Stephen movie ending explained: What was the killer’s true motive, a secret about his parents and the finale twist

Stephen, a psychological thriller now streaming on Netflix, tells the gripping story of a serial killer, who confesses to the murders of nine women, but why?

Stephen movie

Stephen, the 2025 Tamil, direct-to-OTT film, is now streaming on Netflix. The film is one of the first from the latest Tamil content announced by the streaming giant. Stephen is a psychological thriller drama which revolves around a serial killer. After a young man surrenders to the police and confesses to murdering nine women, the police are left clueless on why he not only committed the murders but also came up to the police himself.

Stephen ending explained:

Stephen begins with the brutal murders of nine women, and the titular character (played by Gomathi Shankar) surrenders to the police. A young man who presumably might be in his late twenties or early thirties, Stephen is put through a series of probe, including having sessions with psychiatrist Seema (Smruthi Venkat). It is at this time when Stephan recalls his traumatic and abusive childhood with his parents. Stephen further reveals that his father, who was a failed sportsman and now a PT teacher, became an alcoholic and began to beat them up. One such instance is when Stephen as a child brought a pup to his house but ended up gruesome after his father killed it, disturbed by its whimpers. The police records also state that Stephen’s father had killed his mother and surrendered to the police. However, the reality is that Stephen had killed his mother with his father taking up the blame. Michael Thangadurai (Michael Thangadurai) who is probing the case along with Seema uses this as a test to check if Stephen is honest with them.

Also read: Stephen movie review: An unsettling and gripping serial-killer drama that intrigues more than it falters

Meanwhile, Stephen’s dad was caught by his school for taking secret videos from girls’ dressing room. After being trashed by the girl’s family and heavily injured, Stephen’s mother becomes the breadwinner and eventually begins to take control of the house, including her husband. She slowly turns into a tyrant and physically abusive towards both her husband and son. Years later, when a small incident leads Stephen and his father venture out using their car, the mother comes to know only for her to unleash anger on them. She also comes to know Stephen’s job offer and tears the appointment order, angering her son who slashes her with a knife and brutally kills her. Stephen’s father rejoiced by his wife’s death agrees to take the blame, but in a fit of rage, is also murdered by his son. This confuses Michael and Seema who are left with more mystery than they knew.

Why did Stephen kill the nine girls?

Michael Thangadurai comes to know that Stephen had been living with a girl in Chennai where he was working. He comes to know that it was his girlfriend, Krithika. Meanwhile, police also deduce that it is not the same girl as Mary (Harija) who is a devote Christian and the only girl who was spared by Stephen from killing; the reason being she showed care and understanding when Stephen was about to stab her. Back to Stephen’s flashback, we are shown that he revealed about his parents’ murder to his Krithika, who is visibly shocked. Their strained relationship results in Krithika being murdered, which makes Stephen further psychotic and murder girls whenever he misses Krithika. It was in Mary’s case when he lets go of her after seeing affection in her eyes.

Also read: Stephen team Gomathi Shankar and Mithun Balaji on their serial-killer saga: Ours isn’t a whodunit, it’s a whydunit | EXCLUSIVE

What happens to Stephen at the end?

Stephen is produced to the court and even accepts the murder charges. He is given double imprisonment sentence and taken to the jail on a police van. It is at this point we see apparition of Stephen’s parents, Krithika and the nine girls he killed. A conversation between Stephen and his parents reveal that it was Stephen who was psychotic all along. His father who had unconditional love on him, took up the blame from him of secret video recording, and that it was Stephen who killed his pup. After his urge for killing had increased, he began to target humans. Questioned by his mother, it led to Stephen brutally murdering his mother. He also made his father take the blame and slashed his throat as well. Stephen also speaks to Krithika’s apparition that he never trusted her words that she would wait for him after he surrenders for his parents’ murder. Further, Stephen says that whenever he missed Krithika, he made the women speak like her and killed them, for his interest lays there. He adds that the probe and surrender were all just a drama that he staged to distract the police and that he would be back outside on the grounds of good behaviour.

What happened to all the bodies?

Stephen had discarded all the bodies in a forest and had revealed that they were never found the next time he returned. In a post-credit scene, we see a television flashing Stephen’s news and a mysterious man watching it. He goes into the forest, and with full moon by the background, the film fades out, with the card ‘Luna- The Night Awakens’, hinting at a sequel.

Stephen FAQs

Q. What is Stephen about on Netflix?

A. Stephen is a Netflix Tamil film which revolves around a serial killer who murdered nine women.

Q. What is Stephen release date?

A. Stephen premiered on Netflix on December 5.

Q. Who plays Stephen in Netflix film?

A. Debutant Gomathi Shankar plays Stephen, the lead role.

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