Prophecy (1979) Movie Script
Hit the release!
What happened?
Christ, I couldn't
find the release!
I never seen 'em do that before. Whatever
they're after must be down in that gully.
If it's down there,
must be a dead man!
They don't pull like that
for no dead man!
Hey! Lon! Lon,
give us a hand!
He's gone.
I didn't hear him hit.
Let's go down
after him.
Jim?
Hey, Bill!
John, save the left stage booms.
Thank you.
I don't know why you
don't just tell him.
Because I know
what he'll say.
The world's a mess. It's unfair
to bring a child into it.
That there are
three million unwanted children.
But the fact is, Maggie,
you're pregnant,
And it's your body,
and it's your choice.
And if what you wanna do
is make a beautiful baby,
Then nobody,
including a cynical husband,
Has the right
to stand in your way.
He's not cynical.
Obsessed.
De's dedicated.
Dedicated, obsessed.
Call it what you like.
But if you get talked into an abortion
you don't want, you'll never forgive yourself.
Why don't you get it over with?
Go home and tell him.
I need to pick
the right time.
...must speak in a single voice.
They will listen!
We have heard that
the Indian must fight to keep what is his,
And that time
has come again.
We will fight
to keep our forests!
Hey, can I
carry your bag?
- Right up there, sir.
- Okay.
- Take this for me and show me where, will ya?
- All right.
Okay, thanks.
This way, please.
Okay.
It's all right.
Gonna be all right.
I showed it
to the man.
He say
it was chicken pox.
I say to him,
"there's rats in here."
He said, "this is
chicken pox."
I said to him,
"ain't no chickens in here.
There's rats in here,
and them rats bit my baby."
You know what
he said to me?
He said,
"The rats got to have
room to live too."
Does he live in this building,
your landlord?
No, sir.
He lives in Georgetown.
He lives with the rich rats
up there.
I'm gonna have to put
your baby in a hospital,
And I'm gonna be
in touch with your landlord.
How about puttin' the landlord
in the hospital?
That's what
I'd like to do.
So would I. But let's take care
of your baby first, okay?
- Rob?
- Vic, what are you doing here?
Lookin' for you.
Will you ride back with me?
Yeah, uh--
Take him to emergency.
You really looked tired.
Oh, yeah?
The hours getting to you?
It's not the hours.
It's the damn futility.
God.
You know, I'll write a report here
that no one will read.
I'll file a lawsuit against a landlord
that'll be settled out of court.
Send that baby
to the hospital...
So he can come back here
and be eaten by rats again.
Feel like
I'm banging my head up against a wall.
I don't think
anybody's listening.
You wanna know
something?
If I could've planned
your side of this conversation,
I couldn't have
done it better.
Remember that hearing Iasked you to come to
this morning ?
Sorry. Sorry.
It was the bureau of Indian affairs.
They're listening to the complaints
of a couple of tribes from Maine.
They're about to get squeezed
the way the people in these tenements are.
Like these people are?
Are you crazy, Vic?
I saw the demonstrators
this morning. Listen to me.
This paper company--
Pitney Mills paper company--
Bought the timber rights
to 100,000 acres of forest in Maine.
The Indians claim
the land is theirs,
And they blockaded
access to the forest, keeping the lumberjacks out.
The Supreme Court's
filed a restraining order against the blockade.
Everybody's ready
to kill each other, and the whole thing is holding...
For an environmental
protection report.
What does the environmental
protection agency have to do with a land dispute?
Nobody wants to rule
on the legalities of who owns the land.
So they're trying to break the deadlock
on environmental grounds.
If we file a negative report,
the lumber company won't have much reason to proceed.
File a positive report, the Indians will probably
have to give way.
Another political football?
If you're looking for a job that's got permanent impact,
this is the one.
You're gonna set a precedent
that'll be very hard to break.
Vic, it's not my game. I'm strictly a rat bite
and gas leak man.
I can teach you
what you need to know.
I can give you the books
to take with you.
I'm in public health.
I'm a doctor.
And you know how to deal
with human beings.
The Indians are angry,
and so is the lumber company.
If we don't get full cooperation
from both of them,
We're gonna have trouble getting enough information
for a thorough report.
I got all
the tree experts I need.
I need someone who can--
Who can deal with people.
Come on, come on. It's two weeks
of your time.
Take Maggie along.
It'll be good for both of you to get away.
It's beautiful.
It's so peaceful.
I'd forgotten the world
could look like this.
Maybe that's one of our problems.
We can't see the forest for the trees.
It's a joke.
Here, get that.
- Goin' camping?
- Well, not exactly.
We're gonna be in a cabin.
We're gonna be outside.
- By a river.
- Hey, great.
It's gonna take three days
to walk down there.
Sounds hard.
Yeah, but that's the fun.
- What is that?
- Look!
That's the damnedest thing I've ever seen!
What do you think it's doing?
Beats me.
Mr. Vern.
Bethel Isely,
pitney lumber company.
How do you do?
- Have a nice flight?
- Indeed. My wife, maggie.
- Mr. Isely. - Welcome to the state
of Maine, Mrs. Vern.
Kelso! I got a car for ya,
like your office wanted.
- Somebody to drive it so you can
ride up to the lake with me. - Fine.
That a--
That a rogeri?
Montangna.
You know cellos.
Well, I know wood.
That's got a balsam back and a spruce belly
and a maple bridge.
There's three different kinds of trees in there.
Very impressive.
I can't carry a tune in a bucket, though.
Hollis!
Excuse me. Here you go. Biggest
fiddle you ever saw.
- Yes, sir.
- What's that dog doing up in the air?
That's what's left of our
search and rescue team.
- Secure that well!
- Beg your pardon? I don't quite understand.
Couple of men got lost
up in the mountains.
Men from our company,
as a matter of fact.
Lumberjacks. I sent up a search team
from Androscoggin to go lookin' for 'em.
Couple of days later, one of the search dogs
shows up at a ranger station.
No sign of the people
who brought her in there.
What do you suppose
happened to them?
Well, I guess
they got lost too.
Rescue team?
Is that possible?
Look. I'll be
truthful with you.
- This particular forest isn't safe right now.
- Why's that?
Excuse me, Rob. We'd like
to tie your bag.
That's okay.
Well, the Indians, they're angry in there.
They're trying to keep the lumber company out
any way they can.
People start disappearing,
and the Indians spread the word...
That they were
taken by Katahdin.
That's one of their legends.
They call it Katahdin.
It's sort of a bigfoot, I guess,
only it's uglier.
Yeah, it's larger than a drago
and got the eyes of a cat.
Yeah, they've thrown in
everything but the kitchen sink.
Oh, uh, yes, my wife put together
a box of groceries for you.
Thank you. I saw that. I guess you're gonna have
everything you're gonna need.
- You follow me in there, Kelso.
- Right, sir.
You see, the idea of this legend is
to frighten the lumberjacks out.
They're almost as superstitious
as the opies.
- Opies?
- O.P. O.P.'S. Original people.
Yeah, that's what
they call themselves now.
The Ashinabegs,
Passamaquoddy,
Wampanoags
and the Yuroks,
They all joined together,
called themselves the opies.
Mr. Vern. What about those people,
the ones who disappeared?
Well, I'll tell ya
something.
If you'd asked me, Iwouldn't have sent
a search team in there.
- I'd have sent a posse.
- Why is that? You think the indians did it?
No doubt in my mind.
There's a general store
and post office...
And laundromat,
Mrs. Vern.
