The Spanish horror thriller on Netflix, titled “Killer Book Club” (El club de los lectores criminales), revolves around the lives of eight college students who share a passion for horror. Their lives dramatically turn when an evil killer clown begins murdering them one by one, driven by their shared dark secret. The film essentially draws inspiration from the Scream franchise, shifting its central driving force from movies to literature. However, in contrast to the clever and unpredictable nature of the Scream movies, Killer Book Club falls short in terms of intelligence and unpredictability. The graphic violence present in the film doesn’t necessarily enhance its weak storyline, which frequently finds itself backed into corners with no clear direction. Nevertheless, slasher and horror film enthusiasts might find some enjoyment in watching as the killer relentlessly pursues their next victim with a knife in hand, prompting them to consider giving it a chance.
*Spoiler Alert*
Killer Book Club (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The horror film “Killer Book Club” (El club de los lectores criminales) introduces us to eight different characters: Angela, Sara, Nando, Rai, Sebastian, Koldo, Eva, and Virginia. A quick background of these characters: Nando works at a bar and is in a relationship with Angela, an aspiring writer who wrote a novel six years ago. Sebastian is infatuated with Angela, which creates tension with Nando. Sara believes she’s dating Rai, but he’s too independent to commit to anyone. Koldo is a social media influencer, while Eva works part-time in a library. Virginia is also an aspiring horror writer. Other than Nando, they all attend the same university to study literature and are members of a secret book club where they all dissect the latest novel they all finished reading. Meanwhile, the news about a menacing clown known for playing deadly pranks on people is all over social media.
What happens with Angela?
Angela has been grappling with writer’s block ever since her novel was released six years ago. After considerable contemplation, she composes an email to her professor, seeking his opinion on the initial chapters of her current draft. However, she changes her mind about sending the email. The next day, the professor informs Angela that he has received the email and would like to discuss it in his office. Nonetheless, during their conversation, after some small talk, the professor attempts to make sexual advances toward Angela. In a reflexive action to defend herself, Angela kicks him, which makes the professor get angry and warns her to fail her if she tells this to anyone. The next day, her friends start discussing a plan in a group chat to frighten the professor, using the same ‘clown tactic’ as a way to teach him a lesson. Although Angela is initially hesitant, she eventually agrees to the idea.
First Chapter: What happens to the professor?
Drawn by the book’s inspiration and the viral videos featuring the killer clown, they purchase clown costumes and tools resembling those of the killer. The group then dresses up as clowns and heads to the campus one night when the professor is the only one present. After chasing him across the entire campus, an accidental turn of events leads to the professor dying from a fall from a railing onto a statue’s impaling structure. Angela, who encounters the professor as the last person, blames herself for everything. However, the group collectively decides to maintain the incident as a secret within their circle, treating it as if it never happened in the first place.
The following day, they all receive a link to an online novel written by someone depicting the events of the professor’s murder. The writer also claims that their novel features eight characters identical to the ones we are seeing, and with each chapter, they intend to punish or kill off these characters. This situation leaves everyone in the club scared and suspicious. They are the sole individuals aware of the incident, and discussing the gruesome details of the murder is only possible if one of them happens to be the culprit. As a result, they begin to blame one another, and Angela suggests that they should not allow the killer to manipulate their thoughts instead should find the culprit.
Second Chapter: Who gets killed first?
The first one among the group to go missing is Virginia. When she decides to pack her bags and leave the university after her disappearance, the Book Club members receive another link, this time to the second chapter. In this chapter, the killer describes how a clown followed Virginia and ended up killing her. The group resolves to follow the clues provided in the chapter, hoping to locate Virginia’s body. Unfortunately, their efforts prove futile, leaving them even more confused and fearful for their own lives. Consequently, the group arranges to meet in the library to collaboratively determine who might be responsible for Virginia’s disappearance and whether she is truly dead. Suspicions intensify further when Nando and Angela try to avoid the trap.
Third Chapter: Who is Alicia?
A still from Killer Book Club (2023).Rai becomes the third victim of the murderous clown just outside the club where Nando works. When the group ventures out to locate Rai’s body, they unexpectedly stumble upon a message written in blood in a deserted swimming pool: “to be continued.” Meanwhile, Koldo seizes this opportunity to bolster his social media followers by endorsing the killer’s novel. He even initiates a public poll to speculate about the next potential victim. The poll’s outcome points toward the death of the heroine from the novel, marking Angela as the subsequent target. In response, Sebastian takes Angela to a secure location where the killer is less likely to find her.
