Is We Need to Talk About Kevin Scary? The Verdict and the Whole Plot
Yes, 5 out of 10. It has no jump scares, and the fear comes from watching a mother lose an argument with her own son.
🐱THE SCARE SIGNAL
SCARE SCORE
5 /10
🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱
DREAD LEVEL
High
The unease tends to last a few days, mostly as discomfort about the family at its center.
DOG
Dog: fine
fine, no dog dies.
Ruling: Watch it when you can spend the next day thinking about it, because it is a bleak one.
We Need to Talk About Kevin runs 113 minutes. Eva used to write about travel, and now she lives by herself in a rundown house and gets a cold reception from her neighbors. The movie fills in how she got there by going through her memories of raising her son, Kevin.
The premise, briefly
A former travel writer lives under her neighbors' hostility while remembering how she raised her son Kevin, who was a difficult child from the day he was born.
How much do you want to know?
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The verdict above is spoiler-free. Everything below, including the ending, stays hidden until you pick a depth.
🐱CUT TO THE CHASE
How it ends
Kevin kills several students at his school with a bow and arrows, and then Eva finds that he has killed her husband and daughter at home. Two years later she visits him in prison, he says he no longer knows why he did it, and she hugs him before she leaves.
The scene you're dreading
Near the end, Kevin traps students in the school gym with bicycle locks and kills them with his bow and arrows. Eva then watches his arrest and the bodies being carried away, and goes home to find her husband and daughter dead too.
The dog
No dog dies in We Need to Talk About Kevin. Celia's pet guinea pig does, without being shown, and Eva discovers what is left of it the next day.
It is a bleak family drama with no jump scares, and the unease about the family stays even when you know the plot.
THE SHORT VERSION IS HIDDEN
How it ends, the scene you're dreading, what happens to the dog, and the bottom line. About twenty seconds to read.
What actually happens
A baby who only screams at one person
Eva Khatchadourian was a successful travel writer who became a reluctant mother, and the film tells her story in memories while she lives alone in a rundown house in the present. As a baby, Kevin cries constantly, and he only does it when she is there. As a child he resists toilet training, brushes off her affection and isn't interested in anything. Around his father, Franklin, he acts like a happy, loving son, so Franklin dismisses Eva's worries and makes excuses for him. One day Eva loses her temper and throws Kevin into a wall and breaks his arm. Kevin tells Franklin that he fell, and afterward Eva believes he uses the scar to manipulate her.
When Kevin is stuck in bed with a fever, he shows Eva affection for the first time while she reads him Robin Hood. It lasts until he recovers. Franklin then buys Kevin a bow and arrow and gives him archery lessons. Eva has a second child, Celia, who is lively and cheerful, and Kevin looks down on her at once. Some years on, Celia's pet guinea pig goes missing, and the next day Eva discovers what is left of it in the garbage disposal and clears the drain with drain cleaner. Afterward Celia loses the sight in one eye from the cleaner, at a time when Kevin was in charge of watching her, and she has to wear a glass eye. Eva suspects Kevin did it on purpose, and Franklin defends him. Franklin brings up divorce, and Kevin overhears the conversation.
Three days before a birthday
This is the scene people dread most, and it comes near the end. Three days before he turns sixteen, Kevin traps several students in the school gym with bicycle locks and kills them with his bow and arrows. Eva is there for his arrest and sees the victims' bodies being carried away. She goes home and finds that he has also killed Franklin and Celia. The movie tells you at the beginning that Kevin is in prison for killing his classmates, and this is where the memories catch up to that.
The ending, explained
Eva visits Kevin in prison on the second anniversary of the massacre. His manner has changed: he is subdued and frightened because he is about to turn 18 and be moved to an adult prison. When Eva asks why he did it, he says he once believed he had the answer and now isn't certain. An officer announces that the visit is over. Eva hugs Kevin and leaves.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there's a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is We Need to Talk About Kevin scary?
Yes, We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 5 out of 10. It has no jump scares. The fear is the slow realization of what the family's difficult son is capable of, and the dread lasts a few days.
How does We Need to Talk About Kevin end?
Kevin kills several students at his school and then his father and sister at home. Two years later Eva visits him in prison, he says he no longer knows why he did it, and she hugs him goodbye.
Does the dog die in We Need to Talk About Kevin?
No dog dies in We Need to Talk About Kevin. A pet guinea pig does, and the movie doesn't show it happening: Eva discovers what is left of it in the garbage disposal the next day.
Is there a post-credits scene in We Need to Talk About Kevin?
Nobody has confirmed whether We Need to Talk About Kevin has a scene after the credits.
Why does Kevin do it in We Need to Talk About Kevin?
The movie never gives a clear reason. Eva asks him directly in prison, and Kevin says he once believed he knew the answer and no longer does.
BLURRED FOR YOUR PROTECTION
The whole plot of We Need to Talk About Kevin is hidden, ending included. It stays that way until you ask.
You don't have to sit through We Need to Talk About Kevin to know what happens. Install Scaredy Cat and it will blur horror on the internet before you see it.
