Red Rooms (2023): Ending Explained

In Pascal Plante's chilling 2023 crime drama Red Rooms, the line between obsession and reality frays as a high-profile murder trial exposes the darkest corners of human curiosity. As viewers search for a "Red Rooms ending explained," this article delves into the film's haunting conclusion, unpacking its literal events, symbolic layers, and the moral ambiguities that linger long after the credits roll. Through Kelly-Anne's unraveling psyche, Plante crafts a meditation on voyeurism, identity, and the seductive pull of the digital abyss.

Quick Recap

Red Rooms centers on Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy), a stoic fashion model in Montreal whose life becomes consumed by the trial of Ludovic Chevalier (Pierre Chagnon), a meek man accused of murdering three teenage girls and streaming their deaths as snuff films in underground "Red Rooms" on the dark web. The case grips the city, drawing media frenzy and fervent supporters who view Chevalier as a framed innocent due to his unassuming demeanor. Despite evidence like the bodies buried at a former residence of his and FBI-provided videos showing a masked killer, doubts persist because of the balaclava obscuring the perpetrator's face.

Enter Clementine (Laurie Babin), a younger, impulsive fan who hitchhikes to the trial and ends up bonding with the enigmatic Kelly-Anne. The two women share a fascination with the case—though Clementine's is defensive and idealistic, while Kelly-Anne's remains guarded and probing. Kelly-Anne, funding her lifestyle through online gambling and wielding impressive tech skills (including her custom AI, Guinevere), invites Clementine to stay with her. Unseen by her roommate, Kelly-Anne cyber-stalks Francine Beaulieu, the mother of the youngest victim, 13-year-old Camille, whose snuff video remains undiscovered—and to whom Kelly-Anne bears an eerie resemblance.

As the trial intensifies, tensions peak when the court screens two of the recovered videos, excluding the public. Kelly-Anne, having already accessed them via the dark web, confronts Clementine with the brutal truth: the films confirm Chevalier's guilt through telltale details like his distinctive blue eyes and awkward gait. Devastated, Clementine reels from the revelation, setting the stage for the film's disquieting finale.

What Happens in the Ending

The final scenes of Red Rooms unfold with a deliberate, claustrophobic intensity, shifting from the women's shared apartment to the shadowy undercurrents of Kelly-Anne's private obsessions. After watching the two recovered snuff films together, Clementine breaks down in tears, overwhelmed by the graphic violence and the shattering of her illusions about Chevalier. The videos, played on Kelly-Anne's screen, depict the masked killer's methodical brutality, with Kelly-Anne clinically pointing out irrefutable identifiers—his eyes piercing through the balaclava, his halting movements mirroring the defendant's in court. This moment strips away Clementine's denial, leaving her emotionally unmoored.

Disturbed and disillusioned, Clementine announces she's skipping the rest of the trial and buys a bus ticket home. As she packs to leave the apartment, she pauses at the door, turning to Kelly-Anne with a final, probing question—though left hanging in the air, it underscores her lingering confusion about her host's detached demeanor. Clementine departs, hitchhiking away into the uncertain night, symbolizing a retreat from the trial's toxic allure.

Alone once more, Kelly-Anne doesn't follow suit. Instead, the film lingers on her solitary return to her computer, where her fixation deepens. We see her delving further into the dark web, her screens flickering with encrypted chats and shadowy forums, as she pursues the elusive third video: the missing snuff film of Camille Beaulieu. The camera captures her face illuminated by the glow, her resemblance to the young victim growing more uncanny in the blue light. Reality begins to blur—flashes of morbid fantasies intercut with her cyber-stalking of Francine Beaulieu, hinting at a dangerous convergence. The film fades out on this precipice, with Kelly-Anne typing feverishly, her expression a mask of quiet determination, leaving her fate—and the video's existence—unresolved.

The Meaning Behind the Ending

At its core, the ending of Red Rooms represents the inescapable gravity of morbid curiosity, where the act of seeking truth in darkness consumes the seeker. Symbolically, the missing video of Camille serves as a metaphor for the unattainable "final piece" that drives human obsession, much like the dark web itself—a void promising revelation but delivering only further isolation. Kelly-Anne's pursuit isn't just about evidence; it's a descent into self-annihilation, her resemblance to the victim blurring the lines between observer and participant, predator and prey.

