Man Kidnaps a Young Girl And Keeps Her Locked in The Basement Until She Falls in Love With Him
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome back to Movie Recapped. Today I will show you a drama, thriller film from 2018,
00:05titled Hippopotamus. Spoilers ahead. Watch out and take care.
00:12At the beginning of the movie, we see a wounded young woman slowly gaining back her consciousness
00:17in what appears to be a fully white room. The moment she opens her eyes she panics and tries
00:21to get up, but is unable to do so. It turns out her legs are wounded, covered in bandages.
00:25As the woman analyzes her surroundings, a sinister male voice appears, telling her she overslept.
00:31The man introduces himself as Thomas Allcroft, her kidnapper. He explains to the woman that he
00:36plans to keep her captive until she falls in love with him, and proceeds to tell the woman her name,
00:41Ruby Watts, along with other personal details from her life, like where she's from and where she's
00:45gone to university. He even tells her about her parents' professions and how he knows she's afraid
00:49of the dark. Ruby clearly doesn't have any memory of how she ended up in Thomas' care nor does she
00:54remember her life prior to her kidnapping. Crying, she asks Thomas what has he done to her, alluding
00:59to the wounds on her knees. Thomas tells her he severed her ligaments, and instructs her to keep
01:04from moving if she ever wants to walk again. He also informs her that he did not touch her private
01:08belongings, which are in a black handbag sat on a chair, next to the door. On the floor, next to Ruby,
01:14we see what appears to be a meal and a small cup containing two pills. Thomas explains that he gave
01:18her two pills, one contraceptive pill and one painkiller. He then proceeds to explain to Ruby how their
01:23life together will look like. She will be offered daily food, he'll help her wash and go to the
01:28bathroom. Her days will start at 7am and end at 11pm, and escaping will be practically impossible since
01:33they're miles away from the closest household. Once Thomas finishes, Ruby asks if he had assaulted her,
01:39to which he replies he didn't. Thomas then leaves, leaving Ruby alone in the room. As the scene comes
01:44to an end, we see Ruby caught a glimpse of her bracelet, which bars the engraving Ruby X. The next day,
01:50Ruby is still at the same spot as she was yesterday. The empty plate next to her reveals she ate the
01:55dish Thomas had prepared for her, but didn't touch the pills. Thomas enters the room to check up on
02:00her, and lets out a disappointed sigh once he notices Ruby denied taking the pills. He pleads for
02:05her to take the medication as her pain will only get worse, but Ruby ignores him. As he turns to exit
02:10the room, Ruby asks Thomas why he's doing all of this, to which he doesn't reply. Thomas exits the room
02:16and as the door slams shut, cutting the scene to black, we hear Ruby's desperate cry from the
02:20other side. Later the same day, Thomas visits Ruby again. This time the room is shaded with a dark red
02:26light, signaling that it's night time. Thomas carefully adjusts Ruby's sleeping body so she
02:31lays in a fetal position on the floor, and exits the room. The next morning, Thomas brings Ruby her
02:36breakfast. Ruby is still sound asleep, but is awakened when Thomas knocks on the wall. Once he leaves,
02:42Ruby sleepy and dazed look morphs into a serious one, revealing that her groggy state was a facade.
02:47She then scoots her way to her handbag, which is on the other side of the room. She opens and
02:52scavenges through it, and pulls out her mirror which holds her ID. Ruby stares at it, puzzled.
02:57After she noticed a shadow from a tiny window, she hurriedly puts her belongings back in her bag,
03:02but a small plastic bag escapes and rolls away. Ruby scoots back to her usual spot and notices the
03:07ball. She reaches to get it and manages to hide it in her pocket before Thomas enters the room.
03:12Thomas brings her a tray of food and inspects her face. He notices she is in pain and says she should
03:17have told him. He reaches for his pocket and pulls out a pill bottle. He urges Ruby to take a higher
03:22dose, and she complies. He hand-feeds her the pills and leaves. Later, we see what seems to be a woman
03:27floating in dark water. It turns out that it was a fragment of Ruby's dream. She wakes up distressed
03:32and tries to get up, but stops as a sharp pain runs through her legs. Thomas is already in the room,
03:37sitting in a chair close to Ruby. Ruby asks him who he is and what has he done to her.
