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Behind You (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2020 · 86 min · English
Echo score 45
JustWatch #15,364 14
Directed by
Andrew Mecham, Matthew Whedon
Starring
Jan Broberg Felt, Philip Brodie, Addy Miller, Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, Caroline Labrum, Charan Prabhakar

While staying with their estranged aunt, two young sisters discover that all the mirrors in her house have been covered. Curiosity leads one of them to uncover a mirror in the basement, inadvertently unleashing a malevolent demon with a dark past. The sisters must then confront the supernatural threat and unravel the mystery of their aunt’s home.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Behind You
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Behind You (2020)

Where can you watch Behind You? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla and YouTube Free: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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15 events in order · contains spoilers

Behind You Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Behind You (2020) 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. Beginning of the Tragedy

    In 1979, the story begins with Beth and her boyfriend Charles sharing a peaceful moment in her room. This tranquility is shattered when Beth hears her younger sister scream, prompting her to rush toward the sound with Charles to find a horrifying scene.

    When
    1979
  2. The Mysterious Encounter

    Rushing into the room, Beth and Charles discover her sister entranced by a mirror, pointing at an unseen force. Suddenly, hands reach out from the mirror and grab her, marking the onset of dark events to come.

    When
    1979
    Where
    Beth's home
  3. Forty Years Later

    Fast forward forty years, Olivia and her younger sister Claire arrive at Aunt Beth's home after the death of their mother. The sisters are greeted by a hesitant Aunt Beth, who places strict limitations on their movements in the house, particularly warning them against entering her study or the basement.

    When
    2019
    Where
    Aunt Beth's home
  4. An Awkward Dinner

    During dinner, prepared by Charles, it becomes evident that he is much friendlier than Aunt Beth. The strange stew serves as a main course, and after Claire discovers it contains peanut butter, Olivia saves her sister from an allergic reaction with an EpiPen.

    Where
    Dining room
  5. Curiosity Leads to Danger

    As night falls, Claire is lured by eerie whispers that compel her to explore the forbidden study. There, she uncovers Aunt Beth with a glass of wine and a key that leads her to the basement, where dusty mirrors wait, triggering more sinister happenings.

    Where
    Study and basement
  6. Unveiling the Past

    The following morning, Claire shows Olivia an old newspaper clipping that reveals Aunt Beth's dark history of murdering her own family. Recognizing the threat they face, Olivia urgently reaches out to their caretaker, Camilla, for help.

    Where
    Aunt Beth's home
  7. The Failed Escape

    Olivia's plan to escape is complicated when Claire begins showing increasingly strange behavior, expressing attachment to the house and obsessively eating dinner. Beth's growing suspicion about the girls’ exploration of her study raises further tension.

    Where
    Aunt Beth's home
  8. Chaos Unleashed

    When Camilla arrives, attempting to confront Beth and Charles, the situation escalates quickly. She discovers a firearm in Charles's car, but before she can act, chaos erupts, veering the situation into violent confrontation.

    Where
    Aunt Beth's home
  9. A Blood-Soaked Discovery

    Olivia’s search for Claire’s beloved stuffed bunny leads her to a horrifying scene—blood stains on the car windows and the brutal murder of Camilla. The horror amplifies as Claire mysteriously vanishes, heightening Olivia’s fear.

    Where
    Outside the house
  10. The Sinister Truth Revealed

    Confronting Beth and Charles reveals the chilling truth: the house is a prison for an evil entity. Beth recounts the regret of killing her sister to protect against this malevolent force, revealing the depth of darkness within the household.

    Where
    Aunt Beth's home
  11. Desperate Measures

    In a bid to combat the entity, Olivia and Beth concoct a risky plan that involves breaking mirrors to reveal the spirit. However, the situation devolves into tragedy as they race against time to save Claire from a gruesome fate.

    Where
    Basement
  12. A Plan to Save Claire

    The grim plan takes shape: they decide to induce choking in Claire using peanut butter, hoping to expel the entity. It’s a desperate gamble, requiring multiple uses of the EpiPen to revive her and ultimately restore her life.

    Where
    Dining room
  13. The Final Confrontation

    The next morning, as the sister's plan unfolds, Beth warns of the entity trapped between realms, which leads to a horrific incident involving Charles. Claire, believing she is to blame, attempts to absorb the malevolent force within herself.

    Where
    Aunt Beth's home
  14. The Sacrificial Act

    In a touching yet tragic moment, Beth sacrifices herself by invoking the incantation and allowing Olivia to stab her with a shard of glass. The evil entity is unleashed in a swirl of smoke as Olivia faces the hardest decision of her life.

    Where
    Aunt Beth's home
  15. Aftermath of Horror

    Authorities arrive at the eerie scene, only to classify the event as a murder-suicide. Olivia and Claire are finally reunited, providing a bittersweet conclusion to their harrowing ordeal, yet leaving behind an aura of dread as the last candle flickers out.

    Where
    Aunt Beth's home

Last updated: October 27, 2024 at 16:27

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Timeline questions answered

Behind You Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Behind You (2020): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why is Aunt Beth reluctant to have Olivia and Claire stay with her?

Beth is reluctant because she knows the house contains a dangerous demon trapped in mirrors. She killed her own sister forty years ago to prevent the entity from entering the real world, and she fears history will repeat itself with the girls. Her strict rules about the study and basement are meant to keep them away from the mirrors where the demon can reach them.

  • aunt beth
  • reluctant
  • house rules
  • demon
  • mirrors
Q2

What happened to Beth's sister in 1979?

In 1979, Beth's younger sister was grabbed by hands emerging from a mirror when she was transfixed by an unseen force. Beth witnessed this horror but was unable to save her. The demon had been trying to cross into the living world, and Beth was forced to kill her own sister to prevent the entity from using her as a gateway.

