Devil’s Peak, directed by Matthew Orton, dives into the tricky question: How do we know who the villain is? On the outside, it’s easy to see someone who kills as a bad guy. But, sometimes, their hidden motives tell a different story. Take Thobela Mpayipheli, also known as “The Hunter.” He goes after people who have hurt children, taking justice into his own hands. Why? Because Mpayipheli knows that if he leaves it up to the police or the courts, the system will protect the wealthy and powerful white people, not the oppressed black community. So, Mpayipheli decides to take matters into his own hands, one criminal at a time. But, of course, this puts him on the police radar. Detective Benjamin Griessel, who’s battling his own demons with alcoholism and family issues, is the one chasing him down. The question is, can Benny catch a man who some see as a hero, despite his dark methods? The lines between hero and villain blur in this story. Let’s find out what happened at the end of Devil’s Peak.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Mpayipheli start assassinating people?
Devil’s Peak starts on a sweet note, with Thobela Mpayipheli and his adopted son on a trip together. It feels like a heartwarming father-son moment, so we don’t expect something dark to happen so soon. But when Mpayipheli and his son stopped at a gas station for ice cream, things took a tragic turn. Two boys in masks were robbing the store, guns in hand. Mpayipheli begged them not to shoot as he tried to keep everyone safe. But when his scared little boy accidentally honked the car horn, the boys panicked and started firing wildly. In the chaos, they killed Mpayipheli’s son. The loss devastated him. After his wife’s death, his son had been his whole world. Losing him in such a senseless way was more than Mpayipheli could bear. He took the case to court, hoping for justice. But the court didn’t listen. The boys were the sons of a wealthy white man named John Weiss, and people couldn’t believe that the rich would be involved in such a crime. Even those two boys didn’t realize they would end up killing someone; they were just robbing the store and playing with guns for fun! Plus, Mpayipheli had once worked for a man named Radium as a bodyguard and secret agent—a man who was now in prison on multiple murder charges. So, Mpayipheli’s past was used against him, and his case was dismissed. He couldn’t get justice. Mpayipheli had seen his community oppressed time and again, with innocent lives at risk and no one doing anything about it. That’s when Mpayipheli decided he had to take matters into his own hands. With his military skills and weapons training, he knew he could take down the real criminals, the ones the law wouldn’t touch. Armed with his assegai, Mpayipheli became “the Hunter” to take his own justice.
Why did detective Griessel go after Mpayipheli?
At the police precinct, the detective squad was chasing down a man named Enver Davids, who was accused of abducting and assaulting little girls. The plan was to use him to get to the real mastermind, Madison Madikiza, the person Davids worked for. After Griessel managed to capture Davids, he promised him witness protection and safety in exchange for helping them catch Madikiza. But on their way, there was a shootout, the mission fell apart, and Davids managed to escape. It was clear there was a leak within the police station, but Griessel knew he had to find Davids and finish the job. With so much pressure on him and feeling like a failure, he’d turned to alcohol. Often, he’d wake up in the hospital after blacking out from drinking too much. His wife Carla and their child had distanced themselves from him because of it, and now, his job was all he had left. With some clues, Griessel eventually tracked down where Madikiza might be hiding—at a bar. Meanwhile, Thobela Mpayipheli had gone after Weiss’s sons to kill them, but was abducted by Madikiza’s men instead.
Madikiza believed that if Mpayipheli worked for him, they could take down many of the rich white men protected by the law who had harmed their community. They took Mpayipheli to the same bar Griessel was headed for. At first, Mpayipheli considered Madikiza’s offer. But soon he realized it was all a lie. He learned that Davids, the man working for Madikiza, was violent and cruel. Madikiza, who was suffering from HIV, believed in the twisted myth that if he captured young virgin girls, their blood could cure his disease. That’s why they had been kidnapping the girls and holding them at the bar. When Mpayipheli found out from Davids, he was furious. How could these men act like nothing was wrong with their actions while ruining the lives of innocent children and their families? Men like Madikiza and Davids had no remorse. Enraged, Mpayipheli took his assegai and, within minutes, cut through Davids’ body and killed him on the spot. He quickly left the bar before anyone could catch him. When Detective Griessel searched the rooms of the bar, looking for Madikiza or Davids, he found David’s mutilated body. From that moment, the hunt for Mpayipheli, now the prime suspect, began.
What has been found out about Jacobs?
