Last Night (1999) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

After Sandra learns that Duncan was killed by a mob, she returns to Patrick's apartment and asks him to join the suicide pact she had made with Duncan. Both are holding loaded pistols to each other's temples as midnight approaches. However, in a devastating emotional moment, they both lower their weapons and embrace in a kiss, choosing human connection over mutual destruction as the world ends.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Sandra mentions she and Duncan had formed a suicide pact to avoid suffering through the apocalypse, establishing the dark plan that brings her to this moment.

• sandra
• patrick
• roof scene
• pistols
• kiss
• suicide pact
• ending

Duncan is killed by a mob in the final hours of the apocalypse. After opening his door upon hearing a gunshot outside, he is taken hostage by a man named Marty and subsequently killed. Sandra later learns of his death when she listens to his voicemail on Patrick's phone.

Foreshadowing: Duncan's death is hinted at when he is shown reassuring customers that the gas will stay on until the very end, a promise he makes while unknowingly walking toward his own demise.

• duncan
• mob death
• marty
• killed

Before the night of the apocalypse, Sandra and Duncan agreed that instead of surviving the catastrophic event, they would end their lives together to avoid the suffering of the end. This pact is why Sandra desperately tries to reach Duncan and why she later asks Patrick to join her in it when she cannot reunite with her husband.

Foreshadowing: Sandra's urgency to contact Duncan stems from their prior arrangement, and her return to Patrick's apartment when all other options fail creates the context for this request.

• suicide pact
• duncan
• sandra
• dying together

Patrick refuses Craig's repeated offers for sex despite Craig's insistence that everyone should fulfill their fantasies before the world ends. Patrick genuinely loves Craig but cannot bring himself to participate in what he sees as Craig's indiscriminate approach to the final hours. He wants to find a meaningful connection rather than just physical release.

Foreshadowing: Craig's omnisexual philosophy and his attempts to 'inspire' Patrick are established early, making Patrick's refusal a consistent character choice throughout the night.

• patrick
• craig
• rejection
• love
• sex
• final hours

After her car is vandalized at the supermarket, Sandra finds herself stranded and needs to use a phone to contact her husband Duncan. She goes to Patrick's apartment because she had previously written down his address, possibly as a previous acquaintance. Patrick lets her in to use his phone, beginning their reluctant alliance for the night.

Foreshadowing: The sequence of Sandra's car being vandalized directly forces her into Patrick's orbit, creating the circumstances for their entire relationship arc.

• sandra
• patrick
• apartment
• car
• stranded
• phone

After Patrick convinces Craig to lend Sandra a car, she attempts to drive through the city to reach Duncan. However, protesters block her path, vandalize the borrowed car, and prevent her from continuing. She is forced to abandon the vehicle and return to Patrick's apartment, where she ultimately learns of Duncan's death.

Foreshadowing: The borrowed car represents Sandra's last hope of reuniting with Duncan, and its destruction marks the point of no return in her journey.

• sandra
• craig car
• protesters
• vandalized
• blocked

In his voicemail, which Sandra listens to on Patrick's phone, Duncan assures his power company customers that the heating gas will stay on 'til the end. It's a message meant to calm fears about utility services during the crisis. Sandra hears this recording after Duncan is already dead, learning of his fate too late to save him or reunite.

Foreshadowing: This voicemail represents Duncan's final message, a mundane professional assurance that takes on tragic weight given his subsequent death.

• duncan
• voicemail
• gas
• power company
• message

Craig believes that since the world is ending, there is no reason to hold back on any desire or fantasy. He identifies as omnisexual and wants to experience everything possible before midnight. He sees his approach not as belittling Patrick but as attempting to inspire him to truly live in the final hours rather than holding back.

Foreshadowing: Craig's philosophy is introduced through his intimate scenes with Lily, where he tries to check off every sexual milestone, establishing his worldview before he presses Patrick.

• craig
• fantasies
• omnisexual
• end of world
• live moment

A local DJ spends the final hours spinning what he calls the 'Top 500 of All Time,' a playlist heavy on early-70s pop from acts like The 5th Dimension, Looking Glass, and Edward Bear. He giggles that it's 'According to me!' as the city listens. This serves as both darkly comic background and a bittersweet soundtrack to the apocalypse, representing human culture persisting to the very end.

Foreshadowing: The music plays throughout the evening, becoming an ambient thread that connects the scattered characters across Toronto.

• dj
• top 500
• soundtrack
• music
• radio
• 70s pop

As midnight approaches, Craig meets up with Donna and struggles to believe she is a virgin, which causes her shame. However, Craig manages to reframe the moment sensitively, and they have sex together. This represents another character finding connection through physical intimacy in the final hours.

Foreshadowing: Donna was previously shown turning up the music in the power company building after Duncan left, establishing her separate storyline before converging with Craig.

• donna
• craig
• sex
• virginity
• midnight
• intimacy

Sandra is trying to gather leftover supplies from the supermarket in the final hours before the apocalypse. With the city in panic and resources becoming scarce, she attempts to stretch whatever food she can find to survive the last night. This practical act of survival contrasts with the larger existential crisis unfolding around her.

Foreshadowing: Her scavenging leads directly to her car being vandalized, which sets in motion her entire journey to Patrick's apartment.

• sandra
• supermarket
• scavenging
• food
• supplies

When Patrick initially refuses Sandra's request to join the suicide pact, he asks to know her better first and to find a reason to love her before committing to dying together. They share stories about their lost loved ones, Patrick revealing his own significant loss, and in doing so, they find the human connection that ultimately leads them to choose life (or at least each other) over their deadly plan.

Foreshadowing: This conversation occurs after Sandra's plan to reach Duncan fails, creating the emotional space where Patrick and Sandra's relationship deepens.

• patrick
• sandra
• stories
• love
• connection
• personal histories

In the final hour, Duncan hears a gunshot on the street and opens his door to investigate. He is then taken hostage by a man named Marty. This act of curiosity or civic concern leads directly to Duncan's death at the hands of a mob, underscoring how even small acts carry deadly consequences in the chaos of the apocalypse.

Foreshadowing: Duncan's character has been established as someone who tries to provide stability (reassuring customers about gas), and his death comes from a moment of attempting to help or understand his environment.

• duncan
• marty
• hostage
• gunshot
• door