03:42Thomas calmly says the same thing he said to her the first time she saw him in the room,
03:46that his name is Thomas Alcroft, and that he plans to keep her captive until she falls in love with him.
03:50He repeats the same information he knows about her. Ruby asks what has he done to her legs.
03:55Thomas explains it was a necessary procedure to limit her chances of running away, and that her legs
04:00will get better as time passes. He informs her that all she needs to do is stay compliant and take her
04:04medication. He assures her that he doesn't have any hidden malicious intentions by giving her
04:09contraceptive pills. Ruby's reminded of her everyday schedule and how slim her chances are of escaping.
04:14She stays silent until Thomas turns to leave the room. She once again asks him if he assaulted her.
04:20This angers Thomas and he throws her bag as he exits the room. Once alone, Ruby inspects the ball
04:25she hit in her pocket. She takes a closer look at her bracelet as well. Later, we see the rest of
04:30Ruby's day. Thomas performing psychical therapy on Ruby, him bathing her using washcloths, and Ruby
04:36repeatedly slamming the ball on the room's door once it's nighttime. The next day, Ruby notices the
04:41wound in the back of her head. She goes to her bag and pulls out a mirror, but doesn't manage to see
04:45much of her injury. She ends up slamming the mirror into smaller pieces and takes a closer to her wound.
04:51Before she could see anything, she notices Thomas spying on her from the other side of the door.
04:55She hides the glass shard underneath the bandage of her left knee and tries to go back to her usual
05:00sitting place. Before she does, Thomas enters the room and drugs her. Once it's nighttime, Thomas plays
05:06an audio that is aimed to discourage Ruby from moving and escaping. He proceeds to clean and rearrange
05:11the room and ends up falling asleep on the chair. His phone alarm wakes him up. He turns the discouraging
05:16audio off and sits Ruby in an upward position, and leaves. We then see a series of days Thomas and Ruby
05:22spend together, which consisted of Thomas bringing Ruby food and helping her with her hygiene, and Ruby
05:27spending most of her nights playing catch with her ball. One morning, Ruby is seen fondling with the
05:32sink's pipes. The mess she made doesn't appear to bother Thomas when he enters to bring her breakfast.
05:37While he investigates what she did, Ruby asks if she could ask him a question. She asks him what would
05:42happen if she doesn't fall in love with him, and will she stay captive forever if she doesn't.
05:46She goes on to joke about what Thomas did to her legs. Thomas asks her what can he give to her,
05:51which confuses Ruby. Thomas says she's obviously feeling better, due to the fact she's even joking about
05:56her situation. Thomas states that she must be getting bored, and offers to bring her something
06:00in order to make her stay more tolerable. Ruby thinks for a second and asks Thomas to bring her
06:05a pillow and a blanket, and a book to pass the time. Thomas complies, then asks her about the
06:09two drawings on the wall, one of a chair and one of a brain, done in pencil. She says they're pretty.
06:15Thomas compliments her by saying she looks better and asks her to repeat what she wanted to be brought
06:19to her, and she does. The next day Ruby is seen on a mattress, with a pillow beside her.
06:24Thomas enters and gives her a book. After she flips through it, she states she read it before.
06:30Ruby gets overwhelmed since that book is the only thing she remembers before her life in captivity.
06:35Thomas explains to Ruby that she could get back some of her memories if they're triggered by
06:38certain triggers, which gives her a glimmer of hope. Thomas offers to help her regain her memory,
06:43and she thanks him. Later, when Thomas brings her food, he asks Ruby if there is anything she wants.
