A waitress takes in a discharged soldier who believes their hotel room is infested with tiny bugs as part of a government experiment. Agnes is a small-town waitress whose life is rapidly spiraling downward. Her son disappeared years ago, never to be found again. Her violent husband, Jerry, was recently let out of jail, and she expects him to show up at any moment. She lives in a small shabby motel room, drowning her worries with booze and drugs. One night, her friend RC brings a mysterious man over to Agnes' room-- his name is Peter, and he claims he was a a soldier recently discharged from the military. Agnes is skeptical of his presence at first, but his awkward kindness endears him to her, and they eventually sleep together. Afterward, Peter's eccentricity begins to reveal a deep paranoia. Earlier, he'd alluded to being the subject of some cruel government testing but hadn't gone deeply into the particulars; after sex, he begins swatting at bugs he sees on his skin, bugs that he claims were created and weaponized by the government. Agnes can't see them at first, and she wonders if he's crazy, but soon enough she sees them (though they are still invisible to the audience). They begin to develop odd scratches and sores on their skin, which RC claims are self-inflicted but Peter and Agnes insist are the result of the bugs. They cut themselves off from the rest of the town, even turning away Jerry when she shows up and attempts to intimidate Peter. They wrap their room in aluminum foil and spend every waking moment looking for more bugs-- Peter believes the government planted an egg sac in his tooth, and he pulls it out himself. When a doctor shows up and claims that he's from a mental institution which Peter escaped from, but Peter claims he's a government robot designed to fool Agnes, she must choose who to believe.
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Best part of story, including ending:
It's a depressing tale of paranoia and loneliness, but it's incredibly effective, with terrific acting from Judd and Shannon as the leads.
Best scene in story:
When Peter yanks out his own tooth, it is as intense as any scene of violence from any action movie or thriller. It is gruesome, slow, and painful.
Opinion about the main character:
Agnes is a mess, but she is distraught from the loss of her child and living in fear of his past, both of which are totally reasonable. Judd is compelling in the part.
