The Mad Room

Ellen, a live-in assistant for Mrs. Armstrong, receives a call from the mental institution about her younger brother George and sister Mandy, who are accused of killing their parents when they were young. Rather than sending them to an adult facility when George turns 18, she decides to bring them to live with her at Mrs. Armstrong's house. She also resolves to conceal the siblings' dangerous history in order to protect them and keep up appearances.

George and Mandy arrive at the mansion with Ellen and begin to settle into the large house. Ellen tries to keep their grim past hidden from Mrs. Armstrong, hoping for a fresh start. The siblings test boundaries as the truth of their history lingers behind them.

Mandy insists they need a designated mad room and pushes for access to the former Mr. Armstrong's study. Ellen reluctantly agrees to give them access to the study, despite Mrs. Armstrong's outright refusal to let anyone inside. This access fuels Ellen's fear that their past can no longer be hidden.

One night Mrs. Armstrong discovers Mandy in the study and questions Ellen in front of Mandy and George, who are listening from outside the door. Ellen finally breaks down and confesses their grim childhood and the suspicion that either George or Mandy killed their parents with a butcher knife. Mrs. Armstrong explains that she can't keep the children at the house any longer and goes to bed frightened.

The following morning, Mrs. Armstrong tells Ellen she can't keep the children at the house anymore and goes to bed frightened. Ellen absorbs the news, still trying to gauge how long she can maintain the deception. The household loses a sense of stability as the plan for separation forms.

That same morning, Ellen screams when she discovers Mrs. Armstrong dead in the mad room, slashed by a saber. Mandy and George rush to the scene and immediately accuse each other of being the killer. Ellen quickly moves to cover up the crime by spinning a lie to the staff.

To conceal the murder, Ellen tells the rest of the staff that Mrs. Armstrong has gone away on business unexpectedly. Her lie is meant to preserve the illusion of normalcy in the house. Mandy and George grow more uneasy, sensing something is wrong with Ellen.

Another incident at the house confirms for them that Ellen cannot be trusted. They begin to suspect that Ellen killed Mrs. Armstrong, and perhaps their parents, too, compounding their fear. The household atmosphere becomes tense with paranoia.

Her nerves fray as she pleads with Sam, Mrs. Armstrong's stepson, to commit to sending the children away. She clings to the lie that separation would restore order and safety, hoping to regain control of the situation. Sam remains cautious, unsure of what is real.

The family dog finds a dismembered portion of Mrs. Armstrong's body—the hand—and brings it into the yard. Ellen, pushed to the brink, kills the dog to eliminate a new link to the crime. This brutal act reveals how far she will go to cover her past.

In the final moment, Sam discovers Ellen kneeling in the basement by the furnace, echoing the night she killed her parents. The revelation exposes the depth of the deception and violence that has haunted the house. Ellen's fate is left in the air as she faces the consequences of her actions.