Does the Beast Kill Diego? Does Diego Die at the End of The Wasteland? [Spoiler]

Netflix’s horror film ‘The Wasteland’ is an astounding cinematic experience that centers around the isolated family of Diego, who encounters a terrifying and monstrous entity named “the Beast.” The Spanish film progresses through Diego and his mother Lucía’s attempts to safeguard themselves from the supernatural being, who edges closer to their abode day by day. Their strive to resist the impending doom of the Beast eventually fails as it confronts the mother and son. The film ends staggeringly, as Diego and the Beast face-off upon a spine-chilling turn of events. If you are wondering what really happens to the boy, we have got you covered! SPOILERS AHEAD.

Does the Beast Kill Diego?

No, the Beast does not kill Diego. When the Beast eventually arrives at Diego’s shack, Lucía tries to protect her son by locking him outside. A distressed Diego succeeds in opening the door, only to witness his mother inching towards death upon being harmed by the ghastly entity. Rather than fear, his mother’s state incites tremendous anger and fury in Diego, with which he confronts the Beast.

Since the Beast can only harm a person by feeding off one’s fear, it fails to display its frightening wrath to Diego. Meanwhile, Diego’s rage towards the Beast for harming his mother leads him to use the last remaining bullet to kill it. His fears and angst concerning the entity gets replaced by the provoking sight of his mother in blood. When he realizes that a single bullet will not end it once and for all, he burns down the shack to kill it. His courage and innocence, which propelled upon witnessing his bloodied beloved mother, shield him from the Beast and his own fears.

The film’s ambiguous ending suggests another possibility as well. The reason behind the Beast’s inability to kill Diego can be that the entity is nothing more than Diego and his mother’s hallucinations. As a child who grew up alone listening to scary stories and the terrors of war, Diego’s mental condition is highly compromised. The loneliness and the paranoia cultivated by his parents, combined with Salvador’s story of his sister, may have given the legend of the Beast a horrendous appearance in his mind. The wounds on Lucía’s body are likely to be self-inflicted, as a result of her suicidal nature and delusions.

Does Diego Die at the End?

No, Diego does not die at the end. Upon overcoming his fear of the Beast and burning down his shack to destroy it, he leaves his abode with his mother using a small cart and pushes it to the boundary of the scarecrows. His mother asks him to continue and he pushes the cart further. However, before he can do anything for his dying mother, Lucía dies. He bids farewell to his mother and starts to walk towards the unending valley.

Before Diego starts his journey alone to the forbidden land, the Beast returns to his vision. His fears of venturing into a world of terrors and wars instigate fear and its likely manifestation, the Beast, appears in front of him like an illusion. Even though Diego does not die, the world he steps into may not be kind to him. The brutality of wars and human violence that awaits him may make his life miserable and nurture fears in his mind. We can hope that he will overcome the hallucinatory beast by relinquishing those fears.

Read More: Is The Wasteland Based on a True Story?