We discuss the ending of the Netflix film Infiesto which will contain spoilers.
The film Infiesto starts around the time when Spain officially announced the first lockdown and finds our leads personally affected by the virus. Inspector Samuel Garcia (Isak Férriz) is not allowed to visit his nursing home-bound mother, while Deputy Inspector Marta Castro’s (Iria del Río) boyfriend is infected and gradually getting worse.
The two get little time to process the global situation as on the same day a nationwide lockdown is announced, a kidnapped girl named Saioa (Andrea Barrado) emerges after being held captive in the small mining town of Infiesto. Because of her injuries and mental trauma, the victim can’t help police locate her captors. And as most of the police force is needed to enforce the lockdown, the police commissioner (Juan Fernández) has little choice but to make Marta and Samuel work the kidnapping case by themselves.
Speaking with Saioa herself would help the investigation, but both her mother and the hospital mental health nurse refuse to allow the inspectors access to the victim.
As they continue trying to figure out what happened to the girl, Marta, and Samuel find the farm where she was kept but fail to arrest the culprit, giving him ample time to kill his dog and go on the run. Eventually, the police catch up with Dog Killer, but he kills himself before they get a chance to arrest him. They do, however, manage to find and take into custody the dead man’s accomplice and, in the process, make the gruesome discovery that Saioa wasn’t the only teenager these criminals have kidnapped.
Infiesto ending explained
While interrogating the second suspect, known as Demon, Samuel, and Marta learn that he and the Dog Killer were just following orders from a third kidnapper nicknamed The Prophet. It’s revealed that the three druid-lovin’ criminals have been sacrificing teenagers every three months for at least a couple of years, and Saioa only escaped because Dog Killer got soft on her and let her out to get some fresh air.
The Demon’s motive for the killings doesn’t make much sense as, on one hand, he claims they were doing it to appease a god, while on the other, he claims to know for a fact it’s the end of the world. Yet why would they be sacrificing children if the apocalypse was a certainty remains a mystery.
The day after speaking with The Demon, Samuel learns that his mother passed away from Covid in the nursing home. To make matters worse, the newly bereaved Samuel is called into a crime scene where we find out The Prophet kidnapped a young nurse so he can complete the spring sacrifice.
Not thinking straight, Samuel and Marta release Demon from police custody, take him to the scene of his previous crimes and politely ask for the Prophet’s name. By politely, I mean Samuel beats the life out of the man and tortures him with a plastic bag before shooting him in the kneecap. As Samuel’s about to execute Demon in a fit of rage, he’s interrupted by the police commissioner, who suspends him on the spot without pay.
Who is The Prophet?
In the final act, both Marta and Samuel discover the identity of The Prophet, but one of them does it too late. As he’s about to leave the police station, he takes a second look at the photo of the Demon and the Dog Killer as kids. He notices an adult in the photo who’s wearing a necklace similar to the ritualistic dolls they found at each crime scene. Without calling for backup, Samuel decides to pay a visit to Infiesto, where he asks one of the local police officers for help in identifying the man in the photo. Ever so helpful, one officer recognizes The Prophet and offers to take Samuel to his last known location.
Meanwhile, Marta interviews a young woman who has the same symbol as Saioa carved on her skin. The woman is the same person Marta had seen lurking outside the police station days prior. She used to be a member of The Prophet’s cult and just about escaped with her life after the deranged leader tried to sacrifice her. We then find out The Prophet’s real name: Ramos. As in the local Seargent Ramos, who’s alone with Samuel at a remote location. Marta’s frantic call to her partner telling him the killer’s identity comes too late, and Seargent Ramos murders Samuel before police can arrive to rescue him.
The end of the world
After finding her partner’s dead body, a distraught Marta follows The Prophet inside the town’s mine. Seemingly not having learned anything from Samuel’s untimely demise, Deputy Inspector goes after her suspect all by her lonesome and finds the missing nurse in Ramos’s sacrificial chamber. By sheer luck, she manages to outmaneuver The Prophet, but not before he repeats that same haunting phrase each villain in this film kept saying: “This is just the beginning.”
At the hospital, Marta’s pleased to find her boyfriend having recovered from his brush with Covid. As the convalescent man makes an off-hand remark about the pandemic feeling like the end of the world, Marta’s response mirrors what Samuel said earlier in the movie, “It probably is.”
What did you think of the ending of the Netflix film Infiesto? Comment below.
