Silent Madness

The mental institution in New Jersey inadvertently releases a dangerous patient, Howard Johns, after a computer error misfiles his status as discharged. He immediately begins stalking and murdering people he encounters.

Dr. Joan Gilmore alerts the administrator and forces an emergency staff meeting. At the meeting, officials claim Howard died a week earlier, but Gilmore suspects a cover-up and vows to uncover the truth.

After the meeting, Gilmore decides to investigate on her own and contacts a local newspaper. She meets Mark McGowan, who offers to help uncover the truth.

Mark explains that Howard was connected to murders at a sorority in Barrington, New York, and may return there. He proposes that Gilmore go undercover as a former member of the sorority to lure Howard out.

Gilmore introduces herself to Mrs. Collins and the sisters Jane, Cheryl, and Pam. Collins recounts the hazing incident and Howard’s supposed murder of the girls with a nail gun.

The next morning, Gilmore explores the sorority building's boiler room and runs into Howard. She escapes and prepares to continue the investigation.

Gilmore reports the encounter to Sheriff Liggett, who refuses to intervene because the hospital claims Howard is deceased. She realizes the staff is trying to bury their error and prevent exposure.

Anderson dispatches Jesse and Virgil to the sorority to handle Gilmore and Howard. They arrive with orders to contain the situation and remove any threats.

Mark reintroduces Gilmore to the sorority sisters, and Jane asks him to drive her to a nearby lake to meet her sister Susan. He agrees but tells the others to lock up.

At the lake, Mark and Jane discover Susan and her boyfriend Paul dead, killed by Howard earlier. The discovery confirms Howard's reach beyond the sorority and raises the stakes.

Back at the sorority, Howard slips from the basement and kills Cheryl and Pam. The killings heighten the danger as Gilmore and Mark race to intervene.

Mark goes back to rescue Gilmore and tells Jane to call Sheriff Liggett. He is knocked unconscious and restrained by Jesse and Virgil.

Gilmore is knocked unconscious and dragged into the boiler room, where Howard places her in a trap that will kill her when the lights are turned on. Jesse and Virgil arrive; Virgil inadvertently activates the trap, killing Jesse as he assaults Gilmore, and then Howard kills Virgil.

Gilmore overpowers and kills Howard at the main entrance. Mrs. Collins arrives and reveals that Howard was her son, and she had murdered the hazers years earlier.

Emergency services arrive on the scene, taking control of the aftermath. Gilmore and Mark head back to New Jersey together, ending the ordeal.