- Directed by: Emily Bennett, Justin Brooks
- Written by: Emily Bennett, Justin Brooks
- Stars: Emily Bennett, Brendan Sexton III, David Call
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 31 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eASqDdhCTc
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
In an isolated country estate, a young filmmaker is held prisoner by a religious zealot. The beginning segment – about 16 minutes long – held promise, but things change after the opening credits. The two leads give it their all, but we both thought it was pretty dragging and dull.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on a creepy TV preacher talking about how our bodies are cages.
We cut to some guys working on a farm with cows; more newborn cows have died this year than have been born alive. The farm is failing, so the farmer lays off Keith, who’s obviously already broke. Keith’s truck breaks down on the way to another farm that was recommended to him – he’s not having a good day.
Keith walks to a farmhouse to make a phone call. The woman inside, Clara, offers to call him a tow truck. She invites him inside; he does seem safe, at least. She’s kinda plain-looking, but the more he looks at her, the better she looks. They start talking about being lonely and alone.
They touch hands, and we then get a glimpse of her and knife, and a trail of blood; she’s stabbed him, and now she wants him to stab her as well. He kills himself instead, even though she wants him to kill her. “You wasted it! You wasted all of it!” Credits roll.
We cut to Brighton West showing off his latest new horror short. He’s got an actress there auditioning for a new role, and he Weinsteins her. Later, he calls the producer and promises to finish writing the promised film. He’s going to go off to the country to force himself to finish the movie script for “Craven IV.” The producer is skittish because Brighton’s had addiction issues in the past.
At the cabin, Brighton meets Lucy, a neighbor, and avoids her. He ends up spending most of the evening at the local bar drinking. He admits to the bartender that he can’t find any inspiration here. Manny the bartender gives him directions to a nearby town where he’ll find some inspiration in a cave.
Brighton goes out to the woods and spots Clara there, naked in the river. Suddenly, he’s knocked out by a falling branch. He wakes up at Clara’s house. They talk about being single, just as she did with Keith earlier, and he admits that no one is home waiting for him.
Clara gives Brighton some drugged tea, and the next thing he knows, he’s chained up in a dark place watching a recording of the preacher telling him that he’s going to die. “In 26 days, you will die in agony.” We see that she’s got a whole videotape series about kidnapping and torturing for the cult. She beats, cuts, and shocks him daily after that.
Eventually, Brighton takes the hint and starts cutting himself on command; it’s easier than getting beat up first. Brighton figures out that he’s not the first one held here when he finds a message, “She’s afraid of the dark.”
There’s a long montage of torture, cult-speak, and suffering between the two. After a very long while, he sorta seduces her and trades places with Clara, chaining her to the floor in the dark.
After a great amount of discussion, the two are soon cutting each other and putting their hands under each other’s skin.
Eventually, it’s time. She hands him a knife and wants him to kill her, but he doesn’t want to do it. He does do it, and she thanks him before dying.
The other cultists arrive on the scene, along with the leader. All the other characters we’ve seen in the film are involved. The leader pokes out Brighton’s eyes, but Brighton doesn’t mind; he smiles and looks at the sun.
Brian’s Commentary
It’s all about loneliness, isolation, and of course, cult murder. It’s well acted and looks good, but the pacing is awful and it’s really, really slow at times. It’s really all about the two characters bearing their souls to each other, but it’s actually all pretty boring.
I was eager for it to end.
Kevin’s Commentary
The opening scene was so long, and with the main character being killed, it almost felt like two movies in one. Unfortunately, the first segment was really good, and I thought the rest of the movie dragged. The two leads were just acting their hearts out, but I thought it was pretty boring.
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