“Lilim” (2025) is a new supernatural horror film on Netflix that follows a haunting chapter in the lives of a pair of siblings. They face a familial tragedy that forces them to find a safe space away from their home. It leads them to enter a secluded orphanage run by nuns. At first, it seems like just the warm and comforting haven they need to escape the horrors of their past.
Yet, they slowly realize that it is anything but that. Instead of finding a safety net in this place, they get confronted with the traumatic past. It’s the kind of brooding mystery that genre fans must have seen before. What sets “Lilim” apart is its connection to an eponymous myth and its relevance to its Filipino setting. The film is also bleak and brutal, although occasionally sentimental. Mikhail Red directed the movie from a script he co-wrote with Nikolas Red. It stars Heaven Peralejo, Skywalker David, and Eula Valdez in the central roles.
Spoilers Ahead
Lilim (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“Lilim” follows siblings Issa and Tomas, who are on the run after Issa stabs their father to death in self-defense. They enter an orphanage to stay safe, only to learn about a deadly cult run by the local nuns.
What happens in ‘Lilim’ on Netflix?
The film begins on a bleak note as a man lies dead on the ground. His daughter, Issa (Heaven Peralejo), wipes the blood off a knife while her younger brother, Tomas (Skywalker David), is horrified by what he witnessed. Neither they nor we get enough time to process it. The next moment, Issa and Toma are in a car, driving through the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere. Tomas is upset that Issa brought them away from home on a journey with no destination. She tries to explain why what she did is for the best, but as a kid, he can’t fully understand that.
Suddenly, he steps out of the car and runs away. Issa follows him across the woods, but to no avail. Instead, she finds an old building and walks inside. There, a man runs away from her, screaming. She cannot understand why or who he is. As she tries to escape, she runs into a group of nuns living there. They reveal that it’s an orphanage, and Tomas ran from the woods to them. Issa doesn’t doubt their intentions as they seem kind and pious. She sees it as a good change for Tomas, who is still grieving their father’s loss.
Despite her sincere intentions, Tomas finds it difficult to adapt to his new environment. He is put in a group of orphan boys who bully him every chance they get. They don’t beat him or attack him. Still, they make him feel unwelcome in their group through their minor aggressions. It seems to stem from their adolescent urges, suppressed in the secluded environment of the orphanage since it doesn’t provide them any respite. So, they unleash their emotions in unpleasant ways. That’s not the only threat Tomas faces inside this organization.
What does Issa learn about the orphanage?
Issa speaks with Sister Marga (Eula Valdez), who is in charge of the orphanage. She maintains discipline among the residents, but doesn’t seem cruel or violent in the slightest. Instead, she appears kind as she takes Issa and Tomas under her wings. She allows them to live in the orphanage as long as they want, without asking anything about their past. At that moment, there’s nothing more that Issa could ask for. She was on the run from the law during the Martial Law era in 1983, which made it nearly impossible to find any other safe space.
In this case, the remote orphanage seems like a haven. While there, the authorities cannot find and convict them. What’s even better is the kind and welcoming Sister Marga, who makes her feel at peace. The nun also reveals how she has sheltered other women who were trying to find a life away from the outside dangers. Issa seeks this space for similar reasons. So, she trusts them. Yet, it doesn’t take long for Issa to realize that it’s all an elaborate mirage. Initially, she notices signs of questionable behavior by the nuns and gets haunted by creatures in her dreams or lurking in the dark. She sees the children disappearing. One of them goes missing as soon as a nun reveals that they have found his foster parents.
Lilim (2025) ‘Netflix’ Movie Ending Explained:
Do Issa and Tomas ever escape the orphanage?
Toward the end of the film, Issa finds the nuns engaged in a ritual that sheds light on their cult. They use children as a sacrifice to a demon, Lilith. Sister Marga tells her that she is Lilim, one of the servants to the demon. As soon as Issa gets a hint of it all, the nuns silence her. That’s when two officers arrive there searching for Issa and Tomas in connection with their father’s murder. While one of them looks through the facility, another officer almost dies at the hands of a nun. Soon, he finds himself locked inside a room with Issa. The nuns drag him out and throw him into a catacomb, where they soon throw Tomas in front of a demon.
Issa makes her way to this room and enters the catacomb to save Tomas. The climax of “Lilim” shows her walking out to be confronted by the demon, which seemingly morphs into her abusive father. In that fateful moment, Tomas shoots the demon, ending its life. It seems like their way of confronting their horrific past. The film reveals signs of her father inflicting pain through domestic abuse. So, by killing him, Tomas and she seemingly reclaim their sanity as they end the root of their suffering. After that, the siblings rush outside. Before leaving, Tomas asks Issa to save the other boys from an impending torture.
What happens to Issa in the end?
Issa returns up the stairs to honor Tomas’ wishes. Within a few moments, Tomas hears his friend’s guttural scream. He walks upstairs to find Issa being possessed by the demon, which feeds on suffering and the purity of children. The film’s final moments show the nuns offering possessed Issa, children as sacrifices. It’s primarily why they wanted her and Tomas there in the first place. Marga saw Tomas as the kind of innocent and pure child that the demon would desire. It’s not just him. Marga also has a deeper connection with Issa since Issa’s mother was a part of their organization. That’s how Issa was named Isabela in the first place. So, even the place that could have been a haven proves to be anything but that for her and Tomas.
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