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Timeline

The Silence of the Marsh (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2020 · 92 min · Spanish
Echo score 64
JustWatch #31,387 2
Directed by
Marc Vigil
Starring
Àlex Monner, Carmina Barrios, Javier Godino, José Ángel Egido, Luis Zahera, Maite Sandoval

A journalist who has become an author investigates a complex network of corruption while researching his new thriller. He soon discovers that the reality of the situation is more disturbing and intricate than anything he could have imagined. The deeper he digs, the more dangerous the truth becomes, blurring the lines between his fiction and the unfolding events.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like The Silence of the Marsh
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch The Silence of the Marsh (2020)

Where can you watch The Silence of the Marsh? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Netflix and Netflix Standard: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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15 events in order · contains spoilers

The Silence of the Marsh Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of The Silence of the Marsh (2020) 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. Discovery of the Bats

    Cavers exploring an uncharted subterranean system beneath Pennsylvania's Appalachian Trail inadvertently open a vast chamber. This chamber contains countless prehistoric bats that begin to swarm due to loud noises, leading to the development of the deadly creatures known as 'vesps.'

    Where
    Pennsylvania's Appalachian Trail
  2. The News Breaks

    In Montclair, New Jersey, Hugh Andrews and his family learn about the deadly vesps through a television broadcast. This report reveals the urgency of staying quiet and the global chaos emerging from the epidemic, prompting Hugh and his family to consider fleeing the city.

    Where
    Montclair, N.J.
  3. The Family Decides to Evacuate

    Faced with the growing threat of the vesps, Hugh, his wife Kelly, their deaf daughter Ally, their son Jude, and Kelly's mother Lynn, decide to leave Montclair. They are joined by Glenn, Hugh's longtime best friend, and head out in two vehicles to escape the impending danger.

    Where
    Montclair, N.J.
  4. Road Trip and Electronic Communication

    During the drive away from the city, Ally uses her iPad to FaceTime her crush Rob, keeping in touch amidst the chaos. Meanwhile, the family learns to navigate their new reality as they head towards safety, unaware of the danger that lies ahead.

    Where
    On the road
  5. Gas Station Encounter

    While stopping at a gas station, the family faces a life-threatening situation when Glenn is forced to shoot an armed assailant who attempts to carjack their vehicle. This tense moment underscores the desperation of their escape as they navigate both human and creature threats.

    Where
    Gas Station
  6. Off Road Disaster

    A traffic jam pushes Hugh and Glenn to leave the main road and drive off an embankment to avoid a deer stampede. Glenn's vehicle overturns, trapping him inside, and this moment becomes a critical turning point as they must decide their next steps without him.

    Where
    Off Road, Pennsylvania
  7. Facing the Vesps

    Hugh's family becomes frantic as vesps swarm their vehicle, drawn by their noise and panic. In a heroic act, Glenn sacrifices himself by firing his weapon to distract the vesps, allowing Hugh and the family a chance to escape.

    Where
    Pennsylvania
  8. The Cabin in the Woods

    After abandoning their noisy vehicle, the family hikes into a nearby forest. They stumble upon a fenced cabin compound but soon face danger when an elderly owner is killed by the vesps after she tries to confront them with a shotgun.

    Where
    Forest Cabin
  9. Escape Through the Drain Tunnel

    In a bid to escape the fences surrounding the cabin, Hugh and his family crawl through a drain tunnel. However, their efforts are met with more peril as a hissing rattlesnake nearby attracts the relentless vesps, leading to serious injuries.

    Where
    Drain Tunnel
  10. Using the Wood Chipper

    Hugh urgently activates a wood chipper to draw the attacking swarm of vesps away from his family. The strategic decision results in the vesps meeting their demise, allowing the family some reprieve amidst the chaos unfolding around them.

    Where
    Near the Cabin
  11. Seeking Medical Supplies

    Kelly sustains severe injuries and becomes infected, necessitating urgent medical supplies. Hugh and Ally venture into a deserted town, facing more vesps and unforeseen dangers in their desperate quest to save Kelly's life.

