Leviticus

Naim finally traps the creature that has spent the film appearing as Ryan, sealing it inside a burning building after a long night where he can't always tell whether he is fighting the demon or the real boy. Afterward his mother Arlene admits the truth: she went to the healer knowing it would attach a demon to him, convinced that making him afraid of being gay would keep him safe from bullies and worse. There is no apology that undoes it and no last-minute change of heart, and Naim leaves while she calls after him. He meets Ryan, who also survived, at a bus stop. They board together, share a pair of headphones, and listen to Frank Ocean's "Self Control" while Naim rests his head on Ryan's shoulder. Then, as the bus pulls away, he sees another Ryan standing at the roadside. The entity is still there, and it appears to be following them. That is the point of the ending. The demon was born out of the "deliverance" meant to cure Naim and out of his feelings for Ryan, so escaping the town does not kill it. Writer-director Adrian Chiarella has said he wanted the boys to choose love and hope instead of fear, even with the monster still loose. The closing image holds both ideas at once: the two of them are getting out together, and what was done to them is still following.