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Timeline

The Unseen (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 108 mins · English
Directed by
Gary Sinyor
Starring
Jasmine Hyde, Ashley R Woods, Dana Haqjoo, Derek Horsham, Gina Gangar, Richard Flood

Following the devastating loss of their son, Gemma and Will seek solace with a vacation at a secluded cottage in the Lake District. However, their attempt to escape grief is disrupted by unsettling auditory hallucinations and episodes of lost vision. As the strange occurrences intensify, the couple must confront the disturbing reality surrounding them and question what they are experiencing.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Events in order (12)
  2. 2 Timeline questions answered
  3. 3 Movie threads
  4. 4 Movies like The Unseen
  5. 5 Every angle

12 events in order · contains spoilers

The Unseen Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of The Unseen (2017) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Discovery of the family curse and transformation begins

    Bob discovers he has inherited a family curse that is slowly turning his body invisible, and he has spent the last eight years living in isolation as a logger to shield his family from his suffering. He tries to slow the transformation with illegal drugs, and the burden drives him toward thoughts of suicide.

    Where
    Bob's home and logging camp
  2. Bob abandons his wife and daughter

    Unable to cope with his burden, Bob abandons his wife Darlene and daughter Eva to spare them his suffering, effectively severing the family ties. He slips away from home and disappears from their lives for years.

    Where
    Home
  3. Quits job and crashes on the road

    Eight years after his departure, Bob quits his job and leaves town in a fit of despair. While driving, he has a bodily breakdown and crashes his truck, leaving him injured and desperate for a way out.

    Where
    On the road
  4. Deal with Crisby and the courier mission

    After the crash, Bob contacts his drug dealer Nelson, who brings him to Crisby. Crisby proposes to fix the truck in exchange for Bob delivering a black bear organ and couriering back another package from Milton and Bishop. Bob reluctantly agrees, hoping the arrangement will give him a chance to visit Eva and Darlene.

    Where
    Crisby's meet location
  5. Darlene's new relationship and Bob's stay

    Darlene, now in a relationship with her girlfriend Molly, lets Bob stay on her couch while he carries out the run. He has awkward interactions with Eva during his stay, including questions about her grandfather and family history.

    Where
    Darlene's apartment
  6. Eva sneaks into Mountainview and reveals signs of invisibility

    On a dare, Eva sneaks into Mountainview's abandoned wing with friends Amelia, Benjy, and Oggy, where she begins showing signs of turning invisible. A security guard pursues them, but an unseen force attacks the guard and the teens escape.

    When
    Night
    Where
    Mountainview mental hospital
  7. Eva is captured by a Chinese doctor

    Eva is captured by a Chinese doctor who is fascinated by her condition. Bob and Darlene initiate a frantic search that leads them to Mountainview.

    Where
    Mountainview
  8. Amherst reveals truths and Bob is detained

    At Mountainview, Bob's aggressive behavior earns him detainment. Dr. Amherst, who treated Bob's father, reveals that his father did not commit suicide but burned himself to hide the condition, and that his father may still be alive. Amherst urges Bob to stay for treatment, but Bob sneaks out during the night.

    When
    Night
    Where
    Mountainview
  9. Eva's captivity and rescue at the Chinese grocery

    Bob learns Eva is also turning invisible and that her curiosity about his condition led her to Mountainview. He tracks Eva to a Chinese grocery, where she is kept in a back-room cage, and he rescues her.

    Where
    Chinese grocery
  10. Return home and the delivery started

    Back home, Bob's worsening condition forces the return, and Darlene lets Eva drive him due to his debilitated state. On the return trip, Bob hands Milton's package to Nelson to deliver to Crisby.

    Where
    Road back home
  11. Crisby confronts and is killed

    Crisby arrives at Bob's house with a shotgun, but finds Eva alone. Bob, having turned completely invisible, returns and beats Crisby to death, and they dump Crisby's body outdoors for a bear to devour.

