SCENE OPENS on an empty suitcase sitting in the middle of a woman’s bed. While the radio plays in the background, items get tossed in as Alex (Adriana Chechik), a 21-year-old college student, hurriedly packs for the weekend. It’s her anniversary with Derek (Seth Gamble), her boyfriend of several years. He’s booked a cottage up north and she couldn’t be more excited to get away from school and her roommates for some quality time alone.
She wipes the frame, packing and repacking items including clothes, underwear, hiking boots, a book of erotica and box of condoms, and an anniversary card she made for him. She wants it to be a special weekend. As she frets over the final items, the camera pulls out to reveal her fully for the first time. A car honks in the driveway and Alex’s roommate calls out — ‘Derek’s here!’ She zips up her bag and, with a big smile on her face, turns off the radio, exits her room and rushes to the front door. Derek is waiting outside, by his car, and the camera lingers as she runs out, gives him a big hug, and gets inside.
A birds-eye shot of Derek’s car driving down a tree-lined road, occasionally passing other vehicles. After a few moments of ambiance, an overlay of Alex’s voice cuts in. She is playing a trivia game and Derek is trying to guess the correct answers.
CUT TO a closer birds-eye shot of Derek’s car isolated on the road, as the sounds of the couple playing and laughing over their game are heard. Finally, Derek loses and tells his girlfriend jokingly to turn the app off.
CUT TO inside the car. Alex closes her phone and looks out the window at the trees passing. The sun is starting to set behind them and she smiles at the beauty of it all.
CUT TO a front-mounted car shot. Derek notices his girlfriend’s gaze and starts to talk up the cottage he rented. It’s rustic but right by a lake and near many hiking trails. He just knows she’s going to love it. Best of all, there is a hot tub on the deck! Alex turns back to him and squeezes his hand. ‘I love you,’ she says affectionately. ‘I love you back,’ Derek says leaning in to give her a kiss. They keep driving for a few moments in silence, as the camera cuts between angles. Alex thinks about what she packed — the book of erotica she plans to ask Derek to read to her, the lingerie she purchased for tonight. She bites her lip in anticipation and sneaks a glance at her boyfriend’s lap while he drives. Maybe she should start their celebration a little early?
‘Hey, pull over for a moment,’ she coos in his ear. ‘Why? I want to get there before dark and we’re still over an hour away,’ he replies, not getting the hint. Alex grabs his crotch. ‘Not even for a little road head?’ She whispers flirtatiously. Derek looks down at her hand before a smile crosses his face. He shakes his head and pulls the car to the side of the road.
CUT TO a profile shot of the parked car in front of the woods. Inside, Alex is unbuckling Derek’s pants while he leans his head back. This weekend is starting off perfectly, he thinks to himself as he braces for her mouth. But something suddenly catches his eye. A red glowing light in the trees just past their car. He stops his girlfriend and pulls her back up to her seat. ‘Do you see that?’ He says, pointing. Alex looks in the direction of his finger at the ominous crimson glow. It’s almost pulsating. ‘What the hell is that?’ She asks quietly.
Derek zips himself up quickly and gets out of the car. Alex rushes out beside him. ‘What are you doing?’ She asks nervously. He hushes her. ‘What if its an ambulance or something? Maybe someone’s hurt. Just stay there. I’ll be right back.’ The boyfriend disappears into the woods, leaving Alex alone on the roadside. The sun has fallen behind the trees and it is getting dark. Crickets chirp loudly, and she shivers, not knowing whether to get back inside or not. She calls out a few times but no reply.
