The Asphyx (1972) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

An asphyx is a personal grim reaper, a dark, stalking force that arrives for each person at the moment of death. Cunningham identifies it as the strange blur appearing in photographs of dying subjects. He theorizes it is not a departing soul but a predatory entity that draws toward the dying rather than away from them. The name comes from Greek mythology, where such figures were said to claim the dying.

Foreshadowing: Earlier photographs of dying subjects show the blur accompanying the body, which the group interprets as the soul leaving.

• asphyx
• grim reaper
• mythology
• death force
• soul
• photographs

Cunningham notices that the blur moves toward his son during the fatal boating accident, not away from him like a departing soul would. This convinces him the blur is not evidence of an afterlife but a creature that draws close to claim the dying. His skeptical, scientific mind rejects the spiritual interpretation and instead labels it an asphyx, a mythological death figure.

Foreshadowing: The parapsychology group's earlier photos show the blur simply hovering, but the motion toward the son reveals its true nature.

• blur
• photograph
• soul
• grim reaper
• boating accident
• death

Cunningham discovers that a specific energy created by combining phosphorus stones with water through a drip irrigation system can temporarily immobilize an asphyx. During a public execution, he activates his spotlight design and observes the condemned man's asphyx held in the beam. This leads him to theorize that such energy could suspend an asphyx indefinitely, allowing a person to achieve immortality by imprisoning their personal death force.

Foreshadowing: The execution scene demonstrates the asphyx can be affected by the phosphorus beam, confirming Cunningham's theory.

• phosphorus
• spotlight
• immortality
• trap
• energy
• asphyx

The traumatic death of his son and son's fiancée in the boating accident drives Cunningham's obsession with conquering death. Seeing his son's asphyx drawn to him crystallizes his fear of mortality. Rather than accepting loss, he becomes determined to trap and control the asphyx itself, believing that imprisoning his own personal death force would grant him eternal life.

Foreshadowing: The riverside celebration turns tragic, and reviewing the footage reveals the asphyx moving toward his son.

• immortality
• son
• death
• obsession
• grief
• asphyx

Christina is placed on a guillotine operated by Giles to trigger the imminent death needed to summon Cunningham's asphyx. However, the guinea pig chews through a water hose feeding the phosphorus stones, causing the mechanism to malfunction. The apparatus fails, and Christina is decapitated. This tragic accident directly results from the rushed, improvised setup of the experiment.

Foreshadowing: The guinea pig was already used to capture an asphyx, and its presence in the lab creates an unpredictable element.

• christina
• guillotine
• decapitation
• experiment
• death
• accident

Giles sabotages the equipment because he no longer wishes to live after Christina's death. Though he initially demands immortality in exchange for opening the vault, his true intent is to end the experiments permanently. He deliberately damages the apparatus to prevent Cunningham from achieving his goal, effectively choosing death over living in a world without Christina.

Foreshadowing: Giles's counter-demand for immortality first reveals his manipulative side, but his deeper despair emerges after Christina dies.

• giles
• sabotage
• immortality
• machine
• death
• christina

Yes, Cunningham achieves a twisted form of immortality. In the 1970s framing sequence, an ancient and disfigured Cunningham survives a catastrophic car collision that kills both drivers. He is found crushed beneath the wreckage yet still alive, confirming his immortality has persisted. However, he regards this as God's punishment rather than a blessing, since it came at the cost of Giles and Christina's lives.

Foreshadowing: Cunningham destroys the vault combination, accepting that immortality has become his curse rather than his triumph.

• immortal
• ending
• 1970s
• survival
• punishment
• cunningham

Cunningham destroys the vault's combination after Giles dies, deciding that immortality has become God's punishment for the deaths of Giles and Christina. He rejects the idea of seeking release from his curse, accepting his doomed existence as fitting retribution for his hubristic experiments. The destruction of the note represents his resignation to live with the consequences.

Foreshadowing: Giles leaves the combination on paper before dying, giving Cunningham the option to free his asphyx.

• vault
• combination
• punishment
• immortality
• guilt
• cunningham

The guinea pig chews through a hose that feeds water to the phosphorus stones, causing the phosphorus-water energy system to fail. This malfunction prevents the proper energy from being generated to immobilize Christina's asphyx when the guillotine drops. Without the phosphorus energy holding the asphyx in place, the experiment proceeds without the necessary containment, leading to Christina's decapitation.

Foreshadowing: The guinea pig was present in the lab during all previous asphyx captures, and its chewing behavior was not accounted for.

• guillotine
• malfunction
• guinea pig
• hose
• phosphorus
• accident

The guinea pig serves as the first successful test subject for trapping an asphyx. Cunningham and Giles capture its asphyx and seal it in the family tomb, proving the phosphorus technique works. The guinea pig's asphyx remains imprisoned throughout the story, and it accompanies the aged Cunningham in the 1970s, symbolizing both his scientific achievement and his cursed existence.

Foreshadowing: The successful capture of the guinea pig's asphyx emboldens Cunningham to attempt trapping his own.

• guinea pig
• asphyx
• capture
• tomb
• test
• immortality