06:48She says she wants a red bush tea, and he instantly brings it to her. After smelling it,
06:54Ruby awakens a memory. She smiles and questions Thomas whether he knew she was going to pick this
06:58specific tea. He smiles and tells her that it's the only thing she drinks. Ruby asks him how does
07:04he know all the information about her, to which he replies he did his research. Later in the day,
07:09Ruby is seen examining her book. She stumbles to a page filled with apparently meaningless letters,
07:14but as she puts the mirror piece she hit earlier on the letters, she ends up seeing some of the
07:18letters spell out don't trust him in the mirror. Thomas carefully enters the room seconds later
07:22with a table. It turns out Thomas wanted them to have dinner together, which they do. Thomas asks
07:27Ruby about the book, and Ruby praises it, especially its ending. Thomas smiles and attempts to take
07:33Ruby's hand in his, but Ruby pulls away. Thomas asks Ruby what is wrong. Although hesitant at first,
07:38Ruby asks Thomas how many others were held captive before her. Thomas denies her allegations
07:43but Ruby is set on uncovering the truth. She proceeds to accuse Thomas of stalking, enslaving,
07:49assaulting, and murdering young women like her. Before she can go on, Thomas bangs his fist on the
07:54table, which startles her. He wipes clean the blood on his arm and once again denies her allegations.
07:59Ruby claims she doesn't want Thomas having done this before to someone else,
08:03as she believes what they have is special. Thomas swears there is no one else and leaves the room.
08:08The second Thomas leaves, Ruby's scared expressions disappears, revealing to the audience that she was just
08:13pretending. The next day, we see Thomas informing Ruby her legs are healing but they need more time.
08:19When he leaves, Ruby unwraps the bandages from her legs and inspects her injury. It seems as if no
08:24cuts were made on her legs. She manages to get up and goes to the door. When she touches the doorknob
08:30she unlocks another memory, which is of a man and Ruby in front of her front door. Ruby gives up on
08:35attempting to open the door and goes back to her bed. As she is reading the obscure message in her book,
08:40she accidentally smears the ink the message was writing with. After she smells the ink that
08:44stained her hand a new memory is unlocked, this time of herself hiding something behind a brick in
08:49the room. Ruby removes the brick and a dozen matches fall out, revealing that the obscure
08:53messages were written using the matches. Later, Thomas and Ruby are having dinner. Ruby asks for a
08:59candle to set up a romantic mood. Once Thomas brings it to her and lights it up using a match,
09:03he proceeds to tell her that they should start over, and Ruby agrees. Ruby then tells Thomas about the
09:08recurring dream she's been having, of her sinking deep underwater. As she tells the details of her
09:13dream, her hand inches closer to the match. She tells Thomas her dreams end when a hand reaches out
09:18to save her. By the end of her story, her hand is on the match, but Thomas has his hand holding hers.
09:23Ruby fakes a cough and brings her hand to her chest, successfully taking the match without Thomas
09:28noticing. In the next scene, we see how Ruby's days are going. She's scribbling in her book,
09:33exercising her legs, and practicing how to use her broken mirror part as a weapon.
09:38While Thomas is helping her to walk again, she's pretending her legs aren't in great condition.
09:42At the end of the scene, we notice Ruby wrote play along in her book. The next morning, Ruby is seen
09:48during push-ups. She rushes to her bed once she hears Thomas approaching her room. To avoid suspicion,
09:53she pretends to read her book. Thomas suggests he should help her to exercise her legs before dinner,
09:58to which she agrees. As Thomas helps Ruby to walk, she once again acts as if her legs are wounded.
10:04After they manage to get to the other side of the room, Thomas congratulates her on her progress and
10:09states that if they continue this way they may have dinner upstairs. In the evening, Thomas and Ruby
10:13are having dinner again. Thomas proclaims that this is a very special meal and urges Ruby to taste it.
10:19After she takes a bite, Ruby unlocks another memory, this one being of her and Thomas having dinner at
10:24a restaurant. They seem to be on a date and are comfortable with each other. Thomas then asks
10:29Ruby to close her eyes, and proceeds to put on a necklace he bought for her. He kisses her on her
10:33forehead. We then cut back to the present. Ruby is in shock and asks Thomas whether they were together
10:39before. Thomas nods his head and tells Ruby that the meal she vividly remembers was their anniversary
10:44meal. Ruby tearfully smiles at him. At night, Ruby is seen brushing her teeth. As she admired the
10:50two drawings Thomas put on the walls, she notices R.A.W. written on one of the corners of the drawing.
10:55In the morning, Ruby sees someone in a boat whilst looking through a small window from her room.