    Where
    Deserted Town
  12. Meeting the Reverend

    In their search for supplies, Hugh and Ally encounter a mysterious man named 'The Reverend.' He tries to recruit them into his cult, 'The Hushed,' but the pair firmly refuse. This encounter deepens the narrative of survival in a world turned dark by the epidemic.

    Where
    Deserted Town
  13. The Cold Survival Strategy

    Ally learns through a broadcast that chilling temperatures repel the vesps, prompting discussions about fleeing north where it's colder. This information becomes a critical piece as they plan their next steps to ensure their survival.

  14. The Hushed Attack

    The Reverend returns with his followers to confront the family at the cabin. Tensions rise as Hugh refuses again to join their ranks, leading to a confrontation that escalates into violence as they fight to protect their family.

    Where
    Cabin
  15. Reaching The Refuge

    In the aftermath of their harrowing encounters, Hugh and his family finally reach 'The Refuge,' a sanctuary representing hope and safety. Ally reunites with Rob, and they begin to adapt to their new environment, honing their skills to combat the ongoing threat of vesps.

    Where
    The Refuge

Last updated: June 23, 2025 at 06:03

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Timeline questions answered

The Silence of the Marsh Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of The Silence of the Marsh (2020): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

What are the vesps and where do they come from?

The vesps are deadly creatures that originated from a colony of prehistoric bats living in a vast underground chamber 1,000 feet below Pennsylvania's Appalachian Trail. When a group of cavers inadvertently disturbed the bats with loud noises, the creatures became aggressive and began swarming, eventually escaping to the surface where they attack anything that makes noise.

  • vesps
  • bats
  • prehistoric creatures
  • appalachian trail
  • cave
Q2

Why do the vesps attack sound?

The vesps are highly sensitive to sound and are attracted to noise. This is why the family must remain completely silent when the creatures are nearby, using hand signals and moving quietly to avoid detection. Any loud noise immediately draws their attention and triggers an attack.

  • vesps
  • sound
  • silence
  • danger
  • noise
Q3

Why does Glenn sacrifice himself?

Glenn sacrifices himself to save Hugh's family after his vehicle crashes and he becomes trapped. He fires his weapon to draw the swarm of vesps away from Hugh and the family as they flee, using himself as a distraction so they can escape. His sacrifice allows them to get away safely.

  • glenn
  • sacrifice
  • death
  • vesps
  • hero
Q4

Why does Hugh release Otis the dog?

Hugh is forced to let Otis go because the dog's barking is attracting more vesps toward the family. With the creatures swarming their vehicle and the family panicking, Hugh makes the desperate choice to release Otis, whose continued barking draws the creatures away from them.

  • otis
  • dog
  • released
  • vesps
  • sacrifice
Q5

Why does Glenn shoot the armed man at the gas station?

Glenn shoots an armed man who attempts to carjack their vehicle while the family is stopped at a gas station. The attacker poses an immediate threat to the family's safety during the chaotic escape, forcing Glenn to defend them. This incident highlights the desperation and lawlessness emerging from the crisis.

  • gas station
  • glenn
  • shooting
  • carjacking
  • attack
Q6

Who is The Reverend and what is The Hushed?

The Reverend is a mysterious man who leads a cult called 'The Hushed' that has formed in the aftermath of the vesp crisis. He approaches Hugh and Ally offering them membership in the group, but his intentions are sinister, he ultimately attempts to abduct Ally. The cult appears to have taken extreme measures to survive, including cutting out the tongue of a little girl to keep her silent.

  • reverend
  • the hushed
  • cult
  • ally
  • kidnap
Q7

Why does Lynn sacrifice herself to save Ally?

Lynn sacrifices herself during the climactic battle at the cabin when members of The Hushed attempt to abduct Ally. Lynn draws the vesps away from the family by running in the opposite direction, allowing Hugh and Kelly to fight off the kidnappers while the creatures pursue her. She dies saving her granddaughter from both the cult and the vesps.

