Apparition, The (2012) Movie Script

Shit.
Okay. Humidity levels are good.
Still need thermal and infrared, though.
Where are those guys?
Cut it out.
Day one of our experiment into the limit
of anomalistic psychology.
We're attempting our own high-tech
version of the Charles Experiment.
Unlike the scientific sance
from the 1970s...
...our goal is to manifest the spirit
into our world.
- Where'd you get that?
- I made it up in Engineering.
I thought a 3D representation of Charles
would help us focus our focus.
If we pull this off,
we'll prove that ghosts, entities...
...and the supernatural do exist...
...with mass iteration of channeled,
intentional belief.
You think EEG amps and
headbands will make a difference?
Yes.
Instead of just you, me, and Lydia,
it'll be like there's 500 of us.
Stop talking, Greg. Concentrate.
- Whoa.
- Give me a break. You kicked the table.
I did not, I swear.
- Did you get that?
- Yeah, he got it. Now shut up.
Patrick.
Holy shit!
- Oh, my God.
- Oh, shit.
Lydia! Lydia! Come on!
Shit.
- What is that?
- Where's the flashlight?
What the hell is that? Aah! Patrick!
- Lydia!
- Lydia?
- Aah!
- Lydia!
Hi.
Now no biting.
Hey, you.
Is your car out of the shop yet?
Of course not.
You think you can rescue me again?
Why not?
Kind of like being the hero. I love you.
Me too.
Let's try to get it right this time.
Uh, no problem.
Hey, stranger.
You hungry?
It depends what you're in the mood for.
The last four days we've covered
China, India, Vietnam...
...Ethiopia.
Okay. You choose.
What exotic land
do you wanna visit tonight?
Can we go to Costco after this?
I wanna get a giant saguaro
for the front yard.
What the hell is a saguaro?
It's a cactus.
You think they even have them?
Mm. I mean, you would think so.
You don't think so?
How are you gonna fit a giant saguaro
in the back of your car?
What was that for?
You get happy and be nice.
- I had a bad day at work, all right?
- So?
Get over it.
Would you quit it?
Okay.
So I guess I'm buying you a cactus.
I could always work here
if things don't work out.
Oh, stop it.
You can do that techie thing for a while.
It's not gonna kill you.
At least you're not picking up dog poop.
Hey, look.
What do we need that for?
Could come in handy.
We'll use it once,
then it's gonna end up in the garage.
You can't have a problem with this.
It's cute, it's cheap,
super low-maintenance.
Just like you.
Hmm. Look where we are.
Not the camping thing again. I...
Before my dad first took me,
I thought I'd hate it.
I like the outdoors, but sleeping
in a tent on the ground...
Who said anything about sleeping?
When you were a little girl, I bet your
dream was to live in Palmdale, wasn't it?
Of course.
Abandoned neighborhoods,
vacant strip malls...
...empty desert for miles
in every direction.
What girl doesn't dream about that?
- Who was that?
- Work.
- Hi, neighbors.
- Hey.
How's the unpacking going?
Well, we're getting there, sort of.
Hey, Pepper. Come on, girl. Pepper.
Watch out for this one.
She likes to roam.
How are you, Miss Maggie?
Good.
- This is my boyfriend, Ben.
- Good to meet you, Ben.
- Hi.
- Hello.
- See you guys soon?
- Yeah, see you soon.
All right, come on.
When did you find time to start
the welcoming committee?
Well, it wasn't that hard,
considering they're our only neighbors.
Hey, Mom.
Um, I'm watching your video right now.
- Uh-huh.
- Damn it! Where is it?
That was Ben. He can't find something.
Yes, Mom, were excellent tenants.
We're taking good care
of your investment home.
Your parents should be happy
they found renters...
...especially responsible ones like us.
We're still settling in...
...but I got new curtains for the bedroom
and I ordered a...
Oh, son of a bitch!
You know what, I gotta go.
Give Dad a kiss?
Okay. I love you too.
My cactus. It's dead.
So we'll return it.
No, it cost four dollars and we'd spend
twice that much just taking it back.
Fight!
I am schooling you right now.
- It ain't over yet.
- Stop.
Stop.
- K.O.!
- Ugh!
Yes! Ha, ha.
Ugh! I need a beer.
Why don't you get me one? Loser.
Armed.
Did you burn something?
Oh, right, because I cook so often.
But you noticed it...
...you clean it.
Thank you.
Ben.
Ben.
- Wake up.
- What?
- Let me fall asleep? I missed the ending.
- Shh.
What's the matter?
Why are the doors open?
I don't know.
Did you set the alarm?
You watched me set it.
I'm gonna look around.
I'm calling the security company.
Okay.
Good night. Thanks again.
No sign of forced entry.
The alarm's working fine.
They said some kids have been
messing around the empty homes.
It's probably just a stupid prank.
We're changing the locks.
