My says it all. The movie itself is a great slow burn thriller (That actually works) about teenage years in the 90s and teenage mental health but as others have stated, I'm really not too sure what happened to the writing in the final act. Early on, I thought the accidental death scene was incredibly shocking, and tragic. Moving forward through the movie, I can get onboard with Josh losing it and wanting to kill his best friend's girlfriend, I don't think that deserves as much hate as it's getting as he clearly feels isolated and maybe threatened by his best friend having a significant other. Zach's disinterested portrayal of his character is great too considering his involvement, and the actor really nails that aspect of it. That being said, were some other choices and non-choices at the end that were just odd. I understand the sword wasn't incredibly sharp but the fact that Zach didn't require medical attention besides answering some basic head injury questions on the hood of a cop car doesn't make any sense at all. There was an awkward passage of time right then too, it was still daylight during their tussle on the lawn but then it was nighttime the next scene.
Most of my problems however were with the last couple scenes, as made clear by my title. Besides seeing Allison alive in the aftermath we don't get any closure, we don't even see Zach or Josh again. There no answers about our dead stoner, which ultimately felt unnecessary, or the kid in the woods whose death was the catalyst for the whole story.
In conclusion, I'm 100% fine with an ambiguous ending when the story warrants it. Making the ending ambiguous works when a story is shrouded in mystery or has some component of continuation. In a way seeing Allison just go back to her everyday life feels like a bit of a robbery, in that besides the scar she has no negative effects from her assault and is able to move on with life. Comparing that to the initial accidental death paints two nearly opposite pictures of trauma and that just doesn't sit right with me. This story definitely needed more closure and my rating would easily be higher if not for the ending. Oh well.
Most of my problems however were with the last couple scenes, as made clear by my title. Besides seeing Allison alive in the aftermath we don't get any closure, we don't even see Zach or Josh again. There no answers about our dead stoner, which ultimately felt unnecessary, or the kid in the woods whose death was the catalyst for the whole story.
In conclusion, I'm 100% fine with an ambiguous ending when the story warrants it. Making the ending ambiguous works when a story is shrouded in mystery or has some component of continuation. In a way seeing Allison just go back to her everyday life feels like a bit of a robbery, in that besides the scar she has no negative effects from her assault and is able to move on with life. Comparing that to the initial accidental death paints two nearly opposite pictures of trauma and that just doesn't sit right with me. This story definitely needed more closure and my rating would easily be higher if not for the ending. Oh well.