Arka Mukhopadhyay
With twists, turns, and enough burns (both literal and metaphorical), ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ is a gripping, ambient, and taut old-school serial killer thriller that mingles genre elements of coming-of-age. In the increasingly privatized corn town of Osborne, everyone knows everyone, but a menacing serial killer from Osborne High School is hellbent on bringing his, her, or their classmates’ deepest secrets out in the daylight.
The somewhat predictable trajectory notwithstanding, the thriller is kept sharp and engaging by paying attention to minute details as it keeps the audience guessing till the final exposé. Patrick Kack-Brice’s serial killer drama becomes vibrant through meditative camerawork, a suspenseful storyline, and the ethereal voice of Sharon Van Etten. If you are busy recollecting the story’s final moments, let us help you in your endeavor. SPOILERS AHEAD.
There’s Someone Inside Your House Plot Synopsis
The movie tells the story of the small township of Osborne, where Osborn High School becomes the center of a sinister whodunit mystery. Jackson is speaking to his mate Macon, and he bails out on a possible hookup to get some sleep. When he wakes up from the alarm, it’s well past afternoon, and the truck outside his home is missing.
Jackson fears it is a break-in, and as he comes back inside, he finds pictures of him bullying his gay teammate Caleb everywhere – in the house, on the porch, lying around on the corridor, and in the closet. Before Jackson knows, a masked killer slits his varicose veins, and he dies instantaneously. Back in the rugby field, where Jackson’s parents are waiting for him, the students find the video of Jackson hazing Caleb.
Following Jackson’s death, the school goes through mourning, while some people suspect Caleb to be involved. Caleb sits with Makani and her group of misfits while industrious school leader Katie banks on the moment to give a lofty speech against intolerance. At night, Makani discovers her Gam sleepwalking and suggests they miss the morning mass the next day.
The next day, Katie volunteers for the church with her friend Marcus, but psych, it’s the killer! Katie runs an anonymous hate speech podcast named ‘Your Daily Ethnic Cleanse,’ and the vigilante killer finds the next target in her. After Katie’s death, a lockdown is imposed by the local government following 8 pm, and everyone in the school becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, there remain some more secrets to come out.
There’s Someone Inside Your House Ending: Who is The Killer?
In a small-town murder mystery, there is absolutely no lack of suspects. Suspect number one is Macon, Jackson’s friend, but after the angelic performance at the schoolyard, we can count him out. Suspect number two is the Sheriff, as Zach’s theory makes us think. Even Ollie feels the same way for a moment. The Sheriff has lost his land — much like everyone — to feed the sprawling corn empire of Zach’s father, and with the privatization of security, he is about to lose his job in the police department. Therefore, he has solid motives to orchestrate a serial killing and then solve the case – to become a hero and save his job.
Suspect number three is the eccentric cab driver named Dave, who is presumably a serial killer type. He also calls Katie a “bitch” and implies that Makani is one too, only she never shows it. He comes off as a side character conceived to confuse the audiences and deter them from the truth. After the confrontation with Makani, Ollie comes off as a suspect too. He has a taser gun in the glove box of his car and, if you can remember, the killer tased Rodrigo near the fountain before eliminating him.
Moreover, as Alex points out, Ollie has a tragic past – he lost his parents in a car accident, which led to him developing an array of behavioral issues. In the cornfield ocean where Ollie takes Makani to listen to the waves, he comes to divulge that he has done a background check on Makani. He knows that Makani’s middle name is Sun-woo and not Young, and Makani is both afraid and furious. When the killer invades her at home following the confrontation, she jumps on to think that Ollie is the killer.
Alex is the one who comes and saves Makani, and as she shares a similar theory (along with the whole school), Ollie is penalized for the serial killings. He is bailed out soon by his brother Chris, and when Makani hears the news, a dread fills her. At the sight of Ollie near the school, Makani runs into the school corridors, where she meets Caleb. As Caleb hugs Makani, the killer stabs him from behind. As the masked assailant flees the scene, Ollie comes rushing to help. Therefore, him being the killer can be ruled out.
In the finality of events, Zach turns out to be the killer. The son of a father who collects Nazi memorabilia is a perfect candidate for being the archetypal rebellious hero, and his disguise remains almost intact till the final moments. He even pulls off the trick with the gun pipe and divulges to the party about his experiment on the Nazi memorabilia to convert them into pipes, hookahs, and bongs.
He comes off as eccentric but not a killer, but that is probably because sociopaths can interact well in social situations. But we begin to suspect him from the moment his dad’s lawyer bails him out from the police interrogation, don’t we? He reasons his killings by saying that he is fed up with people’s hypocrisies and has accepted himself as who he is. He is a classic example of a narcissistic killer who sees the world’s hypocrisy without looking back at himself. And if you are still stuck on the taser, Zach can obtain the taser from anywhere since his dad owns a horde of private security.
What is Makani’s Secret?
The killer kills only when his victims have a sinister secret they shy away from, and as it turns out, Makani has a terrible secret. Ollie notices that guilt is a pervasive theme in Makani, as she is always blaming herself. We get to know the story from her mouth in the hospital after the murder attempt as her friends Alex, Zach, and Darby visits her. They come to know about Makani’s troubled past. Makani tells her friends why she had to change her name.
At her previous Kamehameha School in Hawaii, Makani was friends with a group of bullies. They tortured her and her friends, and when Makani could not take it anymore, she pushed a girl from the bully gang named Jasmine into the bonfire. While Jasmine is alive, her face has suffered severe burns, and the incident led to Makani’s conviction. Although she was acquitted, she was ostracized in the community, which is why she had to change schools and come to Osborne High. Till the final moments, Makani tries to reach Jasmine’s number, but the latter never replies.
What Becomes of The Friend Group?
They graduate and disperse while still staying in touch. Makani and Ollie make amends after the incident. They get hitched, while Caleb receives a call from Colorado State University. At the same time, Alex pursues her dreams in music and gets a letter from Manhattan School of Music. Darby follows her NASA dreams. But with the absence of Rodrigo and Zach from the group and the series of events surrounding the town, life is never the same. However, the film draws to a close with Makani’s poignant poem about the summers of their departing youth at the graduation ceremony, and the story lingers on with that falling note.
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