What is the plot?

In Boulder, Colorado, the city buzzes with news of a serial predator nicknamed the Swipe Right Killer, a murderer who chooses victims through dating apps. True-crime podcasters on Mark My Murder discuss how the suspect leaves no fingerprints and displays an unsettling fondness for rosé wine. On the night before her thirtieth birthday, Eva Vaugh assembles with her closest friends--Kelly, Robin, and Anthony--in her apartment, still raw from her breakup with Jake, a police officer who has abruptly left her and is now engaged to another member of the force. Eva's older sister, Valerie, arrives that evening carrying a boxed home security system as a gift; Valerie installs the device in Eva's kitchen area and tells Eva the painful news about Jake's engagement, then drives away after a tense exchange.

After Valerie leaves, Eva, prodded by friends and by a desire to reclaim her life, creates a new profile on the dating app. She matches with several men: Kyle, a familiar face from middle school who messages her with flirty nostalgia; Mitch, a charismatic bar owner she meets at a local watering hole and brings back to her apartment; and Norman, a technician from the home security company who returns the next day to finalize the installation. During an early conversation at the bar, Mitch explains that he lacks fingerprints because of a past kitchen accident; Eva is intrigued and later sleeps with him after Valerie and Kelly taunt her about getting back out there. The next morning, Norman arrives to complete the system checks and remarks that he is attending night classes in forensic science. He tells Eva he finds her interesting and asks her on a date; she agrees.

Eva goes out on a clumsy lunch with Kyle, where he orders a bottle of rosé and later suggests they continue the afternoon at his place. Eva refuses and instead meets Mitch for another intimate encounter at his bar. As she juggles her new dating life, her friends and Valerie begin to notice coincidences between Eva's suitors and the Swipe Right Killer: the killer's victims often met men through apps, the killer drinks rosé, and the crime scenes yield no fingerprints. A new, brutal murder reported on the news yields more concrete forensic detail: the killer wears a size 10 shoe. That forensic note sharpens Eva's anxiety; she begins to look at her dates through the lens of the investigation.

Mitch becomes possessive when Eva continues to see other men; she sees him check his footwear and realizes he wears size 10 shoes. During an outdoor picnic with Kyle, Eva watches as he suddenly lashes out at another man who makes a pass at her; after that confrontation she notices his shoe size matches the killer's. Norman, meanwhile, installs the home cameras and takes Eva on a proper date. During the evening together, Norman answers a phone call that visibly unsettles him; he abruptly leaves and Eva cannot shake her curiosity. She enlists Robin to tail him that night. The two of them follow Norman's car to a modest townhome where they watch him exit carrying several large plastic bags. The sisters of concern walk to the front door and meet Lila, Norman's sister, who sits in a wheelchair and explains that Norman had rushed out to take groceries to their home after a distressing call. Norman invites Eva and Robin to dinner to show good faith and to explain Lila's needs.

At Norman's house, Eva notices he also wears size 10 shoes. While using the bathroom she spots, tucked beneath a closet shelf, a single woman's shoe. The discovery unsettles her; she confronts Norman about the shoe and about his sudden departures, but a conversation about Lila's disability becomes awkward, and Eva leaves early without finishing dinner. Back at her apartment, Eva calls Jake at the police station and shares her list of suspects; Jake listens and tells her the detail his investigators have confirmed: the killer collects victims' shoes. That admission sends Eva into action. That night she returns to Norman's house while he is at work and slips inside to surreptitiously collect trace samples--hair from a brush and loose skin cells from a toothbrush--placing them into a small plastic bag she later hands to Jake at the precinct for DNA comparison.

When Norman appears on Eva's doorstep the following evening, concerned by reports of her strange behavior, Eva confronts him about the shoe and about his size. Norman protests his innocence and tells Eva he is trying to care for Lila and that the single shoe belongs to a tenant who recently moved out. Eva, unnerved and unsure, insists he leave her property and threatens to call the police if he does not comply. He departs hurt.

With her friends and sister difficult to reach and shaken by the conflicting signs, Eva goes to Kyle's house for temporary refuge, relying on his access to her newly installed security system to soothe her. While she is there, Valerie calls and leaves a voicemail that overturns another assumption: Valerie has learned that Kyle is actually married and has lied about his profession. Evans listens to the message; Kyle reacts badly when she confronts him. He becomes aggressive and forces his hands on her. As he pushes, Kelly, who had been missing from the group and whose mood has been dark and watchful, appears in Kyle's doorway with a knife. In the scramble that follows, Kelly lunges at Kyle and stabs him. He collapses on the living room floor with a bleeding chest wound; he ceases to move. Kelly, breathless, tells Eva that he had attempted to assault her. While Kelly stands over the body, Eva searches Kelly's car for a phone to call 911 and discovers an organized stash: dozens of mobile phones, many of them with screenshots of dating profiles and with contact lists that match the names of women reported missing or found murdered. The phones are neatly labeled and arranged--evidence that someone has been collecting the devices of victims.

