Rebel Ridge ending explained: Why did the police stop Terry? Jeremy Saulnier reveals the plot

Is Rebel Crest Based on a true story?

No, but you might think it could be. “This film is not based on a specific incident, but elements of it could well happen,” Saulnier said. “I'm interested in examining corrupt systems – not so much how they are constructed, but how they consist.“ The details of Terry’s journey in Rebel Ridge — legal challenges, police harassment – ​​will not be familiar to every viewer, but his push against the limits of Shelby Springs bureaucracy will be familiar to anyone who has ever spent hours on the phone line. “For this film, I wanted to find out how the rest of us respond to these [corrupt] “The spectrum ranges from corrupt politicians to the endless loop of a failed customer service call,” says Saulnier.

Is there actually a civil seizure of assets?

Yes. Civil asset forfeiture is the legal framework that allows the Shelby Springs Police Department to seize Terry's cash without due process. “It's this crazy loophole in anti-drug legislation that allows law enforcement to seize property from ordinary citizens without there being any evidence of criminal activity,” Saulnier said. He built the entire film around this concept: “I thought it would be a great premise for a film because it's so unifying – it's infuriating all out of.”

As Summer Terry explains at the beginning of the film, the confiscation of assets is justifiable in court because the Money has no civil rights of its own. She even amusingly points out that the case file will simply read: “The Town of Shelby Springs against $36,000.”

Saulnier's preparation for Rebel Crest began with intensive research. “As with all my projects, I start with a great interest in a subject and then do thorough research,” said Saulnier. “Once I have a firm grasp of the material, I just start writing. If I hit an obstacle, I keep researching.” The director's tenacity is a trait that his protagonist Terry Richmond also shares.

The trailer for Rebel Crest

Who is Terry Richmond in Rebel Crest?

The Shelby Springs police get way more than they bargained for when they drag Terry into their mess. When deputies Steve Lann (Emory Cohen) and Evan Marston (David Denman) knock him off his bike, they think they're harassing a passerby. But in reality, Terry is a graduate of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program who specializes in non-lethal, highly effective fighting techniques.

“Terry's goal, when he finds himself in a situation that has become physical and/or violent, is to end that situation in a way that doesn't leave anyone irreparably harmed,” Pierre told Netflix about his character. “The mantra we use in the film is 'one mind, one weapon.'” Pierre himself has trained in boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai for years, so Terry's skills came easily to him.

The Shelby Springs police department doesn't have it quite so easy. When Terry's efforts to politely reclaim his property are rebuffed, he infiltrates the police station and makes a violent deal with Don Johnson's police chief, Sandy Burnne: He'll settle for taking back $10,000 for his cousin's bail and letting the police handle the rest. “Chief Sandy Burnne is conflicted in that he's trying to help his city, but at other people's expense,” Johnson told Netflix. Burnne's budget has been cut, and an informant in his department has leaked to Summer that money seized through civil asset forfeiture helps keep the police – and Shelby Springs itself – on its feet.

Terry insists that his cousin not spend too much time in state prison; Mike was once a cooperating witness in a murder case, so his life could be in danger. Burnne agrees – but too late. Before Mike can be safely delivered to Terry, he is killed in prison.

What is Chief Burnne’s plan in Rebel Crest?

Mike's death makes Terry even more determined to uncover the Shelby Springs conspiracy – even as his and Summer's situation becomes increasingly dangerous. To dissuade the couple from their investigation, the police invade Summer's home and inject her with drugs. When she is drug tested at work, her world falls apart, but she keeps fighting. “Summer doesn't just help Terry because she's a good person,” Robb told Netflix. “She has something at stake. She's been backed into a corner too and decides to make the brave, courageous decision.”

Terry and Summer finally get to the bottom of the Shelby Springs police plot by consulting guilt-ridden Judge Logston (James Cromwell). Logston has been helping Burnne fund the city by raising bail and extending defendants' prison sentences. It's an unscrupulous way to offset budget cuts, and the judge commits suicide shortly after Terry and Summer leave. “There's an economic element to the script and the story that I've never seen before and that I found interesting,” Johnson said. That economic element has immediate consequences.

In a final attempt to expose Burnne's corruption, Terry and Summer break into City Hall to secure dashboard camera footage – they hope that photographic evidence of police misconduct will lead to a scandal and crucial reforms.

But the police, preparing to burn the building down, get there first. Terry manages to snatch an SD card containing crucial evidence, but Summer is captured. Terry fights back by kidnapping a young cop and making a hostage deal with the police. They meet at a landmark called – you guessed it – Rebel Ridge.

What happens at the end of Rebel Crest?

Terry doesn't head to Rebel Ridge. Instead, he goes back to the police station, raids the armory, and overpowers Burnne. But he is then stopped by Deputy Jessica Sims (Zsané Jhé). Terry thinks he is free, assuming she is Summer's informant. However, this assumption is a mistake, and Terry soon finds himself getting ready to take a bullet to the head.

But rescue comes from an unexpected source: Officer Marston, one of the police officers who arrested Terry. Terry quickly realizes that Marston is Summer's informant. As Terry and the police officers come together for a final showdown, the police station parking lot begins to resemble the war zone that Terry thought he had left behind at the end of his military service.

For the action sequences in Rebel CrestSaulnier brought things back to basics. “I wanted to see a more realistic depiction of hand-to-hand combat on screen,” he said. “My strength and strategy in this film was to stay grounded and not strive for the level of over-choreographed spectacle we are used to.”

A scene in which Terry drags Marston for cover behind a parked car took several takes.”[Denman] “He had stunt pads, he was safe, but we had a wire on him so Aaron wouldn't wear himself out after four or five takes, because David is a big guy, 6'4,” Saulnier recalled. “After we had a few takes in the can, Aaron asked us if he could really pull David by himself, without wires, and everyone agreed to try it. That shows Aaron's dedication. And of course, that's the shot that made it into the film.”

Terry takes out several officers using items from the police arsenal and his own non-lethal skills, and records the entire carnage on a squad car's dashboard camera. Then he and Marston rescue the drugged Summer and drive away, with Burnne close behind. At the last moment, Deputy Sims changes her mind and rams her boss off the road. Terry takes Marston and Summer to the hospital, secures the dashboard camera, and sits on a bench. After living through some of society's worst nightmares – asset seizure, police brutality, PTSD – and coming out the other side, he closes his eyes and is finally able to rest.

This moment of calm is another impulse that Saulnier shares with his protagonist. “If there is something I want to achieve, it is easy to trigger an involuntary reaction in the audience,” said Saulnier. “What the audience might take away from all this is fortunately no longer in my hands. But I am completely reassured because I know that I have given everything I could.”

Rebel Crest is now streaming on Netflix.

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