Into the Labyrinth Ending Explained & Plot Summary

Into the Labyrinth is one of the most mysterious films of our time. It is not surprising, because it was shot by Donato Carisi, the author of the novel of the same name, who decided not to oversimplify the cinematic version of the book’s original source, and confused his fans even more than while reading the book.

Below we will try to figure out what is the meaning of the film and what still happens in its finale.

Explanation of the plot spoilers of Into the Labyrinth

At first glance, the plot of “Girls in the Maze” is quite typical and even understandable. The main character is kidnapped, then, 15 years later, she is found and interrogated. In parallel with these events, the detective, who 15 years ago refused to investigate the case of her disappearance, decides, in view of his imminent death, to figure out who did kidnap this girl. There are a lot of such detectives, and they are united by the fact that they all somehow interact with their viewer, go linearly and do not pile up the plot with details that make the head spin.

In “Girl in the Labyrinth” everything is completely different. The plot is incredibly confusing, the action is non-linear, and the details and clues, which are already too numerous, are the key to understanding what is happening.

Moreover, for the English-speaking viewer, the situation is complicated by the fact that, judging by the title, the plot will revolve around some girl, but the truth is that the correct translation of “L’uomo del labirinto” is “A man in a labyrinth”. Which is also a hint, because in the labyrinth of the film there will be not only its heroines, but also the viewer himself, who will become entangled in the tangle of its plot twists, which we will try to unravel below.

To begin with, the events shown in the film include four main storylines: detective Bruno Genko, who is investigating the disappearance of schoolgirl Samantha Andretti; Mila Vasquez, a missing police officer; Robin Bass and the fake doctor Green (Bunny), who interrogated Mila Vasquez in the maze, convincing her that she is Samantha Andretti, who disappeared 15 years ago.

All of these key events are presented in such a way that we think the film is linear and the aforementioned parallel storylines are happening at the same time. But this is not the case. The line with the investigation of detective Bruno Genko takes place in the past, and ends at the junction with the disappearance of police officer Mila Vasquez.

Most likely, you already know that at the beginning of the film, the fake Dr. Green is not talking to Samantha, but to Mila Vasquez. At the end of the film, a dialogue takes place between the “doctor” and Mila, from the context of which it is clear that the real Samantha was found a year ago, and Mila, according to Green, has already spent 367 days in the maze.

The meeting between the two main characters of Detective Jenko and the villainous Bunny (Dr. Green), which takes place at the very end of the film, is chronologically one of the very first. In it we learn that police officer Mila Vasquez disappeared 24 hours ago.

Explanation of the meaning of Into the Labyrinth

If we go further, then another logical explanation of the plot can be the assumption that Into the Labyrinth are two different films, united by several characters. Confirms this theory with a strange double beginning, with scenes of abduction and interrogation, and an acquaintance with detective Jenko deciding to commit suicide, which looks like the beginning of two completely different films.

The plot of the first film is centered around the investigation of detective Jenko, the story of Robin Bass, found by Samantha Andretti and a group of maniacs in rabbit masks called Bunny.

The second, around the main villain Dr. Green, who kidnaps police officer Mila Vasquez and mocks her in every possible way. The difference between what is happening in the first and second films is, as mentioned earlier, 365 days.

These two films are united by the character of Mila’s husband with his daughter, whose wife (Mila Vasquez) had already disappeared for two days at the end of the first film (the finding of Samantha and the subsequent death of Jenko). And also the fact that the two main victims – Samantha and Mila managed to cross in the maze itself. This is confirmed by the memories of Mila, who says that from the beginning she was not alone in the labyrinth, and saw how some girl with a knife asked for water. Then she disappeared.

Who is the main villain of Into the Labyrinth

The main villain of the film is the fake Doctor Green or the maniac Bunny, who kidnapped Robin Bass, Mila Veskes and Samantha Andretti. It was he who created the labyrinth through which the heroes wandered. It was he who converted the rest of the abducted, referred to in the film as “children of darkness” and the priest, to his faith. And it was he who released the unfortunate Samantha Andretti, in whose footsteps Mila Veskes was already walking, only in order to start a new, more sophisticated game.

Explanation of the Into the Labyrinth ending

We know that the maniac Bunny kidnapped and recruited people. Since the experiment on recruiting Samantha Andretti turned out to be unsuccessful, he “threw” the girl to the police, watching her detection from the side. At the same time, he deliberately revealed the appearance of his mask, which detective Jenko began to follow, finding first a comic strip by Robin Bass, and then Bunny himself, standing on the doorstep near the old woman’s house, whom he, unfortunately, did not notice.

It is important to understand that all subsequent traces, clues and clues that Junko will find are false, and are needed only in order to completely confuse him, and since we are used to associating ourselves with a positive character, then we are with him. The thing is that Bunny knew who Jenko was, at least from the words of the guardian, and therefore prepared for his investigation, perceiving what was happening as part of the game that began from the moment Samantha was released.

In the end, Genko comes to the erroneous conclusion that Bunny is Robin Bassa, only because the latter, on the orders of the real Bunny, visits the hospital to kidnap Samantha again, which sounds illogical, because we know that the girl was released on purpose and only for in order to replace her with a more capable Mila Veskes.

Video Review Into the Labyrinth explained ending: Who is the kidnapper?

Explanation of the final scene of Into the Labyrinth

still from the movie “The Girl in the Labyrinth”

As we said earlier, the final scene with the meeting of the two heroes in a bar actually takes place the day after the abduction of Mila Veskes and the morning after the murder of the old guardian woman. But why would Bunny date Jenko?

The thing is that Genko is an integral element of the maniac’s game, who had to swallow the false bait and follow the wrong trail. Well, in order to make sure that the bait is completely swallowed, Bunny starts a conversation with Jenko, directly hinting that he manipulates and controls his actions, like a prompter behind an invisible curtain. After Jenko leaves the bar, Bunny turns his gaze to the camera, as if asking us: “Well, are you caught?”

And yes, most of the viewers really got caught, because the nonlinearity and intricacy of the narrative created by the writer Donato Carisi is perceived as the tricks of Bunny himself, who breaks the fourth scene with his smile and makes us rush in search of a way out of the complex structure of the film as if from a real labyrinth.