Shut In
It's Cold Outside
•
1h 31m
2017 • Canada • Directed by Farren Blackburn
Child psychologist Mary (Naomi Watts) is trying to put her life back together after losing her husband in a car accident, a tragedy which also left her teenage son, Stephen (Charlie Heaton) paralyzed from the neck down and unable to communicate. Mary spends her days meticulously caring for Stephen at their remote Maine home, fitting in occasional appointments at her consultancy, situated in an adjacent out-building. Tom, a disturbed little boy, grieving after his mother's death, is her latest assignment, but before being permanently transferred away he escapes from child-services during a fierce winter storm and is later presumed dead by the authorities, though a body isn’t found. Mary begins hearing his voice in the house and then catches fleeting glimpses of him during the night. Fearing for her sanity, she connects with her own Doctor, via Skype, who puts the incidents down to ongoing sleep problems. Her mental strength is put further to the test as the relentless storm shuts her in from the outside world just as the apparitions intensify to the point where she not only fears for her sanity, but for her life…