High Desert Kill (1989) Movie Script
(ominous music) (wind howling)
(fire crackling)
(eerie trilling)
(suspenseful music)
(gun firing)
(intense music)
(computer beeping)
(machinery clattering)
(footsteps tapping)
Jim.
Be with you in a minute, honey.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Give me five minutes.
It's okay, honey.
The club said they'd hold the table.
They took pity when I told
them you'd be eating raw meat
from the ground for the next week.
You take such good care of me.
Of course I do.
You're the great hunter.
My very life depends on your skill.
I'll tend your fire.
All right, make fun. Go ahead.
A freezer full of venison
will change your mind.
As if this trip had anything to do
with putting food on the table.
This is just an orgy of male
bonding and you know it.
Well, what can I say?
Men bond, women network.
(woman chuckles)
(soft dramatic music)
Jim, I don't feel good about this trip.
Why?
Honey, I don't understand.
All the years I've gone dear hunting,
you've never said that.
Besides, Brad will be there.
And Paul's nephew.
That's the point.
All the other years, Paul was with you.
Yeah.
Day doesn't go by that
I don't think about him.
This was a time of year he loved the best.
Look, I'm gonna be all right.
I promise.
Okay.
What can I say? Wives worry. (Laughs)
(bright music)
All right. That's good.
Leave it right there, Roger.
I thought this was for
High Plains Cologne,
not the Beef Council.
They're there to make
you look good. Right?
You mean by comparison, right?
(chuckles) You said it, I didn't.
That's enough, girl.
Don't make a meal of it.
Let's shoot one.
There we go. (Shutter clicking)
Okay. Hey, Ray, take
it in your other hand.
That's it. Beautiful.
Yeah, excellent.
Come on, smile. You love this stuff.
There you go. Excellent.
(Brad grunting)
(Brad groaning)
Hey Chuck, you got a good deal.
Listen, you better go
on back and give Harry
a hand with the inventory.
All right.
(Brad laughs)
Oh, come to me, baby.
Yeah.
Yeah. (Laughs)
(gun clacking)
Oh, yeah.
(bright music)
God, I was never colder in all my life
than sitting on that ledge
for six hours waiting.
- It wasn't that cold.
- Oh, sure.
You and Paul are out stomping
through the bushes keeping warm.
We drove that buck right up
your front door though, didn't we?
Could have taken it with a water balloon.
You gotta know the ground rules, Ray.
See, any shot that Brad
takes is highly difficult
requiring great skill.
(Brad laughs)
Any shot that you and I get off
is just a stroke of dumb luck
and only happened because he set us up.
- That sounds about right.
- Yeah, right.
Here we go, girls.
This is the soft road divide.
Hey, this isn't the turnoff.
I'm trying a new way.
Whoa, take it easy, man.
(Brad chuckles)
There's no way to take this road easy.
You think Brad's bad, you should have
ridden with your uncle.
Paul was a wild man on these back roads.
He bruised my kidneys often
enough, I tell you that.
Hey, I sure miss old Scratch.
(both laugh)
Wait, Scratch, Why'd you call him that?
One of the things Paul liked best
about coming to the wilderness
was the freedom that
gives a man to scratch,
(chuckles) long and
hard, really dig in there
like they don't let you do in the city.
Yeah.
So you just put the little red dot
on the target and shoot, huh?
There's a little more to it than that.
Hey, you wanna put that thing down
before you shoot one of us in the back.
More likely to shoot
myself from the foot.
That's a fine looking weapon, Brad.
These new radios, all the equipment.
- (chuckles) Yeah.
- You must have spent
- a fortune.
- I had a good year.
I'll tell you something else
too, I think it's about time
we drag this party into the 21st century.
Hey, maybe next year we can all chip in,
buy a new Buggy mobile
with all the options.
Yeah, maybe.
It's good to be in the old war horse
one more time though, isn't it?
- (chuckles) Yeah.
- It was very understanding
of your uncle's estate
when we asked to borrow it.
The family appreciated the eulogy.
And how you tried to
save him and everything.
Well, he was my best friend.
(Jim sighs)
Hey, now, the law says,
if you bring one down, you
gotta gut it right there
and pack out all the meat yourself.
Well, how much does it weigh?
I don't know, what?
Couple hundred pounds.
- Oh, easy.
- Wait, 200 pounds?
Nobody can carry that much.
Hey, I can still bench 340,
or at least I could until this year.
I had some guy come over
(Jim sighs)
When I was in the gym benching-
- He didn't ask him.
- I didn't ask him
- to spot him.
- To spot me.
And he picked up one side.
And he picked up one side
of the weights, through
all the weight over there,
it went over to the other thing,
- toward the rotators.
- Toward the rotators.
- You had to ask!
- I'll tell you what.
Even so, I can still drag
out a couple hundred pounds
of meat if I bring it down.
(both chuckle)
Hey, look. What's that?
Pueblo ruin. I've forgotten the name.
- How old are they?
- Hard to say.
They built layers on top of layers.
A lot of it's underground.
Beautiful. Can we stop?
- I love ruins.
- Hey, we're here
to hunt deer, kid, not baskets.
And if you wanna stand a chance in hell
of bringing one of them down,
you better get with the program.
(ominous music)
Yeah, that's where I
spend most of my time
promoting the line.
It's been a great break for me.
High Plains Fashions.
I never heard of it.
Oh yeah. It's a big new label.
Cologne, boots, even bedsheets.
I've been the National High
Plains Man for about a year now.
Just about the best gig a model can get.
And they put clothes on
my back, boots on my feet.
They even cap my teeth.
Doesn't own a thing,
but he looks good in it.
I think it's time for me
to water some pinyon pines.
(birds chirping)
(men groan)
Whew.
Long drive. Huh?
Forgive me for asking,
but what's his damn problem?
Well, Brad was always
number two on these trips.
Me, I, I don't care about
things like who's in charge,
who holds the records.
It's always been very important to Brad.
If you don't like the
guy any better than that,
why are you even with him?
Well, we were in school together,
Brad and I and Paul.
But I don't know, I,
I guess sometimes you hang on to people
you maybe don't even like,
just because of the years.
You know, I know
you're my uncle's friends
and, uh, you're older than me,
but I'd like to get this straight now.
He's not my platoon leader
and you're not my dad.
Okay?
Okay.
(pants zipping)
(Brad sighs)
(intense whooshing)
(wind whistling)
(birds chirping)
(all groaning)
Tell me about that one.
(bird quacking)
Let's grab some of this stuff.
Oh, great.
Someone else is already at the campsite.
(wind whistling)
(horse chuff tog)
- Hello.
- Howdy.
Best natural campsite around. Huh?
I reckon.
Hey Brad, the old
lean tooth's still here.
Yeah, you know, I think I know you.
We met about four or five
years ago up on Yellow Ridge.
You're a professional
hunter, isn't that right?
Right. Stan Brown's the name.
Yeah. I'm Brad Mueller.
That's Ray Bet ten camp.
This is Dr. Jim Cole.
How do you do?
You had another fellow with
you last time, didn't you?
Yeah. Yeah, that was Ray's uncle Paul.
He was killed six months ago.
What happened?
A storm knocked over a utility pole.
He got tangled up in a high-voltage cable.
You were there?
Yes.
(cable explodes)
(dramatic music)
(rain pattering)
(birds chirping)
Well I'm sure sorry to hear that.
So the kids taking his uncle's place.
That's right good.
How's the hunting this year? Right good?
(Stan spits)
There ain't no hunting this year.
You could a saved yourself the trip up here
if you'd stopped along the
long way and taken a look.
Looked at what?
I ain't seen a game animal in a week.
They've been spooked outta
this part of the world
and that's a fact.
What do you mean, spooked?
I wish I knew.
We'll find something.
(horse chuff tog)
Like this?
Um, don't I know you from somewhere?
Uh, maybe you've seen my picture.
Do you read, uh, Gentleman's
Quarterly or Sunset?
How about American West?
Yeah. I seen that one downtown.
Yeah. I'm in most issues.
Yeah. High Plains.
You know, for men.
Fashions. Clothes.
Well I'm the National High Plains Man.
(horse chuff tog)
- Hey, Ray!
Come on up!
Join us, Mr. Brown, if you want to.
- Come on, Mr. Brown.
- Yep.
(soft dramatic music)
This was, uh,
one of your uncle's favorite places.
He used to lay up here for hours.
Not saying a thing.
Just watching the stars.