Finally, Derek yells: ‘Babe, come here … you’ve got to see this!’ A dolly zoom emphasizes Alex’s reaction as she sees her boyfriend step out with something very unusual dripping in his hands. They are covered in red slime and he is holding what look like large fish eggs. Alex carefully walks over to examine them. As she leans in, the eggs pop and fizzle like something frying. The smell is horrible. ‘Gross! What are those?’ She asks Derek. ‘And why did you get them all over your hands — what if they’re toxic?’ Derek’s eye gleam, his adrenaline pumping, as he tells her that he found a whole nest of them. They are cooking or something, maybe incubating, under a light that’s coming from the sky! They must be on classified land – like you read about online. Government tests. She has to see it. He grabs her hand and pulls her into the trees.
CUT TO a pile of eggs, oozing in slime and membranes, underneath a red spotlight. Derek crouches down beside them and starts poking at them with a stick. Each time the stick strikes one, it makes a buzzing noise, almost like an electrode. Alex is extremely nervous. ‘Stop that,’ she whispers. ‘You don’t know what you’re doing!’ Derek tells her to relax. He’s held one. They are clearly harmless. And they seem to be multiplying. ‘What?’ Alex mouths in fear. Alex points the stick to the middle of the pile, where a cluster of smaller eggs are growing. They are grouped close together and making a lot of static noise. From a low angle, Alex and Derek lean over the cluster as the static amplifies. ‘Derek …’ Alex says slowly as the noise increases. ‘They’re moving.’ Derek nods slowly. The static reaches a deafening pitch as the couple instinctively cover their ears and the red glow turns into a bright white light. Alex looks up just as the light blinds her and a shower of red eggs fall on them. Fade to white.
CUT TO a black chamber, illuminated only in the center by a small white spotlight. Alex and Derek lay like slugs, their bodies wrapped tightly in plastic-like cocoons. Only their faces are visible. The room creaks and echoes, as the distant sounds of inaudible conversation and movement are heard. It sounds like a crowd is gathering.
Alex slowly stirs, her eyes going wide in horror as she realizes her confinement. She gasps out Derek’s name, barely making a sound, as he too regains consciousness. Their breaths quicken as they struggle to free themselves … but they can’t. Suddenly, the light goes out and the room goes black. There is a moment of silent panic before a loud cranking is heard and the ceiling starts to open up, letting colorful flashes of light pour in to illuminate the chamber.
On either corner of the small vapid space, two other humans (Kristen Scott, Ryan McLane) lay curled up and motionless in fetal positions. They are naked and covered in slime. The couple stare up into the lights, horrified, as the distant sounds grow closer. Pops, whizzes, screeches, hisses, and unrecognizable voices fill the room from the ceiling. The voices sound excited and boisterous but are not in any language that Derek and Alex can recognize. Soon, an even louder alien voice comes over a speaker and the crowd fall silent. In a bone-chilling tongue, it begins to speak and, as it talks in pops and clicks, the crowd erupts into more hisses, banging, and cheers. The lights beam down on the couple as they wriggle.
The two humans in the corner suddenly stand up, as if instructed by the speaker. They crawl towards each other and over top of the couple. Without saying anything, they begin to have sex. Their bodies slap together, and they moan while the faceless crowd cheers on from above. Alex and Derek try to say something, but nothing comes out of their mouths. The man pounds the woman until she is just about to orgasm and the crowd hushes itself to listen. She lets out a large moan before falling back on top of the couple. The crowd erupts triumphantly, and the lights roll up as the ceiling closes again with a crank, leaving only a small spotlight left in the darkness.
Alex and Derek start to writhe frantically but are surprised when the other couple quickly hush them. They have snapped out of whatever state they were in and appear normal. ‘Be quiet, we don’t know how long we have,’ the man says, his hand clasped over Alex’s mouth. His partner gets up and starts chewing at the side of Derek’s cocoon to release him, while the man pats Alex’s head sympathetically. ‘It only takes a few minutes to get you out,’ he reassures her.
