The Visit

Twenty years earlier, Karla grew up in the village and became pregnant by Serge Miller when she was 17. At Serge's trial, he denies paternity and bribes two men to testify they slept with Karla, destroying her credibility. The town brands her as an outsider and she is forced to flee.

Her exile is sealed as the townspeople shun her, branding her as the town's shame. She vanishes from the center of village life, leaving behind a stain on the community's memory.

Karla returns to the village as a wealthy benefactor, welcomed with curiosity and guarded hope. The old town anticipates a windfall, while jealousy and fear simmer beneath polite smiles. Her arrival marks the start of a chilling moral reckoning for the townspeople.

At a reception in her honor, Karla offers to fund the town with 2,000,000 dollars, split between the town and its people, on one condition: Serge must be put to death. The proposal unsettles the crowd, who weigh money against violence and the price of a life. Karla watches from her hotel, gleefully savoring the power she wields.

Pushed by the prospect of money, the townspeople begin to demand expensive items from Serge's shop on credit. Serge struggles to manage the rapidly growing debt and the unease of defying Karla's terms. The scene foreshadows how quickly greed overrides justice.

Karla floods the town with luxury goods—televisions, furniture, and designer clothes—and offers them on credit with no down payment. The spectacle seduces residents who imagine a better life funded by others’ money. Her calculated generosity tightens the town's dependence on her wealth.

Karla befriends Anya, a naïve young woman involved with the much older, married chief of police. Karla sees a reflection of her younger self and begins to manipulate Anya to influence local power. Anya's vulnerability makes her a pivotal pawn in Karla’s plan.

Serge appeals to the mayor and chief of police for protection, but they have already been seduced by Karla's offer and become complicit in the scheme. He realizes too late that he has traded credibility for survival. The town leadership blurs the line between law and loyalty to money.

When Karla's pet panther escapes, the town descends into a frenzied search that quickly turns into a lynch mob targeting Serge. Even Serge's wife withdraws her support, revealing how quickly personal bonds crumble under greed. The mob's fury feels righteous to them, but it is driven by money rather than justice.

The town council, which had expelled Serge, reinstates the death penalty and organizes a kangaroo court in the town square. The ritualized trial enshrines the crowd's collective guilt and redefines law by the mob's appetite for punishment. Serge is given the option to die by suicide, which he rejects.

In a formal judgment, Serge is found guilty and sentenced to death, cementing the crowd's readiness to sacrifice life for money. The courtroom-like atmosphere contrasts with the lawlessness of the mob's impulse. The episode underscores how wealth has corrupted justice.

Karla immediately hands over two one-million-dollar cheques to the cheering crowd, presenting a stark calculus: money wins, murder secures profit. Yet she stages a reversal, stopping the execution and warning the town that they will live with guilt for the rest of their days. She also makes clear that Miller will bear the burden of his wife's scheming and complicity.

Karla halts the execution with a moral rebuke, forcing the townspeople to confront the consequences of their actions. She declares that the crime will haunt them forever, and that Miller must bear the burden of knowing his wife and neighbors were willing to kill for wealth. After this confrontation, she begins to leave the town, ending the scheme on her own terms.

Before departing, Karla gives Anya enough money and a car of her own to escape the fate that awaits her in the town. Anya's future is spared from the cycle of corruption that consumed others in Karla's wake. Karla's final act serves as both mercy and warning.