Pratik Handore
Directed by Kim Tae-joon, ‘Unlocked’ is a crime thriller film released on Netflix. It stars Chun Woo-hee, Im Si-wan, and Kim Hee-won in the lead roles. The South Korean movie is loosely based on author Akira Shiga’s 2017 novel ‘Sumaho O Otoshita Dake Na No Ni.’ The narrative revolves around Na-Mi, a young office worker who finds herself the target of an infamous serial killer after she loses her smartphone. Meanwhile, Detective Ji-man separately tries to catch the criminal, leading to a cat-and-mouse chase between the target, killer, and detective. If you are wondering who survives and who perishes in this game of twisted psyche and cyber suspense, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘Unlocked.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
Unlocked Plot Synopsis
‘Unlocked’ follows Na-Mi, a young marketer who works for a food product company. Na-Mi is addicted to her smartphone, and her day revolves around it. She uses it to interact with her friends and promote her company’s products through a secret account. She works at her father’s cafe and helps him out in her free time. One day, a drunk Na-Mi is returning home when she drops her smartphone on the bus. A mysterious stranger picks up the phone and uses it to learn more about Na-Mi. However, the “Man” cannot crack the password and unlock the phone.
Through Na-Mi’s friend, Eun-Joo, the Man sets up a meeting with Na-Mi and informs her that her phone screen is cracked. However, the Man reveals he has given the phone for repair and paid the charges. Na-Mi arrives at the address given by the stranger and hands over the phone for repairs along with her personal details and password. The Man repairs the phone and installs spyware on the device, allowing him to track Na-Mi’s every move on a clone phone.
Meanwhile, Detective Ji-man and his partner Jeong-oh discover the dead body of a young woman in the woods. The detectives discover plum trees near the crime scene leading Ji-Man to believe that his estranged son, Jun-Yeong, is behind the murders. On the other hand, the stalker visits Na-Mi at her father’s cafe and requests the Plumenade, a drink not on the menu. His love for plums implies that the Man is Jun-Yeong. After their meeting, Jun-Yeong lists the things important to Na-Mi and resolves to disconnect her from her loved ones.
Ji-Man tracks down Jun-Yeong’s apartment and discovers evidence linking him to the dead body in the woods. However, Jun-Yeong returns home and lures his father away, allowing him to erase the evidence. Later, Ji-Man and Jeong-oh’s investigation leads them to discover seven more dead bodies buried in the woods near the crime scene. Simultaneously, Jun-Yeong gets close to Na-Mi by selling her tickets to a baseball game and introduces himself as a worker at cyber security under a false name. However, Na-Mi’s father gets suspicious of Jun-Yeong.
Soon, it becomes evident that Jun-Yeong is a serial killer who has murdered eight women. Na-Mi is his latest and ninth target. After kidnapping Na-Mi’s father, Jun-Yeong uses the data he has collected about her to destroy her career. He makes incentive posts and sends mean texts posing as Na-Mi that affect her company’s latest project. As a result, Jun-Yeong is fired from her work and cut off from her co-workers. With her father missing, Eun-Joo is left as her only emotional support.
The women believe Na-Mi’s phone was hacked and try to file a police complaint. However, when the police refuse to help, they contact Jun-Yeong. Posing as a cyber security expert, Jun-Yeong reveals that someone installed spyware on Na-Mi’s phone. Privately, he suspects that Eun-Joo hacked Na-Mi’s phone leading to an argument between the two best friends. Meanwhile, Ji-Man and Jeong-oh find Jun-Yeong’s mobile repair shop. Na-Mi examines the series of events leading to her firing and realizes that Jun-Yeong is behind hacking her phone. As a result, Na-Mi comes face-to-face with the detectives.
Unlocked Ending: Do Ji-Man and Na-Mi Catch Jun-Yeong?
In the film’s final act, Ji-Man and Na-Mi join forces after the latter realizes that Jun-Yeong is stalking her. However, Ji-Man does not inform Na-Mi that her life is in danger, as Jun-Yeong is a serial killer. Nonetheless, Na-Mi formulates a plan to catch the notorious stalker. She decides to use her phone and lure Jun-Yeong to her apartment while the detectives hide to catch him. The plan works, and Jun-Yeong arrives near Na-Mi’s apartment. However, the detectives fail to recognize him, and he slips away. As a result, the trio’s plan backfires when Jun-Yeong refuses to show up.
Na-Mi suggests going off the radar by switching off her phone. As a result, Jun-Yeong will be unable to track her, forcing him to return to her apartment. Meanwhile, Na-Mi agrees to communicate with the detectives with a different phone and seeks refuge at her father’s house. However, Jun-Yeong tracks her down and once again uploads spyware to her phone. When Na-Mi comes face-to-face with her stalker, he stops her from contacting the detectives and reveals he is holding her father captive.
Jun-Yeong explains that he is targeting Na-Mi for the sheer thrill of hunting her as he wants to prove it is easy to disconnect people despite smartphones connecting everyone at all times. Eventually, Jun-Yeong threatens to kill Na-Mi and her father by leaving them to drown in the bathtub. However, his plan fails when Ji-man and Jeong-oh arrive on the scene, as Na-Mi had already informed them of her location. Thus, Na-Mi and Ji-Man succeed in catching the criminal, albeit at the risk of losing Na-Mi and her father’s life.
Ultimately, Ji-Man confronts his son only to learn that the mysterious stalker is not Jun-Yeong. The deranged serial killer explains that he had a difficult upbringing and most likely grew up isolated. He killed Jun-Yeong, his first-ever target, and stole his identity. Therefore, Ji-Man could not recognize his son during their earlier confrontation. Moreover, when Ji-Man visited Jun-Yeong’s apartment, he found several business cards with fake names and documents, allowing the killer to assume separate identities.
Is Jun-Yeong Dead? What Happens to Na-Mi?
The revelation that the killer is not Ji-Man’s son throws off the detective as he contemplates the situation. Meanwhile, Jeong-oh saves Na-Mi and tries to resuscitate her father. However, Na-Mi finds the strength to collect Jeong-oh’s gun and shoots Jun-Yeong, ending the cat-and-mouse chase. Na-Mi’s father also survives, and they receive proper medical treatment while the detectives face the media. Later, we see Na-Mi reunited with Eun-Joo, working with her father at their cafe.
On the other hand, it seems like Jun-Yeong survived the incident and ended up in police custody. It is stated in a news report that the killer was unconscious following the shooting. Moreover, since he was not documented at birth, the police are unaware of the person’s identity. In the final moments, we see a person texting in a chat group, expressing excitement about visiting Na-Mi’s cafe. The last scene shows a mysterious figure clicking a photograph of Na-Mi before we cut to the credits.
The ending implies that Na-Mi has put the nightmarish incident behind her and moved on. However, the killer is still at large and likely escaped police custody. Thus, the ending hints the killer is ready to wreak havoc on Na-Mi’s life. Although we do not learn about the killer’s motives, their Modus Operandi of isolating targets and disconnecting them using data from their smartphones is a cautionary tale about protecting one’s personal information. Ultimately, the experience is likely to leave Na-Mi scared forever.
Read More: Where Was Netflix’s Unlocked Filmed?
