Monstrous

As Laura and her young son Cody escape the clutches of his abusive father in 1950s California, they settle into a remote home, seeking solace from the turmoil that had plagued their lives. The mother's primary concern is to provide a sense of security and normalcy for her child, despite the looming threat of her ex-husband's potential return. To this end, she takes on a typing job at a local company, sending Cody off to school each day and preparing his lunch with care.

However, beneath the surface of this idyllic façade lies a sense of unease. Cody is increasingly plagued by nocturnal visits from an otherworldly entity lurking in the nearby lake, which he has dubbed the "pretty lady." Initially, this encounter fills him with fear, but as time passes, he begins to regard her presence with a mixture of fascination and comfort.

Despite his growing attachment to the mysterious figure, Cody remains desperate to return home, expressing his sadness and frustration to Laura. She, however, is resolute in her decision to stay, insisting that they rebuild their lives together. On his birthday, she goes to great lengths to throw him a party, inviting his classmates and decorating their home with balloons. But despite her efforts, the celebration falls flat, with no one attending.

Laura's disappointment and despair ultimately give way to desperation, as she turns to drink and quits her job. The next day, she arrives at school only to find that Cody is nowhere to be found. In a state of panic, she seeks the assistance of a local policeman, who proves unhelpful in his attempts to locate the missing boy.

At the police station, Laura is confronted with a series of disturbing questions related to an accident that occurred the previous year. She recounts the events surrounding her son's near-drowning, insisting that he was revived and left the hospital unharmed. But as she leaves the station, it becomes clear that her memories of the event are not entirely reliable.

Upon returning home, Laura finds Cody waiting for her, his eyes filled with an unsettling determination. He begs her to allow him to leave with the "pretty lady from the lake," a request that sends shivers down her spine. As she struggles to comprehend the true nature of their situation, it becomes apparent that the line between reality and fantasy has grown increasingly blurred.

As she grappled with the crushing loss, the veil of reality began to shatter, allowing the shards of her sanity to splinter and fragment. In a desperate bid to cope with the unyielding grief, she became mired in a fantastical world, one that allowed her to conjure up a nostalgic 1950s setting, frozen in time like a perpetual Polaroid snapshot. Yet, despite the comforting familiarity of this fabricated realm, the ache within her remained, refusing to be assuaged by the fleeting solace it provided.

It wasn't until she finally surrendered to the inevitable and permitted her departed son to slip away into the mystical arms of the "pretty lady in the lake" that a measure of peace began to seep into her ravaged soul. And with this fragile equilibrium established, Laura's mental faculties gradually reasserted themselves, freeing her from the all-consuming delusion that had held her captive for so long.

As she emerged from the haze of her own making, the harsh realities of 2022 came flooding back, like a jarring awakening from a dream. And with a sense of resignation and acceptance, Laura bid farewell to the comforting illusions of her California home, opting instead to return to the world outside, scarred but ultimately stronger for her experience.