Keep your money
in that bank there, if you wanna.
You know, all that stuff
about the paper companies ruining the forests,
That's pure myth.
We've been running a pulp operation on the upper espee
here for 20 years now.
We plant seedlings
every time we harvest.
That land is more stable today
than it was when God himself made it.
Well, to give him his due,
he didn't have modern science to help him.
He didn't have hydroponics
and silviculture techniques.
I'd say he did pretty well
under the circumstances.
What with
his limited education.
Yeah.
What's this?
Mr. Hawks.
These people are from
the environmental
protection agency.
I'd appreciate
bein' let through.
No car from the lumber company
gets through here.
This is against
the law, John.
The law has not
brought justice.
The Supreme Court has issued
a restraining order against this blockade.
And which Supreme Court
is that, Mr. Isely?
The Supreme Court
of the United States.
Yes, we've tried
that Supreme Court.
Now we're going
to one that's higher.
You a part of this,
Ramona?
By birth, Mr. Isely.
Can we walk in?
It's ten miles.
Is there another road?
No, Mrs. Vern,
there isn't.
John, tell your people
get out of the way.
Kelso!
Cut down those
two trees, please.
Mr. Isely--
I don't get the point.
Nobody's going
to get hurt.
The point is
not to be intimidated.
Cut 'em down.
- Don't let this happen!
- Are you gonna stand aside, Hawks ?
I'm gonna tell you
right now!
You cut my head off
before you cut these trees!
Oh, come on!
Take 'em down!
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute!
Stop it!
Stop it, please!
Make him
stop it!
- Open the chain, John.
- I won't open it!
Open it, goddamn it! What does this prove,
anyway? That they're murderers.
It doesn't prove a damn thing!
Now open it!
No!
Open it!
Don't!
These are violent people, Mr. Vern.
They get drunk and they get violent.
You gotta show 'em
when you mean business.
Ii swear, Maggie, that must
have been a world's record.
I've never heard
of such a big salmon.
Well, this is the land
of Paul Bunyan and his giant ox, babe.
- Was that Maine?
- Sure was.
Well, there might be something to it.
That fish was a giant.
Maybe you'll go home
with a trophy.
I can't get over it.
God knows what would happen
if I hooked into it.
Hmm. Taste this.
Aphrodisia.
You think you could catch any more?
Are you kidding ?
I'm one of the world's great fishermen.
Well, you fish,
and I'll eat.
Now that's
a relationship.
Do you wanna know
something?
I was so proud
of you today.
That made the ghetto seem suddenly
very peaceful to me.
You know something else?
I was jealous of that Indian woman.
She had so much courage-- To be so strong
when she was frightened--
To demand her own way.
It's a kind of courage
I don't have much of.
I don't know about that.
I think it takes a lot of courage to put up with me.
I love you.
I love you so much, I wish there were
more of you.
Well, I could easily
put on 20 pounds.
I mean, I wish
there were more of us.
I'm sorry.
It's something
I want to discuss.
- Now?
- Why not now? Everything's so perfect.
You know how I feel.
When I was a child, my mother told me I had to
eat everything on my plate...
Because there were
starving children in the world.
It didn't make any sense to me.
Now you tell me
I mustn't get pregnant...
Because there are starving children in the world,
and that doesn't make sense to me either.
It does to me.
You're afraid, aren't you?
I don't know.
I don't know about
a lot of things anymore.
I feel like...
I've been going around and around a racetrack
at a hundred miles an hour.
And I wound up
where I started.
No one else was in the race.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
What's wrong, dad?
- Turn that thing off. - But you said
I could play it for another ten minutes.
Just turn it off.
What is it?
- Nothing.
- Can I turn it on again?
Yeah.
The soil's a clay base.
I'm sending samples on tomorrow.
Yeah. Oh, listen, Vic.
I'm including a couple of
tissue samples from the raccoon.
Check 'em out for me, will you?
No, I examined 'em, but--
No, it wasn't rabies.
I don't know what it is,
but there's definitely something wrong.
Yeah. Okay.
Yeah, you should be.
Oh, she's fine.
Talk to you tuesday.
Mr. Vern.
- My name is John Hawks.
- I remember.
I'd like you to come with us,
if you would.
- What for?
- I want to speak with you.
Right here will be fine.
Are you afraid of us?
Somewhat.
- Because of what you've heard? - No, it's not
what I've heard, but what I've seen.
You've heard we're drunks,
we're violent,
And that we're murderers.
That's what they're saying
about us in Washington,
Because they're discounting
our rights with these lies.
I can understand
how you must feel,
- But my work here has nothing to do--
- Are you deaf?
Like the rest?
I'm a fairly well-educated
person, Mr. Vern.
I was educated
at your schools.
I studied your laws,
I perfected your language.
Of course, your laws have
never really applied to us, but, um,
Your language, it seems to have been wasted
in the Indian's mouth,
Because, uh,
well, you refuse to hear.
- Why is it you refuse to hear?
- Oh, I can hear.
But I can also see. You seem surprised
that people think you're violent.
- The violence is always provoked.
- By whom?
- It was necessary.
- It was suicidal.
Tell me, uh,
for what you believe in,
You willing to die?
Look. I'm here to study
the environment.
What's your concept of the environment?
Is it rocks?
- Oh, come on!
- The environment is us.
And it's being mangled.
I'm gonna make something
clear to you.
My people
are violently ill.
They're beginning
to lose their faculties.
They stagger
and they fall,
And this has nothing to do with alcohol,
as these villagers claim.
My people are fishermen.
Their lives are clean.
I'm a midwife, and I've seen
children born dead, born deformed.
So badly, some have
had to be put to death.
Three times we have been
to the government,
And three times
they've turned us away.
You see, the end of this forest
is the end of my people.
Don't talk about the environment
as though it had nothing to do with us.
These people want us
to go with them.
They... have some things
they want to show us.
I think we should go.
- Is this your village?
- No.
This is the home
of Hector M'rai.
- My grandfather. -It's the last remnant
of how my people once lived.
I wanted you
to see this before you...
See what we've become.
My grandfather built this place,
and to him it's very sacred.
These are the people
from the government.
- How many?
- Well, there are two of us, sir.
Is that enough?
Well, we're, uh,
working very hard.
That good.
- Your home is very beautiful.
- Thank you.
Don't mistake
these tents for his home.
His home is
this whole forest.
Just three days ago
I was visiting a place...
Where there were 11 people
living in a single room.
- Oh, yes ?
- I just thought you should know.
What, that we are
asking too much?
That there are people in this world
fighting for a single inch of living space.
Yes, because they
fought too late.
This camp is
as the old people did it.
I'm teaching these
young people...
So that someone here
will remember.
There are underground tunnels
beneath the frost line...
To store perishables.
The forest
provides more food...
Than a man
could possibly need.
Here, everything
grows big.
Real big.
Well, I saw a salmon
that, uh, took my breath away.
Itisthe garden of eden.
I've let no one come here.
You are
the first to see it.
It's magical.
We were once
a magical people.
It's true. When I was a child,
every rock, every tree had a story.
The whole forest was
filled with legends.
- We heard about one of them.
- Yes?
Uh, "katydah" something.
- Katahdin.
- Katahdin is no legend.
My grandfather is the oldest person
in our tribe.
It's his duty
to foster these beliefs.
- I have seen him.
- And what does he look like?
He is part
of all things created,
And he bears a mark
of each of God's creatures.
You say that
with great affection.
He has wakened
to protect us.
