Deliverance

Lewis, Ed, Bobby, and Drew, four businessmen from Atlanta, embark on an adventurous canoe trip down the Cahulawassee River. Their goal is to experience the untouched wilderness of northern Georgia before the area gets flooded due to the construction of a dam.

On their drive to the launch site, the friends display a sense of superiority and disrespect toward the locals they encounter. This leads to a tense atmosphere and foreshadows the troubles they will face during their journey.

While stopping at a gas station, Drew challenges a young banjo player to a musical duel, attracting attention from the locals. The challenge brings joy to some, but ultimately ends with the boy refusing to shake hands with Drew, highlighting the tension between the newcomers and the locals.

As the canoes drift apart, Ed and Bobby encounter two intimidating mountain men in a secluded area. The situation escalates quickly as one of the men forces Bobby to strip and violently assaults him, creating a moment of sheer terror.

Realizing the severity of the situation, Lewis acts quickly and uses his bow and arrow to save Bobby from further attack. Ed manages to overpower the second mountain man, leading to a chaotic struggle for survival.

After the violent encounter, the group decides to bury the body of the mountain man and keep the incident a secret. The decision weighs heavily on them, but they choose to continue their journey, hoping to put the experience behind them.

The friends face treacherous rapids that significantly challenge their canoeing skills. As Drew and Ed navigate the dangerous waters, Drew falls overboard, resulting in a catastrophic capsize that injures Lewis and scatters the group across the treacherous rocks.

Believing that Drew has been shot, a frantic Lewis convinces Ed to climb the gorge and set up an ambush for the lurking mountain man. In a moment of panic, Ed inadvertently pulls the trigger and kills the man, realizing only after that he was not the target.

Nauseated by their actions, Ed and Bobby decide to sink the first victim's body in the river, along with Drew's lifeless form when they discover him downstream. The depth of their predicament deepens as they are forced to further conceal their guilt.

Arriving in the small town of Aintry, Ed and Bobby rush an injured Lewis to the hospital. They concoct a fabricated story about Drew’s death, but their assurance wavers when Ed misinterprets Bobby's words as a confession.

Sheriff Bullard confronts the men regarding a missing hunter while they are at the hospital. Although he suspects them, he does not have enough evidence to detain them, warning them not to engage in such reckless adventures again.

The trio makes a pact to keep the weight of their secrets between them indefinitely. They agree to carry their guilt and trauma, attempting to return to their normal lives despite the burden of their actions.

Returning home, Ed finds no comfort in the familiarity of his family. The peace he seeks eludes him, overshadowed by the horrors of their adventure and the guilt of what they have done.

Some time later, Ed is haunted by a chilling symbol of his trauma—a decomposed hand rising from the depths of the lake. This unsettling image serves as a constant reminder of their harrowing experience, leaving him unable to escape the past.