The Antagonist Prevails (Part 1?)
- Oct 4, 2025
- 11 min read
Happy first Saturday of October my creepy coven friends. To ring in October, there has been a small rebranding and update to my socials. Our little site here has undergone a few changes as well. Familiarize yourself with the new (and permanent) decorations of our humble abode. (Also, today and tomorrow are the last days to vote on this week's poll. Which horror genre is the scariest to you? Fits right in with this week's post, huh).
This week, I will be focusing on worlds where the antagonists get away with their crimes. This kind of twist isn't the typical happy ending, with the viewer rooting for the "final girl". In most cases, the viewer is spoiled when more than one character survives. Unfortunately, this typical ending could get old, and it's nice to throw in a twist at the end, leaving viewers and survivors with no hope as they end the film.
I'll be diving into the following films:
If you haven't watched these films already, the ending has already been spoiled. I will further dive into their plots to explain how their conclusions came to be. If you'd like to refrain from being spoiled, go watch the films and come back when you've seen them.
First up, I'll be discussing The Omen. This should have gone into my post Villainous Children and Why the Idea Is So Terrifying post. I fought myself on the decision to include Pet Sematary (1985) in this post since it made its appearance in the one mentioned above. Anyway, I mention this because children aren't always as innocent as one may think when it comes to horror. Often they are seen as pure, unable to be touched by any sort of evil, especially if they're cute (like poor Gage in Pet Sematary. I will never get over what happens to that poor kid).
In The Omen, an American couple of high standing is living in Rome. The husband, Richard, is a diplomat and is expected to welcome his first son. Unfortunately, the baby has passed during delivery (unbeknownst to his wife, Katherine). Weirdly, Robert is convinced to adopt another baby who's mother had passed during delivery. The hospital Chaplain, who's idea this was, and Robert opt not of informing Katherine, having her believe that this adopted child is hers.
They name this baby Damien, and live five years seemingly without worry. By the time Damien has turned five, the family had relocated to London, where Robert is now the Ambassador. Their success is halted when they become plagued by strange occurrences. Before I list all of the horrors that the family experiences, I would like to preface this with multiple inquiries; How did Richard decide that it was okay to accept a baby that was not his and his wife's with no thought to its lineage? Why did he think it was okay to go through with not telling his wife that their baby had died? I know he doesn't want to hurt her, but in what world would that ever be okay? It would have taken more time and could be a touchy subject obviously, but why didn't he just speak with his wife about trying for another child? He didn't feel like this would be a huge betrayal? His family is and would forever be based on a lie if Katherine never found out.
Thanks to his not-so-smart idea, he and those around him are then forced to face unforeseen perils. They're stalked by a Rottweiler. Damien's nanny hangs herself in front of everyone at his birthday party, forcing the family to be in need of a new one. She arrives unexpectedly and they hadn't called for her, but accept her anyway. This was a different time, and therefore things were handled differently back then, but I feel as if most people would be curious about someone coming to watch after their child. Katherine wanted to call to confirm that someone had been sent, and was given a list of references, but still allowed the new nanny, Mrs. Baylock to see Damien without knowing anything about her.
Damien is at the center of other strange happenings like his violent reaction to his parents trying to get him to enter a church and wildlife running away from him when he goes to observe them. Richard is told by a new priest that Damien is the son of Satan and will eventually kill him and Katherine, who is now pregnant with their "second" child. The priest who had warned Richard of their downfall is later killed in a mysterious way. When Katherine floats the idea of an abortion, Richard is not on board, but Damien has other plans and she ends up injured and she ultimately loses the baby.
Throughout the film, Richard receives more clues that point to Damien and the "accidents" that seem to happen around him and one-by-one, those who want to help Richard end up meeting their ends. By the end of the film, Richard and Katherine are also killed. Richard had come so close to taking care of this problem, but was fatally interrupted, allowing for Damien to live on to cause more havoc.
What could have been done to change the outcome of everyone's lives? It's simple, right? All Richard had to do was be honest with his wife, and turn down the offer of adopting a child without Katherine's consent. I also found it interesting that later, Katherine talks about wanting an abortion (informing her husband) only for him to be completely against the idea (he's allowed to have autonomy in this situation). He didn't give Katherine the same treatment before he brought a literal child of Satan into their lives.