Soon, Derek is loose, and the trio help to get Alex out of her casing. When they are both free, the couple embrace and hold each other tightly, while Derek demands to know what is going on from the others. The man steps forward and explains that they don’t know how long they’ve been here, but they know they’re being watched. ‘We’re like some kind of fucked up puppets to them,’ the woman chimes in bitterly. ‘And they all love a good show!’ Alex shakes her head in confusion. ‘Why were you having sex?’ She asks meekly. The woman stares at her coldly. ‘We do whatever that voice tells us to do, that’s how we’ve lasted’ the man replies. ‘Well, what the fuck is it saying?’ Derek cuts in, his voice raising.
A loud crank deafens the room and the ceiling opens again, letting the flashing lights and sounds of cheering back in. Alex stares up, squinting to see. ‘What do you want from us?’ She screams. The voice on the speaker chimes in, saying something inaudible. All of a sudden, Alex stops. She nods and, turning to her boyfriend, says ‘yes’ before dropping to her knees to begin blowing the other man. Derek goes to break them up, furious, when the other woman latches onto his cock as well and starts sucking. The men both begin to moan, as the woman suck harder and harder. The voice on the speaker speaks again, its voice raising and almost angry, as the crowds begin to whisper amongst themselves. They don’t seem pleased. The men moan loader and Derek is just about to cum when suddenly, the lights are cut.
The two couples fall back down to the floor, breathing heavily. Alex’s mind is racing. She knew what she was doing. She agreed to what she was doing. But it felt as if something was inside of her the whole time motivating her actions. She starts trying to piece it all together. Was it a terrorists? Are they now being held at some kind of prison camp? Derek jumps in with his own theory. Maybe they’re having an allergic reaction to the stuff that he found, and this is all just a dream or hallucination.
The other couple shake their heads. ‘They’re not human,’ the woman says. ‘We think it’s like an alien game show … or a boxing match,’ the man adds. Derek threatens to deck him for stepping in on his girl. ‘Hit me all you like,’ he snarls. ‘It won’t do anyone any good. They hate us guys anyway … we’re the first to die.’ The woman breaks them up and urges them to be quiet. They need each other to survive. They have to try to get out of here.
Alex asks her to explain what they meant by a game show. ‘The lights come on and it’s like a curtain is lifted so the spectacle can begin,’ She says. ‘We don’t know how many are up there but it’s like a fucking stadium!’ The man adds that it seems as if they are placing bets on who will cum first. And they always want the women to win. If a guy cums, the host comes and takes him away. ‘The host?’ Derek asks. ‘The one on the loudspeaker,’ the woman replies.
Alex, meanwhile, has been quietly listening and pacing. ‘How many other people have you seen here?’ She asks. The couple look at each other in desperation. ’18 to 20 … but we’re the only ones who’ve survived,’ the man replies. ‘And they only ever come down here if a guy, you know, finishes first?’ She asks. They nod. ‘What do they look like?’ Derek whispers. The man turns to him. ‘Like the devil!’ He says, terrified. Alex bites her lip before turning to the group and saying, ‘Have you ever tried to trick them?’
CUT TO a loud crank. The ceiling opens again, letting the flashing lights and sounds of cheering back in. The voice on the speaker chimes in and the crowd erupts in excitement. Alex finds herself spinning around to drop to all fours, ass up in the air, her hands spreading her cheeks frantically to expose her pussy. Derek drops to his knees to enter her while the woman crawls underneath him to lick her pussy as well. The other man puts his dick in Alex’s mouth, which she begins to suck furiously. She finds herself getting crazier and crazier, moaning loudly to the excitement of the crowds. This is exactly what they want, she thinks to herself. So, she makes herself even louder, grabbing the man’s shaft and working it with both her hands and her mouth. It cannot go deeper down her throat. She mouths at Derek to pound her, fuck her harder. He does obediently, his eyes transfixed by what is happening before him. This seems to be revving up the crowd to an uncontrollable pitch.
Suddenly, just as she is about to cum, Alex screams ‘NOW!’ at the top of her lungs.
Nominated – Best Art Direction, AVN 2020
Nominated – Best Special Effects, AVN 2020
