What Lies Below

Sixteen-year-old Liberty Wells, known as Libby, comes back to her family's lakeside home after a summer camp. Accompanied by her mother, Michelle, they embark on a drive where Michelle encourages Libby to practice her driving skills.

Upon reaching home, Libby is introduced to her mother’s new partner, John, an aquatic geneticist. He presents her with a bracelet featuring symbols of a fertility goddess, hinting at his unorthodox outlook on life.

During dinner, John discusses his work with creatures adapting to changing habitats. The conversation between Libby and her mother takes a strange turn as Libby starts to question her mother's emotions towards her deceased grandparents.

Later that evening, Libby hears disturbing sounds coming from the kitchen, prompting her to retreat to her bedroom. There, she encounters John at her doorway, causing her to pretend to be asleep out of fear.

The next morning, John and Libby engage in an emotional excavating session in the yard where they unearth buried time capsules. This shared moment leads to deeper discussions about family and emotional wounds from their past.

While exploring the lake, Libby suffers a bite from a large insect, which adds to her distress. John swiftly comes to her assistance, revealing their complicated relationship dynamics.

Libby returns home to find her mother feeling unwell, and learns that John has proposed to Michelle, who has accepted. This revelation stirs mixed emotions in Libby as she feels her mother prioritizing John over her.

Libby experiences her first menstruation, leading to an awkward and invasive moment with John. He attempts to help with the cleanup, and later crosses boundaries by intruding upon her privacy while she showers.

That night, Libby has a vivid vision of John walking into the lake, eerily illuminated with red lights. His nonchalant explanation of sleepwalking afterward raises serious doubts about his true nature.

Libby's concern escalates when she follows a man resembling John during a trip to town. This encounter with another woman increases her suspicions towards John and his intentions with her mother.

After confiding in Marley about her fears regarding John, Libby finds out that her mother is pregnant. This important news disappoints Libby and makes her feel invisible in the family dynamic.

Driven by curiosity, Libby investigates the basement again and discovers symbols on her wrist identical to those on the bracelet. The find leads her deeper into a sinister mystery related to John's true intentions.

Libby stumbles upon a horrifying sight: her mother restrained in a tank, connected to an IV. She is frozen in shock as John assists Michelle in giving birth to a grotesque creature, revealing a chilling truth.

Realizing the danger, Libby contacts the police but soon finds Marley dead in a water tank infested with parasites. This shocking revelation marks a turning point, intensifying the urgency of her escape.

Libby regains consciousness submerged in a tank alongside other women in a state of pupae. As the water rises, she panics until she discovers the unsettling ability to breathe underwater, revealing a nightmarish reality.