There are those who do all they can to resist evil, but there are some that are too fragile to resist its grasp. I'll be talking next about Midsommar.
While Midsommar is a folk-horror film, I saw it as a film that follows its main characters as they try to navigate their feelings, thoughts, and emotions while also being forced to indulge in the festivities of a commune, that later shows its true colors.
This film follows Dani, a character that has endured a trauma that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. The beginning of the film explores the the horrific deaths of her entire family and this is the predecessor for her adventure abroad. Dani is constantly a person who is silenced, unable to reach out to her family, and is often ignored when she tries to talk to her boyfriend, Christian. He often finds her to be too much to deal with and instead opts to ignore her when she is in need. He was already quite distant with her before the film's opening transpired, and Dani's dilemma further forces Christian to want to pull away from her. Dani learns to cope with her trauma alone, hiding away to express herself truly when she feels sad. This will become important later.
Christian and his friends (Mark and Josh) opt to spend some time abroad to attend a midsummer festival. It is situated in Sweden, and they had been invited by their Swedish friend Pelle. Pelle belongs to the commune, meaning that it is in a rural area, far away from most of civilization. Christian and Mark want to attend for fun, while Josh deems this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It only happens once every 90 years, and Josh wants to write his thesis about the midsummer festivities. Christian wants to break up with Dani before the trio takes off, but he ultimately invites her to partake in the festivities with him and his friends.
Without going too into the film's events, I'll say that there are customs that are quite different from those of a civilized world. At first, I felt a bit wrong for being weirded out by them much like Dani, Christian, and his friends (outside of Pelle). I felt like I was being tested on my ability to accept the customs of different cultures, but the way in which this festival goes is quite grim (this is an understatement).
I said that I wouldn't dive too deep into the film, because there are so many things to comment on thematically like emotion, acceptance, grief, and more. There are subtleties throughout its entirety that I would like to one day tackle in an analysis. It would probably be more than one part because it would also require quite a bit of research and a lot of time set aside to work on it the way that I would like to.
The group meets two invitees, Simon and Connie, who were invited by another commune member. They are offered some drugs, to which Dani has a bad trip to. The next day, the group gather for a death custom. Pictured above are Christian and Dani's reaction to something so grotesque and I completely understand Dani's response. I can only suggest watching this film, because the scene will forever live rent free in my head. Something that the viewer will notice is that the entirety of the commune will echo the screams that one of the elders let's out when he doesn't immediately meet his end.
Simon and Connie are unable to cope with what has just happened even after an explanation is given. At the age of 72, members must complete the death custom as it is considered a high honor. To watch something like this happen isn't normal for those outside of the commune, but for those within it, it's just another day.
Christian decides to write his thesis on the commune to which Josh is upset. He had already came into this with the idea to write his thesis on it and it irritates him to know that Christian seems to be copying him. Dani, further distraught by the events that have transpired, no longer wants to stay, but she is compelled to because of Pelle. He convinces her, letting her know that he was accepted after he too had been orphaned. He plays on her insecurities, inquiring about whether or not she feels safe and happy with Christian. Pelle is essentially trying to sell the idea of joining the commune to Dani.
Simon and Connie are too disturbed by the death custom and decide that they don't want to stay. They couldn't be convinced otherwise, and later the members try to tell Connie that Simon had been driven to the train station alone. She is informed that they would pick her up later, but she argues that Simon would have never left her. What do we think happened to Simon? It's a bit insane to me that they thought that Connie would be accepting of being left alone.
There are quite a few storylines happening, seemingly at the same time. Josh can't be convinced to mate with any of the members even if he is given the reason that they want to avoid incest. Outsiders aren't often invited in it seems, and eventually, members would end up being related.
Elsewhere, Mark has to use the bathroom and relieves himself on a tree that turns out to be sacred. He's completely unaware of this, but is unfortunately lured away by a woman. She is a commune member, so where do you think this goes?
While working on his thesis, Josh is enlightened to sacred texts that are of importance to the commune. Their importance is explained and he is informed that he was allowed to focus on the festivities for his thesis, but that he was not allowed to photograph or document anything pertaining to the texts. In typical fashion, when someone like Josh is told that they can't do something, they will do whatever they can to break the rules (Josh's personality is also something that's important to how his character meets his end). He sneaks in to do exactly the opposite of what he was told and is met with a commune member donning the face of Mark before he is then bludgeoned.
