliaa tells Tarek he ruined everything by being impatient and that he could’ve gotten all his wishes if he had just waited. Next, Salma comes to see him and slaps him, expressing her frustration over Tarek’s presence at the hotel.
Salma had left the invitation for Abu Mouath due to his tendency to harass women in the workplace. Tarek, in turn, curses at her and tells her she has ruined his life. Afterward, Tarek is bound to the bed in his room with the same supernatural power. Salma adorns the ceremonial outfit that belongs to Aliaa and performs a ritual to terminate the resort’s magic. She visits Tarek and takes his Siba ring off.
With the ring gone, Tarek’s finger heals, and he escapes the resort. He makes it back to his family and continues to live his mundane life. However, instead of turning away from his family, Tarek sits with them and tries to connect with his daughter, Reema.
What Happens to The Resort?
Aliaa starts her resort as a way to trap morally corrupt men and turn them into her servants to rid society of them. Her past traumatic experiences fuel her revenge mission, and she wishes to prevent similar trauma from being inflicted on other women. Likewise, all the women that work at the resort, including Salma, are all victims of abuse perpetrated by men in their lives. However, soon Salma starts to question Aliaa’s ways.
Though Salma still believes in Aliaa’s cause, she no longer believes in her methods. She thinks Aliaa’s establishment has turned merciless and that there are better ways to utilize their powers for the same results. As such, Salma performs her magical ritual and then burns the resort down, starting with Aliaa’s office. As the resort burns, the men trapped inside it are set free into the vapid desert with their free will restored.
Read More: Is Netflix’s The Matchmaker Based on a True Story?
