'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' ending explained: Who is the killer in the film?

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is based on a novel by the same name by Shirley Jackson. The author had previously written The Haunting of Hill House which was also adapted in the film version. The chilling thriller features Alexandra Daddario and Taissa Farmiga in the lead roles with actor Crispin Glover featuring in a pivotal role. Read below to know what happens at the end of We Have Always Lived in the Castle - 

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Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead

We Have Always Lived in the Castle ending 

The film follows the lead character of Merricat played by Taissa Farmiga. She lives with her elder sister Constance played by Alexandra Daddario, who is accused of poisoning her parents but is let go by the court of law. The two live with their uncle Julian and always stay inbound their castle. Only Merricat leaves out of the house on every Tuesdays in order to get supplies, but the villagers do not let her do so peacefully as they think Constance to be responsible for the murder of her parents. 

Image courtesy - Still from 'we have always lived in the castle'

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One of the family cousins names Charles makes his way to the castle and ends up charming Constance. He, later on, is revealed to be a topic and an abusive person who puts harm on Constance which does not sit well with the younger sister. Merricat then sets Charles' room on fire with his belongings being inside. But, Uncle Julian ends up dead due to smoke inhalation. 

The already enthralled villagers rush to the castle in order to destroy it and the sisters make a run for their life. When they return back to see their destroyed house, Merricat promises to poison the entire village and kill them for what they did to their house. Constance reminds Merricat that this is exactly what she did to her parents, revealing that Merricat was the killer of her parents and Constance takes the blame to save her younger sister.

Charles, however, returns towards the end of the film when Merricat beats him to a pulp with a snow globe which leads to his death. The film ends on a rather inconclusive note where it is not shown whether Constance goes back to live in the real world or chooses to stay indoors as she was. 

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