During this time, Angela’s back story comes to light. It is revealed that her inspiration for writing her first novel stemmed from a real-life encounter. Angela had connected with a girl named Alicia online, and during a creative slump, she drew upon Alicia’s life as material for her story. Sebastian raises the possibility that Alicia could be the killer seeking vengeance for Angela’s exploitation of her life. However, Angela counters by showing him a news article that reported Alicia’s death after setting her mother on fire. Angela further shares that Alicia’s mother had subjected her to severe mistreatment, forcing her to read numerous literature books. When Alicia failed to meet these demands, her mother would subject her to physical abuse. The accumulated anger from this ordeal had driven Alicia to commit matricide.
Does Nando really die?
Sebastian comforts Angela, and the two of them eventually share an intimate moment. Meanwhile, Nando receives a message on his phone from the killer, revealing Angela’s current location. Following the link of the location, he meets the killer, who knocks him out. Angela subsequently receives a link to the next chapter, detailing Nando’s supposed death. However, the story takes a twist when Angela and Sebastian visit Nando at the hospital, discovering that he is, in fact, still alive. At the same time, Koldo makes an announcement, revealing that the killer will be participating in a book signing event at a fair and encourages his followers to attend the fair dressed as clowns.
What happens at the Book Fair?
The remaining members of the book club eventually attend the fair with the intention of locating the killer, but they become separated. In a tragic turn of events, Sara is murdered in front of Angela’s eyes. As Angela attempts to regroup with Sebastian and Nando, she comes across Koldo, dressed as a clown, with his throat slit. Eva, who had been absent throughout these events, suddenly appears holding a hammer, raising suspicions about her possible involvement as the killer. However, when the police arrive at the scene, she throws away the hammer, claiming she got it from a clown, and flees. Amidst this chaos, Angela faints from the overwhelming sight. Upon regaining consciousness, she finds Nando by her side. Despite Nando’s advice to rest, Angela insists on getting up and leaving, expressing her weariness with the continuous deaths that seem to be linked to her. She vows to take matters into her own hands.
Killer Book Club (2023) Netflix Movie Ending, Explained:
Who is the killer?
Angela takes the hammer Eva had thrown away and goes straight to the boiler room inside the university, where the book club members used to meet. She finds Eva on the floor, covered in a pool of her own blood. Angela stays with her till the final moment and then goes inside to find Sebastian tied to a chair, with blood dripping from his nose. As she tries to untie him, Nando walks in, and Sebastian starts screaming that he is the killer. He tells Angela to take the hammer and kill him, but Nando insists that Sebastian is the one who is lying. Seeing Angela not making quick decisions, Sebastian gets up from his chair, takes the hammer, and hits Nando. Angela, who is shocked and confused, gets cornered by him as he slowly reveals how he had planned the perfect murder story, keeping her as the protagonist. He also tells her that he has always liked her, and every part of the happening throughout the film was actually his narrative that he carefully staged to kill Angela eventually. Angela, who had been quiet and in the corner, takes out a pen (gifted by Nando to write her second novel), pierces through his mouth, and runs from the scene. As she tries to escape, she meets with another clown who turns out to be Virginia.
Why does Virginia want to kill Angela?
It turns out that Virginia is actually Alicia and Sebastian’s girlfriend, and the two had planned their way into Angela’s life to seek revenge. When Alicia learned that Angela used her life story to write a novel, she and Sebastian elaborately planned to kill Angela. While Sebastian and Alicia corner Angela, talking about their narrative, Angela notices Nando sneaking up from behind, so she keeps them distracted. Nando quickly pushes Sebastian off the railing, leading to his death, similar to the professor’s. Alicia follows Angela to an abandoned area to kill her, blaming how because of her, she killed her mother and how her life is now ruined. Angela sets up a trap and sets her on fire. Angela then returns outside and finds Nando being taken away by the paramedics into the ambulance.
What happens at the end of the film?
One year later, we see a mature Angela and Nando attending literature classes where the professor discusses how to write a good sequel to a book. We learn that the publishers have well-recognized Angela for her work, and the two intend to dig deep into the horror genre.
The ending of Killer Book Club shows us Angela walking through the campus, and all of a sudden, the scene transitions into a moment where she is all alone, and Alicia is standing in front of her as a clown, ready to kill her. The scene concludes with Angela screaming in fear. Does this scene mean that the Killer Book Club story will continue? Is Alicia dead? Or is it just Angela’s fear getting projected in real? The ambiguous ending of Killer Book Club keeps us guessing if there will be a Killer Book Club 2 or if it’s deliberately kept open-ended.
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Killer Book Club (2023) Netflix Movie Trailer
Killer Book Club (2023) Netflix Movie Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
Killer Book Club (2023) Netflix Movie Cast: Veki Velilla, Iván Pellicer, Álvaro Mel
Where to watch Killer Book Club
