‘Footfairy’ Ending, Explained: Does Vivaan Find The Serial Killer? What Does The End Credits Scene Signify?

Published

Movies based on serial killers never seem to be just average. They are either beyond dull, or they just knock it out of the park. “Footfairy” breaks new ground—the middle ground, with its storyline and writing. It is an extremely bad replica of Bong Joon-Ho’s 2003 classic crime thriller, “Memories of a Murder.” It follows Vivaan, a seasoned cop, as he tries to track down a serial killer who cuts his victims’ feet once he kills them. “Footfairy” is made watchable by its understated execution and the step-by-step investigation that makes the audience invest in it. Let us see how it all unfolds.

Spoilers Ahead


Is Joshua The Serial Killer? Does Vivaan Find Evidence Against Joshua?

“Footfairy” opens with a woman walking along the railway tracks when she is caught off guard by a man who puts a plastic bag over her head and asphyxiates her to death. He then drags her body to a secluded place and proceeds to cut her feet. The next scene is that of Vivaan, who is the inspector assigned to the case, finding the victim’s body in a red suitcase. This is not the first victim of FootFairy, i.e., the serial killer who is killing innocent women in town. Vivaan finds out that the location where they find the dead woman is not the place where she was killed, but they don’t know why the killer dumped her body elsewhere. All they are aware of is that the killings happen near railway tracks and the women always seem to be wearing open footwear. Vivaan is asked by his boss to solve the case as quickly as possible because he doesn’t want to go on a news debate to defend the police.

The film manages to make some good jokes. We had resigned to over-the-top allegories as a means to bring in a sense of humor to the storyline, as most pieces of content resort to. As the police continue their investigation, they find a magazine at the crime scene that is covered in male sperm. Through some tests, they found that it could belong to a taxi driver called Ravi Kale. When they bring him in for questioning, they find that he couldn’t possibly be the murderer as his alibi checks out. In the meantime, another murder has happened, that of a woman named Vanessa D’Souza. The police go to the memorial service, hoping to catch a glimpse of her murderer there. And he does come, but slips away before they can catch him. After exhausting all their leads, the police came to know that all of the victims had gone to a place called “Love, Stock, and Burgers” a few days before their deaths. The owner, Joshua, is acknowledged to have a foot fetish. His ex-girlfriend testifies that he had violent tendencies. But the information is not enough to get a warrant against him.

It is interesting to us how the movie made us assume that it was a foot fetish that was the reason behind the killings. Because a little research suggests that it is one of the most common fetishes out there. Most serial killers who target women are driven by some sort of hatred towards the gender, and we don’t see how that mixes with a foot fetish. 

Meanwhile, Vivaan comes up with a plan to get some evidence against the burger place owner. He gets Shakhin, one of the regulars, to pretend that she is walking on the railway tracks alone, after informing Joshua. But this doesn’t work out, as she gets scared, and they have to abandon the plan. Shakhin was not someone who took the train regularly. Targeting her would mean that the FootFairy is breaking away from their modus operandi. But ultimately, a guy by the name of Sandeep comes forward, claiming to have seen the FootFairy. When asked if he recognized him, he points to Joshua’s picture along with one other man’s as the possible suspects. This is enough to get them a warrant. Joshua is arrested, but he gets bail while the tests are being run. However, a new victim is found. She is Vivaan’s neighbor’s daughter, whom he had a soft spot for. This brings things to a boiling point for him. A desire to find the killer now has vengeance thrown into the mix. But what follows changes the course of the entire investigation. Joshua is not found to be the culprit, but he ends up filing a case against the police for defamation, which effectively closes the case. On the flip side, the killings stop.


Ending Explained: Does Vivaan Find The Footfairy? What Does The End Credits Scene Signify? 

The film rolls seven years ahead, where we see that Vivaan has quit his job and is running his own security agency. Everyone has moved on with their lives, and it looks peaceful now. Vivaan goes to the railway tracks where the killings happened and just stares into the distance. A child asks him why he and the other person are looking at the tracks. Upon a little questioning, the child reveals that the other person had said that he had left a suitcase there years ago and was just looking at the spot. Vivaan understands that he is talking about the FootFairy. He asks him where the man went. The child points ahead, and the movie ends with the railway tracks going into the distance.

In the end credits scene, we see a woman walking. The place is not in India, and neither is the woman. Somebody throws a snowball at her, and as she turns back, a plastic cover goes over her head, and the screen turns black. This means that the Footfairy is still operating, but in a different country.


