What happens at the end of Unwelcome? Warning spoilers for Unwelcome ahead, but you’ve read the headline, so you already knew that. If you were to judge Unwelcome by its trailer, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a standard creature feature about goblins.
That said, you should never judge a book by its cover; there’s far more going on in this horror movie. Centred on Maya (Hannah John-Kamen) and Jamie (Douglas Booth), a young couple who move from London to rural Ireland, Unwelcome tells a tale about male impotence that also asks us to consider what keeps a person civilised. Is it nurture, or is it nature? What would drive someone to kill?
Also, yeah, there are plenty of violent goblins, but this film’s got more in common with thriller movies than your typical monster movie. Anyway, for Jamie and Maya, the nightmare begins in London. Final spoiler warning, there be monsters ahead!
Unwelcome ending explained
Unwelcome opens with Maya discovering she’s pregnant and celebrating with her boyfriend, Jamie. Unfortunately, their joy turns to terror when Jamie goes out to get a bottle of non-alcoholic prosecco and accidentally antagonises a group of ruffians outside.
Following Jamie back into his building, the thugs attack the couple, badly beating Jamie, only leaving the flat when Maya manages to pull a knife on them. As the pair cry, we suddenly cut to Ireland, where an old woman lies dead in the grass.
It turns out this is Jamie’s great-aunt who’s passed away of old age. Not having children of her own, Jamie inherits the house, and he and Maya, who are keen to escape their trauma, quickly move in.
While the house initially seems perfect, it quickly becomes apparent that it needs a lot of work to make it a safe home for a young family. Despite this, Maeve, an old friend of Jamie’s aunt, says the most important thing about the house is in the garden.
Showing Maya to a small door separating the garden from the woods beyond, Maeve insists that Maya and Jamie must leave a “blood offering” at the door each night for the Redcaps who live in the forest.
While Jamie’s initially dismissive, Maya slowly comes to believe the Redcaps are real after one night seeing a plate of liver left at the door disappear. She begins to investigate and eventually discovers Jamie’s aunt may have lost her only child after making a deal with the Redcaps.
Still, Jamie’s more focused on getting the house brought up to scratch and turns to the Whelan family for help. Infamous in the local area, the Whelans — Aisling, Eoin, Killian, led by Daddy Whelan — are a family of builders known in the area for their wildness.
Sure enough, soon after work begins at the house, Jamie and Maya find themselves getting into arguments with the younger Whelans. When Maya witnesses Daddy Whelan being abusive to Eoin, things come to a head, and she confronts the Whelan patriarch.
While Daddy manages to talk his way out of things, Eoin escapes into the woods and Maya, annoyed that Jamie didn’t back her up, follows him in. Maya eventually discovers a strange stone structure in the woods and pokes her head inside but decides not to enter.
Walking home, Maya stumbles across Eoin, who confesses that Daddy Whelan frequently abuses him. A shocked Maya tries to comfort Eoin, but when he tries to force himself on her, the pair get into a fight.
However, when Eoin gets the upper hand, the Redcaps strike, dragging Eoin into the woods. Back at the house, the Whelans search for Eoin and as Maya returns, she tells Jamie about the Redcaps.
Jamie tells her she’s hallucinating and storms off to the pub, where he has yet another encounter with the Whelans. Back home, the Redcaps again visit Maya, gifting her Owen’s head in a carrier bag.
When Jamie returns home, a terrified Maya shows him the head. Confronted with undeniable evidence the Redcaps exist, Jamie finally accepts that the Redcaps are real, but before the pair can dispose of the head, the Whelans arrive.
Daddy and Killian try and break into the house while hunting Eoin, while Maya escapes out the back, where she runs into Aisling. Discovering Eoin’s head, Aisling tells her father and brother, both of whom vow to murder Jamie.
As the Whelans start to attack, Maya slips away into the woods and runs to the strange stone structure she found earlier. As she cries, she promises the Redcaps “anything” as long as they save Jamie.
Sure enough, before Daddy and Killian can kill Jamie, the Redcaps attack. While the Redcaps butcher the Whelans, Maya goes into labour, and although daddy briefly gets the upper hand thanks to a shotgun, he’s eventually killed as well.
Heading to the hospital, Maya and Jamie’s baby is given a clean bill of health; however, the Redcaps soon come for their reward. The goblins steal the baby and take it back to their home.
Maya gives chase and kills the Redcap chief and Jamie’s great-aunt’s lost daughter, who’s been living with the goblins for decades. Heading back to the house with her child, Maya’s declared Mama Redcap by the goblins, who baptise her in blood while a laughing Jamie watches on.
Yep, it’s a wild one. If you love scary films, you need to check out our detailed guides on the new movies Scream 6 and Saw 10. We’ve also got a comprehensive list of the best monster movies and an article all about our favourite zombie movies.