Red Light

Synopsis

Late one night, Lucas wakes his younger accomplice, Eddie, as they wait at a suburban intersection. Their target is an approaching car with a silver briefcase sitting openly on the passenger seat. Lucas hands Eddie a hammer and assures him that the robbery is simple: break the window, frighten the driver, take the case and escap.

Moving to the rhythm of “(Can’t You) Trip Like I Do” by Filter and The Crystal Method, Eddie approaches the vehicle and smashes its window. He forces the hammer through the broken glass, threatens the driver and takes the briefcase before racing back to Lucas’s car. As the traffic signal turns green, the two speed away into the night.

Their escape immediately begins to unravel. The briefcase is locked, and the driver they robbed is pursuing them. While Eddie desperately tries to open the case, Lucas attempts to outrun the car closing in behind them. He finally loses their pursuer with a sudden turn, but instead of continuing their escape, Lucas slows down and pulls to the side of the road.

Eddie realizes too late that the greater threat has been beside him all along. Lucas points a gun at him and dismisses their friendship with the words, “Nothing personal.” Eddie escapes from the car with the briefcase, but Lucas chases him down. Eddie falls, and Lucas stands over him and fires.

Eddie suddenly awakens back in the passenger seat at the same intersection. Lucas repeats the same plan, the same promises and the same instructions, revealing that Eddie has either dreamed the betrayal or has somehow been given another chance to survive it. This time, when Lucas signals for him to begin the robbery, Eddie starts to leave the car but stops. He turns back toward Lucas, raises the hammer and says, “Not this time.” As he swings, “Gimme That Boom” by Skindred erupts and the film cuts to the closing credits.