Possible Theories: Who Could Be The Footfairy Killer?

Vivaan: We can’t get rid of our theory that Vivaan himself might be the footfairy. He did know the timings of his neighbor’s daughter, and it felt a little off how he was obsessed with pinning Joshua as the culprit. Devika says at one point that does Vivaan think Joshua is the killer because he honestly believes so or because him being the culprit is easier for the case? But there is that scene at Vanessa’s memorial where the actual FootFairy shows up. Was that a red herring he used for his convenience? Probably after the defamation case filed by Joshua, he had to cease his operations, but the accomplice went rogue. We should remember that in the end credits, we saw the FootFairy in a foreign land, but Vivaan is settled with his family in Bangalore. Maybe we should believe what the child said and keep it simple—that Vivaan is not involved and the culprit is elsewhere. We will only know in the sequel, if they decide to make one. Otherwise, we will have to contend with our theories.

Joshua: All the fingers point towards him right from the beginning. He started his cafe two months before the killings happened. He had a way to narrow down his victims, and the killings actually stopped when he closed his cafe and left. Not to forget that his girlfriend said that she believed him capable of the murders because of how he seemed to enjoy suffocating her. When Vivaan discovers the girl’s body and beats up Joshua, demanding to know if he has killed her, Joshua says he has. But he admits that he is only saying that because Vivaan wants to hear it. As he is about to shoot him, Harsh comes just in time with the forensic results. The DNA samples of Joshua and the FootFairy are not a match. This could be explained by our previous theory of him having an accomplice. But a part of us feels that it is too obvious. He just doesn’t feel like the guy that got away. But considering something more concrete, he was open about his foot fetish. A serial killer is made by repressing their deepest, darkest thoughts. For these reasons, if the makers decide to make him the killer in a sequel, should it happen, we are not going to be satisfied with that.

Rishabh: Vivaan’s colleague, he is not someone we immediately consider until two very vital pieces of information are revealed in the final few minutes: one, Rishabh is in Russia; and two, the end credits show the FootFairy operating in a foreign country. This makes us think back to how he was the one to point Vivaan in the direction of Joshua. It is such a far-fetched connection to unearth that the victims had been to the same burger joint a week or two before their deaths. How is it even possible to get such information, unless and until you knew it to begin with, as the real mastermind? He was always the first to reach the scene of a crime. And let’s remember that the FootFairy seemed to understand investigation methods and very cleverly avoided them. That could mean he is someone who has knowledge of police procedure or investigation. Sure, he was with Vivaan when the FootFairy was at Vanessa’s service, but maybe that was an accomplice, or a total red herring?

A Fourth Possibility: This is the one we most believe in, simply because we are trying to think from the writer’s perspective. It’s understood that they wanted the audience to come up with their own theories, but who would they have imagined as the serial killer? Did they ever assign a face to the character, or was he just a metaphor for Vivaan’s regret and obsession? If that is the case, it’s probably best to not have a sequel, just for the efficacy of that intent. But a different part of us, one that wants answers as much as Vivaan does, wants the story to be continued and for us to get a conclusive answer to the identity of the FootFairy. Eventually, we will choose a favorite theory and decide on the thriller, but getting a peek into the writer’s mind is also something we would want.


Final Thoughts: What Works For The Film? 

One would think that the number of conspiracy theories that this movie is capable of prompting has elevated its status from mediocre to something actually good. But our argument remains that it is the film’s simplicity of narrative that works the most for it. The makers don’t try to do too much and keep it simple—a man is looking for an elusive killer. And that’s it. It was so nice to see a cop who is not tortured by his past. And some of the jokes, like the tsunami one or that about turning a softcover to hardcover, actually made us chuckle. We think that happened because they did not try to forcefully fit them into the narrative but let them happen organically. There might be a sequel, with Vivaan trying to get to the killer, or it could just end with a comparison between two men: one obsessed with feet to the point of killing for them, and the other obsessed with this killer to the extent that it becomes the focus of his life. We don’t mind either of these two routes. While not a “must-watch,” it is engaging enough for a lazy afternoon and can be enjoyed as such.


“Footfairy” is a 2020 Drama Thriller film directed by Kanishk Varma.

- Advertisement -
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

7 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Divya Malladi
Divya Malladi
Divya spends way more time on Netflix and regrets most of what she watches. Hence she has too many opinions that she tries to put to productive spin through her writings. Her New Year resolution is to know that her opinions are validated.

Must Read

DMT Guide

More Like This