Last updated on October 3rd, 2024 at 09:35 pm
Rent-A-Pal is an American horror-thriller film released in 2020. The movie Rent-A-Pal (2020) is directed by Jon Stevenson and got positive reviews from critics.
Rent-A-Pal Ending Explained in Full Plot Story
* * * Spoiler Alert – If you haven’t seen the movie yet, turn back now! * * *
The movie starts with David Brower in 1990 who is a middle-aged bachelor. He is caring for his dementia-ridden mother called Lucille. His father was a jazz-musician named Frank. He was committed suicide ten years back.
David is looking for a romantic partner by video Rendezvous. This is a popular video dating service.
As David goes to one of their locations to record an updated tape, David stumbles upon another tape in their bargain bin titled “Rent-A-Pal.” For no reason, he decides to purchase the DVD.
David returns home and plays the video. He finds that Rent-A-Pal is hosted by a man who introduced himself as Andy. Interestingly Andy talks to the viewer and leaves in pauses to simulate a conversation. However, David becomes disillusioned and shuts it off.
The next morning, David gets a call from Video Rendezvous. A woman named Lisa saw his last updated video and wants to match with David.
As David returns to retrieve her tape, the receptionist informs him that another match has already been found, and after watching her tape, he discovers that she likes jazz and is a caregiver, further depressing him. As he watches Rent-A-Pal, David confides in Andy that Lucille was physically abusive, just as Andy’s mother was. In addition to David’s failings to find a partner, Andy tells David about a girl who lied to avoid going to the dance with him in high school, and David agrees to become Andy’s friend.
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Meanwhile, David is constantly watching the tape, talking, drinking, and playing cards virtually with Andy. On one viewing, Andy presses David for an embarrassing story in which David tells how bullies in middle school left sexually explicit and threatening messages in the locker of a girl he liked, resulting in David’s suspension, the ordeal giving David trust issues. Andy tells a story of his own from his college days that becomes more detailed and sexually charged as he continues, causing David to begin masturbating to it. David is caught in the act by Lucille, who mistakes him for her late husband. David tells her she has a dead husband as she becomes more belligerent. To calm her down after she breaks down because of this, he recants and tells her that Frank is still alive and well.
A few days later, David receives another call from Video Rendezvous, informing him Lisa’s previous match failed and that she’s once again interested in him. The two go roller skating/playing an arcade, where they talk about caregiving. Lisa gives David her number and scheduled a second date for the following evening. In response, David tells Andy about this, but Andy seems surprised by it, accusing David of casting him aside and forgetting about a previously planned time to play cards, causing David to cancel his date with his mother the following morning. At this point, I relate the movie with Room for Rent (2019) which is another great plot twisted horror mystery movie.
After spending the evening interacting with Andy, David discovers that Lucille has left the house when he goes upstairs for a drink. As David becomes frustrated and unable to locate her, he considers calling 911 but instead calls Lisa for help, and with her help, he locates her and returns her home. David shows her his room and shares his father’s music with her. David sits on the remote and turns on Rent-A-Pal during their intimate time on the couch. As Andy watches David make out with Lisa, David ‘done’ prematurely when Lisa touches his leg, causing Andy to laugh hysterically, alerting Lisa. Lisa asks David about the tape, and he becomes angry and defensive, causing her to leave.
David finds a picture of him and a man who looks like Andy in his mother’s room as he cleans the house the next morning. Next, he discovers his Rent-A-Pal tape is missing, only to find Lucille cutting the tape’s film in the kitchen, mistaking it for Scotch tape. Lucille is thrown to the ground by David when he hits her with the tape. He then goes to Video Rendezvous to obtain another Rent-A-Pal tape. Having rewatched it, he takes Lucille, still on the kitchen floor, to the top of the basement stairs. When she addresses him as David, he coldly whispers that she is the reason Frank killed himself before pushing her down and seriously injuring her. As Andy expresses his excitement to be David’s friend, all the TVs in the house start playing Rent-A-Pal.
Lisa arrives at David’s house, hoping to make amends for the previous night and bring him dinner, but she discovers Lucille’s body. In an attempt to prevent her from calling the police, David speaks like Andy before trying to murder her. After freeing herself from David with a pair of scissors, Lisa stabs him in the chest before fleeing. Andy forlornly says goodbye to the viewer before he bleeds out as David drags himself into the basement and fast-forwards the Rent-A-Pal tape.
Summary
Original Rent-A-Pal
Other Titles VHS Andy (Poland)
Genre Horror/ Thriller
Runtime 1hr 48min
Original Language English
Directed by Jon Stevenson
Written by Jon Stevenson
Cinematography Scott Park
Music by Jimmy Weber
Release date September 11, 2020
Origin Country United States
Filming locations Colorado, USA
Cast of Characters
| Actor/Actress Name | Character Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Landis Folkins | David | Mid aged single man. |
| Wil Wheaton | Andy | Virtual friend who exists in a DVD named Rent-A-Pal. |
| Amy Rutledge | Lisa | Single woman who involved with David. |
| Kathleen Brady | Lucille | Mother of David. |