I guess that's why he chose it.
(Ray sighs)
I....-
(Ray sighs)
Hell.
I guess I used up all my
words at the memorial service.
It's just us up here now.
So, uh, live free, buddy.
We'll never forget you.
(ashes pattering)
(eerie calling)
What'd you say?
I didn't say anything.
(wind whistling)
(eerie music)
My father took me out to a dry lake bed
to see the stars.
What about the star on the horizon?
They bought me a telescope.
Like a map, never get lost.
(eerie music)
(horses neighing)
(wind whistling)
Well, it's mighty pleasant to
see a friendly face up here.
- It gets kind of lonely.
- Yeah.
Where, where's your home base?
I don't have home base. I
live here in the mountains.
- Is that right?
- My animals!
Where in the hell are my animals?
Well they were right here.
Dammit all! How'd they get loose?
Well, they won't get far.
Tomorrow, we'll help you round them up.
Well, thank you.
(ominous music)
(crickets chirping)
(fire crackling)
(eerie music)
There ain't no hunting' this year.
I ain't seen a game animal in a week.
They've been spooked out
this part of the world
and that's a fact.
[Woman] I don't feel
good about this trip, Jim.
A day doesn't go by that
I don't think about him.
(men laughing)
Well, I can still drag out a
couple hundred pounds of meat
if/ bring it down.
(men laughing)
Paul?
(eerie music)
(soft music)
I appreciate you helping out.
It's all right, it's tough to track him
- through this stuff though.
- Mm.
Well, for me maybe,
but not for my old man.
He could track were an
animal planned to go.
He must have seen this country
when it was something unbelievable.
Oh, he sure did.
And the stories he would
tell me and my brothers,
and the stories he would tell my mother.
He could also attract a pretty woman
through half a dozen honky-Tonks
in any kind of weather.
In and out of season,
if you know what I mean.
(Jim laughs)
You're the happily
married type, ain't you?
- Guilty.
Nothing wrong with that, nothing.
I'd be the last man to
talk against family,
seeing as how we were out here,
looking for all the family I got.
Hi.
Great.
- How you doing?
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Uh-huh.
Great morning. Isn't it?
Yeah. Just love it up here.
Uh-huh. Camping?
- That's right.
- Uh-huh.
Just trying to find a
little peace and quiet.
I'm Brad Mueller.
This is Ray Bet ten camp.
- Hi.
- on,
- Hi.
- Hi.
We're, we're just camped
over the ridge here.
Deer season, you know.
- You're hunters?
- Mm-mm.
I'm the hunter. He's just learning.
Mm, well, we haven't
seen much wildlife at all
on this side of the mountain.
And I can assure you
that there's no wildlife to be found
in the middle of our camp.
Uh, you know, we had some horses
get away from us last night.
Did, uh, either one of your
ladies happen to see him?
Well, we did hear something
big moving around last night.
I bet you that was it.
It did give us just a little fright.
A little fright? It
scared us half to death.
Well, maybe you'd feel
safer if you camped with us.
You know, just until we found 'em.
I tell you what. If we see
'em, we'll catch 'em for ya.
There's plenty of room.
No, thank you.
Well, okay.
(fingernail tapping)
You know where we are if you need anything
or you, you just get lonely.
We came up here to get lonely.
- Frigid.
- What do you mean, frigid?
She's just tired of getting hit on.
See it a lot in the city.
Oh yeah.
You know so much about it.
All that aside, I'd say
I know a lot more than you.
Oh yeah.
You were such a big help back there.
Famous movie star, famous macho hunk.
You can hardly open your mouth.
That's how it's done, Brad.
(Brad scoffs)
You, you take it slow.
You ease him into it.
You know, you give 'em a
chance to check you out.
- Ah!
- You, you march into camp
and you're ripple your
pecs and you announce
you're here to save 'em
from the big, bad wolf.
Women have gone for that act since 1964.
- A great year.
- You know,
I wasn't even born.
Yeah, even better.
(water flowing)
(intense whooshing)
(eerie music)
Hello!
Did you scare up anything? Any game?
Not a thing. And I mean nothing.
You're right about the game up here.
I don't even hear any birds.
Well, they, they come and go.
What's causing it? Drought?
Some kind of predator?
It ain't that dry.
(water flowing)
(fire crackling)
(eerie calling)
What did you say?
What?
I thought you said something.
No.
(eerie calling)
(suspenseful music)
(intense music)
(Terry breathes heavily)
Who the hell are you?
What the hell are you doing in our camp?
(Terry breathes heavily)
I want an answer!
(footsteps pattering)
(Kathleen gasping)
- Come on.
- Terry.
What the hell are you doing?
Oh, we're gonna have fun. You'll see.
Come on.
- Come on.
- What are you doing?
- Just come on.
- You're crazy.
- Right.
- (chuckles) Okay.
(suspenseful music)
(Terry chuckles)
(fire crackling)
(Ray gulps and sighs)
So you didn't see
any tracks at all, huh?
None we could follow.
And Stan's a professional tracker.
Oh, some professional.
He can't even keep his horses tied up.
I could say the same
thing about your britches.
- What does that mean?
- Drooling over them
hippie girls, when you were supposed to be
covering the west face.
(Jim scoffs)
- Where you going?
- To get some peace and quiet!
Good hell.
When I wanna listen to
old women nag each other,
I go visit my great aunt
in the nursing home!
Great.
(Jim sighs)
(wind whistling)
(crickets chirping)
(Jim sighs)
(Jim exhales)
(fire crackling)
Brad? Ray?
Yeah?
Want some company?
Absolutely.
Come here, sit down.
(eerie music)
We're glad you're here.
What changed your mind?
Is that tequila?
Oh, yeah, sure is.
And I'm Stan handing it to ya.
Thanks, partner.
I never figured you girls for drinkers.
It looks like you figured
wrong about a lot of things.
It gets boring looking at each other
in the walls of a tent after a while.
Yeah, and that herb tea and trail mix
can get mighty boring.
That's right. It's, um...
It's hard to get crazy
on that stuff, ain't it?
(women whispering and giggling)
So you still get crazy, old timer?
Every chance I get.
(Terry chuckles)
(suspenseful music)
(Stan laughs)
(Stan spits) (fire roaring)
(women and Stan laughing)
(wind whistling)
(upbeat rock music)
(group laughing and moaning)
Damn.
(Brad moaning)
Yeah.
(Ray grunting)
Hey, hey. hey-
It's past your bedtime, old man.
I agree. We're both very tired.
You're dead wrong!
(wind whistling)
(fire crackling)
(Brad breathes heavily)
Come on, Mr. Universe,
show me what you got.
(gasps) You've gotta be kidding me.
Are you afraid of getting beaten
in front of the ladies, huh?
(Brad gasps) Yeah, I guess
all them muscles just for show.
Make it worth my while.
I Will.
(suspenseful music)
(Terry panting)
(Brad grunting)
(women laughing)
Come on, Brad, come on, baby!
- Come on, Brad!
- Oh yeah!
- You've got him, come on!
- Whoo!
(men grunting) (women laughing)
Do it!
He sinking, come on, baby!
(laughs) Yeah!
Come on! Oh, he's back up.
(women continue laughing)
(Brad grunting)
(both screaming)
Let's go! Yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah!
(woman continue laughing)
(men breathe heavily)
Whoo! Come on.
(Ray grunts)
(suspenseful music)
Give her back.
Go suck your teeth.
(fist thwacks) (body thuds)
(eerie calling)
(Kathleen breathes heavily)
Stay down, PUP-
(wind whistling)
(Terry whimpering)
(suspenseful music)
[Terry] So you still
get crazy, old timer?
[Stan] Every chance I get.
(women laugh)
- Brad!
- Ray!
- Come here, sit down.
Is that tequila? (Eerie music)
I never figured you girls for drinkers.
(all laughing)
(men screaming) Let's go, Brad!
Yeah, yeah, yeah! (Echoes)
(wind whistling)
(birds chirping)
(Jim yawning)
Oh.
(eerie music)
(Ray spitting)
Ray. (Ray gasps and sighs)
What, what the?
What's going on here?
(Ray groans)
- Where'd they go?
- Who, the-
- Them hippie girls.
They're gone?
Well, I guess I missed it.
You didn't miss nothing.
What the hell happened to her?
It's pretty damn obvious.
They drank us under the table.
No way, no-
- Brad, what does it matter?
It don't. I say we forget
the whole damn thing.
