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Timeline

Lavender (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 92 min · English
JustWatch #7,208 13
Directed by
Ed Gass-Donnelly

A young man becomes entangled in the complicated relationship of an older couple. Drawn to their dynamic, he finds himself at the center of a web of desire and hidden truths. As he grows closer to them, he must confront the simmering tensions and navigate a landscape of deceit and unspoken desires that threaten to unravel everything.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (13)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Lavender
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Lavender (2017)

Where can you watch Lavender? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla and Kanopy: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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13 events in order · contains spoilers

Lavender Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Lavender (2017) 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. 1985: Massacre and survivor identified

    Police inform Patrick that something terrible has happened to his brother's family. They discover the massacre of his brother, sister-in-law, and niece, and find Jane, a blood-splattered teenager, as the lone survivor. The haunting Lavender Blue song plays in the background, underscoring the tragedy. This event seeds the dark past that will haunt the family for years.

    When
    1985
    Where
    1985 farmhouse / police scene
  2. Jane’s upbringing with memory gaps

    Jane is raised by a foster family and grows up with no memory of her immediate family or the tragedy that defined her. The loss remains a secret she cannot access, shaping her cautious, independent nature. Her unclear past quietly influences her choices as an adult.

    When
    1985
    Where
    Foster home
  3. Lavender Blue signals a link to the past

    The Lavender Blue song resurfaces, foreshadowing the connection between Jane’s present and her buried past. It accompanies moments of recognition and eerie recollection that hint at a hidden history. The motif anchors the emotional weight of the mystery.

    When
    1985
  4. 2010: Jane runs a photography studio

    In 2010, Jane owns a studio and photographs abandoned farmhouses to sell. Her marriage to Alan is strained, and memory lapses blur the line between past and present. The tension with her husband and their daughter Alice adds pressure to her everyday life.

    When
    2010
    Where
    Jane’s studio
  5. The farmhouse draws Jane back

    During a photography excursion, Jane is drawn to the farmhouse she photographed years earlier. The place feels simultaneously familiar and dangerous, stirring repressed recollections. The visit marks a crack in her carefully controlled present life.

    When
    2010
    Where
    The farmhouse
  6. Car crash and amnesia

    Jane suffers a serious car crash and wakes up in the hospital unable to recognize Alan or Alice. A doctor explains that the accident worsened a childhood head injury, which is the reason for her missing memories. The event intensifies her struggle to piece together her identity.

    When
    Shortly after the excursion in 2010
    Where
    Hospital
  7. Mysterious gifts and a dangerous clue

    Jane receives a gift—a jack with a photo from 1985 of the farmhouse she recently photographed. Later, another box contains a torn family photo fragment. A local antiques clerk shows a framed 1985 newspaper detailing the massacre and hints that Jane might be involved.

    When
    2010-2011
    Where
    Gifts at home; antiques store
  8. Patrick and Susie urge secrecy

    Jane visits Patrick, her uncle, who tells her she is the only one who knows what happened. Susie reappears in visions and pleads for Jane to hide from the monster. Alice warns of a male presence and the dangers closing in around them.

    When
    2010-2011
    Where
    Patrick’s farm; Susie appears
  9. Susie’s plea and clues from Alice

    Alice reveals that a man was chasing her and suffers an asthma attack, while a nice lady teaches her the Lavender song. The girl’s warnings push Jane toward a buried truth. The atmosphere thickens as the family’s past closes in around the present.

    When
    2010-2011
    Where
    Alice’s home / bedroom
  10. The memory surfaces: Patrick’s crime unfolds

    Jane finally remembers the night of the killings: Patrick reaches the house, Susie hides, and he begins to molest her. Jennifer, Jane’s mother, who also works as the antiques clerk, arrives, and a violent confrontation ends with Jennifer killed by a hammer. Patrick chases Jane; she and Liam collide on the stairs, Liam dies, and Jane is left injured.

    When
    1985
    Where
    Family home / stairs
  11. Revealed paternity and the truth about the spirits

    In a pivotal memory, Jane learns that Liam is her father and that the family’s spirits were trapped, guiding her toward the truth so they could be freed. This revelation reframes the haunting as a moral mediation rather than mere haunting. The living and the dead become tangled in Jane’s psyche as she seeks justice.