Thematically, Plante uses this conclusion to probe the moral complexity of voyeurism in the digital age. Clementine's departure marks a rejection of this cycle, her tears a cathartic release from denial, but Kelly-Anne's persistence underscores a deeper societal commentary: in an era of true-crime spectacles and online anonymity, fascination with horror becomes a mirror reflecting our own suppressed desires. The flickering screens symbolize fragmented identities, where the "Red Rooms" extend beyond the killer's broadcasts to encompass everyone's hidden chambers of the mind. It's a contemplative reminder that some truths, once chased, erode the boundary between empathy and complicity.

Character Arcs and Resolution

Kelly-Anne's arc culminates in a profound, if ambiguous, evolution from detached observer to active participant in her own unraveling. Initially presented as aloof and self-sufficient—sustaining herself through gambling and tech prowess—she reveals layers of psychological fracture through her fixation. Her cyber-stalking of Francine and obsession with the missing video expose a woman grappling with unresolved trauma, her resemblance to Camille suggesting a projected identification that warps her reality. By the end, her solitude reinforces her isolation; there's no redemption or closure, only a deepening immersion, leaving her arc as a cautionary portrait of unchecked compulsion.

Clementine, in contrast, achieves a tentative resolution through disillusionment. Her journey from fervent defender of the "innocent" Chevalier to heartbroken realist humanizes the perils of idealization. Bonding with Kelly-Anne offered fleeting connection, but the snuff films force a confrontation with reality, prompting her exit. This departure signifies growth—a painful awakening to the world's brutality—yet it also highlights her vulnerability, as she returns to an undefined life, forever marked by the trial.

Chevalier's guilt, confirmed visually, resolves his narrative thread externally but amplifies the women's internal turmoil, tying their arcs to the broader ripple effects of his crimes.

Alternate Interpretations

The ending's ambiguity invites multiple lenses. One reading posits Kelly-Anne's pursuit as a quest for justice, her tech skills positioning her as an amateur detective uncovering what authorities missed—perhaps the missing video implicates a larger network, subverting the trial's finality. This interpretation frames her blurring realities as heroic dissociation under pressure, rather than madness.

Alternatively, a darker view sees her as mirroring Chevalier: her "dark path" suggests she might fabricate or immerse herself in the fantasy of the video, becoming a digital voyeur or even perpetrator in her mind. The uncanny resemblance to Camille could imply repressed guilt or a dissociative identity, where Kelly-Anne unconsciously inserts herself into the victim's role, questioning if obsession breeds its own form of violence. These possibilities underscore the film's refusal to provide easy answers, leaving viewers to ponder whether her end is empowerment or entrapment.

Themes and Symbolism

The ending reinforces Red Rooms' core themes of digital alienation and the ethics of consumption, subverting true-crime tropes by internalizing the horror. The "Red Rooms" symbolize not just snuff sites but the private mental spaces where we indulge taboo curiosities, with Kelly-Anne's AI, Guinevere, as a cold accomplice in this isolation—representing technology's role in amplifying solitude.

Broader societal commentary emerges in the trial's media circus and fans like Clementine, critiquing how public spectacles commodify tragedy. Symbolism abounds: the balaclava's failure to conceal eyes evokes inescapable truth, while the dark web's glow mirrors the seductive yet blinding nature of forbidden knowledge. Plante subverts expectations by shifting focus from the killer to the obsessed, suggesting that in the age of endless screens, we're all potential inhabitants of red rooms.

Final Thoughts

Red Rooms ends on a note of masterful unease, its open-endedness amplifying the psychological dread rather than resolving it—a choice that elevates the film beyond genre thrills into thoughtful cinema. By centering Kelly-Anne's solitary dive into darkness, Plante delivers a substantive exploration of how obsession erodes the self, making the conclusion both intellectually provocative and emotionally resonant. For audiences grappling with our true-crime fixation, this ending doesn't just explain the plot; it indicts our gaze, lingering like an unanswered question in the glow of a screen. If you're drawn to films that unsettle without sensationalizing, Red Rooms—and its haunting close—demands reflection.