Martha Marcy May Marlene ending explained: Does Martha daymare or the man truly exists?

Released in the year 2011, Martha Marcy May Marlene follows the story of how a damaged woman struggles to find the difference between reality and hallucinations after she re-assimilates with her family post her escape an abusive cult. Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson in the leading roles, Martha Marcy May Marlene is often considered as one of the most twisted psychological thrillers of all time. The much-acclaimed psychological thriller movie’s timeline ducks and weaves back and forth through two different traumatic periods of Martha's life. Here is a detailed explanation of the film’s ending.

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Martha Marcy May Marlene ending explained:

During the film’s end, an anonymous man from the dock walks past Lucy and Ted’s car, after they make their escape. As they drive away, Martha, who is seated in the back seat, turns to see the man get into a brown car and chasing them. Frozen with fear, Martha silently stares at the anonymous man and sits in silence for hours. The next scene of the film features Lucy and Ted, taking Martha to an esteemed mental facility, where she again notices the same man, who had chased them near the docks. Suddenly, Martha recollects that he is the same, who was bartending at the party earlier. There are two possible theories of the film’s ending.

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Theory 1

Starting with the simple theory, the anonymous man might be a member of the same cult, who has conspired to bring Martha back or to kill her. The cult could have appointed the man to make sure Martha remains silent about the secrecy of their group. However, Martha’s mental stability at the film’s end proves that she might not be in the best state to reveal any secrets from her past life.

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Theory 2

In this theory, Martha might be dealing with a psychological disorder and the anonymous man could be only a hallucination. Due to the experiences she faced in the past, Martha could have got herself tangled in the labyrinth of her own mind. More so, Martha could be an accomplice to the murderer, as she always covers for Kevin and their evil group. However, Martha never realised that she has an acute brain disorder of seeing people who don’t exist.

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(Image credits: YouTube screengrab from What The Flick channel)