    When
    1985
    Where
    Hospital / memory
  12. Present-day confrontation at Patrick’s

    Adult Jane consults with Liam, who explains that the spirits need to be confronted to free them. Alan drops Alice off at Patrick’s, and they rush there as Patrick prepares to harm Alice. Jane defeats Patrick with a shovel and drags him into Susie’s room, leaving him to face the family he harmed.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Patrick’s farm / Susie’s room
  13. Ending: justice and release

    Patrick, restrained and doomed, pleads for his life as the family’s spirits witness the moment. Jane’s actions bring closure to the haunted past, freeing Susie and the others who were trapped. The film closes on Patrick’s desperate cries as the truth ultimately dominates over fear.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Susie’s room / Patrick’s fate

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:17

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Timeline questions answered

Lavender Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Lavender (2017): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Jane have no memory of her family?

Jane cannot remember her family because she suffered a childhood head injury during the night of the 1985 massacre. When she and Liam collided on the stairs during Patrick's attack, she hit her head and lost consciousness. This trauma, combined with the psychological shock of witnessing the murders, caused her brain to block access to those memories. A doctor later explains that the injury disrupted her recall, explaining the memory gaps she's lived with since childhood.

  • jane amnesia
  • memory loss
  • head injury
  • trauma
Q2

What happened to Jane's family in 1985?

In 1985, Patrick (Jane's uncle) arrived at the farmhouse intending to sexually abuse his niece Susie. When Jane and Susie's mother Jennifer intervened, Patrick killed her with a hammer. During the chaotic struggle, Jane ran to get help and collided with Liam (her biological father) on the stairs, causing Liam's death and Jane's head injury. Patrick then killed Susie and took her body as a trophy, framing Liam by placing the murder weapon in his hand. Jane was found blood-stained in the corner, the sole survivor.

  • massacre
  • 1985
  • murders
  • patrick
  • susie
  • jennifer
Q3

Is Liam Jane's father in Lavender?

Yes, Liam is revealed to be Jane's biological father. This is discovered when Jane finds the other half of the torn family photograph inside Susie's music box, which shows Liam as a blurred figure alongside young Jane and Susie. The revelation explains why Liam was present at the house that night and why the spirits guide Jane toward the truth, her own father's death is connected to the traumatic night she must remember.

  • liam father
  • paternity
  • reveal
  • biological father
Q4

Why does Patrick kill the family in Lavender?

Patrick's primary motivation is sexual abuse of his niece Susie. He arrives at the farmhouse specifically to assault Susie, and when Jennifer (the girls' mother and Patrick's sister-in-law) tries to stop him, he kills her with a hammer. After the chaotic struggle that results in Liam's death and Jane's injury, Patrick kills Susie and takes her body, displaying trophy-like behavior that suggests deeper psychological depravity beyond just the immediate assault.

  • patrick motive
  • abuse
  • murder
  • villain
  • uncle
Q5

Why are the spirits haunting Jane in Lavender?

The family spirits (Jennifer, Susie, and Liam) are trapped and cannot move on because the truth about that night was buried. They appear to Jane not to terrorize her, but to guide her toward remembering what happened so they can finally be freed. Adult Liam explains that the imprisoned family spirits need Jane to confront the truth. Their haunting is a plea for justice, not a curse, once Jane faces the reality of what Patrick did, the spirits can find peace.

  • spirits
  • haunting
  • ghosts
  • trapped
  • family
  • supernatural
Q6

Why does Patrick want to hurt Alice?

Patrick targets Alice, Jane's young daughter, because he is repeating the same pattern of abuse and violence he inflicted on Susie in 1985. Alice represents a new victim within his reach, and when Alan brings Alice to Patrick's farm (unaware of the danger), Patrick prepares to harm her. Jane must intervene to stop him, mirroring the original tragedy but preventing history from repeating itself.

  • alice danger
  • patrick
  • child threat
  • sequel pattern
Q7

What does the Lavender Blue song mean in Lavender?

