Reptile ending explained: Director unpacks frisbee moment

The tense whodunnit sees Del Toro play detective Tom Nichols, whose latest case revolves around the murder of Matilda Lutz's real estate agent Summer.

Timberlake plays her boyfriend Will, who discovered the body and who became an initial suspect alongside Summer's ex-husband Sam (Karl Glusman).

But, as the mild-mannered detective digs deeper into the case, things get a lot more complicated than they initially seem. Director Grant Singer spoke to RadioTimes.com about why he decided to end the film the way he did, and what that frisbee scene meant.

Reptile ending explained: Who killed Summer?

During the investigation into Summer's murder, a number of people fall under Tom's suspicions – including her boyfriend Will Grady (Justin Timberlake), their stalker Eli (Michael Carmen Pitt), and Sam (Karl Glusman) the husband from whom she has recently separated.

As Tom digs deeper into the case, however, he finds that there is a whole conspiracy behind the killing: Summer had been threatening to inform the FBI about a scam that Will and his mother were running that saw them planting drugs in houses so they could seize them and sell them on.

As this would have implicated a number of Tom's own police colleagues in a corruption scandal, she had been murdered to prevent her from spilling the information.

When Tom approaches senior colleagues including his friend Captain Robert Allen (Eric Bogosian) and chief Marty Graeber (Mike Pniewski) about this he discovers that they were in on the scam and their subsequent confrontation eventually ends in a massive shootout that sees several of the conspirators shot by Tom.

Meanwhile, it emerges that Will – who had initially reported Summer's murder – had collaborated with the cops and was therefore also partly responsible for her death. Although his precise role is not disclosed, the film ends with him being arrested by the FBI in the middle of a golfing session.

What does the ending of the movie Reptile mean?

Singer explained during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com that he wanted to keep some details about the film deliberately opaque.

"The movie very much evokes this feeling of not knowing," he explained. "And it's this fine, delicate balance between making something satisfying for the viewer, but also not showing them something. So that they can lean in and question what is it they're seeing, what are the motivations, is this person hiding something, what does that mean?"

"Like the absence of information or the absence of a clue can sometimes be more rewarding for a viewer than actually showing," he added. "I think in terms of mysteries, sometimes the things that are most hidden tend to be the things that are most lasting. So, it's really just finding that balance."

What happened with the frisbee in Reptile?

One of the stranger details about the film's ending is that the shootout begins just after a frisbee hits the window of the house in which the confrontation is unfolding – which leads to a sudden shot that mortally wounds a detective called Wally and prompts Tom to shoot when he had previously been reluctant.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Singer explained why he decided to include this moment in the film.

"So there are these like, acts of God in the movie," he said. "These serendipitous moments – like Benicio at the end of the second act, where he's putting away the case binder of the murder book and these two photos just accidentally fall out.

"And they end up being the photos that show the bite, which compels him to sort of revisit the case and look at the bite, which essentially creates the entire third act of the movie."

Read more:

• The Old Oak writer on why Ken Loach wanted final film to focus on hope
• Dumb Money true story: Writers and director on adapting GameStop saga

He added: "We really like this idea of this act of God occurring in the standoff between these two characters. And the frisbee... well, first of all, the frisbee is motivated by just these kids playing right outside the house. And this idea that kids playing was like a really... I think a nice metaphor, a nice counterpoint to what is going to occur inside the house.

"You have this really tense, devastating conversation, moment, experience, convergence that's going to occur, and then outside you have this playfulness of just young people, young kids just having a good time."

And he said that the frisbee also had a secondary meaning – as a metaphor for his own experience making his first feature film.

"The idea is that I'm the kids playing," he revealed. "This is my first movie, I'm just enjoying myself, I'm just playing and this is my thing. And then the moment when the kids look and make eye contact with Benicio in the window, that's me making eye contact with my lead actor, that's a moment where like the filmmaker and the actor have this moment of connection.

"And it was a way to kind of create this sort of... to impart my own perspective and my own experience of making this movie into the experience of the story."

Reptile is now streaming on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Film coverage, or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10, PLUS a £10 John Lewis and Partners voucher delivered to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.