(sighs) Sorry about that punch, kid.
You know, it's funny, I
hardly even feel it now.
Terry?
- Terry?
- Sit.
(birds chirping)
(wind whistling)
(ominous music)
(liquor trickling)
(bottle pattering)
Is that it?
Any more, boys?
(toothbrush scraping)
Well, I know I didn't drink that much.
(Brad chuckling)
I mean, not enough to black out.
Doesn't take much up here.
Altitude and booze don't mix.
Throw in a couple of girls,
you've got a real
potential for interaction.
Oh, come on, man.
I don't want a laboratory
explanation here.
I mean, I was there and I
didn't like what happened.
Mm.
So they paid us a visit
and we got a little crazy.
I can accept that, but
how'd they disappear?
Hell you two were in bed
with 'em, weren't ya?
Seems like it.
It's all a little fuzzy this morning.
Fuzzy?
You hit me in the jaw for God's sake.
I hate this kind of thing.
Let's go ask 'em.
Brad, let's just leave 'em alone. Okay?
Last night is history.
The booze is history.
We came here to snag Ray a buck!
And today's the day!
Great.
(suspenseful music)
Ray, head in there.
By myself?
We'll be close. Test the radio.
(radio static) You okay?
You know, Jim, I don't
feel good about this.
I think we should just
pack up and go home.
Give it a chance, Ray.
Besides, if we don't see any game today,
there'll be no point in staying.
That's a promise?
Yeah. That's a promise.
It happened again, didn't it?
- What do you mean?
- Well, just like the horses.
I mean, them girls walked away from us
like they was invisible,
and I can tell you, I
was tucked down real good
with that little Colleen
with no thinking about sleeping
and (whistles) gone.
Unless you seen 'em?
No. No, I didn't see 'em.
(water flowing)
Hello?
(intense whooshing)
(birds chirping)
(water flowing)
Terry?
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
Jim.
Jim!
It's blood, all right.
Hasn't been here long.
Comes from that way,
it goes that way.
So why are we going that way?
Brad? Brad, can you hear me?
Answer me.
Must be outta range.
Jim, I don't like this.
Hey, shh. We're getting closer.
Heads up now, Ray.
Deer get cranky when they're wounded.
This ain't deer. It's much bigger.
(suspenseful music)
God in heaven.
What the hell?
Killing ground.
What could have done this, Stan?
Cougar, maybe. No man, for sure.
Let's get out here.
Wait.
(rifles clacking)
[Ray] Shit.
(creature snorting)
(suspenseful music)
What do you think?
I think blood rings the dinner bell.
(rifle clacking)
(creature growls)
(gun fires)
(fire crackling)
It's me, empty-handed.
Oh my God.
(suspenseful music)
I, I guess you guys had
some luck after all.
"Some luck," you said?
Look at this animal.
Yeah, he's a, he's a beauty.
He's a beauty. He's a killer.
He's a monster.
He's came roaring and we got him.
(Jim slurping)
- Who got him?
- We, all three did.
He charged us.
I only heard one shot.
Three shots. All at the same time.
No way.
Check it out.
On the neck. (Fist thuds)
(Stan growls)
Open you up like a sack
of manure. (Chuckles)
(Jim slurping)
Boys will be boys. (Laughs)
(suspenseful music)
Where'd you get 'em, Jim?
Down the hill.
Found some blood.
Yeah, so I see.
- What are eating, Jim?
- Liver!
Liver? (Laughs)
You guys are too much.
Well, give me a hand.
I'll dress him out for you.
Don't you touch it!
What the hell are you doing?
I'm gonna dress him out.
I can't believe you guys carried
him up here, guts in all.
- It's our kill!
- Well, it,
it doesn't matter whose kill it is, Jim.
You can't leave it like this
with all this blood all over.
Don't you touch it!
I don't believe this.
What do you wanna do?
Call in every scavenger
for a hundred miles around?
Leave it alone!
(both grunting)
(suspenseful music)
(men grunting)
(elbow whacks)
(gun fires)
(rifle clacks)
(eerie music)
(men breathe heavily)
(fire crackling)
(crickets chirping)
(eerie music)
This ain't a deer. It's much bigger.
God in heaven.
Jim, I don't like this.
Blood rings the dinner bell.
(bear growling) (gun fires)
It's a monster.
Just came roaring and we got him.
I only heard one shot.
(men grunting)
Open you up like a sack of manure.
(men grunting)
(gun fires)
(intense music)
Brad.
Brad.
What?
What do you want?
It's gone.
What's gone?
The bear we killed.
I didn't take it.
Scavengers.
No, no. It's not like that.
It's, it's just gone.
It's, it's gone like the girls are gone.
There's no blood on
our clothes. There's...
It's like it never happened.
We're in trouble, Brad.
It may be
that we're going insane.
(suspenseful music)
(footsteps pattering)
It was right there.
Right, right. That's,
that's where I remember it.
And then Stan got a hold of
it and he made the claws move,
and then you jumped back
and then Jim leaped on you.
It was like some 50's caveman, B movie.
What'd you say?
Like some kind of movie?
Is that what this is to you?
Some sort of play acting?
No, Brad.
That's what I thought at first too.
Bunch of city kids put
something to my food,
make me crazy and laugh at what happens,
but, uh, that ain't it.
(suspenseful music)
(thunder rumbling)
You gotta believe that.
Then what the hell happened?
There was a black bear
right there and it was dead.
For God's sake, Brad,
forget about the bear.
Look at us.
Look what we did.
We went right around the bend crazy.
- We nearly killed you.
- No.
I would've killed you. I
wanted to kill you, Brad!
(Brad breathes uneasily)
Considering everything
that happened, I'd say
it's a good thing we didn't
go visit those girls.
(thunder rumbling)
(suspenseful music)
I did.
- What?
- Oh, and how
was your afternoon?
Or should I say afternooner?
They weren't there.
Their tent was still there,
but there was no sign of them.
Why did you do that, Brad?
I wanted to see her again.
I thought maybe since she
left me a note, maybe-
- Wait, she left you a note?
You never said she left no note.
Well, it wasn't a note.
It was just scrawled in the dirt.
- What did it say?
- You know, uh-
- Exactly what did it say, Brad?
"Must leave now."
All right, that's it. That's all for me.
I'm wrapped, I'm outta here.
Hey, Ray.
No, no, no. You know, the
girl's absolutely right.
I wanted to bail yesterday but you said,
no, I should have the
experience of the hunt.
Well, I've had it. All right, I've had it!
You know what, Brad, I'm gonna give you
a different line reading on that.
It's II , Mus t le now!"
He's right. Let's get
the hell outta here.
(ignition clicking)
(suspenseful music)
(keys jangling)
(ignition clicking)
(eerie music)
(wind howling)
(all breathe heavily)
There was nothing wrong with that jeep.
It should have turned over.
There was gas in the tank.
Juice in the battery.
Maybe we are going crazy.
Well, let's get warm and crazy.
Hey, I'll build a fire.
(fire crackling)
(Brad blowing)
(eerie calling)
What was that?
You know, they say this
place is, uh, haunted.
(eerie calling)
(scoffs) I don't know about
the rest of you gentlemen,
but I've, I've sat still
for about as much mystery
as I'm going to.
Yeah, I think you're right.
I'm with you.
(rifle clacking)
Where do you think it's coming from?
Hard to tell.
Not hard for me.
Mueller, come on.
(eerie calling)
(wind howling)
(eerie calling)
Eh.
Bad stink in here.
Like something died.
(eerie calling)
Oh my God.
(suspenseful music)
What is that?
Honey.
My saddle horse.
Jim, you better get in
here and take a look at this.
You're right.
Look at the way this incision follows
the contour of the bone.
This is more like an autopsy.
What else?
He's a good size buck.
And the bear.
Is that the bear we shot?
What the hell is this?
(woman whimpering)
Kathleen.
(Kathleen whimpering)
We got some doped up
Manson-type running around
out there, carving up
animals and maybe people too.
I say we find the son of
bitch, we take him down!
No, there's only one plan at this point.
Let's just call in the Marines.
Yes, it'd be the Marines that
would come that'd be great,
but it won't be the
Marines, it'll be TV news
and court-appointed
attorneys followed by shrinks
followed by docudrama writers.
Come on, yeah, yeah.
And three years from
now, they give this animal
a bottle of pills and they set him free!
You know this can happen.
He's got a point.
He's got a point, but we have no choice.