This is rough, Everything from Simon and Connie to Mark and Josh were a lot to take in. The fear of your partner leaving you alone in an unfamiliar environment is enough to make anyone panic. Connie didn't know anyone else besides the person who had invited her and Simon. The Americans mostly kept to their group, and the members of the commune were strange. Their festivities were even stranger and I could understand her discomfort.
Mark was the least interesting character to me or maybe I paid less attention to him than others, but I don't remember much of his character besides his mistake that seemingly led to his death. I'm unsure of if there were facilities where he could relieve himself, but personally, I would have asked. Where else had he been going since he got there? I'm not saying that any of these characters deserved their fates, they didn't. I don't condone what happened to them, but I feel that Mark should have definitely asked where he could relieve himself before picking the first thing he could find.
Our next victim...
Josh...
Josh
Josh
J o s h
What was the plan here? I don't condone his fate either, but what was he thinking? If you've seen the film, obviously he was looking out for himself and proving that he was the best was his motivation. Experiencing a different culture is much like visiting someone's home in that you respect the owners and their rules. Much like you'd respect another country's laws. He was already given permission to write about the commune's festivities and their culture, yet that didn't seem to be enough for him. He sealed his fate by going against the one thing they told him not to do because he wanted to be the best.
The next day, Dani is "encouraged" (she drinks hallucinogenic tea, as well as Christian) to participate in a much more fun event; She would compete in a dancing competition that she would ultimately win. She was crowned the May Queen, a joyous day for her and the only time the viewer can see her enjoying herself amongst people who are welcoming of her.
Shortly after her win, she witnesses Christian sleeping with (I believe otherwise, as it seemed like he wasn't in the right state of mind) one of the commune's women. It was unfortunately a part of the sex custom that was earlier offered to Josh. Dani is obviously crushed by this and runs off to seclude herself from everyone in order to express her pain. As mentioned before, throughout the film, Dani suppresses her feelings in order to avoid offending anyone (especially Christian). The interesting thing about this scene is the fact that she is quickly joined by a group of women who essentially inform her that her feelings are okay and that she is supported when they engage in crying, screaming, and wailing alongside her (much like they did when a member a part of the death custom didn't pass away immediately).
By the end of the film's events, it is explained that this midsummer festival is to end with nine human sacrifices in order to purge the commune of evil. Four outsiders (Connie, Simon, Josh, and Mike) have already been murdered. Four commune members must also be chosen, with the two who had participated in the death custom being two out of the four. Two other members volunteer. The last member must be chosen by the May Queen, Dani. She is given the option between Christian or a random commune member. Christian had been drugged so that he could do nothing but listen as everything is happening, forced to deal with his emotions internally. He cannot move. He cannot speak. Dani chooses him. On a surface level, it could be seen as her getting revenge on how she had been treated by Christian, but on a deeper lever, it signifies her happiness. She has chosen to give up her old life, to which she would return to nothing, and she'd be reborn into the commune, living out the rest of her life with them.
I had intended on including more films in this post, but it turned out to be a much larger project than I had expected. I enjoyed doing a surface level dive into these two films (especially Midsommar) and I would love to work on more parts for this.
Please let me know if you would like me to touch on any other films such as:
House of Darkness (2022) - Horror/Comedy
Speak No Evil (2024) - Psychological Horror
Smile 2 (2024) - Supernatural/Psychological Horror
The Witch (2015) -Folk Horror
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - Horror/Sci-fi
I would love to write about them. Also inform me on whether or not you'd like a deep dive on Midsommar. There is so much more to be said about that film. It's deserving of multiple watches in order to catch new things each time. Thematically, it's brilliant. The characters are also intriguing, especially in how they meet their deaths based on their personalities. The subtleties that lead the viewer to the film's conclusion are also worthy of being researched, especially since it takes place in a setting not often seen in American films. There's so much I could say, so let me know.
If you have managed to read this far, thank you SO much. I know that it was a bit of a hefty post. I really appreciate you tuning in.
I'll catch you next week, so until then, I hope all is well!
🔪Versa
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