- Directed by Corey Deshon
- Written by Corey Deshon
- Stars Casper Van Dien, Elyse Dinh, Vivien Ngô
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 35 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_CmBBxgM9Q
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It’s a post-apocalyptic film. Or is it? A lot is not explained and left for us to figure out to speculate on. It’s slow-moving, low-action, and very character-driven. The Horror Guys are split in opinion, with Kevin enjoying it substantially more than Brian.
Spoilery Synopsis
As credits roll, a woman runs down the road with a truck in pursuit. The people in the truck are wearing gas masks, and the running woman is terrified. The people in the car chase her, and we later see them walking away with hammers covered in blood.
“You know why that had to happen, right?” asks the father to the son as we get a flashback to the father killing the girl. “You know you could have prevented it, right? So you’ll try harder next time?” They go home and have a weird ritual where they burn a photo of the girl.
They get a new girl and pull the sack off her head. Father says that he doesn’t want to hurt her. He has her chained to the floor in his garage. “Your name is Daughter. You can also respond to ‘Sister’ when it’s appropriate.” He promises that she won’t be harmed if she cooperates, and she can even go home– in a few years. We then see Father, Mother, and Son having dinner and smiling.
Father then introduces Daughter’s new mother, and he insists that they had her eighteen years ago, but the dates are sketchy, so don’t worry about that. Mother says, “If you’re happy, it’ll be easier for all of us. It’s easier if you just give him what he wants.”
Father talks to Son about the corruption and the rot in the outside world. Son asks when his new sister will be OK, and Father says when he’s sure she isn’t sick. Father tells Daughter that this is all for Brother’s benefit.
Finally, Father brings Brother to meet Sister. They play Parcheesi, and then Daughter joins them for dinner. Mother whispers to Daughter in Vietnamese, and Father doesn’t like that. No secrets allowed. Brother says he’s had a lot of Sisters, and he’s always alone until they “come back.”
Brother and Sister learn from Father’s holy book and get lessons about the contents. She’s chained up and punished for mocking the book.
Sister asks Brother to explain about the sickness outside, and he can’t really do it. She explains the concept of putting on a play, and he’s never heard of it before. It could be dangerous, so Father says he’ll think about it. They start working on the play, and Brother is very excited.
Mother tells Daughter that she’s outlasted many Daughters and expects to outlive more before she’s finally released. We see that Father chains Mother to the bed every night, so he obviously doesn’t trust her either.
Later, we see Father taking a pint of blood from Brother, and then he chains both “children” to their beds before leaving. He thinks Father is using it to “test the air.” When Daughter asks Father what the blood was for, he says “Curiosity killed the cat.”
Father complains to Mother that Daughter is too old, “She’s a bad influence on him.” Father says he appreciates the effort she’s putting in “this time.”
That night, Daughter writes a “Help, I’ve been kidnapped” note and slips it into one of Brother’s paintings that Father sells.
Brother admits to her that he knows how to get out of their room at night. “He says that one day, when the time is right, my blood can save the world.” He shows her many bags of blood stored in a refrigerator.
Eventually, it’s Son’s birthday, and he and Daughter put on their play that they’ve worked on for so long. We get a retro dancing break, like how it looks in their imaginations, and then they stand for their curtain call. Mother claps; Father does not.
Father drags Daughter out by the hair, but Mother hits Father over the head and runs away. Brother begs him, “Don’t kill her!”
Father tells the two children that they need to leave, and it’s not safe here anymore. Son then beats Father to death with a hammer. “He went outside. He was sick.” Son then passes out on the floor.
Mother runs through the desert out on the road.
We cut to an art gallery, where the curator hangs one of Son’s paintings. He finds Daughter’s note and throws it in the trash.
Daughter and Brother are in the truck with gas masks on. She says that she’d never hurt him, and then takes her mask off. “See? It’s safe.” She then leaves the truck to go for help, and he notices the hammer under the back seat. What now?
Commentary
What was the blood for?
We were wondering all along whether or not there really was some kind of sickness or plague outside the house.
It’s kidnapping, brainwashing, and gaslighting all rolled into one very creepy movie. It’s very slow and drawn-out, however, and it was a struggle not to doze off a couple of times.
It is very weird, I’ll give it that.