Mulholland Drive - Opening

After recently moving to Los Angeles to seek independence, as well as enroll in a fashion and costume design course, Sarah goes apartment hunting and successfully manages to get a spot for a one-bedroom apartment in a seemingly friendly neighborhood complex which houses 30 or so residents. Sarah bonds with some of the residents, most notably Jerry, the manager; Brian, her neighbor; and Edie, an elderly lady. Sarah develops sleep deprivation and lethargy after moving into her new apartment due to loud noises that she always hears at night. Because of her lack of sleep, she forgets to hand in her portfolio to her enrollment course. She confides in her co-worker and friend Lisa, who comforts her. During a barbeque party, Lester, a resident, recommends the book The Power of Community by Charles D. Ellerby to Sarah, which she politely declines.

One night, while unable to sleep, Sarah is attacked and drugged unconscious by Brian and some other residents. When Sarah awakens, she is in a sealed room and Jerry and Brian walk in and reveal to her that the apartment complex is home to a cult and all the residents in the apartment complex are part of the cult and that she has been chosen to become their new member. The cult was started 30 years earlier by a man named Charles D. Ellerby and he has written a book titled The Power of Community, which includes four key principles that the cult members live by. Jerry and Brian have cut off all her contact from the outside world and ensured that no one will try to find her now that she is in the cult's captivity.

Sarah unwillingly undergoes a torturous initiation process that every resident before her also had to endure. Once it is over, she is given a copy of The Power of Community and she is told to read and study the book. Sarah is also given a few other tasks to perform in order to contribute to the cult, such as marrying Lester, carrying out surveillance of the members via CCTV footage, and cooking for the children. Initially resistant to the cult, Sarah is slowly brainwashed into accepting and joining it as they promise her a sense of belonging and purpose. Eventually, Sarah is branded with the cult's logo after taking a lie detector test that shows she has truly become sincere about wanting to be in the cult.