Director Carter Smith (The Ruins) is back to bring audiences along on two friends final night together. What was supposed to be a quick drug run for cash takes a grisly turn into a horrifying evening involving creeping drugs, guns, and gruesome intimate violations. All The Dead Boys productions, Witchcraft Motion Picture Company, and Leroi drop Swallowed onto digital and Amazon Video starting February 14th, 2023. Smith, who is no stranger to a small cast and stomach churning, don’t eat before you watch scenes with organic horror, does what he does best in Swallowed. With an intentional eye for cinematography, and a knack for authentic, bold storytelling, Carter Smith presents a backcountry, visceral horror film that is especially full of passion, and revenge. 

A Drug Run Gone Disgustingly Bad

Swallowed opens in a setting most viewers know well, the local bar. Dom is recording his friend, Benjamin, with his obvious star quality as he dances and flirts with the phone camera. Audiences are clued in that these two are lifelong best friends as Benjamin can immediately sense that something is up with Dom. Instead of joining in, Dom is occupied with his phone and a mysterious number that keeps calling. This being their last night together before Benjamin jets off to LA to begin his adult film career, he wants to spend it with Dom, dancing the night away at their local spot. Even distracted, Dom continues to encourage Benjamin that LA is going to go nuts over him and that he has a promising road ahead of him. Their sweet banter establishes that these two have a strong bond that goes beyond a normal friendship. Unable to ignore the secret phone calls anymore, Dom surprises Benjamin with what he calls a going-away present. A hefty sum of cash to get him started on the right foot. 

With its quick 92-minute runtime, Swallowed wastes no time in revealing that, Dom intends on getting this cash through an unassuming, quick, drug run. Once at the spot, the film amps up the tension. Viewers clearly know what is going on, but enough details are kept under wraps to worry even the most seasoned moviegoer. Dom’s contact, Alice, is forceful and blunt but ominously passive. Keeping a big secret to herself in order to disguise the nefarious origin of the cargo the friends are transporting across the border. Christopher Bear, in charge of the score, expertly moves the film along, choosing just the right moments to magnify the friend’s urgency and tension. While also dropping out the synthesized score completely for the pair’s more intimate moments of vulnerable and honest communication. Benjamin’s character gives a voice to the burning questions the audience has during the film. His extroverted nature asks all the right questions, and even though he’s met with silence, it is a welcome breath of fresh air to have a character standing up and pointing out just how problematic a situation is. 

Deliberate POV shots and a lingering camera, run by Alexander W. Lewis, magnify the danger that Dom and Benjamin find themselves in as the original plan goes south. Viewers may find the scattered, warm talks between Benjamin and Dom distracting from the usual wanted action of horror thrillers. On the other hand, these cherished moments take just the right amount of time, offer a welcome reprieve, and give an updated and beautiful look into a LGBTQ+ relationship that perhaps has always been there but is just now starting to blossom. Swallowed will have audiences grimacing as it turns up the gross factor, with most of the friends’ troubles taking place in the grimiest places. A tone of despair, urgency, and secrets loom as the trio of Dom, Benjamin, and Alice, as they are all just trying to get what they came for and get to their next destination.