Indie projects can be tough to digest at times due to their different approach to storytelling. The same can be said for the last film I saw, “The Woods Are Real,” and now, with “Jonah,” a sci-fi film, it’s really hard to determine its entertaining factor. However, just so you know, very recently, the Pentagon has disapproved of the existence of extraterrestrial beings. “Jonah,” directed by Ben Van Kleek and starring Osric Chau & Alaina Huffman, delves into the existence of aliens in the most unconventional way.
It is intriguing at times, but the way the characters are developed is somewhat disappointing. Even the dialogue and screenplay don’t entirely align with the theme at hand. So, if you want to watch it, it’s totally your call. There are moments when you might not be amazed, but you will definitely appreciate the crew for pulling off a sci-fi film with a low budget.
Spoilers Ahead
Jonah (2024) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis
The film starts with Margot sorting her bills while Jonah, her son, goes out to play. Moments later, Margot sees an unending source of white light and sees her son levitating in front of her. She tries to do something, but she is thrown away by an unknown force. Later, we are introduced to the journalists, Ozzie and Darren, who are interviewing a therapist named Henrik. Ozzie tries to understand his process as Henrik tells him about palm healing. Henrik tells him that he can establish a psychic connection with his palms and transfer energy from one person to another.
Ozzie is a person with fresh ideas and does not really believe in something that does not have any proper existence in the mortal realm. Henrik somehow gets into his mind, but soon, he rejects his ideas and gets into their van. Their producer, Jen, calls Ozzie, telling him about the recent incident of a boy being abducted by aliens. Ozzie disapproves of the idea of interviewing the boy’s mother as he thinks that aliens do not exist. Darren and Jen try to convince him but Ozzie is not persuaded that easily.
What Makes Ozzie Change His Decision?
Later that night, when Ozzie is deep in his sleep, he has a nightmare where an event from his childhood comes forth. He sees his little self running away from something and later being discovered by some light. The next morning, Ozzie tells Darren that they will be interviewing the mother whose son is abducted by aliens. When they visit Margot’s place, they find some weird vibe inside the house. Ozzie feels like it is Margot who needs help as she is acting very strangely. Of course, her son has been abducted, and this leaves her in shock. But she cares more about letting the world know that the aliens exist rather than trying to find her son, Jonah.
However, after a couple of sittings with Margot, Ozzie, and Darren learn that Jonah is inside the house. Since he has changed since the incident, Margot believes that the aliens have kidnapped her son and sent one of them to take his place. Ozzie refuses to follow this logic as he thinks that Margot is trying to endorse an irrational thought. He asks what happens when Margot sees the light in front of her yard. Margot says that she runs toward the light and sees Jonah levitating, and when she tries to grab him down, something throws her away. Later, she thinks that they have taken away her son. She even refuses to keep Jonah under any treatment because she thinks Jonah is not improving and is only spending on the bills.
What does Ozzie learn after Interviewing Jonah?
When Ozzie sees that there is nothing Margot can shed light on, he asks her whether he can talk to Jonah about the incident directly. Jonah is paralyzed from the waist down. When asked about what happened, it seems like a different creature is answering the question. Jonah, or whoever it is, says that humanity will soon collapse as there will be a famine, and whoever will survive the famine will be burnt alive. His race, as Jonah says, will not intervene in the process until it is time for them to take over. He predicts that somewhere in the upcoming future, man will completely destroy themselves once and for all.
Curiously, Jonah mentions that the final war is up ahead, and their awakening has begun. By ‘their,’ he definitely means some other species which will eventually take control of the earth. Soon after, he mentions that it is his time to return home and exaggerates the word ‘home’ numerous times. Margot comes and takes him away as Ozzie and Darren leave amazed looking at the whole situation. Later, Ozzie tells Darren that Margot needs some psych evaluation as he thinks that Margot has been manipulating Jonah into believing in the alien existence story.
What does Ozzie find out about Margot and Jonah?
Ozzie is suspicious that somehow Margot has bugged their room because of an incident that took place one night. Margot is enjoying her time with Ozzie and Darren as they are drinking wine and dancing to the music. Since Margot does not have wi-fi, Ozzie uses her telephone to call Jen and let her know about the situation. Soon after, he hears some noise from Jonah’s room. When he tries to open it up, it is locked from the outside. Margot comes running and opens the door with a key, only to find Jonah struggling on the floor.
