Horror Movie WOUNDS ending explained

Want the WOUNDS ending explained? Or just a bit confused about the ending of Wounds on Netflix and Hulu? Well, you’re not alone! We’ve tried to dive into it and here’s our take on the horror movie. *SPOILERS*

Looking for the Wounds ending to be explained? Well, you’re certainly not the only one. Don’t worry though, you’ve come to the right place here on Heaven of Horror.

The ending of Wounds is actually very much open to interpretation. However, there are lots of clues throughout the movie as to what the hell is going on.

So, we’ll try to explain the movie, that is based on the novella ‘The Visible Filth’ by Nathan Ballingrud.

If you’re looking for a spoiler-free review of WOUNDS, go here instead >

Horror movie Wounds ending explained

We’ll be going through the Wounds ending by answering some of the most obvious and talked about questions. Let’s just get into it right away, shall we?!

What is the meaning of this movie?

According to director Babak Anvari, Wounds is a breakup horror film just like Midsommar. Will is in a loveless, trustless relationship, and he is basically a very shallow man. That’s why he quickly gets sucked into a supernatural happening where he looses himself completely.

Why is Will acting so strange all the time?

Will is a hollow man and he’s just going through the motions of life. His girlfriend even calls him an “empty shell of a man”. This makes him very susceptible to the supernatural entity that wants to possess him. 

He receives a text message from one of the college students that explains it:

“There was a ritual. We opened a portal. Something came and possessed us. You called it into your home. Now it sees you are the perfect vessel for more. It is in your bedroom right now staring at you as you sleep.“

What does the book The Translation of Wounds have to do with it all?

When Will finds the photos of a decapitated head on the phone, we see a book called The Translation of Wounds in the background.

Will goes through Carrie’s search history and discovers that she has been looking into Garrett (the college kid on the phone). It turns out that he posted something in an online forum. This has to do with visions of a tunnel after studying The Translation of Wounds. Someone in the forum replied that it’s about a “Gnostic ritual of human sacrifice”.

What is a Gnostic ritual?

Gnosticism is when bodily wounds can be used as portals to “transcend physical boundaries and connect with higher beings for power and enlightenment”.

So, when Will starts poking in Eric’s wound on the chin, and the wound seems to open up, it is because the portal is opening up to Will. And, as we see in the ending of Wounds, Will is more than willing to take whatever is coming through this portal.

What about the quote at the beginning of Wounds?

The Hulu and Netflix movie Wounds actually opens with a quote from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” (read a plot summary of the story here). This has to do with the jungle’s influence on Kurtz and the quote was:

“It had whispered to him things about himself which he did not know, things of which he had no conception… and the whisper had proved irresistibly fascinating. It echoed loudly within him because he was hollow at the core.”

Just like Kurtz is changed by the jungle in “Heart of Darkness”, Will is changed by a smartphone in Wounds.

Is it really that simple?

Well, I wouldn’t call it “simple” that a smartphone is able to change a man. However, Will is living a life without much purpose. He’s a functioning (but obvious) alcoholic who just goes through the motions.

With the smartphone, he is suddenly accessing something that opens up a whole new world and he is very willing to surrender to it.

That’s it, folks! Hopefully, you got the Wounds ending explained via the above Q&A.