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The Grapes of Death (1978) movie poster

Timeline

The Grapes of Death (1978) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
1978 · 91 mins · French
JustWatch #9,541 8
Starring
Serge Marquand, Jean Rollin, Jean-Pierre Bouyxou, Brigitte Lahaie, Patrice Valota, Patricia Cartier

When the wine flows, the terror begins… A young woman discovers that the pesticide being sprayed on vineyards is turning people into murderous lunatics.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (12)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like The Grapes of Death
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch The Grapes of Death (1978)

Where can you watch The Grapes of Death? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on AMC+, Philo and Shudder: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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12 events in order · contains spoilers

The Grapes of Death Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of The Grapes of Death (1978) 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. Pesticide spraying at Roublès vineyard

    At Roublès, workers spray the vineyard fields with pesticides. One worker falls ill with a pain in his neck, but his boss dismisses it as a minor injury and sends him back to work. The careless handling foreshadows the contamination that will follow.

    When
    daytime (before Elizabeth's journey)
    Where
    Roublès vineyard fields
  2. Elizabeth's train journey and the infected worker

    Elizabeth travels by train to Roublès to live with her fiancé Michel, owner of the vineyard. She befriends Brigitte on the train; Brigitte excuses herself to visit the restroom and never returns. A vineyard worker boards the train, encounters Brigitte, and later joins Elizabeth in her compartment; soon his neck ulcer swells and oozes blood, panicking Elizabeth who escapes, stumbling upon Brigitte's corpse.

    When
    During train journey
    Where
    Train compartment
  3. Elizabeth seeks help in a village; Pierre and Antoinette take her in

    Elizabeth leaves the train and flees to a nearby village for help. Pierre and his daughter Antoinette take her in, though they greet her with cold caution. Elizabeth notices Pierre's disfigured arms, and Antoinette explains that the dead woman is her mother and that her father has become insane.

    When
    shortly after arrival
    Where
    Nearby village
  4. Pierre's attack and Antoinette's death

    Pierre, now with the same facial ulcers, confronts Elizabeth and rips open Antoinette's blouse to reveal the ulcers. He kills Antoinette with a pitchfork as Elizabeth watches in horror. Elizabeth escapes and later runs Pierre down with his own car when he blocks her path.

    When
    that night
    Where
    Pierre's house and road
  5. Elizabeth flees for help and shoots a sick man

    Elizabeth continues toward help, moving through the countryside. A man with an ulcerated head blocks the road and begs for aid, and in a panic she shoots him after he bangs the car window. Her flight intensifies as infection chaos spreads around her.

    When
    aftermath of village incident
    Where
    Countryside
  6. Elizabeth meets Lucie, the blind girl

    Elizabeth encounters a blind girl named Lucie who is searching for her caregiver, Lucas. She helps Lucie and together they encounter more bodies with the same ulcers and others staggering about like zombies. The outbreak closes in as Elizabeth protects Lucie and presses on.

    When
    as she travels
    Where
    Village outskirts
  7. Lucie is killed by Lucas

    Lucie runs off hoping to find Lucas, but he is infected and kills her, decapitating her in the process. The village erupts into a frenzy as the infected chase Elizabeth. She continues fleeing toward help, driven by fear and desperation.

    When
    immediate aftermath
    Where
    Village outskirts
  8. Blonde rescuer and explosive doom

    A blonde woman rescues Elizabeth from the infected and helps her flee, though she has been trapped in a house for days. The woman is revealed to be infected when Elizabeth and two others encounter her, shown by boils on her face. She attempts to escape with Paul and Lucien, who escort her to a truck; the trio fight, and the blonde drops a torch onto an open dynamite crate, blowing up the truck and killing herself.

    When
    escape sequence
    Where
    House, then by the truck
  9. Escape from village; wine festival timing

    Elizabeth, Paul, and Lucien leave the village on foot, deducing the outbreak began after a wine festival the previous Sunday. They decide to return to the vineyard to seek answers and possibly contact Michel. The journey intensifies as the infected roam around while they press toward the estate.

    When
    after explosion
    Where
    Village outskirts to Roublès vineyard
  10. Michel reveals tainted pesticide and illegal labor

    At the vineyard they find Michel, infected yet lucid, who explains that he invented the pesticide that tainted the wine and sparked the outbreak. He admits he employed immigrants illegally to cut costs, which prevented him from warning authorities. He urges Elizabeth to stay away, even as his words reveal the horror behind the contamination.

