Cabin by the Lake

Screenwriter Stanley Caldwell uncovers a hidden room in his cabin at Summit Lake and finds a young woman chained to the floor. He greets her and brings her food, all while watching her from the other side of the door. This moment marks the start of his ritualized pattern of keeping and studying captives.

Stanley binds Kimberly, changes her clothes, and escorts her onto his boat. He binds her hands, tethers a cement block to her ankles, and forces her into the water. He pulls her back to study her fear before letting her sink back down.

Back at the cabin, Stanley resumes work on his screenplay, weaving details from Kimberly into his story. The victim's ordeal becomes material for his art, blurring the line between real crime and fiction. The killer's routine deepens as he treats his captives as raw data.

The next morning, he dives to the lake bottom to tend his 'garden' of drowned women. He treats the submerged bodies as a gardener would his plants, maintaining the ritual of killing. This macabre routine reveals his obsessive nature.

Stanley spots Mallory, a young theater employee, and notices her fear of water. He follows her after work, orchestrates a collision to pull her into his orbit. This marks Mallory as his next victim.

Stanley forcibly abducts Mallory, locks her away in his secret room, and leaves a chilling warning on yellow tape. The room becomes her prison as he isolates her from the outside world. Her defiance foreshadows a conflict between captor and captive.

Stanley pretends to offer freedom if she faces her fear and agrees to a ride on his boat. He blindfolds Mallory and drives, attempting to drown her in Summit Lake. She survives long enough to be rescued by local police and a compassionate couple.

During recovery, Mallory suggests making a plaster mold of herself with a camera eye to catch the killer. The plan is meant to lure him back and reveal his identity when he reenters the garden. The idea shows her resolve to turn the tables on her captor.

Stanley returns to the bodies, discovering Mallory's ploy and escapes, his identity hidden behind a scuba mask. Mallory's trap remains active as she fights to stay one step ahead. The cat-and-mouse game continues even as danger closes in.

Mallory is recaptured by Stanley, who prepares to drown her again. Unannounced, Regan, Stanley's agent, and the film director arrive at the cabin, disrupting his plan. Violence erupts as the situation spirals toward a final confrontation.

Stanley kills the director with a cleaver and imprisons Regan alongside Mallory. He drags both women toward the lake, aiming to drown them. The escalating threats intensify as authorities close in.

Boone and other police dive into the lake to free Mallory, and Regan's body is recovered. Stanley himself is missing, presumed dead after snagging his leg on a rope in his garden. Mallory survives but remains haunted by the ordeal.

In a meta twist, a movie pitch scene shows a killer burying victims alive. The camera reveals Stanley with a new look, declaring, 'I'm still doing the research.' The implication is that the cycle of violence will resume in another story.