Leave the World Behind Ending, Explained: What Happened? Watch Video

Leave the World Behind Ending, Explained: What Happened? Watch Video

Leave the World Behind is now streaming on Netflix, so get ready to spend your weekend on Long Island. [Insert horrific screaming sound effect here.]

Written and directed by Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail, Leave the World Behind is an apocalyptic thriller based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam.

Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke star as Amanda and Clay Sandford, who rent a beautiful house on Long Island for an impromptu vacation with their two children.

But after they receive a surprise visit from the rental’s owner (Mahershala Ali), it quickly becomes the vacation from hell.

Leave the World Behind is more focused on building an ominous, compelling tone than it is on plot. It does this very effectively, in part thanks to some clever Easter Eggs. But, for that reason, the plot can get confusing at times. Don’t worry, Decider is here to help.

Read on for a breakdown of the Leave the World Behind plot summary and the Leave the World Behind ending, explained.

Leave the World Behind plot summary:

Feeling exhausted by life, New York City career-woman Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts) books an impromptu vacation at a beach rental home in Long Island.

She, her husband Clay (Ethan Hawke), and their kids Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie), all pack up their stuff and make the drive.

They lose cell service on the way, much to Rose’s annoyance, who is trying to watch the ’90s sitcom Friends on her iPad. Amanda does a grocery run to the nearby store, and observes a haggard man (Kevin Bacon) stocking up on bottled water.

The Sandford family spends their first day of vacation at the beach. While there, a huge oil tanker boat slowly but surely approaches the shore, not stopping until it collides violently on the beach, scattering the panicked sunbathers.

The Sanfords just barely make it out of the way on time. As they leave the beach, a cop tells Clay there have been a “handful of groundings up the coast.” But it’s probably nothing to worry about!