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Timeline

Pyewacket (2018) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2018 · 90 min · English
Echo score 62
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Directed by
Adam MacDonald
Starring
Laurie Holden, Romeo Carere, Bianca Melchior, Chloe Rose, Eric Osborne, James McGowan

A grieving teenager, unable to cope with loss, attempts a dark ritual to banish her sorrow. However, her actions inadvertently summon a dangerous supernatural force known as Pyewacket. As the line between the real world and a terrifying darkness fades, she and her mother find themselves targeted by the malevolent entity. Leah must now face the frightening consequences of her actions and fight to protect them both from Pyewacket's wrath.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (13)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
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13 events in order · contains spoilers

Pyewacket Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Pyewacket (2018) 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. Move to remote woodland house after father's death

    After her father's death, Leah and her grieving mother relocate to a remote woodland house to start anew. The quiet, secluded setting forces Leah to leave her school friends behind and begin a new life.

    When
    After father's death
    Where
    Remote woodland house
  2. Leah's confrontation and summoning ritual

    During a fierce argument, Leah voices a wish that her mother would die. She then performs an occult ritual in the forest to summon Pyewacket, intending to kill her mother.

    When
    Night
    Where
    Forest near the house
  3. Leah bonds with mother and regrets

    Shortly after the ritual, Leah and her mother begin to reconnect and show signs of bonding. Leah quickly regrets her actions, realizing the consequences of meddling with dark forces.

    When
    Shortly after ritual
    Where
    Woodland house
  4. Strange noises and dirt in the house

    Unexplained phenomena begin to intrude on their new home, with noises coming from the attic and piles of dirt appearing on the floors. The sense that something unseen is watching them grows more persistent.

    When
    In the days following the ritual
    Where
    House (attic)
  5. Pyewacket drags Leah into the forest

    One night Pyewacket manifests as a shadowy figure in Leah's bedroom and drags her into the forest. She wakes up the next day covered in blood, unsure of what transpired during the night.

    When
    One night
    Where
    Leah's bedroom
  6. Janice agrees to stay overnight to help

    Leah's best friend Janice agrees to stay at Leah's house overnight to help lift the curse. The plan is to support Leah and observe any manifestations.

    When
    That night
    Where
    Leah's house
  7. Janice's fear in the car

    The following morning, Leah and her mother find Janice cowering in the car, too terrified to explain what happened. Her terrified reaction hints at the danger surrounding Leah.

    When
    Morning after overnight stay
    Where
    Outside Leah's house / in car
  8. Rowan Dove warns and instructs reverse ritual

    Leah contacts paranormalist Rowan Dove, who advises performing the same summoning ritual in reverse at the same place. He warns that Pyewacket is a devious shapeshifter and that Leah cannot trust anyone while the curse is active.

    When
    After Janice incident
    Where
    Forest clearing
  9. Leah attempts reverse ritual and finds mother dead

    Leah returns to the forest to perform the reverse ritual but stops when she finds her mother dead nearby and hears her voice calling out. Panic erupts as she tries to make sense of the surreal turn of events.

    When
    During reverse ritual
    Where
    Forest
  10. 911 call and Aaron arrives to pick her up

    In a panic, Leah calls 911 and then asks her friend Aaron to pick her up from the area. She returns toward safety with Aaron, trying to process the horror she has witnessed.

    When
    Immediately after reverse ritual
    Where
    Forest area
  11. Pyewacket confronts Leah at the house

    Back at the house, Pyewacket appears in multiple forms, first as Leah's mother and then as a monstrous hag. Leah hurries to hide in the attic to avoid being harmed.

    When
    That night
    Where
    Leah's house
  12. Leah sets her mother on fire; house burns

    Believing she is killing the demon, Leah douses her mother with gasoline and sets her on fire, which causes the house to catch fire. Aaron arrives to find Leah unconscious outside as the house burns down.

    When
    That night
    Where
    Leah's house
  13. Police interview and reveal of the burned body

    Leah is interviewed by a police detective about her mother's death. The detective plays back a 911 recording in which Leah claimed the body was in the woods. The officers reveal that the only body recovered is a burned one in the ruins of the house.

    When
    After the fire
    Where
    Police station

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:18

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Timeline questions answered

Pyewacket Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Pyewacket (2018): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Leah summon the demon Pyewacket?

Leah summons Pyewacket during a heated argument with her mother after their move to the remote woodland house. Overwhelmed by grief over her father's death and resentment toward her mother for uprooting her life, Leah wishes her mother dead and performs a dark ritual from one of her occult books to call forth the demon.

Foreshadowing: Leah's fascination with black magic and the occult books she reads establish her willingness to pursue dangerous supernatural means.

  • leah
  • pyewacket
  • summoning
  • ritual
  • argument
  • mother
Q2

What is Pyewacket in the movie?

Pyewacket is a dangerous demon from dark folklore that Leah summons using an occult ritual. It is described as a devious shapeshifter by paranormalist Rowan Dove, capable of taking different forms, including appearing as Leah's mother, to deceive and manipulate its victims.

  • pyewacket
  • demon
  • shapeshifter
  • supernatural
Q3

What happens to Janice in the car?

After Janice agrees to stay overnight to help lift the curse, she becomes terrified by something unseen. The next morning, Leah and her mother find Janice cowering in the car, too frightened to speak or explain what happened to her during the night.

