Dawn Miller (Pamela Jayne Morgan) is a widow who is trying to keep the memory of her late husband alive by taking over his moving business. After a late night she makes a pit stop at a state park to have a salad and to get a few Zzzzz’s in before she continues on her way. It seems like any other trip, that is until she’s awaken by Phoebe Beenum (Juliette Alice Gobin) a barefoot girl who looks like she hasn’t slept in a year, who is being chased by someone.
Dawn is skeptical to Phoebe’s story as it sounds farfetched. But after being assaulted by two stoner teenagers and getting a detailed story about what happened to her when she was younger, Dawn decides to do everything she can to make sure that whoever is after Phoebe doesn’t get their hands on her. With no cellphone and a set of misplaced car keys, these two women will go through hell and back to make sure that they make it to see the sunrise.
Whether intentional or not, the moral of the story is clear: men with weapons will terrorize any woman that threatens their fragile masculinity. Resilient and skeptical of anyone who might just appear from the woods, these two women keep their heads on straight when battling their attackers and use what they can to fight.
Director Max Strand and co-writer Todd Rawsizer create a terrifying, realistic tale of two women who are gearing up for the fight of their lives. An older woman looking for her place in the world following a tragic loss, and a younger woman who was forced to grow up too fast after a childish escapade left someone for dead. A well produced, low budget film that feels claustrophobic at times while being agoraphobic at the same time with the darkness of the woods and the unknown perils that could be out there keeping you on your toes, unsure of what is going to jump out.
Reviewed online, August 9, 2021. Rating: TBC. Running time: 95 min.
PRODUCTION: An Examine Dots Pictures & Goodbye Honey production. Producers: Joshua Michaels, Todd Rawiszer & Max Strand.
CREW: Director: Max Strand. Writers: Max Strand & Todd Rawiszer. Cinematography: Todd Rawiszer. Editing: Jay Yachetta.
CAST: Pamela Jayne Morgan, Juliette Alice Gobin, Peyton Michelle Edwards, Jake Laurence, Keara Benton, Paul C. Kelly, Stacey Van Gorder.