Shaman

The climax unfolds after Elliot’s strange behavior convinces Candice that something dark has taken hold of her son. When Father Meyer’s failed exorcism ends with the priest’s violent death, the family realizes that the usual prayers cannot touch the entity that now inhabits Elliot. Desperate, Candice turns to the local shaman, who tells her that the demon is Supay, the death‑god of the mountain, and that the only way to appease him is to bargain with the spirit itself.

During a night ritual in the shaman’s hut, Supay reveals himself and claims the priest’s blood was a sacrifice to his hunger. The shaman attempts to draw the god out of Elliot, but the spirit seizes the shaman’s body, killing his apprentice and then sacrificing himself in a frantic act meant to close the portal. The sacrifice, however, does nothing to free Elliot; Supay slips back into the boy, whose eyes flare with the cold triumph of the ancient deity.

Seeing no other choice, Candice offers a new price: the life of a young local girl, Tomas, who has been following her family. She lures Tomas into the cave, where Supay claims his new vessel, and Elliot, released from the god’s grip, awakens confused but alive. In the frantic aftermath Candice removes the crucifix she has worn since arriving in Ecuador, a silent acknowledgment that her belief in Christ has been shattered.

The film ends with the family—Candice, Joel, and a bewildered Elliot—leaving the village and driving toward the nearest town. They have survived physically, but the purpose that once drove them is gone, and the trauma of what they have done lingers. The shaman’s death leaves the villagers without their only protector against Supay, suggesting that the death‑god may continue to haunt the community. Candice’s loss of faith, Joel’s lingering doubts, and Elliot’s guilt set the stage for an uncertain future, where the family must confront both external danger and the darkness they have brought into themselves.

Last Updated: August 19, 2025 at 19:41