    Where
    Bob's house
  12. Grandfather revealed and path to Morningview

    Eva decides to go to college, and Bob and Eva realize that the invisible presence who rescued Eva in the hospital basement was her grandfather, who is still alive. The two begin making their way back toward Morningview to find Bob's father.

    Where
    Morningview / road

Last updated: December 13, 2025 at 08:21

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Timeline questions answered

The Unseen Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of The Unseen (2017): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why did Bob abandon his wife and daughter?

Bob abandoned his family to spare them from his suffering. After discovering he had inherited a family curse that slowly renders people invisible, he isolated himself for eight years as a logger. He believed his worsening condition would only bring pain to Darlene and Eva, so he chose to leave rather than watch himself disappear in front of them.

Foreshadowing: Bob's departure was foreshadowed by his earlier decision to live in isolation at a logging camp, removing himself from family life.

  • bob langmore
  • family curse
  • abandonment
  • invisibility
  • isolation
Q2

What is the family curse affecting Bob and Eva?

The curse is a hereditary condition that slowly makes people invisible. It begins with patches of transparency and gradually consumes the entire body. Bob has been living with it for eight years, and his daughter Eva begins experiencing the same symptoms during the film, revealing she has inherited the condition.

Foreshadowing: Bob's physical deterioration and his secretive behavior at the logging camp hinted at a worsening medical condition.

  • family curse
  • invisibility
  • hereditary condition
  • transformation
Q3

Is Bob's father really alive?

Yes. Dr. Amherst reveals that Bob's father did not commit suicide as previously believed. Instead, he burned himself deliberately to hide his condition from the family, but Amherst claims he may still be alive somewhere. The film confirms this when Eva and Bob realize their grandfather was the invisible figure who rescued Eva at Mountainview.

Foreshadowing: Dr. Amherst's revelation that Bob's father may still be alive sets up the grandfather's later appearance.

  • bob's father
  • dr amherst
  • morningview
  • family secret
Q4

Who rescued Eva at Mountainview hospital?

Eva was rescued by her grandfather, Bob's father, who is still alive. He has been living invisibly for years, and it was his invisible presence that attacked the security guard chasing Eva and her friends, and later pulled her to safety in the basement. Eva and Bob piece this together at the end of the film.

Foreshadowing: Dr. Amherst's cryptic claim that Bob's father may still be alive foreshadows this revelation.

  • eva rescue
  • grandfather
  • invisible presence
  • mountainview hospital
Q5

Why did Bob agree to work for Crisby?

After crashing his truck during a breakdown, Bob needed transportation to visit Eva and Darlene while he still could. Crisby offered to fix the truck in exchange for Bob delivering a black bear organ to his black-market contacts Milton and Bishop, and retrieving a return package. Bob agreed because it was the only way to get back on the road.

Foreshadowing: Bob's desperation to see his daughter before his condition worsened motivated his reckless agreement.

  • crisby deal
  • bear organ
  • milton bishop
  • courier job
Q6

What happens to Crisby at the end of the movie?

Crisby arrives at Bob's house with a shotgun, intending to harm Eva because Bob failed to return the package. However, Bob, now fully invisible, returns and overpowers Crisby, killing him. Bob and Eva then dispose of his body outdoors, where it is consumed by a bear.

Foreshadowing: Crisby's threat to Bob earlier in the film set up his violent confrontation at the climax.

  • crisby death
  • shotgun
  • bear
  • violence
  • climax
Q7

Why does Eva start turning invisible?

Eva inherited the same family curse that affects her father Bob. She first notices symptoms during her visit to Mountainview hospital, where her hand begins disappearing while touching a wall. Her curiosity about her grandfather's mental illness led her to investigate the abandoned hospital, unaware she was following the same path that revealed her father's condition.

Foreshadowing: Eva's questions about her grandfather's history with mental illness hinted at her own inherited condition.

  • eva transformation
  • inherited curse
  • visibility loss
  • genetics
Q8

What was in the package from Milton and Bishop?