Kelly sits down in an unruffled, almost clinical way and explains to Eva a history that begins in a marriage gone wrong: she admits that she once killed the woman who had been her husband's mistress and then tells Eva, in guarded tones, that after that moment she began to act against people she perceived as threats or intruders in her life. She acknowledges that she removed phones from victims and admits to a pattern of killing those she deemed deserving. As she speaks, her demeanor remains calm but resolute. Eva, horrified, tells her to stop, and Kelly, anticipating flight, picks up a small knife from the coffee table and moves toward Eva. Kelly lunges at Eva, and Eva reacts by grabbing a stiletto heeled shoe she had found earlier--one of the single shoes collected among the victims' items--and drives the heel into Kelly to stop the attack. Kelly cries out and falls back, wounded. Eva grabs her phone and calls the police.

Valerie, who had placed a tracking app on Kelly's phone earlier in the investigation after receiving a hunch, watches the live location ping and directs responding officers to Kyle's address. Jake and other officers arrive at the scene within minutes. They find Kyle on the floor, dead from the stabbing, and Kelly injured and breathing on the couch with a puncture wound from the stiletto in her side. Officers handcuff Kelly and read her rights as she protests in a quiet voice that she acted to protect Eva. Paramedics treat her for the stiletto wound but do not declare her dead; she is loaded into an ambulance and then transferred to police custody. The officers seize the dozens of phones found in Kelly's car and catalog them as evidence; Jake watches as technicians catalog the phones, matching serial numbers and call logs with cases of missing and murdered women. Those phones tie several cases to Kelly's activity.

In the weeks that follow, detectives confirm through forensic analysis the connections between the phones and multiple victims. Jake meets with Eva at the precinct and gives her the official update: Kelly's possessions connect her to several missing-woman cases, and the evidence collected from the phones and from Kelly's vehicle links her to the Swipe Right Killer's modus operandi. Norman, whose earlier suspicious items and size 10 shoes had put him under scrutiny, is cleared when DNA testing on the hair and skin samples Eva took from his home excludes him; the single woman's shoe she found belonged to a tenant and not to a victim. Mitch, whose battered fingertips and size 10 shoes had drawn suspicion, remains under investigation but is not charged at that time. Eva testifies in hearings about the sequence of events on the night Kyle attacked her and about Kelly's confession. Kelly describes a string of personal motives dating back to her marriage and admits to collecting phones and shoes after her attacks; investigators confirm the shoe collection detail at multiple scenes.

After the arrests and the police work that ties Kelly to the string of murders, Eva begins to rebuild her life. She and Norman reconnect gradually over the months following the investigation. Norman visits Eva at her apartment, helps her upload footage from her home security to police servers when she needs to submit evidence, and attends meetings with her as she gives statements. Their relationship stabilizes; they forgive one another for the earlier mistrust and begin dating seriously. Eva channels her experience into writing, composing a detailed account of the events she endured and of the investigation that followed. Her book attracts attention beyond their city; it becomes a best-selling true-crime title, and producers ask her to join Mark My Murder as a co-host to discuss her firsthand knowledge of the Swipe Right Killer case.

On the new podcast set months later, with studio lights on and a live audience for a special episode, Eva sits with the regular hosts and narrates specifics from the investigation--dates she went on, Normandy's dinner invitations, Kyle's deception, Kelly's confession and the phones found in her car. During the live broadcast, the producer hands Eva a ringing phone; it is a call from the corrections facility where Kelly is serving time while prosecutors pursue additional charges. Kelly's voice carries over the line, thin and flat. She asks to speak to Eva and attempts to explain pieces of her past in the same detached tone she used on the night of her arrest. Eva listens, holds the phone, and then, with her co-hosts looking on, ends the conversation. The podcast audience hears the click of the line disconnecting. The final images show Eva leaving the studio, stepping into the cool Boulder night with Norman at her side; behind them, the case files remain open on desks and the evidence boxes wait in storage, but Kelly sits in custody and prosecutors prepare to pursue further charges based on the evidence seized from her possessions. The screen fades on Eva and Norman walking away from the studio, the city lights of Boulder bright against the dark.

What is the ending?

At the end of F Marry Kill (2024), Eva confronts the truth about the Swipe Right Killer among the three men she has been dating. The film concludes with the revelation of the killer's identity, resolving the mystery and determining the fate of each main character involved in the climax.

Expanded narrative of the ending scene by scene:

The final act begins with Eva growing increasingly suspicious of the three men in her life--Mitch, Kyle, and Norman--each exhibiting traits that could link them to the Swipe Right Killer. Eva, driven by her true-crime podcast obsession and her own fears, decides to investigate them more closely.

