To understand the ending of Disco Inferno, we must go back to the beginning. While only 18 minutes long, this Netflix short film tells its story across two separate timelines brought together by one creepy building.
In 1950, Sister Lynn took her own life as she couldn’t bear the guilt after killing a young mother and stealing her baby.
That baby was none other than Mel, who returned to the church decades later to take part in the dance competition with her boyfriend, Brandon. We first meet the couple as they’re rehearsing their dance number.
Disco Inferno Ending Explained
Where is Disco Inferno?
The pair are hoping to win a dance competition at the newly opened discotheque Inferno, which would pave their way to stardom. Yes, Inferno is a hot new L.A. nightclub that opened in the same building as the old catholic church.
Unbeknownst to Mel, her returning to that same church while pregnant attracts unwanted attention from Sister Lynn’s ghost. It wasn’t enough for Lynn to take Mel’s mother away from her all those years ago. Now, the evil nun set her sights on the young woman’s unborn baby.
The poor girl was already anxious enough about telling Brandon they were about to become parents.
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Before the dance contest can begin, Mel finds herself hounded inside the spirit world by Lynn. A sign that the young woman’s soul is no longer in the plane of the living is her eyes turning completely dark.
As she’s aimlessly walking along the once-brimming with disco lights church, Mel is being taunted by Lynn’s ghost.
In the film’s final act, Mel faces off against Sister Lynn’s spirit in the church’s confession room, where it all started. The evil entity attacks the young woman while Brandon desperately tries to pry the doors open.
When Brandon manages to break in, he finds his lover laying unconscious on the floor. Mel finally tells him about her pregnancy. To her relief, Brandon reacts with nothing but joy at the news.
However, as Brandon is carrying Mel out of the nightclub, we get one close-up of her face; her eyes have turned completely black, suggesting her soul is gone.
What did Sister Lynn want from Mel?
At the start of the film, Sister Lynn bemoans her fate as a barren woman. When we see her spirit attacking Mel, it’s easy to assume the entity wants to take Mel’s unborn baby with her in the spirit world. Yet the ending suggests Lynn’s plan all along was to take over Mel’s pregnant body and her life.
The woman Brandon is carrying to safety is no longer his beloved Mel. But a vessel possessed by Lynn, who’s about to have all her dreams come true – A baby and a loving man.
As for Mel’s soul, the film doesn’t explicitly show what happened to her. But one explanation is that she took Lynn’s place as Inferno’s resident ghost.
What did you think of the ending of Disco Inferno? Comment below.
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