  • beth sister
  • 1979
  • mirror
  • hands
  • death
Q3

Why are the mirrors in the basement important?

The mirrors are the only way the demon can enter the living world. All mirrors in the house were covered to prevent the entity from reaching through, but the basement contains dusty mirrors that were left exposed. When Claire uncovers one and chants the incantation, she inadvertently opens a gateway for the demon to enter their world.

  • mirrors
  • basement
  • demon
  • incantation
  • portal
Q4

Why does Claire start acting strangely after entering the basement?

Claire becomes possessed by the demon after chanting the words to unlock the mirrors in the basement. The entity begins influencing her behavior, making her want to stay in the house, eat ravenously, and eventually attempt to bring the demon fully into the world. Her strange actions are not her own, she is being controlled by the malevolent force.

  • claire
  • possession
  • demon
  • strange behavior
  • basement
Q5

How does the peanut butter and EpiPen plan save Claire?

Olivia and Beth devise a desperate plan to force the demon out of Claire by making her choke on peanut butter (knowing she has a severe allergy). The theory is that choking will expel the entity, and they can then revive her with an EpiPen. The plan works after multiple EpiPen injections, temporarily freeing Claire from possession.

  • peanut butter
  • epipen
  • allergy
  • exorcism
  • claire
Q6

Why does Beth sacrifice herself at the end?

Beth realizes the demon is trapped between realms and will keep harming people unless it fully manifests and is destroyed. She deliberately recites the incantation to draw the entity into herself, becoming possessed so Olivia can stab her with a mirror shard. This kills both Beth and the demon, ending the threat permanently. Beth spends her life atoning for killing her sister and finally finds redemption by sacrificing herself instead of killing another family member.

  • beth
  • sacrifice
  • possession
  • death
  • demon
Q7

Why can't Olivia and Claire leave the house?

The demon has trapped them inside. Once the entity is caught between realms after Claire partially absorbs it, the house becomes a prison. The exits are mysteriously barred, and the demon continues hunting them because it needs a full physical form to escape into the world.

  • escape
  • trapped
  • house
  • exits
  • barred
Q8

What happens to Charles at the end?

Charles is killed when the demon drives a shard of glass into his throat while he attempts to help Olivia and Beth fight the entity. He was Beth's longtime partner who helped her contain the demon for decades, and his death occurs when the entity attacks him as they try to break the mirrors.

  • charles
  • death
  • glass
  • throat
  • killed
Q9

What is the incantation used to control the mirrors?

The incantation is a phrase Claire is whispered that allows someone to communicate through mirrors and unlock the gateway between worlds. When spoken, it allows the demon to reach through mirrors. Beth uses the same incantation in reverse to draw the demon into herself, sacrificing her body as a vessel so the entity can be destroyed.

  • incantation
  • words
  • mirror
  • demon
  • chant
Q10

Why does Claire communicate through a stuffed bunny?

Claire is deeply traumatized, likely from losing their mother, and has stopped speaking as a result. The stuffed bunny becomes her only source of comfort and means of communication. The bunny 'obediently' seems to accept Beth's house rules, which is actually the demon manipulating Claire through the toy to gain trust and access.

  • claire
  • bunny
  • trauma
  • communication
  • toy
Q11

What happens to Camilla, the caretaker?

Camilla arrives at the house after Olivia calls her for help. She brings a gun she found in Charles's car to confront Beth and Charles, but before she can intervene, she is brutally murdered. Olivia later discovers her body and blood covering the car windows, with Claire mysteriously missing from the scene.

  • camilla
  • caretaker
  • death
  • murder
  • blood

Movie threads

More Movies Like Behind You, by Mood & Story

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

Claustrophobic supernatural siege movies like Behind You

Stories where a supernatural threat traps characters in a single terrifying location. If you liked the trapped-in-a-haunted-house tension of Behind You, explore these movies where characters face a supernatural threat in a confined space. These films share a similar vibe of claustrophobic horror, steady pacing, and high-intensity scares centered on a single, sinister location.

  • claustrophobic
  • suspenseful
  • anxious
  • oppressive
  • desperate
  • sinister
  • Tone: dark, tense, sinister
  • Pacing: steady, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically begin with characters entering or discovering a new location that harbors a dark secret. A violation of a rule or an act of curiosity unleashes a supernatural entity, turning the safe haven into a prison. The plot focuses on survival, unraveling the location's dark history, and finding a way to confront or escape the entity before it's too late.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared core experience: the feeling of being trapped and hunted within a defined space. They prioritize atmosphere and situational tension over complex plotting, creating a cohesive vibe of anxious, oppressive dread where the setting itself becomes a primary antagonist.

Family trauma horror movies similar to Behind You

Horror stories where past family grief and secrets manifest as a physical demonic threat. Fans of Behind You, where a demonic presence is tied to a family's tragic past, will appreciate these films. They explore similar themes of grief, sacrifice, and dark secrets, using supernatural horror as a metaphor for the heavy emotional weight of unresolved trauma.

  • sinister
  • heavy
  • desperate
  • oppressive
  • traumatic
  • grief-stricken
  • Tone: dark, heavy, bittersweet
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves a family, often fractured by a recent or historical tragedy, being drawn into a conflict with a supernatural force. The entity's origin is intrinsically linked to their own family history. Survival depends not just on physical confrontation but on emotionally confronting and often mourning the traumatic event that gave the horror its power.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their central theme: using the supernatural horror genre to explore profound family drama. The scary elements are amplified by the heavy emotional weight and the personal stakes for the characters, creating a blend of genuine fright and deep sadness.

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Movies Like Behind You

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Every angle

Behind You (2020) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Behind You 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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