Burn (2019 film)

Melinda begins the graveyard shift as an attendant at a gas station on a cold winter night by first telling a man pumping gas that he shouldn't be doing so while smoking. Lonely and introverted, she doesn't object when her coworker Sheila, who has an attitude, mentions the toilets need cleaned when she steps inside.

Details indicate Melinda is a troubled soul. Needing to move past a customer, she indirectly tells him to move by persuading him to try the pistachios, as they are her favorite (he drops them after moving). Taking a break, she searches through her phone for photos of a police officer she has been taking photos of discreetly in the store. When cleaning the men's bathroom, a surprised walk-in tells her she should put a sign when its being cleaned. Then she sticks her fingers in the hot coffee pot.

Getting her cash tray from the biometric safe, she begins her shift behind the counter. Sheila tries to get her to do some dance moves, then films them to Melinda's disgust. An older repeat customer offers Sheila a pair of shoe insoles to ease her standing all night, but Sheila is creeped out. They fit Melinda however, and she tries to make amends with the dejected man as he walks outside, to no avail.

Meanwhile, another customer, Billy, parks his stolen vehicle, stashes a gun in his back, and walks in to Melinda greeting him at the front door. A policeman, Officer Liu pulls up and strikes up conversation with Melinda, who admires his new patrol vehicle and asks for a ride, even if it's just around the parking lot. She'd like to be arrested just to spend time with him.

As Liu purchases coffee, Melinda snaps a new photo and Sheila catches her in the act. Melinda drops her phone, breaking the screen, and Liu kindly consoles her before being called away on an alert. Sheila bullies her into showing the multiple photos she's taken of Liu. Melinda is devastated and eases the pain by smoking out the back door.

Upon returning to shift, she finds Billy engaging Sheila in a stick up. In a rather jovial manner, he demands cash and demonstrates that his gun is real by firing it when they doubt him. There's not much money in the registers, and Sheila tells him they don't have access to the safe. He says he really needs it to pay back a gang of bikers he crossed. Then in a rather sad, twisted turn of events, Melinda offers to open the safe. Sheila tries to write a note to another customer to call 911, but Melinda grabs it. Then Melinda tells Billy she wants to go with him. A struggle ensues because she won't hand over the backpack until he says yes.

As Billy is finally leaving with the money, Sheila's mouth gets the better of her and she lights into him with profanities. He grabs her and forces her to the ground, then orders Melinda to lock the doors and go into the bathrooms. The animosity between the two girls has made it easy for him to get the better of the situation.

Billy hauls Sheila to an employee break room and begins beating her. Melinda sneaks out and burns her whole hand with the hot coffee this time…before sneaking up behind Billy and flinging it in his face. His gun accidentally goes off, killing Sheila. Melinda then hits Billy in the head with a fire extinguisher causing him to black out and when he awakens, he finds himself strapped to a chair, with Melinda quietly mopping blood and Sheila’s body wrapped in a tarp. Melinda has finally had enough. She can now start to exact her revenge on Billy for every mistreatment she’s received from others. In such a quiet and methodical way.

Melinda and Billy converse, with him talking her up even though he doesn't care anything about her. He didn’t want to take her along earlier. At his request, she gets a cigarette, aspirin (really ED medicine) and water, then proceeds to rape him with his eyes and mouth taped shut. Eventually he is able to rip the tape holding one of his arms, knocking his assailant away. Then everything becomes a game of cat and mouse in the small room as a blind Billy goes after a scared and sadistic Melinda. He gets knocked out once again when he hits a locker door and everything is quiet once again. Melinda pockets his gun, takes the backpack of money, straightens the room and leaves.

Melinda quietly unlocks the front door for a customer, who then berates her for having no hot coffee. Behind the counter, unable to take it any longer, Melinda puts the gun to her chin briefly before breaking down and sobbing, telling the customer to just leave her alone. Perry, Sheila’s boyfriend, soon shows up to give her a ride home, but Melinda tells him she’s not there. Perry doesn’t believe her when he finds her phone on the floor.

In troubled desperation, Melinda tells a prying Perry that Sheila has left with another guy. She doesn’t know what name or which hotel they went to, but this lie gets Perry out the door.

Melinda steps out the back door and tries to find a place to bury the bodies. The ground is too hard and cold. In front of the store, she finds a shovel. That’s when the biker gang rolls in looking for Billy. She stands guard at the front door and says she hasn’t seen him. She won’t let them in. She says the store is closed, even though the sign says 24 hrs. When she threatens them with her gun, they pull out theirs until their leader makes them backs them off. There are security cameras. They promptly leave.

Melinda can’t break into the box where the surveillance data is stored in order to destroy it. She stands outside the front of the store, thinking. Melinda smokes and flicks her lighter. Then she remembers something. The No Smoking rule. She’s at a gas station. She begins filling containers with gas.

Officer Liu shows up, recognizing Billy’s car as stolen. He questions Melinda, who says she hasn’t seen anything suspicious. Everything is fine. He calls and wakes the manager to come access the surveillance data. Behind the counter, Melinda slowly reaches for her gun and pockets it. As Liu questions Melinda, she is slowly losing it again. He says he cares about her, but why say it now? She doesn't believe him. Melinda tries to keep Liu from searching the store, but finding nothing, he leaves. Billy has escaped, leaving only zip ties.

Melinda begins dowsing the store with gasoline. She hears Billy come from the back and hides behind shelves. He kills the power, which locks the front doors. Perry returns, suspicious as to Sheila's disappearance. Billy escapes out the back door and barricades it with dumpsters, then strangles Perry out front. Melinda calls Liu and finally admits her lies and need for help. No, things are not fine. Billy rams Perry’s Jeep into the front doors, shattering the glass.

Backed into a corner with his gun pointed right at her, Melinda pleads with Billy to simply take the money and leave. But that’s not good enough for Billy after what she did to him. He fires a bullet from the gun, which ignites the gas. As he shrieks from the burns, Melinda grabs a fire extinguisher and escapes through the front door. Soon sirens can be heard and Liu is by her side. Liu helps Melinda carefully into his car and comforts her. It is finally then that Melinda believes that someone does care about her.

In February 2018, it was announced Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Suki Waterhouse and Josh Hutcherson had joined the cast of the film, with Mike Gan directing from a screenplay he wrote.[2] In March 2018, it was announced Shiloh Fernandez and Harry Shum Jr. joined the cast of the film.[3] In May 2018, it was announced the film had been re-titled from Plume to Burn.[4]

It was released on August 23, 2019, by Momentum Pictures.[6]

• Official website
• Burn on IMDb 
• Burn at AllMovie