The Final Trip

When a psych major dropout injures his foot while picking up a boat purchased by his late father in the Louisiana bayou, he accepts an offer from an awkward local misfit to drive him back home – only to discover during the two-day trip that his driving companion's friendliness and generosity may be covering up a dangerous tendency for obsession and violence.

When a psych major dropout injures his foot while picking up a boat purchased by his late father in the Louisiana bayou, he accepts an offer from an awkward local misfit to drive him back home – only to discover during the two-day trip that his driving companion's friendliness and generosity may be covering up a dangerous tendency for obsession and violence.

SYNOPSIS

Sam Farrington, a psychology doctorate dropout, starts off on his drive from Connecticut to the Louisiana bayou where he will pick up a boat purchased by his late father in order to bring it to a one year memorial ceremony his family is holding in a week. Upon arriving at the boat dealership, Sam meets Arnold Swatter, an awkward misfit who seems fixated on Sam and his life. Arnold's boss instructs him to take Sam out on the boat for a test drive, but when they do, Sam falls into an open hatch and injures his foot. 

Hours later, Sam sits in an urgent care facility where a doctor places his foot in a boot, telling him that he won't be able to drive for six weeks. He hobbles into the waiting room where he finds Arnold, who tells him that his boss suggested that he drive Sam and the truck to the memorial site in Connecticut since he has family in the area that he can stay with. Not wanting to miss his father's ceremony, Sam reluctantly accepts Arnold's offer. Before leaving, Sam calls his cousin Sarah who he's scheduled to pick up on the drive back north. He tells Sarah about the situation but when she suggests that he reconsider taking a road trip with someone he just met, Sam explains that he feels like he can help Arnold with his social anxiety issues.

Arnold and Sam start off on their trip. During the drive, Sam uncovers more about Arnold's past and begins to suspect that his psychological issues may be deeper and more serious than he originally thought. Arnold tells him about a childhood fight with a bully that left Arnold with a permanent injury. Arnold also digs into Sam's past and gets him to admit that his father didn't die of cancer as Sam tells people, but instead committed suicide shortly after he'd been diagnosed. Sam admits to Arnold that his father's death caused him to drop out of school - he felt that as a psych student, he should have been able to see the suicide coming and been able to prevent it. Arnold also learns that Sam doesn't really like sailing - he gets seasick easily and can't swim. He only accompanied his dad on his yearly trip to buy old boats to fix up because he wanted to spend time with him.

During a stop in a diner, Arnold has a violent outburst when a customer disciplines his son. Sam and Arnold leave before police arrive, and when Sam challenges Arnold about his behavior, Arnold becomes more unstable and begins taunting and threatening Sam. During an uneasy night in a motel, Sam researches the bully Arnold had mentioned and finds out that it was Arnold who caused the injury and not the other way around. The next morning, Sam secretly calls Sarah and asks her to meet him at a nearby gas station. Once Sarah arrives, Sam tells Arnold that Sarah will drive him and the boat the rest of the way. He tries to give Arnold money for a bus trip back to Louisiana, but Arnold resists and works himself into a fit of rage, slashing himself with a knife. When he approaches Sam and Sarah with the blade in hand, they run off, barely escaping Arnold's wrath before getting into the car and driving away.

Sam and Sarah continue on their drive the next morning. They catch up on each others' lives, relieved to have avoided a worse situation with Arnold than what they experienced. They pull into a rest stop along the highway. As Sarah heads off to buy food for the remainder of the drive, an angry trucker confronts Sam in the parking lot. Arnold appears and Sam learns that he's convinced the trucker that Sam stole the boat and truck from Arnold. Sam is forced to fight the trucker as Arnold watches. While Sam takes a beating, Arnold grabs Sam's keys and starts up the truck, but Sarah returns and jumps into the driver's seat, grabbing the keys and stopping Arnold before he can take off. Sam and Sarah struggle but manage to escape again. They gain some distance but Arnold catches up to them in a stolen car. He begins ramming their truck on a rural road. When Sam and Sarah nearly go over the edge and into a ravine, Sam snaps and pushes back, forcing Arnold's car off the road and into a thicket of trees where its front end is destroyed. They race off without looking back.

Sam and Sarah arrive at the lakeside house where their family are finishing preparations for Sam's father's memorial ceremony. They agree not to tell their family about their experience with Arnold until after the ceremony. Sam's mother greets them but says a storm is approaching and the harbormaster warned her that they may not be able to take the boat out. Sarah, an experienced sailor, heads off toward the water to convince the harbormaster to change his mind. In the meantime, Sam's mom tells him that there's a message for him on the house phone's voicemail. Sam nervously heads to the house and listens to a message from the owner of the boat dealership. His message tells Sam that he just found out that Arnold had driven him back home. The owner tells Sam that he didn't suggest this and warns Sam not to spend any time alone with Arnold alone because of his violent tendencies.

Back at the marina, Sarah sees the harbormaster checking the boat's rigging. She approaches and when he turns, under his hat she sees a demented looking Arnold. From a distance, Sam watches as Arnold forces Sarah onto the boat. He runs and manages to jump onto the deck just as it's leaving the dock. He scuffles with Arnold and nearly gains control of him - until Arnold pulls a knife from his coat pocket and holds it to Sarah's throat. Sam pushes through his nausea and when Sarah breaks free of Arnold's grasp, Sam grabs the boat's wheel and gives it a hard turn, knocking Arnold over the bow. Arnold grabs onto the rigging and pleads for Sam to help him up, telling him he knows Sam couldn't let a man die. "Some people can't be helped," Sam says as he puts a foot to Arnold's head and pushes him away. Arnold's thrashing form disappears into the water and doesn't emerge again.

Sam and Sarah gather themselves and steer the boat back to their family waiting on the dock.