- Directed by Harley Wallen
- Written by Jerry Lee Davis, Nick Theurer
- Stars: Charlene Tilton, Jasper Cole, Richard Tyson
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 36 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG2aTV5JAk0
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
Ah, nothing like a festive holiday movie to put you in the spirit. This is well put together, with drama and human struggles building towards some real horror at the end. Charlene Tilton nailed it as Nanny Lou, able to hide her core with a mask of sweetness when she wanted to. We thought it was quite good.
Spoilery Synopsis
It’s 1974 at Christmas. Louis’s father closes the store at night and talks to a guy who’s begging on the street. The argument escalates until the old man gets stabbed and dies and his daughter watches from the car.
Today, Rodney goes to his trailer and admires his drug collection when two cops, Levi and Jacob, barge in and search the place. They knock out Rodney and take him to a rehab place for treatment. Louise is there, grown up, and she runs the treatment center– she pays the two cops for bringing Rodney in. Dr. Sam Porter tells Louise that Rodney’s going to be unconscious for a while.
Jacob brings in another crackhead, and he’s not in good shape. Sam thinks they should call an ambulance. “We can’t send him to the hospital; he’s got my specials in him!”
In the morning, Rhonda brings some of Rodney’s things since he’s going to be there for a long time. She calls Louise “Nanny Lou,” and she’s been through this before. Rhonda still blames Rodney for the death of their child. Her daughter, Kylie, says she needs to forgive Rodney.
Meanwhile, at the treatment center, Louise makes up a batch of pills. Rodney talks to Dustin, the new guy, about them both being on Specials.
At group, we meet a few more recovering addicts. Tonya and Heather argue. They meet Marianne, one of the counselors there at Sage. Dustin tells his story, but he doesn’t want to be here.
Dustin later goes into convulsions and Levi brings him back in. Sam says they’re giving him too high of a dose. Cindy, Dustin’s sister, sees his condition and says it’s all from his Aleppo PTSD, and they can’t really afford to stay here. Louise points out that it’s either here or jail since the cops found so many drugs in his system. Louise talks about financing and she’ll let Dustin work in Cindy’s store to keep an eye on him. Levi thinks Cindy “is on to us,” but Louise is confident.
Rodney and Dustin start to conspire against Louise, who rules this place with an iron fist. Rodney tells him how his son died, and it was his fault. One of the patients dies, not accidentally, and Jacob and Levi carry body parts out in garbage bags.
Rhonda, Kylie, Cindy, Dustin, and Rodney sit together and discuss their situations. Louise yells at Rodney for leaving with her Specials, and now she wants him to find her more customers.
While the guys are working at Cindy’s store, Louise kills Tanya. Dustin falls over, he’s been taking the Specials again.
Walt tells Rodney that his month is almost up, and he’s looking forward to staying clean this time. Walt also mentions that he hasn’t seen Tanya today; she’s supposedly been released, but they both know that’s not true. Nanny Lou calls Walt out of a group meeting for a surprise.
Rodney sells some drugs to Kylie’s new boyfriend and feels bad about that, but Louise is making him do it. Louise says she’s here to make sure no addicts hurt anyone else; she still holds a grudge over her father’s death.
In the middle of a group session, Heather passes out, and she might die. Doctor Sam is also not in good shape– he may be on something as well. Louise tells Marianne that Sam is a recovering addict as well, and he’s lost his license. This devolves into threats from Louise.
There’s a big fight during visiting hours, and Rodney sees Levi making a move on Kylie. Rodney explains that they get people clean until it’s time for release, and then Nanny Lou gets them hooked on Specials again. This keeps people coming back, which is good for the bottom line.
Heather dies, Levi chops her up, and Dustin sees him doing it. Louise injects Dustin with something that knocks him out. Louise later forces Rodney to take some Specials. She tells Rodney that Dustin robbed her and then ran off with Heather. She also threatens to have Levi hurt Rhonda and Kylie if Rodney doesn’t play ball.
Dr. Sam starts to tell Rodney what Louise is up to, but then Levi kills him right in front of Rodney. Rodney runs downstairs and finds the bodies and parts in the dismemberment room. He also finds Dustin, but too late: Nanny Lou gets him.
Rodney and Louise talk about her motives, and she’s very pessimistic, she’d rather kill the addicts than release them for a relapse. Rodney stabs Louise and releases Dustin. They feed Nanny Lou a bunch of the Specials and then watch her die…
Brian’s Commentary
This was filmed here in Flint, Michigan, which is pretty cool, although I didn’t recognize any of the locations. It’s also, oddly, a Christmas movie.
The characters are all distinctive and interesting, and the drama of drug addicts in rehab and dealing with their families is good. It’s very talky, and the horror elements don’t really come in until towards the end, but we were entertained.
Kevin’s Commentary
Terrible people doing terrible things can certainly be as unsettling as literal monsters. I thought it could have moved a bit more and sooner into the horror. Like an engine revving in neutral, I found myself thinking it’s impressive, but put it in gear now. Still, the characters were interesting enough to make me care about them, and it’s decently made overall. I dug it.
Be the first to comment on "2025 Final Recovery"