Holland, the 2025 mystery-thriller directed by Mimi Cave and starring Nicole Kidman, ends with a disturbing twist that challenges the viewer’s sense of closure. The story follows Nancy Vandergroot (Kidman), a schoolteacher in the idyllic town of Holland, Michigan, who suspects her husband Fred (Matthew Macfadyen) of infidelity. But what begins as a quiet domestic drama soon spirals into something much darker.
Fred, an optometrist known around town, is revealed to be leading a double life as a serial killer. With help from fellow teacher Dave (Gael García Bernal), Nancy uncovers unsettling clues, leading to a confrontation where Fred is believed to have died. However, he survives and reappears, forcing Nancy into a final, violent showdown. During the town’s Tulip Time festival, Nancy wounds Fred and ultimately kills him with a clog to protect herself and her son, Harry (Jude Hill).
Fred’s detailed town model, once seen as a quirky hobby shared with Harry, hides a horrifying secret — it’s a coded map of the homes and locations linked to his victims. Despite everything, Nancy chooses not to leave Holland. For her, it remains the only place that ever felt like home. Dave, injured and emotionally worn down, quietly leaves the town that never truly welcomed him.
The film’s closing voiceover, shared between Nancy and Dave, expresses fear, confusion, and emotional numbness. Both characters question whether their traumatic experience was even real — not because it didn’t happen, but because the weight of it is so hard to carry. Nancy finds a way out of her marriage, though not out of Holland. Dave finds an escape from a town that always made him feel like an outsider.
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