The Innocents 2022

Lonely young girl Ida and her older sister Anna have recently settled into a new apartment with their parents. Anna, who has nonverbal autism, relies on Ida for support and care. One fateful day, Ida meets Ben, and the two quickly form a friendship. To Ida’s astonishment, Ben reveals he possesses telekinetic abilities, enabling him to move small objects with his mind.

Things take a turn when Ida is tasked with taking Anna to the playground. However, she leaves Anna unsupervised for a bit to enjoy some football with Ben. Their fun is interrupted when a bully snatches their ball. Later, out of curiosity and perhaps a dark whim, Ben picks up a stray cat he noticed in the woods, and the two decide to drop it from the top of their apartment complex. While they find the cat unharmed initially, a horrific moment follows: at Ida’s urging to leave the cat alone, Ben kills it by crushing its skull with his foot.

The day becomes darker as Ida searches for Anna, only to find her playing with another child, Aisha, who lives in their building. Astonishingly, Aisha communicates with Anna through telepathy, revealing that Anna has her own latent powers of telekinesis. As Ida observes this newfound connection, it becomes clear that Anna, Aisha, and Ben thrive together in their supernatural abilities, while Ida finds herself devoid of such gifts.

With practice, the trio’s powers grow stronger, and to everyone’s delight, Anna begins to form words with Aisha’s encouragement. However, tensions rise when Ben becomes enraged at being teased and retaliates by knocking Aisha over telekinetically, leading to an unintended injury for Anna during the chaos. At home, Ben faces the wrath of his abusive mother, and in a moment of aggression facilitated by his powers, he knocks her unconscious. Shocking developments unfold when Aisha’s mother becomes a target, and tragedy strikes with Aisha’s untimely death.

As fears mount, a stranger warns Ida’s family of Ben’s manipulations. Despite that, Ida invites Ben to play with a toy glider, but their plans lead to more danger as Ida tries to thwart Ben by pushing him off the overpass where his bully was previously harmed. This reckless decision results in Ida being hit by a car, awakening her powers in sheer desperation.

Amidst the escalating conflict between Anna and Ben, Ida finds herself at a crossroads. When Anna is outmatched by Ben, Ida surprises herself by healing her broken leg through sheer willpower, unlocking her own telekinetic abilities. The battle intensifies, drawing captivated onlookers who witness the frantic energy exchange between the three children. Ultimately, a powerful surge leads to Ben’s demise, leaving a tranquil silence in its wake.

With the chaos subsiding, Ida and Anna return to their apartment, where Ida, now imbued with newfound courage, embraces their mother. The scene closes on Anna, who appears to be on the verge of expressing herself, raising hopes of a brighter connection between the sisters moving forward.