This article discusses the ending of the Amazon Prime film Madres, so will contain major spoilers.
Madres follows a young couple who, expecting their first child, move to a small Californian town to start a new life together. However, when they find their new, supposedly idyllic existence being plagued by symptoms of disease and bizarre visions, things quickly begin to unravel.
Suspecting that something very untoward is going on in their new hometown, Diana (Ariana Guerra) starts to look into local records and databases, specifically birth and death registers. It becomes clear that there is definitely a pattern, but what kind of bigger picture that pattern is part of doesn’t emerge straightaway.
Madres ending explained
What it takes is for Diana to make another unplanned visit to the local maternity hospital for things to become clear. Whilst there on an overnight stay, she witnesses one of the women undergo a procedure that compels her to investigate the hospital’s own files for clues as to what’s really going on. What she uncovers is truly horrifying. The hospital has been sterilizing all of the Mexican women in the local area without their consent as part of some sort of ethnic cleansing operation. Just as she pieces everything together, however, Diana is drugged and blacks out, and later wakes up in the hospital’s operating theatre, strapped to the table with no means of escape.
When it seems that all hope is lost, her husband Beto (Tenoch Huerta) turns up, having unearthed the secrets for himself whilst visiting another hospital nearby with records that make for far better reading. He kills the doctor in charge of the maternity unit but is shot when his boss (who was in on the whole thing and actively contributing by employing migrant farmers and drawing them to the area) turns up. Once again, Diana looks to be entirely helpless, but she summons the protection of forces she was blessed with when she moved into the area which saves her and enables her to escape. Fast-forward some time, and Diana and Beto are back at home, with baby, and thriving. Diana has finally written the book that she promised to write when they first moved in, and life is good for the new family.
However, there was one loose end that wasn’t tied up from the showdown at the maternity hospital. Head Nurse Carol got away from all the chaos and moved to another unit where she continues her work. How many more women’s lives will she manage to destroy before she and the many ‘professionals’ like her are caught?
You can stream Madres exclusively on Amazon Prime. Do you have any thoughts on the Madres ending? Let us know in the comments.
