Netflix’s Old People Ending Explained- Respect Your Elders Or Else

Netflix’s German horror film Old People shares a lot of DNA with the recent festival addition The Elderly. Old People ends with a message and a concise conclusion, while the profoundly unsettling The Elderly ends with a fiery bang, but the central conceit is the same. Society’s view of older people has become skewed. We are either afraid of them, annoyed, or simply too busy to care. The premise delivered in a brief voiceover after a brutal act of violence alerts us to the fact that a radical shift has happened with the elderly. For too long, the neglected, forgotten, and abused were left to fend for themselves. They are angry and armed with a purpose. Heaven help those who get in their way.

If only we had the wisdom of age with the physicality of youth. Who over forty hasn’t thought youth is wasted on the young? Unfortunately, that concept is taken to a gruesome conclusion in Netflix’s German film Old People, directed and written by Andy Fetscher. Yet, as violent as the film is, there is an undercurrent of hope and condemnation. Our elders deserve better than to be ignored, and love always conquers hate. This movie definitely made me think I should call my Mom and Dad more often.

Ella, her daughter Laura and Noah travel to the countryside for her sister’s wedding. While there, they visit their elderly grandfather in the nursing facility he is currently living in. Ella’s sister had him placed there after Ella moved to the city. They are shocked to see how dilapidated and short-staffed the place is. There are barely enough workers and resources to keep the place going, and many residents are tied to beds and living in filth. Ellas checks her father out, intent on him staying with her during the wedding.

On that same night as the wedding, every older person living in the facility, as well as those in the small town, start displaying some disturbing behaviors. Not only are they intent on savage rampages in their homes, but they are also rioting across the countryside, killing everyone they come into contact with. Embed with a homicidal disposition and super strength, they are on a mission. To what end, we don’t know just yet, but it becomes clearer as Old People progresses. Here’s everything you need to know about Old People, the curse, and the ties that bind.

The ending of Old People

After Kim jumped from the second-floor window and was killed by the mob, Laura, Ella, Lukas, and Noah tried to barricade themselves in the house. They aren’t successful, and eventually, Ella and Lukas are both killed by the mob. Laura and Noah escape through the tunnels and make it to the house next door, where they encounter their grandfather and the leader on the front porch. Aike stops himself from hurting them but is unable to overpower the spirit and attack the leader. The leader begins strangling Laura while Noah watches, horrified. Laura starts singing the family song heard at the wedding, which is enough to slow the leader down. While the spirit possessing him is preoccupied, Aike picks up Laura’s gun and shoots him.

Love can overcome grief and fear. Noah, Laura, and Aike make it to the beach, where they find an older woman cradling a bloodied child and crying. Presumably, she has realized what she did to her grandchild. Alex has made it to shore with a boat to rescue them. They race out to the boat, and all board just as a large group of people emerge from the woods. Laura’s voiceover indicates that the killing has just begun. Everywhere old people are rebelling against their treatment. Someday, Laura says they would learn to trust each other again and hopefully learn from their mistakes.

Why are the elderly killing everyone?

It all stems from an ancient curse that Laura’s ex-boyfriend Alex informs her of early in the film. He takes her into the woods to a stone structure meant as a reminder to not forsake their elders. A curse was placed on the town, so if the younger generation should ever begin neglecting their elders, they would be possessed by a vengeful spirit. Unfortunately, that spirit is back and has infected the older folk. If not for the increased strength, it would be easy to say these poor people are tired of being forgotten. They say as much when the leader gets captured and duct taped to the bedpost. He tells them that no one deserves to be treated like animals.

By the end of Old People, it becomes clear it isn’t just this small community that was affected either. Older people everywhere are rising up and killing anyone younger. These people are in pain and lonely. Family above all else. They don’t want to be left to die alone and forgotten like injured animals. Ironically Kim’s biggest fear and failing as a human being stems from a similar place. She was so insecure and jealous of Lukas’ children and Ella that she was willing to sacrifice them for her own protection.

Although the curse does make them all angry, some of them are capable of resisting the spirit. This is why Ella and Noah’s grandfather was able to resist just enough to hide Noah and protect Noah. It is also why he stops when Ella and Noah sing their family song while the leader of the old people is trying to kill her. Those who care for the elderly, remember their love and responsibility, and soothe the ancient spirit are protected. This is ultimately why their grandfather shoots the leader of the old people. He loves them, and when they sang their family song, it reminded him and the spirit that not everyone has forgotten family.

Although Old People ends on a much more optimistic note than The Elderly, the sentiment is the same. Grief, loneliness, and carelessness make us weak. The most vulnerable are left exposed to an attack by an opportunistic spirit looking for a way to exorcise their anger. All they need is love. That’s probably what we all need. Old People is currently streaming on Netflix.