Why are these logs
in here?
They come twice each year.
Then they disappear.
What is that?
He says he will show you why
he calls it the Garden of Eden.
Rob.
What's wrong?
- These are feeder roots.
They should be underground. - Here.
- It's a tadpole.
- I told you things grow big here.
- You've seen this before?
- No.
No one has seen them.
They're only in this pond.
What does this pond
feed into?
The Espee river.
That's where
the paper mill is.
This is the flume.
All the wood that's unfit
for lumberyards...
Is cut into sections, fed down this channel
into the grinding machines.
It's a very simple process
in a very conventional industry.
We even use stone grinders
to turn the logs into pulp.
Oh, let me give you a hand here,
Mrs. Vern.
Once here,
the pulp is bleached.
With the exception of grocery bags,
nobody likes paper that isn't white.
- What do you use to bleach it with?
- Chlorine.
But it stays right here
in the plant.
- None of it goes out into the water?
- No, sir, not a drop.
I'd like to see more.
This way.
- You all right?
- I'm fine.
You see now, when the pulp
gets down here,
It's pressed into sheets
and dried into paper.
You feel all right ?
You best stand over here, Mrs. Vern.
That sheet's traveling
3,000 feet a minute.
Now, you see,
the pulp is fibrous.
When it's dry, those fibers interconnect,
forming a solid.
And the only chemical
you use in this plant is chlorine ?
Yes. Oh, no.
Excuse me.
There's a caustic solution
that's used in the grinding process,
But it's biodegradable, approved by the E.P.A.,
and it doesn't go into the watershed.
Well, I guess
that's it, Mrs. Vern.
- Thank you.
- Well, clean as a whistle, huh?
Thank you, sir.
- Tell me something.
- Yeah.
What happens to the trees
before they get here?
They get floated down the river
to the plant here.
That's it? You don't
hold them anywhere?
- Yeah, if we get stacked up.
- Where do you hold them?
- Oh, various places.
- Ponds?
- You hold 'em in ponds?
- Probably. Softens 'em up to soak 'em.
Do you, uh, soak them
in chemicals?
Well, you're gettin'
out of my area here.
Transport's handled
by a private contractor.
- I asked you a question.
- Well, I'm answerin' your question.
You're responsible for whatever effluent
goes out of this plant.
You hire the contractors,
you sell the product.
- You're accountable for whatever goes on here.
- Rob, stop it.
Now just--
H-How many pages in this report
you're gonna write?
- I asked you a question.
- Now let me ask you a question.
How many pages, a hundred?
How many copies? A thousand, maybe?
I wanna know what chemicals
you're using.
We're talking about a hundred thousand pieces
of paper just for your report.
Am I far off? Huh?
And h-How many sheets of paper are in all those
filing cabinets in Washington?
- You're not answering me.
- I am answering you!
Now, I supply
what you demand.
You're responsible too.
Unless you want to start fillin'
your filing cabinets with rocks...
And wipin' your nose
with cactus--
- I wanna know what you soak the logs in.
- What chemical? None.
- I don't believe that!
- Then you take water samples. That's what we do.
Yes, sir. Now, look. If those logs were
soaked in chemicals,
It would squeeze out
in the pulpin' process...
Right into the watershed
in front of this plant.
Now, we test that water
every ten days,
And there's not a damn thing floating out there
that we don't know about...
Or anything that's harmful
to the environment.
- Now, excuse me, Mrs. Vern.
- That's okay.
Go on! Go test the water!
We got nothing to hide!
Let it down.
Take it in there.
I told you
to watch the time.
Yeah.
You okay? Hold the boat.
Let's get 'em in there.
Get 'em outta here.
Sorry about that. I didn't... realize.
We tried to tell ya.
I know you did. It's my fault.
Okay, let's go, boys.
Move it out.
- I believe him.
- Why?
Why would he have offered
to let you test the water?
Maybe it wasn't
in the water.
- Huh?
- Maybe it's heavier than water.
That silvery stuff
on your boot.
Is it dry?
Yes.
They gave us a trick question
in medical school.
"What's the only liquid
in the world that isn't wet?"
What was the answer?
Mercury.
"Inorganic methylmercury
known as pmt.
"Used as a de-Sliming agent that collects algae
and prevents it from forming...
"On preprocessed timber.
"Its widespread use
discontinued in 1956...
"When evidence
of its fatal effects...
Were seen in the deaths of 100,000 people
in Minamata, Japan."
Goddamn.
Rob,
what is it?
It's methylmercury poisoning,
that's what it is.
This whole place
has been contaminated.
How do you know?
The Indians
eat the fish,
And they behave like they're drunk
when they haven't had a drop of liquor.
That raccoon convulsing and turning vicious,
its brain turned to mush.
Even that old man, that Indian.
You saw the burns on his fingers.
Is that from mercury?
It's from cigarettes. The reason
he didn't feel it is from mercury.
You see, it acts
on the nervous system.
It destroys the brain.
Why are they using it?
Why?
Listen to this.
"...Described as the most potent neurotoxin
of the post-World War II age,
Listen.
"Used from 1948 to 1956...
In pulping processes
as a cheap and effective caustic agent--"
That's why they use it.
Because it's cheap!
"...From forming
on waterlogged timber.
"It is also known for
its mutagenic properties,
"Concentrating in the bodies of fish
and plankton-Eating crustacea,
Affecting the fetal development
of everything that ingests it."
For 20 years it's been
pouring into this water.
- "The ratio of toxin to blood level--"
- It's in the fish, is that it?
And everything
that eats the fish.
"It was discovered
after extensive testing...
"That it is the only mutagen that
jumps the placental barrier,
"Concentrating in fetal blood cells,
where it adheres to the DNA...
And corrupts
the chromosomes."
"The ratio of toxin
to blood level...
Is 30 percent higher in the developing fetus
than in the host."
"It was discovered
after extensive testing...
"That it is the only mutagen that
jumps the placental barrier,
"Concentrating
in fetal blood cells,
Where it adheres to the DNA
and corrupts the chromosomes."
- "Jumps the placental barrier." What does that mean?
- It's a mutagen.
A mutagen.
What is that?
"Freakism"! Freakism. That's what's been
going on out there.
That's why there's a goddamn salmon
five feet long...
And a tadpole the size of what
a bullfrog should be.
And stillbirths.
What?
That's what
that Indian woman said.
And deformed children.
God knows what else has been
going on out there.
So, if a pregnant animal
ate some fish, it could--
Yes.
My God.
Is it possible?
Yes.
The size of a dragon.
What?
The size of a dragon. Isn't that
what Isely said at the airport ?
And something about cat's eyes.
And the old man, the Indian.
Didn't he describe
that creature as being...
A part of everything
in God's creation?
- Isn't that what he said?
- Yes.
Let me try
and put this together.
Uh--
A developing fetus goes
through certain distinct--
A developing fetus goes through
certain distinct phases.
Each phase represents
a specific stage of evolution.
A human fetus,
for instance,
At one stage,
it's a fish.
It looks like a fish.
It's got fins and gills.
At another, it's amphibian--
Webbed hands;
At another, reptilian;
at another, it's feline--
Developing upward in the distinct shapes
and phases of the evolutionary scale.
If this chemical,
Methylmercury,
adheres to the DNA--
DNA's a chromosomal fixative--
Well, it could freeze
certain parts...
At one evolutionary stage,
while the other parts continue growing.
You follow?
- Yes.
- Um--
A pregnant animal
ingests the fish,
And it corrupts the fetus to the point
where it gives birth to a monster.
