Rust Creek is a 2018 American independent crime thriller film directed by Jen McGowan and written by Julie Lipson. It is based on an original story by Julie Lipson and Stu Pollard. The film stars Hermione Corfield. It premiered at the 2018 Bentonville Film Festival and released theatrically on January 4, 2019.
Plot
Sawyer Scott, a senior at Centre College, receives an offer for a job interview taking place the day before Thanksgiving in Washington, DC. Embarrassed that she may not get the job, Sawyer decides to skip Thanksgiving with her family and travel to the interview without telling anyone about her plans. After encountering holiday traffic on I-64, she takes an alternate route, but finds part of it closed off. Traveling even deeper into the Appalachian forest, Sawyer eventually turns around, but is spotted by brothers Hollister and Buck, who are burying a body. Concerned she might have seen them, the brothers follow Sawyer and find her studying a paper map. Initially offering help, the brothers soon become hostile when Sawyer rejects their invitation to dinner, and try to grab her. Sawyer manages to escape into the woods, stabbing Buck in the abdomen with his own knife, but is stabbed in the thigh in the process. The brothers pursue her for a short distance, but turn back as night falls. Disoriented and injured, Sawyer spends the night in a ravine.
After receiving an abandoned vehicle report about Sawyer’s Jeep, county Sheriff O’Doyle questions Hollister and Buck, known local troublemakers, but they deny involvement with Sawyer’s disappearance. The brothers later return to Sawyer’s vehicle and dispose of it over an embankment in the woods, resuming their search for her. Sawyer finds the wreckage of her car and discovers her cell phone, but the phone has a dying battery and no cellular reception. Suffering from hunger, dehydration, and blood loss, Sawyer loses consciousness near a dumping ground in the woods and is discovered by Lowell, a meth cook who is cousin to Hollister and Buck. Lowell treats Sawyer’s wounded leg and offers her food and water, but binds her with ropes after she throws lye in his face in an attempt to escape. The brothers arrive to discuss Lowell’s upcoming batch of meth, but are suspicious when Lowell does not allow them inside and denies knowledge of Sawyer’s whereabouts. After the brothers leave, Lowell explains that he is not holding Sawyer hostage, but has no car and is waiting for the brothers to travel to Charleston to deliver the batch of meth so that he can borrow their pickup and take her to safety. Sawyer relaxes and bonds with Lowell over a discussion of the chemistry involved with cooking meth, helping him prepare the batch.
At the sheriff’s office, O’Doyle warns deputy Katz to ignore the missing vehicle report and mentions that the vehicle has “moved on,” but allows Katz to contact the registered owner to put his mind at ease. When Kentucky State Police commander Slattery arrives, Katz relays the information he has gathered about Sawyer’s disappearance. Slattery expresses displeasure with O’Doyle’s handling of the case and demands action, angering O’Doyle. O’Doyle returns to Hollister and Buck and threatens them to find Sawyer, revealing his involvement with their meth operation. After Katz overhears a phone call between O’Doyle and the brothers, he tries to take the sheriff into custody, but O’Doyle kills him and has the brothers dispose of his body. When Slattery returns, O’Doyle “discovers” Sawyer’s wallet that he planted in Katz’s locker, implicating him in her disappearance and covering up Katz’s murder. While Slattery mobilizes the state police, taking over the investigation from O’Doyle, the sheriff leaves to help with the brothers’ meth delivery, planning to upstage the drug cartel that has been moving into the region.
The brothers arrive at Lowell’s to pick up the batch of meth and discover Sawyer with him. Lowell claims he has Sawyer “trained,” instructing her to microwave a cup of coffee for him from a thermos earlier seen to contain anhydrous ammonia. The microwave explodes, killing Buck and badly injuring Lowell and Hollister, but Lowell shields Sawyer from a majority of the blast. Sawyer escapes while the trailer burns and Lowell struggles to overpower Hollister. O’Doyle arrives and kills both cousins, then finds Sawyer fleeing and picks her up. Sawyer recognizes O’Doyle’s voice and realizes his intentions are hostile, tipping him off. O’Doyle leads her to the titular Rust Creek and tries to drown her, but she manages to stab him in the face and chest with a weeding fork she slipped from Lowell’s trailer earlier. Finally free of her pursuers, Sawyer limps with determination down the road as multiple state police cruisers converge behind her.
Cast
Hermione Corfield as Sawyer Scott
Jay Paulson as Lowell
Sean O’Bryan as Sheriff O’Doyle
Micah Hauptman as Hollister
Daniel R. Hill as Buck
Jeremy Glazer as Deputy Nick Katz
John Marshall Jones as Commander Douglas Slattery
Laura Guzman as Charlotte
Virginia Schneider as Donna
Denise Dal Vera as Mrs. Gander
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