Two to two, deadlock.
It's not a deadlock, Brad!
There are five of us here!
And if number five doesn't soon
get to one of those
shrinks you hate so much,
she may not make it!
This is not a debate!
I'm going for help.
She needs you here.
You're the only one with
any medical training.
- I'll go.
- Yeah, me too.
No, no offense, Stan,
but you'll just slow me down.
I run the mile in six. I walk it in 14.
(suspenseful music)
(wind howling)
(vehicle approaching)
What? Hey!
Hey! Hey!
Hi! Hi!
Hey, wait. (Chuckles)
I'll take, hi, it's, I'm Brad Mueller.
I got a couple friends back down there.
Girl in trouble. Can you give us a hand?
(engine revving)
Well, here, look.
Hey!
(engine revving)
(eerie calling)
(intense music)
Paul?
(engine revving)
(gun clacking and firing)
Why would he be shooting?
I don't know, but one
of us should go after him!
Dang, two of us should go after him.
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
(wind howling)
Jim.
Brad!
(suspenseful music)
(fire crackling)
(wind whistling)
(building creaking)
Maybe there are ghosts.
What do you mean?
Brad wasn't long in personality,
but I figure he had good
instincts as a hunter.
So how did he get himself bushwhacked?
Well, the Wind's dying down.
(sighs) I'll get some
stones for the grave.
(suspenseful music)
(wind whistling)
(crickets chirping)
(Stan groaning and sighing)
What?
I didn't say anything.
Oh.
I'll say something.
(soft dramatic music)
This man was a loyal friend
and a good companion.
I knew him for many years
and he was never dishonest with me.
He demanded a lot of people,
but also of himself.
I'm gonna miss the challenge
of being his friend.
(cable exploding)
(Jim sobbing)
(rain pattering)
(Jim and Kathleen sobbing)
(rain pattering)
(Kathleen gasping)
(Jim sobbing)
(suspenseful music)
(wind whistling)
(intense music)
(Stan groans)
Jim, I've got the grave ready.
(Jim sighs)
Jim, get up. Where the hell is Brad?
It happened again.
Where have you been?
I was getting the stones,
sat down and closed my
eyes for a few minutes.
For four hours.
No way.
Your, your name is Ray, right?
(soft dramatic music)
That's right. I'm Ray.
My name is Ray.
Brad died.
That's right, honey.
Oh, I was sad.
So sad.
- Kathleen-
- Just.
What happened to your friend, Kathleen?
(soft dramatic music)
(Kathleen whimpering)
Did someone attack you?
A man?
It was a man.
But not really.
I...-
He, he, he made us feel things.
We were afraid
then we were happy.
And then all we wanted was you guys.
To be with men!
Any men!
(Kathleen whimpering)
Then we were ashamed.
Then we had no control!
(cries) He owned us!
What did he look like?
(sobbing) Blonde.
Black and white shirt.
Is that the man?
(Kathleen gasping)
That's insane! That's my uncle!
Did he kill Terry?
(sobbing) Terry killed herself.
(suspenseful music)
Shh. Shh.
You've seen him too, didn't you?
Well then maybe he's not dead after all.
(Kathleen continues sobbing)
Paul is dead.
I saw him die.
We scattered his ashes. This isn't Paul.
Then what the hell?
- No, no, no.
- Who is he?
What is it? No person
could have done this.
All along, he's been
manipulating our moods.
Maybe even our sense of reality.
Playing with us?
Worse. Experimenting with us.
Experimenting?
I don't know why I
didn't see this before.
Hell, I do the same thing
every day in the lab!
I put animals in confinement
and I study their behavior.
(suspenseful music)
He gives a stimulus like the girls,
like Brad's body.
We fight over the girls, we
spill our guts with grief,
and he sits back and watches,
making notes.
And then when it's over,
he cleans the cage.
Cleans the cage?
He makes it look as if nothing happened,
tries to make us forget so we're fresh
for the next experiment.
Hell, there was even a control group.
One of us was always
on the outside. Right?
Brad, didn't slice up the bear.
You weren't at the funeral.
I never saw the girls until now.
You're right.
Yeah.
We're just rats in a cage.
Get the guns. These rats
are getting outta here.
Let's go.
(electricity zapping) Uh!
What's wrong?
(electricity zapping)
- Mm!
We can't get out this way.
- Let's go back.
- What is it?
Some kind of energy field.
Follow me.
I can't see a top to it.
Maybe we can climb out.
Here. Stay here, I'll check it.
(suspenseful music)
I don't see anything.
(electricity zapping) Oh!
(Jim groaning)
What is it?
The edge of the cage.
(Jim sighs)
(intense music)
(gun clacking)
We're not even gonna try
to bust through that barrier?
What chance have we got?
This isn't the CIA doing
this or the Russians
or Charlie Manson.
I don't know anything on Earth
that has this kind of
power and sophistication.
What do you mean, anything on Earth?
Just what I said, Ray.
I want out of this prison
and the only way is to go
for the man with the keys.
All right, fine, you wanna go
hunt this thing down and kill it?
We will but can we at least stay together?
We can't do that, every
time we're together,
we run the risk of it
influencing our judgment.
We might end up shooting each other.
And laughing while we do it.
Remember honey, you stay in this room.
Let's go.
(suspenseful music)
(Jim gasps)
(Jim gasps)
Dammit.
I just don't understand how a being
so obviously advanced can be so cruel.
Care so little about life.
Big fish eat the little fish.
I know it's the way of the world,
but is it the way of all worlds?
I don't understand this either.
What's a truck doing here?
Everything else in this
room is a life form.
Well, maybe this thing
don't know the difference.
It would have to, have to.
Besides, why just this?
Why didn't it take the
guns or the, the radios?
I don't know. Maybe
he just likes the color.
Color.
Paul liked the color.
Jim, let's get this straight.
This thing might be able to make itself
look like your friend,
but it can't become your friend.
Remember that.
I know. I know.
(suspenseful music)
(Ray breathes heavily)
(intense music)
Ray, this is Jim.
We've discovered something.
(Ray panting)
Ray, what's wrong?
Jim.
Ray?
He's here.
It's Uncle Paul.
Shoot it, Ray!
It's not your uncle!
Shoot it, Ray!
No!
Shoot it!
(gun firing and clacking)
Go back! Go back!
Go on!
Forget the guns. They're no use.
Ray, it changed.
It's Paul when he got back-
- I know, I saw it changing.
I was just thinking about it when he was-
- You were thinking
about your uncle, right?
This is the way you remember him.
Do it again.
Think about him another way.
- What do you mean?
- Think about a moment.
Go on. Talk to it.
Go on. You're an actor, for God's sake.
Play the part.
Okay, soldier boy.
Here I am.
Come and get me.
Well, come on.
(suspenseful music)
Gee, gee, Uncle Paul.
I love coming to this place.
It's a like paradise over here.
What the hell?
What's happening, Jim?
Paul, I gotta admire
a man who gets drunk
on his own wedding day.
Somebody else! Talk to him!
Hey, lieutenant. Let me buy a drink.
It reads our memories
and that's what it becomes.
Keep it going. Keep it going.
You and your bride look
just great, Uncle Paul.
Good to see you again. Mr. Bet ten camp.
Hey, Paul.
What do you think of
the war now you're back?
Uncle Paul, take Aunt Marie.
(cable explodes)
(rain pattering)
Oh, Paul,
why did it have to happen?
I tried to save you,
but it was no use.
You took 10,000 volts, buddy.
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
(intense music)
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
10,000 volts!
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
10,000 volts!
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
(creature shrieking)
(flesh squishing)
(wind whistling)
It had the chance. It
was coming right at me.
Why didn't it kill me?
'Cause you confused the hell out of it.
What did I do?
You turned to face it.
You were gonna sacrifice your
life for ours, weren't you?
(soft dramatic music)
Lab animals don't do that,
(sighs) people do.
(rat squeaking)
No honey, I'm okay.
Just be a little late. That's all.
No, I, uh, I slept pretty well last night.
Well, who knows?
Maybe in another couple of weeks,
I'll be able to dream
about something else.
What? (Cage creaking)
No, no, I'm very tired tonight.
I'll definitely be home in half hour.
Okay.
I love you too.
Bye.
(Jim sighs)
(rat squeaking)
(Jim sighs)
(object clacks)
(rat squeaking)
(eerie calling)
(rat squeaking)
(intense music)
(rat squeaking)
(intense music)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(fire crackling)
(eerie trilling)
(suspenseful music)
(gun firing)
(intense music)
(computer beeping)
(machinery clattering)
(footsteps tapping)
Jim.
