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willocrisp5000's Replies
All of the supposed supernatural stuff would have been due to Grace no longer having her medication and the children. We are shown a bluetooth speaker playing back audio of her father preaching and a harness used for the hanging scene the son puts on. They would have made up the obituary and the photo in memorial that is found outside, they made the snow angels, they put up the repent, they kept changing the clocks. Her seeing her father at the other cabin would have been due to not having her pills, she was having a very strong mental breakdown. No sane person would try to cross a frozen lake in a snow storm wearing a blanket. We see the father react to what is shown in the dollhouse, the asphyxiation scene in the living room, the repent on the wall, the boy hanging from the attic. Of course he probably didn't have it all figured out, but would have known something was up. By the time the father arrives the children have broken her and in a desperate attempt to make sense of what is happening she shoots the father, believing herself and the children to be already dead. Now in a completely broken state and knowing she just killed the father she has to punish the children and herself for their sins. I’ve only seen it the one time so if you disagree or noticed something I didn't, let me know.
From posts here and in other places it seems like most people just didn't understand the movie. The cult she was a part of drew parallels from a cult called Heavens Gate who committed mass suicide in 1997 believing a UFO tailing the Hale-bopp comet was their ride to another life. They also had 39 members, had purple shrouds over their heads, were laying in their beds with shoes neatly placed beside them. There was also a video taken much the same, however it wasn't filmed by a young girl survivor. Grace was clearly a child when she is shown filming the dead members of her cult and now as an adult still has to live with what she went through, this is why she was on pills. The father was researching cults and had an affair with Grace. His current wife didn't want a divorce and killed herself instead of facing life. The children had already hated Grace for breaking up the family and when the mother takes her own life they blame Grace, but not the father. The children had clearly planned everything from the start. We get a hint of that by the way the bodies are arranged in the dollhouse. After the father leaves, they enact their plan, they knew he would leave because he says they will be with Grace alone for a few days before he can return, he says this at the outdoor dinner scene. Grace clearly wants to connect with the children as we learn it was her idea to be alone with them for a couple days. It starts with the gas heater, the daughter says she is cold, so the son runs and gets it. Grace even comments on the smell and asks if it is safe to use inside, the son reassures her it is safe. Its not because if the pilot goes out it can lead to asphyxiation due to gas filling a room or tent while you sleep, which they use to their advantage. Also note the son made Grace some hot chocolate that the daughter wants nothing to do with when offered. This is how they had time to remove everything from the lodge, she was given a sedative.