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Followed (2018) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2018 · 96 mins · English
Directed by
Antoine Le
Starring
John Savage, Brian Kelly, Sarah Chang, Adam Lesar, Blanca Blanco, Brianna McClellan

A social media influencer known as ‘DropTheMike’ seeks fame and sponsorships by exploring reportedly haunted locations. He and his friends take their online channel to a historic hotel, hoping to create engaging content. What starts as a thrilling challenge quickly turns into a terrifying ordeal, forcing them to confront the dark secrets of the hotel and question the pursuit of online notoriety.

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 Followed
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Followed (2018)

Where can you watch Followed? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Fandango at Home Free, Tubi TV and Amazon Video: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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15 events in order · contains spoilers

Followed Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Followed (2018) 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. Arrival at Lennox Hotel

    Mike, Dani, Chris, and Nic arrive in downtown Los Angeles to film a Halloween weekend vlog at the infamous Lennox Hotel. They settle into the top-floor suite, aware of the building's brutal history of suicides and murders. The news of Meghan Kim's burned body in the boiler room casts a grim backdrop for their project.

    When
    Day 1
    Where
    Lennox Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles
  2. Olmos backstory revealed

    Mike interviews Wallace Fleischer, who tells him about David Olmos, a Satanist killer who once resided at the Lennox. The tale of Olmos frames the hotel's haunted aura and provides a chilling context for the vlogs. The crew begins to sense that the hotel's past is reaching into their present.

    When
    Day 1
    Where
    Hotel lobby / Lennox Hotel
  3. Top-floor setup and routine

    Mike, Dani, and Chris settle into the top-floor room where Olmos carried out his murders, while Nic stays next door to edit the daily vlogs. They rig cameras and plan filming sessions around the building's infamous history. The location amplifies the sense that they are being watched as they work.

    When
    Day 2
    Where
    Top-floor suite, Lennox Hotel
  4. Basement access and a fan-guard promise

    On the second day they attempt to reach the basement to access the boiler room, losing their drone through chained doors. A security guard named Tony confronts them but reveals he is a Mike fan and promises to provide the basement key. The interaction hints at dangerous, intimate ties between the vlogger and the hotel.

    When
    Day 2
    Where
    Hotel basement doors
  5. The Elevator Game and a Ghostly Encounter

    While researching the Elevator Game, Mike decides to perform the ritual alone in the elevator and seemingly encounters Meghan Kim’s ghost. He writes it off as the work of an obsessive fan, even as unsettling noises echo through the hall. The encounter foreshadows that the hotel’s hauntings might be real.

    When
    Evening of Day 2
    Where
    Hotel elevator
  6. Jess's pregnancy call and Nic’s distress

    After an upbeat moment, Jess calls Mike with news of her pregnancy. Soon after, Chris finds Nic in a disturbed, self-destructive state, hinting at deeper psychological strain within the crew. The line between reality and the vlog begins to blur as tension inside the hotel rises.

    When
    Night of Day 2
    Where
    Hotel room / editing area
  7. A decapitated ghost and a rooftop altar

    Mike and the team encounter a decapitated ghost in the hallway and chase it to the roof. There they discover a satanic altar above their room with a platter holding an animal’s tongue. The discovery confirms the hotel’s ritual history and raises the stakes of their investigation.

    When
    Night of Day 2 – Early Day 3
    Where
    Hotel hallway and roof
  8. Third night uploads and a child ghost

    The mysterious user uploads the third night to DropTheMike’s channel and Mike seems to spot a ghostly child in the corridor. While Mike pursues the child, Chris and Dani are chased by Olmos’s hacksaw-wielding ghost and Mike is inexplicably teleported back to the top floor. The episode deepens the sense that the hotel is reconfiguring reality around them.

    When
    Night of Day 3
    Where
    Lennox Hotel corridors
  9. Room 440 backstory

    Mike calls Wallace again and learns that Room 440 belonged to a police detective whose presence in the hotel culminated in the murder of his wife and the haunting of his youngest son. The detective was killed by a maintenance man, sealing Room 440 as a nexus of tragedy and terror. The revelation links the hotel’s past to their current terrors.

    When
    After Night 3
    Where
    Phone call / Lennox Hotel
  10. Chris’s childhood ghost attack and Dani’s departure

    Another ghost from Chris’s childhood attacks him in the hotel bathroom, prompting Dani to leave the hotel with Chris. The crew’s frayed relationships worsen as the haunting takes a toll on their mental health. Mike tries to hold the group together as danger escalates.

    When
    After Night 3
    Where
    Hotel bathroom
  11. Dani’s escape and drug dealer chase

    An elderly woman jumps from a window and a drug dealer who had been filmed earlier stalks Mike and Dani, but Chris arrives to save them. Dani leaves with Chris, leaving Mike feeling increasingly isolated inside the haunted hotel. The surreal danger continues to close in.

