Wild Things Ending Explained: Breaking Down The Layers Of The 1998 Movie's Big Reveal
Wild Things is a movie often talked about because of its famous threesome scene. However, we should remember it for all of the wild twists. Wild Things starts with rich teen Kelly (Denise Richards) attempting to seduce her guidance counselor Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon). Things escalate from there and continue to build until it becomes so complicated, you'll need the Wild Things ending explained.
The film doesn’t take itself seriously, which helped make it one of the defining movies of the ‘90s. It may not be one of the best movies of that decade, but it leaves an impression. People may have watched Wild Things for some explicit content but found themselves engulfed in the many twists and the Wild Things ending.
Warning Wild Things Spoilers Ahead. Proceed with caution.
What Happened At The End Of Wild Things
Ray Duquette (Kevin Bacon) is dismissed from his job after killing Kelly in an alleged self-defense shooting. The investigation finds him innocent of no wrongdoing, so no charges are filed. The next scene reveals that Ray and Sam have been working together. The men go sailing on Sam’s boat. Sam attempts to kill Ray by making him fall off it. Ray manages to climb back on. Then Suzie (Neve Campbell) reveals that she faked her death.
She kills Ray, kills Sam, and rides off on his boat. A few mid-credits scenes explain how Suzie masterminded the entire scheme. She blackmailed Sam by obtaining photos of his affair with Kelly. Then she orchestrates Sam and Ray becoming friends. This is to get Ray involved in the many crimes. Suzie also stages her death, including removing her teeth.
We also see that Ray killed Kelly not in self-defense but purposefully. Suzie meets with Kenneth (Bill Murray) and gives her a briefcase full of money and a check.
All The Reveals
Wild Things has so many plot turns that you may need a recap of all the crazy twists leading up to the final one. The first twist is the rape accusation. Kelly clearly tries to seduce Sam, so her accusations of sexual assault come out of nowhere. The next twist is Suzie corroborating Kelly’s story. We know the girls don’t like each other, so this seems strange for both of them to lie.
The next twist is the courtroom scene where the teen girls confirm their lies. The fact that Sam, Kelly, and Suzie are all working together is the next twist. After that one, the next is that Sam is trying to kill Suzie and Kelly, and Ray suspects everything. Ray working with Sam offers another twist. Then we have Suzie still being alive. The final twist is that Suzie masterminded everything. Some may consider that Ray killed Kelly in cold blood a twist, but it seems fairly obvious.
The twist about Suzie orchestrating everything puts Wild Things in the same league as some other crime thrillers with shocking twists. However, the twists become one too many. By the time you get to the Ray and Sam working together twist, you know a few more are coming. In an Independent interview, Wild Things screenwriter Stephen Peters revealed that all the twists were aimed as a satire of movies like Basic Instinct, trademark ‘90s erotic thrillers.
Not that I don’t like those films. But I thought I could write a film with a couple of twists and keep laying it on until it’s a joke – a fun one – so you get caught up in it.
Wild Things' many twists add to the experience and make it more fun than some similar movies that take themselves too seriously.
Suzie’s Revenge
The Wild Things ending reframes the story. It starts as this confusing tale of young girls trying to destroy an innocent man for rejecting one of them. Then it turns into this crime drama. Finally, it ends as a revenge tale. The film establishes that one of the motivations for Suzie is to get revenge on Ray for killing her friend Davey. The opening scene sets up a lot of what comes later in Wild Things. Suzie storms out of the assembly when she sees Ray and even expresses disdain for him.
We don’t know their history, but we know it isn’t good. The opening moments also start with Sam giving a lecture on sex crimes. This foreshadows that the main part of the storyline revolves around sexual assault or the appearance of it. The first confrontation between Ray and Suzie establishes the importance of the volatility between them. It's what drives Suzie.
Suzie isn’t just getting revenge on Ray, but Sam, and maybe Kelly as well. She mentions during the trial how Ray abandoned her when she needed him. This action makes her drag him into this plan and blackmail him. We don’t know Suzie and Kelly’s real relationship because most of what we see is part of the whole act.
However, we can assume that Kelly had been cruel to Suzie in the past. Therefore, this could have been revenge on her for her past behavior. Even if Suzie has no direct grievance against Kelly, she could just want revenge for what she represents: the rich.
Classism plays a major part in Wild Things. Minus Kelly, all the main players aren’t wealthy. They’re the others of this world. That’s partly how they’re enticed into this money scheme. Suzie is the poorest of them all. In a Flashback Files interview, Wild Things director John McNaughton discussed the political nature of the film because of Suzie becoming the victor.
Who wins? The girl from the trailer park! She’s all alone on the ninety foot sail boat, out on the Caribbean. Pretty much everyone else is dead. That was the nineties, with the concentration of wealth. But the girl from the trailer park takes ‘m all down.
Suzie gets revenge on Ray, Sam, Kelly, and the rich. Therefore, this action gives Wild Things a sort-of eat-the-rich vibe, but not quite since Suzie also eats the middle class.
How Wild Things Plays With Misdirection
Wild Things has a lot of twists, but it tells you about them. So much of the dialogue points to what’s to come. In one scene, Ray casually tells Jimmy (Cory Pendergast) that you never know the true self or intentions of someone. This is a not-too-subtle wink to the audience because everyone is lying. However, you see hints of people’s true identities and intentions throughout. Wild Things just tries to make you doubt your instincts.
For example, Ray comes off as shady, especially when interacting with Suzie. Then he turns into “the hero” of the film by trying to save the girls and expose Sam. Sam is a known womanizer and wannabe social climber. However, at the start of Wild Things, he comes off as innocent. Someone with an upstanding character. This is to make you trust that he would never sleep with teenagers, especially students. Suzie never seems dumb, but suddenly, she becomes anxious and a liability when Ray questions her.
Wild Things often misdirects the viewers to make the twists land. It works because you start to believe things, despite them not going along with your initial perception of characters and situations.
Wild Things is one of the best sexy thrillers. It’s also one of the films that succeeds because the twists are fun and the ending adds to the craziness of the movie.
