A city-couple seeking a fresh start in a countryside home realize their charming young landlord hides a terrifying secret. Trapped, isolated, they must outwit him before they become the latest victims of his twisted sense of family.

SYNOPSIS:

FADE IN

ACT ONE:

The story begins in a squalid, abusive home where twelve-year-old LUKE endures the cruelty of his alcoholic parents. His father, a bloated, violent drunk, beats him mercilessly while his mother, equally cruel, encourages the punishment. When left alone, something inside the boy snaps. That night, he kills them both—his mother with a broken whiskey bottle and his father with a baseball bat.

(Backstory) Taken into the foster system, Luke ends up in the care of PASTOR CAIUS, the leader of a fanatical religious cult that believes in purification through suffering. Luke is subjected to cruel and relentless abuse, taught that sin must be punished through physical pain. He is whipped, locked away, and sent into the wilderness for weeks at a time. But something inside him adapts. Instead of breaking, he learns the ways of the cult, internalizing its twisted beliefs. Eventually, he turns against his tormentors, killing the Pastor and his followers in a ritualistic purge. Luke emerges from the ordeal as the sole survivor, taking back his house and land, isolated deep in the woods.

Years later, BRIAN and LEANNE JACKSON, a middle-aged city couple, arrive at the picturesque countryside property, hoping to start anew. Brian, recovering from a traumatic car accident, seeks peace and restoration, while Leanne is eager to leave the stress of urban life behind. They meet Luke, now an affable, polite young man in his early twenties, who introduces himself as the caretaker of the property. He informs them that his "uncle" owns the place but is too ill to meet them.

Luke's rules are simple but strange: no alcohol, no mess and to be God fearing. Though peculiar, the couple agrees, charmed by the rural beauty and Luke’s apparent earnestness. They move in, oblivious to the horrors hidden within the house’s past and the darkness lurking behind their host’s pleasant facade.

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ACT TWO:

As Brian and Leanne settle in, eerie occurrences begin to unsettle them. Strange noises echo through the house at night, objects seem to move on their own, and they sense they are constantly being watched. Leanne discovers a trapdoor hidden beneath the Persian rug in the living room, leading to a sealed-off basement. When she asks Luke about it, he insists it was filled in years ago for safety reasons.

Tension escalates when Leanne finds an injured spaniel outside. She brings it in, immediately forming a bond with the dog and naming it Charlie. However, when Luke sees the animal, his demeanor shifts from friendly to enraged. He believes love should be reserved for those worthy and accuses Leanne of misplacing her affections. The following day, the couple wakes to find Charlie missing. Soon after, Leanne makes a gruesome discovery: the dog’s remains stuffed into the washing machine, its blood staining their clothes.

Luke confronts them, expressing disappointment that they have strayed from the righteous path. He reveals that he has been watching them through hidden cameras and listening to their conversations. In his mind, they have sinned—Brian by bringing alcohol into the home, and Leanne by expressing a desire to foster children. To Luke, they have betrayed him, the family he had chosen for himself.

He knocks them unconscious, dragging them both to the basement. When they wake, they find themselves bound and helpless. After some days Luke visits, explaining his personal history, the abuse at his parents’ hands, and the torture inflicted on him by Pastor Caius and his followers. But he’s still willing to offer them one last chance at redemption. If they truly repent, they may yet be saved. If not, they will suffer the fate of the previous tenants—the missing couple whose bodies now reside in Luke’s freezer.

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ACT THREE:

Starving and desperate, Brian and Leanne play along, pretending to accept Luke’s teachings. They clean the house meticulously, feign prayer, and beg for his forgiveness. When Luke loosens their restraints, they bide their time, looking for an opportunity to escape. Leanne, ever resourceful, realizes that Luke still craves a family, particularly a mother figure. She exploits this, playing the role of the doting maternal presence he never had.

One night, under the guise of preparing a family meal, Leanne drugs Luke’s drink with Brian’s hidden pain medication. As he eats, his words begin to slur, and his movements slow. Just as he realizes what’s happening, Leanne stabs him in the chest with a kitchen knife. A struggle ensues—Luke is wounded but not down. She knocks him out, smashing a ceramic bowl over his head.

They frantically search for the keys to escape. But as Brian reaches for the front door, he is electrocuted—the house has been rigged to keep them inside. Leanne recalls the trapdoor and realizes that the basement must have an exit. They descend into the darkness, discovering not just the remnants of Luke’s past but also a hidden passage leading outside.

Just as they reach freedom, Luke, bloody but still alive, emerges from the house. He staggers toward them, his face a mask of betrayal and rage. Before he can strike, Brian swings a crowbar, delivering a devastating blow. Luke collapses, motionless.

Brian and Leanne, wounded and desperate, struggle through the dark woods when a figure steps into their path—Luke. Cold and calculating, he reveals that he has been leading them here, to a place of horror. Above them, a mummified corpse hangs from an oak tree—Pastor Caius, a false prophet whom Luke tortured before death.

Leanne seizes an opportunity. She manipulates Luke, playing on his insecurities, seducing him with whispers of admiration. She convinces him that Brian has always been jealous, standing in the way of their connection. Luke, overcome with emotion, lowers his guard. Leanne leans in and, in an intimate moment, plunges a hidden blade into his neck.

But Luke is no ordinary man. He rips the knife free, enraged and ready to kill. A gunshot rings out—a Sheriff arrives, thinking he has saved them. But when they turn, Luke’s body is gone. Moments later, the Sheriff is impaled from behind.

Luke, bloodied but unstoppable, advances with his hammer raised. He speaks a twisted prayer, ready to bring divine judgment upon them. The hammer falls.

FADE OUT