Erin Lovett, in her latest Lifetime thriller “A Deadly Threat to My Family,” attempts to depict the dangers that cults can pose to ordinary human lives. However, she fails drastically in the film’s climax. The story revolves around Marielle’s family, where the shadow of cult rituals emerges, and she tries to protect her family from its wrath. Fortunately, she receives a helping hand from her sister-in-law, Serena Harris, But that’s only until the climax. What causes the rift between them in the first place? Well, to know that, let’s jump straight ahead into the plot.
Spoilers Ahead
A Deadly Threat to My Family (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film starts with Serena, accompanied by her brother Ryan, facing the media as they ask questions about the cult she used to be a part of. Serena acts as a witness against the cult leader Aleph, who believes that ‘the rise’ is coming and everyone will become a part of it. We see a glimpse of the cult at the film’s opening, where every woman is wearing a red cloth while Aleph is summoning some unknown energy to help them begin their rituals.
Anyway, Serena enters the car after seeing a woman from the cult who witnesses her from afar. Ryan brings Serena home. By the look of it, we see Marielle is not happy with her presence. She is not sad, though. Anyway, Marielle and Ryan’s daughter, Aria, is too excited to meet Serena because she had spent a good amount of time with her. Now since she is sort of a celebrity, Aria tries even to copy her style. Serena was gone for a long time. But when she comes back, she receives a warm welcome from the Harris family.
Why does Marielle Keep Pushing Away Serena?
When Serena was first introduced to the cult, Marielle did not want her influence to affect Aria by any means. She kept Serena away from the inner circle of the house, which eventually resulted in Serena’s rejection of her family. Later, she submitted herself to the cult. She started living with the cult. Years after, she realized that there was something seriously wrong with Aleph’s thinking, so she left. Now, when she comes back, it is hard for Marielle to fully trust her. However, Marielle is not a bad person.
Ryan has told Marielle that she needs to allow Serena more often so that they can tie up a relationship that is going to be healthy for the whole family. But, no matter how hard Marielle tries, she just fails to trust Serena. Soon, Serena’s behavior feels abnormal to her when she misses her therapy session. Instead, Marielle finds her talking to Aria and her friends. Marielle starts to believe that Serena, once again, is trying to convince Aria to participate in the cult groups. However, Serena later tells Marielle that she needs to take care of Aria more because just like her, anyone can get to her school and talk to her.
What Makes Marielle Believe that Serena is still a Part of the Cult?
As time progresses, Marielle starts to observe Serena more closely than ever before, which results in a spat between her and Ryan. Ryan tells Marielle that she is being harsh with his sister and she needs to tone down. Even when she tells Ryan about the signs Serena is putting all over the house, Ryan defends Serena by saying it is her process to recover from the past. When Marielle finds an empty vial in Serena’s room, Ryan tells her to return it to her and stop invading her privacy.
Marielle requests Ryan to talk to Serena since Aria has learned about ‘the rise,’ which she should not be knowing. When Ryan talks to Serena, she easily manipulates him into believing her with innocence. Marielle realizes that there is nothing that Ryan can do, so she follows Serena one day into the forest. She discovers that she is meeting with a cult friend of hers who hands two vials to Serena.
She tells it to Ryan and in reply, he says that he has talked to the therapist and Serena is doing just fine. He also explains that maybe Serena is meeting with her old friends because it is helping her to calm her nerves so that she can move on from the past. Marielle knows that things only get difficult if she continues pushing Ryan into these conversations so she takes things into her own hand.
What is Serena’s Cult Friend Planning?
While Serena receives the vials from her cult friends, she tells Serena that these vials are for Aria. Serena tells her that Aria does not require much attention. But her friend insists upon bringing her into the cult. Later, one day, while Marielle is working in her nursery, an old lady visit her for flowers. Soon after, a ladder falls onto her. When Marielle comes out of the nursery, she sees a friend of Serena’s going into her car and she tells Marielle that she should not try and stop ‘the rise.’
Marielle follows her car and learns about the location, but when she tries to inform the police, they do not take the matter seriously. Later, Marielle goes to pick up Aria from the school, but the authority says that she has already left with her aunty. Marielle talks to Serena, begging her to return Aria to her as she fears that since this is the day the cult has told her ‘the rise’ will take place, Serena is bringing Aria to the cult. However, later, she finds Aria and Serena inside the house.
A Deadly Threat to My Family (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
What Happens to Serena?
Later that night, Aria is denied the opportunity to go to a party at one of her friend’s houses because Marielle fears that something bad will happen tonight, as it’s the night of ‘the rise.’ However, Aria sneaks out and leaves for the party. Serena’s friend from the cult then enters the house and ensures that Aria can be kidnapped outside the house quite easily. She texts Aria about her mother being sick and brings her to the cult. Before Aria enters the car, she sends the video of her abduction to Serena.
Serena goes to the cult along with Marielle and submits herself, saying that she now believes in their motive. But Serena’s friend realizes that this is a trick, and she turns both her and Marielle a captive. Serena believed that since she was the most powerful in her bloodline, according to Aleph, the cult would leave Aria. But they both are from the same bloodline, so it is only a gift for the cult as they decide not to let go of either of them.
Serena is forced to take the poison from the vial while Marielle threatens the cult to destroy all the vials that contain the poison. By ‘Rise,’ they mean the mass suicide which will eventually help the cult grow with more purpose. However, Marielle interferes and gives Serena the antidote to the poison. Ryan has already informed the police, and knowing that the police will soon discover the cult, all the members drink the poison from the vials and kill themselves.
At the end of the film, we see Serena, Marielle, Ryan, and Aria living happily. Marielle allows Aria to hang out with her friends while she also establishes a friendly relationship with Serena. Serena says that throughout, she was only trying to protect Aria from the cult, thinking that once the final night of ‘the rise’ passed, everything would be sorted. Marielle now completely believes her, as Serena almost gave her life to save Aria from the cult.