...corrupts the fetus to the point
where it gives birth to a monster.
How much fish
would it take for--
It concentrates
in the fetal blood cells.
- How much?
- Very little.
I'll need proof.
You're not sure?
Well, I've got to get
blood samples.
Our first priority
is these people.
How long...
before you'll know?
A week. Ten days.
Thank you.
Mike?
Mike Greenbriar.
- How old are you?
- Twenty-Eight.
What's going on here?
- There were more killings in the forest last night.
- Who was killed ?
A family up at Mary's Bend.
- What makes you think they
had anything to do with it? - They're guilty as hell.
I want the following people to step forward
as their names are read.
- John Hawks.
- where's the evidence?
The evidence is at the hospital.
It's in baskets.
Mr. Hawks,
you gonna step forward?
Well, Hawks,
you gonna step forward as instructed?
Stop!
Stop that man!
Let him go, charlie. We'll get him later.
Get these other opies.
I'm sorry, Mr. Vern.
Sorry, Mrs. Vern.
We just gotta do it.
Mary's Bend. Do you know
where it is?
Yeah.
I want to go there.
Just, uh, follow us
right to the car.
Okay?
- Where's the bend?
- Around that ridge.
There's an inlet.
Can we go down?
Just for a minute.
I don't like the look of that sky.
This is helicopter ray-Zebra-2-3-Yankee to base.
Breaking radio contact.
Do you copy?
I read you five-By-Five.
Stay in here
out of the rain.
We got about five or ten minutes
at the most!
Okay.
This way!
What's the matter?
Airsick?
A little.
Got just the thing.
Ammonia.
No.
You'd better take
just a whiff.
The way this weather looks, it's gonna be
a rough and bumpy ride going home.
Okay?
Ramona.
What could have
done this?
A bear, perhaps.
That deep?
That from a bear?
- No.
- What is it, then?
You know this forest.
What could it be?
John!
Boy,
I'm in here tight.
If this wind kicks up any higher,
I can't clear those trees.
Sure hope you and your friends
don't mind walking out of here.
You remember we talked
about those poachers?
See those nets
over there?
They string 'em across the river
and catch everything that comes down.
- Maggie!
- What is it?
There are two of them,
and one's alive.
We gotta
get this one warm.
Leave it here.
Let it die.
Let it die ?
Do you know what this is?
This is evidence.
This may be
the evidence...
That'll save your people
and this forest.
John,
get the other one.
Let's get outta here!
- No way!
- What do you mean?
You see
those trees?
That's 40 miles
an hour!
I gotta get someplace warm!
- So what do we do?
- Take shelter!
- How long?
- Two hours. Maybe less.
We don't have time! I gotta get
this thing back or it'll die!
What is that?
Never mind. Come on.
I warned you
when we put this thing down.
I can't do it!
Christ. How far
is your village?
Too far.
Ten miles.
- Is there someplace else?
- My grandfather.
- Tents?
- It's only half a mile.
I need someplace warm, where I can work
on this thing to keep it alive.
We can build fires inside.
We'll make it warm.
Let's go there.
There's no other choice.
Okay, let's go.
John! It's all right!
They're not here!
M'rai?
- Which one? - Go in that one.
Go in that one.
Get this inside!
We're gonna need some light in here.
Can we get some light?
The old man is gone.
They don't know where.
- Could you get me some more light in here?
- Here's a lantern.
Get this place warm.
I'll bring in some nembers.
Can these people help us?
They can send someone from the village.
I want people to see this.
Is there a newspaper in town?
- Yes.
- Get them here with a camera.
And people from that paper mill,
and that sheriff.
Not that sheriff.
I can't do that.
Hawks!
He'll see the truth here. And you have more
at stake in this truth than I have.
Please hurry. Can you get that lantern
above the table?
- Will it die?
- I don't know.
I hope to keep its heart beating
with a little adrenalin.
Do you want
some rags?
Yeah. Not too hot.
Not steaming.
Nothing down there
but dirt.
- Any supplies?
- Not any that I could see.
What I could use
is a sterile jar.
I've got a jar of vitamins
in my pack.
Look.
Can't you stop it ?
I don't dare sedate it.
- Here's the rag.
- That'll help.
Here's your jar.
Okay.
Maggie ?
Maggie.
Yes?
In my bag there's
some surgical tubing.
Come on.
I know it's
a nightmare, okay?
But it'll be over soon.
We'll get out of here
in the morning...
And go home tomorrow.
You know what that old man said about
this creature awakening to protect them?
In a strange way,
it's true.
This is gonna stop
what's going on.
People can't
ignore it anymore.
There's a reason--
There's a reason
it's happened.
There's a reason
why we're here.
I'm pregnant.
What?
I'm pregnant.
And I ate what the mother
of those creatures ate.
It's not a nightmare
that's gonna end.
It's just beginning
because it's inside me.
I'm pregnant.
It's the ugliest sound
I've ever heard.
Why didn't I know?
You didn't wanna know!
I tried to tell you,
but you wouldn't listen!
You were too busy playing god
to be a human being!
I thought having a baby...
Would bring us
closer together.
It's not a baby anymore.
- Maggie--
- No!
- We can take care of it.
- No!
I can't kill it!
I wanted a baby.
I know.
I know. We'll get through it.
We'll get through it.
It wants to be born.
Mr. Vern!
I feel it.
I'll stay in the tunnels
until they're gone.
Mr. Vern.
What's the meaning of this?
It's the answer,
Mr. Isely,
To some very...
Important questions.
This is the result of...
Methylmercury...
Spilling out of your plant.
My god.
Did you know?
Did you know?
I didn't want to.
- M'rai!
- Welcome.
Get into these tunnels!
The tunnels!
Get into these tunnels!
Hawks, the pilot's
barely alive.
We gotta
get him to town.
The town is too far.
It's 12 miles.
Our village
is closer.
He's in a coma. I can make a stretcher
to carry that pilot.
- Will there be a car in the village?
- No, but there's shelter.
- We can send for help.
- It'll take too long.
If we send someone
from the village,
By the time they get back,
we'll be looking at nightfall again.
What's the alternative?
Who knows when that thing
will come back?
What about
the helicopter radio?
No, that doesn't work
unless it's up in the air.
There's a
microwave tower.
It's on the top
of Mt. Emery.
- Controls all communication
in this area. - How far is that?
Six, seven miles,
maybe.
We can't walk six miles through the forest
not knowing where that thing is.
I can.
You go to the village.
I'll go there.
If I can make contact,
You'll be out of here
by nightfall.
Now, let me--
Let me do this, now.
Where did they go?
They've taken everything.
Where can we put him?
Let's take him inside.
I think we'd better
try for town.
He's delirious. I don't wanna
spend the night here.
Listen, three-quarters
of a mile from here,
Where they cut the trees,
they left a carrier.
Carrier?
It's like a tank.
It's used for moving equipment.
It'll go through anything. Will it run?
There are tools in the cabin. I'm gonna
cross the wires. How long to get to town?
Three hours, maybe four.
It'll be night by then.
It'll be night here too.
But we have shelter here.
This isn't
shelter enough.
Let's go.
Come up here.
The cabin!
Maggie!
Katahdin.
Katahdin!
No!
It's coming.
It's drowned.
It's drowned.
It's drowned!
It's drowned!
It's drowned.
It's drowned.
It's dr--
It's drowned.
It's drowned.
It's dr--
Let's barricade this place!
Maggie, light!
