‘Held Hostage In My House’ Movie Ending Explained And Recap: Who Held Dawn Hostage?

The plot of the new Lifetime movie Held Hostage in My House couldn’t have been more clear. Directed by Anna Elizabeth James, this film is about a person getting themselves out of a hostage situation and trying to find who may have orchestrated the crime.

Spoilers Ahead

Who was Dawn Van Brocklin?

Dawn Van Brocklin was a single mother to her boy Charlie, who was very attached to her. She turned her house into a homestay and played host to the guests. Dawn was also a struggling painter who was hoping to find a break. She and her son spent that fateful morning picking peaches and were shocked to find many fire ants around their home. 

Was Dawn on good terms with her ex-husband Matt?

Charlie was supposed to spend the next few days with his father Matt and his new girlfriend. Charlie was not excited to meet his father, but it seemed this was the terms of the divorce when his parents separated. Matt let Dawn know of his plan to propose to his girlfriend. He also let her know his plan to file for full custody of Charlie, which left Dawn angry. Matt reasoned Dawn did not have a steady income, which gave him the right to file for custody. Dawn immediately contacted her best friend Victoria to discuss her new problem with Matt. Victoria asked her to join her for a vacation as she was headed out of America with her rich boyfriend Dimitri. Dawn was not pleased by Matt’s plan to take full custody of Charlie, as she was the one who’d spent most of her time taking care of him when she was married. 

What happened when Dawn reached her home?

Dawn, on reaching home, found the front door open, and as she entered, she was attacked by a man wearing a balaclava. She woke up a while later to find herself tied to the bed. Dawn tried to get help by screaming out her neighbor’s name, she was an old person who did not respond to her cry for help.

Who was Dawn hallucinating?

Dawn was hit on the head, and as a result, she experienced a concussion. This led to Dawn hallucinating about people who she believed could be the culprit. She hallucinated Ramona, one of the guests who had had issues with Dawn. She wondered if Ramona could be the person who’d hired attackers to take revenge on Dawn. Along with that, she began to hallucinate her ex-husband Matt, who was complaining about her not believing in him when they were married. A half-conscious Dawn wondered if Matt attacked her to keep Charlie to himself. There was no end to Dawn’s speculation as she started thinking that the man she was dating, Yousef, could have orchestrated the attack. She thought he was a twisted man who’d started dating her with the plan of hurting her physically. The next person she assumed could have hired attackers were a married couple who’d had a falling out on her property. The wife was angry and showed up as she suspected her husband was cheating on her with another woman. 

Did Charlie get to speak to his mother?

Charlie was not having a good time with his father and his new fiancee, which made him want to contact his mother. All of his calls went to her voicemail, which distressed the half-conscious Dawn who was trying hard to get herself out of the situation. 

Who rescued Dawn? 

The attackers were still in the house and were looking for some stash of valuables. A flashback sequence revealed they’d moved an unconscious Dawn to the bedroom and tied up her hands and legs using a makeshift rope. She initially wasn’t aware of the valuables, but the attackers tried to force her to reveal its location all while she remained clueless about it. Charlie arrived and realized his mother was indeed in a distressing situation as he noticed her tote bag on the floor. Dawn was quick to recognize her son’s voice and gathered strength to get herself out of the situation. She claimed she knew the location of the stash and lured them out of the house only to find Charlie waiting for her on the top of the tree just outside. He jumped on one of the attackers to disarm him and saved his mother. Dawn and Charlie were quick to inform the police as they arrived just in time to rescue both mother and son. The chain of events after Charlie came looking for his mother at his home was confusing. There was no explanation of how Dawn and Charlie communicated about disarming the attackers. It seemed the makers wanted to end the movie as quickly as possible and hadn’t bothered mentioning in the screenplay on how Dawn was finally rescued. 

Who had held Dawn hostage?

Days after Dawn was rescued from her own home thanks to Charlie, the police were yet to find out who’d tried to harm her and what their motive was. Dawn was clueless as well as to who could have sent people to harm her. The makers forgot to question the attackers who were caught at the scene of the crime about the people who hired them. This should have been a logical way to conclude any crime investigation. The makers of the movie wanted to spotlight Dawn as she should be the one who would help the police catch hold of the culprit which was uncalled for. A while later after the incident, Dawn showcased her paintings and was surrounded by Matt, Victoria, Yousef, and her son Charlie. Dawn congratulated Matt and his fiancée on their upcoming wedding and noticed the diamond ring. Matt mentioned he’d got hold of the diamond ring at a steal price from Victoria. This was the first time Dawn was hearing of Victoria having a side hustle. Dawn realized her friend may have targeted her, and the attackers were probably looking for a stash of diamonds kept by Victoria in her house. Victoria was the only person Dawn never hallucinated when she was held hostage, as she couldn’t believe her best friend would be capable of harming her and Charlie. This revelation also made her question every interaction she’d ever had with Victoria. There was slight confusion and the makers did not expand on how Dawn found out it was Victoria who had hired the attackers. Dawn assumption was based on circumstantial evidence. Victoria’s confession of the crime was the only thing that allowed her arrest.

Held Hostage in My House tried to wrap things up way too quickly, and the plot hole was that the attackers should have been informed about where the stash of diamonds was kept. Instead, the attackers were behaving like headless chickens who did not know what to do after Dawn was unconscious. Dawn, however, confronted her best friend Victoria. Everything fit in conveniently like an easy puzzle, as the police were around to hear Victoria’s confession about her relationship with her boyfriend Dimitri, who was involved in diamond smuggling. Victoria had to come clean because she knew she could not escape this time. Since Dawn was her best friend she could not lie to her anymore about the life of crime she was leading with Dimitri, Victoria was aware her arrest was inevitable. Dawn was smart enough to figure out Victoria used her as a mule to transport and store the stolen diamonds, and she felt betrayed. Victoria had nothing to say to defend her actions but could only apologize. Victoria may have considered Dawn to be her friend, but she also felt the need to use her vulnerable situation for her own benefit. 

Held Hostage in My House ended with the police arresting Victoria and her diamond being found in the rolled-up cigarettes. The last shot of the film had Dawn waking up next to Yousef, her new boyfriend, and Charlie living with them. She also now has a painting with all the diamonds she had with her. This indicates she knew of the location of the diamond stash but hadn’t wanted to reveal it, probably because she wanted Victoria to come clean. This was mere speculation. Dawn may have had a large chunk of diamonds with her, she submitted only a portion of it to the police. Since this was a criminal case, legally she was not allowed to keep any of the precious stones, hence the question of if the diamonds in the painting were real or not. The confusing ending further makes this film a mediocre watch.