What Does The End Of Personal Shopper Really Mean?

5. But Did Ingo Kill Her In The Hotel Room?

Probably the most compelling major theory rustled up by fans is that Maureen was murdered by Ingo in the hotel room near the end of the film, as we see the door open and simply fade to black. We never see Maureen leave the room, but Assayas intentionally lingers on what appears to be a spirit leaving the hotel, before Ingo follows moments later.

Though initially it seems like the spirit is Lewis, what if it's actually the ghost of the just-murdered Maureen? As for the final scene, this theory dictates that it simply depicts a spectral Maureen coming to terms with her own demise, and when she asks Lewis, "Is it you or is it just me?", the single knock actually confirms that the spirit is not Lewis, but actually an echo of her own dead self.

The fade to white, after the rest of the movie featured so many incongruous fades to black, may visualise Maureen accepting her death and passing on to the afterlife.

On the other hand, though, it's somewhat implied that Maureen may have tipped off the police before heading to the hotel room, considering they were waiting for Ingo, so why would they not burst into the room if he attempted to kill her?

Also, the closing line is open to many interpretations, especially as Lewis' knock response could be an answer to either "is it you" or "is it just me?", which Maureen asks in the same sentence string. It's entirely valid that Maureen simply comes to an epiphany, either happy that it is Lewis' ghost appearing before her, or accepting that he isn't there and gone forever.

Also, if Maureen died in the hotel room, how is she able to interact with Lara, Lara's new boyfriend Erwin (Anders Danielsen Lie) and her own boyfriend over Skype? Unless they're all conveniently hyper-sensitive mediums (unlikely considering her boyfriend flat-out says he doesn't believe in spirits), it's ultimately not that convincing she died in the hotel room.

Plus, if she really was killed by Ingo, wouldn't she stick around in the hotel room to terrorise him rather than quickly whoosh out the hotel doors?