Directed by Steven Boyle, “The Demon Disorder” is an Australian horror flick that revolves around three brothers who cross paths. They get back to their family home since they are haunted by the past demons of their deceased father. The film follows a horrifying chapter in their lives as they try to escape the bloodcurdling madness in their father’s old garage. Streaming on Shudder, the film stars Christian Willis, Charles Cottier, and Dirk Hunter as the three brothers, while John Noble plays their deceased father. Director Steven Boyle has written the film’s screenplay with Toby Osborne.
Spoilers Ahead
The Demon Disorder (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“The Demon Disorder” is an English-language horror film about three brothers who try to get past their father’s death and escape their horrifying past demons.
What happens in ‘The Demon Disorder’ on Shudder?
“The Demon Disorder” on Shudder follows the Reilly brothers, Graham (Christian Willis), Jake (Dirk Hunter), and Philip (John Noble), from a small Australian town. Their father, George (John Noble), dies under strange circumstances. Since then, the sons have been trying to process their grief and the agony they went through upon George’s death. Jake still lives at their farmhouse with Phillip while Graham takes care of their family business, a garage. The film begins with Phillip waking up from a dream where his father is tied to a bed by chains. He walks outside to the shed to find a dead pig covered in blood. It looks like someone brutally attacked it.
Jake shoots the pig and relieves it from its unbearable pain and misery. Graham starts his work day at the garage with his young employee, Cole Nichols (Tobie Webster). Her father, Max, is Graham’s old friend, who knows that Graham has been staying in the garage to avoid facing reality. So, Max offers Graham his office to stay. Max considers speaking with Max about it. Soon after, Jake arrives there and creeps Cole with his presence. Then, he asks Graham to join him back home, fearing a danger lurking around their house. Graham does not want to return after all he faced in his past. He does not want to relive those memories and instead wants to be done with them.
Does Graham return home?
Graham is still not over the horror he witnessed at their family house. We see glimpses of their family’s past about a vicious attack. In the present, Jake reveals Phillip has been having a hard time lately. He seeks Graham’s help to see what is happening with their younger sibling. As a result, Graham finally agrees to return home. They reach home at night. It instantly takes Graham back to a painful memory of their father losing control over his mind and trying to attack Graham. Back in the present, Graham notices a hole in the wall. It scares him like almost every other thing inside the house. He dreams of their father’s bloodied figure walking out of a kitchen.
After waking up from his nightmare, Graham walks out of the house. There, he finds Jake next to the chicken coop. Jake says the chickens look scared to claim a demonic presence around them. Graham rejects that notion. Soon, he meets Phillip, who wonders what Graham is doing there since he rarely visits their home. He asks whether Jake asked him to come. Graham pretends that he is there for Phillip’s birthday. Still, Phillips sees through his lies and realizes he is there out of concern and to speak about a fateful night. Right after that incident, Graham abandoned them, leaving them to take care of the mess left behind.
What does Graham witness back at their house?
Graham apologizes for abandoning Phillip and Jake. Later, at midnight, he wakes to a loud thud. He walks out to find its source. In the bedroom, he finds a wounded chicken under the bed, squeaking for its life. He carefully takes it out to the garden. There, he sees signs of slaughtered birds. He follows the trail and enters the coop. Inside, he finds Phillips gnawing at them like a beast. Graham carries him back inside the home. He wants to call an ambulance, but Jake refuses to do so. Moments later, a strange creature starts peeking out of Phillip’s chest. This creature escapes Phillip’s body and terrorizes the brothers.
Somehow, Graham and Jake get hold of the creature and keep it trapped under a bowl. Jake believes that the creature is their father, but Graham thinks otherwise. Through some glimpses from the past, we see Phillip offering soup to bedridden George, who attacks him instead. In the present, Phillip believes their father has returned. Jake thinks Phillip is trying to kill their father. So, that day, Jake breaks open his father’s old room to look at its state. Then, he briefly envisions a creature peeking out of his body. As Jake recounts a scenario of his father smothering George, he attacks Phillip. Jake saves Phillip, drives him to the garage, and meets Cole there.
The Demon Disorder (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Do Phillip, Jake, and Graham survive the demon’s attack?
On the way to the garage, Phillip goes through unbearable pain. Cole worries he needs an ambulance and calls for help. But moments later, she realizes he is possessed. In the office, Graham tears open his heart for the creature to escape. While that happens, the possessed Phillip begins haunting them. Soon, Jake reaches there and confronts Graham for abandoning them upon their father’s death. They resolve their differences and get back to finding and saving Phillip. As they try to take care of the demon, Officer Peters (Amy Ingram) and Officer Terry (Michael Tuahine) reach there to check why Cole called them.
Graham tries to hide what is happening inside the garage. But the officers hear a loud noise and enter the place. Officer Terry walks inside a near-dark room to find deeply wounded Phillip. Behind a curtain, he sees signs of the strange creature that left Phillip’s body, now the size of a human. He opens it and gets brutally attacked. Then, Jake attacks Officer Peters so that they can deal with their familial mess. The brothers team up together with Cole to fight the creature. Graham calls it ‘his dad’ and shoots it.
A flashback reveals that George wanted his sons to come together and shoot him, fearing his impending pain and suffering. After killing the creature, Graham decides to shoot himself to end the suffering of his brothers. Jake, Phillip, and Cole realize that. So, they help Graham remove the demon still in his heart. After this successful release, the four leave the garage and drive away.
What does the demon represent?
The monstrous demon in “The Demon Disorder” represents their father haunting and traumatizing his children after his death and simultaneously trying to process his unfulfilled trauma.
