Sons of Summer (2024) Ending Explained – Is Sean’s life still in danger?

Plot Summary

Sons of Summer tells the story of a young man named Sean whose father was murdered 30 years previously. The reason for his pop’s death is never explained but you might get a few answers if you watch the 1977 film Summer City, of which Sons of Summer is a sequel.

On the anniversary of his father’s death, Sean gets together with his friends Clay, Jack, and Kane for some surfboarding action in honour of their surfer parents. 

Unfortunately, Sean’s fun is cut short when he gets mixed up with a guy called Rick, who he knows from his shady past. Rick involves Sean in a drug robbery, which invariably has nasty consequences when Sean falls into the crosshairs of a sleazy businessman named Dom and his brutal enforcer, a burly guy named Frank.

In this ending explained article for Sons of Summer, we briefly recap the movie’s plot and ask the question: Is Sean’s life in danger at the end of the film?


Why does Sean steal the drugs?

Sean wants to settle down with his girlfriend Katie and live an honest life. But his criminal past comes calling again when Rick, an old accomplice of his gets in touch.

Rick wants Sean to do one last job for Pete, the man who raised Sean following his pa’s death. Sean agrees to do it as a favour to Pete but it’s not long before he regrets getting involved.

The drugs belong to a businessman named Dom Cooper who is holding a party at his house. Sean turns up at the party and steals the drugs before escaping in a car that he steals from Dom’s garage.

Frank chases after Sean but is unable to catch him. After getting away from the brute, Sean gets in touch with Rick and then lays low at his friend Kane’s house. 


Does Sean get away with the crime?

The next day, Sean is visited by two police officers who suspect he has something to do with the robbery. This is because of his criminal past and the fact he was seen on CCTV at Dom’s party. 

Sean is taken in for questioning by the cops but is released on bail when his girlfriend Katie calls on her lawyer friend Lauren for help. 

Sean may be unscathed at this point but the same cannot be said for Pete. After following a few leads, Frank arrives at the garage of Sean’s surrogate dad and tries to get information out of him.

Pete doesn’t give anything away – he’s far too loyal to Sean – but his silence comes at a cost when Frank brutally kills him.

Meanwhile, Sean and his friends decide to head out to Austinville, where they hope to enjoy some time riding the waves in memory of his father. But before they make their trip, Kane suffers an accident while swimming under the water. 

Despite the injury their friend sustained, Sean and his pals decide to go to Austinville anyway. Kane survives his injuries but less fortunate is Dom, who Frank decides to kill when the man questions his abilities.


Does Frank catch up with Sean?

Frank discovers Sean is in Austinville and heads there next. His first port of call is Rick, who tells him Sean has the drugs. 

Frank kills Rick and then kidnaps Katie as he thinks this will convince Sean to hand over the goods. Frank calls Sean, via Katie, and tells Sean that Katie will die if he doesn’t deliver the bag of drugs. 

Sean agrees to meet Frank but rather than heading to the meeting spot alone, he brings his pals along with him.

Frank turns up as planned but rather than it being a simple handover, things turn violent when both Katie and Sean attack him. During the fight, Sean manages to pull Frank into the nearby water where they continue their scuffle. 

During the fight, Frank is presumably killed, as evidenced by him floating face down in the water. However, there’s a twist at the end of the film.


Is Sean’s life still in danger?

At the film’s end, Sean heads out into the ocean with his friends in remembrance of his father. But watching from a distance is Frank who it turns out isn’t dead after all. 

Does Frank mean to harm Sean? Well…we don’t know. If Sean still has the drugs, then there’s a chance Frank has tracked him to the beach for murderous purposes. He might also want revenge for what Sean did to him in the water.

But as the film ends with no explanation, we can’t be sure why Frank was watching Sean. One thing’s for sure – he probably wasn’t watching over Sean like a Guardian Angel! We suspect the film ended in this way to open up the possibility of a sequel where the two will come to blows again.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

 

Read More: Sons of Summer Movie Review


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