11:00Later, she and Thomas are discussing her book. Thomas mentioned how inseparable Ruby was from her book.
11:05He starts reminiscing of their memories together. As he tells his story, the scene cuts to Ruby drawing,
11:11surrounded by numerous crayon drawings. Thomas is sound asleep on her bed. When she made sure he was out
11:16cold, Ruby quietly makes her way to the door. Before she opens it, Thomas says it's cold outside,
11:22thus she needs a coat. Instead of opening the door, she reaches down to pick up her ball,
11:26as Thomas slowly awakens. The scene ends with Ruby saying she can't sleep. The next scene opens with
11:32Ruby sleeping in bed and Thomas covering her with a blanket, which triggers another memory of what
11:36seems to be her and Thomas being intimate. The next day, Thomas dances with Ruby, which triggers
11:41another memory. The memory is of Ruby and Thomas dancing at a party while Thomas is proclaiming his
11:46love for her. Ruby tells him she feels the same way and the two kiss. After experiencing the memory,
11:51Ruby tells Thomas she now fully believes they were together. Later, Thomas explains how the remote
11:57control which controls the whole room's electronics works. He puts up some music, and Ruby starts dancing
12:02for him. The two laugh and kiss, but before they start to get intimate Ruby starts crying. Ruby asks him
12:08how did they get to this, and Thomas agrees to explain it to her. As Thomas is explaining the story,
12:13the scene cuts to the past. We see Ruby waiting for Thomas at a bar. She's with her roommate Nick,
12:19who's openly flirting with her. Thomas doesn't make it to meet her since he missed the train,
12:23thus Ruby and Nick leave to go home. Thomas leaves Ruby a message that he's being picked up by his
12:28friend Rob and how he'll hopefully see her soon. Meanwhile, Nick tries to kiss Ruby and she refuses,
12:33but he persists. He knocks her unconscious and brutally assaults her. Upon seeing the aftermath of
12:39what happened when he came to Ruby's house, Thomas killed the still-drunk Nick and carried Ruby to
12:43Rob's car. Rob reluctantly drove them both to Thomas' home, where Ruby regained her consciousness.
12:49It is revealed Ruby lost her memory due to the incident with Nick. Before Rob can call an ambulance,
12:54Thomas stops him. They argue for a bit, but Rob agrees to help Thomas out in his plan to regain
12:59Ruby's memory. They travel far north where Thomas breaks ties with Rob and thanks to him for his help.
13:04Thomas proceeds to take Ruby to an abandoned island farm where he keeps Ruby prisoner.
13:09As time passes Thomas starts learning about retrograde amnesia,
13:12a form of amnesia in which the sufferer forgets everything prior to an attack.
13:16He also learned that Ruby's memory seemed to reset to just as it was right after the attack whenever
13:21she would sleep a lot. Thomas proceeds to show Ruby pictures to trigger her memory recovery,
13:25but she is unresponsive at first. In an attempt to speed up her memory recovery, Thomas learned how
13:31to trigger certain memories and control her sleep pattern so she could learn for more than a day.
13:35When he gives her her favorite book, Ruby is responsive and shows progress. Thomas continues
13:40his efforts, but decides he needs a blank slate in order to truly regain Ruby's trust and memory,
13:45so he constructed the white room and made up the whole scenario about cutting the ligaments of Ruby's
13:49legs and being her kidnapper. When Thomas finishes his story, Ruby is left in tears and seems to get her
13:55memory back. The two become intimate and fall asleep on one another. Ruby awakens first and turns off
14:01Thomas' watch before it can ring his alarm. She takes the broken mirror piece and stabs him.
14:05She starts crawling to escape, but Thomas tries to stop her. She kicks him with her feet and manages
14:11to escape to the outside. She gazes tearfully at the sky above, then runs to the boat, but passes
14:16out before she can make her escape. She awakens in a hospital room, with a doctor assuring her she'll
14:21be fine and that she may experience some short-term memory loss due to her injury. The doctor is
14:26revealed to be Thomas, who yet again orchestrated a different scenario in hopes of gaining Ruby's
14:30trust and regaining her memory.