If you listen closely, you can hear the collective screams of viewers as they witness that cliff-hanger ending in the new South Korean action flick Carter. Directed by Jung Byung-gil, the movie is already the most streamed non-English film after premiering on Aug. 5 — with a total of 27.3 million hours viewed. It isn’t just the action and storyline that make Carter a gripping marvel to watch, but the way the film looks like it’s shot entirely in one take. “I wanted to make a single-take film. I thought we could do it in one take,” Jung told Netflix. “I wanted to bring something that people haven’t seen before. That’s what I mainly focused on.”

Before we unpack that abrupt finale together, let’s go over some key points in the film. Feel free to take a deep breath first — you’ll need it.

(Spoilers ahead!)

What is Carter?

Set in the aftermath of a pandemic that turns infected individuals into violent killers, a man named Carter (Joo Won) wakes up in a bloody hotel room with no memory of his background or identity. All he has is a voice in his ear giving him survival directions. Through this mysterious navigation, he must go on a mission to save a kidnapped girl named Ha-na (Kim Bo-min), who’s the daughter of renowned biologist Dr. Jung (Jung Jae-young). If Carter fails to do so, he’ll be killed by a bomb planted inside his tooth. That’ll leave more than a cavity…

Why is Ha-na in danger in Carter?

There’s an infectious outbreak of the DMZ virus (originating from the Korean Demilitarized Zone in between the North and South Korean border). Ha-na, who’s from South Korea, has been cured of DMZ thanks to her doctor dad’s thorough research. The leaders of North and South Korea are working together to create an antibody treatment using Ha-na’s blood, but she’s mysteriously kidnapped during an arranged transfer to North Korea. Carter is now faced with the dire task of rescuing the missing girl.

OK, what does the ending of Carter mean?!

By the end of the film (and after countless bloodbaths), we finally learn the true identity of Carter. Remember the voice in his ear? It turns out that it was Jung-hee (Jeong So-ri) all along. She’s also a spy, and they have a daughter together named Yoon Hee. When the DMZ virus breaks out, Carter and his family attempt to flee the country. Unfortunately, their journey is derailed by Lieutenant General Jong Hyeok (Lee Sung-jae) because North Korean spies aren’t allowed to leave. As a last-ditch effort, Carter proposes the mission as a bargain for their freedom. In case the mission fails, the general wipes Carter’s memory so he can’t betray the country. He also injects Yoon Hee with the virus, making Carter even more desperate to find Ha-na to help save his daughter.

After completing his mission and getting his memory back, Carter and Jung-hee are betrayed by a North Korean military coup trying to keep Ha-na to themselves. Chaos ensues — including a fight on a helicopter and Jeep. Carter, Jung-hee, Yoon Hee, Ha-na and Dr. Jung all make it to safety by jumping into a Chinese government-operated train taking infected patients to Dandong, China. 

After two hours and 14 minutes of action, the final shot of a train riding off into the sunset is some much-needed respite from all the violence. As it rides on a bridge over the water, a calming orchestra starts playing. Naturally, one would expect the credits to start rolling — but they don’t. Out of nowhere, there’s an explosion on the bridge, and it’s apparent that the train is going to chug straight into the water. And that’s when the credits come on. 

Does everyone die at the end of Carter?

It’s not clear. The cliff-hanger definitely leaves room for many theories. It could’ve been the North Korean government’s doing after failing to kidnap Ha-na. If there are no survivors on that train, that means that the DMZ virus will take over with no end in sight. Given all of the stunts and fights in the film, however, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Carter managed to save his crew somehow — but we’ll leave that up to your interpretation.