Director: JT Mollner
Starring: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner
Running Time: 96 minutes
Synopsis: The story unfolds in six chapters, shown out of sequence. In a rural area, a woman (Willa Fitzgerald) is escaping from a shotgun-wielding man (Kyle Gallner), first in a car then on foot. She seeks shelter at the secluded farmhouse of aging hippie couple Frederick and Genevieve (Ed Begley Jr. and Barbara Hershey). In an earlier chapter, the man and woman plan to go ahead with a night of kinky motel room sex, although she is worried about her safety and asks him in advance if he is a serial killer.
What Works Well: Beyond the synopsis, not much more should be revealed about the devious plot. Director and writer JT Mollner delivers a finely crafted and mischievous story of murder and mayhem, featuring a frothy mix of sexual tension, chase thrills, tense searches, and bloody assaults, often delivered with minimal dialogue. Even the police officers, once they arrive at one scene of carnage, are convincingly flummoxed. Willa Fitzgerald's layered performance is devastatingly complex and among the most impressive by an actress in a horror movie. Giovanni Ribisi turns producer and cinematographer, his rich and patient compositions delving into the characters' souls but only ever showing what is necessary. The understated songs by Z Berg (including the spine-tingling Love Hurts and Better The Devil) add inner thoughts and haunting textures.
What Does Not Work As Well: Although only a small part of the film, the threats of sexual violence are a difficult watch.
Key Quote:
The Woman: Do you have any idea the kind of risks a woman like me takes every time she agrees to have a little fling?
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