The following contains spoilers for The Home, now playing in theatersThe Home‘s brutal ending depends on a truly wild twist that throws almost every prior reveal in the film into question. The Home focuses on Max, a troubled young adult still reeling from the death of his foster brother over a decade ago. Max is able to avoid jail time for his latest arrest for vandalism by taking a job at the Green Meadows retirement home as a janitor. Befriending the patients but wary of the staff, Max soon suspects something is going on behind the scenes in the 2025 horror movie.

Max has no idea how far things go, however, leading to a twisting plot where several big reveals turn out to be red herrings, specifically set up to cause Max more confusion and distress. The actual truth is far more harrowing, as it turns out almost every named character in the film is against him. This leads to the wild ending of the Pete Davidson movie, where a hardcore slaughter scene is treated with a certain sense of vindictive victory. Here are the big twists in The Home and how the movie was setting them up all along.

The Home’s True Villains, Explained

The Home’s Big Twist Reveals Almost Every Supporting Character Is A Villain

The Home‘s twisty plot and intricate conspiracies are revealed to all be a lie in The Home‘s ending, meant as a form of entertainment for the villainous patients and faculty at Green Meadows before they drain Max of his physical vitality. The Home initially presents its staff as unnerving, but introduces the elderly patients in a kinder light.

This turns out to be a front, as they are all actually involved in a cult that worships the goddess Dea. The elderly patients, the doctors, the nursing staff, even Max’s foster parents are all involved in the plot. It turns out the plot has been going on for decades at least, as the staff and patients are almost all over 100 years old.

Dr. Sabian has perfected a process by which they can extract a substance from young people, creating a restorative medicine that extends lifespans and health. Doing so quickly leaves the victims decrepit and empty inside, effectively trading the vitality of the young people who’ve been captured for the elderly’s extra years on Earth.

It’s a grim turn, one that seems to have some foundational connections to society. Max’s foster parents are revealed to not just be believers in the process, but effectively the ones who collect at-risk children and feed them directly to the group. It’s implied they’ve done this for years, hinting at the full scope of the cult.

What Dea Is In The Home & How She Connects To The Twists

The Cult Of Dea Is At The Core Of The Home’s Big Twists

The villains of The Home are revealed to be believers in Dea, a mysterious deity of fertility and life. Teased throughout the film in subtle ways at first, Dea is eventually the key that unlocks The Home‘s third act. After escaping Green Meadows and returning home, Dave meets his new foster sisters.

It turns out they’ve been exploring the house and found a room that Max never knew about, hidden away behind the walls. This is a shrine to Dea, proving that Max’s foster parents were involved in the cult and fully connected to Green Meadows all along.

Interestingly, Dea herself doesn’t factor into the plot or make any kind of visible appearance. Although the cult worships her, there’s no indication any supernatural force is aiding them in their mission. In fact, the severity of the storm that hits Green Meadows may even be a form of divine retribution.

How The Home Teases Its Biggest Twist

The Home Sets Up Its Big Twist In Some Clever Subtle Ways

The Home initially sets up lots of little false paths that confound Max and work to distract the audience from the true dangers of the story. There are hints that the patients on the 4th floor are being abused by the staff. A masked figure keeps warning Max to find “the marked ones.” A mysterious woman tells Max about government conspiracies.

It’s all a lie, perpetrated by the villains for their entertainment while they effectively play with their food. However, there are several subtle hints about their true idenтιтies and the themes of the film. Max’s nightmares hint at their plans for him, and also prominently feature his foster brother Luke calling for help.

Max believes Luke committed suicide years prior, but he is one of the victims on the 4th floor. The patients on the fourth floor are shown a video about oil reserves on a loop, referencing their own importance to Green Meadows as fuel for their extended lives.

The most telling hint in the film is a news report about the upcoming hurricane, with a young woman calling out an older man (and by extension, his entire generation) for dooming future generations to climate change and destruction for their own profit. This is very similar to the film’s ultimate villain twist about Green Meadows.

Why The Home’s Brutal Slaughter Is A Happy Ending

Max’s Revenge Gives Makes The Film’s Ending A Cathartic Blood Bath

The final minutes of The Home are a brutal slaughter of the residents and staff of Green Meadows — but given the context of the situation, it’s a very rewarding turn of events. After Max has been captured by Green Meadows, Luke is able to extract enough of the substance from himself and the others to revitalize Max.

With the element of surprise on his side, Max is able to fight and kill his way through the home. By the end of the film, every single member of the cult is ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Most of them die at the hands of Max, except for his foster parents. Instead, they are crushed by the roof of the building, which is blown off by the storm.

It’s a grisly and brutal ending, with The Home never backing away from the more vicious visuals. However, it ends with a blood-covered Max using the residents as a source for their own substance. This allows him to give the patients on the fourth floor their freedom (even if it doesn’t restore their youth).

It’s a brutal ending, but ultimately an optimistic one. The initially listless Max genuinely found a desire to help people throughout The Home, which should improve his life. He’s reunited with his brother, and even has two younger foster sisters to care for. In the end, Max gets a pretty happy (if brutal) ending.

The True Meaning Of The Home

How Older Generations Sold Out The Younger Ones

The Home is ultimately a movie condemning the predatory habits and selfish motivations of older generations. The Purge creator James DeMonaco leaned into this theme throughout the film. The cult of Dea have convinced themselves that their lives and comfort are worth the pain and suffering of others. The film isn’t subtle about this point, especially in the third act.

Notably, the only member of Dea’s cult who seems to feel any remorse is Norma. Although she’s later confirmed to have taken part in the cult for years, her sympathy for Max (who reminded her of her long-ᴅᴇᴀᴅ son) prompted her to try and warn him away. This act of kindness gets her killed.

Even then, this kindness is only spurred on by a personal justification and explanation. The older generation of The Home are literally robbing children and young adults of their future for their own gain, and have been doing so for years. They even mock Max with the truth and are shocked when he returns with a vengeance.

It’s a brutal turn, and one that will potentially make The Home controversial with some audiences. However, as a metaphor for the state of the world (especially from an ecological standpoint, something Max draws attention to with his graffiti in the film’s beginning) gives The Home a real harsh condemnation of the elite elderly who run the world.