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Plot Summary

The Innocents (2022) Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Release, runtime and language
2022 · 117 min · Norwegian
Echo score 89
JustWatch #14,380 877
Directed by
Eskil Vogt
Starring
Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Irina Eidsvold Tøien, Kadra Yusuf, Lisa Tønne, Marius Kolbenstvedt
Budget
$3.4M

During a bright Nordic summer, a group of children uncover extraordinary abilities. As they explore their powers, a disturbing darkness emerges, threatening their innocence and exposing a sinister presence hidden within their seemingly idyllic surroundings. The children must confront the escalating danger and the terrifying reality of their newfound abilities.

On this page (7)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 How it ends
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Movies like The Innocents
  7. 7 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch The Innocents (2022)

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

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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in The Innocents: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of The Innocents (2022) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

Lonely young girl Ida and her older sister Anna have recently settled into a new apartment with their parents. Anna, who has nonverbal autism, relies on Ida for support and care. One fateful day, Ida meets Ben, and the two quickly form a friendship. To Ida's astonishment, Ben reveals he possesses telekinetic abilities, enabling him to move small objects with his mind.

Things take a turn when Ida is tasked with taking Anna to the playground. However, she leaves Anna unsupervised for a bit to enjoy some football with Ben. Their fun is interrupted when a bully snatches their ball. Later, out of curiosity and perhaps a dark whim, Ben picks up a stray cat he noticed in the woods, and the two decide to drop it from the top of their apartment complex. While they find the cat unharmed initially, a horrific moment follows: at Ida's urging to leave the cat alone, Ben kills it by crushing its skull with his foot.

The day becomes darker as Ida searches for Anna, only to find her playing with another child, Aisha, who lives in their building. Astonishingly, Aisha communicates with Anna through telepathy, revealing that Anna has her own latent powers of telekinesis. As Ida observes this newfound connection, it becomes clear that Anna, Aisha, and Ben thrive together in their supernatural abilities, while Ida finds herself devoid of such gifts.

With practice, the trio's powers grow stronger, and to everyone's delight, Anna begins to form words with Aisha's encouragement. However, tensions rise when Ben becomes enraged at being teased and retaliates by knocking Aisha over telekinetically, leading to an unintended injury for Anna during the chaos. At home, Ben faces the wrath of his abusive mother, and in a moment of aggression facilitated by his powers, he knocks her unconscious. Shocking developments unfold when Aisha's mother becomes a target, and tragedy strikes with Aisha's untimely death.

As fears mount, a stranger warns Ida’s family of Ben's manipulations. Despite that, Ida invites Ben to play with a toy glider, but their plans lead to more danger as Ida tries to thwart Ben by pushing him off the overpass where his bully was previously harmed. This reckless decision results in Ida being hit by a car, awakening her powers in sheer desperation.

Amidst the escalating conflict between Anna and Ben, Ida finds herself at a crossroads. When Anna is outmatched by Ben, Ida surprises herself by healing her broken leg through sheer willpower, unlocking her own telekinetic abilities. The battle intensifies, drawing captivated onlookers who witness the frantic energy exchange between the three children. Ultimately, a powerful surge leads to Ben's demise, leaving a tranquil silence in its wake.

With the chaos subsiding, Ida and Anna return to their apartment, where Ida, now imbued with newfound courage, embraces their mother. The scene closes on Anna, who appears to be on the verge of expressing herself, raising hopes of a brighter connection between the sisters moving forward.

Last updated: November 16, 2024 at 16:22

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Plot questions answered

The Innocents Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about The Innocents (2022): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Why did Ben kill the cat in The Innocents?

Ben kills the cat to demonstrate power and control, revealing his volatile and disturbed personality. When Ida urges him to leave the cat alone, he deliberately crushes its skull with his foot, a disturbing act that foreshadows his increasingly violent behavior throughout the film. This moment establishes Ben as emotionally unstable and willing to use his abilities in harmful ways.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Ben's anger at the playground bully hints at his volatile nature, but the cat killing is the first concrete display of his capacity for cruelty.

  • ben
  • cat
  • violence
  • cruelty
  • control
Q2

Why did Ida leave Anna alone at the playground?

Ida leaves Anna unsupervised because she wants to play football with Ben, who she has just befriended. Ida is a child craving freedom and friendship in her new environment, and she underestimates the responsibility she has for her sister. This decision sets in motion several consequences, including Anna discovering her powers with Aisha.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early on that Ida struggles with the burden of caring for her nonverbal sister, making her desire for normal childhood experiences understandable but dangerous.

  • ida
  • anna
  • playground
  • neglect
  • responsibility
Q3

How did Anna discover her telekinetic powers?

