The Little Things – Explanation for the end of the thriller

“The Little Things” is a thriller by John Hancock from 2021 whose ending offers no simple explanation. For the film follows the two investigators Deacon and Baxter on their hunt for a serial killer, but he is never definitely caught.

The explanation for the ending of “The Little Things “

Caution: The following summary of the ending contains spoilers.

• Detective Deacon returns to the department he used to work in but had to leave because he was never able to solve a series of murders. In addition, he had accidentally shot one of the victims himself, which was never uncovered because his now ex-wife was and still is the coroner on the scene.
• Back at his old precinct, he is confronted with a new series of murders that leads him to believe that the same killer is still acting. Therefore, he wants to stop the perpetrator this time. He gets help from the ingenious Detective Baxter, who now works where Deacon used to be employed.
• Their main suspect is Albert Sparma. He quickly becomes the focus of the investigation. His flat is full of incriminating evidence, such as VHS tapes with women’s names that could point to the victims and a box of items that could have belonged to those killed.
• Sparma also makes himself suspicious by claiming in the past that he was responsible for the murder of a woman. However, he could not have done it, as he has an alibi. However, he has a high affinity for murders and even takes Baxter to the supposed spot where he buried his last victim.
• The spot is in a remote desert and Sparma makes Baxter dig before revealing to him that he is not a murderer. Baxter gets angry and kills him with a shovel. Deacon has followed his colleague, sees the mess and removes the body with him.
• Lest Baxter carry the same burden of perhaps never having caught the real killer as Deacon did then, Deacon sends him a red clasp at the end of the investigation. This barrette belonged to the last victim and Deacon claims he found it in Sparma’s flat.
• However, at the end it can be seen that Deacon only bought the brace to make Baxter think he had killed the killer and to make him feel better. There is no other evidence. According to this, it may be that Sparma was only interested in the murders but was not the killer at all. In any case, the film does not give a clear explanation as to who the serial killer really was.