Don't Move (2024) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Iris visits the cliff because she is overwhelmed with grief after losing her young son Mateo during a family hiking trip. The tragedy has left her so despondent that she contemplates jumping off the same cliff where her son died, viewing it as a way to reunite with him. Her encounter with Richard at the ledge interrupts her suicide attempt.

• Iris grief Mateo cliff suicide attempt

Richard is a serial killer who preys on vulnerable women he encounters in remote locations. He specifically targets Iris because she is alone, emotionally fragile, and at a vulnerable moment in her life. He lures her away from the cliff by appearing helpful, then attacks her when they reach the parking area. The timeline reveals he has hidden previous victims at the boat dock where he plans to dispose of Iris.

• Richard serial killer motive kidnap victim

Richard injects Iris with a paralyzing agent that gradually incapacitates her over twenty minutes. The drug causes her muscles to weaken and eventually completely paralyzes her body, leaving her unable to move or speak while retaining full consciousness. This is why Iris must flee immediately after learning about the injection, she has approximately twenty minutes before complete paralysis sets in.

• paralyzing drug injection twenty minutes paralysis

When Bill finds Iris washed ashore on his property, she is nearly completely paralyzed and cannot speak. Using a clever system of eye blinks, one blink for yes and two for no, Bill is able to communicate with her and understand her situation. This allows her to signal that she needs help and that the man pursuing her is dangerous.

• Bill blinking communication paralyzed Iris

Richard kills Bill because the elderly man refuses to cooperate with his deception. When Richard arrives posing as Andrew, claiming to look for his missing wife, Bill recognizes something is wrong and refuses to reveal Iris's location. Bill attempts to call authorities, which prompts Richard to attack and kill him before setting the house on fire to destroy evidence.

• Bill death Richard kills Andrew deception

During the escape with Iris, Richard receives a phone call from his daughter who informs him she got excellent grades on her report card. The conversation takes a troubling turn when his wife announces they will be visiting the cabin that weekend, exactly where Richard is taking Iris. This forces Richard to agree to their visit, creating panic about his plans being exposed and complicating his timeline for disposing of Iris.

• Richard daughter phone call wife cabin visit

Richard kills the police officer because the officer becomes suspicious of the situation and probes deeper into Richard's story. When Richard claims his wife was driving recklessly, the officer doesn't fully believe him and continues to investigate. Richard cannot risk the officer discovering Iris in the truck, so he murders the officer in cold blood before fleeing with Iris.

• police officer killed gas station Richard murder

While on the boat at the lake, Iris gradually regains enough strength from the fading paralyzing drug to seize an opportunity. She grabs Richard's knife and stabs him in the neck, then pushes him into the water. When he struggles to climb back into the boat, she retrieves his gun and shoots him, ultimately sinking the boat and swimming to safety at the jetty.

• Iris kills Richard boat knife gun confrontation

Iris thanks Richard not as gratitude for his actions, but as acknowledgment of what the ordeal did for her psychologically. Coming from a place of wanting to die after her son's death, the desperate fight for survival helped her rediscover her will to live. By struggling to stay alive against Richard, she realized she wanted to survive, making the thanks a poignant moment of reclaiming her will to live.

• Iris thanks Richard will to live survival ending

Richard reveals he has previously disposed of victims at the boat dock and in the lake waters. This location serves as his dumping ground for women he has kidnapped and killed. The boat journey to this isolated spot is where he plans to kill Iris the same way he killed his previous victims before Iris turns the tables on him.

• previous victims boat dock lake Richard serial killer

Iris uses a pocket knife she somehow still has to cut through the zip ties binding her wrists. This allows her to attack Richard while he is driving, causing the car to crash. During the chaos of the crash, she escapes the vehicle and begins working on cutting the ankle restraints, though Richard quickly discovers she has injected her with the paralyzing drug.

• Iris escape pocket knife zip ties car crash

After learning about the paralyzing drug, Iris runs into the woods with Richard pursuing her at a leisurely pace since he knows the drug will soon take effect. She reaches a river and floats downstream, using the current to carry her away from Richard. This desperate strategy works, as she eventually washes ashore on Bill's isolated property, where she is discovered nearly paralyzed.

• Iris river float downstream escape paralyzed