Be with you in a minute, honey.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Give me five minutes.
It's okay, honey.
The club said they'd hold the table.
They took pity when I told
them you'd be eating raw meat
from the ground for the next week.
You take such good care of me.
Of course I do.
You're the great hunter.
My very life depends on your skill.
I'll tend your fire.
All right, make fun. Go ahead.
A freezer full of venison
will change your mind.
As if this trip had anything to do
with putting food on the table.
This is just an orgy of male
bonding and you know it.
Well, what can I say?
Men bond, women network.
(woman chuckles)
(soft dramatic music)
Jim, I don't feel good about this trip.
Why?
Honey, I don't understand.
All the years I've gone dear hunting,
you've never said that.
Besides, Brad will be there.
And Paul's nephew.
That's the point.
All the other years, Paul was with you.
Yeah.
Day doesn't go by that
I don't think about him.
This was a time of year he loved the best.
Look, I'm gonna be all right.
I promise.
Okay.
What can I say? Wives worry. (Laughs)
(bright music)
All right. That's good.
Leave it right there, Roger.
I thought this was for
High Plains Cologne,
not the Beef Council.
They're there to make
you look good. Right?
You mean by comparison, right?
(chuckles) You said it, I didn't.
That's enough, girl.
Don't make a meal of it.
Let's shoot one.
There we go. (Shutter clicking)
Okay. Hey, Ray, take
it in your other hand.
That's it. Beautiful.
Yeah, excellent.
Come on, smile. You love this stuff.
There you go. Excellent.
(Brad grunting)
(Brad groaning)
Hey Chuck, you got a good deal.
Listen, you better go
on back and give Harry
a hand with the inventory.
All right.
(Brad laughs)
Oh, come to me, baby.
Yeah.
Yeah. (Laughs)
(gun clacking)
Oh, yeah.
(bright music)
God, I was never colder in all my life
than sitting on that ledge
for six hours waiting.
- It wasn't that cold.
- Oh, sure.
You and Paul are out stomping
through the bushes keeping warm.
We drove that buck right up
your front door though, didn't we?
Could have taken it with a water balloon.
You gotta know the ground rules, Ray.
See, any shot that Brad
takes is highly difficult
requiring great skill.
(Brad laughs)
Any shot that you and I get off
is just a stroke of dumb luck
and only happened because he set us up.
- That sounds about right.
- Yeah, right.
Here we go, girls.
This is the soft road divide.
Hey, this isn't the turnoff.
I'm trying a new way.
Whoa, take it easy, man.
(Brad chuckles)
There's no way to take this road easy.
You think Brad's bad, you should have
ridden with your uncle.
Paul was a wild man on these back roads.
He bruised my kidneys often
enough, I tell you that.
Hey, I sure miss old Scratch.
(both laugh)
Wait, Scratch, Why'd you call him that?
One of the things Paul liked best
about coming to the wilderness
was the freedom that
gives a man to scratch,
(chuckles) long and
hard, really dig in there
like they don't let you do in the city.
Yeah.
So you just put the little red dot
on the target and shoot, huh?
There's a little more to it than that.
Hey, you wanna put that thing down
before you shoot one of us in the back.
More likely to shoot
myself from the foot.
That's a fine looking weapon, Brad.
These new radios, all the equipment.
- (chuckles) Yeah.
- You must have spent
- a fortune.
- I had a good year.
I'll tell you something else
too, I think it's about time
we drag this party into the 21st century.
Hey, maybe next year we can all chip in,
buy a new Buggy mobile
with all the options.
Yeah, maybe.
It's good to be in the old war horse
one more time though, isn't it?
- (chuckles) Yeah.
- It was very understanding
of your uncle's estate
when we asked to borrow it.
The family appreciated the eulogy.
And how you tried to
save him and everything.
Well, he was my best friend.
(Jim sighs)
Hey, now, the law says,
if you bring one down, you
gotta gut it right there
and pack out all the meat yourself.
Well, how much does it weigh?
I don't know, what?
Couple hundred pounds.
- Oh, easy.
- Wait, 200 pounds?
Nobody can carry that much.
Hey, I can still bench 340,
or at least I could until this year.
I had some guy come over
(Jim sighs)
When I was in the gym benching-
- He didn't ask him.
- I didn't ask him
- to spot him.
- To spot me.
And he picked up one side.
And he picked up one side
of the weights, through
all the weight over there,
it went over to the other thing,
- toward the rotators.
- Toward the rotators.
- You had to ask!
- I'll tell you what.
Even so, I can still drag
out a couple hundred pounds
of meat if I bring it down.
(both chuckle)
Hey, look. What's that?
Pueblo ruin. I've forgotten the name.
- How old are they?
- Hard to say.
They built layers on top of layers.
A lot of it's underground.
Beautiful. Can we stop?
- I love ruins.
- Hey, we're here
to hunt deer, kid, not baskets.
And if you wanna stand a chance in hell
of bringing one of them down,
you better get with the program.
(ominous music)
Yeah, that's where I
spend most of my time
promoting the line.
It's been a great break for me.
High Plains Fashions.
I never heard of it.
Oh yeah. It's a big new label.
Cologne, boots, even bedsheets.
I've been the National High
Plains Man for about a year now.
Just about the best gig a model can get.
And they put clothes on
my back, boots on my feet.
They even cap my teeth.
Doesn't own a thing,
but he looks good in it.
I think it's time for me
to water some pinyon pines.
(birds chirping)
(men groan)
Whew.
Long drive. Huh?
Forgive me for asking,
but what's his damn problem?
Well, Brad was always
number two on these trips.
Me, I, I don't care about
things like who's in charge,
who holds the records.
It's always been very important to Brad.
If you don't like the
guy any better than that,
why are you even with him?
Well, we were in school together,
Brad and I and Paul.
But I don't know, I,
I guess sometimes you hang on to people
you maybe don't even like,
just because of the years.
You know, I know
you're my uncle's friends
and, uh, you're older than me,
but I'd like to get this straight now.
He's not my platoon leader
and you're not my dad.
Okay?
Okay.
(pants zipping)
(Brad sighs)
(intense whooshing)
(wind whistling)
(birds chirping)
(all groaning)
Tell me about that one.
(bird quacking)
Let's grab some of this stuff.
Oh, great.
Someone else is already at the campsite.
(wind whistling)
(horse chuff tog)
- Hello.
- Howdy.
Best natural campsite around. Huh?
I reckon.
Hey Brad, the old
lean tooth's still here.
Yeah, you know, I think I know you.
We met about four or five
years ago up on Yellow Ridge.
You're a professional
hunter, isn't that right?
Right. Stan Brown's the name.
Yeah. I'm Brad Mueller.
That's Ray Bet ten camp.
This is Dr. Jim Cole.
How do you do?
You had another fellow with
you last time, didn't you?
Yeah. Yeah, that was Ray's uncle Paul.
He was killed six months ago.
What happened?
A storm knocked over a utility pole.
He got tangled up in a high-voltage cable.
You were there?
Yes.
(cable explodes)
(dramatic music)
(rain pattering)
(birds chirping)
Well I'm sure sorry to hear that.
So the kids taking his uncle's place.
That's right good.
How's the hunting this year? Right good?
(Stan spits)
There ain't no hunting this year.
You could a saved yourself the trip up here
if you'd stopped along the
long way and taken a look.
Looked at what?
I ain't seen a game animal in a week.
They've been spooked outta
this part of the world
and that's a fact.
What do you mean, spooked?
I wish I knew.
We'll find something.
(horse chuff tog)
Like this?
Um, don't I know you from somewhere?
Uh, maybe you've seen my picture.
Do you read, uh, Gentleman's
Quarterly or Sunset?
How about American West?
Yeah. I seen that one downtown.
Yeah. I'm in most issues.
Yeah. High Plains.
You know, for men.
Fashions. Clothes.
Well I'm the National High Plains Man.
(horse chuff tog)
- Hey, Ray!
Come on up!
Join us, Mr. Brown, if you want to.
- Come on, Mr. Brown.
- Yep.
(soft dramatic music)
This was, uh,
one of your uncle's favorite places.
He used to lay up here for hours.
Not saying a thing.
Just watching the stars.
I guess that's why he chose it.
(Ray sighs)
I....-
(Ray sighs)
Hell.
