The Other Hell (1981) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Sister Assunta murders Sister Cristina while under a supernatural compulsion. Earlier, Assunta explains the dark history of the convent, including the story of a child born from a nun's union with the devil and the murder of the previous Mother Superior. Under this demonic influence, she kills Cristina and then dies herself.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the morgue, Assunta's monologue about temptation and the convent's cursed history hints at the supernatural forces driving her actions.

• sister assunta
• sister cristina
• murder
• supernatural compulsion
• convent

Elisa is Mother Vincenza's illegitimate daughter, hidden away in a sealed room within the convent. She has a disfigured face and possesses powerful telekinetic abilities. Vincenza has kept her hidden for years, using her supernatural powers to eliminate anyone who discovers the secret.

Foreshadowing: Sister Assunta's story about a child born inside the convent walls foreshadows Elisa's existence.

• elisa
• mother vincenza
• hidden room
• telekinesis
• secret daughter

Sister Fiorenza, the previous Mother Superior, was killed by baby Elisa shortly after birth. When Fiorenza cast the infant into a cauldron of boiling water to dispose of her, the baby's telekinetic powers manifested, frightening Fiorenza into such a frenzy that she murdered herself.

Foreshadowing: Sister Assunta mentions that Fiorenza's ghost still haunts the convent, calling out the name of the nun who killed her.

• sister fiorenza
• mother superior
• suicide
• baby elisa
• boiling water

Mother Vincenza made a pact with the devil, resulting in the birth of her daughter Elisa. She admits this during her confrontation with Father Valerio, claiming Elisa is the daughter of Satan himself. Vincenza used both this dark pact and Elisa's powers to maintain control over the convent.

Foreshadowing: Sister Assunta's tale of a nun consorting with the devil and bearing a child within the convent walls sets up this revelation.

• mother vincenza
• pact with the devil
• satan
• elisa daughter
• dark magic

Elisa possesses telekinetic abilities that allow her to cause death and manipulate objects through sheer thought. As a baby, she used these powers to frighten off Sister Fiorenza. As a teenager, she uses them to kill nuns who discover her existence or defy her mother's rule, making the deaths appear as demonic activity.

Foreshadowing: The flashback reveals baby Elisa's telekinetic strength when she defends herself in the cauldron.

• elisa
• telekinesis
• supernatural powers
• mind control
• demonic deaths

Sister Rosaria bleeds from her mouth during communion and later develops stigmata while locked in her room. The film presents this as part of the supernatural phenomena plaguing the convent, likely triggered by Elisa's powers or the demonic presence. It heightens the belief that a devilish force has taken residence.

Foreshadowing: After Father Inardo administers communion, the supernatural events intensify, linking the communion to Rosaria's manifestation.

• sister rosaria
• stigmata
• communion
• supernatural
• bleeding

During the climactic confrontation, Mother Vincenza attacks Elisa from behind, attempting to kill her to protect her secret. However, Elisa uses her telekinetic powers to fight back. In the struggle, Elisa kills Vincenza and then revives a corpse to strangle her mother's body, ensuring both she and Vincenza end up dead.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Mother Vincenza attacks Father Valerio in a fit of rage, showing her willingness to kill to protect her secrets.

• elisa kills vincenza
• climax
• corpse revival
• strangle
• mother daughter fight

The hidden laboratory in the convent's morgue is where Mother Vincenza conducted her black magic experiments. This is revealed when ecclesiastical authorities investigate after the carnage. The laboratory-like space is where Sister Assunta was preparing bodies for embalming, and it's where Vincenza practiced the dark arts connected to her pact with the devil.

Foreshadowing: Sister Assunta is found in this laboratory preparing a nun's body, hinting at its role in the convent's darker activities.

• morgue
• laboratory
• black magic
• experiments
• mother vincenza

Father Valerio is severely wounded in the final confrontation between Elisa and Mother Vincenza. After the deadly struggle in the catacombs and morgue, Valerio lies hospitalized with a fractured mind, traumatized by the horrors he witnessed. The film ends with authorities discovering the convent's secrets while Valerio's fate remains uncertain.

Foreshadowing: Valerio's investigation consistently puts him in danger, with Mother Vincenza attacking him earlier in the film.

• father valerio
• hospitalized
• injured
• traumatized
• ending

While Elisa commits the murders through her telekinetic powers, the true villain is Mother Vincenza. She made the pact with the devil, kept Elisa hidden and weaponized her daughter's powers to eliminate anyone who threatened her control. Elisa is ultimately a victim of abuse who was manipulated into killing. The horror stems from Vincenza's hypocrisy and manipulation.

Foreshadowing: Early on, Mother Vincenza tries to frame the deaths as accidents, showing her willingness to deceive.

• mother vincenza
• elisa
• villain
• antagonist
• manipulation