We discuss the ending of the 2023 Japanese Netflix movie Once Upon a Crime, which will contain significant spoilers.
Once Upon a Crime is a Japanese fairytale mystery mash-up that offers an unusual spin on the classic tales of Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.
In this iteration, Red Riding Hood has little to do with wolves and more to do with sleuthing. After meeting and befriending the unfortunate Cinderella, she decides to go to the ball with her.
The quirky Witch Barbara makes magical gowns for the two girls, while another fairy turns their shoes into beautiful glass slippers. With a friendly mouse as their driver, the two get into their pumpkin carriage and head to the ball, where Cinderella hopes to catch the Prince’s eye.
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Unfortunately, the murder of the King’s favorite hair stylist, Mr. Hans, threatens Cinderella’s fairytale ending with her dream Prince. Can Red Riding Hood figure out who killed Mr. Hans, and why would anyone target the innocent hairdresser?
Once Upon a Crime (2023) Ending Explained
Before the clock strikes midnight and the witch’s magic wears off, Red Riding Hood just about manages to prove the Prince’s innocence. She also deduced that neither Cinderella’s stepmother nor her sister Anne was guilty of the murder.
Anne was just a victim of Hans’s weird obsession with cutting off beautiful hair.
Why was the Prince angry at the King?
The Prince reveals he threw his father’s crown in the garbage because he blamed the King for his one true love, Remi’s disappearance.
While the Prince had a motive (the stylist was blackmailing him), he didn’t kill him. When the crime took place, the Prince was walking in the woods.
A mysterious beggar woman verifies his alibi, as does a thorn on his jacket.
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When the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood make their rushed exit with the former leavening behind a glass slipper, like in the fairytale.
That night, Red can’t sleep, so she goes outside for fresh hair and runs into Cinderrela’s second sister, Margot, who unexpectedly confesses to killing Mr. Hans.
According to Margot, she received a letter from Mr. Hans inviting her over for a free haircut. When she arrived, someone knocked her out.
Why did Margot confess to the murder?
Poor Margot woke up holding the brick used in the murder. Desperate to get rid of the body, she dragged Mr. Hans and threw him in front of Cinderella’s carriage, hoping they would think it was an accident.
Red encourages the King’s men to arrest Margot but knows the stepsister is only guilty of being a cruel sibling.
The next day, Cinderella is going about her daily chores when the Prince and his guards arrive with her glass slipper.
Who killed Mr. Hans?
Convinced this is her fairytale ending, Cinderella puts on the slipper; It’s a perfect fit. But instead of asking for her hand in marriage, the Prince arrests her. Yes, Cinderella was the killer all along.
Mr. Hans had approached her and offered to make her beautiful. But instead of styling her hair, the wicked hairdresser tries to forcefully cut it off.
In retaliation, Cinderella murdered Mr. Hans in cold blood. (There is a hair-defense argument in there somewhere). She then tried to frame her sister Margot.
After Cinderrela’s arrest, the Prince confessed he was never going to marry her anyway. For his heart is with another.
Who is the beggar woman?
We then find out the true identity of the beggar woman who provided the alibi. It’s the Prince’s long-lost love, Remi.
As it turns out, the hair-obsessed Hans tried chopping off Remi’s hair too. During the struggle, he accidentally left a scar on her cheek. The Prince ruled over a land where beauty is the most important thing, so Remi believed she had no choice but to disappear.
All’s well that ends well. The Prince and Remi resume their relationship, and even the King approves the match.
As for Red Riding Hood, she continues on her journey. And if the narrator is to be believed, this is not the last we’ve seen of the sleuthing Red.
What did you think of the ending of the 2023 Japanese Netflix movie Once Upon a Crime? Comment below.
