American Perfekt

Sandra's car breaks down after a road-rage incident with Santini in the Mojave Desert. A soft-spoken Jake Nyman offers her a lift and reveals himself as a Los Angeles psychiatrist who makes decisions based on a coin flip. The encounter introduces the film's unsettling moral framework and a fragile bond between them.

Sandra intends to meet her sister Alice in Pearblossom, but Jake's car runs out of gas, delaying the meet-up. While stranded, they grow romantically attached and begin to trust each other despite underlying tension. The incident lengthens the trip and deepens dependence on Jake's coin-driven approach.

Santini reappears during a rest-stop break and punches Sandra in a drunken quarrel. Jake uses a coin flip to decide whether to kill Santini or ensure he won't harm Sandra again, introducing the film's fatalistic logic. The outcome of the flip is never revealed, leaving Sandra's fate uncertain.

Jake's coin decision leads to Sandra and Santini disappearing, with neither the viewer nor the other characters promised an outcome. Jake and Sandra's alliance fractures as the situation grows more mysterious. The film shifts focus to the next leg of the road journey.

Not long after, Jake encounters Alice and gives her a ride. Although it's common knowledge he was with Sandra, Alice is unaware of Sandra's current whereabouts. The two continue traveling, with Jake's cool demeanor masking deeper dangers.

A woman's body is found at a motel where Jake and Alice had stayed; the remains are identified as Rita, a local junkie who slept with Santini. Sheriff Frank and Deputy Sam begin to suspect Santini rather than Jake due to his clean record. The discovery intensifies the tension and muddies the alibi.

Frank and Sam remain cautious and do not suspect Jake based on his demeanor and prior record. Alice remains complicit, not alarmed by Jake's deception regarding her purpose with him. The investigation frames Santini as the principal suspect for Rita's death.

Santini chases Jake and Alice on the highway and careens off the road in a crash. Alice tries to rescue him, but the injuries leave him unable to speak and he dies. This sequence heightens the sense of fatalism that runs through the plot.

Sheriff Frank finds a human tongue in the motel toilet and an APB identifies Jake as a suspect in a serial killer case. The evidence tightens the net around Jake even as his casual demeanor confounds the investigators. The film pivots toward a more explicit killer reveal.

Jake incriminates himself to Alice by recounting childhood memories and showing Sandra's mutilated corpse in the trunk. The confession confirms his psychopathic nature and destroys any remaining trust. Alice begins to realize the danger she is in.

Alice fights back, hitting Jake with a shovel, and escapes to a nearby barn. Jake, who had earlier stolen a gun, ambushes her in a tense showdown. The struggle propels the plot toward its final confrontation.

Alice proposes a coin toss to decide her fate, using a counterfeit double-headed Kennedy half dollar. Jake wants a re-toss, but their path is cut off when Sheriff Frank and Deputy Sam arrive, t-boning them and killing all three. The ending detonates the film's fatalistic premise through a sudden, violent collision.