- Directed by: Nate Hilgartner
- Written by: Nate Hilgartner
- Stars: Hannah Deale, Jennifer Herzog, Robert Denzel Edwards
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 35 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3wY3mG_Usg
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
The horror elements in this one are those in the real world. A character who is trapped, stressed beyond limits, beaten down at every turn – and having nightmares. It’s low budget, but the acting, direction, and camera work more than compensate. Don’t expect classic horror, but we’d recommend it for a good drama.
Spoilery Synopsis
Amy’s having a dream where she finds twenty bucks and a pill. She wakes up to find her life isn’t so interesting. She listens to the man on the radio rant about abortion. Amy argues with her mother, Debra, about medication; Debra appears to be an addict. Credits roll.
As Amy rides her bike to work, we see that she lives in a rural farming area. We’re told that it’s “Week 0.” She and her coworker Lucas joke and play at the gas station where she works. Boss Randy comes in and chews them out for not wearing name tags; he’s a jerk.
In the morning, Amy goes to her Sociology class and then home to her mother, who’s taken almost the whole bottle of pills. The next night, she flirts with the same customer she met last night. That night, she fantasizes about the guy. The man, Seth, invites her out for real, not long after, and she goes with him. One thing leads to another, and soon they’re having sex in his truck. During the act, the cheap gas-station condom breaks.
Amy has a terrifying dream about things leaking. She Googles “morning after pills,” but they’re pricey and she has no credit card for online purchases. She prays instead. She thinks about it and goes to the drugstore, but a friend of her mother’s works there, so that’s not gonna work. She rides to a pharmacy in the next town over, and she’s a couple of dollars short. That night, she dreams about eggs.
Amy finally gets the money for a morning-after pill and takes it immediately, but it’s been more hours than recommended for the drug to be useful. This leads to more terrifying dreams. Weeks pass.
Amy registers for her next college class, just one at a time. Also, her period is late. She watches videos about “abortion pills” and then starts puking. Yeah, she’s pregnant.
Amy goes to the emergency room with a fake accident, and they know she’s lied on the intake forms about her identity. The doctor is pretty understanding and tells her to go to an OB-GYN, but can’t do much about the pregnancy. She points out that abortion is illegal in this state, but she “doesn’t tell her about” the options in other states.
Lucas covers for Amy at the store, she doesn’t show up, and Lucas ends up getting fired for it.
Debra’s pharmacist friend, who sells her drugs, gets arrested. Amy tells her about the pregnancy, and Debra wants her to have the baby. Debra promises to quit the drugs, starting now, and clean up her act. More nightmares follow.
Amy goes to the OB and sees the baby on the ultrasound. She asks him about abortion, but he is not supportive at all. Debra quickly falls off the wagon, and she gets nasty with Amy about it. Desperate, Amy calls Seth but can’t talk to him.
Debra overdoses, and it’s going to be expensive for the hospital. When she recovers, Amy asks her for help in getting to the next state for an abortion, but she’s too far gone to talk about it.
She calls Seth again and tells him what’s up. He agrees to drive her for an abortion, but Randy won’t give her the time off. He fires her over this. When she gets to Seth’s, he delays and makes her wait. After many hours, it’s too late to go all the way there. He seems like a nice guy, but she dreams about being chained up and trapped. Also, he might be a serial killer. When she has a nightmare about him killing her, she pulls a knife on Seth, who freaks out and drives away, leaving her… wherever she is.
Amy leaves the motel and wanders off into the nearby woods to find the purple weeds she heard about on YouTube. It’s supposed to be an all-natural abortive medication. She goes back to the motel, chops it up, and drinks it. This time, the nightmares are of her covered in mud at the ER. She also sees herself dead of an overdose.
Amy wakes up in the hospital with her mother and everyone else there by her side. The doctor says she’s had a miscarriage. They know she ate the plant to cause the miscarriage, and the police are here to arrest her.
Brian’s Commentary
Some people’s lives just suck, ya know? The filmmakers are trying to show how the difficulty in getting an abortion (or it being just plain illegal) can ruin lives. Pregnancy is one thing, but it looks like Amy’s problems are more related to drug addiction and poverty.
It’s pretty low-key horror unless you can specifically relate to the situation. Other than the basic premise, all the horror elements appear within the many dream sequences.
The acting is very good, it doesn’t get boring, and it’s obviously a very realistic situation.
Kevin’s Commentary
This was painfully realistic. With the horror in the situation she was stuck in and the nightmares she was having. No wonder she was having bad dreams. And that closing scene where everyone who “cares” about her was gathered in the hospital room gets you right in the feels. The acting was very good all around, and they made the most of a low budget. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone looking for a traditional horror movie, but it was a good watch
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