Bruce Cogburn (Guy Pearce) is a writer whose book, The Infernal Machine, was a huge success that he’s never been able to follow up on. Now, an obsessed fan seeks to draw him out of hiding. However, that fan seems to not have Cogburn’s best interests at heart.

Based on “The Hilly Earth Society,” which was written by Louis Kornfeld and produced by Jonathan Mitchell for The Truth podcast, this movie was directed and written by Andrew Hunt.

Cogburn’s novel inspired Dwight (Alex Pettyfer) to kill thirteen people, which is one of the reasons why he’s never written anything else. He lives alone in a desert home, drinking himself into oblivion, but the confrontation with his past may be something that pulls him from his depressive state if it doesn’t kill him.

There’s not much more to the story beyond that, as it seems like a short stretched too far, but Pearce is astounding in this. I loved every moment he was on the screen. He’s a force in this and I hope he keeps the momentum for whatever he chooses to do next.