Viewers of the complex film have often needed more about The Guest explained, especially when it comes to the ending. The truth about who David really is and what's wrong with him is left partially unexplained. According to the filmmakers, David's true identity is intentionally left out: the film is a mash-up and an adaptation of classic genre films where an often faceless, unstoppable killer relentlessly pursues their victims. It plays upon the audience's fear of the unknown, using what the film's director refers to as the "strange visitor" sub-genre. David's identity and true intentions are purposely concealed to create tension.

The Guest ending reveals that David Collins (Dan Stevens) and Caleb Peterson served together in the Army and were the subjects of a neurological experiment conducted by a private military company. They became friends, Caleb died, and Caleb's dying wish was for David to check on his family. David, however, has an agenda of his own and quickly ingratiates himself with Caleb's family. They treat him as one of their own, unaware of the deadly consequences of inviting him into their lives. The Peterson's daughter, Anna (Maika Monroe), suspects that he is not who he says he is, which is revealed in The Guest's ending.

The Guest Gives A Friendly Face To A Faceless Horror

The Killer Here Seems Like A Nice Person

After David reluctantly kills Anna's parents in this Adam Wingard horror movie, he starts his hunt for her and her brother, Luke (Brendan Meyer). Anna finally meets Major Carver (Lance Reddick), the man behind the experiment, who is there to put a stop to David. Carver tells Anna that David has been presumed dead along with the other subjects of the experiment — soldiers who had been programmed to conceal their identities at any cost. Unfortunately, the experiment also inadvertently transformed David into an unstoppable monster now compelled to kill anyone who compromises his identity, including the Petersons.

Anna and Luke ultimately succeed in killing David at the local high school; however, after being attended to by an EMT at the back of an open ambulance, Anna sees David limping out of the school disguised as a firefighter—he's still alive. This twist ending might seem out of place in this particular genre of thriller, but it fits perfectly with what Wingard has said about The Guest being inspired by Halloween, making it a tribute to action and horror movies of the 1980s.

In an interview with Grantland, Wingard stated in no uncertain that the film was a combination of Halloween and The Terminator. He wanted to answer the question, "What if Michael Myers, instead of being this shapeless guy following you around town from a distance, what if he lived in your house?" In The Guest, the faceless killers made popular by the slasher films of the 1980s are replaced by the charming, friendly face of Dan Stevens, which in itself could also just be a mask, since his true identity is never revealed.

There are horrors that lurk beneath the friendly faces and mundane aspects of everyday life.

And that's the whole point: there are horrors that lurk beneath the friendly faces and mundane aspects of everyday life. Audiences might be tempted to believe that horrors always come in predictably grotesque packaging of famous movie monsters. Their horrific visages and unknown origins are part of what makes them so frightening, but giving them a friendly face can be just as frightening or even more so.

How The Guest Ending Makes David A Tragic Villain

David Lacks The Free Will To Be Good

David is undoubtedly the source of horror in The Guest, but because he comes fleshed out differently than Michael Myers and the like, he's as much a tragic villain as he is a terrifying one. Unlike 80s slasher killers that rampaged by choice for their own twisted reasons, David essentially lacks free will because of the experiments done on him.

While this distinction is practically useless when weighing how disturbing his actions are, it does make him a much sadder character than those he's based on. Because of this, The Guest distinguishes itself from true 80s thrillers by showing that horrors on a wide, institutional scale can manifest directly in horrors that touch and ruin people's lives.

The Meaning Of The Guest Ending

David Fakes His Death To Ensure His Escape

The Guest ending leaves things on an ambiguous note with David still alive and the remaining of the Peterson family still in danger. There has been talk of The Guest 2 happening although nothing has come of that since the movie came out nearly a decade ago. While a second movie would likely shed some light on what happens after the credits roll, it is not hard for the audience to come to their conclusions, and it is not a happy one.

David allowed Luke to stab him in order to make it seem like he was dead, so he could escape.

During their final fight, Luke stabs David and seemingly kills him, with David telling him with his final lines, "You did the right thing, I don't blame you." It is a bit of a surprising turn for the cold-blooded killer, and he seemingly went down easier than expected. This leads to the final moment of David leaving the burning building disguised as a firefighter, only for Anna to recognize him before the screen goes black. This suggests David allowed Luke to stab him in order to make it seem like he was dead, so he could escape.

This continues to frame David as a tragic movie monster, as he is motivated by his programming. His programming maintains that he must conceal his true identity at any cost. Faking his own death would have accomplished that, and he could go on to live a new life without needing to spill any more blood. However, it has also been shown that he will kill even people he has come to like if it is necessary for his objective. Unfortunately, with Anna spotting him in the final shot moment of The Guest, David must continue to kill.

How The Guest Ending Was Received

Critics Love The Movie, While Audiences Were Split

The Guest is a rare horror movie that received high praise from film critics. The film's Rotten Tomatoes score is Certified Fresh at 92%, although the audience Popcornmeter score is much lower, at 69%. This low audience rating likely explains its box office failure, where it never made back its budget. Most audience reviews complained about the slasher-styled ending, with one writing, "The well-done first half of the movie doesn't make up for the absurdity of the final 30 minutes."

For the pro critics, they found a lot to love about the film, as well as its slasher-inspired ending. Scott Tobias of The Dissolve wote, "Elements of horror, black comedy, psycho thrillers, and social commentary merrily co-exist throughout much of the film, which keeps the audience as off-balance as the Peterson family as it withstands a rollout of chilling revelations." However, not everyone liked the ending. In his mostly positive review of The Guest, Rex Reed of Observer wrote:

"The ultimate scene is a disappointing cliché borrowed from countless B movies, including every parting shot of Jason in the fright mask that promises audiences more Halloween sequels on the way."

Film critic Dennis Harvey of Variety agrees with the idea that The Guest was a great action thriller, but that the ending's homage to horror felt a little out of place. "The Guest is such nasty fun you might not realize until afterward that David's real reasons for arriving are never quite clarified. You may notice immediately, however, that the climax (set in an elaborate haunted house designed for a school Halloween dance) feels a bit ordinary and overly self-conscious as a horror homage, given the punchier material that precedes it."