Christ!
What happened?
Christ, I couldn't
find the release!
I never seen 'em do that before. Whatever
they're after must be down in that gully.
If it's down there,
must be a dead man!
They don't pull like that
for no dead man!
Hey! Lon! Lon,
give us a hand!
He's gone.
I didn't hear him hit.
Let's go down
after him.
Jim?
Hey, Bill!
John, save the left stage booms.
Thank you.
I don't know why you
don't just tell him.
Because I know
what he'll say.
The world's a mess. It's unfair
to bring a child into it.
That there are
three million unwanted children.
But the fact is, Maggie,
you're pregnant,
And it's your body,
and it's your choice.
And if what you wanna do
is make a beautiful baby,
Then nobody,
including a cynical husband,
Has the right
to stand in your way.
He's not cynical.
Obsessed.
De's dedicated.
Dedicated, obsessed.
Call it what you like.
But if you get talked into an abortion
you don't want, you'll never forgive yourself.
Why don't you get it over with?
Go home and tell him.
I need to pick
the right time.
...must speak in a single voice.
They will listen!
We have heard that
the Indian must fight to keep what is his,
And that time
has come again.
We will fight
to keep our forests!
Hey, can I
carry your bag?
- Right up there, sir.
- Okay.
- Take this for me and show me where, will ya?
- All right.
Okay, thanks.
This way, please.
Okay.
It's all right.
Gonna be all right.
I showed it
to the man.
He say
it was chicken pox.
I say to him,
"there's rats in here."
He said, "this is
chicken pox."
I said to him,
"ain't no chickens in here.
There's rats in here,
and them rats bit my baby."
You know what
he said to me?
He said,
"The rats got to have
room to live too."
Does he live in this building,
your landlord?
No, sir.
He lives in Georgetown.
He lives with the rich rats
up there.
I'm gonna have to put
your baby in a hospital,
And I'm gonna be
in touch with your landlord.
How about puttin' the landlord
in the hospital?
That's what
I'd like to do.
So would I. But let's take care
of your baby first, okay?
- Rob?
- Vic, what are you doing here?
Lookin' for you.
Will you ride back with me?
Yeah, uh--
Take him to emergency.
You really looked tired.
Oh, yeah?
The hours getting to you?
It's not the hours.
It's the damn futility.
God.
You know, I'll write a report here
that no one will read.
I'll file a lawsuit against a landlord
that'll be settled out of court.
Send that baby
to the hospital...
So he can come back here
and be eaten by rats again.
Feel like
I'm banging my head up against a wall.
I don't think
anybody's listening.
You wanna know
something?
If I could've planned
your side of this conversation,
I couldn't have
done it better.
Remember that hearing Iasked you to come to
this morning ?
Sorry. Sorry.
It was the bureau of Indian affairs.
They're listening to the complaints
of a couple of tribes from Maine.
They're about to get squeezed
the way the people in these tenements are.
Like these people are?
Are you crazy, Vic?
I saw the demonstrators
this morning. Listen to me.
This paper company--
Pitney Mills paper company--
Bought the timber rights
to 100,000 acres of forest in Maine.
The Indians claim
the land is theirs,
And they blockaded
access to the forest, keeping the lumberjacks out.
The Supreme Court's
filed a restraining order against the blockade.
Everybody's ready
to kill each other, and the whole thing is holding...
For an environmental
protection report.
What does the environmental
protection agency have to do with a land dispute?
Nobody wants to rule
on the legalities of who owns the land.
So they're trying to break the deadlock
on environmental grounds.
If we file a negative report,
the lumber company won't have much reason to proceed.
File a positive report, the Indians will probably
have to give way.
Another political football?
If you're looking for a job that's got permanent impact,
this is the one.
You're gonna set a precedent
that'll be very hard to break.
Vic, it's not my game. I'm strictly a rat bite
and gas leak man.
I can teach you
what you need to know.
I can give you the books
to take with you.
I'm in public health.
I'm a doctor.
And you know how to deal
with human beings.
The Indians are angry,
and so is the lumber company.
If we don't get full cooperation
from both of them,
We're gonna have trouble getting enough information
for a thorough report.
I got all
the tree experts I need.
I need someone who can--
Who can deal with people.
Come on, come on. It's two weeks
of your time.
Take Maggie along.
It'll be good for both of you to get away.
It's beautiful.
It's so peaceful.
I'd forgotten the world
could look like this.
Maybe that's one of our problems.
We can't see the forest for the trees.
It's a joke.
Here, get that.
- Goin' camping?
- Well, not exactly.
We're gonna be in a cabin.
We're gonna be outside.
- By a river.
- Hey, great.
It's gonna take three days
to walk down there.
Sounds hard.
Yeah, but that's the fun.
- What is that?
- Look!
That's the damnedest thing I've ever seen!
What do you think it's doing?
Beats me.
Mr. Vern.
Bethel Isely,
pitney lumber company.
How do you do?
- Have a nice flight?
- Indeed. My wife, maggie.
- Mr. Isely. - Welcome to the state
of Maine, Mrs. Vern.
Kelso! I got a car for ya,
like your office wanted.
- Somebody to drive it so you can
ride up to the lake with me. - Fine.
That a--
That a rogeri?
Montangna.
You know cellos.
Well, I know wood.
That's got a balsam back and a spruce belly
and a maple bridge.
There's three different kinds of trees in there.
Very impressive.
I can't carry a tune in a bucket, though.
Hollis!
Excuse me. Here you go. Biggest
fiddle you ever saw.
- Yes, sir.
- What's that dog doing up in the air?
That's what's left of our
search and rescue team.
- Secure that well!
- Beg your pardon? I don't quite understand.
Couple of men got lost
up in the mountains.
Men from our company,
as a matter of fact.
Lumberjacks. I sent up a search team
from Androscoggin to go lookin' for 'em.
Couple of days later, one of the search dogs
shows up at a ranger station.
No sign of the people
who brought her in there.
What do you suppose
happened to them?
Well, I guess
they got lost too.
Rescue team?
Is that possible?
Look. I'll be
truthful with you.
- This particular forest isn't safe right now.
- Why's that?
Excuse me, Rob. We'd like
to tie your bag.
That's okay.
Well, the Indians, they're angry in there.
They're trying to keep the lumber company out
any way they can.
People start disappearing,
and the Indians spread the word...
That they were
taken by Katahdin.
That's one of their legends.
They call it Katahdin.
It's sort of a bigfoot, I guess,
only it's uglier.
Yeah, it's larger than a drago
and got the eyes of a cat.
Yeah, they've thrown in
everything but the kitchen sink.
Oh, uh, yes, my wife put together
a box of groceries for you.
Thank you. I saw that. I guess you're gonna have
everything you're gonna need.
- You follow me in there, Kelso.
- Right, sir.
You see, the idea of this legend is
to frighten the lumberjacks out.
They're almost as superstitious
as the opies.
- Opies?
- O.P. O.P.'S. Original people.
Yeah, that's what
they call themselves now.
The Ashinabegs,
Passamaquoddy,
Wampanoags
and the Yuroks,
They all joined together,
called themselves the opies.
Mr. Vern. What about those people,
the ones who disappeared?
Well, I'll tell ya
something.
If you'd asked me, Iwouldn't have sent
a search team in there.
- I'd have sent a posse.
- Why is that? You think the indians did it?
No doubt in my mind.
There's a general store
and post office...
And laundromat,
Mrs. Vern.
Keep your money
in that bank there, if you wanna.