- Up, sleepyhead. Come on, I need the sheets.
- Oh...
- Kelly. Come here. Come here.
- Ha, ha.
What time is it?
Nine. The hardware store opens at eight.
New deadbolts, remember?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Did you get any sleep?
A little.
We're out of toothpaste.
Yeah, we need a lot of things.
You know what, can you make a...
What?
What?
Finish your sentence.
Oh, a list.
What's shaking?
Ah, just installing some
new security cameras.
All the locks are changed too.
You're pretty great, you know that?
You finally noticed?
- I really tweaked my back.
- Okay. All right, Dr. Mason.
Hey, don't jinx me. I'm not a vet yet.
You will be.
Now, if you can lose this top,
we can get started.
Ah, take a look. We have a visitor.
Pepper, come.
Pepper!
Pepper!
Let's go.
What could've happened to her?
Oh, my God, she's barely breathing.
Let's get her some help.
Mike, I'm so sorry.
We tried to help her, but...
I appreciate everything you've done.
There's nothing more you can do.
Look at this.
The linoleum's cracked.
Watch out for spiders.
Thanks.
What the hell?
Ben?
Ben?
Ben?
Did you find anyone?
So far, none of the mold inspectors
can come by for at least a week.
Great. I'm gonna wash up.
You wanna go first?
I'm gonna keep searching.
We're attempting
to contain and entrap the entity...
...we manifested a few years ago.
This is where our experiment
will be happening.
We'll use these devices to detect our
entity when he makes his appearance.
The four of us will be
wearing these headsets.
They'll capture our belief
and channel it into here.
Utilizing our equipment, I'm going to
amplify the brainwaves of the participants.
There'll be four people
sitting around the table...
...but this will make it seem like
four thousand.
And all of this concentrated energy
will be focused into there.
My modern and altered version of
a psychomanteum, or apparition chamber.
The electric current acts as an amplifier
as it runs through the cages.
Entities manifest themselves
through energy.
The greater the energy,
the greater the chance of manifestation.
We miscalculated the first time...
...but now we'll be able to trap the spirit
within the psychomanteum.
Greg!
Greg? Greg? Greg, where are you?
Greg! Greg!
Our effort to entrap it has failed.
I'm not sure what we've done,
but something came through.
We've brought it into our world.
Now it's loose. It's free.
We should never have done this.
Ben?
Yeah?
What?
Ben, maybe we should
just call the cops.
Where are you going?
We can't just abandon our house.
- Yes, we can!
- You're not even dressed!
There is no way I'm staying
in this house tonight!
If it were a person, we would have seen
them come in on the security cameras.
I must have left a blind spot.
Why aren't we saying
what we're both thinking?
Kel. Our house is too new to be haunted.
It has no history.
Those hangers. What could do that?
And those voices.
There's gotta be an explanation.
Hey, at least you finally got me camping.
Promise you'll stay awake?
Promise.
All night?
All night.
Hey! Listen.
I know last night was rough.
Everything is gonna be okay.
Houses make weird noises.
Maybe some animal got inside.
I'm gonna stay home today, I'll clean up...
...call someone to check out the closet.
And then what?
Do you wanna leave?
No.
My parents are counting on us
to look after their place.
I can't tell them their house is haunted.
Have a great day at work.
If anything else happens...
...I'll get us a hotel.
I promise.
Hey, neighbors.
Maggie, I'm so sorry about Pepper.
But this little guy really needs
a good home, so...
...I thought of you.
- Can I?
- Yeah, I don't see why not.
- You didn't have to.
- No, I...
I did.
Have you noticed anything weird
happening in your house lately?
Such as?
Lights going on and off,
doors opening by themselves, molds?
Sounds like shoddy construction.
- Oh, damn it.
- What?
We have the same builder.
And do you mind just letting me know
if anything happens?
- Absolutely.
- Thanks.
Maggie! You scared me.
Your house killed my dog.
Okay. Humidity levels are good.
Still need thermal and infrared, though.
Where are those guys?
Cut it out.
- Are peripherals online and ready?
- All set.
All right. Let's light this candle.
- Oh, my God!
- Shit!
Lydia, come on. Lydia, come on!
- Where's the flashlight?
- What the hell is that?
- Aah!
- Lydia!
Lydia! Lydia!
Oh, my God. Shut that thing off!
I said, shut that thing off!
I can explain.
This girl, Lydia?
You two were together?
Not the way you and I are, but...
...yes.
What happened to her?
She's, um...
Gone.
"Gone"?
What does that mean, "gone"?
Like she's dead?
- Is that what will happen to me?
- Nothing will happen.
How do you know that?
How can I trust you?
- What is this? What is in my house?
- I honestly don't know, okay?
We were trying to contact something
from the other side.
We were in college,
it was just an experiment.
Why didn't you tell me about this?
You knew what was happening
and you didn't tell me!
