Mandrake

Mandrake

Year: 2022

Runtime: 85 min

Language: English

Director: Lynne Davison

Horror

Probation officer Cathy Madden is assigned to rehabilitate Mary Laidlaw, a woman known as "Bloody" Mary, and confront her own buried past in the process. When two children mysteriously disappear near Mary’s farm, Cathy begins to question her belief in redemption and the possibility of forgiveness. The disappearances force her to confront the potential for darkness within both Mary and herself, blurring the lines between good and evil.

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Mandrake (2022) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Mandrake (2022), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

A probation officer named Cathy Madden (the ever-talented Deirdre Mullins) finds herself tangled in a sinister web after taking over the supervision of Mary Laidlaw, also known as Bloody Mary, portrayed by Derbhle Crotty. Released from prison after serving two decades for the murder of her husband, Mary carries the heavy burden of a dark past and the label of a witch. The tragic fate that befell Mary is brought to light by her chief, Bill Rosewater, played by Nigel O’Neill, who reveals the horrific abuse that led Mary to retaliate against her husband after he brutally set her on fire upon discovering her with another man. The tale strikes a chord with Cathy, who, moved by her compassion, decides to give Mary a chance at redemption.

Cathy, as part of her supervision duties, places a monitoring tag on Mary’s leg, aiming to track her movements and ensure she stays out of trouble. However, her encounters with Mary reveal a house steeped in eerie indications of devil worship and dark rituals. It seems that Mary possesses an unsettling ability to read minds, including Cathy’s, which puts Cathy in a vulnerable position. She, a single mother with shared custody of her son, Luke, has her life laid bare before Mary, who learns about Cathy’s tumultuous relationship with her estranged husband, Jason, played by Paul Kennedy.

As the story unfolds, Mary becomes embroiled in a series of alarming events, including suspicions surrounding her links to the murders of two children and a young man named Shawn Duggan (Jonny Everett). Cathy, although pressured by the parents of the deceased, refuses to believe Mary is capable of such heinous acts. Still, she visits Mary to confront her directly, only to uncover chilling truths that threaten her very existence.

In folklore, the Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a type of mythological plant that is used in Witchcraft.

The concept of the Mandrake looms over the narrative, symbolizing the birth of Evil that Mary seeks to unleash. Agonizingly, Mary attempts to cultivate this darkness by sacrifices, and Cathy’s journey turns increasingly perilous. During one harrowing encounter, Mary and her son Thomas (Seamus O’Hara) overpower and chain Cathy, subjecting her to a nightmarish ritual meant to uproot the malevolent plant. In a gruesome turn of events, Cathy witnesses Mary extracting a blood-like liquid from the Mandrake’s root – a substance she believes could save Thomas, who suffers from a mysterious ailment.

The depth of Mary’s dark desires are revealed as Cathy, upon awakening, realizes that Mary is indeed a witch with unthinkable powers. The truth about Mary’s past murders, including her husband’s and the children’s, dawns upon her with bone-chilling clarity. The tension escalates further as Cathy falls into a frantic struggle to escape from Mary’s grasp, leading to a cascading series of confrontations where those who are drawn into Mary’s orbit meet tragic ends.

At one tumultuous point, Jason bursts into Mary’s lair seeking Cathy’s aid, only to fall victim to Mary’s illusionary tactics, believing he is engaging with his pregnant wife, Grace, flavored with dread. Meanwhile, Cathy desperately searches for her son Luke, who has fallen into Thomas’s clutches, spurring her into a harrowing fight for survival.

In the climactic moments, as Cathy manages to liberate herself and Luke from the nightmarish realm of Mary, the film edges toward a shocking resolution. The malevolence that defined Mary’s existence continues to weave itself into Cathy’s life, suggesting that the curses and the ancient evil represented by the Mandrake have not merely vanished. In a final twist of fate, Mary’s own despair and rage culminate in a dramatic scene, leaving the audience to ponder whether the darkness of her legacy has truly ended or if it merely lies in wait, ready to haunt Cathy and Luke in the shadows.

Thus, Mandrake intricately explores themes of vengeance, redemption, and the haunting evils buried within human relationships, casting a spell that lingers far beyond the screen.

Last Updated: November 25, 2024 at 19:24

Ending Explained – What Happens at the End of Mandrake?

Still wondering what the ending of Mandrake (2022) really means? Here’s a spoiler-heavy breakdown of the final scene, major twists, and the deeper themes that shape the film’s conclusion.

In the end, Cathy manages to escape Mary’s terrifying house with her son, but the events unfold with a dark and unsettling conclusion. Mary’s true motives were rooted in witchcraft; she was practicing devil worship primarily to restore her son’s health. To do this, she sacrificed her husband, the children, and Duggan, believing that uprooting and extracting the blood from a magical mandrake root would bring her son back to life or preserve his youth. Throughout the film, it becomes clear that Mary’s rituals and murders are driven by her obsession with power and revival, which leads her to perform gruesome sacrifices.

Despite her seemingly sympathetic facade, Mary was a dangerous witch who was willing to kill any number of innocent people for her rituals. Cathy, having witnessed the horrors and the extent of Mary’s witchcraft, manages to flee from her and her house. However, the film suggests that Mary’s influence might not end there. As Cathy leaves, she inadvertently brings a piece of that dark magic with her—the bloody liquid from the mandrake root still lingers, and she carries the cursed root home. This implies that evil has not been fully eradicated and that Cathy’s encounter with the witchcraft might have left her forever marked by its dark power.

The final scenes show Cathy unsure of her future, gazing into a mirror while holding a baby, possibly her own or another child, with the cursed root still present. The film hints that Mary’s witchcraft might have possessed Cathy, risking her becoming another vessel for evil. Mary’s confrontation with her own fate, either by setting her house ablaze or succumbing to her demonic practices, leaves the ending open to interpretation, but it emphasizes that the darkness of her witchcraft may continue to haunt those involved. Overall, the movie ends on an ominous note, suggesting that the sinister forces summoned by Mary might not be fully gone and that the cycle of evil could persist beyond the story’s conclusion.

Last Updated: June 25, 2025 at 09:01

Unlock the Full Story of Mandrake

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Mandrake Timeline

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Mandrake Timeline

Characters, Settings & Themes in Mandrake

Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Mandrake. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.

Characters, Settings & Themes in Mandrake

Mandrake Ending Explained

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Mandrake Ending Explained

More About Mandrake

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