‘Reptile’ Ending Explained: Who Murdered Summer? (2024)

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Reptile.

An eclectic cast stars in the new Netflix movie Reptile, which boasts a twist-filled plot and unexpected ending. Benicio del Toro, Justin Timberlake, Eric Bogosian, and Alicia Silverstone all come together to tell the story of a murdered real estate agent and the ensuing police investigation. It seems a little strange seeing del Toro and Timberlake share scenes considering the former is a very serious dramatic actor who has shined in dramatic and thrilling titles like the Sicario movies, The Usual Suspects, Traffic, and 21 Grams among many others, while Timberlake is a fine actor, but has largely earned his bona fides as a pop music star. Throw in the eccentric actor/playwright/novelist Bogosian who recently played Senator Gil Eavis on the hit HBO drama Succession, and the cast of the Grant Singer-directed movie on Netflix that debuted at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a veritable hodgepodge. Somehow it all comes together pretty well to tell a whodunit story involving drugs, money laundering, police corruption, and real estate. But what happens in the end, as the chilling psychological thriller Reptile slowly uncovers who is responsible for the initial murder and why?

What is 'Reptile' About?

Timberlake stars as Will Grady, a prominent young real estate agent who works with his girlfriend Summer (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz) and his mother Camille (Frances Fisher) in the family firm. When Summer turns up dead in a house that they are showing to potential buyers, there is no shortage of suspects in the small town to choose from. Summer and Will look to be on the outs and about to break up, which makes him the number one suspect. Additionally, Summer has an ex-husband named Sam (Karl Glusman) who happens to be a heroin dealer. There is also Eli Phillips (Michael Pitt), a young man who has had a beef with the Grady family since his father committed suicide following a real estate deal that left him financially broken. He has a personal vendetta against the Gradys and blames them for the death of his dad. Any one of these characters plus a handful of others each has the means, motive, and opportunity to sexually attack and strangle Summer Elswick. But in the end, it's the reason why she is killed that provides a terrific and serpentine twist in the aptly named Reptile.

Why Is Summer Killed in 'Reptile'?

Initially, it appears as if Summer is murdered in retaliation for the misdeeds of her and the Grady family. But as the twisty yarn unfolds and Head Detective Tommy Nichols (del Toro) and his partner Dan Cleary (Ato Essendoh) dig deeper and deeper into the various suspects and facts surrounding the case, it becomes clear that there is something far more sinister at play. Someone wanted to quiet Summer, who was threatening to expose crime and corruption. As Tommy continues to peel back the layers of the onion, his colleagues — who are also best friends with him and his wife Judy (Silverstone) — start to fall under his microscope. It becomes apparent that it may be one of his police brethren who had something to do with the murder. Tommy doesn't know who he can trust, and director Grant Singer does a worthy job of slowly building the suspense and getting as much psychological juice as possible out of a relatively standard plot device.

Benicio Del Toro's Tommy Nichols Fights Against Deep-Seated Police Corruption

Eli gets his hands on a thumb flash drive and gives it to Tommy. On it, he discovers that Will Grady and his mother have created a shell company called White Fish Securities that has received all the profits from the houses they have sold. To go along with the suspicious real estate company, one of Tommy's best friends, who is also a cop in the department, Wally (Domenick Lombardozzi), has started up a moonlighting private security firm called Active Duty Security Counseling. Neither of these companies is anything more than a front to launder money from large heroin deals that are being run through Grady's real estate company. So Tommy knows that he can't trust his buddy Wally or Will, and isn't sure who else within the department is in on the corruption. His captain (who is his wife Judy's uncle) Robert Allen (Bogosian) is also in on the criminal activity. It's particularly painful for Tommy to learn of Captain Allen's involvement, because he sees him as a father figure, and it actually makes him wonder if his wife knows. It's a nice twist to learn that the misdeeds rise all the way to the Captain, but Singer then doubles down and delivers another great curveball when Tommy discovers that even the Chief of Police Marty Graeber (Mike Pniewski) is dirty, too.

RELATED: 'Reptile' Cast and Character Guide: Who Stars in the Netflix Crime Thriller

Who Kills Summer in 'Reptile'?

Tommy is shaken to the core as it seems like he is the only one of his circle of close friends who keeps his hands clean, being left out of the loop on the heroin side hustle. When Captain Robert Allen finds out that Tommy knows and that the jig is up, he tries his best to protect his niece's husband and friend from Wally and Chief Graeber who want him dead. Tommy finds out that Judy has nothing to do with the conspiracy, and eventually goes over to Robert's home to find him and Graeber discussing what they are going to do now that he knows their secret. The music is haunting as Robert whispers to Tommy, "Get outta here! You gave them the drive. They know!" Graeber has excused himself to the bathroom while Robert heads up the stairs. As he reaches the top, he is shot in the head by an unseen assailant and tumbles to the bottom. Tommy draws his sidearm and slowly makes his way to the downstairs bathroom where Graeber is. Graeber opens the door and Tommy sticks his weapon in his face. The chief tries to talk him down, but he pulls the trigger and blows the dirty cop's brains all over the bathroom mirror.

He immediately turns around to see Wally with his gun drawn. The two best friends have a quiet standoff in the living room for what seems like an eternity. It isn't until a Frisbee from outside hits the large front window of the house that Wally is distracted just long enough for Tommy to unload three rounds into him. Tommy slowly approaches Wally, who is groaning in pain. He tells Tommy he can't feel his legs as Tommy places the barrel of his pistol right up against his forehead. Tommy thinks better of it and pulls his weapon back, sits down, and calls 911 as the kids playing with the Frisbee look on from outside the window. The next scene sees Will Grady being arrested while playing golf for the actual murder of Summer, who was threatening to expose the drug money laundering scheme. The final shot of the film is Tommy cleaning his wounded hand underneath a motion sensor sink similar to one that he had commented on much earlier in the movie in a nice little callback from Singer.