Lavender Blue serves as the film's central motif connecting Jane's past and present. The song plays during the original 1985 massacre, embedding itself in Jane's traumatic memory. When her daughter Alice learns and whispers the lullaby, it signifies the cycle continuing and signals that the past is reaching into the present. The song represents both the haunting legacy of trauma and the connection between Jane, her mother Jennifer, and her sister Susie.

  • lullaby
  • song
  • motif
  • memory
  • lavender blue
Q8

What did Jane do during the night of the massacre?

Jane was present when Patrick attacked the family. She hid under the bed with Susie while Patrick entered the house. When Jennifer was killed and the chaos erupted, Jane ran to get help but collided with Liam on the stairs, causing his death and her own head injury. She was found blood-stained in the corner by police. While she did not kill anyone directly, she witnessed the violence and was the sole survivor who could eventually reveal the truth.

  • jane witness
  • survivor
  • trauma
  • night of
  • role
Q9

Why does Jane own the farmhouse in Lavender?

Jane owns the farmhouse because it belonged to her family before the 1985 massacre. After the tragedy, the property was legally hers as the surviving child, though she was raised in foster care. Her uncle Patrick has cared for the house in her absence, maintaining it while harboring his dark secrets. The property records stun Jane because she had no knowledge of this inheritance, and it becomes the focal point for her repressed memories.

  • farmhouse
  • property
  • ownership
  • inheritance
  • estate
Q10

What happens to Patrick at the end of Lavender?

In the climax, Jane defeats Patrick with a shovel and drags him into Susie's room, forcing him to face the family he destroyed. She gives him a grim ultimatum: he can plead his case to the spirits, but he will not escape their judgment. The film ends with Patrick restrained and pleading as the family's spirits witness his fate. His ultimate death is left ambiguous, but the implication is that he faces supernatural justice for his crimes.

  • ending
  • finale
  • patrick dies
  • justice
  • confrontation

Movie threads

More Movies Like Lavender, by Mood & Story

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

Movies about confronting hidden trauma like Lavender

Protagonists haunted by repressed memories must confront a dark history. For viewers seeking movies like Lavender, this list features psychological dramas and thrillers where characters must uncover a traumatic past. These stories share a heavy emotional weight, a dark tone, and a steady, suspenseful pace as buried secrets and repressed memories come to light.

  • haunting
  • unsettling
  • psychological
  • melancholic
  • gripping
  • atmospheric
  • Tone: dark, melancholic, suspenseful
  • Pacing: steady, investigative
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves a protagonist, often experiencing unsettling fragments of memory or persistent anxiety, who is compelled to investigate their own history. The story methodically peels back layers of denial and concealment, leading to a climactic revelation of a formative, painful event—such as a crime, loss, or abuse—that they must now integrate into their identity.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here based on their shared focus on the psychological process of uncovering and facing trauma. They create a similar viewing experience defined by suspense, melancholy, and a deep exploration of memory, often featuring investigative elements and a pervasive sense of dread about what will be found.

Atmospheric psychological thrillers with a vibe like Lavender

Stories where the environment itself feels charged with unease and threat. If you liked the haunting, oppressive vibe of Lavender, explore these movies that master atmospheric psychological dread. These selections prioritize mood over action, building suspense through setting, sound, and a steady unraveling of sanity, perfect for fans of slow-burn tension.

  • atmospheric
  • oppressive
  • suspenseful
  • uneasy
  • haunting
  • gripping
  • Tone: oppressive, tense, dark
  • Pacing: slow burn, steady
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative often unfolds in a confined or significant location that holds emotional weight. The plot is driven less by external action and more by internal psychological unraveling and the discovery of hidden truths. The pacing is deliberate, allowing the atmosphere to weigh heavily on both the characters and the audience, leading to revelations that feel inevitable within the grim context.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped together because they share a core approach to storytelling: the creation of an immersive, unsettling mood is paramount. They prioritize a consistent tone of dread and suspense, using cinematic techniques to make the viewer feel the psychological pressure the characters experience.

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Every angle

Lavender (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Lavender in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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