I mean, I don't know,
maybe I'm part of this experiment too.
No. This is all in the past.
I thought if you didn't know about it,
you'd be safe.
In my own way, I was trying to protect you.
I'm sorry.
How am I supposed to believe
anything you say?
Get out of my house!
Get out now!
Patrick.
It's Ben.
Call me.
What are you?
- Get off me!
- Stop! Look at me!
Stop! Stop! Look at me!
Still no answer from Patrick.
We're safe now.
What else can I do?
You can get off the bed.
Kelly!
Come on!
It's okay. It's okay.
Where are we going?
It's Patrick.
Your house isn't haunted. You are.
By the ghost we contacted.
If it is a ghost, it's not the ghost
of anything human.
What does it want from us?
Exactly what it's getting.
It wants to be in our world.
It wants us. It feeds on life.
It'll punish you, it'll manipulate the way
you see the world, and it takes you.
We opened the door and it came through.
What door?
A rift between our world and theirs.
Our second session opened it more.
What the hell were you thinking?
Yeah, at least I didn't run away,
act like it never happened.
- That's not what I did and you know it.
- We tried something new.
We tried to contain it.
Remember the psychomanteum?
I've rerouted the current so it gives off
a negative magnetic field.
Like a bomb shelter for brain waves.
I've been living in there for weeks.
That's perfect.
The only way to protect ourselves
is to live in a box.
We still have a chance to end it here.
How?
Place these transmitters
everywhere you saw it try to manifest.
Anywhere it's tried to get a foothold.
I recorded the EEG emissions
of our experiment.
We're gonna use that power against it.
We'll play the recording
of the session in reverse.
I'm gonna tap into the power lines
and feed all that energy into our system.
Four thousand minds put this together.
Four hundred thousand can destroy it.
Instead of aiming the transmitters in,
we aim them at us...
...and the house too.
With us inside, we flood every inch.
Open everything, right?
The fridge, the microwave,
the dishwasher, everything.
In the first experiment, our amplified
EEG-is, they acted like a key.
In the second, we opened a gateway.
We can reverse this process. If we can
link the two recordings, we can...
Amplify and transmit the EEGs in reverse.
And with all the additional power,
we shut the door and we turn the lock.
Okay.
Ben! Ben, help me!
Ben!
Ben!
Ben! Ben, help me!
Ben!
Ben! Ben!
Ben!
Ben! Ben, help me!
Move back!
EEG transmitters linking.
Initiating reverse playback.
Linking process complete.
Amplifying transmitter feed.
EMF readings are high.
Tapping into the main grid.
Did it work?
It's a really quiet neighborhood.
It's about 3400 square feet.
Here's directions to my house.
The safe room. Just in case.
Thanks.
- I'm gonna take this out.
- I'll help you with that.
Two days and nothing freaky at all.
We got a life again, right?
One day at a time.
I'll take that.
Don't ever say that, ever.
Patrick!
Patrick!
Patrick's gone.
We gotta go to Patrick's.
He lived in that thing you guys built,
that chamber.
Patrick said he built it to keep
this thing out. We'll be safe there.
Then what?
I don't know! But I'm not giving up.
The lack of pattern...
...leads me to believe
it's toying with us.
It toyed with the members of the '70s
sance and it's toying with Greg and I.
Of the six people who performed
the '70s experiment, two died...
...one committed suicide
and three went missing.
I didn't tell Ben or the others.
I couldn't.
This knowledge might have tainted
our results. But now I see I was wrong.
This thing is older than
any demon or ghost.
It's been trapped in purgatory
for an eternity.
But I believe that purgatory
contains not just human souls...
...but countless entities
and malevolent spirits.
I've done my best
to figure out what this is...
...but from what I can tell,
it doesn't have a name.
I've tried to understand
its attack pattern...
...a logic that I can use
for our benefit...
Patrick's journals.
...there is none.
And that scares me to death.
For the whole of human existence,
people have believed in the supernatural.
Ghosts and spirits. Angels and demons.
What we will prove...
...is that the supernatural is actually
part of the natural world.
It is something you can
quantify and qualify.
It isn't magic, it is science.
And we will make contact.
The human body is essentially
a walking battery full of bio-energy...
...particularly that which is
generated by the brain.
Ben, please. How long...
Kelly.
The first sounds acted as
a beacon, drawing the entity to our world.
Then we allowed it to cross over.
It's clear to me that it wants what it doesn't have.
It wants to exist in our plane.
It's getting stronger.
With each person it takes, it gets smarter.
More powerful. It's learning about us.
We cannot tell what is real
and what is our imagination.
We believed we were studying this entity...
...but this whole time,
it's been studying us...
...testing our defenses,
our weaknesses.
This is but the first of them.
They are entering our world.
They are taking life.
We opened the door...
...and now it's too late to stop it.
- Ben!
It wears you down until you can't
resist any more. And then it takes you.