Dave Made a Maze (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Dave builds the maze because of his pent-up creative frustration. He's an artist who frequently abandons projects midway and relies on his parents financially, so when Annie leaves for the weekend, he channels his unresolved creative energy into building an intricate cardboard fortress from the inside out. This project represents his breakthrough, a way to manifest his imagination into something tangible and expansive.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Dave's history of leaving projects unfinished is mentioned, setting up his need to finally complete something meaningful.

• dave
• cardboard maze
• creative frustration
• art
• artist

Dave's hand transforms into cardboard because he experimented with the maze's vulnerabilities while building it. As the maze is a living, breathing creation born from his imagination, it begins to affect him physically, his hand literally becomes part of the maze itself. This transformation happens when he touches certain parts of the labyrinth, showing how deeply connected he is to his creation.

Foreshadowing: The maze's supernatural nature is hinted at early on when strange sounds and machinery emanate from within the seemingly simple fort.

• dave
• hand
• cardboard
• transformation
• maze magic

Jane is killed by the Minotaur with an ax in a bizarre confetti-filled death. Greg dies attempting to disable a trap, resulting in his gruesome disappearance. Leonard falls victim to seemingly innocuous cardboard saw blades that turn deadly. All three deaths occur as the group navigates deeper into the maze, where ordinary cardboard objects become lethal traps.

Foreshadowing: The Minotaur's first appearance signals the shift from wonder to genuine danger in the maze.

• jane
• greg
• leonard
• minotaur
• death
• traps

The zoetrope is a surreal creation near the maze's core that seems to capture the very essence of the labyrinth itself. It's a spinning device with moving images that represents the maze's living nature, the visual heart of Dave's imagination made physical. When Dave and Annie approach it, their actions trigger the maze's final collapse, suggesting this structure is the source of the maze's supernatural existence.

Foreshadowing: Annie discovers the maze is alive when she notices the walls throbbing with mysterious energy.

• zoetrope
• maze heart
• core
• dave
• annie
• collapse

The Minotaur emerges from the destroyed maze holding a cardboard "I Love You" sign as a surreal, ambiguous final image. The sign seems to represent the maze's strange affection for its creator or the twisted love Dave poured into his creation. It embodies the film's tone, mixing danger with whimsy, leaving viewers to interpret whether this is a threat, a farewell, or something else entirely.

Foreshadowing: The maze's living nature suggests it developed its own strange personality and attachments.

• minotaur
• i love you sign
• ending
• escape
• whimsy

Dave, Annie, Harry, and the boom operator launch a final assault on the maze's heart using a katana. Gordon distracts the Minotaur, giving them time to strike at the core. When they destroy the heart, the entire maze collapses, sending them back to Dave's apartment. The walls come crashing down around them, and they find themselves surrounded by the remnants of their cardboard ordeal.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Annie suggests attacking the maze's core as their best escape chance.

• escape
• collapse
• katana
• heart
• survivors
• dave
• annie

The group discovers a cardboard puppet of Brynn trapped in an endless loop of begging for high-fives. This disturbing creation represents how the maze has absorbed aspects of the people inside it. Brynn had been captured by the Minotaur earlier, and the puppet seems to be either a twisted copy or her fate within the maze's surreal logic.

Foreshadowing: Brynn's capture by the Minotaur happens earlier, showing she's taken somewhere specific within the labyrinth.

• brynn
• puppet
• high-five
• capture
• minotaur

The maze becomes alive because it's a physical manifestation of Dave's imagination and creative energy. As Annie explores deeper, she realizes the walls are throbbing with a mysterious energy, the maze breathes, reacts, and adapts. It's essentially a living artwork born from Dave's mind, which explains why it can trap people, create creatures like the Minotaur and origami birds, and affect those who enter it.

Foreshadowing: The strange sounds and machinery from the fort when Annie first returns hint that something more than a simple cardboard fort exists.

• maze alive
• imagination
• dave
• supernatural
• cardboard magic

Brynn is seized by the Minotaur during the group's deep exploration of the labyrinth. Her capture happens suddenly and marks a turning point where the group realizes the maze's dangers are very real. Later, the disturbing cardboard puppet of Brynn found in the maze suggests she either transformed into or was replaced by this surreal creation.

Foreshadowing: The Minotaur's earlier attack on Jane establishes it as a real threat to the group.

• brynn
• captured
• minotaur
• death
• puppet

Harry, a filmmaker, sees an opportunity to capture Annie's genuine emotions about Dave and his creation. He believes her authentic reactions to the maze would make compelling documentary footage, showing her true feelings for Dave. This subplot adds tension as Harry prioritizes getting the shot over the group's safety.

Foreshadowing: Harry brings his boom operator and cameraman specifically to document the experience.

• harry
• documentary
• annie
• camera
• filmmaker

The two unexpected Flemish tourists join the group and seem absorbed in their own world, picnicking amidst the cardboard curiosities. They appear largely detached from the main group's adventures and deaths, existing almost as a surreal detail themselves. Their exact purpose remains ambiguous, adding to the film's dreamlike quality.

Foreshadowing: They arrive unexpectedly, adding to the eclectic mix of characters entering the maze.

• flemish
• tourists
• picnic
• minor characters

The homeless man is recruited for his expertise in cardboard, presumably to help the group navigate or understand the maze better. However, his role in the actual events isn't detailed in the summary, likely a comedic attempt at bringing in specialized help that becomes irrelevant once the supernatural elements take over.

Foreshadowing: His recruitment suggests the group initially viewed the maze as a craft project rather than a dangerous reality.

• homeless
• cardboard expert
• help
• recruitment