I guess I used up all my
words at the memorial service.
It's just us up here now.
So, uh, live free, buddy.
We'll never forget you.
(ashes pattering)
(eerie calling)
What'd you say?
I didn't say anything.
(wind whistling)
(eerie music)
My father took me out to a dry lake bed
to see the stars.
What about the star on the horizon?
They bought me a telescope.
Like a map, never get lost.
(eerie music)
(horses neighing)
(wind whistling)
Well, it's mighty pleasant to
see a friendly face up here.
- It gets kind of lonely.
- Yeah.
Where, where's your home base?
I don't have home base. I
live here in the mountains.
- Is that right?
- My animals!
Where in the hell are my animals?
Well they were right here.
Dammit all! How'd they get loose?
Well, they won't get far.
Tomorrow, we'll help you round them up.
Well, thank you.
(ominous music)
(crickets chirping)
(fire crackling)
(eerie music)
There ain't no hunting' this year.
I ain't seen a game animal in a week.
They've been spooked out
this part of the world
and that's a fact.
[Woman] I don't feel
good about this trip, Jim.
A day doesn't go by that
I don't think about him.
(men laughing)
Well, I can still drag out a
couple hundred pounds of meat
if/ bring it down.
(men laughing)
Paul?
(eerie music)
(soft music)
I appreciate you helping out.
It's all right, it's tough to track him
- through this stuff though.
- Mm.
Well, for me maybe,
but not for my old man.
He could track were an
animal planned to go.
He must have seen this country
when it was something unbelievable.
Oh, he sure did.
And the stories he would
tell me and my brothers,
and the stories he would tell my mother.
He could also attract a pretty woman
through half a dozen honky-Tonks
in any kind of weather.
In and out of season,
if you know what I mean.
(Jim laughs)
You're the happily
married type, ain't you?
- Guilty.
Nothing wrong with that, nothing.
I'd be the last man to
talk against family,
seeing as how we were out here,
looking for all the family I got.
Hi.
Great.
- How you doing?
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Uh-huh.
Great morning. Isn't it?
Yeah. Just love it up here.
Uh-huh. Camping?
- That's right.
- Uh-huh.
Just trying to find a
little peace and quiet.
I'm Brad Mueller.
This is Ray Bet ten camp.
- Hi.
- on,
- Hi.
- Hi.
We're, we're just camped
over the ridge here.
Deer season, you know.
- You're hunters?
- Mm-mm.
I'm the hunter. He's just learning.
Mm, well, we haven't
seen much wildlife at all
on this side of the mountain.
And I can assure you
that there's no wildlife to be found
in the middle of our camp.
Uh, you know, we had some horses
get away from us last night.
Did, uh, either one of your
ladies happen to see him?
Well, we did hear something
big moving around last night.
I bet you that was it.
It did give us just a little fright.
A little fright? It
scared us half to death.
Well, maybe you'd feel
safer if you camped with us.
You know, just until we found 'em.
I tell you what. If we see
'em, we'll catch 'em for ya.
There's plenty of room.
No, thank you.
Well, okay.
(fingernail tapping)
You know where we are if you need anything
or you, you just get lonely.
We came up here to get lonely.
- Frigid.
- What do you mean, frigid?
She's just tired of getting hit on.
See it a lot in the city.
Oh yeah.
You know so much about it.
All that aside, I'd say
I know a lot more than you.
Oh yeah.
You were such a big help back there.
Famous movie star, famous macho hunk.
You can hardly open your mouth.
That's how it's done, Brad.
(Brad scoffs)
You, you take it slow.
You ease him into it.
You know, you give 'em a
chance to check you out.
- Ah!
- You, you march into camp
and you're ripple your
pecs and you announce
you're here to save 'em
from the big, bad wolf.
Women have gone for that act since 1964.
- A great year.
- You know,
I wasn't even born.
Yeah, even better.
(water flowing)
(intense whooshing)
(eerie music)
Hello!
Did you scare up anything? Any game?
Not a thing. And I mean nothing.
You're right about the game up here.
I don't even hear any birds.
Well, they, they come and go.
What's causing it? Drought?
Some kind of predator?
It ain't that dry.
(water flowing)
(fire crackling)
(eerie calling)
What did you say?
What?
I thought you said something.
No.
(eerie calling)
(suspenseful music)
(intense music)
(Terry breathes heavily)
Who the hell are you?
What the hell are you doing in our camp?
(Terry breathes heavily)
I want an answer!
(footsteps pattering)
(Kathleen gasping)
- Come on.
- Terry.
What the hell are you doing?
Oh, we're gonna have fun. You'll see.
Come on.
- Come on.
- What are you doing?
- Just come on.
- You're crazy.
- Right.
- (chuckles) Okay.
(suspenseful music)
(Terry chuckles)
(fire crackling)
(Ray gulps and sighs)
So you didn't see
any tracks at all, huh?
None we could follow.
And Stan's a professional tracker.
Oh, some professional.
He can't even keep his horses tied up.
I could say the same
thing about your britches.
- What does that mean?
- Drooling over them
hippie girls, when you were supposed to be
covering the west face.
(Jim scoffs)
- Where you going?
- To get some peace and quiet!
Good hell.
When I wanna listen to
old women nag each other,
I go visit my great aunt
in the nursing home!
Great.
(Jim sighs)
(wind whistling)
(crickets chirping)
(Jim sighs)
(Jim exhales)
(fire crackling)
Brad? Ray?
Yeah?
Want some company?
Absolutely.
Come here, sit down.
(eerie music)
We're glad you're here.
What changed your mind?
Is that tequila?
Oh, yeah, sure is.
And I'm Stan handing it to ya.
Thanks, partner.
I never figured you girls for drinkers.
It looks like you figured
wrong about a lot of things.
It gets boring looking at each other
in the walls of a tent after a while.
Yeah, and that herb tea and trail mix
can get mighty boring.
That's right. It's, um...
It's hard to get crazy
on that stuff, ain't it?
(women whispering and giggling)
So you still get crazy, old timer?
Every chance I get.
(Terry chuckles)
(suspenseful music)
(Stan laughs)
(Stan spits) (fire roaring)
(women and Stan laughing)
(wind whistling)
(upbeat rock music)
(group laughing and moaning)
Damn.
(Brad moaning)
Yeah.
(Ray grunting)
Hey, hey. hey-
It's past your bedtime, old man.
I agree. We're both very tired.
You're dead wrong!
(wind whistling)
(fire crackling)
(Brad breathes heavily)
Come on, Mr. Universe,
show me what you got.
(gasps) You've gotta be kidding me.
Are you afraid of getting beaten
in front of the ladies, huh?
(Brad gasps) Yeah, I guess
all them muscles just for show.
Make it worth my while.
I Will.
(suspenseful music)
(Terry panting)
(Brad grunting)
(women laughing)
Come on, Brad, come on, baby!
- Come on, Brad!
- Oh yeah!
- You've got him, come on!
- Whoo!
(men grunting) (women laughing)
Do it!
He sinking, come on, baby!
(laughs) Yeah!
Come on! Oh, he's back up.
(women continue laughing)
(Brad grunting)
(both screaming)
Let's go! Yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah!
(woman continue laughing)
(men breathe heavily)
Whoo! Come on.
(Ray grunts)
(suspenseful music)
Give her back.
Go suck your teeth.
(fist thwacks) (body thuds)
(eerie calling)
(Kathleen breathes heavily)
Stay down, PUP-
(wind whistling)
(Terry whimpering)
(suspenseful music)
[Terry] So you still
get crazy, old timer?
[Stan] Every chance I get.
(women laugh)
- Brad!
- Ray!
- Come here, sit down.
Is that tequila? (Eerie music)
I never figured you girls for drinkers.
(all laughing)
(men screaming) Let's go, Brad!
Yeah, yeah, yeah! (Echoes)
(wind whistling)
(birds chirping)
(Jim yawning)
Oh.
(eerie music)
(Ray spitting)
Ray. (Ray gasps and sighs)
What, what the?
What's going on here?
(Ray groans)
- Where'd they go?
- Who, the-
- Them hippie girls.
They're gone?
Well, I guess I missed it.
You didn't miss nothing.
What the hell happened to her?
It's pretty damn obvious.
They drank us under the table.
No way, no-
- Brad, what does it matter?
It don't. I say we forget
the whole damn thing.
(sighs) Sorry about that punch, kid.
