The Ending Of The Monster Hunter Movie Explained

Like many other video game film adaptations before it, Monster Hunter packs a ton of action into its runtime. Based on the popular Capcom science fiction game series of the same name, the film reunites director Paul W. S. Anderson with his wife and frequent muse Milla Jovovich, who also starred in his Resident Evil adaptation. It follows elite warriors who spend most of their time fighting for their lives against New World creatures bent on destroying them — and, maybe, the real world, too.

Monster Hunter is the kind of film you can watch even if you don't have an extensive knowledge of the mythology behind the game that inspired it. However, the movie's ending is such that even fans who were watching closely may feel like they need a bit more of an explanation as to what exactly went down. So, here's an explanation of what happens at the end of Monster Hunter.

Beware, there are major spoilers ahead!

Monster Hunter follows Natalie Artemis (Milla Jovovich), an Army ranger from the real world, whose team gets trapped in a storm and pulled into a portal to the "New World," where humans must survive alongside huge monsters. After most of her fellow soldiers are killed by a subterranean Diablos, she teams up with Hunter (Tony Jaa), a warrior with whom she must work with to find safety.

During the course of their journey across a desert, Artemis learns more about the world she has stumbled into. She and Hunter have to fight off numerous foes, most notably the Rathalos, a fire-breathing wyvern. This monster stands in the way of Artemis making it to the Sky Tower portal, which is kind of a big deal, since that is her only way back to the real world.

The film's action packed storyline culminates in a thrilling final act that brings the New World and the real world in perilously close contact.

Artemis chooses to help the Admiral (Ron Perlman) and his team of Hunters battle the Rathalos, but in their battle, she once again falls through the portal. There's just one problem — the Rathalos follows her back into the real world. Artemis is able to help Hunter come through the portal and destroy the Rathalos. But she realizes she needs to stay in the New World and help protect the real world by fighting off the other monsters that could slip through the portal.

The film ends with the Admiral warning Artemis that there will always be a chance the monsters could make it to the real world as long as the portal is open. Armed with that knowledge, Artemis concludes the only way to protect the real world is to destroy the Sky Tower for good.

If that isn't enough of a cliffhanger for you, there's also a mid-credits scene in which an unidentified hooded figure stands atop the Sky Tower and observes the Hunters fighting off a Gore Magala monster. The ambiguous ending tees up nicely for a sequel — albeit, one that some critics would probably argue against. But, if this is where the story ends, it leaves off in a place where fans can come to their own conclusions about Artemis and the Hunters' fates.