The gruesome death of a prostitute brings suspicion on one of her clients, James Wayland, a brilliant, self-destructive and epileptic heir to a textile fortune. So detectives Braxton and Kennesaw take Wayland in for questioning, thinking they can break the man. But despite his troubles, Wayland is a master of manipulation, and during the interrogation, he begins to turn the tables on the investigators, forcing them to reveal their own sinister sides.
Acting
Tim Roth's tics and tremors—performance as hypnosis.
Writing
Dialogue that weaponizes silence and stutters.
Direction
Pate brothers squeeze dread from one ugly room.
Director
Jonas Pate
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Pate brothers made this at 27, fresh from film school, after selling the script while still students—studio wanted someone 'more experienced' until Tim Roth demanded they direct.
The textile mill setting isn't random: the Pates grew up in North Carolina mill towns, and the rotting industrial backdrop mirrors Wayland's inherited decay—old money, old blood.
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