Netflix’s The Stranger (2022) is an intense crime thriller that builds up suspense and leaves behind a horrifying and gripping story that is based on true events. Directed and written by Thomas M. Wright, the movie stars Sean Harris, Joel Edgerton, Steve Mouzakis, Ewen Leslie, and Jada Alberts, alongside other cast members.
The Stranger follows the story of two men who are strangers that form a friendship that brings a smile to them both. However, behind this are secrets that are slowly being revealed and involve a secret police investigation that will shed light on the truth of one of the country’s biggest kidnapping case.
Netflix’s synopsis of the film reads:
AN UNDERCOVER COP FORMS AN INTENSE, INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH A MURDER SUSPECT WHILE TRYING TO EARN HIS TRUST AND ELICIT A CONFESSION.
The Stranger Ending Explained
Towards the end of The Stranger, we see Henry making an elicit confession to Paul while the police investigating the case of the missing child record the audio and video of this confession. As they cheer for finally finding out the truth, Mark makes his way to the room while finding out more clues about the incident.
Henry then shows them how he killed the little boy by standing behind Mark and showing the others in the room how he choked the young James while they ask him if he left any trace behind that can cause them trouble. He assures them that nothing has been left behind, however, the undercover cops convince him to take them to the crime scene to double-check this.
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Elsewhere, a briefing has been called for by the investigators to determine whether or not to arrest Henry as this is an eight-year-old case which has got nothing but the recording of his confession as evidence. While the officers continue their discussion, the scene shifts to the trio making their way to the murder scene of James.
Henry shows Mark and his companion the place where he abducted the child and where he threw his clothes that could have been evidence. He then takes them to the place where James was buried when suddenly, a team of investigators arrive and arrest Henry with the charges of abduction and murder of James Liston.
Henry is shocked by everything and upon arriving at their destination he straightforwardly denies the charges. The media starts to cover the case while the forensic department, police and other investigators start conducting a basic search of the forest where James is claimed to have been buried.
Mark too arrives on the scene of the search and sees the family of the victim crying out on one side of the forest for having finally gotten news of their beloved child. However, Mark too is filled with emotions for he cannot forget his friendship with Henry nor the fact that he too is a father of a little boy.
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The search soon finds results as a piece of evidence is finally found, while Mark is left hearing the voice of a tape recorder each night which continues even after the tape recorder is turned off. And as he speaks these words while sitting outside, his son looks at him from the window as he breathes in and breathes out.
Will there be a The Stranger Sequel?
No, there is no possibility of there being a sequel for this show as this is a story based on a true event and it has been covered quite well in this film. However, there may be more crime incidents covered but under different names and those are definitely to look forward to.
What do you think about this film? Let us know in the comments below!
Watch The Stranger on Netflix.
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Sorry I didnt watch it with CC on. The accents combined with the audio made the dialogue very difficult to hear.(lip reading was impossible because of the beards too) lol . I needed the ending explained to me. Wasn’t quite sure where that last scene was taking place. It looked like the police station and didn’t understand why his din was there. This was a very dark and dismal story.
I’m not particularly impressed with the movie. The acting was good but there are child abductions and murders all the time. I don’t understand why Netflix focused on this boy. And now I read that Mark heard the voice on a tape recorder every night. Whose voice??? Why was Mark’s son staring at him through the window??? This movie is as bad as The Watcher leaving me thinking I wasted my time watching both of them.
Deadset idiot remark. Your two brain cells must of been working in overtime.
Welcome to Australian crime my good man. Its an interesting place, something aquired as a taste. Don’t make yourself a stranger.
This movie sucks
What was the relevance of the tape recorder?
The movie did not live up to the gushy lipped overblown reviews. They said it was Joel Edgerton’s masterful acting. Joel Edgerton is always masterfulninhis quiet laid-back way. .
I did like that he has a well cared for son as it added a level of depth.
there should have told us if he was charge or not?
You didn’t explain the ending. You wrote a full synopsis.
Boring, dismal movie with horrible lighting amongst other things, the ending left too many questions and loose ends, are we supposed to guess or come up with our own conclusions?
I watched the movie twice to try and understand what was happening. American entertainment is so dumbed down that a slow, thoughtful presentation catches us off balance.It’s a complicated movie with real emotionally complex themes.
I watched as I have watched hundreds of others!
Well done, Netflix. Cliff hanging throughout and excellent deception and pacing, plus award winning performances and directing and editing because it wasn’t draged out. Suspense was believable due to the police management and constant control of prosecution procedures.
Too bad others didn’t use CC for the accents.
One of my hall of fame dramatic documentary movies.
Bravo! Netflix
R. L. Bird
Excellent films. Award worthy performances by both main actors. Great tension, pacing, cinematography. Anyone who didn’t appreciate all the details and aspects of this film are ignorant at best. It’s a complex movie that was superbly handled. Bravo Netflix!!