Astral (2018) Plot Summary Explained

Claire was being tormented by the demon Asmodeus, which had infiltrated her life through astral projection attempts she had made in the past. The demon compelled her to enter the attic, where she eventually hanged herself. The film reveals she was not psychotic but genuinely haunted by this malevolent entity that was trying to enter our world.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Claire being mysteriously drawn to the attic by an inexplicable force, hinting at supernatural control.

• claire
• attic
• suicide
• demon
• possession
• astral projection

Asmodeus is a demon that has been haunting Alex's family for generations. It seeks to enter our world by possessing people who practice astral projection, using them as gateways. The demon specifically targeted Claire first, driving her to suicide, and then turned its attention to Alex when he began attempting astral projection to contact his mother's spirit.

Foreshadowing: Dr. Lefler mentions seeing a human with the head of a ram among the ghosts, which is the demon's true form.

• asmodeus
• demon
• family curse
• generational haunting
• possession

Alex's repeated astral journeys inadvertently created a spiritual doorway between worlds. Each time he projected, the barrier between realms weakened, allowing entities like Asmodeus to cross over. Dr. Lefler explains that these projections opened a gateway that was meant to stay shut, giving the demons access to our world.

Foreshadowing: Alex's early experiments with video recording himself sleeping capture subtle disturbances as he opens this channel.

• astral projection
• gateway
• demon
• spiritual realm
• barrier

Claire was institutionalized because her family and doctors believed her reports of seeing shadow people and being tormented were symptoms of mental illness. In reality, she was experiencing genuine demonic harassment. The psychiatric hospital setting was meant to treat what appeared to be psychosis, but it was actually a response to supernatural persecution.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene shows Claire being released from the psychiatric hospital, establishing her fragile state.

• claire
• psychiatric hospital
• mental illness
• demonic harassment

When Alex looks at his childhood pictures with his father, he sees a drawing he made on the night his mother died. The picture depicts the shadow of Asmodeus, the ram-headed demon. This proves Alex had been sensitive to the supernatural even as a child, and it confirms that his mother's suicide was caused by demonic possession rather than mental illness.

Foreshadowing: Alex remembers drawing the picture on the night his mother went upstairs to hang herself.

• childhood drawing
• asmodeus
• family curse
• revelation
• mother's death

Dr. Lefler, who treated Claire, explains that among the ghosts he observed during Alex's investigations, he saw a different shape: a human with the head of a ram. This is the demonic form of Asmodeus, the entity that has been tormenting the family. His observation confirms that the family is dealing with a specific named demon, not just random malevolent spirits.

Foreshadowing: This detail foreshadows the later identification of Asmodeus through the Tarot reading.

• ram-headed figure
• dr lefler
• asmodeus
• demon form
• spiritual entity

When Michelle the psychic began the exorcism incantation, Asmodeus possessing Alex's body was actually the demon's attempt to escape the ritual's power. It tried to throttle Alyssa as a way to break the spell's concentration, but the exorcism ultimately succeeded in forcing the demon out and freeing Alex.

Foreshadowing: The Tarot reading identifies Asmodeus as the specific demon threatening Alex, making this confrontation inevitable.

• demon possession
• exorcism
• michelle
• alyssa
• ritual

Alex's astral projection experiments directly mirror what his mother had done years earlier. Both attempted to contact the afterlife through out-of-body experiences, and both inadvertently opened gateways for Asmodeus. The demon was already targeting the family, and Alex's experiments reawakened the same entity that had killed his mother, continuing the cycle.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes that Claire Harmann also practiced astral projection before her death.

• alex
• claire
• mother
• death
• connection
• astral projection
• demon

Claire's suicide was not caused by mental illness but by demonic possession and torment. The film reveals she had been seeing shadow people and experiencing genuine supernatural harassment, which doctors misdiagnosed as psychosis. She was actually fighting off a real entity, Asmodeus, which eventually drove her to hang herself in the attic.

Foreshadowing: The opening scenes show Claire being drawn to the attic by an inexplicable supernatural force.

• claire
• suicide
• mental illness
• demonic possession
• psychosis

Joel Harmann refused to discuss the past because he believed discussing Claire's death would only cause Alex more pain. Additionally, he may have suspected the supernatural elements were real and feared that bringing them up would put Alex in danger too. His silence was a misguided attempt to protect his son from the family's dark legacy.

Foreshadowing: The tension between father and son grows as Joel avoids confronting the supernatural events.

• joel
• father
• family history
• silence
• protection
• secrets

The shadow people are malevolent spiritual entities that have crossed through the gateway Alex opened with his astral projections. They appear as dark figures that become more human-like over time. Alex experiences sleep paralysis because the demons are attempting to possess him while he sleeps, leaving him conscious but unable to move.

Foreshadowing: The more astral journeys Alex takes, the more these entities vie to enter his body.

• shadow people
• sleep paralysis
• demon
• possession
• astral projection

The Harmann family appears to have a generational sensitivity to supernatural phenomena. Alex's mother Claire practiced astral projection before her death, and as a child, Alex drew pictures of Asmodeus. The demon has been using family members as gateways to enter our world, with each generation potentially providing new opportunities for possession.

Foreshadowing: The childhood drawing of Asmodeus proves the family has been connected to this entity for years.

• family
• demon
• generational
• targeting
• curse
• asmodeus