One of Netflix’s standout horror releases last Halloween was The Conference, a Swedish film that blends slasher thrills with a deeper critique of urban development. If you missed it, it’s still worth checking out, especially for its shocking ending and the issues it raises about gentrification.
The film is an adaptation of Mats Strandberg’s novel and follows a group of municipal workers who travel to a remote holiday village for what is meant to be a team-building retreat. Their trip is tied to a new shopping mall development, a project that threatens to uproot the lives of those living in rural Kolarängen in Sweden.
Gentrification meets gruesome fate (Photo: The Conference/SF Studios)While the retreat is supposed to focus on fostering teamwork, most of the employees see it as an opportunity to drink and relax. Tensions within the group start surfacing, but those conflicts soon take a backseat when people begin to die mysteriously.
The real question remains—who is behind these gruesome murders? If the violence kept you distracted, let’s take a detailed look at The Conference’s ending to uncover the identity of the killer and the shocking truth about the mall project.
The Conference Ending Explained
From the very beginning, it becomes evident that the killer has meticulously planned every aspect of his attack. Before taking his first victim, he ensures the surrounding forest is rigged with nearly invisible but lethal wires.
He also blocks all exit routes and disables both mobile networks and internet access, leaving everyone completely cut off from the outside world. Although using a mask wasn’t part of his original plan, he stumbles upon one that is part of a traditional Swedish charcoal burner costume.
Not only does this disguise conceal his identity, but it also makes him even more terrifying, aligning him with the long legacy of masked killers in horror cinema. His first targets are the workers at the holiday village, eliminating them before turning his attention to the municipal employees. From that moment, chaos ensues.
Just before the killing spree escalates, Lina stumbles upon some troubling details regarding the shopping mall project while going through Jonas’s laptop. She discovers that Pålsson, the farmer whose land was seized for the development, was never compensated.
Worse still, there are no confirmed businesses lined up to occupy the mall—not even IKEA—which means the entire project is doomed to fail. With no sustainable economic prospects, the local community faces financial ruin.
Meanwhile, Jonas has already secured a top executive position elsewhere, ready to walk away unscathed. To ensure the project moved forward without obstruction, Jonas went as far as forging Lina’s signature in her absence.
Armed with all the necessary proof to expose him, Lina knows she can hold Jonas accountable. But with a killer on the loose, staying alive takes precedence over seeking justice. The municipal employees are picked off one by one, with Kaj meeting his end in a hot tub and Ingela gruesomely hanged from a flagpole.
As fate would have it, Lina finds herself fleeing through the forest alongside Jonas. They attempt to escape using a makeshift boat constructed from wooden planks and plastic bottles during one of their team-building exercises.
However, Jonas betrays her, threatening her to hand over the flash drive containing the evidence before kicking her out of the boat. Struggling against the waters, she eventually makes it to the shore, but the killer is still in pursuit.
Meanwhile, the remaining survivors—Nadja, Eva, Amir, and Torbjörn—take refuge in the main cabin, arming themselves with whatever weapons they can find. Amir later stumbles upon Lina and brings her to safety.
Annette, the only one still outside, unexpectedly teams up with Jonas. His escape plan didn’t work out as intended. During their discussion, Annette suggests a potential identity for the killer.
She believes it could be Frans, a former municipal employee who was so enraged by the mall project that he once stabbed Ingela with a pen. However, when she finally confronts the masked assailant and removes his disguise, she is taken aback—this is not Frans. Before she can react, the killer drives a knife into her skull.
The Killer’s True Identity
As the survivors dig through a local newspaper, they put the pieces together and realize that the killer is Pålsson’s son. His father’s suicide, triggered by the loss of his farm, became the driving force behind his quest for vengeance.
He holds those responsible for the land grab accountable, seeking to make them pay for their actions. The charcoal burner mask takes on a deeper meaning, symbolizing more than just an eerie disguise.
A retreat that no one returns from (Photo: The Conference/SF Studios)It represents the historical charcoal workers, known as “the proletarians of the forest,” who labored to fuel the furnaces of the very land now being taken over for the shopping mall. His mission for revenge extends beyond personal loss—it’s a form of reckoning against those exploiting the land for profit.
Even with this revelation, survival remains the top priority for the remaining group. Lina, Amir, Nadja, Eva, and Torbjörn hatch a plan to escape using the zip line that leads to the other side of the lake. However, their attempt to flee is complicated when they get separated in the dense forest.
While Lina and Amir succeed in reaching the other side, the killer has anticipated this move, setting a trap in advance. In a moment of self-sacrifice, Amir ensures that Lina makes it out alive. As she continues running, she stumbles upon the missing mobile phones and finally manages to call 911.
Back at the main cabin, Eva and Torbjörn put up a fierce resistance. But just when it seems like the killer might overpower them, Nadja makes a sudden return, delivering the final blow by decapitating him with a shovel.
A Last-Minute Twist
With the killer seemingly defeated, it feels like the ordeal is finally over—but there’s one last fight left. Lina is unexpectedly ambushed by Jonas, who, despite everything, refuses to die. Exhausted and pushed to her limit, she wastes no time retaliating, ripping his scalp off without hesitation.
His death is met with little sympathy, as nobody is likely to mourn his loss. Emergency responders soon arrive at the holiday village, tending to the few survivors and piecing together the gruesome events that played out.
Whether the shopping mall project will proceed remains uncertain, but one thing is evident—what was meant to be a corporate retreat ended up turning into the most intense team-building experience imaginable.
