There's something to Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) that's been deeply troubling him - an incident in the past that haunts him that his continued existence on the island serves as a persistent reminder. Their shift on the island in the middle of the sea was originally to be four weeks in duration.  Due to a leg injury, the boss, Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe), requires Ephraim to do nearly all of the physical labor on his behalf, which the younger man comes to deeply resent, feeling like a slave during the day and treated no better than an animal at night. On his end, Thomas feels like Ephraim doesn't respect his authority, and his cooking skills, and he's going to break the lad to fear him if he won't at least show him the respect of his position., The wall between them is so prevalent, despite being in close proximity to one another, they don't even learn each other's names until well into their scheduled stay. From there, things get occasionally better, but often far worse, as Ephraim's fear, guilt, and paranoia begin to get the better of him, combined with the toxicity of heavy drinking and feelings of overwhelming isolation. Visions come into his head of lusty mermaids, mocking seagulls, and a dead body he seems to know more about than he cares to remember. Robert Eggers directs and co-writes this unique psychological folk tale of a sort.