Hazard depicts the opioid crisis ravaging rural America with a raw and unflinching lens. Writer and director Eddie Mensore pulls no punches as a drug user’s entire family is consumed by a deadly epidemic’s unsparing brutality. The film takes an all-encompassing view that incorporates multiple perspectives. We see desperate users clamoring for their next fix, regardless of the consequences; a frustrated cop trying to stem the tide; and ruthless profiteers supplying the carnage without a thought to the devastating aftermath. Hazard is admittedly heavy-handed at times and offers few narrative surprises, but tells harsh truths that sadly cannot be discounted.
Set in Hazard, Kentucky, the majestic beauty of the Appalachian mountain range is juxtaposed by grime-covered coal miners leaving another arduous shift. Will (Alex Roe) coughs and winces as a pill mill doctor writes another prescription for OxyContin. He gets high before driving in a daze past dilapidated homes and shuttered stores. Poverty reigns as bluegrass country music thunders from his rusty old pickup truck.
A Family Portrait Shattered by Drugs
Will arrives at a trailer home where he was once welcome. Sara (Sosie Bacon) can tell that Will’s drugged up, but allows him to take her to work and their young son Morgan to school. She listens as he promises to give them a better life. Sara, also a recovering addict, can’t help but be enamored by Will. She’s still in love with him despite everything they’ve been through. Will swears he’ll stop by the house again later. Sara doesn’t think that’s a good idea.
Will visits another trailer but no one’s home. He heads to a park where local addicts meet dealers. Carl (Steven Ogg), Will’s disabled father, sits passed out in his van. Will struggles with Carl, who can barely move without crying out in pain. He begs his son to help him get right.
Hazard’s portrayal of intravenous drug use is ugly and disturbing. There’s no glamorous heroin chic here. Carl’s body is broken from his years toiling in the mine. What started as pain management has insidiously evolved to complete addiction. Will injecting Carl to stop his father’s suffering is both tragic and heartbreaking. Their drug-addled codependency speaks to the larger problem. The vicious cycle of addiction pervades throughout the town with no generational gap.
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Cogs in a Wheel of Destruction
Dave Davis co-stars as Officer John Lang, Sara’s older brother and Will’s former classmate. He watches in horror as his beloved sister and the community are torn to shreds. Hazard addresses law enforcement’s woeful lack of resources in tackling a juggernaut. John needs help, but there’s nothing the government can do. Bigger cities with wealthier populations have the same problem but worse. Bodies piling up in a small county is just a blip on the radar. This infuriating response leads John to take matters into his own hands, a turn of events which again illustrates the scope of a losing war with seemingly unending casualties.
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Hazard points the blame directly at pharmaceutical companies and the unscrupulous doctors churning out bogus prescriptions. Gun-toting cartel drug dealers aren’t running wild through the streets in a hail of bullets. Opioids are handed out like candy in broad daylight. Will simply has to park in front of the pharmacy to find the source of his next hit.
Prescription drugs have value in a place where money’s scarce. Those selling their supply have hungry bellies and mouths to feed. That’s if they’re not hooked. These people aren’t villains to be demonized but cogs in a wheel of destruction. Mensore, known for his documentary The American Buffalo and feature film Mine 9, is careful when placing blame. Will, Sara, and his father are simply products of their environment. They’re trying to survive in a place with no options.
Tragedy in Appalachia
Hazard hits a somber and compassionate note with tender glimpses of daily life in Appalachia. Sara tries her best to be a good mother. She’s already been through hell with Will and understands the dangers of relapsing. But addiction is a disease that’s never truly beaten. Your best efforts may not be good enough against withdrawal’s awful severity. Addicts are always one step away from falling back into the pit. They pay a steep price when they stumble. The risk of losing sobriety and its carefully laid progress is real.
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Will’s choices in a fraught third act are fairly predictable. But Mensore isn’t aiming for salacious twists and shock entertainment value. His plot stays firmly grounded in reality. Addicts must make the difficult and excruciating decision to break free of drug abuse. He wants the audience to know these people need help, not incarceration. Hazard is a tough pill to swallow, but a necessary one.
Hazard is a production of Emphatic Films, Beside Productions, and Slated. It will have a limited theatrical release on January 10th across Appalachia, expanding on the 17th, and then opens in New York and Los Angeles on the 31st, with additional markets on February 7th from Concourse Media. You can find theaters and tickets here.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb