Betty's Revenge (2026) Movie Script
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(fire crackling)
(Jenna coughing)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Jenna screaming)
(upbeat jazz music)
Mmm.
(radio beeping)
[Radio] Unit 12,
this is Central.
Sorry to bother you off shift.
This is 12. Go ahead.
[Radio] We've had three
welfare check requests
on the same address.
Neighbor reports lights on
for days, mail piling up.
Also no response at the door.
Okay, well that's
not my zone today.
[Radio] I know, but
patrol's tied up on a rollover
and a domestic across town.
You're the closest unit with
keys to the neighborhood.
(radio beeping)
Who lives there?
[Radio] I don't see any
records in the system.
So you're asking me to
roll on a welfare check
and I'm not even
on the clock yet.
[Radio] I wouldn't
ask if it could wait,
but the neighbor
says there's a TV on
and something knocking
inside like a loose door
and maybe some
screaming from inside.
Are you logging this?
[Radio] Already
started the call.
You'd be supplemental,
not primary.
All right, I'll go up there,
I'll bang on the door,
I'll look in the windows,
check the place out,
and I won't enter
unless there's cause.
[Radio] Copy that.
I'll notify fire and EMS to
stage nearby just in case.
Send me the address.
Mmm.
(ominous music)
(ominous orchestral music)
(knuckles rapping)
Police department.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(door rattling)
(radio beeping)
Hey, Dispatch.
So I'm here at this old
manor on the welfare check,
but nobody's home.
So tell that caller I'll
try back in a few days.
(tones beeping)
(door creaking)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
It's the police department.
Yeah, we got a call that someone
might need some help in there.
(radio beeping)
Hey, Dispatch.
I have a possible 146.
Just stand by for confirmation.
(tones beeping)
Show yourself.
I'm gonna enter the home.
(ominous orchestral music)
(flesh squelching)
(knife stabbing)
(officer groaning)
(officer screaming)
What the...
(officer screaming)
(officer groaning)
(officer screaming)
(flesh squelching)
(officer gasping)
Fuck.
(officer screaming)
(flesh squelching)
(body thudding)
(officer groaning)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(officer groaning)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(officer coughing)
(singer vocalizing)
(officer gurgling)
(officer coughing)
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(doors clicking)
I thought you said this
was some kind of cabaret.
This is clearly a house.
Yeah.
Jenna, are you sure
this is the right place?
This is the address
she gave on the phone.
All right, if you say so.
So what do we do,
just go up and knock?
I guess.
I mean, she knows
we're coming, right?
I don't know.
(dramatic orchestral music)
This place feels weird.
Kind of gives me the creeps.
The title of the project is
Urban Legends of Decadence.
I think feeling the creeps is
part of the whole experience.
That's right, Kara.
I think if we
don't feel nervous,
we're probably doing
something wrong.
Let's just go up and
see if anyone's home.
You first.
We'll all go up together.
Yeah?
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral music)
(knuckles rapping)
Try again.
(knuckles rapping)
Well, maybe no one's home.
(door creaking)
That's not weird or anything.
[Kara] Well, what do we do?
Go inside.
Take a look around.
I mean, no one ever comes here
'cause of the
history of the place.
She probably wants company.
Or she could invite
us in and shoot us.
[Jenna] With what?
I don't know.
A shotgun.
It's a figure of speech.
Alright, look, Kara,
are you gonna be this jumpy
the whole time we're here?
Yeah, maybe you should
just wait in the car.
I'm not waiting in the car.
Fine. (Sighing)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(door clicking)
God, what is that smell?
Smells like smoke.
Not cigarettes though.
Anyone home?
(ominous orchestral music)
It's Jenna. We spoke
last week on the phone.
Maybe she's really not home
With the door open like that?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
Screw this. I
say we just leave.
Yeah, I'm with
Miles. We should go.
I'll just be a moment.
Make yourselves at
home. (Giggling)
See, she's here.
Okay, that's not
super weird or anything.
Yeah, for real, Jenna.
Guys, let's just have a look
around, hang out for a sec.
She said she'd be
down in just a second.
(ominous orchestral music)
(Miles sighing)
This place is huge.
I know, right?
Kara don't touch anything.
I wasn't gonna touch anything.
Hey.
She got banned from
Theta Kappa for a reason.
Oh my God, she might
be listening to you.
Wonder what's in here.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
I'm confused.
Is this or is this
not the right place?
The article on the
internet said the club
burned down to the studs.
She spent her entire life
fortune on rebuilding it.
When prohibition happened and
the clubs had to close down,
I guess she just focused on
making it a place to live.
She should have
spent a little more
on an interior decorator.
(alarm blaring)
Shit.
