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