Anna discovers her powers through Aisha, who can communicate telepathically. While searching for Anna, Ida finds them playing together and learns that Aisha has been speaking directly into Anna's mind. This telepathic connection awakens Anna's latent telekinesis, which she begins to manifest and develop with practice.

Foreshadowing: The movie hints that the children's powers are connected, their abilities seem to emerge and grow stronger when they interact with each other.

  • anna
  • aisha
  • telepathy
  • telekinesis
  • powers
Q4

Why did Ben become increasingly violent?

Ben's violence stems from a combination of factors: his unstable home life with an abusive mother, his emotional immaturity, and the corrupting influence of his newfound powers. He lacks the guidance that Aisha provides to Anna, and his only emotional outlet is Ida, who occasionally encourages his worst impulses. His powers amplify his rage, leading to escalating acts of violence.

Foreshadowing: Ben's abusive home environment is established early, and his anger at the playground bully shows how quickly his emotions escalate into dangerous territory.

  • ben
  • violence
  • abuse
  • anger
  • power
Q5

What happened to Aisha in The Innocents?

Aisha dies as a result of the escalating danger surrounding the children's powers. While the exact mechanism isn't fully detailed in the summary, her death is described as a tragedy that sends shockwaves through the group. Her death removes the only positive influence guiding the children toward responsible use of their abilities.

Foreshadowing: The stranger's warning about Ben's manipulative nature foreshadows the tragedy that follows, as Ben's unchecked violence claims a victim.

  • aisha
  • death
  • tragedy
  • warning
Q6

How did Ida's powers awaken?

Ida's powers awaken when she is hit by a car after pushing Ben off an overpass. The traumatic, life-threatening moment triggers her latent telekinetic abilities, similar to how stress and emotion seem to catalyze the other children's powers. This desperate awakening marks a turning point in the climax.

Foreshadowing: Ida's lack of powers throughout the film creates dramatic irony; her desperate situation at the overpass mirrors the emotional intensity that seems to trigger power manifestation in others.

  • ida
  • powers
  • awakening
  • car accident
  • telekinesis
Q7

Why could Anna speak at the end of the movie?

Anna begins to form words at the end because Aisha's telepathic encouragement unlocked not just her telekinesis but also her ability to communicate verbally. Though Aisha dies, the connection she established with Anna appears to have lasting effects. The ending suggests Anna may finally overcome her nonverbal autism through the powers she discovered.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, Aisha's telepathic work with Anna shows progress, Anna forming words for the first time, building toward this hopeful conclusion.

  • anna
  • speaking
  • verbal
  • communication
  • breakthrough
Q8

Why did Ida push Ben off the overpass?

Ida pushes Ben off the overpass in a desperate attempt to protect herself and Anna from his increasingly dangerous behavior. When Ben threatens them, Ida acts recklessly, shoving him where the bully was previously harmed. This backfires catastrophically when Ida herself is struck by a car, though it ultimately awakens her own powers.

Foreshadowing: This moment connects directly to earlier events, the overpass where Ben was bullied, and the escalating threats Ben has made toward Ida and Anna.

  • ida
  • ben
  • overpass
  • push
  • danger
Q9

How did Ida heal Anna's broken leg?

Ida heals Anna's broken leg through sheer willpower and emotional desperation during the climactic battle with Ben. When Anna is overpowered and injured, Ida's intense desire to save her sister manifests as telekinetic healing, revealing that her powers include more than just destructive force. This moment marks Ida's full emergence as a powered individual.

Foreshadowing: Ida's awakening at the overpass was just the beginning; her emotional connection to Anna has always been the driving force of her character, making this healing response deeply logical.

  • ida
  • anna
  • healing
  • leg
  • telekinesis
Q10

Why did the children have different abilities?

The children manifest different powers based on their individual personalities and needs. Ben, who is angry and volatile, has strong destructive telekinesis. Anna, who struggles to communicate verbally, develops a telepathic connection through Aisha. Ida, who has spent the film as a caregiver and protector, gains powers that allow her to heal and defend. The film suggests powers emerge to fill emotional and communicative gaps.

Foreshadowing: Each child's power seems directly tied to their psychological state and greatest needs, Ben's rage, Anna's isolation, and Ida's protective instinct.

  • children
  • powers
  • differences
  • telekinesis
  • telepathy
Q11

How did Ben die in The Innocents?

Ben dies during the climactic battle when Ida, Anna, and Ben unleash their powers in a violent confrontation. The exact mechanism is a powerful surge of telekinetic energy exchanged between the three children, which proves fatal to Ben. His destructive path ends in this final confrontation, though the film leaves the precise cause ambiguous enough to suggest the overwhelming energy simply overpowered him.

