Madhouse

The film opens with two twin girls; one rocks the other in a chair and abruptly bashes the face of her sister until blood stains the scene and she collapses. The moment establishes the brutal dynamic between Mary and Julia from childhood. It hints at the sinister power Mary holds over Julia.

In the present, Julia Sullivan is a deaf education teacher living in Savannah, Georgia. She carries memories of a painful childhood and the sadism of her twin sister Mary. These memories set the stage for the threat that resurfaces later in her life.

At the urging of her uncle James, Julia visits Mary, who is afflicted with a severe skin disease, in a mental institution. The encounter turns hostile as Mary vows to make Julia suffer. This meeting cements Mary's fixation on Julia.

Mary escapes from the mental institution, and the danger she represents begins to spill into Julia's life. Soon after, Julia's house becomes the site of gruesome deaths, hinting at a malevolent presence. A mysterious Rottweiler appears to be connected to the killings.

In the park, Julia's student Sasha Robertson Jr. is killed by the Rottweiler. The attack confirms the creature's link to Mary and the threat that now reaches beyond Julia's home. Julia remains unaware of the full danger closing in.

One evening, Julia is dropped off by her psychologist boyfriend Sam and notices a light on the house's second floor, but finds no one there. The sense that someone is hiding inside the house intensifies as she searches. The eerie intruder fear becomes the film's creeping dread.

Helen, Julia's friend, spends the night but is attacked by the Rottweiler on the staircase and killed, tearing open her throat. Julia awakens to find Helen missing, heightening the sense that an intruder is inside. The threat grows more personal and imminent.

The landlord Amantha Beauregard appears and offers to help James carry a large bag for the birthday setup. Amantha soon realizes she has helped carry a corpse, and James begins to stalk her through the house, setting the stage for a fatal confrontation in the attic.

On Julia's birthday, James meets her after work and blindfolds her to lead her to the basement, where a table of corpses sits. Julia tries to escape but is confronted by Mary, who is reintroduced to torment her. The moment marks the tightening grip of the twins over Julia.

Sam's taxi to the airport is stalled by a flat tire, and his attempt to leave is interrupted when the Rottweiler attacks him. He fights back and kills the dog with a power drill, buying Julia a chance to act. The incident shifts toward Julia's impending reckoning with James.

Sam breaks Julia free from her restraints, and she responds with decisive violence, murdering her uncle James with repeated blows from a hatchet. The basement erupts into violent release as she asserts control for the first time since the siege began.

As Julia stands over James's corpse, Mary briefly comes to life, trying to strangle Julia one final time. Her dying breath warns that Julia will never be free, leaving a chilling reminder of the trauma that remains. The haunting presence lingers even after James's death.

Julia sits weeping in the basement, overwhelmed by the night's horrors. The film ends with a quotation attributed to G. B. Shaw, underscoring themes of fear, freedom, and the price paid to break free from torment.