‘The Last House’ Ending, Explained: Who Lives & Who Dies in Netflix’s New Thriller?

The Last House is an apocalyptic thriller with a cozy-ish twist: Instead of being left to scrounge for survival in a nuclear wasteland or the like, the family at the center of the story spends almost the entire runtime inside the comforts (well, relative comforts) of their own home.

Yes, Jason (Wagner Moura) and Ann (Greta Lee) find themselves, their two children, their beloved dog, and a tank full of fish trapped inside their home one day as a massive storm sets in over their neighborhood. They quickly realize that there is no means of escape — the doors won’t open, the windows won’t budge or even break — and the neighbors they can see from their confines are in the same predicament… only, maybe they’re worse off because at least Jason and Ann have enough food for them all to weather at least a short storm.

When things carry on so much longer than anyone could’ve expected, though, the situation becomes quite grim and dangerous for the family, and their home is less of a sanctuary than a prison. Here’s the ending of The Last House, explained. Warning: There are spoilers ahead for the ending of The Last House.

Who lives and who dies?

Almost no one survives the storm that sets in — at least, not as far as we can tell. Though the family initially sees several of their neighbors, through the windows, toughing it out in the early months, eventually, starvation and hopelessness cost most of them their lives. The only deaths we witness in the film, though, are those of Mrs. Richardson, the dentist’s wife across the street from the family, and a woman who was trapped outside when the storm set in.

The family dog, Cass, dies after his heart medication runs out and Jason puts him down as an act of mercy, and their fish are killed by Graham (who’s portrayed by Noah Alexander Sosnowski and Gabriel Chung) to provide food at a critical moment of near-starvation.

What is causing the incident?

It’s not completely determined what’s caused the storm and resulting chaos, but Ruth (played in young form by Riley Chung and as a teen by Emma Ho) offers the best postulate: These creatures are from a previously undiscovered deep-sea species that have come onto land to reclaim the Earth from humans.

The creatures can manipulate water and appear to have trapped humans inside their homes to starve them out. They also emit saltwater to destroy other freshwater-dependent creatures, including plant life.

Chris Baker / Netflix

How long does the family survive?

The family manages to survive for five years in captivity. They do so by cultivating plants from the seeds of vegetables they wisely collect and using the house’s subsoil layer to grow them. Thanks to a crack in their chimney and Jason’s engineering skills, they are also able to devise a series of traps that are slung outside (with meat from Cass’ body, which the family refuses to eat) to catch wild animals and collect rainwater.

When Ruth becomes infected from the bite of a trapped ferret, Jason desperately digs beneath the bathroom to uncover the sewer line, and Ann uses it to reach the house of her former neighbor, a dentist, to collect antibiotics and save her life. Though Jason nearly loses his life as he attempts to ram his rebuilt car to break through the garage door, he survives the incident.

How does The Last House end?

After Ann encounters the creatures in the sewers and uses her gun on it, a creature storms into the house and uses salt water to destroy the family’s crops and collected water supplies. They then decide to lure the creatures in and set an elaborate trap to kill it.

Related

Best Streaming Services for Horrors: HBO Max, Paramount+, and More

However, the creature floods the entire home, nearly thwarting their plan, and they are left scrambling to breathe in the attic. After Graham recovers the harpoon they’d set, though, they’re able to disable the creature and trap it. Jason then demands that the creature let them leave the house, as it’s now sinking from the preexisting structural damage and subsequent flooding, but it does not. Ruth begs her father to show the creature mercy, and when he does, the creature lets them free and slithers out to prevent others of its ilk from harming the family.

The creatures then disappear, and the family finds a boat to navigate the sea for a new home. On the radio, their calls for fellow survivors are finally answered by a mysterious man’s voice, although we never learn who it belongs to.

The Last House, Streaming Now, Netflix