Foreshadowing: The escalating violence throughout the film, from the cat to Aisha's death, builds toward this fatal confrontation, with Ben's unchecked aggression finally meeting its consequences.

  • ben
  • death
  • battle
  • confrontation
  • energy

Ending explained

What Happens at the End of The Innocents?

How The Innocents (2022) ends, in short: the final scene, the last twist and what it means for the characters. The full ending explained, with every spoiler, lives on its own page.

Read the full ending explained

The ending of "The Innocents" presents a haunting culmination of the children's supernatural powers and the chaos they unleash. As Anna and her sister Ida confront Ben, who has now become a dangerously vengeful figure driven by his own anger and remorse, their final battle takes place at the edge of a large pond in the playground. Ben, overwhelmed by Anna’s psychic attack, begins to weaken, and Ida, finally breaking free from her own guilt and fear, joins her sister in combating him. Together, they unleash a powerful, almost mythic force against him, which results in Ben collapsing and becoming motionless. This climactic moment is ambiguous—whether Ben truly dies or simply is incapacitated by the children's combined supernatural assault is left intentionally unclear. Following this, the sisters return home, with their mother informing them that paramedics have arrived to care for a supposedly dead child in the playground, emphasizing the tragic and unresolved nature of the events.

In the aftermath, Ida notices Ben watching their house from afar, and she becomes increasingly paranoid, feeling that he might still pose a threat. Her fears are confirmed when she finds Anna missing, and she suspects Ben is still lurking nearby. The sisters eventually face Ben once more near a pond, where both are able to summon their powers—Anna through her supernatural control of water, and Ida through her determination and courage. Their combined strength appears to finally subdue Ben, who falls to the ground as the water around him ripples violently. When they go home, their mother is unaware of the true extent of what happened, and as Anna resumes her drawings, the film leaves their fate somewhat open-ended, hinting that the supernatural struggle between these children—representing innocence, guilt, and evil—may continue beyond what is shown on screen.

Continue reading the ending (1 more paragraphs)

The ending is deliberately ambiguous, blending the supernatural with the psychological, leaving viewers pondering whether the children's powers are real or simply imagination, and whether their actions resulted in genuine death or are symbolic of their inner struggles and fears. The conclusion ultimately underscores the complex and unsettling nature of childhood innocence corrupted and the thin line between good and evil in the realm of the supernatural.

The Innocents ending explained in full

Movie threads

More Movies Like The Innocents, by Mood & Story

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

Movies about children facing supernatural darkness like The Innocents

Stories where childhood innocence is threatened by uncanny, sinister forces. If you were captivated by the disturbing blend of childhood and horror in The Innocents, explore these movies where young characters uncover sinister powers or face malevolent forces. These films often share an atmospheric, tense, and emotionally heavy tone, depicting the loss of innocence in the face of the uncanny.

  • uncanny
  • ominous
  • childhood
  • atmospheric
  • suspenseful
  • tragic
  • Tone: tense, ominous, tragic
  • Pacing: variable, building to intense climax
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically begins in a seemingly normal, often idyllic, setting before the children stumble upon a hidden, supernatural element. Their initial curiosity or exploration gives way to escalating danger, forcing them into a confrontation that irrevocably shatters their innocence. The journey is marked by a growing sense of dread and the burden of a terrible knowledge.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their core premise: the collision of childhood with a supernatural threat. They share a specific, unsettling mood that blends the familiar with the horrifying, creating a unique form of tension and emotional weight centered on the vulnerability and corruption of youth.

Slow burn atmospheric horror movies like The Innocents

Where tension simmers in an oppressive, uncanny atmosphere before boiling over. Fans of The Innocents' tense, oppressive atmosphere will find similar dread in these slow burn horror and thriller films. These movies prioritize mood and psychological unease over jump scares, building suspense gradually through unsettling imagery, character dynamics, and a pervasive sense of impending doom.

  • slow burn
  • oppressive
  • atmospheric
  • uneasy
  • suspenseful
  • psychological
  • Tone: tense, oppressive, uncanny
  • Pacing: slow burn, variable
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread unfold patiently, establishing a deceptively calm or ordinary setting. Through careful pacing and atmospheric details, a deep-seated sense of wrongness is seeded. The tension escalates not through rapid action, but through the slow, inexorable revelation of a disturbing truth or the breaking point of the characters' psyches.

Why they belong together: They are united by a specific approach to pacing and tone: a deliberate, slow build that creates a powerful, sustained feeling of dread. The shared experience is one of immersive unease, where the environment and mood are as much a threat as any explicit monster or villain.

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Similar movies to The Innocents: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

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Every angle

The Innocents (2022) Explained: Plot, Ending, Timeline & Characters

Everything about The Innocents in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning, the ending explained and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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