‘Don’t Move’ ending explained: Does Iris survive the film’s tense climax?

Netflix's new bleak thriller dropped last Friday (October 25)

Netflix‘s new bleak thriller Don’t Move starring Yellowstone’s Kelsey Asbille dropped last Friday (October 25).

The actor plays Iris, a grieving mother mourning the death of her adolescent son, Mateo, who has died in a tragic hiking accident after slipping and falling over the edge of a cliff.

Returning to the scene where her son died, she crosses paths with serial killer Richard (Finn Wittrock) who manages to win her trust before tasering and drugging her.

The film follows his relentless pursuit of Iris as she flees into the woods.

Does Iris survive the film’s climax?

**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**

After murdering a well-intentioned cop, Richard takes Iris to a jetty, puts her in a small boat and rows her to the middle of nowhere and kill her. But Iris is able to fool Richard by pretending to cry, coaxing him to bend down next to her. When he does, she stabs him through the neck with a large knife before Richard pulls a gun on Iris. But she rocks the boat from side to side and Richard is sent overboard.

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He then comes out of the water and tries to pounce on Iris, who grabs the gun and fires several shots two of which wound Richard, and pass through the boat before he falls back into the river. With the water rapidly rising, and the paralytic drugs still limiting her movement, Iris takes a deep breath and submerges herself at the bottom of the boat. She eventually resurfaces and guides herself to shore using Matteo’s red plastic boat.

Iris makes her way over to Richard, who is choking on his own blood before standing over him and says: “Thank you.” She then walks away, leaving Richard to die.

Why does Iris thank Richard?

Speaking to Netflix’s Tudum, Asbille explained why her character says “thank you”. She said: “To me, the movie is a conversation with herself about the will to live,” Asbille explained. “I believe there is a moment when Iris chooses to live, not just survive. That’s what resonated with me, fighting desperately to overcome something that has left you feeling paralysed.”

Co-director Brian Netto added: “It’s double-edged, because she’s sticking it to him on one end, but there is some genuine realisation on her part of, ‘Whoa, okay, I do owe this man my life because I didn’t want to fight for my life before I met him.'”

Don’t Move is streaming on Netflix now.