Don’t Move ending explained: Can Iris escape?

Its unique premise means Netflix’s latest horror has been hyped for months. But what happens in the Don’t Move ending – and can our female lead actually survive?

We’ve been spoiled for choice for good horror movies this year, and Netflix has been in contention for some of the most memorable (Glenn Close as a Demon in The Deliverance, anyone?).

Now Don’t Move is added to the roster, with its cast headed by Yellowstone star Kelsey Asbille. She plays Iris, a young woman being hunted by serial killer Richard (Finn Wittrock).

We didn’t reminding Wittrock can play a convincing murderer (AHS Freakshow took care of that), but what actually happened in the Don’t Move ending? Here’s the full breakdown – and obviously, there are spoilers ahead.

Don’t Move ends with a watery showdown

Don’t Move ends with Iris and Richard both fighting for their lives in a boat on the lake, with Iris eventually stabbing and shooting Richard. This allows her to get away, later finding a barely breathing Richard washed up on the bank.

The pair went on a long journey to get to this point. We start the new movie with Iris at a mountaintop memorial, looking over the edge of a cliff as if she wants to jump off it. A man called Richard soon finds her and introduces himself, goading Iris’ backstory out of her by telling a traumatic tale of his own.

The memorial is for her late son, Mateo, who died there while playing on a walk. Richard gently tries to persuade Iris to not kill herself, eventually walking back down the mountain with him. When they get back to their cars, Richard has blocked Iris in – but as she tries to get away, she’s tasered with a fake umbrella.

When she wakes up, she’s in the back of Richard’s car. He explains that none of the usual exit methods will work, with Iris trying to keep him distracted – she’s got a penknife in her back pocket and is able to get through the ties. She breaks free causing Richard to crash the car, but there’s bad news in store.

Richard tells Iris he’s injected her with a substance that will completely paralyze her within the hour. Seizing her opportunity, she takes off running into the woods, with Richard intermittently catching up with her. As Iris’ body starts to shut down, she throws herself into the river to get away from him.

Netflix

Iris eventually scrambles to safety before completely seizing up. An old man mowing his lawn finds her, quickly working out she cannot move or speak. Through blinks, he is able to talk to her, taking her to his nearby log cabin to keep her safe. It’s not long before Richard is knocking on the door, with the old man hiding Iris under his sofa.

Richard explains he can’t find “his wife” after a nasty car crash, losing his phone in the wreckage. He comes inside but the old man is hostile – he wants Richard back outside or he’ll call the police. Trying to get him onside, Richard spins a fake tale about what happened with Iris, suggesting she voluntarily “locks up” when she’s angry with him. He hits a nerve about the old man’s former wife, who once helped him through violent tendencies.

The old man nearly tells Richard about Iris, until Richard’s phone goes off in his pocket – proving Richard has been lying the whole time. The two get into a fight where Richard stabs the old man to death. He douses the cabin in petrol and sets it alight, with Iris starting to panic from behind a sofa. She can move a few fingers now, enough to pull on the blind as Richard starts to drive away. Realizing she’s still inside, he comes back for her.

They reach a nearby petrol station, where a boy “tries to say hello” to Iris through the window. The mom looks alarmed as she retrieves her son before Richard gets back in the car. They don’t get too far before a police officer finds them, with Richard driving back to his wrecked car to change clothes. The officer explains he’s received reports of their license plate harboring a concerning passenger and needs to check Iris is responsive.

Netflix

Just as Iris is able to show the officer the needle, Richard bludgeons him to death. Once again the pair drive off, with Iris’ speech slowly coming back. It’s bad news though – Richard gets a call from his real wife and kids saying they want to come and visit him at their cabin this weekend. Richard protests he needs alone time in order to be a “better person” (!) but the wife isn’t having it. Cue a huge amount of panic for Richard.

Iris is able to taunt him about this, saying how disappointed his kids and wife would be if they knew the truth about who Richard really is. This sends Richard into a rage and changes his cause of action, neatly bringing us to the Don’t Move ending.

Iris is freshly tied up again, with Richard arriving at a lake dock. He drags Iris onto the boat with a knife in the back of his belt. Rowing them to the middle of the lake, he makes it clear this is Iris’ last dance. She asks why he didn’t just let her kill herself when she wanted to, but Richard says he never did – that was her decision. She was meant for him, and this is all “fate.”

Iris asks for one last request… give her Mateo’s boat that Richard took from the memorial. He goes to oblige, with Iris grabbing his knife and stabbing him in the neck. The two scramble, with Richard reaching for a gun before falling overboard. As he climbs back on, Iris shoots him three times. She’s free, but the boat is sinking.

She swims back to land, finding Richard coughing up his guts on a nearby bank. As he slowly dies, she thanks him.

How to watch

Don’t Move is now available to stream on Netflix.

However, producer Sam Raimi’s other similarly named film Don’t Breathe isn’t on the streaming service. To do a double bill, you’ll need to head to Amazon Prime Video.

Don’t Move is on Netflix now. For more, check out more new movies streaming this month and the best movies of the year so far.