What actually happens
Houseguests who read the room incorrectly
The movie opens inside a charred shell of a house. Him, a celebrated poet with writer's block, puts a crystal on a stand in his study, and the ruins turn into a lovely home in the middle of a green landscape. His wife, Mother, wakes up and wonders where he is. She spends her days renovating the place and sometimes sees a heart beating inside the walls. Then a stranger called Man turns up, says he is a surgeon and asks for a room. He has a fit of dry heaves that night, and Mother sees a wound on his side. His wife, Woman, arrives the next day. Mother wants them gone, but Him tells her Man is a dying fan who only wants to meet him. When the two guests break the crystal object, Him boards up his study. Their two sons turn up and fight over a will, and Him smashes the head of Oldest Son against glass after he wounds his brother.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
A wake with an open door policy
Him goes to the hospital with Man, Woman and the injured Younger Brother. Mother stays behind and finds odd things wrong with the house: a fly, a frog, and blood that keeps dripping from somewhere. She follows the blood to a heating oil tank hidden behind the basement wall. Him comes back and tells her that Younger Brother has died. That night, dozens of mourners walk in unannounced. They are rude to her, and when they break a sink and partly flood the house, she snaps and orders them all out. She yells at Him for letting so many people in and ignoring her, and the argument turns into passionate sex. In the morning she tells him she is pregnant. He is thrilled, and he starts writing again.
The poem goes to print
Some time later, Mother is getting ready for the baby and reads Him's beautiful new poem. It gets published, people praise it, and it sells well. She cooks a big dinner to celebrate, but more fans arrive and interrupt it. She tries to lock the doors, and crowds pour in anyway and start wrecking the house. Him doesn't notice. Mother wanders through the chaos, dazed, and watches soldiers arrive to fight the cult that has formed around him, while his publicist organizes executions. When her labor starts, Him finally unlocks the study for the birth.
The baby and the crowd
This is the scene people dread, and it comes near the end. After the birth the fighting outside dies down. Him sees that the fans have left presents and are waiting. He tells Mother they want to see the baby and that he doesn't want them to leave. She refuses to hand the boy over, then falls asleep. Him carries the baby outside, and the crowd passes him from hand to hand until he is accidentally killed. Mother wakes up and finds people eating the body. She attacks them, and they beat her badly until Him steps in. He asks her to forgive them. Instead she runs to the basement and lights the heating oil. You do see the baby's body after he is killed, and you see what the crowd does with it.
The ending, explained
The explosion wipes out the crowd and the house. Him walks away untouched, and Mother is badly burned. She asks him what he is. He answers "I am I" and tells her she is home and that none of this was her fault. He says he will take her back to the beginning, asks if her love still exists, and with her permission tears open her chest and removes her heart and tears it open to reveal another crystal. He sets it on the pedestal, the house rebuilds itself into the same lovely home, and a new Mother wakes up in bed wondering where Him is.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is mother! scary?
Yes, mother! is a 7 out of 10 with lingering dread. It has some jump scares, but the fear comes from a host who is ignored while her house is taken apart, and one very upsetting scene involving the baby.
How does mother! end?
Mother burns the house down, which kills the crowd. Him survives, removes her heart, and uses it to rebuild the house with a new Mother waking up in bed. The ending repeats the opening.
Does the dog die in mother!?
No dog dies in mother!.
Is there a post-credits scene in mother!?
No. mother! has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Him in mother!?
Him is the poet whose house Mother is renovating. When Mother asks what he is, he says "I am I" and does not elaborate, and the fire that destroys the house does not hurt him.
