Blood and Lace

Ellie's mother is murdered along with a john by hammer blows, and their house is set on fire. The tragedy leaves Ellie alone and draws the attention of Detective Calvin Carruthers, who begins following the case and showing concern for her welfare.

The day before Ellie arrives, Ernest attempts to flee the orphanage. Kredge chases him, cuts off his hand, and leaves him to bleed to death.

Ellie is placed under the care of Mrs. Deere and Kredge, where she discovers the children are subjected to brutal work to secure welfare funds. Deere and Kredge secretly plan a routine involving retrieving bodies from a basement freezer to fake illness.

Before social worker Mullins can count the children, Deere and Kredge haul the bodies of deceased orphans from the basement freezer and arrange them in beds in the infirmary. They even keep the dead husband in the freezer and pretend he is alive as a sort of family presence.

Carruthers visits Ellie at the orphanage and she confides that Deere and Kredge are exploiting the children. He begins to show a protective interest, complicating their dynamic.

Ellie learns that fellow orphan Jennifer has been tied up in the attic for days after trying to escape. Ellie attempts to offer water, but Kredge blocks her, exposing the merciless routine of the house.

Ellie hatches a plan to run away and find her biological father. Kredge agrees to help under false pretenses, but the scheme takes a dark turn when he tries to sexually assault her in the basement; Deere intervenes to stop the assault.

Ellie confronts Mrs. Deere about Jennifer's welfare, and Deere calmly explains that even if Jennifer dies, advancements in medical science could revive the dead.

That night, Ellie wakes to a masked figure standing over her bed with a hammer. Mrs. Deere downplays it, claiming it was a nightmare and that danger is imaginary.

The next morning, Ellie finds Ernest's severed hand in a suitcase and screams. Kredge locks her in the basement freezer to prevent her escape.

Harold Mullins, the welfare worker, arrives to investigate missing children. Deere and Kredge kill him and haul his body to the basement freezer with the others.

In the basement, the masked figure attacks Kredge, allowing Ellie to flee. Deere drags Kredge's body into the freezer but is locked inside by Jennifer, who has escaped from the attic.

Ellie escapes into the woods and confronts the masked figure, who reveals himself as Detective Carruthers. He explains he knows Ellie killed her mother and has orchestrated events to observe her reactions.

Carruthers reveals he is Ellie's biological father and uses his knowledge of her crime to blackmail her into marrying him. He further drops the bombshell that her mother lost her virginity to him.

Realizing she has agreed to marry her own father, Ellie bursts into hysterical laughter at the film’s brutal twist. The scene closes on this dark, morally tangled note as the audience is left with an uneasy ending.