A father and mother live in a large house on the outskirts of town with their three children, whose ages range from mid-teens to early twenties. The children have never been allowed to leave the house, which is surrounded by a tall fence, and their knowledge of the outside world has been strictly controlled by their parents, who have chosen to teach them only what they believe is important and have deliberately confused or misled them in many other areas. The parents quite literally treat their children like animals, and the only contact the youngsters have with people outside their family is a woman who works with the father's business and comes by periodically to have sex with the eldest son. She makes the mistake of bringing a present for the two younger daughters, and explains the custom is that they should give her something in return. This simple act sets off a chain reaction of events that has terrible consequences for everyone involved.
This film is both disturbing and intriguing in equal measures. The mother's complicity in the father's paranoid delusions seems ambiguous at times and the cinematography lacks fluidity in places. There is an amount of explicit sexual content which some may find uncomfortable. A particularly unique scene to watch out for is the one where the parents converse silently by mouthing the words so as to prevent their offspring from overhearing. I think this will become a cult classic for all its little failings.
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