    When
    Night of Day 3
    Where
    Hotel corridors
  12. Nic’s crisis and Mike’s resolve

    Mike checks in on Nic, preventing her from jumping out of her room, and tries to keep her safe. She is returned to her mother and sister, but the stress of the hotel lingers over everyone. Mike resolves to push on, believing there is a larger story to tell.

    When
    Night to Day 4
    Where
    Nic’s room
  13. Basement key and the descent begins

    With Tony’s basement key in hand, Mike descends to the boiler room to uncover the truth. He starts a livestream to document the descent, while a garbled call from Wallace hints at a larger, ominous lineage behind the hotel. The basement becomes the focal point of escalating horror.

    When
    Late Night
    Where
    Basement / Boiler Room
  14. Boiler room revelation and chase

    Mike finds Meghan Kim’s missing drone and a laptop broadcasting his live feed, while Tony’s notebook spills occult imagery. He is chased by a crowd of hotel ghosts, discovers a dead body, and escapes into a panicked outside world. The horror culminates in a chaotic confrontation with the supernatural.

    When
    Climax
    Where
    Boiler room
  15. Return home, hiatus, and the final reveal

    Back home, Mike announces a hiatus and plans a documentary about homelessness, but the power fails and shadow figures surround him. Tony and Kim appear with Mike’s fiancée’s severed head, and Mike disappears. The final moments hint at a longer conspiracy as Mike’s blurred face appears on a laptop camera, while the TerribleTyler channel hints at a future intrusion.

    When
    Epilogue
    Where
    Mike’s home / online channels

Last updated: February 24, 2026 at 13:57

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Timeline questions answered

Followed Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Followed (2018): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Mike decide to perform the Elevator Game alone?

Mike performs the Elevator Game alone after researching the ritual online. He wants to be the first to document the supernatural experience and believes he can handle it by himself. He dismisses the encounter with Meghan Kim's ghost as the work of an obsessive fan rather than accepting it as a real warning.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Wallace explains the hotel's dark history with David Olmos, setting up the supernatural stakes.

  • elevator game
  • ritual
  • haunted hotel
  • ghost encounter
  • mike vlogger
Q2

What happens to Nic in the hotel and why does she become disturbed?

Nic, the editor who stays in a separate room to edit the vlogs, enters a disturbed and self-harming state. The hotel's influence appears to target her psychologically, manifesting as extreme distress that Chris discovers when checking on her. This marks the first clear sign that the hotel's haunting is affecting the crew physically and mentally, not just through visual scares.

Foreshadowing: The burned corpse of Meghan Kim in the boiler room establishes the hotel's lethal supernatural presence.

  • nic
  • psychological horror
  • self-harm
  • hotel haunting
  • crew member
Q3

What is the significance of Room 440 in the Lennox Hotel?

Room 440 belonged to a police detective who murdered his wife at the hotel, then chased his two sons through the building. He killed his older son in the room and pursued the younger son to the boiler room, where the detective was himself killed by a maintenance man who found the surviving child. This tragic history makes Room 440 a nexus of violence and trauma that continues to manifest in the present.

Foreshadowing: Mike experiences being teleported back to the top floor when he approaches Room 440, demonstrating the room's reality-bending power.

  • room 440
  • detective
  • murders
  • hotel history
  • haunted room
Q4

How is Mike connected to the detective from Room 440?

A garbled call from Wallace reveals that Mike is the biological son of the detective who murdered his family in Room 440. This connection explains why the hotel targets Mike specifically and why the supernatural events escalate dramatically during his stay. The revelation suggests the hotel's evil has been waiting for his return.

Foreshadowing: The film hints at Mike's special connection through the hotel's intense focus on him throughout the story.

  • mike parentage
  • detective son
  • room 440
  • family curse
  • lineage
Q5

Why does Chris get attacked by a ghost from his own childhood?

Chris is attacked in the hotel bathroom by a ghost that represents someone from his past, suggesting the hotel can access and weaponize each visitor's personal trauma. This attack forces the crew to confront not just the hotel's history but their own inner demons, as the haunting becomes increasingly personalized.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Wallace explains the hotel draws on the personal tragedies of everyone connected to it.

  • chris
  • childhood ghost
  • personal trauma
  • psychological horror
  • hotel power
Q6

What is Tony's role in the supernatural events at the hotel?

Tony initially appears as a friendly security guard who is a fan of DropTheMike and offers to help by fetching the basement key. However, he is later revealed to be part of the hotel's supernatural apparatus, appearing in the finale to deliver Mike's fiancée's severed head. Tony's notebook contains occult imagery, confirming his connection to the hotel's dark forces.

Foreshadowing: Tony's unusual warmth and eagerness to help the vlog crew hints at something beyond normal fan behavior.