You know, all that stuff
about the paper companies ruining the forests,
That's pure myth.
We've been running a pulp operation on the upper espee
here for 20 years now.
We plant seedlings
every time we harvest.
That land is more stable today
than it was when God himself made it.
Well, to give him his due,
he didn't have modern science to help him.
He didn't have hydroponics
and silviculture techniques.
I'd say he did pretty well
under the circumstances.
What with
his limited education.
Yeah.
What's this?
Mr. Hawks.
These people are from
the environmental
protection agency.
I'd appreciate
bein' let through.
No car from the lumber company
gets through here.
This is against
the law, John.
The law has not
brought justice.
The Supreme Court has issued
a restraining order against this blockade.
And which Supreme Court
is that, Mr. Isely?
The Supreme Court
of the United States.
Yes, we've tried
that Supreme Court.
Now we're going
to one that's higher.
You a part of this,
Ramona?
By birth, Mr. Isely.
Can we walk in?
It's ten miles.
Is there another road?
No, Mrs. Vern,
there isn't.
John, tell your people
get out of the way.
Kelso!
Cut down those
two trees, please.
Mr. Isely--
I don't get the point.
Nobody's going
to get hurt.
The point is
not to be intimidated.
Cut 'em down.
- Don't let this happen!
- Are you gonna stand aside, Hawks ?
I'm gonna tell you
right now!
You cut my head off
before you cut these trees!
Oh, come on!
Take 'em down!
Wait a minute.
Wait a minute!
Stop it!
Stop it, please!
Make him
stop it!
- Open the chain, John.
- I won't open it!
Open it, goddamn it! What does this prove,
anyway? That they're murderers.
It doesn't prove a damn thing!
Now open it!
No!
Open it!
Don't!
These are violent people, Mr. Vern.
They get drunk and they get violent.
You gotta show 'em
when you mean business.
Ii swear, Maggie, that must
have been a world's record.
I've never heard
of such a big salmon.
Well, this is the land
of Paul Bunyan and his giant ox, babe.
- Was that Maine?
- Sure was.
Well, there might be something to it.
That fish was a giant.
Maybe you'll go home
with a trophy.
I can't get over it.
God knows what would happen
if I hooked into it.
Hmm. Taste this.
Aphrodisia.
You think you could catch any more?
Are you kidding ?
I'm one of the world's great fishermen.
Well, you fish,
and I'll eat.
Now that's
a relationship.
Do you wanna know
something?
I was so proud
of you today.
That made the ghetto seem suddenly
very peaceful to me.
You know something else?
I was jealous of that Indian woman.
She had so much courage-- To be so strong
when she was frightened--
To demand her own way.
It's a kind of courage
I don't have much of.
I don't know about that.
I think it takes a lot of courage to put up with me.
I love you.
I love you so much, I wish there were
more of you.
Well, I could easily
put on 20 pounds.
I mean, I wish
there were more of us.
I'm sorry.
It's something
I want to discuss.
- Now?
- Why not now? Everything's so perfect.
You know how I feel.
When I was a child, my mother told me I had to
eat everything on my plate...
Because there were
starving children in the world.
It didn't make any sense to me.
Now you tell me
I mustn't get pregnant...
Because there are starving children in the world,
and that doesn't make sense to me either.
It does to me.
You're afraid, aren't you?
I don't know.
I don't know about
a lot of things anymore.
I feel like...
I've been going around and around a racetrack
at a hundred miles an hour.
And I wound up
where I started.
No one else was in the race.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
What's wrong, dad?
- Turn that thing off. - But you said
I could play it for another ten minutes.
Just turn it off.
What is it?
- Nothing.
- Can I turn it on again?
Yeah.
The soil's a clay base.
I'm sending samples on tomorrow.
Yeah. Oh, listen, Vic.
I'm including a couple of
tissue samples from the raccoon.
Check 'em out for me, will you?
No, I examined 'em, but--
No, it wasn't rabies.
I don't know what it is,
but there's definitely something wrong.
Yeah. Okay.
Yeah, you should be.
Oh, she's fine.
Talk to you tuesday.
Mr. Vern.
- My name is John Hawks.
- I remember.
I'd like you to come with us,
if you would.
- What for?
- I want to speak with you.
Right here will be fine.
Are you afraid of us?
Somewhat.
- Because of what you've heard? - No, it's not
what I've heard, but what I've seen.
You've heard we're drunks,
we're violent,
And that we're murderers.
That's what they're saying
about us in Washington,
Because they're discounting
our rights with these lies.
I can understand
how you must feel,
- But my work here has nothing to do--
- Are you deaf?
Like the rest?
I'm a fairly well-educated
person, Mr. Vern.
I was educated
at your schools.
I studied your laws,
I perfected your language.
Of course, your laws have
never really applied to us, but, um,
Your language, it seems to have been wasted
in the Indian's mouth,
Because, uh,
well, you refuse to hear.
- Why is it you refuse to hear?
- Oh, I can hear.
But I can also see. You seem surprised
that people think you're violent.
- The violence is always provoked.
- By whom?
- It was necessary.
- It was suicidal.
Tell me, uh,
for what you believe in,
You willing to die?
Look. I'm here to study
the environment.
What's your concept of the environment?
Is it rocks?
- Oh, come on!
- The environment is us.
And it's being mangled.
I'm gonna make something
clear to you.
My people
are violently ill.
They're beginning
to lose their faculties.
They stagger
and they fall,
And this has nothing to do with alcohol,
as these villagers claim.
My people are fishermen.
Their lives are clean.
I'm a midwife, and I've seen
children born dead, born deformed.
So badly, some have
had to be put to death.
Three times we have been
to the government,
And three times
they've turned us away.
You see, the end of this forest
is the end of my people.
Don't talk about the environment
as though it had nothing to do with us.
These people want us
to go with them.
They... have some things
they want to show us.
I think we should go.
- Is this your village?
- No.
This is the home
of Hector M'rai.
- My grandfather. -It's the last remnant
of how my people once lived.
I wanted you
to see this before you...
See what we've become.
My grandfather built this place,
and to him it's very sacred.
These are the people
from the government.
- How many?
- Well, there are two of us, sir.
Is that enough?
Well, we're, uh,
working very hard.
That good.
- Your home is very beautiful.
- Thank you.
Don't mistake
these tents for his home.
His home is
this whole forest.
Just three days ago
I was visiting a place...
Where there were 11 people
living in a single room.
- Oh, yes ?
- I just thought you should know.
What, that we are
asking too much?
That there are people in this world
fighting for a single inch of living space.
Yes, because they
fought too late.
This camp is
as the old people did it.
I'm teaching these
young people...
So that someone here
will remember.
There are underground tunnels
beneath the frost line...
To store perishables.
The forest
provides more food...
Than a man
could possibly need.
Here, everything
grows big.
Real big.
Well, I saw a salmon
that, uh, took my breath away.
Itisthe garden of eden.
I've let no one come here.
You are
the first to see it.
It's magical.
We were once
a magical people.
It's true. When I was a child,
every rock, every tree had a story.
The whole forest was
filled with legends.
- We heard about one of them.
- Yes?
Uh, "katydah" something.
- Katahdin.
- Katahdin is no legend.
My grandfather is the oldest person
in our tribe.
It's his duty
to foster these beliefs.
- I have seen him.
- And what does he look like?
He is part
of all things created,
And he bears a mark
of each of God's creatures.
You say that
with great affection.
He has wakened
to protect us.
Why are these logs
in here?
