What actually happens
Someone keeps letting the hamster out
A ten-year-old boy named Justin Whitter is abducted while riding his bike. Greg Harper becomes the lead detective, with Detective Spitzky assisting. A green pocket knife left at the scene ties the case to a string of abductions from fifteen years earlier, committed by Cole Gordon, who is now in prison. The detectives visit Tommy Braun, who is one of the two people Gordon left alive, and Tommy becomes hysterical when he sees them. At home, Greg's wife Jackie has recently had an affair, and their son Connor resents her for it. The house is also acting strangely. Items go missing, a repairman says Greg's daughter let him in, and a hamster is loose for no reason. Greg gets trapped in a closet while chasing the hamster, but when Jackie opens the door nothing is blocking it and nobody else is home.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
Everyone blames Connor and nobody blames the hamster
Jackie's former lover Todd shows up, says he loves her and wants the affair to continue. She tries to end things politely, and Todd is hit on the head with a pot. Jackie assumes Connor threw it and hid. She stashes Todd in the basement, promising to take him to a hospital after she drives Connor to school. On the way she nearly runs over Justin's mother, Mrs. Whitter, who is frail and distraught and insists her son is still alive. Jackie assures her that Greg will bring him home. While Jackie is out, a person with a bat attacks Todd again, and she returns to find him dead. She blames Connor, tells Greg, and the two bury Todd to protect their son. At home Connor finds the missing silverware bundled up in clothes inside the dryer, gets a strange message on his computer, and sees a masked person behind him. His parents come back to find him tied up in the bathtub, a green pocket knife beside him, and Jackie takes him to the hospital.
The house guests nobody invited
Flashbacks show who has been in the Harper house. Two homeless people, Mindy and Alec, have been hiding there. Mindy has used this trick before to get a place to sleep, while Alec is new to it and picked the house for a few nights of shelter. Mindy stays out of sight, but Alec wants the family to lose their minds, whatever Mindy says about it. He is the one who took the items, messed with the TV remote and locked Greg in the closet. He also made Greg think he had wet the bed by doing something unpleasant while Greg slept. Mindy watches Greg murder Todd. When Greg and Jackie go to bury the body, she finds Alec tying up Connor and threatens to call the police. Alec accidentally pushes her down the stairs and hides her unconscious body in Greg's car. Jackie heads to the hospital with Connor, and Greg drives away without knowing Mindy is in his car.
The trailer in the woods
This is the scene to brace for, and it comes near the end. When Mindy wakes up, she goes through Greg's bag and finds several green pocket knives and Justin's shirt, and realizes Greg is the kidnapper. Greg stops the car in the woods, and Mindy slips out to call 911, but the connection is poor and the call cuts off. There she comes across an old trailer holding Justin and a second missing boy, both pleading to be let out. As she works on freeing them, Greg knocks her unconscious and takes her back to the house, where he shoots her and arranges the scene to look like self-defense. Greg is then attacked by Alec, believes he has knocked him out, and stabs himself so it looks as though both intruders went after him. Alec wakes up and confronts Greg with Greg's own gun. Greg tries to justify himself by saying he was a victim as a child, and Alec shoots him anyway.
The ending, explained
Greg's lieutenant hears about the 911 call and cannot reach him, so Spitzky goes to check. Spitzky arrives, finds Greg dead and shoots Alec in the shoulder. The two men then realize they recognize each other, and Spitzky starts looking over the scene. Jackie and Connor return to a house full of police. Spitzky also finds evidence in a bag in Greg's car, and the GPS signal from Mindy's 911 call leads the police to the trailer, where both boys are rescued. While Alec is taken to an ambulance, flashbacks show a young Alec Travers and Tommy Braun meeting Greg as children. Alec was Greg's other surviving victim, and he picked Greg's house to get revenge and stop him. Mindy, Todd and Greg do not survive.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether I See You has a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is I See You scary?
Somewhat. I See You is a 4 out of 10 with medium dread. The fear comes from mounting tension and small things going wrong in a family home.
How does I See You end?
Greg, the detective, turns out to be the kidnapper. He kills Todd and Mindy, and Alec shoots him. Police rescue the two missing boys, and Alec turns out to be one of Greg's earlier victims.
Does the dog die in I See You?
No dog dies in I See You. The only pet is a hamster that gets let out of its cage and wanders around the house, and nothing bad happens to it.
Is there a post-credits scene in I See You?
Nobody has confirmed whether I See You has a scene after the credits.
Who is causing the strange events in the house in I See You?
Two homeless people, Mindy and Alec, have been hiding in the Harper house. Alec takes things and scares the family on purpose, while Mindy tries to keep him from going too far.
