| Director | Buddy Giovinazzo |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film, splatter film, war film |
| Runtime | 92 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $40,000 |
Frankie Dunlan, an American soldier in the Vietnam War, runs alone through the jungle. As his voice narrates, he reveals that he "goes back there every night" before waking up in his rundown New York apartment, next to his wife Cathy and their deformed infant son. The couple argue over Frankie's unemployment and their son's health, with Frankie believing the baby's deformities are a result of chemical weapons like Agent Orange used during the war.
A junkie scores from the local kingpin, Paco. Frankie waits in line outside the unemployment office as the junkie desperately searches for a needle to shoot up with. Frankie kills time entertaining a child prostitute. The junkie cuts open his arm and pours drugs in it before passing out as a random woman comes upon him and steals his gun and ammunition, putting them in her purse.
Frankie visits the unemployment office but finds no work available. His social worker advises Frankie to return to school, as he has no marketable skills. Frankie reveals he's been unemployed for four months.
He calls his father to ask for money. His father thinks the call is a prank, since he believes his son died in Saigon. Frankie explains that he was reported killed 15 years ago but made it out alive and spent three years in an army hospital recuperating. He tells his father that his wife is pregnant again and they are being evicted, but his father claims that he is also broke and about to die from a heart condition.
Seemingly broken, Frankie comes across the woman who stole the junkie's gun and steals her purse as a last resort. As she screams for help. Paco and his thugs chase Frankie before overcoming and mercilessly beating him. The gun falls out of the bag during the pummeling and when Paco goes through the bag, Frankie grabs the gun and shoots all three men, killing them.
Frankie explains in a voice-over that his father was right: he had died in Saigon and explains that his company had come upon a village where everyone had killed themselves to avoid being raped and murdered by the US soldiers. He realizes that he must similarly 'save' his family, and he returns home.
His wife is horrified by his appearance and briefly tends to his wounds. Frankie becomes catatonic and hallucinates in front of the TV. He reloads the gun and prepares to kill himself but has a hallucination involving Cathy, prompting him to murder Cathy and the baby.
Frankie lays the baby's corpse in the oven and turns it on before pouring himself a glass of spoiled milk, drinking it and shooting himself in the head. The film ends with a train passing by into the night.