Chained Movie Ending Explained: What Happened to the Girl at the End of Chained?

A serial killer, his protege, and a girl. What can go wrong? A lot. But a lot can go right as well. After all, it all depends on intent and execution.

Chained (2012), directed by Jennifer Lynch, is one such tale. It has a 68% Rotten Tomatoes score, and even though it was initially decried by critics for being too gory, sadistic, as well as misogynistic, even from a female lens, it has found a cult following over the years.

Made on a reported budget of only $700k, the film marked spectacular performances by Vincent D’Onofrio, Conor Leslie, Eamon Farren, and more. D’Onofrio plays a serial killer named Bob, Farren plays Rabbit/ Tim, and Leslie plays Angie. Bob kidnaps Tim’ and his mother, Sarah Fittler, one night after taking them for a ride in his cab.

Then he murders Sarah and keeps Tim as his captive, renaming him Rabbit. Over the years, as Rabbit grows up, he does the household work of Bob and buries the dead bodies of the people he kills. But one day, something changed.

Bob wants Rabbit to become his successor, so he kidnaps a girl of his choosing, Angie, for him to kill. Rabbit initially hesitates to kill Angie but later complies and stabs her.

The film goes on an absolute rollercoaster ride as various twists and turns get gradually revealed. While it answers most questions, there are some audiences are searching for even today- Did Angie survive? What happened to her in the end?

There’s no consensus on whether she lived or not. Some think she could have been taken captive by Rabbit/ Tim, while others think she escaped from the house.

What Is the Plot of Chained (2012)?

Conor Leslie’s Angie is brought to the house by Bob because he wants to see if Tim/ Rabbit had it in him to kill someone. Initially, Rabbit is hesitant and even bonds with the kidnapped girl. But Bob threatens that he will kill her himself if he doesn’t do it. So, when D’Onofrio’s serial killer barges in again to check, Rabbit stabs Angie.

He then puts her body into the room with the corpses of the previous victims. Satisfied that Rabbit is ready, Bob takes him to the city to select his next victim. But he realizes that during the drive, Rabbit has written the word “Help” on the window. This makes the killer realize that Rabbit didn’t stab Angie fatally. Instead, he used his anatomy knowledge to deliver a non-lethal blow.

In a rage, Bob enters the corpse room to kill Angie once and for all. But she is aware of what’s happening and is hiding there, prepared to slay him. In the ensuing fight, she cuts his Achilles tendon, and Rabbit musters the courage to come in to save her. He kills Bob and then buries him beside his victims.

With Bob’s reign of terror over, he runs to his father, Brad. He goes to his house and finds a shocking truth. Brad and Bob are brothers, and the kidnapping wasn’t an accident. His father wanted to get rid of his mother and him so that he could remarry.

So, he contacted Bob to do the deed. The entire kidnapping was already pre-planned since Brad was the one who urged Sarah to take the cab.

That’s not where the plot twists end. The film reveals that when Tim confronts Brad, he starts hitting his son and his new wife, Marie, when she interferes. In response to the violence, Tim kills his father. Marie tells him to leave the house, and she then calls the police to say that a burglar killed her husband.

Tim then returns to Bob’s house, where he has lived all his life. During the closing credits, viewers hear sounds of him cutting paper, opening the fridge, going back to the garage, getting into the cab, and re-opening that garage door. The ending is left ambiguous, but the intriguing question is about Angie- did she survive?

Did the Girl Escape at the End of Chained? No, She Didn’t

There are various theories about what happens to Angie in the end because the film never explicitly shows if she escaped or not. There are also no scenes with the police getting involved. Some viewers think that Rabbit didn’t let Angie go. So she remains chained inside like he was for all those years.

Many have settled on this theory because the last time viewers see her, she is sleeping on Tim’s cot, unconscious, after the climactic tussle. Also, the lack of any police involvement could be interpreted as her failure to reach out to authorities about her kidnapping.

The other interpretation hinting at Angie’s tragic fate is the fact that even though Rabbit isn’t a killer, he only knows that house. He hasn’t lived any other life. So he may not know what to do with Angie except keep her chained like he was. Also, since he had formed a bond with her and doesn’t have anyone else in his life, he could keep her trapped to keep himself company.

Did the Girl Escape at the End of Chained? Yes, She Did

The positive interpretation of the ending scene tells another theory- that Angie escaped and survived. This is because even though Rabbit grows up under Bob’s tutelage, he doesn’t turn into him. From the car scene, it’s clear that Tim is desperate to escape but doesn’t know how.

He also doesn’t kill Angie, and neither does he kill Brad for his pleasure. In fact, he let his father beat him up initially, only interfering when he started hitting Marie. This could mean that even though Bob began killing women as a reaction to his trauma, Tim reacts the opposite way due to the trauma inflicted by his paternal uncle.

So he becomes violent only when he sees women getting hurt. As such, he wouldn’t harm Angie. Also, in the film, he shows a deep desire to save her because the only reason he could muster up the courage to end Bob was with her encouragement. Additionally, director Lynch had apparently stated that the ending is meant to be hopeful for Angie and Rabbit because they are out of Bob’s shadow.

Right now, Chained (2012) is available on Tubi.

What are your thoughts on the ending? Did Angie survive? Or did she not and remain chained by Rabbit?

Let us know in the comments below.