The Dutch crime thriller iHostage follows a real-life nightmare at an Apple Store in Amsterdam, as the police and the audience try to figure out Ammar Ajar’s (Soufine Moussouli) motivations and find a way for Ilian (Admir Sehovic) and the other hostages to safely escape. Directed and co-written by Bobby Boermans, iHostage tells the story of the real-life 2022 Apple Store incident in Amsterdam, where an armed man entered the store and took a Bulgarian customer hostage. The attacker is Ammar Ajar and his hostage, Ilian Petrov, but unbeknownst to both, there are four other people hiding in a closet.

Meanwhile, the Amsterdam police department is hard at work with negotiators, explosives experts, and more to prevent Ammar from possibly blowing the whole place up (as he supposedly has explosives attached to his body) while finding a way to rescue Ilian, the four people in the closet, and all those who fled to the cafeteria above the store. Ilian also does what he can to keep Ammar from killing him, trying to talk to him and keep him calm, and in the end, it’s thanks to his quick thinking that Ilian is able to escape, thus also saving those hiding in the closet.

What Did Ammar Really Want In iHostage?

Ammar Has Some Very Specific Demands

Ammar Ajar enters the Apple Store in Leidseplein, Amsterdam, and threatens customers and employees at gunpoint. However, many customers and employees manage to escape the store, while many others run upstairs to hide in the cafeteria, and four others hide in an employee’s closet. The only person remaining in the store is Ilian, whom Ammar takes hostage. Ammar gets in touch with the Amsterdam police and demands to speak to a negotiator, and so the police bring a team led by Lynn (Loes Haverkort). Lynn tries to create trust with Ammar, but it’s not easy.

Ammar demands 200 million euros in cryptocurrency and safe pᴀssage, later explaining this as a safe exit from the store and a car that will take him far away. Ammar plans to take Ilian with him and release him once they are far away and he’s sure that the police are no longer following them. However, as much as Lynn tries to talk to him and figure out his motivations, he doesn’t fully reveal exactly what led him to attack the store. What Ammar does share is that he has been failed by the legal system and police force of Amsterdam, though exactly why is unclear.

iHostage reveals Ammar has a criminal record and a history of mental illness, though, again, the movie doesn’t go into detail. Ultimately, the police don’t get him the amount of cryptocurrency he asks for, nor the limousine he wants for his safe exit, and their priority is rescuing Ilian and the rest safely and preventing Ammar from potentially blowing the entire building up, though, ultimately, the explosives aren’t real.

How Ilian Escapes At The End Of iHostage

Ilian Sees The Chance & Takes It

Ilian finds himself in the wrong place at the worst time in iHostage. After leaving his AirPods on the train, he goes to the Apple Store to buy new ones and ends up being Ammar’s hostage. Ilian keeps as calm as possible throughout the whole incident, even trying to talk to Ammar to ensure that he wouldn’t hurt him. Ammar turns out to be quite unpredictable, and he goes from helping Ilian with his medicine to threatening him again if he speaks again.

Ilian eventually reaches his breaking point when he hears Ammar ask the negotiator for a limousine for his safe exit, with Ilian desperately complaining in Bulgarian that he asks for a limousine but not for something essential like water. Ilian convinces Ammar to ask for water as he can’t drink Ammar’s energy drinks due to his heart condition, and Ammar ends up doing so. The police send water bottles to the store’s doorstep through a robot, with Ammar forcing Ilian to take them while keeping his hands tied to his back.

Ilian tells him he can’t pick them up with just his knees, so Ammar puts down his gun to pick the water bottles up. Ilian sees this and, knowing it’s his only chance to escape, runs as fast as he can to the other side of the street, where the police can keep him safe. Ilian is pretty shocked, but he’s now safe, and he’s taken to his H๏τel the next morning. Once there, Ilian uses his new AirPods, and it’s implied he calls his wife, and he breaks down after everything he went through the previous night.

What Happens To Ammar At The End Of iHostage

Ammar’s Ending Is Surprising

When Ilian escapes, Ammar runs after him, leaving his gun inside the store. Ammar can’t catch up with Ilian, and once he’s out of the store, the police act fast, though one officer acts faster. Winston (Louis Talpe), who is in his car with his partner and is parked close to the store, drives straight into Ammar, running him over. Ammar is heavily injured, but as the police aren’t sure yet if the explosives are real or not, they send the explosives experts to check after waiting a couple of minutes to see if Ammar wakes up or if the vest explodes.

Once they are sure the explosives aren’t real, Ammar is taken to the hospital due to the severity of his injuries. At the end of iHostage, it’s revealed that Ammar dies at the hospital the next morning, and the police could never figure out his real motivations for the attack.

How Mingus & The Rest Of The Hostages Escape In iHostage

Mingus Is Key To Saving Many People In iHostage

While dozens of people run upstairs to hide in the cafeteria, Apple Store employee Mingus (Emmanuel Ohene Boafo) takes his customer, Lucas (Robin Boissevain), and mother Soof (Fockeline Ouwerkerk) and her daughter Bente (Roosmarijn van der Hoek), into the closest employee’s closet to hide there. Thanks to Mingus’ employee card, Ammar can’t open the door, and he’s unaware that they are hiding there the whole time.

Mingus uses Bente’s cellphone to call the police, with one officer guiding them through what they can do and what they shouldn’t. Mingus is key to the rescue of the people in the cafeteria, as he tells the officer how they can enter without Ammar knowing, and he’s later instructed to tell the rest to duck when he tells them to so they won’t be injured, and that the police will tell him the safe word “iHostage” when it’s safe to come out.

Once Ammar is taken to the hospital, the police knock on the closet’s door and give the safe word so they can exit. Outside, the officer who guided Mingus approaches him to thank him for keeping Lucas, Soof, and Bente safe, as well as for helping them rescue those in the cafeteria. Mingus hugs the officer and once inside the police van that will take him home, he breaks down in tears.

iHostage True Story: What Happened After The Apple Store Hostage Crisis In Real Life

The Apple Store Amsterdam Incident Happened On February 22, 2022

As mentioned above, iHostage is based on a true story, specifically the Apple Store incident in Amsterdam, on February 22, 2022. Just like in the movie, the attacker, identified as Abdel Rahman Akkad, entered the Apple Store with weapons and explosives, taking a Bulgarian man hostage, while other customers ran upstairs (Het Parool, via Time). Akkad demanded 200 million euros in cryptocurrency and a safe exit, with his motives remaining unclear, and sent selfies to the local press during the incident.

When Akkad asked the police for water and it was delivered (also by a robot), the Bulgarian man walked to the entrance to take the bottles and seized the chance to escape. Like in the movie, Akkad ran after him, but a police unit vehicle hit Akkad, leaving him unconscious on the street. Akkad was confirmed not to be carrying real explosives, and he was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries the following day.

As for the officer who ran Akkad over, and after his decision sparked a lot of controversy, he wasn’t punished for it, and authorities decided not to press charges, with the Public Prosecution Service stating he had acted appropriately. iHostage stays pretty loyal to the real-life Apple Store incident in Amsterdam, with some creative liberties to amp up the tension.

Sources: Het Parool, Time.