Gone In The Night Ending Explained- What Happened To Max, And What Was Barlow Doing?

A little bit like this year’s surprise bonkers hit Barbarian but lacking all of the punch, Gone In The Night, rebranded from its original title The Cow, which premiered at SXSW, has some of the right elements. For example, Winona Ryder is a star. Her giant expressive eyes are almost enough to save this lazing thriller. If you watched to the end of this and wondered what did I just watch, you aren’t alone.

Kath, a wide-eyed Ryder, and her younger boyfriend Max, a placidly toxic John Gallagher Jr., have traveled to a cabin in the woods for a weekend to reunite and decompress. The drive there is thick with caustic negativity. She is insecure about her looks and age, and he only reinforces that feeling. In a rare moment of honesty in Gone In The Night, Kath worries about her forehead and nearly imperceptible wrinkles. There is a nugget of something clever there that gets lost in the rest of the movie. The message about aging and respect for time served and lives lived turns into a trite and insultingly cloying version of Death Becomes Her without the humor or moral.

After a long drive, they arrive at the cabin after dark to find a much younger couple, Greta and Al, already there. It takes some convincing on all parts but eventually, the two couples agree to spend the night together in the cabin and make the most of things. It’s obvious Kath has very little in common with this younger couple, and the other woman isn’t above openly flirting with Max. Greta takes pleasure in making Kath feel insecure and uncomfortable. When things disintegrate, Kath goes to bed. The next day she wakes up to an empty bed and cabin. Walking through the woods looking for Max, she sees Al, who appears devastated and says Greta and Max slept together and left both of them.

Kath returns to the city alone and tries to put the pieces of her life back together but struggles to forget about Max. She tries to get the cabin’s owner, Nicolas Barlow, to give her Greta’s contact information, but he refuses to divulge that information out of professionalism and safety. Nevertheless, the two strike up a tentative friendship and Kath learns he is a biotech genius who left his career behind to live a simpler life. He claims he had an epiphany when his father died of a debilitating genetic disease and realized there was more to life than work and money. Barlow also reveals he has the disease but is working on a cure.

Who are Greta and Al, and what do the flashbacks show?

At this point, we begin to put the pieces together about Max and Greta. Max is offended by Kath and her friends at a dinner party a few days before the cabin trip and leaves, pretending to need more wine. He runs into Greta and Al, who are arguing. Al and Greta tell him about a house party, and they go to the party together. At this party, Greta tells Max about a secret concert and invites him to the cabin. Although Al was surprised to see Kath when Max was supposed to be alone, they agreed to let them stay at the cabin. This is what Kath saw as the other couple arguing about who reserved the cabin. They were really arguing about Max bringing Kath.

Greta takes a selfie of her and Max, who she drugged and put in a barrel before delivering him to the shipping container we see later. This is the picture that Kath sees on Greta’s phone and mistakenly believes it is proof they are sleeping together. Greta also finds an important document that is important later. Kath makes an important discovery while at Barlow’s house to bring him a plant. It is a picture of Nicolas and his son. She now realizes Al is Barlow’s son, and everyone has been in on this from the beginning. Al and Greta chose Max to save Barlow’s life, or so Al thought.

The ending of Gone In The Night

In the third act of Gone In The Night, Kath finds a shipping container near Barlow’s cabin, and using the keys she stole from his house, she opens it. Inside she finds Max connected to medical equipment and a transfusion machine. Barlow, Al, and Greta confront Kath inside the container, and everything comes out. It is revealed Greta chose Max to use as a blood source for Barlow. She also drags out the document from earlier and tells Al that Barlow doesn’t have the same genetic disease as his father. The blood transfusions are to prevent aging. Like some Elizabeth Bathory dummy, Barlow thought he could transfuse himself with Max’s blood and reverse the aging process. Never mind that no one did any blood typing or anything.

Barlow claims his motivation is to spend more time with Al and because he can’t imagine becoming weak and dependent like his father. He also said he genuinely grew fond of Kath, and she uses his affection to save herself. Kath tells him she also is terrified of getting old and is dating Max to feel younger. She says she wants the transfusions too. Barlow and Al sedate Greta so she can be used to transfuse Kath, and while they are busy, Kath tries to escape with Max. Unfortunately, in Max’s weakened state and confusion, he rips out the IV in his neck and bleeds to death. Kath then runs out of the container and locks the door behind her. Greta, Al, and Barlow were still inside. Instead of calling the police or driving away, she goes back into Barlow’s cabin and looks out of the window.

What does the final scene of Kath mean?

After looking at herself in the mirror and rubbing her bloodied hands on her face, Kath gets out of the car and goes into Barlow’s cabin. The film ends with Kath staring into the woods calmly. Kath has been portrayed as an insecure but decent human being all along. She could have been shocked and horrified by everything that happened and needed a moment to collect herself before calling the authorities. She could have also been concerned about not being believed since Barlow was a respected millionaire. It’s also possible she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do. She had been preoccupied with her age throughout Gone In The Night. Kath could be deciding how to handle things moving forward so she can get the transfusions too.

In all likelihood, though, Kath knows she can’t open that container again, or she will be killed. I think Kath looks at herself in the mirror and finally makes peace with her age. She stays in the cabin because, unlike Barlow, who only pretended to want a simpler life, Kath really does. She loves plants, and out in the woods, she is surrounded by them. I think her last look is one of serenity. She wasn’t able to save Max, but she saved herself.

Try as I might, I couldn’t dislike this movie. Unlike Horowitz’s brilliant Homecoming series, I saw the twist coming early. I always knew who was behind the mystery. Even with the lazy scripting and awkward dialogue that I can’t quite believe is always intentional, there’s a comedic sensibility to Gone In The Night that makes it fun in a Hulu recommends at two in the morning kind of way. I’m not judging; we have all been there. There’s a perverse enjoyment that comes with watching Ryder navigate the insanity, but it’s not enough to make this a can’t-miss, more like, eh, it’s not so bad if you got a couple of hours to kill.