    When
    inside the vineyard
    Where
    Roublès vineyard
  11. Confrontation ends in deaths and infection

    In a tense confrontation, Paul shoots Michel after the latter leaps toward him; Elizabeth, now seemingly infected, takes Paul's gun and shoots him in turn. She ambushes Lucien when he comes looking for them, killing him as the outbreak closes in. The trio's respite collapses and the infection overtakes them.

    When
    climax sequence
    Where
    Vineyard grounds
  12. Final image: Elizabeth embraces the infection

    The film ends with Elizabeth standing in the loft above the vineyard as Michel's blood drips onto her face. The act suggests she has accepted the infection and may be becoming one of the infected. The ending leaves the fate of Elizabeth deliberately ambiguous.

    When
    end
    Where
    Loft above Roublès vineyard

Last updated: May 05, 2026 at 10:08

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Timeline questions answered

The Grapes of Death Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of The Grapes of Death (1978): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

How did the pesticide end up in the wine?

Michel invented a pesticide that was used on the vineyard fields. It appears the chemical contaminated the grapes or wine production process, turning anyone who drank the wine into a violent, infected person. The contamination spread rapidly through the village after a wine festival held the previous Sunday.

Foreshadowing: Early in the film, a vineyard worker falls ill with a neck pain after spraying the fields, but his boss dismisses it as a minor injury.

  • pesticide
  • wine
  • contamination
  • Michel
  • vineyard
  • outbreak
Q2

Why did the vineyard worker attack Elizabeth on the train?

The worker had already been infected with the pesticide-related illness. As the disease progressed, it caused painful neck ulcers and drove victims into a murderous frenzy. When he encountered Elizabeth in her compartment, the infection had advanced to the point of violent outbursts.

Foreshadowing: The worker had been working with the pesticide earlier and his boss noted he was already in pain.

  • vineyard worker
  • attack
  • train
  • infection
  • ulcer
Q3

What happened to Brigitte on the train?

Brigitte went to use the restroom and never returned because she was killed by the infected vineyard worker. Elizabeth later stumbled over Brigitte's corpse while fleeing the train car.

Foreshadowing: The train's atmosphere grows tense when Brigitte excuses herself and does not come back right away.

  • Brigitte
  • death
  • train
  • Elizabeth
Q4

Why did Pierre kill his wife and attack Elizabeth and Antoinette?

Pierre had consumed the contaminated wine and was in the advanced stages of the infection. The disease causes mental deterioration alongside physical symptoms. He killed his wife in a psychotic episode and later attacked his own daughter Antoinette and Elizabeth when his condition worsened, evidenced by the grotesque ulcers covering his body.

Foreshadowing: Elizabeth notices Pierre's arms are badly infected and disfigured when she first arrives, and Antoinette explains her father has become insane.

  • Pierre
  • kills wife
  • Antoinette
  • infection
  • madness
Q5

How did the infection spread so quickly through the village?

The contamination spread through the wine supply. The village held a wine festival the previous Sunday, distributing the contaminated wine to many residents at once. Once people drank it, the disease took hold rapidly, causing victims to become violent and spread the infection through attacks, creating a cascading outbreak.

Foreshadowing: Elizabeth, Paul, and Lucien deduce the outbreak began after the wine festival.

  • village
  • infection
  • spread
  • wine festival
  • contaminated wine
Q6

Why did the blonde woman blow up the truck?

The blonde woman was already infected, though she had been hiding it while trapped in the house. When Elizabeth and the others discovered her boils during a struggle, she realized she could not escape. In a final act, she hurled the torch into a dynamite crate in the truck, causing an explosion that killed her and destroyed the vehicle.

Foreshadowing: The woman had been trapped in a house for days and was never actually safe.

  • blonde woman
  • truck
  • explosion
  • infection
  • dynamite
Q7

Is Elizabeth infected at the end of the movie?

The film strongly implies Elizabeth has become infected. After Michel attacks Paul, Elizabeth is shown seizing the gun and shooting Paul, behavior consistent with the infection's violent effects. The final shot shows her allowing Michel's infected blood to drip onto her face, suggesting she has accepted or succumbed to the infection. The outcome remains deliberately ambiguous.

Foreshadowing: Elizabeth takes Paul's gun and shoots him, then kills Lucien, the violent behavior that marks other infected characters.

  • Elizabeth
  • infection
  • ending
  • blood
  • Michel
Q8

Why did Michel never report the outbreak to authorities?

Michel used illegal immigrant labor to cut costs at the vineyard. Knowing the pesticide was dangerous and having employed undocumented workers, he feared legal consequences if he reported the contamination. His choice to prioritize profit and avoid immigration authorities indirectly enabled the outbreak to spread unchecked.

