Habitat

HABITAT is a psychological drama about two deeply isolated individuals. Lucy and Marcus who form an unlikely connection through an online forum for agoraphobics. Lucy lives alone in her family home under freezing temperatures, obsessed with keeping her environment hidden. Meanwhile, Marcus is an unemployed photo retoucher and editor is struggling with severe obsessive-compulsive cleaning tendencies, unpaid rent, and a fear of contamination. After Lucy freaks out over a routine household noise, Marcus calls to comfort her, sparking a daily routine of late-night phone calls, shared virtual dates, and a deep emotional intimacy. Their relationship hits a sudden rift during a FaceTime tour of her home when Lucy breaks down, desperately calling out for her mother down an empty hallway. Panicked when Marcus asks about her mother, she abruptly cuts off contact. Regretting her reaction, Lucy calls him back, opening up about her fears and inviting him to overcome his isolation to visit her. Driven by his growing bond with her, Marcus pushes past his crippling agoraphobia, leaves his apartment, and arrives at her house. While sharing breakfast together, Marcus notices a third plate of fresh food set on the kitchen counter. Driven by curiosity and a foul odor, he follows the smell down the hallway to a towel-sealed bedroom, where he makes the horrific discovery of the decomposing corpse of Lucy’s mother surrounded by her collection of wigs. As a distraught Lucy breaks down in tears, Marcus wipes her tears. Bound by his own compulsive need to manage and “fix” unmanageable situations, Marcus puts on rubber gloves and a mask to obsessively scrub clean the mattress where the corpse lay.

Directed by Alejandro Broche (USA)