Scream for Help (1984) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Paul wants to murder Christie and her mother Karen for their money. He is their stepfather and likely sees them as an obstacle to accessing their financial assets. The motive is purely financial, and Paul manipulates situations to make the deaths appear accidental.

Foreshadowing: Christie first suspects Paul's intentions when she notices him behaving suspiciously around the house and in the basement.

• paul fox
• motive
• murder plot
• stepfather
• money
• christie
• karen

No one believes Christie because she is a teenage girl making serious accusations against an adult authority figure. Paul is convincing in his role as a concerned stepfather and manages to explain away suspicious circumstances, such as his affair with Brenda, as innocent business dealings. Additionally, the police dismiss her as unreliable after Janey's death.

Foreshadowing: When Christie discovers Paul's affair, he convinces Karen that Brenda is merely a client, and Karen chooses to trust him over her daughter.

• unbelieved
• teenager
• police
• trust
• authority
• christie
• paul

The maintenance worker died because Paul set a trap in the basement intended for Christie's mother Karen. Christie had seen Paul leaving the basement the previous night, which made her suspect he had set up the deadly trap. The trap was meant to kill whoever entered the basement, possibly Karen.

Foreshadowing: Christie notices Paul behaving suspiciously around the house and specifically remembers seeing him leave the basement late at night.

• maintenance worker
• basement
• trap
• death
• paul
• accident

Brenda and Lacey are actually secretly married, not just romantically involved. They are working together with Paul in his murder plot, but they have their own agenda: they plan to blackmail Paul after he kills Karen and Christie. Their partnership is revealed when Christie overhears them discussing their blackmail plan.

Foreshadowing: Christie discovers Paul's affair with Brenda and gets caught by Lacey while spying on them, which raises her suspicions about their involvement.

• brenda
• lacey
• married
• secret
• blackmail
• couple
• paul

Paul tampered with the brakes on Karen's car to cause a fatal accident that would appear accidental. This was part of his ongoing plan to murder his wife Karen for her money. The brake failure nearly kills Karen and Christie when they are driving, confirming Paul's willingness to kill directly.

Foreshadowing: After discovering Paul's affair and suspecting his motives, Christie becomes more vigilant about his actions.

• brakes
• car accident
• tampering
• murder attempt
• karen
• paul

Janey is killed in a hit-and-run accident by an unseen driver while fleeing from the motel confrontation with Paul. While it is never definitively proven who drove the car, the timing suggests Paul or his associates orchestrated her death to silence her and eliminate a witness who could corroborate Christie's story.

Foreshadowing: Christie and Janey confront Paul and Brenda at a motel, but Paul spots them and they flee into the night.

• janey
• hit-and-run
• death
• motel
• witness
• paul
• killer

Karen ends up in a wheelchair after Paul sets a trap on the stairs that causes her to fall and sustain serious injuries. This happens around the same time Christie discovers gas in the bathroom, revealing Paul's multi-pronged approach to killing both her and her mother.

Foreshadowing: Paul's pattern of setting traps throughout the house becomes evident as the threats to Karen's life escalate.

• karen
• stairs
• trap
• wheelchair
• injuries
• paul
• accident

Christie discovers gas in the bathroom after Paul interrupts her intimate moment with Josh and orders him to leave. While in the bathroom, Christie detects the gas and realizes Paul intends to kill her as well, completing the picture of his murderous scheme against both her and her mother.

Foreshadowing: The discovery of gas follows the pattern of Paul's earlier attempt to kill someone in the basement with a trap.

• gas
• bathroom
• detection
• murder attempt
• christie
• paul
• smell

Christie escapes by tricking Brenda into leaving to use the bathroom, then having her mother Karen cut the electricity from the basement. This creates a window of darkness and confusion. Later, they further delay their attackers by wetting the fuse box, which ultimately electrocutes Brenda when power is restored. Christie then fights back, stabbing both Lacey and Paul.

Foreshadowing: Christie has been resourceful throughout the film, using her intelligence to gather evidence and evade danger.

• escape
• basement
• electricity
• fuse box
• christie
• karen
• fight
• brenda
• lacey
• paul

Paul dies when he enters the gas-filled bathroom with a lighter. Christie tricks him into thinking she is in the bathroom, and when Paul enters with the lighter to check, the gas ignites, causing an explosion that kills him. This occurs at approximately 2 a.m., the same time Paul, Brenda, and Lacey had planned to murder Christie and Karen.

Foreshadowing: The irony of Paul's own murder method mirrors his plan to kill Christie with gas, turning his weapon against him.

• paul
• explosion
• gas
• bathroom
• lighter
• death
• christie
• trap

Lacey is killed by Christie in the final confrontation. After Paul dies in the explosion and Josh is knocked unconscious by Lacey, Lacey attempts to kill Christie for Brenda's death. Christie defends herself with a knife and stabs Lacey through the stomach, killing him. This occurs after Christie and her mother have relocated to a new safe house.

Foreshadowing: Lacey was determined to avenge Brenda's death, telling Josh he would finish what Brenda started.

• lacey
• final confrontation
• death
• christie
• stabbing
• knife
• avenge
• brenda

Josh helps Christie because he is the boyfriend of her best friend Janey, and he believes her story about Paul despite everyone else dismissing her. Even after Janey's death and the police dismissing Christie's claims, Josh remains loyal and supports her. He also contacts the police when he becomes suspicious at the door, which helps save Christie and Karen.

Foreshadowing: Christie enlists Josh's help early on, convincing him to accompany her to confront Paul about his murderous intentions.

• josh
• support
• loyal
• boyfriend
• janey
• friend
• belief
• christie
• help

Brenda and Lacey are blackmailing Paul because they know about his plan to murder Karen and Christie and are using this knowledge against him. Their plan is to let Paul carry out the murders, then kill him and pin everything on a burglar, keeping both the life insurance money and any other assets for themselves. Their secret marriage makes them a unified team in this scheme.

Foreshadowing: Christie discovers the true nature of Brenda and Lacey's relationship when she overhears them discussing their blackmail plan.

• blackmail
• brenda
• lacey
• paul
• money
• murder
• plan
• secret
• married