Foreshadowing: The pesticide spraying scene shows careless handling of dangerous chemicals by workers under pressure.

  • Michel
  • illegal labor
  • outbreak
  • police
  • pesticide
Q9

How did Lucas become infected and kill Lucie?

Lucas was the blind girl Lucie's caregiver, but he had consumed the contaminated wine and become infected. When Lucie went searching for him, she found him already in the advanced stages of the illness. The infection caused him to attack and decapitate Lucie, showing the disease affects even those caring for the vulnerable.

Foreshadowing: Lucie is a blind girl searching for her caregiver in a dangerous, infected world.

  • Lucas
  • Lucie
  • blind girl
  • decapitation
  • infection
Q10

What are the symptoms of the pesticide infection?

The infection progresses in stages: initial pain (often in the neck), followed by ugly ulcers that ooze blood appearing on the body, mental deterioration causing violent outbursts, and finally victims become mindless predators. The physical ulcers are visible and painful, while the mental collapse drives infected individuals to murder those around them.

Foreshadowing: The vineyard worker first complains of neck pain, then develops the characteristic ulcers.

  • symptoms
  • ulcers
  • infection
  • progression
  • violence
Q11

Why did Elizabeth kill Paul and Lucien?

By the climax, Elizabeth herself appears to have become infected. When Michel lunges at Paul in a panicked attack, Paul shoots Michel. Elizabeth then seizes the gun and shoots Paul, mirroring the violent behavior of other infected characters. She later ambushes and kills Lucien when he confronts them. The infection appears to have clouded her judgment and triggered murderous impulses.

Foreshadowing: Elizabeth begins displaying violent behavior only after being in the village and near infected individuals for an extended period.

  • Elizabeth
  • Paul
  • Lucien
  • kills
  • shooting
  • infection
Q12

When did the outbreak actually begin?

The outbreak began after a wine festival held the previous Sunday in the village. The contaminated wine was distributed to many residents during the festival, causing a rapid spread of the infection. By the time Elizabeth arrives on the train, the village is already overwhelmed with violent infected victims.

Foreshadowing: Elizabeth finds bodies and chaos throughout the village, suggesting the outbreak has been ongoing.

  • wine festival
  • timeline
  • outbreak
  • Sunday
  • village

Movie threads

More Movies Like The Grapes of Death, by Mood & Story

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

Rural Outbreak Horror Movies like The Grapes of Death

Isolated communities consumed by a terrifying and inexplicable infection. If you liked The Grapes of Death, explore more movies about terrifying infections spreading through isolated communities. These films feature desperate survival, gruesome body horror, and the breakdown of society in rural settings, creating a uniquely oppressive and anxious atmosphere.

  • desperate
  • gruesome
  • paranoid
  • oppressive
  • gory
  • nightmarish
  • Tone: dark, desperate, bleak
  • Pacing: fast, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These narratives typically follow a linear, survival-focused plot where a protagonist or small group discovers a horrifying threat—a virus, parasite, or contamination—that is transforming the local population into murderous beings. The story is a frantic flight from one perilous encounter to the next, with escalating violence and a growing sense of hopelessness as the scale of the outbreak becomes clear.

Why they belong together: They are grouped by their shared setting of rural isolation, a fast-paced plot centered on a horrific outbreak, and a consistently dark, gruesome tone. The experience is defined by high-intensity scares, heavy emotional weight from the pervasive violence, and a bleak worldview where safety is an illusion.

Graphic Body Horror Movies like The Grapes of Death

Graphic, visceral tales where the human form is monstrously transformed. Fans of The Grapes of Death's gruesome and gory horror will find more to love here. This list features movies with intense, practical effects-driven body horror, graphic violence, and a focus on the monstrous transformation of the human form, delivering a relentlessly disturbing experience.

  • gory
  • gruesome
  • disturbing
  • visceral
  • nightmarish
  • brutal
  • Tone: dark, gruesome, disturbing
  • Pacing: fast, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative often serves as a simple framework to deliver a series of escalating, inventive, and deeply unsettling bodily violations. The plot is straightforward, propelling characters from one horrific set-piece to the next. The emotional journey is one of revulsion, shock, and primal fear, with thematic undertones of contamination, loss of identity, and societal decay.

Why they belong together: They are united by a primary focus on depicting graphic body horror and extreme violence as a central feature of the viewing experience. They share a high intensity level, a dark and bleak tone, and a heavy emotional weight derived from their disturbing and visceral content. The pacing is typically fast, ensuring a constant, oppressive sense of dread.

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Every angle

The Grapes of Death (1978) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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