Summary

Bones and All combines elements of romance and horror, with a strong atmosphere that adds to the overall experience. In the shocking ending, Maren’s mother tries to kill her, leading Maren to initially reject love. However, she later reunites with Lee, and they try to live a normal life together. The movie explores themes of otherness, including queerness and the societal tensions during the 1980s, with cannibalism serving as a metaphor for various marginalized groups.

Bones and All is a romantic horror movie directed by Luca Guadagnino, written by David Kajganich, and based on the novel by Camille DeAngelis. It stars Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet in the main roles as Maren and Lee. This is Chalamet’s second collaboration with Guadagnino after they worked on Call Me By Your Name together. Set in the late-1980s, when we meet Maren, she is attempting to make friends at a new school and, against her father’s wishes, she sneaks out to go to a sleepover. It quickly becomes clear why she wasn’t supposed to go because she bites off another girl’s finger.

One thing leads to another, and Maren sets off on a journey to find her mother after her father decides he can no longer look after her. This is where she starts to meet other “eaters” like her. First is Sully, an older man who wants Maren to become his companion, though she’s not a big fan of the idea. Next comes Lee, and the pair set off together in search of Maren’s mother, whom she hopes will have some guidance for her.

In keeping with Guadagnino’s previous work, there is a strong atmosphere here that works in favor of both genres at play. Everything culminates in a rather fast-paced and shocking ending, which you can read about below.

What Happens at the End of Bones and All?
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The final arc of Bones and All is kicked off when Maren finally finds her mother, who is living in a mental health facility. One of the attendants gives Maren a letter that her mother wrote years before, which states that it’s impossible for eaters to find fulfillment and love and that Maren would be better off dead. When Maren finishes the letter, her mother lunges at her with the clear intention of killing her. Shaken from this interaction, Maren leaves Lee behind, believing her mother’s words about the impossibility of being in love.

After some time apart, Maren returns to Kentucky to find Lee and the two rekindle their relationship. Lee confesses to Maren that he was responsible for the death of his father, who was abusive toward him and his sister, Kayla. After unburdening himself of this information, Maren tells Lee he’s not a bad person, and the two become even closer. They decide to try settling down in one place for a while and living as normal people. We see a montage of sweet, domestic moments shared between Maren and Lee, and then tragedy strikes.

Maren comes home alone one day and is ambushed by Sully, who has finally come for revenge after being rejected by Maren twice. He pins her down at knife point, but then Lee gets home and struggles to pull him off her. In the scuffle, Lee is stabbed, and it quickly becomes clear that he won’t survive the wound. When he realizes this, he begs Maren to eat him “bones and all.” To begin with, she refuses and tries to convince him to let her take him to the hospital. However, once she understands that it’s too late, she rips into him. It’s a tragic but romantic ending because he has died, but in her consumption of him, he will always be part of her.

Related: Bones and All: 8 Reasons Why You Should See Luca Guadagnino’s Movie

Did Sully Eat Kayla?
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One of the many strange and off-putting things about Sully (played by Mark Rylance) was that he would cut off the hair of everyone he ate and add it to a long braid that he carried around with him. When Sully appears at Maren and Lee’s apartment unannounced, we are left wondering how he found them. At some point during all the action, his bag is knocked over, and the braid spills out.

Maren notices Kayla’s bright blonde hair as the most recent addition to it and understands that Sully must have used her to find out where Maren and Lee were living and then eaten her. Unfortunately for Lee, he also notices the braid once he has killed Sully, and dies knowing that his sister had also been killed.

Related: 6 Movies to Watch If You Liked Bones and All

What Is the Hidden Meaning Behind Bones and All?
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There is no true “hidden meaning” at play in Bones and All, it’s simply a story about otherness. The beauty of the movie is that cannibalism can be seen as a placeholder for so many things, especially given the ’80s setting. One of the most obvious themes bubbling under the surface is queerness, with many moments dotted throughout the movie pointing in that direction. This includes Maren biting off the girl’s finger, Lee’s flirtation and subsequent sexual encounter with the carnival worker, and Lee wearing clothing typically worn by women. Additionally, while there is no explicit mention of the AIDs crisis, the relocation of the story to the ’80s is a deliberate change from the source novel, and this connects to the ideas of sickness, contagion, and sexuality that are glaringly obvious throughout the movie.

However, Bones and All is rich in subtext and imagery and, as previously mentioned, the idea of cannibalism could refer to anything that makes us feel “other.” This includes but is not limited to concepts such as simple shyness and bullying, mental or physical illness, disability, transness, or ethnicity. Along with the rampant homophobia of the 1980s, it was also a time of tension for many of the aforementioned groups, so this setting is fitting for a story about marginalization and disenfranchisement.