You know, it's funny, I
hardly even feel it now.
Terry?
- Terry?
- Sit.
(birds chirping)
(wind whistling)
(ominous music)
(liquor trickling)
(bottle pattering)
Is that it?
Any more, boys?
(toothbrush scraping)
Well, I know I didn't drink that much.
(Brad chuckling)
I mean, not enough to black out.
Doesn't take much up here.
Altitude and booze don't mix.
Throw in a couple of girls,
you've got a real
potential for interaction.
Oh, come on, man.
I don't want a laboratory
explanation here.
I mean, I was there and I
didn't like what happened.
Mm.
So they paid us a visit
and we got a little crazy.
I can accept that, but
how'd they disappear?
Hell you two were in bed
with 'em, weren't ya?
Seems like it.
It's all a little fuzzy this morning.
Fuzzy?
You hit me in the jaw for God's sake.
I hate this kind of thing.
Let's go ask 'em.
Brad, let's just leave 'em alone. Okay?
Last night is history.
The booze is history.
We came here to snag Ray a buck!
And today's the day!
Great.
(suspenseful music)
Ray, head in there.
By myself?
We'll be close. Test the radio.
(radio static) You okay?
You know, Jim, I don't
feel good about this.
I think we should just
pack up and go home.
Give it a chance, Ray.
Besides, if we don't see any game today,
there'll be no point in staying.
That's a promise?
Yeah. That's a promise.
It happened again, didn't it?
- What do you mean?
- Well, just like the horses.
I mean, them girls walked away from us
like they was invisible,
and I can tell you, I
was tucked down real good
with that little Colleen
with no thinking about sleeping
and (whistles) gone.
Unless you seen 'em?
No. No, I didn't see 'em.
(water flowing)
Hello?
(intense whooshing)
(birds chirping)
(water flowing)
Terry?
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
Jim.
Jim!
It's blood, all right.
Hasn't been here long.
Comes from that way,
it goes that way.
So why are we going that way?
Brad? Brad, can you hear me?
Answer me.
Must be outta range.
Jim, I don't like this.
Hey, shh. We're getting closer.
Heads up now, Ray.
Deer get cranky when they're wounded.
This ain't deer. It's much bigger.
(suspenseful music)
God in heaven.
What the hell?
Killing ground.
What could have done this, Stan?
Cougar, maybe. No man, for sure.
Let's get out here.
Wait.
(rifles clacking)
[Ray] Shit.
(creature snorting)
(suspenseful music)
What do you think?
I think blood rings the dinner bell.
(rifle clacking)
(creature growls)
(gun fires)
(fire crackling)
It's me, empty-handed.
Oh my God.
(suspenseful music)
I, I guess you guys had
some luck after all.
"Some luck," you said?
Look at this animal.
Yeah, he's a, he's a beauty.
He's a beauty. He's a killer.
He's a monster.
He's came roaring and we got him.
(Jim slurping)
- Who got him?
- We, all three did.
He charged us.
I only heard one shot.
Three shots. All at the same time.
No way.
Check it out.
On the neck. (Fist thuds)
(Stan growls)
Open you up like a sack
of manure. (Chuckles)
(Jim slurping)
Boys will be boys. (Laughs)
(suspenseful music)
Where'd you get 'em, Jim?
Down the hill.
Found some blood.
Yeah, so I see.
- What are eating, Jim?
- Liver!
Liver? (Laughs)
You guys are too much.
Well, give me a hand.
I'll dress him out for you.
Don't you touch it!
What the hell are you doing?
I'm gonna dress him out.
I can't believe you guys carried
him up here, guts in all.
- It's our kill!
- Well, it,
it doesn't matter whose kill it is, Jim.
You can't leave it like this
with all this blood all over.
Don't you touch it!
I don't believe this.
What do you wanna do?
Call in every scavenger
for a hundred miles around?
Leave it alone!
(both grunting)
(suspenseful music)
(men grunting)
(elbow whacks)
(gun fires)
(rifle clacks)
(eerie music)
(men breathe heavily)
(fire crackling)
(crickets chirping)
(eerie music)
This ain't a deer. It's much bigger.
God in heaven.
Jim, I don't like this.
Blood rings the dinner bell.
(bear growling) (gun fires)
It's a monster.
Just came roaring and we got him.
I only heard one shot.
(men grunting)
Open you up like a sack of manure.
(men grunting)
(gun fires)
(intense music)
Brad.
Brad.
What?
What do you want?
It's gone.
What's gone?
The bear we killed.
I didn't take it.
Scavengers.
No, no. It's not like that.
It's, it's just gone.
It's, it's gone like the girls are gone.
There's no blood on
our clothes. There's...
It's like it never happened.
We're in trouble, Brad.
It may be
that we're going insane.
(suspenseful music)
(footsteps pattering)
It was right there.
Right, right. That's,
that's where I remember it.
And then Stan got a hold of
it and he made the claws move,
and then you jumped back
and then Jim leaped on you.
It was like some 50's caveman, B movie.
What'd you say?
Like some kind of movie?
Is that what this is to you?
Some sort of play acting?
No, Brad.
That's what I thought at first too.
Bunch of city kids put
something to my food,
make me crazy and laugh at what happens,
but, uh, that ain't it.
(suspenseful music)
(thunder rumbling)
You gotta believe that.
Then what the hell happened?
There was a black bear
right there and it was dead.
For God's sake, Brad,
forget about the bear.
Look at us.
Look what we did.
We went right around the bend crazy.
- We nearly killed you.
- No.
I would've killed you. I
wanted to kill you, Brad!
(Brad breathes uneasily)
Considering everything
that happened, I'd say
it's a good thing we didn't
go visit those girls.
(thunder rumbling)
(suspenseful music)
I did.
- What?
- Oh, and how
was your afternoon?
Or should I say afternooner?
They weren't there.
Their tent was still there,
but there was no sign of them.
Why did you do that, Brad?
I wanted to see her again.
I thought maybe since she
left me a note, maybe-
- Wait, she left you a note?
You never said she left no note.
Well, it wasn't a note.
It was just scrawled in the dirt.
- What did it say?
- You know, uh-
- Exactly what did it say, Brad?
"Must leave now."
All right, that's it. That's all for me.
I'm wrapped, I'm outta here.
Hey, Ray.
No, no, no. You know, the
girl's absolutely right.
I wanted to bail yesterday but you said,
no, I should have the
experience of the hunt.
Well, I've had it. All right, I've had it!
You know what, Brad, I'm gonna give you
a different line reading on that.
It's II , Mus t le now!"
He's right. Let's get
the hell outta here.
(ignition clicking)
(suspenseful music)
(keys jangling)
(ignition clicking)
(eerie music)
(wind howling)
(all breathe heavily)
There was nothing wrong with that jeep.
It should have turned over.
There was gas in the tank.
Juice in the battery.
Maybe we are going crazy.
Well, let's get warm and crazy.
Hey, I'll build a fire.
(fire crackling)
(Brad blowing)
(eerie calling)
What was that?
You know, they say this
place is, uh, haunted.
(eerie calling)
(scoffs) I don't know about
the rest of you gentlemen,
but I've, I've sat still
for about as much mystery
as I'm going to.
Yeah, I think you're right.
I'm with you.
(rifle clacking)
Where do you think it's coming from?
Hard to tell.
Not hard for me.
Mueller, come on.
(eerie calling)
(wind howling)
(eerie calling)
Eh.
Bad stink in here.
Like something died.
(eerie calling)
Oh my God.
(suspenseful music)
What is that?
Honey.
My saddle horse.
Jim, you better get in
here and take a look at this.
You're right.
Look at the way this incision follows
the contour of the bone.
This is more like an autopsy.
What else?
He's a good size buck.
And the bear.
Is that the bear we shot?
What the hell is this?
(woman whimpering)
Kathleen.
(Kathleen whimpering)
We got some doped up
Manson-type running around
out there, carving up
animals and maybe people too.
I say we find the son of
bitch, we take him down!
No, there's only one plan at this point.
Let's just call in the Marines.
Yes, it'd be the Marines that
would come that'd be great,
but it won't be the
Marines, it'll be TV news
and court-appointed
attorneys followed by shrinks
followed by docudrama writers.
Come on, yeah, yeah.
And three years from
now, they give this animal
a bottle of pills and they set him free!
You know this can happen.
He's got a point.
He's got a point, but we have no choice.
Two to two, deadlock.
It's not a deadlock, Brad!