They come twice each year.
Then they disappear.
What is that?
He says he will show you why
he calls it the Garden of Eden.
Rob.
What's wrong?
- These are feeder roots.
They should be underground. - Here.
- It's a tadpole.
- I told you things grow big here.
- You've seen this before?
- No.
No one has seen them.
They're only in this pond.
What does this pond
feed into?
The Espee river.
That's where
the paper mill is.
This is the flume.
All the wood that's unfit
for lumberyards...
Is cut into sections, fed down this channel
into the grinding machines.
It's a very simple process
in a very conventional industry.
We even use stone grinders
to turn the logs into pulp.
Oh, let me give you a hand here,
Mrs. Vern.
Once here,
the pulp is bleached.
With the exception of grocery bags,
nobody likes paper that isn't white.
- What do you use to bleach it with?
- Chlorine.
But it stays right here
in the plant.
- None of it goes out into the water?
- No, sir, not a drop.
I'd like to see more.
This way.
- You all right?
- I'm fine.
You see now, when the pulp
gets down here,
It's pressed into sheets
and dried into paper.
You feel all right ?
You best stand over here, Mrs. Vern.
That sheet's traveling
3,000 feet a minute.
Now, you see,
the pulp is fibrous.
When it's dry, those fibers interconnect,
forming a solid.
And the only chemical
you use in this plant is chlorine ?
Yes. Oh, no.
Excuse me.
There's a caustic solution
that's used in the grinding process,
But it's biodegradable, approved by the E.P.A.,
and it doesn't go into the watershed.
Well, I guess
that's it, Mrs. Vern.
- Thank you.
- Well, clean as a whistle, huh?
Thank you, sir.
- Tell me something.
- Yeah.
What happens to the trees
before they get here?
They get floated down the river
to the plant here.
That's it? You don't
hold them anywhere?
- Yeah, if we get stacked up.
- Where do you hold them?
- Oh, various places.
- Ponds?
- You hold 'em in ponds?
- Probably. Softens 'em up to soak 'em.
Do you, uh, soak them
in chemicals?
Well, you're gettin'
out of my area here.
Transport's handled
by a private contractor.
- I asked you a question.
- Well, I'm answerin' your question.
You're responsible for whatever effluent
goes out of this plant.
You hire the contractors,
you sell the product.
- You're accountable for whatever goes on here.
- Rob, stop it.
Now just--
H-How many pages in this report
you're gonna write?
- I asked you a question.
- Now let me ask you a question.
How many pages, a hundred?
How many copies? A thousand, maybe?
I wanna know what chemicals
you're using.
We're talking about a hundred thousand pieces
of paper just for your report.
Am I far off? Huh?
And h-How many sheets of paper are in all those
filing cabinets in Washington?
- You're not answering me.
- I am answering you!
Now, I supply
what you demand.
You're responsible too.
Unless you want to start fillin'
your filing cabinets with rocks...
And wipin' your nose
with cactus--
- I wanna know what you soak the logs in.
- What chemical? None.
- I don't believe that!
- Then you take water samples. That's what we do.
Yes, sir. Now, look. If those logs were
soaked in chemicals,
It would squeeze out
in the pulpin' process...
Right into the watershed
in front of this plant.
Now, we test that water
every ten days,
And there's not a damn thing floating out there
that we don't know about...
Or anything that's harmful
to the environment.
- Now, excuse me, Mrs. Vern.
- That's okay.
Go on! Go test the water!
We got nothing to hide!
Let it down.
Take it in there.
I told you
to watch the time.
Yeah.
You okay? Hold the boat.
Let's get 'em in there.
Get 'em outta here.
Sorry about that. I didn't... realize.
We tried to tell ya.
I know you did. It's my fault.
Okay, let's go, boys.
Move it out.
- I believe him.
- Why?
Why would he have offered
to let you test the water?
Maybe it wasn't
in the water.
- Huh?
- Maybe it's heavier than water.
That silvery stuff
on your boot.
Is it dry?
Yes.
They gave us a trick question
in medical school.
"What's the only liquid
in the world that isn't wet?"
What was the answer?
Mercury.
"Inorganic methylmercury
known as pmt.
"Used as a de-Sliming agent that collects algae
and prevents it from forming...
"On preprocessed timber.
"Its widespread use
discontinued in 1956...
"When evidence
of its fatal effects...
Were seen in the deaths of 100,000 people
in Minamata, Japan."
Goddamn.
Rob,
what is it?
It's methylmercury poisoning,
that's what it is.
This whole place
has been contaminated.
How do you know?
The Indians
eat the fish,
And they behave like they're drunk
when they haven't had a drop of liquor.
That raccoon convulsing and turning vicious,
its brain turned to mush.
Even that old man, that Indian.
You saw the burns on his fingers.
Is that from mercury?
It's from cigarettes. The reason
he didn't feel it is from mercury.
You see, it acts
on the nervous system.
It destroys the brain.
Why are they using it?
Why?
Listen to this.
"...Described as the most potent neurotoxin
of the post-World War II age,
Listen.
"Used from 1948 to 1956...
In pulping processes
as a cheap and effective caustic agent--"
That's why they use it.
Because it's cheap!
"...From forming
on waterlogged timber.
"It is also known for
its mutagenic properties,
"Concentrating in the bodies of fish
and plankton-Eating crustacea,
Affecting the fetal development
of everything that ingests it."
For 20 years it's been
pouring into this water.
- "The ratio of toxin to blood level--"
- It's in the fish, is that it?
And everything
that eats the fish.
"It was discovered
after extensive testing...
"That it is the only mutagen that
jumps the placental barrier,
"Concentrating in fetal blood cells,
where it adheres to the DNA...
And corrupts
the chromosomes."
"The ratio of toxin
to blood level...
Is 30 percent higher in the developing fetus
than in the host."
"It was discovered
after extensive testing...
"That it is the only mutagen that
jumps the placental barrier,
"Concentrating
in fetal blood cells,
Where it adheres to the DNA
and corrupts the chromosomes."
- "Jumps the placental barrier." What does that mean?
- It's a mutagen.
A mutagen.
What is that?
"Freakism"! Freakism. That's what's been
going on out there.
That's why there's a goddamn salmon
five feet long...
And a tadpole the size of what
a bullfrog should be.
And stillbirths.
What?
That's what
that Indian woman said.
And deformed children.
God knows what else has been
going on out there.
So, if a pregnant animal
ate some fish, it could--
Yes.
My God.
Is it possible?
Yes.
The size of a dragon.
What?
The size of a dragon. Isn't that
what Isely said at the airport ?
And something about cat's eyes.
And the old man, the Indian.
Didn't he describe
that creature as being...
A part of everything
in God's creation?
- Isn't that what he said?
- Yes.
Let me try
and put this together.
Uh--
A developing fetus goes
through certain distinct--
A developing fetus goes through
certain distinct phases.
Each phase represents
a specific stage of evolution.
A human fetus,
for instance,
At one stage,
it's a fish.
It looks like a fish.
It's got fins and gills.
At another, it's amphibian--
Webbed hands;
At another, reptilian;
at another, it's feline--
Developing upward in the distinct shapes
and phases of the evolutionary scale.
If this chemical,
Methylmercury,
adheres to the DNA--
DNA's a chromosomal fixative--
Well, it could freeze
certain parts...
At one evolutionary stage,
while the other parts continue growing.
You follow?
- Yes.
- Um--
A pregnant animal
ingests the fish,
And it corrupts the fetus to the point
where it gives birth to a monster.
