Shelley

Elena, a young Romanian woman, is hired to work for Louise and Kasper at their secluded lakehouse. She moves into the remote home where electricity is scarce and the only outside link is a landline. The stark setting foreshadows the strange dynamics that will unfold.

Elena and Louise quickly bond, sharing personal dreams and fears. Elena reveals she is saving money to buy a home for her son, while Louise confides infertility problems. Their growing trust sets up the dependency and power dynamics to come.

Louise asks Elena to become a surrogate for their child, offering to buy her an apartment after birth. Elena hesitates but eventually agrees, despite pressure from her worried parents. The arrangement becomes the central catalyst for the escalating tension.

Elena is implanted with one of Louise's frozen eggs. Doctors assure her that everything is progressing normally, but Elena begins to sense that something is off. The pregnancy unfolds with a creeping sense of unease.

Elena experiences weight loss, exhaustion, bleeding gums, and unusual cravings. The chickens in the coop become terrified of her, and Elena endures nightmares and unsettling visions. Leo, a spiritual healer and Louise's friend, senses a dark energy surrounding the unborn child.

Elena questions the baby's health, but her doctor insists all is well. When she asks for an ultrasound, the machine mysteriously breaks down and cannot be used. Leo grows more alarmed and tries to help Elena through the ominous signs.

As the pregnancy deepens, Elena's pain becomes almost constant and Louise steps in as caretaker at the lakehouse. During a bath, Elena screams in pain and lashes out, threatening to expel the child. The safe routines give way to a claustrophobic, dangerous atmosphere.

One afternoon Elena, left unattended, attempts to terminate the pregnancy with a knitting needle. She dies from internal bleeding, but the baby survives. The house's malignant energy seems to have claimed her life.

Louise names the baby Shelley, who begins to exhibit Elena's eerie traits. The child makes the same noises and triggers fear in the chickens, and she screams when water is poured on her. Leo visits again and senses the evil centered on Shelley, prompting him to flee.

Kasper becomes uncomfortable around Shelley, hearing strange noises that Louise cannot hear. He grows increasingly shell-shocked and unresponsive, even when he accidentally cuts his own leg. Louise remains oblivious to the danger posed by their daughter.

Louise discovers Shelley missing and finds Kasper locking them in the car with the engine running in a fatal carbon monoxide setup. She manages to rescue Shelley and, in a brutal turn, kills Kasper by slamming his head in the car door. A mysterious figure in black watches briefly before vanishing.

With Kasper dead and the mystery unresolved, Louise and Shelley are left at the lakehouse, isolated and unsettled. An unidentified figure in black appears in the room and then disappears, leaving the audience with an ending that feels haunted and unresolved.