Bug

The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Agnes sits alone in her dingy motel room, drinking and waiting. The room is sparse, isolated. She's a woman hiding from her abusive ex-husband Jerry, trapped in loneliness and fear.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.

The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Peter Evans arrives at the motel room, introduced by R.C. He's quiet, strange, recently discharged from the military. His presence disrupts Agnes's isolated equilibrium, offering connection but also unknown danger.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.

The First Threshold at 24 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Agnes and Peter sleep together. She chooses to let him into her life fully, both physically and emotionally. This intimacy opens the door to sharing not just comfort, but delusions., moving from reaction to action.

At 48 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Dr. Sweet arrives, claiming to be Peter's military doctor. Peter violently rejects him, insisting Sweet is part of the conspiracy. Agnes sides with Peter completely. The stakes raise—they're now actively fleeing perceived enemies. False defeat: they think they've escaped surveillance, but they've actually crossed into full delusion., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.

The Collapse moment at 72 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Jerry confronts them and Peter kills him with brutal violence. Agnes helps dispose of the body. They've crossed a point of no return—murder seals them in their delusion. The "whiff of death" is literal: Jerry dies, but so does any chance of Agnes returning to sanity., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.

The Second Threshold at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Dr. Sweet returns with police. He reveals Peter was never in experiments—he was in a psychiatric ward. Sweet offers Agnes an escape from the delusion, showing her the truth. But Agnes chooses Peter's reality over objective truth. The synthesis: love means sharing the same insanity., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.