Limehouse Golem Ending Explained

In the ending scene of The Limehouse Golem, Dan Leno covers up the demise of Aveline, playing Elizabeth in John's play.

Set in the Victorian Era, the film starts with a series of murders which makes the lives of Limehouse in the docklands of Victorian London shaken with fear. Everyone dubs the killer the Golem.

Elizabeth Cree, aka Lizzie's husband, John, is found poisoned, leading to everyone accusing her of the deed. It is up to the Inspector, John Kildare, to hunt down the murderer, which everyone calls The Golem.

One of the main cast, Lizzie, explored her talents in a music hall led by Dan Leno, a notable performer who doesn't mind cross-dressing as a woman. Dan runs the music hall with Cree's 'uncle.'

The detective starts linking the demise of John with previous murders to solve the case and ultimately save Lizzie from getting hanged for the accusation of poisoning her husband.

The Limehouse Golem Ending

Amidst the inspection, Kildare discovers a diary where the Golem's handwritten notes are present in a printed copy of Thomas De Quincey in the British Museum's reading room of the library.

Kildare deduces that the last entry of the list of people reading must be the Golem. According to the records, there were four men, Karl Marx, Dan Leno, George Gissing, and John Cree, at the date of the last entry.

The Inspector gets to know about Lizzie in the meantime. He learns how an abusive and unmarried mother raised her. 

Dan Leno befriended Elizabeth after her mother's sudden demise. She is awestruck by the charisma of Leno on the stage and wants nothing more than to be an actress and performer like him.

John Cree, a playwright, offers to marry Lizzie after she is threatened to perform inappropriate acts by her 'uncle'.'Soon after their wedding, the 'uncle' passes away, leaving the music hall to Dan Leno.

Halfway through the film, Lizzie admits to Kildare that she married for nothing but stardom. The detective discovers the handwritten copy of John's play written before his demise on the day Elizabeth is scheduled to be hanged.

Kildare asks for an hour's postponement of her sentence to save her. The Inspector asks her to write a statement; however, she surprises him with her written confession, 'I am Golem,' her handwriting matching the diary.

The detective then realizes that Lizzie is the real Golem who committed murders and even poisoned her husband when he discovered some evidence.

In the ending scene, Dan Leno's troupe performs rewritten John Cree's play to show Lizzie's life story. Aveline, playing Elizabeth's role, commits suicide during the last scene of getting hanged by removing the safety mechanism.

The crowd gasps at the scene; however, Leno covers up the entire situation by showing up as Lizzie to continue the play. Dan bows to the audience as they cheer, but he is out of sight promptly, and Elizabeth appears on the stage.

Deducing down various scenes, including Lizzie's mother's sudden demise, her husband's poisoning right after he refuses to complete the play where she'd be featured as the main lead, and more, are some of the signs that disclose she is the Golem.

The horror-mystery film, Limehouse Golem is the adaption of Peter Ackroyd's novel Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem.

Three out of four Golem suspects, Karl Marx, Dan Leno, and George Gissing, are real people from history. Producer Stephen Woolley got intrigued by the novel which led to him creating a film.

It was vital for the film to have some reality to the story which was presented by three characters that gave life to the movie although their actions were just a fantasy, stated Stephen, one of many producers, to the History Extra.

George Wild Galvin, better known as, Dan Leno, was the remarkable music hall comedian and theatre actor. Karl Marx was a notable philosopher and George Gissing was a prominent novelist.

Elements of the movie including George living in the Limehouse and going to opium dens are a part of a real story.

Correspondingly, Kildare's imagination of the heinous murder of the Golem victims is also a part of the reality of the Limehouse and Victorian London.