The Locusts (1997) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Delilah uses the bull's castration as a cruel act of control and humiliation against Flyboy. When Flyboy asks to work with the animals, hoping to find purpose and escape his current role as a servant, Delilah perceives this as a challenge to her authority. She has Joel Carter tie Flyboy up and forces him to watch as she castrates his beloved pet, which then bleeds to death. This brutal act is meant to break Flyboy's spirit and remind him of his powerless position on the farm.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Delilah is established as a woman who maintains control through sexual manipulation and psychological cruelty, making this act consistent with her character.

• delilah potts
• flyboy
• bull castration
• cruelty
• farm

Flyboy was placed in a psychiatric institution for eight years after discovering his father's corpse as a child. He found his father dead from suicide, which traumatized him deeply. The institutionalization suggests the family sought to contain both his psychological trauma and the circumstances surrounding his father's death, which was linked to discovering Delilah's infidelity.

Foreshadowing: The timeline establishes that Delilah's husband committed suicide after catching her cheating, an event that directly connects to Flyboy's childhood trauma.

• flyboy
• joseph potts
• psychiatric institution
• trauma
• father suicide

Delilah's husband took his own life after discovering that she was cheating on him. The town still bears the scars of this tragedy, and it's mentioned that he was an old friend of Delilah's father. This betrayal, combined with the public nature of catching his wife with another man, proved devastating enough for him to end his life, leaving Flyboy to discover the body.

Foreshadowing: The suicide is mentioned early in the film as part of Delilah's reputation and the dark history that surrounds her farm.

• delilah husband
• suicide
• infidelity
• town scandal

Flyboy commits suicide after returning to the farm and finding Clay in bed with Delilah. Delilah had orchestrated this encounter specifically to destroy Flyboy's remaining trust and hope. Devastated by seeing the one person who showed him kindness betraying him, Flyboy replicates his father's method of suicide. His death represents the final destruction of a vulnerable character who had finally found someone who cared for him, only to have that trust shattered.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Flyboy confides to Clay that he blames himself for his father's suicide, establishing the method and emotional groundwork for his own death.

• flyboy suicide
• clay hewitt
• delilah manipulation
• father suicide method

Delilah reveals that she was raped by her own father, became pregnant from that assault, and killed her father in a fit of rage. Her husband, who was an old friend of her father, agreed to marry her and raise the child (Flyboy) as his own to protect her shame. This trauma explains her inability to love either her husband or Flyboy, and instead drives her to systematically destroy them and others around her.

Foreshadowing: Delilah's cruel behavior throughout the film, especially toward Flyboy, hints at deeper psychological damage beyond mere selfishness.

• delilah rape
• father
• pregnancy
• flyboy origin
• childhood abuse

Clay refuses Delilah's advances early in his employment, making him unique among her young farmhands. His rejection likely stems from his cautious nature and awareness of her reputation in town. By rejecting her, Clay sets himself against the power dynamic on the farm and earns her anger, which leads to the rivalry with her current lover Joel Carter and ultimately puts him on a collision course with Delilah's vindictiveness.

Foreshadowing: Clay's wariness is established early when he keeps a wary eye on Delilah's reputation, suggesting he understands the danger she represents.

• clay hewitt
• delilah rejection
• farm
• power dynamic

Clay is on the run because he was wrongfully blamed for his old girlfriend's death. They were having sex in a pool when she slipped and broke her neck. Though it was clearly an accident, the circumstances led to criminal charges against Clay, forcing him to flee and seek work to fund his escape to California to visit his brother.

Foreshadowing: This secret is revealed only when Clay confides in Kitty, showing his trust in her develops over time.

• clay hewitt
• fugitive
• girlfriend death
• pool accident
• charges

Delilah shoots herself before Clay can reach her after she reveals her traumatic past and blackmails Clay into sex. When Clay confronts her in rage after Flyboy's suicide, Delilah chooses to end her own life rather than face retribution. Her death is the culmination of a life defined by trauma, cruelty, and the destruction of everyone around her, her father, her husband, her son, and ultimately herself.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, Delilah uses sex and manipulation as weapons, and her final act continues this pattern of using control even in her final moments.

• delilah suicide
• clay confrontation
• death
• final act

Flyboy reveals to Clay that Delilah sexually abused him when he was a child. Furthermore, Delilah arranged for Flyboy to discover his father's corpse, orchestrating the situation so the young boy would find his dead father. This deliberate trauma was meant to drive Flyboy's father to suicide, and Flyboy has blamed himself all these years for the death, carrying immense guilt.

Foreshadowing: Flyboy's deep trauma and institutionalization are explained by this revelation, which comes just before the tragic finale.

• flyboy
• delilah
• sexual abuse
• childhood trauma
• father suicide blame

Flyboy blames himself for his father's suicide because Delilah arranged for him to discover the body. As a child, Flyboy walked in on his father's corpse, and Delilah had manipulated the situation so that Flyboy would find him. This deliberate arrangement led Flyboy to believe his involvement caused his father's death, a guilt that haunted him throughout his institutionalization and into adulthood.

Foreshadowing: The revelation explains Flyboy's psychological state and his vulnerability when Clay shows him kindness.

• flyboy
• guilt
• father death
• manipulation
• delilah

Delilah reveals that Flyboy was conceived from her rape by her own father. She killed her father in rage over the assault, and her husband agreed to raise Flyboy as his own son to spare her public shame. This means Flyboy is the product of incestuous rape, and Delilah's inability to love him stems from this traumatic origin, she sees him as a living reminder of the violence she endured.

Foreshadowing: This revelation connects Delilah's cruelty toward Flyboy to her own history of being victimized, though it does not excuse her actions.

• flyboy paternity
• delilah father
• rape
• incest
• true father

After learning of the abuse Flyboy suffered, Clay decides to protect him and take him along when he flees. When Flyboy breaks down and reveals that Delilah sexually abused him as a child and arranged for his father's suicide, Clay is disgusted and his protective instincts override his need to escape alone. He resolves to rescue Flyboy from the toxic environment, viewing it as the right thing to do despite the danger it brings.

Foreshadowing: Clay's earlier decision to help Flyboy learn to stand up for himself demonstrates his investment in the boy's wellbeing.

• clay hewitt
• flyboy protection
• rescue
• delilah abuse

Delilah uses sex as a tool for power and control over her employees. The town knows she has relationships with her young workers, and she uses this leverage to maintain dominance over them. Her behavior stems from her traumatic past, she cannot form genuine emotional connections and instead seeks to control and destroy those around her, particularly those dependent on her financially.

Foreshadowing: This pattern is established early and explains why Clay's rejection of her advances is so unusual and threatening to her.

• delilah
• farm workers
• sexual relationships
• power
• control

Flyboy breaks down when Kitty's friend attempts intimacy because of the childhood sexual abuse he suffered at Delilah's hands. The trauma from Delilah's abuse has made him unable to engage in physical intimacy without experiencing psychological distress. This moment reveals the deep psychological damage Delilah inflicted, which goes far beyond the visible cruelty of the bull's castration.

Foreshadowing: This breakdown directly precedes his confession to Clay about the abuse, reinforcing the depth of his trauma.

• flyboy
• intimacy
• breakdown
• abuse trauma
• psychological damage