Teddy and the Parasite: The Ending Explained

Hell Hole is the latest film from the family of filmmakers known as The Adams Family, comprising Toby Poser, John Adams, and their daughters Lulu and Zelda. Although their daughters don’t star alongside Toby and John in this film, Zelda Adams is credited as a co-writer on the screenplay. Toby and John shared directing duties and co-starred as the characters Emily and John.

Set in the Serbian wilderness, Hell Hole follows a fracking crew and some research scientists in search of the rare mammals known as Pika, humorously described as “a glorified bunny rabbit.” Their quest, however, leads them to a long-dormant parasitic monster that soon wreaks havoc, seeking a new male host to use as an incubator. This creature feature on Shudder notably incorporates mpreg as a dominant theme.

Now available on Shudder, the film leaves viewers to decipher the somewhat ambiguous ending, which leaves the fate of several characters open to interpretation. Spoilers ahead.

Hell Hole culminates in an intense climax featuring the parasite violently hopping from one of the remaining survivors to another until everyone is dead, except for Emily, Teddy, and Sofija.

It turns out Nikola is quite the hypocrite. He was perfectly content to use other people as test subjects when the parasite was inhabiting them, but when it tries to enter him, he freaks out and almost immediately dies, leaving the octopus-like creature to find a new incubator among the three remaining survivors.

The last we see of the monster, it’s chasing Teddy and Sofija. The scene then cuts to a future moment where the couple is in a bathroom, with Teddy relaxing in a tub as Sofija somberly comforts him. Hell Hole doesn’t explicitly state the fate of Teddy or the creature, but given that the parasite incubates inside men, it’s safe to assume that it did, in fact, enter Teddy.

Earlier in the film, Teddy and Sofija bond over their ambitions for the future. Sofija reveals her parasitology studies, and Teddy says he’d love to be a father someday. In a twisted way, they both got what they wanted. Teddy has now become the “womb” to this formerly dormant cephalopod entity, and Sofija will get to study it and its host as it resides within him. If Teddy doesn’t try to remove the parasite, he might even survive the ordeal and eventually “give birth” to it.

Supporting this theory is the final frame of the movie, which shows a newspaper article blaming the deaths on a “mysterious oil rig accident.” This means that none of the three survivors revealed what truly happened, allowing Teddy to escape with Sofija without facing government or scientific scrutiny. Although Em is not seen again, we can assume she will continue to be part of her nephew’s life.

Hell Hole is now streaming on Shudder.

Source: Shudder