Stoic

Four inmates gather in their cell to play poker for cigarettes. Mitch wins all the cigarettes from his cellmates, setting a harsh bet for the loser. The loser must eat an entire tube of toothpaste, foreshadowing the brutality to come.

As the game ends, the cellmates escalate the bet by forcing Mitch to honor it. Harry pretends to wash up, wraps a towel around a bar of soap, and begins to scream and hit Mitch while the others restrain him. They compel him to eat the entire toothpaste despite his pleas.

Peter pretends to be concerned and promises to make Mitch a 'special drink' to make him feel better. He prepares a mixture of water, salt, and pepper, while the others threaten Mitch to drink it. Mitch resists, but the cellmates insist he has already consumed it, heightening the coercion.

Peter escalates by making a second drink from water laced with urine and feces from the toilet. Mitch chokes and vomits as the others countdown, insisting he must drink it. The humiliation deepens as his stomach rebels against the brutal attempt.

Jack violently beats Mitch, belittling him and forcing him to lick up his vomit with his tongue. Peter and Harry react apathetically, watching as Mitch crawls to the mess and continues to suffer. The cruelty becomes routine in the cell.

Mitch, desperate for help, presses the emergency intercom button. The cellmates drag him to the wall and silence him as Peter deceptively tells the guards he accidentally bumped the button. They beat him again and urinate in a cup, pouring it down Mitch’s throat.

Jack rapes Mitch, and Peter, witnessing remorse, is pressured by the others not to speak. Harry grows even more brutal, grabbing a mop handle and sodomizing Mitch with it, the blood and feces staining the scene. Mitch sinks into catatonia as Peter shakes with remorse.

Peter mentions an urban myth that a cellmate who dies by suicide will reduce the survivor’s sentence. The three agree Mitch must hang himself to seal their fates. They attempt the first method using a TV cord, but the cord breaks and the plan fails.

They try again with Mitch’s bedsheets, propping him against the barred window and standing him on a garbage can, allowing him one final cigarette. Harry kicks the garbage can away, and Mitch dies as the others watch indifferently.

The next morning, the trio hits the emergency button and pretends to be upset, but Peter remains silent. Harry denies involvement, Jack admits guilt and says he’s ashamed, and Peter remains tearful and fearful of exposure.

Text reveals the three cellmates received an additional 8 to 15 years for their role, while Mitch Palmer was technically serving only a 6-month sentence for vagrancy and resisting arrest. The closing frames show Mitch helping Peter do proper pushups and bonding with his fellow cellmates, offering a grim juxtaposition to the killings.