A dementia patient's carer with a secret in her past discovers she's not the only one.
Solemn and subtle story of the consequences of family abuse. The key to it is literally a key, but also repressed words, which the patient states early on in one of her lucid moments and which is suggested by the cover of a videotape with three monkeys. There is a supernatural element, but this is not a horror - more a psychic working out of the harm suffered by everyone in this isolated house.
The performances are good and restrained, the camera work mostly interesting with plenty of close-ups, and the editing keeps up a good pace for such a low key story. The standout for me is the music and sound design, which generate an eerie atmosphere and add another dimension through mysterious broken messages. The special effects are basic, intended only to put some flesh on the awful secrets that haunt these two generations of victims.
The only drawback was the plausibility of the presence of the teenage boy - might have been better to introduce him along with the patient's daughter - "I drove him down only because he can help you with my mother" - which would also have provided a triggering event to give the story propulsion.
Overall: a fine treatment of a nasty predicament.
