nell finishes putting things away in drawers. theo watches, leaning in the doorway. nell looks around at the room: and this is her new family's new home. theo smiles sweetly at her, comes over. an awkward moment, as the seriousness drains away.
as nell steps out of frame and starts undressing, the camera finds the carved mantle, the densely-packed scene of children at play, their faces frozen in dark wooden smiles, their eyes blind but staring oc where we sense nell changing.
bump. the sound thuds the stillness of the house. bump. bump. bump. deep, hollow, distant like a dream. nell sits up, still asleep, body moving by reflex.
nell's room stands silent, dark. the door to the bathroom is shut. the lock slides open. the door swings in. luke stands there, the two women behind him.
nell lies asleep under her sheet, the blankets off the end of the bed. hovering over her, on the headboard, the carved faces of children, peering down.
we see the ledger, and pull back, and the ledger is in nell's lap. nell sits on the bed in her sleeping tee-shirt and undies. theo looks at the book with her.
nell closes the door and sits at the vanity brushing out her hair for bed. her motions are languid in the light of the single small lamp, off-balance with the wine.
nell, her breathing heavy, lies tangled in her heavy blankets, asleep, but restless. her feet hang off the end of the bed.
nell lies in her bed, shivering.
nell lies in her bed asleep, the room dark except for the last, guttering end of one of the candles. it goes out.
theo carrying a pot of tea and some cups enters quietly just in case nell is asleep. she stops in surprise. the window is smashed, lamp on the floor. nell is gone.
nell lies asleep, the ornate headboard looming behind her, black with its strange plant-like splay of leaves.
nell lies there afraid to move, afraid to make the faintest sound. from the darkness above wood creaks. at first it seems like someone is walking on the floor above. but it is coming from within the room.
the entire room rams itself at nell, jolting her hard into the headboard. thumbs fold out of the woodwork, pinning her by the shoulders against it. as the room lowers itself toward her, she screams out of her mind.
-- and stumble into nell's room. marrow's mouth opens. luke stands speechless. they're stricken by the sight: nell screaming, held by the headboard as the deformed ceiling dips over her, the room thrusting at her rhythmically. nell and theo make eye contact.