Open Graves (2009) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The board game grants a wish to whoever wins, but kills the loser in the manner the game predicts. The curse has existed since medieval Spain when a witch named Mamba was tortured and skinned alive; her skin and organs were used to create the game. The winner receives one wish, but the loser dies according to the game's specific prediction.

Foreshadowing: Malek hints at danger when he gives Jason the game but refuses to explain the rules fully.

• cursed board game
• mamba
• wish
• death game
• rules

Pablo was the first to lose the game. After being eliminated, he left to get beer from his car and drove to a cliff. A group of crabs attacked him, gouging out his eyes and killing him. His death matched the game's prediction exactly, confirming the curse was real.

Foreshadowing: The game begins right after a storm, setting a dark and ominous mood.

• pablo death
• crabs
• first victim
• prediction

Lisa lost the game and began feeling unwell the following morning. She rapidly aged into an elderly woman and was rushed to the hospital, where she eventually died. Her fate was one of the game's predictions, showing the curse manifests in different ways for each victim.

Foreshadowing: Lisa starts feeling unwell at the factory photo shoot, hinting at her doom.

• lisa aging
• old woman
• rapid aging
• game prediction

Malek was the previous owner of the cursed board game. He had won the game years earlier and used his wish to be cured of his disability. After winning, he passed the game to Jason, which is how the curse transferred to the new group of friends.

Foreshadowing: Malek warns Jason about the game but refuses to fully explain, likely to avoid revealing his own past involvement.

• malek disability
• wish
• previous winner
• cured

Erica lost the game and learned her death would involve the sea. To allow Jason to receive his wish, she willingly entered the water. She was then possessed by Mamba, who used her body to grant Jason's wish while ensuring the curse would continue.

Foreshadowing: Erica's prediction is revealed before she walks into the sea, creating a tragic sacrifice moment.

• erica death
• sea
• sacrifice
• possessed by mamba

Jason won the game and wished for everything to go back to the week before they first played it, hoping to save his friends from dying. The wish required him to pass the game to someone else, which Detective Izar inadvertently does when he takes the game.

Foreshadowing: Jason and Erica decide to play specifically to reverse time and save their friends.

• jason wish
• reverse time
• save friends
• time travel

Although Jason's wish erased the game and brought everyone back to life, Mamba twisted the wish into an endless time loop. Jason and his friends are now trapped reliving the same traumatic week forever, unable to escape the curse's cycle.

Foreshadowing: Mamba's sinister nature is established from the beginning as a vengeful witch.

• time loop
• ending
• trapped
• forever
• cycle

Mamba was a witch in medieval Spain who was tortured and skinned alive for her crimes. Her skin and organs were used to create the cursed board game. She remains a supernatural entity who grants wishes but enforces the deadly rules, ultimately possessing Erica to continue her curse.

Foreshadowing: The opening scene shows Mamba's torture and the creation of the game.

• mamba witch
• origin
• medieval spain
• curse creator

When Detective Izar arrived at the beach, he took the board game from Jason and Erica. This action inadvertently made him the new holder of the curse, passing the game to him as required by the game's rules for the wish to be granted.

Foreshadowing: Izar had been investigating the deaths and was determined to obtain the game.

• detective izar
• takes game
• new owner
• curse transfer

Miguel lost the game and traveled to his family's empty wood-cutting factory with Tomas and Lisa. When Lisa and Tomas left, Miguel remained alone and fell into a pit of snakes that killed him, fulfilling the game's prediction for his fate.

Foreshadowing: The factory setting is isolated and dangerous, hinting at Miguel's doom.

• miguel death
• snakes
• factory
• prediction

Elena lost the game and was traveling home when she was involved in a car accident that killed her. Her death matched the game's prediction, continuing the pattern of the curse killing each loser in ways that mirror what was foretold.

Foreshadowing: After learning about the curse, Elena heads home alone, setting up her tragic fate.

• elena death
• car accident
• prediction
• curse

The game's rules state that the winner receives their wish only if they pass the game to another person. This keeps the curse alive and ensures it spreads through new victims. When Jason won, passing the game became necessary for his wish to take effect.

Foreshadowing: This rule is why Malek gave the game to Jason in the first place.

• pass game
• winner rule
• curse spread
• transfer