Behind the Door

In the tempestuous wake of America's entry into World War I, German-American taxidermist Oscar Krug faces violent xenophobia in his coastal community despite his honorable service record. After marrying Alice Morse amidst escalating prejudice, Krug enlists in the U.S. Navy to prove loyalty, unaware his bride has stowed away aboard his vessel. When a German U-boat commanded by the merciless Kapitan von Schiller torpedoes their ship, Alice is captured while Krug is left for dead. Months later, a recovered Krug discovers von Schiller captured near his Maine hometown and learns through fragmented accounts that Alice endured unspeakable tortures before being thrown to sharks. Consumed by primal fury, Krug uses his taxidermy skills to lure von Schiller into his workshop, where behind a bolted oak door, he enacts meticulously grotesque vengeance mirroring Alice's suffering—a final act unveiled only through the commander's blood-curdling shrieks and Krug's hollow-eyed emergence.