In a tense scene, Eva arranges to meet all three men separately to observe their behavior and gather clues. She notices Mitch's charm and physicality but recalls his lack of fingerprints due to a kitchen accident, which matches the killer's modus operandi. Kyle's affinity for rosé and his old acquaintance status raise red flags, while Norman's forensic knowledge and night classes make him a suspect as well.

Eva's confrontation with Mitch is charged with sexual tension and suspicion. She tests him subtly, but Mitch remains elusive, neither confirming nor denying her fears. The scene shifts to Kyle, where Eva's awkwardness contrasts with his casual demeanor, but his rosé drinking and size 10 shoes align with the killer profile. Norman's scene is quieter but unsettling, as his polite demeanor masks a deeper intensity.

The climax unfolds when Eva, using her home security system, catches one of the men attempting to break into her house. The tension escalates as she faces the intruder, who is revealed to be the Swipe Right Killer. The identity is confirmed through forensic evidence and behavioral cues established earlier.

In the final moments, Eva manages to outsmart the killer, using her knowledge from the podcast and her security system to call for help and protect herself. The police arrive, and the killer is apprehended. The film closes with Eva reflecting on her experience, the dangers of online dating, and the complexity of trust.

Regarding the fates of the main characters:

  • Eva Vaugh survives the ordeal, empowered by her resilience and resourcefulness.
  • Mitch, Kyle, and Norman are cleared or implicated based on the killer's revealed identity, with the actual killer facing arrest.
  • Eva's friends and sister remain supportive, highlighting the importance of community in navigating personal and external threats.

This detailed ending emphasizes the film's themes of suspicion, the perils of modern dating, and the intersection of true crime fascination with real-life danger. It resolves the mystery while grounding the characters' arcs in a realistic and suspenseful conclusion.

Is there a post-credit scene?

Yes, the movie F Marry Kill (2024) has a post-credits scene. In this scene, Eva, the protagonist, is shown having pivoted her traumatic experience into a very successful career. She becomes the author of a best-selling crime novel and a co-host on a true crime show called Mark My Murder. During a live episode of the show, Eva receives a phone call from Kelly, the antagonist who is now in prison. This scene was created to give Eva more than just a relationship-based happy ending, emphasizing her personal growth and new purpose after the events of the film.

The post-credits scene highlights Eva's transformation from a victim of the Swipe Right Killer to someone who has taken control of her narrative and turned it into a meaningful career.

Who are the three men Eva dates, and what are their distinct characteristics or secrets?

Eva dates three men: Mitch, a bar owner who lost his fingerprints in a kitchen accident and is a friend with benefits; Kyle, a veterinarian and childhood acquaintance who has quirky habits like nose-picking and orders rosé on their date; and Norman, a security company employee taking forensic night classes with a mysterious past. Each man exhibits traits that make Eva suspicious in the context of the Swipe Right Killer case.

How does Eva’s relationship with her sister Valerie influence the plot?

Valerie, Eva's overprotective older sister, gives Eva a home security system for her birthday and is later caught spying on Eva at the bar. Valerie also reveals that Eva's ex-boyfriend Jake is engaged to another police officer, which adds emotional tension and suspicion around Eva's personal life and safety.

What role does the true-crime podcast 'Mark My Murder' play in Eva’s investigation?

The podcast 'Mark My Murder' provides details about the Swipe Right Killer, including the killer's lack of fingerprints and interest in forensics and rosé wine. Eva uses information from the podcast to profile her dates and assess who might be the killer, making it a key narrative device driving her suspicions and actions.

What are the dynamics and significance of Eva’s friendships in the story?

Eva's close friends--Kelly, Robin, and Anthony--offer support and diverse perspectives. Kelly is married and nostalgic about her wedding, Robin is a fan of ethical polyamory and single, and Anthony is nonbinary with a long-term boyfriend but open to more relationships. Their interactions provide context for Eva's emotional state and social environment as she navigates dating and danger.

How does Eva’s past relationship with Jake, the police officer, affect her trust and decisions?

Eva was in an eight-year relationship with Jake, who recently dumped her and is now engaged to another police officer. This breakup, combined with Jake's new engagement and Eva's suspicions about the killer, contributes to her distrust of men and motivates her cautious yet determined approach to dating and uncovering the Swipe Right Killer.

Is this family friendly?

The movie F Marry Kill (2024) is not family friendly and is rated R for sexual material, language, some violence, and drug use. It contains content that may be upsetting or inappropriate for children and sensitive viewers.

Potentially objectionable or upsetting aspects include:

  • Sexual material and innuendo, including references to sex and dating app encounters.
  • Violence related to a serial killer plot, though gore is minimal and not graphic on screen.
  • Themes of sexual harassment and implied sexual assault, including a very violent rape scene depicted in a flashback, which is described as graphic and disturbing.
  • Mature language and drug use.
  • The tone mixes cutesy humor with menace, which some viewers may find awkward or unsettling.

Overall, the film deals with adult themes such as dating, murder, and trauma, making it unsuitable for children or viewers sensitive to sexual violence and mature content.