...corrupts the fetus to the point
where it gives birth to a monster.
How much fish
would it take for--
It concentrates
in the fetal blood cells.
- How much?
- Very little.
I'll need proof.
You're not sure?
Well, I've got to get
blood samples.
Our first priority
is these people.
How long...
before you'll know?
A week. Ten days.
Thank you.
Mike?
Mike Greenbriar.
- How old are you?
- Twenty-Eight.
What's going on here?
- There were more killings in the forest last night.
- Who was killed ?
A family up at Mary's Bend.
- What makes you think they
had anything to do with it? - They're guilty as hell.
I want the following people to step forward
as their names are read.
- John Hawks.
- where's the evidence?
The evidence is at the hospital.
It's in baskets.
Mr. Hawks,
you gonna step forward?
Well, Hawks,
you gonna step forward as instructed?
Stop!
Stop that man!
Let him go, charlie. We'll get him later.
Get these other opies.
I'm sorry, Mr. Vern.
Sorry, Mrs. Vern.
We just gotta do it.
Mary's Bend. Do you know
where it is?
Yeah.
I want to go there.
Just, uh, follow us
right to the car.
Okay?
- Where's the bend?
- Around that ridge.
There's an inlet.
Can we go down?
Just for a minute.
I don't like the look of that sky.
This is helicopter ray-Zebra-2-3-Yankee to base.
Breaking radio contact.
Do you copy?
I read you five-By-Five.
Stay in here
out of the rain.
We got about five or ten minutes
at the most!
Okay.
This way!
What's the matter?
Airsick?
A little.
Got just the thing.
Ammonia.
No.
You'd better take
just a whiff.
The way this weather looks, it's gonna be
a rough and bumpy ride going home.
Okay?
Ramona.
What could have
done this?
A bear, perhaps.
That deep?
That from a bear?
- No.
- What is it, then?
You know this forest.
What could it be?
John!
Boy,
I'm in here tight.
If this wind kicks up any higher,
I can't clear those trees.
Sure hope you and your friends
don't mind walking out of here.
You remember we talked
about those poachers?
See those nets
over there?
They string 'em across the river
and catch everything that comes down.
- Maggie!
- What is it?
There are two of them,
and one's alive.
We gotta
get this one warm.
Leave it here.
Let it die.
Let it die ?
Do you know what this is?
This is evidence.
This may be
the evidence...
That'll save your people
and this forest.
John,
get the other one.
Let's get outta here!
- No way!
- What do you mean?
You see
those trees?
That's 40 miles
an hour!
I gotta get someplace warm!
- So what do we do?
- Take shelter!
- How long?
- Two hours. Maybe less.
We don't have time! I gotta get
this thing back or it'll die!
What is that?
Never mind. Come on.
I warned you
when we put this thing down.
I can't do it!
Christ. How far
is your village?
Too far.
Ten miles.
- Is there someplace else?
- My grandfather.
- Tents?
- It's only half a mile.
I need someplace warm, where I can work
on this thing to keep it alive.
We can build fires inside.
We'll make it warm.
Let's go there.
There's no other choice.
Okay, let's go.
John! It's all right!
They're not here!
M'rai?
- Which one? - Go in that one.
Go in that one.
Get this inside!
We're gonna need some light in here.
Can we get some light?
The old man is gone.
They don't know where.
- Could you get me some more light in here?
- Here's a lantern.
Get this place warm.
I'll bring in some nembers.
Can these people help us?
They can send someone from the village.
I want people to see this.
Is there a newspaper in town?
- Yes.
- Get them here with a camera.
And people from that paper mill,
and that sheriff.
Not that sheriff.
I can't do that.
Hawks!
He'll see the truth here. And you have more
at stake in this truth than I have.
Please hurry. Can you get that lantern
above the table?
- Will it die?
- I don't know.
I hope to keep its heart beating
with a little adrenalin.
Do you want
some rags?
Yeah. Not too hot.
Not steaming.
Nothing down there
but dirt.
- Any supplies?
- Not any that I could see.
What I could use
is a sterile jar.
I've got a jar of vitamins
in my pack.
Look.
Can't you stop it ?
I don't dare sedate it.
- Here's the rag.
- That'll help.
Here's your jar.
Okay.
Maggie ?
Maggie.
Yes?
In my bag there's
some surgical tubing.
Come on.
I know it's
a nightmare, okay?
But it'll be over soon.
We'll get out of here
in the morning...
And go home tomorrow.
You know what that old man said about
this creature awakening to protect them?
In a strange way,
it's true.
This is gonna stop
what's going on.
People can't
ignore it anymore.
There's a reason--
There's a reason
it's happened.
There's a reason
why we're here.
I'm pregnant.
What?
I'm pregnant.
And I ate what the mother
of those creatures ate.
It's not a nightmare
that's gonna end.
It's just beginning
because it's inside me.
I'm pregnant.
It's the ugliest sound
I've ever heard.
Why didn't I know?
You didn't wanna know!
I tried to tell you,
but you wouldn't listen!
You were too busy playing god
to be a human being!
I thought having a baby...
Would bring us
closer together.
It's not a baby anymore.
- Maggie--
- No!
- We can take care of it.
- No!
I can't kill it!
I wanted a baby.
I know.
I know. We'll get through it.
We'll get through it.
It wants to be born.
Mr. Vern!
I feel it.
I'll stay in the tunnels
until they're gone.
Mr. Vern.
What's the meaning of this?
It's the answer,
Mr. Isely,
To some very...
Important questions.
This is the result of...
Methylmercury...
Spilling out of your plant.
My god.
Did you know?
Did you know?
I didn't want to.
- M'rai!
- Welcome.
Get into these tunnels!
The tunnels!
Get into these tunnels!
Hawks, the pilot's
barely alive.
We gotta
get him to town.
The town is too far.
It's 12 miles.
Our village
is closer.
He's in a coma. I can make a stretcher
to carry that pilot.
- Will there be a car in the village?
- No, but there's shelter.
- We can send for help.
- It'll take too long.
If we send someone
from the village,
By the time they get back,
we'll be looking at nightfall again.
What's the alternative?
Who knows when that thing
will come back?
What about
the helicopter radio?
No, that doesn't work
unless it's up in the air.
There's a
microwave tower.
It's on the top
of Mt. Emery.
- Controls all communication
in this area. - How far is that?
Six, seven miles,
maybe.
We can't walk six miles through the forest
not knowing where that thing is.
I can.
You go to the village.
I'll go there.
If I can make contact,
You'll be out of here
by nightfall.
Now, let me--
Let me do this, now.
Where did they go?
They've taken everything.
Where can we put him?
Let's take him inside.
I think we'd better
try for town.
He's delirious. I don't wanna
spend the night here.
Listen, three-quarters
of a mile from here,
Where they cut the trees,
they left a carrier.
Carrier?
It's like a tank.
It's used for moving equipment.
It'll go through anything. Will it run?
There are tools in the cabin. I'm gonna
cross the wires. How long to get to town?
Three hours, maybe four.
It'll be night by then.
It'll be night here too.
But we have shelter here.
This isn't
shelter enough.
Let's go.
Come up here.
The cabin!
Maggie!
Katahdin.
Katahdin!
No!
It's coming.
It's drowned.
It's drowned.
It's drowned!
It's drowned!
It's drowned.
It's drowned.
It's dr--
It's drowned.
It's drowned.
It's dr--
Let's barricade this place!
Maggie, light!
Christ!