Meanwhile, both Mpayipheli and the police learned about the kidnapping of Ntsusa ka Mlawu’s son, Jacob. Everyone was desperate to find the man responsible. Mpayipheli, by taking a more personal approach, went to meet Jacob’s mother one-on-one. She had seen the license plate of the man who abducted her son, and from that, Mpayipheli discovered that a builder named Johan Reyneke might know where Jacob was. Mpayipheli tracked Reyneke down, but the problem was that Griessel had also gotten a lead on Reyneke’s location. Griessel suspected Mpayipheli might be there too. He had a feeling that the person killing these men was seeking justice and revenge for the child abuse. And he was right. By the time the police arrived, they found that Mpayipheli had already done his work—Reyneke was dead, killed with Mpayipheli’s signature assegai attack. But Mpayipheli had fled the scene before they could catch him, and unfortunately, he had no new clues about Jacob’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Griessel kept digging for information. He eventually found an under-construction hideout where he thought Jacob might be held. But when they arrived, it was too late—Jacob was already dead. His body was discovered at the scene, which added another layer of tragedy to the case. As they followed more leads, the police closed in on a man named Anton, who had previously been accused of abducting a prostitute’s child named Sonia, and threatening her life. When Mpayipheli learned of Anton’s location, he went after him for revenge. Before killing Anton, Mpayipheli got Anton to admit that he wasn’t the mastermind behind the child trafficking ring. All the information about the operation was on his phone, and Anton was ready to hand it over. Mpayipheli took the phone with him and killed him after getting the details. Griessel also arrived at the scene, determined to catch Mpayipheli. But despite his best efforts, Mpayipheli managed to slip away again. However, this time, Griessel finally caught a glimpse of the hunter’s face and knew exactly who they were chasing.
What happened after Griessel got hold of Mpayipheli?
After following Mpayipheli’s trail for so long, Griessel finally managed to catch him and arrest him. But there was a problem—as I mentioned earlier, there was a rat in the police department. It turned out that one of Griessel’s closest friends, a fellow cop named Boef, had tipped off the opposition about Griessel’s plans. Griessel had no clue about it. The real mastermind behind everything was a lawyer named De Klerk, the same lawyer who had fought against Mpayipheli’s case in court.
As Griessel was taking Mpayipheli to the police station, he got a horrifying call—his little girl had been kidnapped. They told him they had spared his wife Carla for now, but if Griessel didn’t hand over the phone he took from Anton and kill Mpayipheli, he’d never see his family again. Griessel was terrified and torn. On one hand, he knew Mpayipheli was a good man who just wanted justice. Griessel didn’t want to kill Mpayipheli. But on the other hand, Griessel loved his family more than anything. In a moment of desperation, Griessel tried to kill Mpayipheli but just couldn’t go through with it. Instead, he told him to run away.
As Griessel spared Mpayipheli’s life, De Klerk’s men arrived to take the phone and finish the job. But Mpayipheli wasn’t about to let that happen. He came up from behind and killed both men and ended up saving Griessel’s life in the process. Although Griessel was shot at, his bulletproof vest saved him. But the nightmare wasn’t over. Griessel couldn’t find his daughter in their car. With no other option, both Mpayipheli and Griessel headed to De Klerk’s house to rescue her. Together, they took down De Klerk’s men, one by one—became two unlikely allies, a cop and a so-called “criminal,” taking out the real criminals.
In the end, Griessel himself shot De Kleerk. As Mpayipheli watched Griessel hold his daughter in his arms and feel the relief and joy of a father who just got his child back, he realized what truly mattered. He knew the pain of losing a child and didn’t want Griessel to face the consequences of killing De Klerk. So, Mpayipheli took the gun to make sure that only his fingerprints would be found on the weapon, not Griessel’s. Griessel was grateful, but he told Mpayipheli that he shouldn’t go down for something he didn’t do. But Mpayipheli had made up his mind. He had nothing left to live for, and if his sacrifice meant saving even one child, he was at peace with it. His mission, after so many failed attempts, had finally been successful. We see Griessel reunited with his daughter and brought her back safely to his wife. But even though he saved her, he’s left feeling torn inside about what’s right and wrong. To save his daughter, he killed a man and let someone else take the blame for it. So, is he not a criminal too? To calm his mind, he decided to take some time off work, and it’s clear he might not be able to return to the job for a while, if ever. As for Mpayipheli, what’s in store for him in the future we don’t know. We have seen how the system has always prioritized the wealthy, while the oppressed have taken the blame. But there’s still hope. The mobile phone they got from Anton could provide the clues needed to help Mpayipheli’s case. But to be honest, in the end, it felt like the line between who is a savior and who is a criminal has blurred completely.
