[1][2] Mark Savlov of the Austin Chronicle wrote about Duress after seeing it at Fantastic Fest in Austin: "With a mind-blowing denouement that makes the last five minutes of The Sixth Sense feel like the last five minutes of Stranger Than Paradise and a pair of harrowing, human (and inhumanly calibrated) performances from Martin Donovan and Rouvas, Duress comes across like a slap to the psyche, a splash of ice-water across the soul."

[3][4] The movie was written by Jim Kehoe and directed by Jordan Barker and was filmed in Los Angeles, California.

Sarah is coping with her mother's suicide by refusing to talk about it and often getting into physical fights with her peers.

Richard comes to pick up Sarah after a day at school to be told by Rosa that she was fighting with the teachers and her peers.

Richard lets Rosa take Sarah back home while he heads to a coffee shop.

Abner suddenly attacks and kills the coffee shop cashier, forcing Richard to come with him to hide the body and evidence.

Abner reveals that he has worn fingerprint covers and hidden his tracks so only Richard's DNA will show up at the crime scene.

He arrives at Blue Jacket Realty, where Abner takes him to a remote house to reveal that he has taken Jenny Wilkins.

On the ride back, Abner tells Richard that he does feel guilt and is haunted by flashbacks of his actions, but that dealing with them is the only way to get used to it.

He investigates the basement of his house and finds the corpse of Thomas, with Sarah sitting beside him, crying softly.