There are five of us here!
And if number five doesn't soon
get to one of those
shrinks you hate so much,
she may not make it!
This is not a debate!
I'm going for help.
She needs you here.
You're the only one with
any medical training.
- I'll go.
- Yeah, me too.
No, no offense, Stan,
but you'll just slow me down.
I run the mile in six. I walk it in 14.
(suspenseful music)
(wind howling)
(vehicle approaching)
What? Hey!
Hey! Hey!
Hi! Hi!
Hey, wait. (Chuckles)
I'll take, hi, it's, I'm Brad Mueller.
I got a couple friends back down there.
Girl in trouble. Can you give us a hand?
(engine revving)
Well, here, look.
Hey!
(engine revving)
(eerie calling)
(intense music)
Paul?
(engine revving)
(gun clacking and firing)
Why would he be shooting?
I don't know, but one
of us should go after him!
Dang, two of us should go after him.
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
(wind howling)
Jim.
Brad!
(suspenseful music)
(fire crackling)
(wind whistling)
(building creaking)
Maybe there are ghosts.
What do you mean?
Brad wasn't long in personality,
but I figure he had good
instincts as a hunter.
So how did he get himself bushwhacked?
Well, the Wind's dying down.
(sighs) I'll get some
stones for the grave.
(suspenseful music)
(wind whistling)
(crickets chirping)
(Stan groaning and sighing)
What?
I didn't say anything.
Oh.
I'll say something.
(soft dramatic music)
This man was a loyal friend
and a good companion.
I knew him for many years
and he was never dishonest with me.
He demanded a lot of people,
but also of himself.
I'm gonna miss the challenge
of being his friend.
(cable exploding)
(Jim sobbing)
(rain pattering)
(Jim and Kathleen sobbing)
(rain pattering)
(Kathleen gasping)
(Jim sobbing)
(suspenseful music)
(wind whistling)
(intense music)
(Stan groans)
Jim, I've got the grave ready.
(Jim sighs)
Jim, get up. Where the hell is Brad?
It happened again.
Where have you been?
I was getting the stones,
sat down and closed my
eyes for a few minutes.
For four hours.
No way.
Your, your name is Ray, right?
(soft dramatic music)
That's right. I'm Ray.
My name is Ray.
Brad died.
That's right, honey.
Oh, I was sad.
So sad.
- Kathleen-
- Just.
What happened to your friend, Kathleen?
(soft dramatic music)
(Kathleen whimpering)
Did someone attack you?
A man?
It was a man.
But not really.
I...-
He, he, he made us feel things.
We were afraid
then we were happy.
And then all we wanted was you guys.
To be with men!
Any men!
(Kathleen whimpering)
Then we were ashamed.
Then we had no control!
(cries) He owned us!
What did he look like?
(sobbing) Blonde.
Black and white shirt.
Is that the man?
(Kathleen gasping)
That's insane! That's my uncle!
Did he kill Terry?
(sobbing) Terry killed herself.
(suspenseful music)
Shh. Shh.
You've seen him too, didn't you?
Well then maybe he's not dead after all.
(Kathleen continues sobbing)
Paul is dead.
I saw him die.
We scattered his ashes. This isn't Paul.
Then what the hell?
- No, no, no.
- Who is he?
What is it? No person
could have done this.
All along, he's been
manipulating our moods.
Maybe even our sense of reality.
Playing with us?
Worse. Experimenting with us.
Experimenting?
I don't know why I
didn't see this before.
Hell, I do the same thing
every day in the lab!
I put animals in confinement
and I study their behavior.
(suspenseful music)
He gives a stimulus like the girls,
like Brad's body.
We fight over the girls, we
spill our guts with grief,
and he sits back and watches,
making notes.
And then when it's over,
he cleans the cage.
Cleans the cage?
He makes it look as if nothing happened,
tries to make us forget so we're fresh
for the next experiment.
Hell, there was even a control group.
One of us was always
on the outside. Right?
Brad, didn't slice up the bear.
You weren't at the funeral.
I never saw the girls until now.
You're right.
Yeah.
We're just rats in a cage.
Get the guns. These rats
are getting outta here.
Let's go.
(electricity zapping) Uh!
What's wrong?
(electricity zapping)
- Mm!
We can't get out this way.
- Let's go back.
- What is it?
Some kind of energy field.
Follow me.
I can't see a top to it.
Maybe we can climb out.
Here. Stay here, I'll check it.
(suspenseful music)
I don't see anything.
(electricity zapping) Oh!
(Jim groaning)
What is it?
The edge of the cage.
(Jim sighs)
(intense music)
(gun clacking)
We're not even gonna try
to bust through that barrier?
What chance have we got?
This isn't the CIA doing
this or the Russians
or Charlie Manson.
I don't know anything on Earth
that has this kind of
power and sophistication.
What do you mean, anything on Earth?
Just what I said, Ray.
I want out of this prison
and the only way is to go
for the man with the keys.
All right, fine, you wanna go
hunt this thing down and kill it?
We will but can we at least stay together?
We can't do that, every
time we're together,
we run the risk of it
influencing our judgment.
We might end up shooting each other.
And laughing while we do it.
Remember honey, you stay in this room.
Let's go.
(suspenseful music)
(Jim gasps)
(Jim gasps)
Dammit.
I just don't understand how a being
so obviously advanced can be so cruel.
Care so little about life.
Big fish eat the little fish.
I know it's the way of the world,
but is it the way of all worlds?
I don't understand this either.
What's a truck doing here?
Everything else in this
room is a life form.
Well, maybe this thing
don't know the difference.
It would have to, have to.
Besides, why just this?
Why didn't it take the
guns or the, the radios?
I don't know. Maybe
he just likes the color.
Color.
Paul liked the color.
Jim, let's get this straight.
This thing might be able to make itself
look like your friend,
but it can't become your friend.
Remember that.
I know. I know.
(suspenseful music)
(Ray breathes heavily)
(intense music)
Ray, this is Jim.
We've discovered something.
(Ray panting)
Ray, what's wrong?
Jim.
Ray?
He's here.
It's Uncle Paul.
Shoot it, Ray!
It's not your uncle!
Shoot it, Ray!
No!
Shoot it!
(gun firing and clacking)
Go back! Go back!
Go on!
Forget the guns. They're no use.
Ray, it changed.
It's Paul when he got back-
- I know, I saw it changing.
I was just thinking about it when he was-
- You were thinking
about your uncle, right?
This is the way you remember him.
Do it again.
Think about him another way.
- What do you mean?
- Think about a moment.
Go on. Talk to it.
Go on. You're an actor, for God's sake.
Play the part.
Okay, soldier boy.
Here I am.
Come and get me.
Well, come on.
(suspenseful music)
Gee, gee, Uncle Paul.
I love coming to this place.
It's a like paradise over here.
What the hell?
What's happening, Jim?
Paul, I gotta admire
a man who gets drunk
on his own wedding day.
Somebody else! Talk to him!
Hey, lieutenant. Let me buy a drink.
It reads our memories
and that's what it becomes.
Keep it going. Keep it going.
You and your bride look
just great, Uncle Paul.
Good to see you again. Mr. Bet ten camp.
Hey, Paul.
What do you think of
the war now you're back?
Uncle Paul, take Aunt Marie.
(cable explodes)
(rain pattering)
Oh, Paul,
why did it have to happen?
I tried to save you,
but it was no use.
You took 10,000 volts, buddy.
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
(intense music)
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
10,000 volts!
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
10,000 volts!
10,000 volts!
(electricity zapping)
(creature shrieking)
(flesh squishing)
(wind whistling)
It had the chance. It
was coming right at me.
Why didn't it kill me?
'Cause you confused the hell out of it.
What did I do?
You turned to face it.
You were gonna sacrifice your
life for ours, weren't you?
(soft dramatic music)
Lab animals don't do that,
(sighs) people do.
(rat squeaking)
No honey, I'm okay.
Just be a little late. That's all.
No, I, uh, I slept pretty well last night.
Well, who knows?
Maybe in another couple of weeks,
I'll be able to dream
about something else.
What? (Cage creaking)
No, no, I'm very tired tonight.
I'll definitely be home in half hour.
Okay.
I love you too.
Bye.
(Jim sighs)
(rat squeaking)
(Jim sighs)
(object clacks)
(rat squeaking)
(eerie calling)
(rat squeaking)
(intense music)
(rat squeaking)
(intense music)
(dramatic orchestral music)