Don’t Go Near the Park

Don’t Go Near the Park

Year: 1979

Runtime: 83 mins

Language: English

HorrorHorror

Cursed by the tribe’s queen 12,000 years ago, two super‑human survivors are forced to age forever unless they reclaim eternal youth. In modern Los Angeles they plot to restore it by ritually sacrificing a 16‑year‑old virgin. An investigative reporter and a runaway teen uncover the scheme, sparking a terrifying showdown as the city’s night descends.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Don’t Go Near the Park yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline – Don’t Go Near the Park (1979)

Trace every key event in Don’t Go Near the Park (1979) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Petranella's Curse Is Cast

In ancient times, Petranella curses the caveman siblings Tra and Gar. The curse binds them to pursue youth by devouring entrails, and immortality hinges on a 12,000-year cycle that ends only when one sibling conceives a child to perform a virgin sacrifice.

12,000 years before 1965 Ancient world
2

Siblings Haunt 1965 LA Park

Millennia later, Tra and Gar survive by stalking young people in a Los Angeles park and consuming their entrails to drink in life force. The hunt continues as the 12,000-year cycle runs its course toward an inevitable end. The park serves as their ongoing feeding ground.

1965 Los Angeles park
3

Gar Takes the Alias Mark and Marries

Gar schemes to conceive a child to preserve the curse and uses the name Mark. He rents a room in Bondi's mother's home and soon marries her, solidifying a lineage that will bear Bondi. The plan quietly advances toward the eventual birth of Bondi.

Late 1960s Bondi's mother's home
4

Bondi Is Born and Raised

Mark, revealed to be Gar in disguise, fathers Bondi through his marriage to Bondi's mother. Bondi grows up under the shadow of the family’s dark history, unaware of the ancient pact that governs her fate. The household carries a secret rooted in Petranella's curse.

Late 1960s–early 1970s Bondi's family home
5

Bondi's 16th Birthday and the Amulet

On Bondi's 16th birthday, Mark gifts her an ancient amulet from his mother. During the celebratory moment, Bondi's mother leaves the house, abandoning the family for reasons not fully explained. The amulet becomes a pivotal link to the curse's power.

Bondi's 16th birthday Bondi's family home
6

Bondi Flees and Survives a Brutal Attempt

Bondi runs away and hitches a ride with three adult male hippies who attempt to gang-rape her. The amulet glows, signaling a dangerous power; the van loses control and crashes into a rural bridge, bursting into flames. Bondi survives the crash and escapes.

Same day as birthday Rural road, van
7

Bondi Finds the Abandoned House

Bondi wanders into an abandoned house near the park, where Tra—who now calls herself Patty—lives in seclusion. Bondi remains unaware that Patty is her aunt and that the two are linked by a long, deadly family legacy. Patty disguises herself, maintaining a veneer of harmlessness.

After the escape Abandoned house near the park
8

Nick and Cowboy Enter Patty's World

Nick, an eight-year-old boy under Patty's care, perceives her as a grandmother figure. Cowboy, another runaway, also resides there. Bondi is frightened at first, but Nick and Cowboy reassure her that Patty is not a threat.

Around this period Patty's house
9

Taft Warns Nick About the Park

Taft, a local writer and historian, befriends Nick and reveals the dark history of the park and its centuries of deaths. He cautions Nick about venturing near the place where the danger lies. The warning plants a seed of fear in Nick's mind.

Same era Park area / Taft's circle
10

Patty's Nighttime Kill in the Park

Late at night, Nick sees Patty enter the park wearing a mask and witnesses her strangling, disemboweling, and cannibalizing a victim. When she removes the mask, her youthful appearance has supposedly returned. Spooked, Nick flees to inform Bondi and Cowboy, only to find their home empty.

Night Park
11

Cave Ritual and Petranella Possession

Bondi is drugged and awakens in a cave with Cowboy. Her father Mark tries to force her into a ritual, but Patty intervenes. A fire erupts in the cave as Bondi swallows the amulet, allowing Petranella to possess her and reanimate the corpses of Patty and Mark's victims to kill them.

During the ritual Cave near the park
12

Escape with Taft's Help

Petranella's spirit leaves Bondi, and Bondi, Cowboy, and Nick escape through tunnels with Taft's guidance. They spend the night at Taft's home and return to Patty's house the next day, only to learn it is being demolished. The trio seeks safety away from the ruined lair of the curse.

Following the ritual Taft's home; tunnels; Patty's former home
13

Final Playground Tragedy

They venture into the park and play at a playground, a rare moment of innocence amid the chaos. Nick climbs a slide and Bondi, with a cruel smile, begins to disembowel him, signaling the curse's lingering grip and the irreversible dark fate she bears.

End of the story Park playground

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:05

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Movies about cities corrupted by ancient evil like in Don’t Go Near the Park

Modern metropolises invaded by primal horrors and sinister cults.If you enjoyed the clash of modern Los Angeles with a 12,000-year-old curse in Don’t Go Near the Park, you'll find similar chills here. These films feature ancient evils, sinister cults, and terrifying rituals unfolding in contemporary urban settings, creating a unique brand of supernatural horror.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically begin with the discovery or awakening of a long-dormant malevolent force within a bustling city. Protagonists, often ordinary people or investigators, gradually uncover a terrifying conspiracy or supernatural threat that threatens to consume the urban landscape, leading to a climactic confrontation.

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Movies are grouped here for their shared core premise: a modern urban environment besieged by an ancient, often ritualistic, evil. This creates a distinct vibe where the safety of society is undermined by something primordial and incomprehensible.

Movies about desperate quests for immortality like in Don’t Go Near the Park

Characters driven to monstrous acts by the desperate need to live forever.Fans of Don’t Go Near the Park's cursed, age-old survivors will appreciate these films. They explore the dark side of the immortality myth, where characters are driven to commit horrific acts—like ritual sacrifice—in their single-minded, desperate pursuit of eternal youth or life.

desperategrimmercilesssinisterdreadtragiccursedritualistic

Narrative Summary

The narrative follows antagonists or tragic figures who are either cursed with a terrible form of longevity or are actively seeking to break the bonds of death. Their ruthless pursuit of a macabre solution, such as a ritual or sacrifice, creates the central conflict, pitting them against those who represent morality or simple survival.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their focus on the theme of immortality as a curse or an obsession. The similarity lies in the protagonists' moral decay and the extreme, often supernatural, measures they take to achieve their goal, generating a specific kind of grim and heavy horror.

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Don’t Go Near the Park Summary

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Don’t Go Near the Park Summary

Characters, Settings & Themes in Don’t Go Near the Park

Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Don’t Go Near the Park. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.

Characters, Settings & Themes in Don’t Go Near the Park

More About Don’t Go Near the Park

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