Don’t Move Ending Explained Netflix Film: What Does That “Thank You” Mean in the Last Scene?
Don’t Move Ending Explained Netflix Film: The movie Don’t Move arrived on Netflix on October 25, so many subscribers to the streaming service have been able to enjoy this horror and suspense proposal that unfolds over 82 minutes of footage. So, after watching the film, you might want to know what its ending means. That’s why, in this note, I present to you the ending explained of the film. Pay attention! It is worth noting that the American production is directed by Brian Netto and Adam Schindler. It also features performances by stars such as Kelsey Asbille, Finn Wittrock, Moray Treadwell, and Daniel Francis.
Many films portray the desire to live after a suicide attempt, and in different genres. From the comedy “A Strange Story” to the famous horror saga “Saw”, emotional reconnection has given rise to great stories and tales. Don’t Move joins this list. Directed by the duo Brian Netto and Adam Schindler, the Netflix production moves between thriller and horror, with a good amount of suspense. The plot follows Iris (Kelsey Asbille), who is injected with a paralyzing drug and must fight in those conditions to save her life. The film has a very particular ending, which has generated many questions. In the following lines, we will answer them. However, we warn you that there are spoilers ahead.
Don’t Move Movie: Plot Summary
Don’t Move follows the dramatic story of Iris (Kelsey Asbille, straight from Yellowstone), a young woman who goes to a remote location in the woods, where shortly before her young son tragically lost his life. The intent of our protagonist would seem to be to take her own life, but this is where the enigmatic Richard (Finn Wittrock, a recurring face in Ryan Murphy’s series) comes into play. The stranger’s words manage to convince her mother, torn apart by grief and guilt, not to commit the insane act. It would seem that everything has gone well, when the man, revealed to be a serial killer, tries to kidnap the poor girl by injecting her with a paralyzing substance. The situation soon turns into a crazy escape through the woods. Iris, if she wants to survive, must act quickly, before the anesthetic takes effect completely, completely numbing her body.
An atypical prologue of Don’t Move, where the killer, before starting the classic game of cat and mouse, saves his future victim from suicide. Richard is a manipulator who knows how to read the emotions and moods of those in front of him, to then gain their trust and do the unfortunate person what he likes. Like other individuals of his ilk, he is a person who likes to have everything under control, exercising the power of life and death over the designated victim. Indeed, he leads a seemingly normal life as a family man; the man has a wife and children who ignore his true sadistic nature. But this time, the deadly and calculating hunter of women will not have to deal with a compliant prey, but with a warrior ready to fight tooth and nail.
Don’t Move Ending Explained: What Does That “Thank You” Mean in the Last Scene?
ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD. Towards the end of the Netflix film, Richard drives Iris to a nearby lake. Previously, it is revealed that the killer has a family who doesn’t seem to have the slightest idea of his parallel life, so our protagonist tries to appeal to his emotions by mentioning his daughter. She also suggests that the man is broken by the death of his girlfriend Chloe. However, it seems that this death only brought out his darkness… which led him to discover his true “calling”. It turns out that the guy believes himself to be some kind of God every time he kills someone. Therefore, he recreates that feeling with each of his victims, making them feel as vulnerable as he did when he was bedridden for 2 months.
So, in a desperate attempt to escape, Iris stabs him with a needle filled with the paralyzing agent. However, she doesn’t have the strength to administer it. So, he takes pleasure in putting her on a boat to drown her to death. This traumatic event has changed the woman’s perspective: if she was unable to cry after Mateo‘s death, now we see her shedding some tears because she feels much more respect for her own life. Thus, we witness her latest grand plan: she asks Richard to hand her son’s small boat from his pocket. He underestimates her and agrees to her request… little imagining that Iris was prepared to stab him in the throat with his knife and, if that weren’t enough, shoot him with the gun she had stolen from the policeman.
Much calmer and apparently out of danger, she tries to rest in the boat. However, it begins to fill with water, which means that it is about to sink. In this sense, the young woman must make a last effort to swim to the dock with all her strength. Richard, meanwhile, also manages to reach the shore. Although, unlike the protagonist, his serious injuries suggest that he will not survive. That is why the last thing Iris says to him is a simple “thank you”, the same thing the killer said to a dying Chloe when his true darkness was revealed. The protagonist thus puts an end to Richard’s God complex and, once and for all, closes the circle of his crimes.
Why Does Richard Want to Kill Iris?
