'Reunion' Ending Explained: Who killed Mathew Danbury?
Contains spoilers for 'Reunion'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Reunion', an American comedy-thriller film, has officially dropped on Paramount+ with an intriguing premise.
Directed by Chris Nelson, the movie revolves around a group of former high school friends who reunite at a reunion party. However, when they reunite, their joyous occasion takes a chilling turn as the host is murdered, sending shockwaves through the group.
In the beginning, 'Reunion' establishes a light-hearted tone with its humor and adult jokes, showcasing the camaraderie and banter among the friends. However, as the story unfolds, the humor gives way to suspense.
Mathew Danbury's murder makes the situation tricky in 'Reunion'
A group of friends gathers at Mathew Danbury's (Chace Crawford) house for a reunion party. As the party reaches its peak, a power outage occurs, prompting Mathew to take Evan West (Billy Magnussen) with him to restore the power.
After the power is restored, Mathew then reveals to Evan the bear costume he intends to wear at the party. However, as a storm approaches, everyone except Evan, Ray Hammond (Lil Rel Howery), Jasmine Park (Jamie Chung), Amanda Tanner (Nina Dobrev), Vivian Chase (Jillian Bell), and their former history teacher, Theodore Buckley (Michael Hitchcock), decides to leave the party.
The next morning, Jasmine discovers Mathew's lifeless body in his bed and screams loudly. Evan and the others rush to the scene, where Amanda accuses Vivian of killing Mathew.
Amanda's observation of Vivian's peculiar behavior since her arrival at the party sparks a chain reaction of suspicion among everyone present. Later on, everyone starts pointing fingers at each other.
The landline is out of order, and due to the lack of reception inside the house, caused by the storm the previous night, they are unable to leave the place.
Startling discovery about Mathew Danbury's death leaves everyone stunned
As the film progresses, Evan and Ray return to Matthew's room to close the window left open since the previous night, causing the house to become cold. However, they discover bullet holes in the wardrobe.
Later, Evan discovers Meagan Cooper's (Cassandra Blair) body in a car trunk outside the house. Evan informs the group that to identify the killer, they must locate the murder weapon. Everyone starts searching the house.
Amanda is seen attempting to destroy a video cassette. Accusations fly as everyone turns on Amanda, suspecting her of being Mathew's killer. The group points to her suspicious behavior, the attempted destruction of the cassette, and her alleged motive as evidence against her.
Subsequently, the group discovers that the cassette contains recordings made by Mathew himself in the past. These recordings reveal Amanda's attempt to put peanut butter on one of their friends' faces in an effort to win the class president election.
The group suspects Amanda of the murder, believing she had a motive to kill Matthew to prevent the cassette's contents from being revealed.
However, Amanda reveals that she was being blackmailed over the cassette and was instructed to cut the power at a specific time during the party.
Later, Jasmine accuses Buckley of killing Mathew, alleging that his investment in Mathew's fund, which resulted in losses, must have been a motive.
However, Buckley accuses Evan of being responsible for Mathew's death. During his high school days, Evan was known for his exceptional skills as an athlete, with the potential to achieve great success in sports. However, his dreams were shattered when Mathew tackled him severely during a crucial game, leading to an injury that ended his athletic career.
Buckley suggests that Evan's resentment over his lost potential and Mathew's subsequent success may have motivated him to commit the crime.
Who is the real killer in 'Reunion'?
At the end of the film, viewers witness Evan discovering Ray's shoe, which matches the footprint found outside. Additionally, Meagan's earrings were previously found in Ray's pocket. Evan's accusation of Ray for the murder prompts the police to arrive and arrest him.
However, Ray seizes a gun from a police officer and instructs everyone to remain seated, revealing that he has identified Mathew's true killer.
He explains that during the power outage, Lisa Danbury (Dianne Doan), Mathew's wife, returned to the house, concealed herself, and then confronted Mathew, shooting him. Subsequently, she discovered Meagan in the closet and killed her as well.
As Ray pieces together the puzzle, including evidence from Evan's Tinder profile, he reveals that Lisa had an accomplice all along, who was Evan. Evan and Lisa were romantically involved and had conspired to murder Mathew, steal his money, and escape together.
In the final scene, the police arrive and arrest both Evan and Lisa for the murder of Mathew. The revelation of truth and subsequent arrest marks the conclusion of the film.
'Reunion' is now streaming on Paramount+