There's bad weather on the way.
I don't want to get stuck up
here. We need to hurry this up.
Yeah, it's been a minute.
Where the hell is she?
Can you two just calm down?
This is what we came here to do.
Besides, I'm not just
gonna go up there
and ask her to hurry.
Why the hell not?
(footsteps thudding)
Because I'm already here.
Hi, this is so silly,
but I don't know
what to call you.
The phone number was
listed under N. Lee.
I'm Jenna.
We spoke on the phone about
coming to do an interview.
And these are my
friends, Kara and Miles.
The name of the project is
Urban Legends of Decadence.
That's right.
And it's about Dizzy Dishes,
your former club.
We're seniors, history majors.
Can I interest you in a drink?
I'm fine, thanks.
I'll take one. I mean,
if you're offering.
Me too, that'd be great.
(upbeat jazz music)
Kara, what the hell?
What?
I'm not taking a drink
from that creep show.
Why not?
I don't know.
What if she laces it something?
It's already weird
enough. Okay, just take it.
You don't have to drink it.
Whatever.
Shit.
She's coming back.
Just chill.
So, as you know, we
are working on our thesis
for our final semester
and the story,
your story was one
of the options and
when we heard about it,
I mean, wow.
How could you not
wanna know more?
There's some bad
weather coming through.
If it's all right with
you, I don't know,
maybe we could hurry this along.
Right, so I have
a list of questions,
if that's all right with you.
Um, we could start
with what happened
to the Dizzy Dishes Club?
That was your club?
(dramatic orchestral music)
(fire crackling)
Hello?
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Betty sighing)
What's this?
(gentle orchestral music)
What the hell is going on?
What is that?
Stop drinking that.
I think it's a journal
and I think it's hers.
Oh yeah, no shit, Sherlock.
What does it say?
It's dated and every
page is all about the club.
This is what we need. This
is what we came here for.
I thought we came here
so we could speak with her.
Yeah, but this is even better.
I mean, as long as she doesn't
mind us taking it with us.
- Taking it?
- Borrowing it.
We'll bring it back.
Well, whatever you want
to do, just do it already.
I wanna get the hell
out of this place.
Kara, can you
please calm down?
Calm down?
Look at this place, Jenna.
That smell.
I had a pet die last year
and I know what running
flesh smells like.
Not to mention the
weather's gonna turn
and that hill was
almost a 90 degree angle
to get up here.
Let's go.
Hey, okay.
I say we just take
the journal and go.
I mean, she gave it to
us for a reason, right?
Okay, I'm with you.
But I think we should
at least say something.
I'm at least gonna tell her
we're gonna bring it back.
Fine.
But make it quick and
meet us at the front door.
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello, anyone up here?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
It's me, Jenna.
Thanks for the journal.
I was just coming to ask
do you mind if my
friends and I borrow it?
We'll bring it right back. We
only need it for a few days.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Betty humming)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
What's wrong?
I was about to ask
you the same thing.
Nothing.
I'm cool, let's go.
Wait, we can't leave now.
It's raining cats
and dogs out there
and the main road is flooded.
Those turns we came up through,
there's no way we
can make it back down
with it raining like this.
It says it should clear
up in a few hours.
Hours?
Did you say a few hours?
Look, Kara, don't get
all hysterical right now.
So what do you wanna do?
Okay, you're
acting really weird.
What the hell happened up there?
Nothing.
I asked if I could
borrow her journal.
She said, "Yes."
So what do we do?
Just wait it out?
And where are
we gonna do that?
I don't know,
big enough house.
Just pick a spot
and stick together.
You guys are talking like
we're actually in danger.
The living room.
One way in, one way out.
Yeah?
(ominous orchestral music)
(thunder crashing)
(thunder crashing)
Oh shit.
What is it?
Flood warning was
extended another two hours.
How long have we been in here?
40 minutes.
Feels like it's been a week.
That smell is
killing me for real.
Jenna, earth to Jenna.
Hello?
Hmm?
How can you sit there
all calm like that?
I mean the storm, that smell,
none of it has you
the least bit worried?
Dizzy Dishes.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
"I had no name, none
that anyone knew anyway."
Half woman, half something else.
A sideshow act dragged
from one cold carnival
tent to another.
People paid nickels
to stare, to laugh,
to shrink back when my
shadow didn't match my shape.
But I learned early that
if you can't be beautiful,
you'd better be unforgettable.
I wandered into the city
and found a smoky little club
where married men shed
their vows like overcoats.
I told the owner I could sing
and when he heard me, the room
didn't see a freak anymore.
They heard a pretty girl.
The name they gave me when my
voice started pulling secrets
"out of their chests."