One of the big questions for viewers is why Richard (Finn Wittrock) tries so hard to dissuade Iris from committing suicide. Remember that the protagonist is in this ravine because her son died there, through carelessness. This fatal accident has plunged her into a deep depression and that is why she has lost the will to live. Richard is a great storyteller. He makes up stories on the fly and that is how he dissuades, at least for the moment, the woman’s intentions. But then comes the scene in the car, where he kidnaps Iris. Why? The reason we will find out later is when this predator says that after an accident he was able to see his ex-girlfriend’s last breath. Seeing her die, then, activated something in him that led him to become a serial killer. Richard tortures and eventually kills women for pure pleasure. Doing so brings him back to that moment when he thought he felt more alive than ever, watching Chloe, his ex-girlfriend, die. That’s why he doesn’t want Iris to take charge of her own death, but instead wants to possess her, hurt her, and watch her die at his hands.
How Exactly Does the Paralytic Injection Work?
The paralyzing drug takes 20 minutes to kick in and an hour to wear off. Probably the best thing about the film is Kelsey Asbille’s great performance, which makes this paralysis completely believable, and also keeps the viewer in suspense, wanting to see her move to escape from her captor. However, it’s also a little disappointing that Richard gives so many details about the consequences of the injection, even warning Iris of what she’ll feel when she starts to regain her movement. It seems like the typical scene where the villain tells his evil plan to the superhero of the moment and, as a result, ends up neutralized.
How is Iris Saved?
Several things happen in Iris’ favor. First, the trail of corpses and clues that Richard leaves behind after chasing her. It happens with the widower Bill (Moray Treadwell), who doesn’t buy her lies, and then with the policeman, who also notices the erratic behavior of this killer. Even a call to 911, the fact that they were seen at the gas station, everything indicates that this killer’s days are numbered for messing with the wrong woman. At one point, Iris makes a statement that seems obvious: Richard knows what he’s doing isn’t right. And with the number of clues he’s leaving, he seems to be screaming for the police’s attention.
That, plus the call from his daughter and wife, in which he’s informed that they’re going to the cabin where he planned to torture Iris, speeds things up. Richard’s plan undergoes many modifications, first by Iris’s own bravery and struggle, and then by circumstances, there is no choice but to dispose of Iris’s body in the lake. However, all the time consumed since the injection leads to Iris momentarily regaining control of her muscles. Thus, using the ruse of her son’s boat, she manages to trick her captor, stabs him with the knife she has snatched from his pants, and finally shoots him with the gun left in the boat.
Is Richard Dead or Alive?
The film culminates in a tense and brutal struggle between Iris and Richard. In the end, after a series of escapes and confrontations, Iris manages to trick Richard into the lake and, taking advantage of a moment of carelessness, stabs him in the neck and shoots him with the gun she had stolen from the policeman Richard had previously killed. She manages to swim to shore, but in the end, we see Richard staggering on the shore, seriously wounded, probably in his final moments.
What Does Iris’s “Thank You” Mean?
After the shots, which also hit the boat, the vessel fills with water and Iris must swim to shore to save herself. To everyone’s surprise, Richard has also managed to get out of the water, but he is so injured that his death is a matter of seconds. There, moments after hearing the last breath of her victim, the protagonist says to him: “Thank You“. This scene has two interpretations. First, Iris is repeating what Chloe – Richard’s ex-girlfriend – supposedly said when she breathed her last. At the same time, it may be a real thank you because Iris regained her will to live. We are not talking about surviving, which is what she does throughout the film, but about facing life as a second chance after all these events. Iris lost her will to live when her son died in the same ravine where she met the man who in the most twisted way gave her back her desire to continue on this earth. The circle closes at this point.
Iris’s Change: How Does Her Experience with Richard Redefine Her Life?
In the final moments of “Don’t Move” Iris emerges with a renewed appreciation for her life. The guilt she had been carrying over Mateo’s death disappears after this ultimate experience. By confronting Richard and surviving, Iris realizes the fundamental difference between the guilt she felt over her son’s accidental death and Richard’s attempted murder. This helps her forgive herself and, in a way, find the courage to live again.
Who Called the Police and How Did This Help Iris?
The film suggests that it was a witness at the gas station who, noticing Iris’s expression and Richard’s strange behavior, called the police. This resulted in a brief intervention that gave Iris one last chance to fight Richard, though the police were unable to stop him. The scene shows how, even in the worst of times, an act of helping can provide hope, something that proves key to Iris’s outcome.
Final reflection: What Message Does “Don’t Move” Leave?
“Don’t Move” presents itself as an intense narrative about the value of autonomy and overcoming personal traumas. Although Iris begins the story wishing to end her life, the brutal experience with Richard becomes a catalyst that allows her to redefine her perspective, freeing herself from guilt and finding a new purpose. Her final “Thank You” to Richard encapsulates the ultimate message: even in our darkest struggles, it is possible to find a way out and reclaim our history.
