The 'Reptile' Ending Asks More Questions Than It Answers
The latest must-watch thriller on Netflix is Reptile, a cold-blooded whodunnit that has been called "endlessly fascinating" by viewers as it follows detective Tom Nichols (Benicio Del Toro) on his quest to solve the murder of real estate agent Summer (Matilda Lutz).
Among the prime suspects are Summer's boyfriend Will (Justin Timberlake), who discovered her body, and her ex-husband Sam (Karl Glusman). But as the investigation grows more complicated, Nichols confides in his wife Judy (Alicia Silverstone) that he is beginning to question who in his own department he can even trust. And as he draws ever closer to the truth behind Summer's murder, even more questions arise.
Spoilers follow.
Who killed Summer, and why?
In the final act of Reptile, it is revealed that Summer was murdered as part of a cover-up, to prevent her from talking to the FBI about a criminal conspiracy. And Nichols' initial suspicion was correct: her boyfriend Will was involved... but so are some of his closest colleagues.
"It's more like Rosemary’s Baby, where you realize, 'Oh my God, they’re all involved,'" says director Grant Singer. "What Benicio’s character is facing is that he realizes it’s much more of a conspiracy, and that there’s much more culpability from all these different people that he trusted."
It all comes back to Summer's job as a realtor. Her boyfriend Will and his mother have been exploiting a legal loophole that allows for the seizure of property that has been involved in a drugs raid in order to make a killing on the real estate market. One major clue was when Nichols spotted a package of heroin which he recognized from a completely separate drugs bust: Will had been collaborating with crooked cops to keep the scheme going.
When he finds out the truth, Nichols "is faced with this moral decision to do the right thing and sacrifice his stability, his livelihood, his career, or keep his mouth shut," Singer says. "And he makes a decision to do the right thing."
And as for who specifically killed Summer? That's one detail the film never actually reveals. Instead, her blood is depicted as being on the hands of everybody involved in the scam, one more casualty of the corruption that has permeated the police force.
"One of the things I love about movies is that they can be enigmatic, you can leave viewers with questions," said director Grant Singer. "There’s a reason why I’m leaving these questions unanswered."
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