Antlers (2021) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Lucas locks up his father Frank because Frank is slowly transforming into a wendigo after being bitten while cooking meth in an abandoned coalmine. Knowing that his younger brother Aiden is in danger from their transformed father, Lucas takes the desperate measure of confining Frank in their home to protect Aiden while hoping his father might still be saved from the curse.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Lucas drawing unsettling images of monsters, hinting at his awareness of the growing threat.

• lucas weaver
• frank weaver
• wendigo
• confinement
• protect aiden

A person becomes a wendigo through a combination of factors: receiving a bite from an existing wendigo and engaging in cannibalism. In the film, Frank is bitten by the wendigo while meth-cooking with Kenny Glass, and though he doesn't explicitly cannibalize Kenny, the curse begins its slow transformation. The native wards found in the mine confirm this is an ancient curse tied to such acts.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of Kenny's dismembered corpse and the native wards in the mine hint at the supernatural nature of the threat.

• wendigo curse
• transformation
• bite
• cannibalism
• native american lore

Frank Weaver becomes a wendigo after being bitten during a meth-cooking operation with Kenny Glass in an abandoned coalmine. The bite from the wendigo, combined with the dark act of producing illegal drugs in a sacred location, triggers the curse. Over time, Frank's injuries from the attack don't heal normally, and he gradually transforms into the monster.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene establishes the mine as a site of ancient danger, with native wards already present.

• frank weaver
• wendigo
• bite
• transformation
• meth lab

Lucas's drawings of bears transforming into monsters are actually premonitions and visual representations of the wendigo curse affecting his family. As a child deeply aware of the danger surrounding his father, Lucas processes the supernatural threat through his art. These drawings foreshadow both Frank's transformation and later Aiden's tragic fate.

Foreshadowing: Julia notices Lucas's drawings before she understands the reality behind them, creating dramatic irony.

• lucas drawings
• bears
• monsters
• premonition
• foreshadowing

Ellen Booth is killed because she visits the Weaver house to check on Lucas after Julia expresses concern about his disturbing drawings. When Ellen arrives, Frank, now fully transformed into the wendigo, attacks and murders her. Her death serves as the horrifying moment that confirms the supernatural threat is real and active.

Foreshadowing: Julia's concern about Lucas and her discussion with Ellen about visiting the house builds toward this tragic outcome.

• ellen booth
• principal
• murder
• wendigo attack
• weaver house

Aiden becomes a wendigo because he is exposed to and possibly attacked by Frank during the chaos at the Weaver residence. As Frank's transformation progresses, Aiden, being the younger child in close proximity, becomes infected through the wendigo's bite or influence. This tragic transformation occurs offscreen between the confrontation and Julia's heartbreaking discovery.

Foreshadowing: Lucas's desperate attempt to protect Aiden by locking up Frank shows the紧迫 threat to the younger brother.

• aiden weaver
• wendigo
• transformation
• curse
• bitten

Julia kills Aiden because he has already fully transformed into a wendigo and there is no known cure for the curse at that point. Facing the unbearable reality that Aiden is now a monster that would kill others, Julia makes the tragic choice to end his suffering and prevent further deaths. She embraces him first as a final act of love before performing the mercy killing.

Foreshadowing: Stokes explains that the wendigo curse has no cure, and Julia's earlier insistence that Frank might still be saved contrasts with this final hopelessness.

• julia meadows
• aiden
• mercy killing
• wendigo
• sacrifice
• tragic ending

At the end of Antlers, Julia and Lucas defeat the wendigo by working together, with Julia stealing its cursed heart. However, the victory is bittersweet: Julia discovers Aiden has also transformed and is forced to kill him. Julia and Paul then agree to care for Lucas, but Paul remains unsettled after a health scare, implying he may also be affected by the curse, leaving the ending ominous.

Foreshadowing: The earlier revelation that the wendigo curse spreads through bites foreshadows Aiden's transformation.

• ending
• finale
• julia
• paul
• lucas
• curse
• ambiguous ending

Julia returns to Cispus Falls to escape her troubled past, which includes an abusive upbringing and struggles with alcoholism. She takes a job as a schoolteacher hoping for a fresh start. Her return reignites conflict with her brother Paul, the sheriff, as she left him behind during her departure, carrying guilt over abandoning family.

Foreshadowing: The tension between Julia and Paul establishes her motivation to protect Lucas, someone else trapped in a difficult situation.

• julia meadows
• cispus falls
• return
• past
• alcohol
• family

Paul's fate regarding the curse remains ambiguous at the end. While he does not transform onscreen, a troubling health scare late in the film leaves him uneasy. The ending suggests the curse may still linger, and Paul fears he might be carrying it, leaving the possibility of future danger open.

Foreshadowing: Paul's dismissal of the supernatural early on contrasts with his later uncertainty and fear.

• paul meadows
• sheriff
• curse
• health scare
• ambiguous fate

Warren Stokes reveals that the wendigo curse is ancient and tied to cannibalistic rituals performed by Native Americans. He explains that the curse transforms those who partake in such acts into monsters. Stokes shows Julia the native wards in the mine and shares that the curse has haunted the community for generations, giving the mythology credibility despite Paul's skepticism.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of native wards and Kenny's corpse earlier confirms the historical presence of the curse.

• warren stokes
• wendigo lore
• native american
• curse
• mythology
• history

Warren Stokes finds a dismembered part of Kenny Glass's corpse while hiking in the forest. This grisly discovery, combined with the native wards hanging in the abandoned coalmine, confirms that something supernatural and deadly is at work in Cispus Falls. The body part is the first physical evidence that connects Frank's story to the wendigo threat.

Foreshadowing: This discovery directly leads Julia to investigate the Weaver household and uncover the truth.

• warren stokes
• kenny glass
• corpse
• forest
• discovery