‘Demise’ Ending Explained And Movie Recap: Did Caleb Find Out Fiona’s Killer?

Demise is yet another cheesy romantic thriller that focuses on the ending of marriages and quietly glorifies infidelity. It is the story of a man who gets a second chance at love after having given up on his marriage. The ordeal he goes through in his next relationship is what makes the crux of Demise. The movie is the story of the ‘demise’ of a relationship per se and how the leads recover from it. 

Spoilers Ahead


Was Caleb having an affair?

Caleb was a successful landscaper, and from the beginning of the film, it was established that he was having an affair with fashion designer Fiona. Fiona was an up-and-coming artist who had finally made it in Vogue magazine and was happy celebrating her victory with her beau, Caleb. She was aware he was married and was willing to give their relationship a chance, as he claimed to be falling for her. A flashback sequence revealed that Fiona and Caleb met at a grocery store, and their shared Latin background made them instantly attracted to each other. Both flirted their way out of the store and ended up kissing in the parking lot. This was the start of the affair, and Fiona had no qualms about Caleb being married, as she assumed he would leave his wife one day. This is something her friends refused to believe until he signed the divorce papers. 

Caleb was vocal about his love for Fiona to his best friend and was keen to leave his wife Celine. Celine was a hardworking corporate woman who spent a lot of her time steering her career. She was madly in love with her husband Caleb, and she was keen on having children with him. She was currently unaware of the affair and was busy scheduling appointments and working out her body clock so that she and Caleb could conceive. 

Caleb was having a hard time convincing Fiona to give him time to put the matter to his wife, as he and Celine had been together for many years. Celine, however, was not having a good time as she learned her body would not be able to conceive. She also learned of Caleb’s affair by accidentally going through his phone. Caleb never denied having cheated on her, which devastated Celine, and both fast-tracked their divorce. Celine did not give her husband another chance, and for Caleb, admitting to his affair was like ripping off the band-aid and finally starting his life with Fiona. While Celine was facing the worst nightmare of her life, Fiona was elated to find out she was pregnant with Caleb’s child. Since Caleb had left his wife, Fiona could finally look forward to the life both planned. Caleb does come across as a selfish man who chose to give up on his wife when she was facing a health crisis that could affect her future relationships as well. 


What happened to Fiona after Caleb’s divorce?

Five months later, Caleb and Celine were divorced, and he was with Fiona, who was heavily pregnant. Unbeknownst to any of them, Celine had become obsessed with following Fiona and Caleb. She turned brunette and looked for ways to sabotage their relationship. Celine was obsessed because she felt Fiona was the reason why her marriage broke up, yet she could not convince herself that her ex-husband was equally responsible as well. On the day of Fiona’s baby shower, Celine set the venue on fire. Fiona, her friends, and the rest of the staff at the venue barely escaped. This proved that Celine was slowly losing her mind as she was filled with the obsessive desire to eliminate the woman who ruined her life.

Fiona finally gave birth to a baby boy, and the entire family was elated. Celine, who was stalking Fiona and Caleb, bribed a doctor at the medical center to kill Fiona. Fiona was injected with a drug by the said doctor, which led to a massive heart attack. Fiona died only a day after her delivery, which devastated Caleb. This scenario was a dream come true for Celine, as her mortal enemy had now passed, and she could now find ways to get back together with her ex-husband. 


Did Caleb find out who killed his wife, Fiona?

Caleb spends most of his time taking care of his son Brody, taking charge as a single parent. This was challenging because he had planned to be a parent with Fiona, but with her gone, he had to pick up the pieces of his life. Since Caleb was vulnerable, Celine jumped into the situation in no time as a helping hand and began to spend time with him and Brody. With Fiona gone, Celine grabbed this opportunity to erase her memory from Caleb’s mind and maybe raise Brody as her own. Celine waltzed back into Caleb’s life and manipulated the entire situation to make sure her ex-husband never uncovered her role in eliminating his wife. This was a bit far-fetched, as this paints Caleb as a naïve person who wasn’t aware of people and their intentions. Since Caleb left Celine, he never assumed her to be so diabolical as to be capable of murdering someone. Both got physically intimate as well which helped her get back the control she had lost on him a year ago. She had hoped Caleb would eventually marry her again. Caleb ran into Fiona’s twin sister, Fabiola. He had never met the sister; however, Fiona had mentioned having a complicated relationship with her. Fabiola was an identical twin who was a photographer and was happy to have run into Caleb. Fabiola and Caleb were attracted to each other instantly, just as he had been to Fiona. This was twisted as he was in love with the face of the woman he had loved and lost. 

Caleb most likely had not moved on, which was why he easily fell in love with Fabiola, and they kissed during an event that was held to commemorate Fiona as a fashion designer. Fabiola too never felt guilty and passed it off as mere attraction, though things were not the same for Caleb. The movie was taking the telenovela route, as many uncomfortable relationships were being established and being passed off as normal. Caleb, however, caught up to discrepancies going around him. He found all the pictures of Fiona gone from Brody’s albums. This did not go down well with Caleb, as he wanted the pictures for Brody to remember his mother. Celine was a personification of a psychopath who would go to any extent to manipulate life in a way that could benefit her. She was selfish, but so was Caleb. Caleb found out about the doctor known to have killed many patients, including Fiona. The doctor was on the run, and Caleb remembered him speaking to Celine at a block party. This led to him finding out Celine was also responsible for the arson that almost killed his wife. He was not happy about these revelations, and he had no option but to confront his ex-wife. 

Celine and Caleb were toxic people who never cared about each other. They had their desires and worked towards fulfilling them. The lack of love was what led to the breakdown of the marriage and why their relationship the second time did not work. The twisted relationship pattern was something Caleb did not share with Fiona, and it helped them grow as a couple until tragedy struck. An angry Caleb tied up Celine so that she would let him know the truth. A scared Celine was forced to reveal her role in Fiona’s death. It was stupid of her to believe Caleb would want to be with her after her confession. Caleb, however, left her tied up to the chair as he walked away from her. It was safe to believe that Caleb broke up with Celine and would not want to see her again. 

Demise ended with pregnant Fabiola, who was now married to Caleb, and they were raising Brody together. This was five years after Caleb’s last interaction with Celine. As mentioned above, this was not the right way for Caleb to move on from Fiona, as he married someone who was the mirror image of his deceased wife. The psychology behind this move was deep and disturbing. The makers ended this way to give a surface-level satisfaction to all the audience members who wanted Caleb to have a happy ending. Celine was in Paris, and it was assumed she had moved there as a part of her work. She had become the vice president of the company she worked for. The last shot of Demise was her keeping a check on Caleb, Brody, and Fabiola through CCTV. Her laptop was connected to the CCTV at Caleb’s home. There was no end to Celine’s obsession, as this was her way of finding out what the family was up to, as she was unwilling to give up on him.


Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.


 

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