The Voices (2015) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Jerry kills Fiona because his schizophrenia causes him to misinterpret reality. When a deer crashes through his windshield, Jerry hallucinates that the animal is pleading with its eyes for him to end its suffering. In his distorted state, he sees this as a command. When Fiona runs into the woods in shock from the accident, Jerry's delusions convince him she is in danger and he must protect her, leading to the violent attack.

• fiona death
• deer accident
• jerry killings
• mental illness

Lisa is murdered by Jerry after she visits his apartment looking for answers about Lisa's disappearance. Despite a moment where Lisa offers Jerry comfort and a kiss, pulling him briefly back to reality, the sight of Fiona's preserved head causes Jerry to snap. He dismembers Lisa and adds her head to his collection in the refrigerator alongside Fiona's.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Fiona's decapitated head tells Jerry he needs to 'find a friend' for her, foreshadowing Lisa's fate.

• lisa death
• jerry murders
• fiona head

Jerry keeps the severed heads because his hallucinations demand it. After dismembering Fiona, he experiences her decapitated head continuing to speak to him, insisting he take his medication and later demanding he find 'a friend.' The heads represent his fractured reality where he cannot accept the finality of death, and keeping them near fulfills the persistent voices in his head.

• severed heads
• tupperware
• hallucinations

Jerry's violence is triggered by a combination of stopping his medication and his existing schizophrenia. After the deer accident, he wakes up in a horrific scene and deliberately flushes his antipsychotic medication down the toilet. This decision unleashes his hallucinations full-force, transforming his delusion-driven compulsions from merely conversing with pets into murderous commands.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, Bosco urges Jerry to take his medication while Mr. Whiskers encourages his darker impulses, showing the medication's role in controlling his condition.

• medication
• schizophrenia
• violence
• breakdown

Jerry stops taking his medication after waking up surrounded by garbage, animal waste, and blood following the Fiona incident. Overwhelmed by guilt and the chaotic state of his home, he makes the conscious decision to abandon his pills. This moment represents his surrender to his deteriorating mental state and his inability to cope with the consequences of his actions.

• antipsychotics
• mental health
• self-sabotage

Jerry's mother died when he was a child, and his memories of this trauma are revealed through flashbacks showing his abusive father. This childhood trauma is a key factor in his schizophrenia and the root of his psychological damage. When Jerry lures Lisa to his childhood home, he is specifically drawn back to the place where his mother's death occurred, using it as a setting for potential violence.

• childhood trauma
• mother death
• abuse
• father

Bosco and Mr. Whiskers are hallucinations representing Jerry's competing internal voices. Bosco, the loyal dog, represents Jerry's conscience, urging him to take medication, turn himself in, and do what's right. Mr. Whiskers, the sardonic cat, represents his destructive impulses, encouraging violence and shame. The two animals literally argue throughout the film, symbolizing Jerry's internal battle between sanity and madness.

• bosco
• mr whiskers
• hallucinations
• conscience

The ending shows Jerry dying in the bowling alley explosion and entering a surreal void where he reconciles with his deceased victims and hallucinations. In this bizarre afterlife, Bosco and Mr. Whiskers finally agree, Jesus appears, and Jerry apologizes to Fiona, Lisa, and Alison through song. The ambiguous ending suggests Jerry found some form of redemption or peace, though the tonally dissonant musical celebration leaves whether this is truly redemptive open to interpretation.

• afterlife
• ending
• redemption
• jesus
• surreal

Jerry kidnaps Dr. Warren because his hallucinations compel him to confess his crimes and seek guidance. Overwhelmed by the voices demanding he continue his killing spree while also urging him to confess, Jerry acts desperately to get help from his court-appointed therapist. He takes her to the bowling alley, where the chaotic gas leak explosion ultimately occurs.

• dr warren
• kidnapping
• confession
• therapist

The deer is the catalyst for the entire chain of violence. When it crashes through the windshield, Jerry experiences a hallucination where he perceives the animal's eyes as pleading for him to end its suffering. This misinterpretation triggers his first violent act and sets him on the path to murder. The deer represents how his schizophrenia transforms ordinary events into delusional commands.

• deer crash
• hallucination
• trigger event

The bowling alley is significant because it's where Jerry lives, above the alley in lonely isolation. When he takes Dr. Warren there, it's his attempt to bring his two worlds together: his fantasy life and the reality of his crimes. The gas leak explosion that follows represents the complete collapse of his constructed reality and the destructive end of his fractured mind.

• bowling alley
• final showdown
• explosion

After Jerry's dinner date with Fiona falls apart because she chooses to go karaoke with Lisa and Alison, he still drives her home when her car breaks down. This seemingly helpful act is what leads to the deer accident and subsequent tragedy. The breakdown essentially traps Jerry with Fiona at the moment his hallucinations escalate, turning a minor kindness into the catalyst for disaster.

• car breakdown
• date
• lisa
• alison