Ethan grabs his gun and frantically checks every door and window in the house, only to find all of them locked and unbroken. He scours through every room to find nothing amiss. No one could have forced their way inside without triggering the alarm. His fingers squeeze against the plastic of the CD case as panic sets in. He didn’t want to watch the DVD, but he figured he had no other choice. He slides the disk onto the tray and watches the player swallow it. With his gun still in hand, he sits down on the couch and hits play on the remote.

STARRING

Ethan Lorenzo, Isak Holstrom and Red

The film opens with the title credits and an unsettling electric guitar riff playing in the background. The first scene is of a winter landscape timestamped at 3:37 p.m. on the 25th of December. Ethan is decorating the front yard with large candy canes, completely oblivious to the man filming him from behind the snowman. The cameraman’s breathing is heavy as he zooms in on Ethan’s face. Once he turns his back to the house, the cameraman bolts up the porch stairs and runs through the open door. The camera pans down to reveal a red robe and a pair of feet covered in black and white striped socks. The intruder curiously zips around and quickly films everything in each room he steps into. His exploration comes to a halt when he finds himself before an open door leading down into the basement.

Ethan’s memories slowly begin to return piece by piece. He recalls the day he was making preparations for his dinner with Isak. Not only had he focused on decorating the house, but he also made sure everything in the basement was ready. The cameraman takes the stairs down two at a time and gasps when he sees everything around him. Thousands of pictures of Isak are stuck to the walls, leaving almost no space between them. Ethan grimaces as a terrifying chuckle emerges from Red as he films every photo in the room. He then turns his attention to the closet filled with clothes bought for Isak. He caresses them all inquisitively before shutting the doors. Red sits on the bed and picks up one of the four ropes attached to the bedpost with his black-gloved hand. He twists it between his fingers for a while before dropping it.

The screen fades to black and the next scene begins. Ethan and Isak are having dinner before the fireplace. The camera silently films them from behind as they converse happily and eventually confess their darkest secrets. Isak’s terror as he unravels the contents of his gift box and runs away is filmed with great clarity. The scene soon cuts to a crying Isak being carried back home and into the basement. Ethan pauses the film and buries his head in his hands as his whole body shakes with fear. He knew now that he was ruined. If this film was leaked, his perfect life that he had worked so hard to build would crumble in an instant. He would be thrown behind bars and lose everyone he cared about. His fate was now in the hands of his insane stalker.

Mustering his courage, he brings himself to resume watching. The next few scenes that unfold on the television screen make Ethan sick and disgusted with himself. All of them show crucial moments of their relationship: Isak’s initial temper tantrums, his violent escape attempts that resulted in abuse, all the times they had depraved sex, and finally Isak’s begrudging acceptance of Ethan. Seeing all of his actions displayed on a big screen made him finally understand the weight of his heinous sins. The next scene shows the pair walking to the river hand in hand, unaware as always of the person following them close behind. Their conversation about how Ethan never intends to free Isak and soon their fornication is all recorded with steady hands. Once they are done, he sees Isak stand up, go closer to the river, and pick up a large rock. Ethan’s jaw drops as he watches Isak glower down at him before smashing it against his head. Red is seemingly taken aback as well, judging by the way the camera shakes. Isak viciously beats him two more times before the camera cuts. Ethan’s hand instinctively moves to the injured portion of his head, and he winces in mental anguish. He was wrong; Isak was the one who attacked him, and it was Red who saved him.

Ethan wanted to feel hatred towards Isak, but all he felt was remorse and revulsion for what he had done. Despite the physical and emotional toll his injuries had taken on him, he felt Isak’s actions were justified given everything he had put him through for eighty days. His recently lost memories returned in full, and he was appalled by what he had become. In his desperation to avoid loneliness and betrayal, he harmed a man who loved him and took away his freedom without a second thought. Perhaps someone like him wasn’t meant to be loved after all.

The next scene takes place in Ethan’s dark basement where Isak is in a chair with ropes binding him. His head hangs low and his body trembles in fear. His clothes are covered with splatters of Ethan’s blood, and the timestamp indicates it’s the night of the same day. The camera is made to adjust and focus clearly on Isak before Red finally decides to step into frame. He takes a few steps back and waves at the camera. Only now does he get the full view of his stalker, and it makes him gasp. A slim man of short stature wearing a long red robe with a hood wields a short sword in one hand. A plastic mask with a shark-like grin and red hearts for eyes sits on his face. Ethan realizes the heart eyes are one-way red mirror tints, which allow the person to see outside while none can see in. The rest of his head is covered in a black and white striped ski mask that matches his socks; not an inch of Red’s skin or hair is visible. He abruptly drops the sword with two sharp edges on the floor and steps away briefly to drag another chair close to Isak. He straddles the chair and rests an elbow on the backrest with an exhale.

“Look at me, Isak,” he speaks in a cold and firm voice.

Isak shakes his head as tears drip down his face and neck. Without a warning, Red raises his free hand and slaps him across his face, making a loud noise reverberate. Ethan flinches and shivers as he watches Isak look up at Red with trembling lips and a red mark on his cheek.

“Please! I’m sorry! I’m very sorry! I know what I did was wrong! But please, just let me go! I’m begging you!” he pleads hopelessly as his face becomes a wet red mess.

“Stop crying or I’ll hit you again.”

Isak clenches his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut, attempting to contain himself. He swallows hard and blinks away the last of his tears, looking at him in trepidation. Red crosses his arms over the backrest and leans in closer to his face.

“Now, I’m going to ask you a few questions. You will answer them truthfully. If you lie at any point, I will kill you. Slowly and painfully. But if your answers satisfy me, I will free you. Do we have a deal, Isak Holstrom?”

Isak’s eyes go wide as saucers and his breathing becomes erratic. After a moment of hesitation, he purses his lips and quickly nods at Red.

“Good. Let us begin.”