The 2022 thriller On The Line ends with a chaotic twist that might not please everyone, especially those hoping for a serious and clean resolution. The film follows Elvis, played by Mel Gibson, a radio host known for his disturbing sense of humor.
Right from the start, he pulls a prank on his new intern Dylan, only to receive a chilling call from a strange man claiming to have kidnapped his family. What follows is a disturbing psychological game, with the caller manipulating Elvis into jumping through hoops while threatening the lives of his loved ones.
A prank turns into a nightmare as Elvis fights for his family’s survival (Photo: On the Line/Three Point Capital (TPC). BondIt Media Capital)Elvis and Dylan pretend to play along but soon push the caller too far. The caller, who goes by the name Gary, claims his motivation is revenge — blaming Elvis for his girlfriend’s suicide, a former employee who couldn’t take one of his jokes.
Gary forces Elvis to the rooftop, insisting he jump to his death. But instead of going through with it, Elvis and Dylan stage the fall. Once Gary catches on, he fires two gunshots through the phone, making Elvis think his family has been murdered.
Shattered, Elvis and Dylan head back inside, only for Gary to tell them the family is still alive, but now rigged with explosives in the building. The pair rush to find them, though the situation is about to get even more bizarre.
Dylan Didn’t Die In On The Line’s Ending
Things get more twisted when Dylan agrees to sacrifice himself by wearing the bomb vest if it means Elvis’s family will live. The LAPD officer arrives, and Gary tells Dylan to take the place of the family. He agrees, thinking it’s the only way out. But once he puts on the vest and Gary shoots the officer, nothing goes off.
It turns out that the entire hostage scenario was part of a sick joke orchestrated by Elvis himself. The whole drama was a prank — and one so elaborate that Dylan, still trying to grasp what happened, stumbles away in disbelief and ends up tumbling down a stairway.
That fall looks fatal as Dylan breaks his neck immediately. A shaken Elvis resigns on the spot, weighed down by what just happened. The following morning, he gets into a cab to turn himself in, only to find out that the driver is Dylan, who is very much alive.
It turns out Dylan was never just a clueless intern but a professional stuntman. The real twist is that the prank Elvis played was part of an even bigger joke — this time, one targeting Elvis himself. Everyone he thought he fooled had teamed up to make him the real victim, and Elvis ended up laughing at how badly he got played.
Elvis’s Prank Plan In On The Line Explained
What Elvis and Gary pulled off together was no ordinary prank; it was a detailed and well-executed deception. Elvis didn’t act alone. The supposed kidnapper Gary wasn’t some unhinged criminal with a vendetta.
He was a known YouTube prankster who had teamed up with Elvis to stage a fake live event, one that would shock Elvis’s radio listeners. Gary pretended to be a man seeking revenge, while actors voiced Elvis’s family members to make the prank seem believable.
Elvis followed the act carefully, ensuring Dylan had no clue it was all make-believe. But looking closely, it’s clear Dylan wasn’t as fooled as he pretended to be. He seemed to go along with the prank at first, but he already knew the truth. He was aware Gary, the police officer and Elvis’s supposed family were all actors.
For the plan to be effective, Dylan had to play dumb — acting like Elvis had successfully tricked him. So while Elvis thought he had pulled off the perfect prank, Dylan and others were running their plan behind his back. That’s why Elvis was completely stunned when Dylan later flipped the entire situation on him.
Dylan’s Stuntman Role Twist Explained
One of the film’s most unexpected turns is discovering that Dylan is not who he claimed to be from the beginning. Throughout the film, Dylan plays the role of the calm, timid intern, especially when danger kicks in. Elvis comes off as reckless and unpredictable, often drawing attention to his history of cruel pranks.
There are hints that Elvis isn’t someone to be trusted fully, especially when Gary accuses him of contributing to someone’s emotional breakdown. This makes Elvis’s fake story easier to believe. But Dylan’s truth hits harder — he’s a trained stuntman, not some fresh recruit.
The story presents Dylan in a way that makes audiences see him as just an ordinary guy. Compared to Elvis’s dramatic flair, Dylan seems grounded — never stepping into hero mode until he agrees to wear the bomb vest.
Because of how he reacts under pressure, viewers are led to believe he’s inexperienced. But when the full prank is exposed, the truth changes everything. The final twist, showing Dylan was never an intern, manages to surpass even the elaborate scam Elvis tried to pull.
Did Elvis Learn Anything In On The Line’s Ending?
Rather than taking the experience as a warning, Elvis finishes the film by making an even more outrageous promise. The film ends with a strange kind of humor — instead of reflecting on his actions, Elvis tells his coworkers that his next prank will be even worse.
When the line between reality and terror blurs Elvis has no choice but to play along (Photo: On the Line/Three Point Capital (TPC). BondIt Media Capital)The message seems clear: he hasn’t learned a thing. Rather than being humbled, Elvis laughs it off and gets inspired to go bigger. It’s a moment that proves On The Line isn’t aiming to redeem its lead but to show how extreme his character can be.
Elvis, as portrayed by Mel Gibson, fits right into the darker, more aggressive characters the actor has played in recent years. The final scene leaves no doubt that he sees the entire situation as material for his next joke.
What On The Line’s Ending Means
Looking beneath all the twists and schemes, the film seems to be taking a jab at how easily people get misled in today’s media environment. There’s no single deep message driving the film, but it presents a ridiculous story filled with layer after layer of deception.
Underneath it all, though, it touches on how much people rely on and believe media personalities. Elvis, a cynical radio host, teams up with newer digital creators to put together a fake crisis. But as the prank unravels, he becomes the fool in someone else’s joke.
From that angle, the movie looks like a commentary on how deceptive and chaotic entertainment has become — how misinformation can come from both old-school media and modern online platforms. Through Elvis’s downfall, the film seems to call out the way truth often gets buried under performative stunts and viral content.