  • tony
  • security guard
  • occult notebook
  • final confrontation
  • betrayal
Q7

What is the Elevator Game and what happens when Mike performs it?

The Elevator Game is a ritual performed in an elevator that supposedly opens a doorway to another dimension. When Mike performs it alone, he encounters Meghan Kim's ghostly presence. The ritual appears to genuinely open a supernatural通道, as this encounter marks the point where the film shifts from ambiguous experiences to undeniable supernatural events.

Foreshadowing: The burned body of Meghan Kim in the boiler room establishes her as a key spirit tied to the hotel.

  • elevator game
  • ritual
  • dimension
  • meghan kim ghost
  • supernatural door
Q8

What happens to Mike at the end of the film?

After escaping the hotel, Mike returns home, announces a hiatus from vlogging, and plans to make a documentary about homelessness. However, shadow figures overtake his house, and Tony along with Meghan Kim deliver his fiancée's severed head. Mike then disappears entirely, with the final shot showing his blurred face on a laptop camera and a message from his account reading "Can't wait to meet you, Tyler," suggesting the horror has followed him home and will continue.

Foreshadowing: The TerribleTyler channel introduced earlier hints at the cycle of online horror continuing beyond Mike.

  • mike disappearance
  • finale
  • severed head
  • tyler
  • sequel setup
Q9

Why do Dani and Chris leave the hotel while Mike stays?

Dani and Chris leave after Chris is attacked by a ghost from his childhood in the bathroom. The experience breaks them psychologically, with Dani unable to continue despite her friendship with Mike. Mike chooses to stay alone, driven by his need to uncover the truth and complete his story, setting up his ultimate fate.

Foreshadowing: Chris's earlier discovery of Nic's disturbed state foreshadows the psychological breakdown the hotel causes.

  • dani
  • chris
  • crew departure
  • psychological breaking point
  • mike isolation
Q10

What is Meghan Kim's role in the haunting at the Lennox Hotel?

Meghan Kim is a Korean tourist whose burned corpse was discovered in the boiler room. Her ghost appears to Mike during the Elevator Game and later participates in the final confrontation that destroys his life. She represents one of the hotel's recent victims and serves as the primary female spiritual presence tormenting the vloggers.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of her body in the boiler room is mentioned in the opening as the latest tragic incident at the hotel.

  • meghan kim
  • ghost
  • burned body
  • boiler room
  • recent victim
Q11

What is the TerribleTyler channel and what does it mean for the story?

The TerribleTyler channel appears in the epilogue as a new horror channel on the platform, paralleling how DropTheMike began. The final message from Mike's account saying "Can't wait to meet you, Tyler" implies that Mike has become the next ghost or influencer trapped in the hotel's cycle, and Tyler may be the next vlogger to investigate the Lennox Hotel.

Foreshadowing: Mike's own descent into the hotel began with similar internet fame ambitions.

  • terribletyler
  • sequel setup
  • cycle of horror
  • online fame
  • influencers

Movie threads

More Movies Like Followed, by Mood & Story

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

Found footage horror movies with supernatural terror like Followed

First-person horror movies where the camera captures a terrifying supernatural descent. If you enjoyed the first-person panic and supernatural scares in Followed, you'll find more movies like it here. This list includes similar found-footage horror films where characters document their terrifying encounters with ghosts and dark forces.

  • found footage
  • supernatural
  • claustrophobic
  • terrifying
  • POV horror
  • ghosts
  • Tone: dark, tense
  • Pacing: steady, building
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Movies in this thread typically follow characters who intentionally or accidentally record their experiences, often starting with curiosity or a professional goal. The narrative progresses as the supernatural threat intensifies, using the limitations of the camera to build claustrophobic tension and a feeling of being hunted.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their shared POV filming style and focus on supernatural horror. They create a specific, immediate sense of fear by making the viewer a direct witness to the events, resulting in a raw and intensely personal horror experience.

Bleak supernatural horror movies with dark endings like Followed

Horror stories where characters face an unstoppable supernatural threat with a grim outcome. For viewers who appreciated the heavy emotional weight and unresolved, bleak conclusion of Followed. Discover similar movies where characters confront dark forces they cannot defeat, resulting in terrifying ordeals and grim outcomes.

  • bleak
  • dark
  • supernatural evil
  • heavy
  • hopeless
  • terrifying
  • Tone: dark, bleak
  • Pacing: steady
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves protagonists discovering a dark secret or force that is far more powerful than they anticipated. Their attempts to understand or escape are futile, leading to a downward spiral where the supernatural evil proves overwhelming, often culminating in a definitive, bleak ending.

Why they belong together: These films share a specific emotional and tonal profile: a dark atmosphere, high intensity, a heavy emotional weight, and a conclusion that provides no escape or victory. The focus is on the inevitability of the horror and the lingering threat of evil.

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Movies Like Followed

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Every angle

Followed (2018) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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