Penny Dreadful

Penny, traumatized by a childhood auto accident that killed her parents, joins her therapist Orianna on a road trip to a mountain community to confront her fear of driving. The decision marks the start of their therapeutic journey on the open road. They travel along a rural highway, discussing Penny's goals and the plan for overcoming her anxiety.

On the road, Orianna hits the hitchhiker with the car but does not seriously injure him. She then offers him a ride, and the hitchhiker remains silent except to point to his destination. The trio continues on, the tension palpable in the confined space of the car.

After dropping off the hitchhiker, they discover that one of the tires has been punctured. The sudden setback heightens Penny's anxiety and makes the journey feel more precarious. The car becomes a fragile sanctuary as danger seems to follow them.

Orianna sets off to get reception for her cell phone but fails to return. Penny remains in the car, unsure of what happened to her mentor and increasingly isolated on the remote road.

Penny goes to locate Orianna but trips and injures her ankle. The injury compounds the danger and reduces her ability to escape or move quickly. She becomes more vulnerable as the situation tightens around her.

Penny wakes up in the car wedged between two trees, disoriented and alone. Orianna's death has been recorded on a video camera, and the hitchhiker is nearby, signaling the start of the torment to come. The illusion of safety evaporates as the threat becomes personal.

The hitchhiker intensifies the torture, subjecting Penny to hours of fear and pain. Whenever someone from nearby communities tries to come to her aid or disrupt the perpetrator, they are killed by the hitchhiker. The surrounding area becomes a deadly trap with Penny as the sole focus of his cruelty.

Penny makes a desperate attempt to crawl out of the car through a window, but the hitchhiker grabs her right foot and cuts off one of her toes. The brutal act shatters any remaining sense of safety and seals her resolve to escape. The physical toll deepens the horror she endures.

While Penny is trapped, the hitchhiker sits in the back wearing Orianna's clothes. When the hood is pulled off, Penny discovers the wearer is a demented female patient, a chilling reveal that reframes the entire kidnapping as a personal betrayal. The psychological horror intensifies as Penny confronts the impostor.

Penny musters the strength to fight back and stabs the hitchhiker in the eye with a pencil. She seizes the chance to flee the car, breaking free from the immediate threat. The escape is fraught with pain and urgency as she searches for safety.

Having escaped the car, Penny still reels from her injuries and stumbles due to her damaged foot. She must navigate the treacherous terrain while still fearing the hitchhiker's return. The relief of survival is tempered by ongoing vulnerability.

A passing pickup truck drives by and unexpectedly collides with the hitchhiker, knocking her down. The driver exits in a panic, hoping to assess the situation and salvage something from the chaos. The encounter briefly promises safety, but the danger is far from over.

The truck driver tells Penny to wait inside the vehicle while he attends to the hitchhiker. Penny experiences a flicker of relief as he seems to stabilize the situation, yet the fear remains that the hitchhiker could still be alive. The moment underscores how close she came to a false resolution.

The hitchhiker appears to be dead at first, but Penny realizes she is still moving, and the terrifying possibility that the killer is not defeated returns. The final twist leaves Penny in a state of ongoing terror rather than true safety. The scene ends with unresolved dread as danger lingers.