Hex (1973) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Oriole casts the hex after Giblets attempts to assault her sister Acacia in the barn during the night. As the more protective and stern sister, Oriole uses her father's shamanic heritage to defend Acacia and punish the intruder. The hex is a deadly curse that gradually kills each biker who threatens the sisters.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the sisters' father is established as a shaman with Native American heritage, hinting that they possess supernatural abilities.

• hex
• oriole
• giblets
• assault
• shamanic powers

After Oriole casts the hex, an owl attacks Giblets outside the barn, tearing into his eyes and killing him. The owl attack is the supernatural mechanism of the hex, Oriole's curse manifests physically through the bird, exacting a gruesome, symbolic death on the biker who threatened her sister.

• owl attack
• giblets death
• hex
• supernatural killing

Oriole performs a ritual using strands of China's hair placed inside a toad's mouth, which she then sews shut. This creates a supernatural link between China and the toad, binding China to the farm's haunted atmosphere. The toad serves as an effigy, harm done to the toad is reflected on China, which is how Oriole ultimately kills her.

Foreshadowing: The ritual demonstrates Oriole's willingness to use her shamanic powers aggressively, marking a shift from protective to malevolent magic.

• toad ritual
• hair
• china
• shamanic magic
• effigy

Oriole kills China by crushing the toad at the swimming hole, which causes China, hidden in the house, to die. This happens after Acacia pleads with Oriole to release China, but Oriole chooses not to spare her. The murder represents the corruption of the sisters' shared heritage: Acacia rejects Oriole's use of their father's shamanic powers for evil, causing a permanent rift between them.

Foreshadowing: The toad ritual earlier establishes that China is magically bound to the toad, making her death inevitable once Oriole decides to follow through.

• china death
• toad
• oriole
• acacia
• sisters rift

No, Whizzer is not a real veteran. China reveals that he is actually an ex-mechanic from Kansas City who has fabricated an entire identity as a war hero. His tall tales about military exploits are completely invented, and this revelation unsettles the group and strains trust, particularly with the sisters.

• whizzer
• veteran
• ex-mechanic
• kansas city
• fake identity

Chupo attacks Whizzer while under Acacia's spell. Earlier, Acacia has been using some form of influence or magic on the bikers, and Chupo becomes compelled to turn on Whizzer. Whizzer defends himself by fatally slashing Chupo with a sickle, a violent confrontation watched by Oriole from the shadows.

• chupo
• whizzer
• attack
• sickle
• acacia spell

Acacia rejects Oriole after China is killed through the toad ritual. When Acacia pleads for China's release, Oriole instead crushes the toad, murdering China. This misuse of their father's shamanic heritage for deliberate evil causes Acacia to renounce Oriole and reject the use of those powers. The sisters' bond fractures permanently over this moral divergence.

• acacia
• oriole
• sisters
• rift
• shaman powers

The four fighter jets streaking overhead as Oriole and Whizzer ride away represent the broader world beyond the farm, a reminder of post-war tensions, violence, and longing for a better future. The jets symbolize that the war may have ended, but military violence and uncertainty persist. The image closes the film on an ominous, uncertain note, contrasting the personal resolutions with larger historical forces.

• fighter jets
• ending
• symbolism
• war
• future

As Whizzer and Golly prepare to leave for California, Oriole dons her father's shamanic regalia and uses her powers to ignite the motorcycles. This act represents her attempt to prevent their departure or control their fate. Whizzer stops her before she collapses, interrupting what could have become a catastrophic explosion.

• motorcycles
• fire
• oriole
• whizzer
• shaman regalia

The sisters inherit their shamanic powers from their father, who was a Native American shaman. This heritage shapes their identity and how they respond to strangers on their farm. Oriole embraces and uses these powers defensively and later aggressively, while Acacia eventually rejects using them for harm.

• sisters
• shaman
• father
• native american
• supernatural powers

Jimbang attempts to shoot Oriole during a paranoid outburst, but the gun misfires and kills him instead. His death comes as the tensions on the farm escalate and the remaining bikers grow desperate to escape. The misfire underscores the farm's atmosphere of doom and the futility of violence against the sisters.

• jimbangan
• death
• misfire
• gun
• shooting