how did halle and penelope get released from the nuthouse???

Of course it makes sence you clearly did not watch the movie right.

Penelope`s character was not nuts or crazy she was clearly put in their to shut her up about what happened.

Also halles character it most likely would have been put down to self defence to why she killed him with what he did etc

Penelope Cruz' character got released because clearly her mental state had begun to improve. It's likely that she was being raped repeatedly by the husband's friend (possibly the husband too) and was probably being drugged so that she seemed delusional and her mental state was deteriorating.

Once their torture of her ends her mental state can begin to clear. She was in the institution because she killed her step-father after years of abuse, women can actually get away with these kinds of crimes.

I can believe Penelope Cruz' character getting released, however, Halle Berry's character, somehow I just don't see being released. There's too much she wouldn't be able to prove in relation to her husband's murder. It was tied up too neatly, she should have been kept in the institution at the end, it'd have been more believable.

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We've become a race of peeping toms.

They obviously both proved that they were not a danger to themselves or others.

In Halle's case they probably figured she discovered her husbands activities and snapped, understandably, whether they bought the ghost explanation or not.

And in Penelope's case, the only reason she was not found to be improving, was her rape "hallucinations" which turned out to be real. It was only the medical team that identified them as hallucinations, she always insisted that it was real, and she was in fact, correct.

And whatever her original problems were, she obviously was past it, since the hallucinations were indicated as the only proof of her lack of improvement.

Databyter

Who's to say she was released? It is just her and Pete at the station at the end, he could have helped her escape. Pete then could have assured that Chloe got released as he seeme to figure it all out/believe in the end.

I just assume that Miranda was tried and acquitted of the murder, no jury would convict, or the DA took one look at the case and dropped all charges. That would probably get her released.

The way I see it,

Miranda's release: She was tried, and found innocent due to temporary insanity. Her defense lawyer likely used the fact that Doug and the Sheriff are the only two on any of the videos committing the heinous crimes. He would have played on this, making it sound like she discovered the crimes, and just snapped.

Chloe's release: Due to Miranda's and Pete's help, and without one or two heartless bastards raping the girl every night, she was able to get better and come to grips with reality. Her murder of her step-father is what put her there, so it is possible that once she was "cured", she was released with time served.