  • janice
  • car
  • terror
  • curse
Q4

Is Leah's mother really dead when found in the forest?

During Leah's attempt to perform the reverse ritual, she sees her mother lying dead in the forest clearing. However, the confusion stems from Pyewacket's shapeshifting abilities, the mother Leah sees may have been an illusion, as the demon later appears in the house in the mother's form.

Foreshadowing: Rowan Dove warned that Pyewacket is a devious shapeshifter and Leah must not trust anyone while the curse is active.

  • mother
  • dead
  • forest
  • pyewacket
  • shapeshifter
  • illusion
Q5

Why does Leah set her mother on fire?

Believing the entity that returned home is actually Pyewacket in disguise, Leah convinced herself she is burning the demon to protect herself and her mother. She douses what she thinks is the demon with gasoline and sets it on fire, not realizing she is actually killing her real mother.

Foreshadowing: Rowan Dove's warning about Pyewacket being a shapeshifter plants the seeds of Leah's tragic misunderstanding.

  • leah
  • mother
  • fire
  • gasoline
  • burning
  • pyewacket
  • mistake
Q6

What is the twist ending regarding the body?

Leah made a 911 call claiming her mother's body was in the woods where she found her. However, the police reveal the only body recovered is a burned one found in the ruins of the house. This confirms Leah actually killed her mother in the house fire, not in the forest where she saw the illusion.

Foreshadowing: Leah's panic and confusion after seeing her mother's body in the woods set up the discrepancy between her 911 call and the actual events.

  • body
  • burned
  • house
  • woods
  • police
  • 911 call
  • twist ending
Q7

Did Pyewacket actually kill Leah's mother?

The film implies Pyewacket killed the real mother, likely during the night when the demon dragged Leah into the forest and she woke covered in blood. The mother found dead in the woods was the actual victim, while the entity returning to the house was Pyewacket impersonating her.

Foreshadowing: The timeline shows the real mother was killed while Leah was missing and dragged into the forest by the demon.

  • mother
  • death
  • pyewacket
  • killed
  • real mother
Q8

How does the reverse ritual work?

Paranormalist Rowan Dove instructs Leah to perform the same summoning ritual in the same forest location, but in reverse, to undo the curse. However, Leah stops the ritual prematurely when she sees her mother's body, failing to complete the reversal and leaving the demon active.

  • reverse ritual
  • rowan dove
  • curse
  • undo
  • forest
Q9

Why does Leah's mother come back after being dead?

The mother who returns is not the real mother, it is Pyewacket in disguise. The shapeshifting demon uses this deception to get close to Leah, ultimately leading to the tragic confrontation where Leah mistakenly kills her actual mother.

Foreshadowing: Rowan Dove explicitly warns Leah that Pyewacket is a shapeshifter who can mimic people's appearances.

  • mother
  • returns
  • pyewacket
  • shapeshifter
  • impersonation
Q10

Does Leah regret summoning Pyewacket?

Yes, Leah regrets her actions almost immediately. Shortly after performing the ritual, she reconciles with her mother and begins bonding with her again. She then desperately seeks to undo the curse, contacting Rowan Dove and attempting the reverse ritual.

Foreshadowing: The timeline explicitly shows Leah's regret occurring shortly after the ritual, when she and her mother begin reconnecting.

  • leah
  • regret
  • mother
  • bond
  • reverse ritual

Movie threads

More Movies Like Pyewacket, by Mood & Story

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

Grief-fueled horror movies like Pyewacket

Supernatural horror emerges from the raw, painful emotions of loss and regret. If you liked how Pyewacket used grief to summon a supernatural threat, you'll find similar stories here. These movies explore horror born from loss, where emotional turmoil becomes a tangible, terrifying force, perfect for fans of deeply personal and tragic supernatural tales.

  • grieving
  • supernatural dread
  • regretful
  • oppressive
  • tragic
  • psychological torment
  • Tone: dark, tragic, sorrowful
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically follows a bereaved character whose sorrow leads them to a desperate act—a ritual, an obsession, or a denial of reality. This action inadvertently invites a horror that reflects their inner pain, forcing them to confront their grief in a literal, often deadly, battle.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their core premise: using horror as an externalization of grief. They share a heavy emotional weight, a dark and bleak tone, and a focus on the psychological torment that accompanies loss, creating a specific, harrowing subgenre of horror.

Occult ritual horror movies like Pyewacket

Characters dabbling in dark forces face terrifying and irreversible consequences. Fans of Pyewacket's theme of a ritual backfiring horribly will enjoy these movies. Discover similar stories of characters who summon what they cannot put down, featuring steady-building dread, supernatural threats, and bleak outcomes from meddling with dark forces.

  • occult
  • paranoid
  • regretful
  • supernatural dread
  • consequences
  • anxious
  • Tone: dark, paranoid, grim
  • Pacing: steady, escalating
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The plot revolves around a specific, ill-advised occult act. The story then methodically escalates the paranormal repercussions, focusing on the characters' growing fear and futile attempts to reverse the damage. The ending is often bleak, emphasizing the permanent cost of their actions.

Why they belong together: These films share a core narrative structure: a foolish ritual as the inciting incident, followed by a steady escalation of supernatural terror. They create a cohesive experience defined by paranoia, the theme of unintended consequences, and a claustrophobic sense of inescapable doom.

Every angle

Pyewacket (2018) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Pyewacket 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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