Stalker

Having just published a bestseller, Paula Martin retreats to her family's gothic country house, Crow's Hall, to focus on a new book. She struggles with writer's block and nightmares about her abusive childhood. Paula hires an attractive female assistant named Linda, who provides comfort and companionship during this difficult period.

Linda becomes a constant support, soothing Paula through her nightmares and encouraging her writing. She allows Paula to sleep in Linda's bed, blurring professional boundaries and creating a dependency. As Paula isolates herself to work, Linda's presence grows increasingly intimate and controlling.

One morning Paula finds Linda editing her manuscript, inserting new passages. Paula flies into a rage at the intrusion, realizing Linda is rewriting her work. In a cruel response, Linda murders Paula's cat to intimidate her.

Linda continues to seize control over the book and Paula's life, insisting Paula take the day off and sending the staff home. Paula becomes bedridden as Linda locks her in her room and dominates the household's routines. The disturbing dynamic marks a full takeover, with Linda shaping both the manuscript and Paula's existence.

When Robert Gainor, a successful writer, arrives to interview Paula, Linda answers the door and invites him inside. In the kitchen, Linda flirts with Gainor before slashing his throat, and then reveals a history of abuse that fuels her rage. She hides Gainor's body in the cellar and tells Paula that he merely came to interview her.

The housekeeper, Mrs. Brown, discovers Gainor's body, prompting Linda to kill her as well. The body count at Crow's Hall climbs, and Paula remains largely unaware of the violence surrounding her. Linda's actions tighten her grip on Paula and the house.

During a tense night, Paula wakes from a nightmare with a self-inflicted wrist wound and the sheets stained with blood. Linda consoles her, bandages the wound, and quietly changes the bedclothes before sending Paula back to bed. This intimate caregiving further blurs the line between caretaker and captor.

The next day, gardener Josh comes asking after Mrs. Brown; Linda hides a kitchen knife behind her back and tells him she is down in the cellar. Paula escapes her room and witnesses this, as Josh asks Linda to call Mrs. Brown; Linda politely sends him away, then shuts the door, leaving Paula terrified on the stairs.

Later, Paula descends to the cellar and finds the bodies of Gainor and Mrs. Brown. Linda waits above with a knife, and when Paula emerges she flees back to her room and locks Linda out. In a message to Leo, Paula explains she is trapped in the house with Linda who has killed two people.

Leo Fox and Sara Phillips arrive at Crow's Hall to check on Paula. Sara discovers Paula's manuscript on the laptop and is stunned by its quality. Leo explains that Linda is not a separate person but a split personality Paula developed to cope with past abuse.

Paula briefly returns to Linda's persona and fatally stabs Leo during the confrontation. Regaining control, Paula warns Sara to flee. Linda resumes control, chasing Sara through the house.

Sara escapes the house and runs barefoot into the forest, but Linda regains control and corners her, ramming her into a tree. Paula herself is fatally impaled on a jagged branch protruding from the tree, dying at the site of the assault.

After the deaths, the manuscript is published with Sara's voice narrating the final lines, effectively making Sara the apparent author. The ending hints that wealth and fame await as the book becomes a success. The film closes on the audacious triumph of Sara's narrative voice.