  • lynn
  • sacrifice
  • ally
  • death
  • grandmother
Q8

How do they discover that cold repels vesps?

Ally learns through a broadcast that chilling temperatures repel the vesps, which cannot survive in cold conditions. This discovery prompts the family to head northward toward colder terrain, ultimately guiding them to seek shelter in 'The Refuge' where they can be safe from the creatures.

  • cold
  • temperature
  • vesps
  • survival
  • north
Q9

What is The Refuge that the family reaches?

The Refuge is a sanctuary that the family finally reaches after their harrowing journey north. It represents safety and hope in the post-apocalyptic world filled with vesps. At The Refuge, Ally reunites with Rob, and they both begin training to hunt vesps, gaining a new purpose in their survival.

  • the refuge
  • sanctuary
  • safety
  • north
  • rob
Q10

Why does the little girl have no tongue?

The little girl who appears at the cabin is a member of The Hushed cult. Her tongue was cut out by the cult to keep her silent, allowing her to move safely among the vesps without attracting them. This brutal practice demonstrates the extreme measures The Hushed has adopted to survive.

  • little girl
  • tongue
  • the hushed
  • cult
  • silence
Q11

How does Kelly get bitten by a snake?

Kelly is bitten by a rattlesnake while the family is escaping through a drain tunnel near the cabin. The hissing of the nearby snake attracts the vesps, creating a dangerous situation. The snakebite leaves Kelly severely injured and infected, requiring urgent medical supplies that Hugh and Ally must venture out to find.

  • kelly
  • snake bite
  • rattlesnake
  • injury
  • tunnel
Q12

What happens to the elderly cabin owner?

The elderly owner of the cabin is killed by the vesps after she tries to shoo away Hugh's family with a shotgun. When she fires the weapon to drive them off, the loud noise attracts the vesps, which swarm and kill her while the family escapes through a drain tunnel.

  • cabin owner
  • death
  • shotgun
  • vesps
  • killed

Movie threads

More Movies Like The Silence of the Marsh, by Mood & Story

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

Corruption thrillers like The Silence of the Marsh

Thrillers where protagonists uncover dangerous webs of corruption and conspiracy. Movies like 'The Silence of the Marsh' where a protagonist's investigation leads them into a complex and dangerous network of corruption. If you liked the tense process of uncovering a disturbing truth, you'll find similar gripping stories here.

  • suspenseful
  • anxious
  • gripping
  • corruption
  • conspiracy
  • dangerous
  • Tone: tense, grim
  • Pacing: fast, driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically follows a linear investigation that starts with a simple question and escalates into a life-threatening conspiracy. The protagonist's journey is one of increasing peril and moral complexity, often forcing them to confront powerful, hidden forces.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their central plot device—an investigation into systemic corruption—and their tense, high-intensity atmosphere. They share a focus on the psychological and physical dangers of seeking the truth against formidable opposition.

Desperate survival thrillers like The Silence of the Marsh

Stories of relentless fight for survival in a hostile and grim world. If you enjoyed the high-stakes, creature-feature survival aspects of 'The Silence of the Marsh', this thread collects movies with similar themes of relentless danger, family bonds under pressure, and grim perseverance.

  • desperate
  • suspenseful
  • claustrophobic
  • survivalist
  • gripping
  • anxious
  • Tone: tense, grim, desperate
  • Pacing: fast, relentless
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The plot is a straightforward, fast-paced sequence of escalating threats and narrow escapes. Character arcs are forged in trauma and sacrifice, with a focus on the physical and emotional toll of survival rather than complex plotting.

Why they belong together: They are united by a core experience of high-tension survival, a grim and anxious mood, and a narrative that prioritizes immediate physical danger and the emotional weight of endurance and loss.

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Movies Like The Silence of the Marsh

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Every angle

The Silence of the Marsh (2020) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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

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