The package Bob was supposed to deliver back to Crisby contained only a bag of metal bolts, not the valuable items Crisby expected. Bob had switched the package, giving it to Nelson to deliver instead of handing it directly to Crisby. When Crisby opened the package and found only bolts, he went to Bob's house angry, leading to the final confrontation.

Foreshadowing: Bob's delay in returning and his insistence on delivering the package himself through Nelson foreshadowed this twist.

  • milton bishop package
  • metal bolts
  • switch
  • crisbey betrayal
Q9

Why did Bob plan to end his life at the mill?

Bob's body was rapidly deteriorating from the invisibility curse, and he could no longer bear the physical and emotional pain. He wanted to die at the mill, the same place where his father may have worked, as a final act. Eva tried to stop him, but he left anyway, though he returned when he heard Crisby was threatening her.

Foreshadowing: Bob's earlier suicidal thoughts and his use of drugs to cope foreshadowed his desire to end his suffering.

  • suicide
  • mill
  • bob's death
  • final plan
  • mercy
Q10

Why was the Chinese doctor holding Eva captive?

The Chinese doctor at Mountainview hospital became fascinated by Eva's condition. After capturing her, he kept her locked in a back room of a Chinese grocery, apparently hoping to study her invisible transformation. Bob tracked her down and rescued her from the doctor's captivity.

Foreshadowing: Eva's disappearance during the Mountainview investigation led directly to this captivity.

  • chinese doctor
  • eva capture
  • mountainview
  • experimentation

Movie threads

More Movies Like The Unseen, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes The Unseen tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Isolated grief horror movies like The Unseen

Stories where mourning in seclusion awakens an unimaginable dread. If you liked The Unseen with its themes of a grieving family haunted in seclusion, you'll find similar movies here. This collection features dark thrillers and horror films where profound loss experienced in an isolated setting becomes intertwined with a terrifying supernatural or psychological threat.

  • grieving
  • isolated
  • oppressive
  • suspenseful
  • anxious
  • melancholic
  • Tone: dark, melancholic, oppressive
  • Pacing: steady, slow burn dread
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern follows a protagonist or group already shattered by a devastating loss. Seeking solitude to process their grief, they instead find that their isolation amplifies their vulnerability to a creeping terror. The central conflict is often internal—distinguishing between the manifestations of their trauma and a real external threat—as the environment itself seems to turn against them.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their shared core premise: the fusion of heavy emotional grief with the tense, oppressive atmosphere of a remote location. They share a dark tone, steady pacing that builds dread, and a high emotional intensity derived from the dual struggles of mourning and survival.

Supernatural affliction dramas like The Unseen

Bodily and psychological curses that test the limits of family bonds. For viewers who liked the curse-driven drama of The Unseen, this list features movies about characters grappling with a debilitating supernatural condition. These films are heavy emotional thrillers that explore the personal and familial cost of a supernatural affliction, blending horror with deep human drama.

  • grim
  • anxious
  • melancholic
  • suspenseful
  • desperate
  • disturbing
  • Tone: dark, grim, emotionally heavy
  • Pacing: steady escalation of crisis
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a protagonist's relentless struggle against an inexplicable and debilitating supernatural force, often a family curse or a sudden affliction. The story escalates through a series of physical and mental crises, forcing loved ones into desperate situations and moral dilemmas. The plot intertwines the horror of the affliction with a deeply human drama about sacrifice, endurance, and the fraying of family ties under extreme duress.

Why they belong together: Movies in this thread share a central theme of a character physically and psychologically deteriorating due to a supernatural cause. They are united by a high-stakes, dark tone, a heavy emotional weight centered on sacrifice and endurance, and a steady pacing that escalates the character's plight toward a often bittersweet or bleak resolution.

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Movies Like The Unseen

Similar movies to The Unseen: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

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Every angle

The Unseen (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about The Unseen in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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