Jonah gives Ozzie a very weird look like he is keeping an eye on his movement. Later that night, when Ozzie is discussing the drawings Jonah makes with Margot, they get into a fight as Margot feels that Ozzie has come here only to humiliate her in front of the world. She also mentions that she knows Ozzie thinks she needs a psych evaluation. Ozzie knows that this is supposed to stay between him and Darren only. From this moment, Ozzie starts doubting Margot even more as he thinks that she has bugged their room.
The following morning, Margot shows them the place where she had seen the light coming from, and the journalists check for any radioactive material. They find something. However, Ozzie explains that since this place was used during the war, it is common to find some signs of radioactive material out here. But later, Margot shows them some dead chickens and tells them that she does not know how they got killed. Later, Jen calls Ozzie, saying that Jonah is not Margot’s own son. He was adopted a while ago. Ozzie’s suspicion of Margot increases with every passing moment.
Why does Darren want to Leave?
As time progresses, Ozzie learns more things about Margot. One night, when he helps Margot to her bed, he finds out that there is a whole setup inside her room where she can monitor every movement inside the house. Later that night, Ozzie and Darren place some hidden night cams around the farm to know who kills the chickens. Meanwhile, we see Margot asking Jonah what Ozzie and Darren are talking about. This means two things: first, Margot knows Jonah has special powers, and she utilizes them very well. The second is that Margot is planning something, and it is important for her to know what Ozzie has in his mind.
Meanwhile, we see a couple of times that Jonah is getting into Ozzie’s head and bringing up his old dream. We learn that when Ozzie was a child, he faced a similar situation as Jonah, and since then, he has denied the existence of aliens. It is the process of denial that he has allowed to grow inside himself. This is the reason why he wants to save Jonah from all the extraterrestrial things and give him the life he deserves. After a while, things start to mix up as Ozzie fails to differentiate between dream and reality. Darren thinks the situation is out of control as he wants to take a leave.
Jonah (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Is Jonah able to save Ozzie?
Hearing Margot screaming, Ozzie and Darren come back to the house. Ozzie does CPR while Darren starts recording. Soon after, Ozzie and Darren have a fight as Ozzie tries to stop Darren from going away. Margot witnesses their fight through the CCTV in her room. Darren wins the fight by making Ozzie unconscious, and when he wakes up, he finds himself inside a room in an almost naked state. Ozzie puts some clothes on and comes out of the house only to get confronted by Margot at the front door.
Margot tries to kill Ozzie with a knife when Ozzie says that none of the stories are true, and the only truth is she is abusing Jonah. Margot denies the claims and says that nobody believed what she had seen. All she ever wanted was for Ozzie to believe her stories and share them with the world. Ozzie somehow manages to escape Margot and finds Jonah inside a small house outside. Margot shoots Ozzie from the back and tries to choke him to death. Ozzie hits Margot with a rock and then goes numb for a while.
Later, we see Jonah using his palms to seek energy from Ozzie, just as Henrik describes at the beginning of the film. Jonah then stands on his feet and summons his kind. A UFO arrives at the spot, and Jonah orders Ozzie to follow the light as he himself departs from the frame. In the next scene, we see Margot bidding farewell to her son. Nothing is cleared out by the makers like why it is happening or anything. But perhaps the creatures from different planets only wanted Ozzie from the beginning.
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It is their plan to recreate the whole scenario only to get what they have failed to get back then when Ozzie was just a kid. The scene where we see Jonah and Ozzie standing together looking at the UFO generates this theory. We could have gone with the theory that Margot has planned everything to hide the fact she is abusing Jonah, as in the middle, we have seen her mixing drugs in Jonah’s drink, which he refuses to have. It can be medicine or hallucinogens that make Jonah think of aliens’ existence.
But that theory does not stand when the UFO truly arrives. It can be said that Margot is hallucinating the whole thing. But that would be too bizarre to conclude. Anyway, the ending is very much dicey and it is hard to establish what actually happened because there are multiple possibilities. If you see this film, do comment with your take on the ending and which theory comes close from the above, if any.
