This is simply an animated effort into the genre of film noir, although it's just as much a horror movie. In the dark-and-gloomy "Shut Eye Motel," people are being violently killed soon after their heads hit the pillow.
Finally, several undercover cops arrive to investigate. They take separate rooms, post another guard in the hallway and keep their weapons handy. However, they soon get sleepy and when the female's head is on the pillow.....we see where the blood-thirsty horror lies - in the pillow! I won't say anymore, so as not to spoil the rest, which gets pretty wild.
I guess the fact I love "film noir," also like the music and the stark black-and-white visuals, all made me paying close attention to this Bill Plympton "cartoon." However, I have to warn others who may not share my like of "noir," that this animated short is not going to offer any laughs, like many of Plympton's other efforts. It's a straight story.