Premiering on Netflix on October 10, 2025, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a Hitchcockian mystery-suspense thriller that quickly captivated subscribers en route to becoming the most-watched movie in the United States. The film stars Keira Knightley as Laura “Lo” Blacklock, an embattled journalist who is painted as an unreliable narrator following a traumatic event. Invited on a charity cruise aboard a superyacht hosted by philanthropic millionaires, Lo witnesses a murder firsthand that nobody else onboard will believe.
Directed with admirable pace and panache by Simon Stone, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a fairly absorbing throwback mystery featuring solid performances across the board. Although the central mystery fizzles and becomes too predictable at times, there are enough twists and turns in the chaotic final act that deserve closer scrutiny. For those still scratching their heads, here’s what transpires at the end of The Woman in Cabin 10.
What Is ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ About?
Based on Ruth Ware’s bestseller, The Woman in Cabin 10 is a classic tale of mystery, tension, and suspense. The new Netflix whodunnit begins by introducing Laura “Lo” Blacklock, a decorated journalist reeling over the recent witness of a murder via drowning in a car. Implored to get away by her employers, Lo accepts an invitation to go on a luxury cruise to Norway aboard the Aurora Borealis, a mega-yacht owned by philanthropic millionaires, Anne (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and Richard Bullmer (Guy Pearce). Lo is assigned to Cabin 8.
On the first night, Anne tries to avoid the only person she knows on the yacht, Ben (David Ajala), her ex-boyfriend and photographer. To avoid Ben, Anne steps into Cabin 10, situated next door to Cabin 8. Inside Cabin 10, Lo briefly encounters a young woman with blonde hair wearing a hoodie. Later that night, Lo is awoken to the sounds of screams. As she races to the adjacent balcony outside Cabin 10, Lo hears a loud splash, sees a bloodstain on the wall, and believes she sees a woman drowning in the water.
Upon notifying the authorities, Lo is told that nobody has been checked into Cabin 10 and that the blonde woman does not exist. As Lo rushes to prove that the woman does exist and what she witnessed was not a figment of her traumatized mental state, she is targeted for murder by an unknown assailant on board. The more she tries to prove her story, the less people believe her.
How Does Lo Solve the Mystery of Cabin 10?
Before witnessing a woman drowning in the water, Lo had a private meeting with Anne Bullmer and learned that she was terminally ill with cancer, signified by her shaved head following chemotherapy. Anne tells Lo that she handpicked her to cover the charitable cruise. Once she witnesses the drowning, Lo is questioned by the other guests, who believe she lacks credibility and is making the whole thing up.
With nobody to trust except for Ben, Lo goes through his camera and finds a photo of the blonde woman she encountered in Cabin 10. However, the picture was taken months prior at a different party. Lo also finds additional evidence supporting her claim, including blonde hair in the sink in Cabin 10, scuffed handrails on the balcony, a vanished guest photo, and the like. Just when it seems as though Lo might be fabricating the entire story, an unknown assailant pushes her into the swimming pool and shuts the top in an attempt to drown her.
Once viewers realize Lo is telling the truth, she makes a key discovery. Upon seeing the blonde woman again below deck, Lo discovers that she is wearing a wig over a shaved head. Confronting the woman (whose real name is Carrie, played by Gitte Witt), Lo learns that Richard hired her to pose as Anne. The motivation? Money. On her deathbed, Anne disinherited Richard from her will. Richard’s grand scheme was to kill his wife, Anne, by throwing her overboard, and have Carrie pose as her for one day, long enough to sign Anne’s will and bequeath her massive fortune to Richard.
How Does ‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ End?
The Woman in Cabin 10 ends in a lavish gala charity event on land in Norway. Lo has discovered Richard’s murderous ploy to eliminate his wife and retain her fortune for himself. Preparing to expose his crimes in front of wealthy donors and socialites, Lo storms the gala where Carrie is forced to impersonate Anne in Richard’s grand charade. Yet, once she encourages Carrie to voice the truth in public and gets Anne’s assistant Sigrid (Amanda Collin) to back their story, Lo finally has allies to lean on.
At the lakeside gala in a lavish greenhouse, Lo approaches the stage, takes the microphone from Richard, and tells the audience that he murdered Anne and made Carrie pose as her to win her inheritance. Richard denies any guilt at first and tries to paint Lo as “unhinged.” Once Carrie corroborates her story and allows Lo to speak the truth, Lo reads a letter left by Anne that removes Richard from her will, and states that all company assets would be liquidated and transferred to an independent party.
Afterward, Richard takes Carrie hostage at knifepoint in front of the crowd and races toward a lifeboat to escape. Lo runs after them, while Sigrid shoots Richard in the shoulder with a rifle from a distance. As Richard strangles Carrie for betraying him, Lo rushes to the dock and bashes Richard with a blunt object. Richard falls, bloody and unconscious. Lo and Carrie embrace each other. The police arrive and arrest Richard.
Some time later, The Woman in Cabin 10 ends with Lo publishing an exposé on Richard Bullmer’s crime at work. After an intern compliments her article, Carrie FaceTimes Lo at work and tells her that she should visit sometime. Despite being doubted throughout much of her time aboard the yacht, Lo is vindicated and expresses a wry smile as the movie cuts to black.
Although The Woman in Cabin 10 features slick production design and a committed performance by Keira Knightley, as a throwback Hitchcockian thriller built on tension and suspense, the mystery doesn’t go far enough. There was a real opportunity for Simon Stone to continue playing with the audience’s perceptions and expectations by shrouding Lo’s guilt or innocence, making us truly question her reliability as the movie unfolds.
Alas, Lo’s complicity, one way or the other, is resolved far too quickly, sapping the tension and suspense that could have been protracted and sustained for much longer in the runtime. Moreover, once Carrie is revealed to have a shaved head, it becomes a bit too easy and convenient to connect her with Anne. Had those two storytelling weaknesses been shored up in the script phase, the central mystery in The Woman in Cabin 10 would have been much more memorable.
The Woman In Cabin 10
- Release Date
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October 10, 2025
- Director
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Simon Stone
- Writers
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Anna Waterhouse, Joe Shrapnel, Simon Stone, Ruth Ware