A Wolf at the Door 2015

Sylvia, a devoted mother and housewife, arrives at her daughter Clara’s school only to be met with an unsettling reality - the little girl is nowhere to be found. The teacher’s revelation of a phone call claiming Clara was sick and needed to be picked up by a neighbor sends Sylvia into a state of panic as she frantically searches for any sign of her child. As the situation unfolds at the local police station, Sylvia, her husband Bernardo, and the schoolteacher are grilled with questions, desperate for any clue that might lead them to Clara’s whereabouts.

It is Bernardo who initially offers a potential motive behind his daughter’s disappearance, revealing a tangled web of deceit and betrayal involving a woman named Rosa. His suspicions spark a chain reaction as Rosa is taken in for questioning, her reluctance to cooperate eventually giving way to the truth under the pressure of a police investigation. It emerges that Rosa was blackmailed into kidnapping Clara by a fictional figure known as Bete, whose husband was allegedly embroiled in an affair with Sylvia.

As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that Rosa’s involvement is deeply rooted in her own tumultuous relationship with Bernardo. Their passion-filled tryst began at a train station, where Bernardo tracked down Rosa after spotting her on his daily commute. Initially, their affair was all-consuming, but Rosa’s world was turned upside down when she discovered Bernardo’s deception about being married and having a family. Despite this revelation, Rosa continued to visit Bernardo’s wife and child, befriending Sylvia while masquerading as an acquaintance of an old friend.

As Bernardo’s lies began to unravel, he became enraged with Rosa, physically abusing her and ordering her to never again seek out his family. Undeterred, Rosa sought to exact revenge by orchestrating a series of events designed to sabotage Bernardo’s relationship with Sylvia. She hired a woman at a bar to phone Bernardo, pretending to be the vengeful wife of Sylvia’s lover, in an attempt to drive a wedge between the couple.

Meanwhile, Rosa discovered that Bernardo had been secretly rekindling his relationship with Sylvia, all but ensuring the end of their affair. With her plans foiled and her emotions in turmoil, Rosa was left to confront the devastating consequences of her own actions.

As the contentious conversation between Rosa and Bernardo escalates, Rosa drops a bombshell: she’s late on her period. To placate Bernardo’s insistence on a pregnancy test, Rosa reluctantly agrees, only to be met with the unambiguous result - she’s indeed pregnant. In a chilling display of emotional detachment, Rosa matter-of-factly informs Bernardo that he’s free to carry on with his life, while she’ll bear the child regardless of the consequences. Days later, Bernardo orchestrates a deceitful plan to manipulate Rosa into visiting a medical acquaintance, who then drugs her and performs an abortion against her will.

Reeling from the traumatic experience, Rosa’s psyche begins to unravel as she becomes increasingly unstable. She sets out to orchestrate one final meeting with Bernardo, only to be rebuffed and left feeling hopeless. Seeking solace in the presence of Clara, Rosa’s emotional turmoil boils over as she leads her young companion to an abandoned lot. In a heart-wrenching display of despair, Rosa retrieves a handgun from her purse and, with calculated deliberation, ends the life of her own child. The flames engulfing the corpse serve as a haunting testament to Rosa’s anguish. As the film concludes, the voice of a police officer recounts Rosa’s chilling confession: devoid of remorse, she comprehends the full weight of her actions. With no desire for legal representation, Rosa demonstrates an eerie indifference to her fate and declines any attempts at forgiveness from others.