The Rental Ending Explained: What Happens to the Characters in the Final Act?

Dave Franco’s directorial debut, The Rental, begins as a tense relationship drama before evolving into a disturbing psychological horror film. Starring Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand, and Jeremy Allen White, the movie follows two couples who rent a secluded coastal vacation home for a relaxing weekend. However, after discovering hidden surveillance cameras inside the property, their getaway quickly spirals into paranoia, betrayal, and deadly violence.

While the first half of the film focuses on trust issues and interpersonal conflict, the final act introduces an entirely different threat that changes the story’s direction. Rather than centering on the rental property’s owner, the ending reveals a far more unsettling truth about the real killer. Here’s what happens in the final act of The Rental and what the ending ultimately means.

The Killer’s Final Plan

After Charlie accidentally kills Taylor during a confrontation, the group panics and decides to cover up what they believe is an accidental death. Their plan quickly falls apart when a masked stranger begins stalking them around the property. One by one, Charlie, Michelle, Josh, and Mina are hunted down and killed, leaving none of the four main characters alive by the end of the film.

The biggest twist is that Taylor, the rental property’s owner, is not the murderer. Although the film deliberately encourages viewers to suspect him because of his suspicious behavior and racial bias toward Mina, he turns out to be another victim. The real killer is an anonymous man who had previously rented the property, secretly installed surveillance equipment and copied the house key before returning later to murder unsuspecting guests.

The film’s final act reveals that an anonymous masked killer has been stalking the guests from the very beginning (Image via IFC Films)

After eliminating everyone, the killer calmly removes the hidden cameras, erases every trace of his presence, and leaves without revealing his identity. In the closing moments, he checks into another vacation rental under a false identity, installs a new set of hidden cameras, copies another key, and patiently waits for his next victims. This final montage confirms that the murders were not random but part of a carefully planned routine that he has likely repeated many times before.

The ending reinforces the film’s central theme of misplaced trust. Throughout the story, the characters suspect each other and the property owner, while the real danger remains completely invisible. By never revealing the killer’s name or motive, The Rental suggests that ordinary vacation homes can become terrifying places simply because someone unnoticed has already been there. The bleak conclusion leaves audiences with the unsettling idea that the cycle will continue, making the anonymous killer far more frightening than any traditional horror villain.