Symptoms

The film opens with quick glimpses of a man and a woman embracing, foreshadowing a dark relationship. The image of a woman's body floating in the lake hints at a tragedy to come and sets a tense mood around the estate. We are introduced to Brady, who will figure into the events ahead.

Helen, a reclusive translator, invites her friend Anne, a writer, to spend the weekend at her family's secluded manor. The invitation signals a reunion and the start of a weekend filled with unease in a house largely untouched for years. The estate is described as overgrown and near a lake in a forest.

The two women have dinner by the hearth during a storm, drink tea, and talk about what happens after death. The talk is intimate but tinged with mystery, hinting at Helen's fragile emotional state. The mood foreshadows the psychological tension to come.

The next morning, Helen visits a local chemist where Mr. Burke asks about her friend Cora Porter. Helen insists she’s not with Cora, adding to the sense of secrecy surrounding the household. This exchange links the manor to a larger, unresolved mystery.

Helen and Anne walk through the forest to the lake and discuss a drowning associated with the site. They meet Brady, the handyman, who stares at Helen; Anne notes his unsettling presence and Helen says he disgusts her. The encounter foreshadows the danger looming over the house.

Back at the manor, Helen spies on Brady using binoculars from the attic, heightening suspicion and hinting at hidden danger. The tension between Helen and the handyman grows clear. This moment deepens the sense that the house holds unseen threats.

Anne borrows Helen’s car to drive into town and is confronted by Brady on the way back. He mentions Cora Porter, and Anne recalls seeing her photograph in the house, tying Brady to the story. The encounter intensifies the link between Brady and the house’s mysteries.

After the tense encounter, Helen confesses she’s ill while Anne suggests they return to London, and Helen refuses; in a charged moment, Helen kisses Anne, deepening their complicated relationship. The kiss marks a turning point in their bond and in the house’s escalating tension.

That night, Anne is awoken by moaning sounds and a figure stabs her to death in her room, leaving Helen alone and unsettled as she tries to justify what happened. The violence raises questions about who is inside the house and what is really happening.

In the morning, Hannah the housekeeper finds Helen subdued and learns that Anne is dead, with Anne’s body sitting in a chair in Helen’s bedroom. Hannah warns that the household should keep low for a while, deepening the sense of isolation. The scene underscores the growing web of secrets.

While walking in the woods, Brady confronts Helen about Anne’s whereabouts and hints that Helen murdered Anne and Cora, pushing Helen into a panic. The confrontation heightens the story’s central mystery and drives the tension between characters.

During a rainstorm, John arrives looking for Anne and enters the house; upstairs, Helen stabs him to death, escalating the body count and showing Helen’s unraveling psyche. The murder amplifies the crisis within the estate and shifts suspicion further.

Brady returns to confront Helen about Cora, showing a lock of hair and claiming he found Cora’s decomposing body in the lake. He says he witnessed Helen push Cora, and Helen defends herself, stabbing him repeatedly in a panic. The confrontation pushes the events toward a fatal conclusion.

By morning, Hannah, Mr. Burke, and Nick arrive to investigate. They discover Brady’s corpse and, upstairs, John’s body, while Helen stares blankly. In the yard, the film ends with the disturbing sight of Brady and Cora embracing, a haunting note on life, death, and memory.