In the quiet of a hot Texas day, Peter (Jacob Schatz) goes to bed with his lover. Across town, Nina (Dani Hurtado) wakes up with hers. Without a word, each couple bids a fond, lingering farewell, and Peter and Nina return to their cozy shared home. They operate comfortably in smiles and silence, moving about their day in percussive rhythms and worn-in grooves of a long-term, healthy relationship; but something in the way they communicate is noticeably lacking. Though they are on the verge of closing their open relationship, something, and someone, is missing.

Co-directors’ Fernando Andrés and Tyler Rugh’s visually lyrical, intimate, and sometimes cheeky drama Three Headed Beast puts the widening chasms in our interpersonal communication on full view. With expressive performances from Hurtado and Schatz, this boldly experimental debut feature highlights what and whom we take for granted, even in relationships that intentionally step off the escalator to monogamy, marriage, and a normative life. —Shayna Maci Warner