Hulu’s Huluween season kicks off with Appendage, a horror debut by Anna Zlokovic about a young woman whose inner anxieties take the form of a malicious creature from inside her body — we detail the ending, explaining it as best as we possibly can.
Despite the relatively short runtime, there’s quite a lot happening in the course of the movie. The lead, Hannah, is a fashion designer working under a very unpleasant boss. She’s just started a new relationship with Kaelin after her best friend, Esther, introduced them.
However, despite having a seemingly ideal life, Hannah suffers from underlying mental health issues and is battling thoughts of self-doubt. In true horror movie fashion, those anxieties manifest as an ugly goblin-like creature that grows from inside her birthmark.
What’s an appendage?
The creature, known as an appendage, voices Hannah’s worst fears about herself. It tells her she’s talentless and unlovable and that her boyfriend is cheating.
A quick Google search leads Hannah to a support group for people like her, where she meets and befriends Claudia. During her first meeting, she learns that the only way to keep the appendage in check is to keep it locked up and sedated.
Appendage Ending Explained
In the film’s big twist, we learn that the support group Hannah joined, including her new bestie Claudia, were the Appendages who rose against their hosts. However, no explanation is given for why the other Appendages helped Hannah keep her little goblin sedated for more than a month.
How do the appendages take over their hosts’s lives?
We learn that the support group was just a ploy to attract new people and help free their appendages. The group leader figured out a way for them to feed on humans to free them from their hosts and allow them to fully take control.
Claudia and Appendage-Hannah tie up the real Hannah in her apartment’s basement. Appendage-Hannah then proceeds to text an apology to Esther and arranges a hot date for herself with Kaelin.
Who saves the real Hannah?
But Esther isn’t so easily fooled. She does some Nancy Drew-style snooping, finds the real Hannah, rescues her, and takes her to the hospital.
When Hannah wakes up in her hospital bed, she apologizes to Esther for suspecting her of sleeping with Kaelin. An evil doppelganger took over Hannah’s life, but it’s nice to see where her priorities lie.
The two girls make up and plan a fun hospital sleepover, seemingly having forgotten about Appendage-Hannah and the danger she still poses.
Eventually, they remember poor Kaelin and that he might be in danger. So the two head to his apartment to save him.
Meanwhile, Appendage-Hannah goes on her date with Kaelin and seduces him. As soon as he heads to the bathroom to freshen up, Appendage-Hannah’s teeth start falling off so she calls Claudia for advice.
Ever helpful, Claudia tells her new bestie to feed on poor Kaelin. According to the support group Appendages, if she feeds on another person, her connection to the real Hannah gets severed. It’s unclear what that means.
As Appendage-Hannah shoves her giant tongue in the back of Kaelin’s neck, real Hannah and Esther arrive at the apartment.
Inside, Hannah and Esther fight off Claudia and eventually stab her with a meat thermometer.
How did Hannah take back control of her appendage?
Hannah then cuts Appendage-Hannah’s… well, tongue appendages with scissors. A weakened creature tries to voice Hannah’s anxieties, but this time, our heroine promises the appendage she’ll take care of it.
After freeing the real Claudia from her basement, Hannah and Esther quit their jobs and start their own fashion design business.
As a side note, the film never explains why Appendage-Claudia kept the real Claudia alive. She seemed to know everything about taking over a host’s life, like an appendage Yoda, yet she failed at the actions she was rushing Appendage-Hannah to take.
True to her word, Hannah keeps her now small and cute Appendage living inside a baby crib in her attic. When she feels a slither of self-doubt, Hannah goes upstairs and soothes the appendage until her stress goes away.
What did you think of the ending of the 2023 Hulu movie Appendage? Comment below.
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