The Houses October Built's Twist Ending Explained (& Why The Sequel Ruins It)
The Houses October Built ends on an unsettling note for its heroes but here's why the sequel's twist that retroactively spoils the ending.
Here's The Houses October Built's twist ending explained - and how the sequel undermines it. While it wasn't the first found footage movie, 1999's The Blair Witch Project was the one that made the genre popular. In the following two decades there was a flood of found footage movies, from the micro-budget Paranormal Activity - and its many subsequent sequels - to blockbuster Cloverfield. One of the most unique offerings came in the form of 2014's The Houses October Built.
This movie is more like a documentary mixed with a little bit of fiction and follows a group of filmmaker friends as they travel the U.S. exploring some of the most famous haunted house attractions. The Houses October Built features real haunts and interviews, exploring why they're so popular and some of the urban legends surrounding the industry, which includes some unethical scare tactics. The underlying story sees the filmmakers being stalked by a group dubbed Blue Skelton, who may or may not actually capture and kill people.
The Houses October Built's blurring of reality and fiction is more effective than some other examples in the genre, which makes its ending all the more unsettling. This sees the group captured by the Blue Skelton's and eventually buried alive, with the movie ending on an ambiguous note as to whether its all some kind of super intense haunt or if it's for real.
The Houses October Built 2 followed in 2017, but its big twist would deflate a lot of the dread of the original. The movie picks up a year later with the same crew, revealing they survived their Blue Skelton ordeal and videos of them being buried alive - especially host Brandy - went viral. They're offered a big payday to go out and capture some more haunts across the country, but it soon becomes clear the Blue Skelton's are still operating and are stalking them. The movie ends with the group kidnapped again, and Brandy is forced to watch the others being tortured.
It's eventually revealed in The Houses October Built 2's finale the Blue Skelton's group are just another haunt, and that both films were tailored around terrifying Brandy, ALA David Fincher's The Game. The other members of the crew were in on it too and justified the deception to themselves that she would eventually be paid a large sum once the truth was revealed. To teach them a lesson she fakes suicide in the finale before revealing what she knows, and the movie ends on a bitter note between the former friends.
While the sequel's meta-twist is intriguing, it has the side effect of spoiling the effectiveness of The Houses October Built and its ending. The "Is it or isn't it real?" question mark of the original finale is what made it work, and the sequel's big reveal systemically removes all mystery and ambiguity; it also makes every character aside from Brandy super douchy. This is likely why the follow-up wasn't as warmed received, but with another entry planned, it will be interesting to see where the story might go next.