The Collector (1965)
The Collector is a 1965 psychological horror film in which the lonely, socially awkward young man Freddie stalks, kidnaps and kinda bridenaps the Foid Miranda:
After incapacitating her with chloroform and abducting her to his newly bought far-away farmhouse, she awakens inside the cavernous, windowless stone cellar of his farmhouse (which he has adorned with a bed, furnishings, clothing, painting tools and an electric heater). She assumes she has either been taken for ransom or to be used as a sex slave and insists to Freddie that her father is not wealthy. Freddie explains he is not seeking sex or ransom; he explains that he and Miranda used to ride on the same bus years earlier in Reading and that he continued to follow her into London after she enrolled in art school. When he proclaims his love for Miranda, she fakes appendicitis as a ploy to escape but is caught. Freddie agrees that he will free Miranda after four weeks, an allotted period he believes will allow her to "get to know him".
Freddie gradually allows Miranda small luxuries, such as leaving the cellar to obtain sunlight and take baths in the house under his supervision. When he fondles her aggressively, she tells him she will not fight him should he rape her, but that she will lose all respect for him. During one of her baths, Freddie's neighbor arrives at the farmhouse to introduce himself, resulting in Freddie gagging Miranda and tying her to pipes in the bathroom. She floods the bathroom in an attempt to get the neighbor's attention, but Freddie diverts him, claiming his girlfriend inadvertently left the tub running.
Freddie recurrently mentions one of Miranda's boyfriends, with whom he observed her socializing on numerous occasions. He allows Miranda to write a letter to her mother but discovers a small piece of paper in the envelope asking for help, and tears the letter apart in front of her. During a conversation about art and literature, Miranda further alienates Freddie, who accuses her of being an elitist. He proclaims that they could never be friends in "the real world".
On the thirtieth (and allegedly final) day of her captivity, Freddie prepares a meal in the house for Miranda and gives her a dress to wear for the occasion. Over dinner, he asks Miranda to marry him. She agrees, but Freddie senses her hesitation. He then confronts her for being disingenuous, reminding her that witnesses are needed for a formal marriage. Miranda pleads with Freddie that he had promised to let her go after thirty days, but he simply tells her that he can do as he wishes. Feeling completely trapped, Miranda attempts to flee the house, but he corners her in his study and chloroforms her before lying with her in an upstairs bedroom. When she regains consciousness in the cellar, Freddie assures her that he did not rape her. He tells her he intends to keep her until she "tries" to fall in love with him. After having a bath one night, Miranda unsuccessfully attempts to seduce him, but he senses her artifice and compares her to a prostitute.
When Freddie escorts her back to the cellar during a rainstorm, Miranda seizes a shovel with which she strikes him on the head. Though wounded, Freddie takes advantage of Miranda's subsequent hesitation and manages to drag her back into the cellar. She accidentally breaks the electric heater just after their struggle. Miranda remains locked in the cold cellar, soaking wet, while Freddie receives medical attention. He returns three days later to find Miranda ill with pneumonia and goes into town to get a doctor. When he returns, having changed his mind about a doctor, he finds Miranda dead. Freddie buries the corpse under an oak tree on his property.
A short time later, Freddie, convinced Miranda brought her fate on herself, again drives around, now stalking a young nurse in the hopes that he might have better success overall with a different sort of woman.