What else does it say?
"The wealthy ones
with gold bands
and wandering hands gathered
nightly, drinking deep
and hunting for someone to
blame for their loneliness.
One of them a smooth
talker, dead eyes,
money dripping off
him like sweat,
decided I belonged to him.
Backstage he cornered me,
whispering about what he could buy
and what he expected in return.
I told him, 'No.'
But men like him
don't take kindly
to final answers.
Not from the kind of woman
they believe was born to obey.
A week later, the club
went up in flames,
gasoline in the walls, curtains
blooming fire like flowers.
They say he stood
outside watching it burn.
Match still warm in his fingers.
Some swear I died
there on that stage,
swallowed by the smoke.
Others claim they saw
me slip into the alley,
vanishing into the night
like a rumor with teeth.
To this day, the old timers
swear that if the moon is low
and the street is quiet, they
still hear someone singing.
"Dizzy Dishes and pretty girl,
the freak who refused to bow."
They burned her
live in the club.
And she built a home,
this home, her home
from the ashes.
(man speaking indistinctly)
(gentle orchestral music)
Lovin', I have
to have lovin'
But when I'm
having my lovin'
I have to have
boop-boop-a-doop and have
Boop-boop-a-doop
Lovin'
I don't like this.
I don't like this at all.
- Kara.
- No, Jenna.
We don't even know
what to call her.
And she is obviously the
singer in that journal.
Not to mention, why
would she just hand
that over to you like that?
Maybe she was
ashamed to tell us.
Ashamed?
Putting all that shit
aside, which we can't,
what's all this nonsense
about being half animal?
It's not literal.
And you know this how?
Maybe it is, I don't know.
"Some days I don't
even feel like a human,
just a shape stitched from
other people's cruelty.
"And the more I look, the less
of myself I seem to find."
Oh, that's good.
Anything in there about how
she kills three college kids
for asking too many
fucking questions.
Guys, enough?
Listen.
(ominous orchestral music)
Storm has passed.
Let's get the fuck out of here.
(ominous orchestral music)
(Kara scoffing)
(thunder crashing)
(thunder crashing)
Oh shit.
(thunder crashing)
What, what is it?
- Our car's gone.
- What?
(Miles sighing)
Miles, what are you doing?
Calling an Uber.
No fucking rides out this far.
Hang on.
Who are you calling now?
The police.
The police?
Jenna, our car is fucking gone
and we're in this
freak show's house.
He's right. I don't
want to be here anymore.
(thunder crashing)
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
[Kara] What is it now?
It's dead.
Try yours.
Shit, I left it in the car.
Jenna, try yours.
I left it in the living room.
I say we all go get it together.
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral music)
Go, go, go, go, go.
Just go. Come on, go.
(thunder crashing)
(door slamming)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
What are you doing?
Being safe.
By barricading the
door with us in the room?
That's what they do in
the movies. Did you find it?
No, it's not here.
Keep looking.
Kara, go help.
It's gone.
How is that possible?
Shhh.
Do y'all hear that?
(ominous orchestral music)
(distant upbeat jazz music)
It's coming from
inside the walls.
I have to get the
fuck out of here.
What about the car?
Shit, I forgot about the car.
We'll walk.
Walk where?
I don't know.
Down the hill.
Who the fuck cares?
Just far away from here.
Let's go through the window.
Damn it.
It's locked from the outside.
Break the glass.
No, wait.
If she hears this, then
she'll know that we left.
Jenna's right and we, we
need to sneak out of here
so she doesn't know we're gone.
[Jenna] How?
We just saw her on the stairs.
She can easily get
to the front door.
That's probably
locked like these.
[Jenna] Front
door's way too easy.
The back.
The back, I saw a
door on our way in.
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
Oh shit, it's jammed.
[Kara] Great.
What do we do now?
What else does it
say in that thing?
What does that
matter right now?
I don't know.
Maybe we can figure out
why we're locked in here.
"They mistook my
silence for weakness,
my strange face for an
invitation to use me, shape me,
take what they wanted and
leave the pieces behind.
I learned early on
that beauty is a currency I
was never allowed to touch
"and power is a game I was
never allowed to play."
So now when I see those women,
perfect polished creatures
who glide the rooms collecting
admiration like pearls,
I feel the old heat rise in me,
a bitterness sharpened by
years of being the sideshow
no one loved, but
everyone wanted to own.
I hate them both now, the
beautiful and the powerful,
"because they were born with
the things I had to bleed for."
It's just useless thoughts.
She's right, Jenna.
Any ideas?
I think she's punishing
us for what happened to her.
(fire roaring)
But we had nothing to
do with whatever happened.
It doesn't matter.
I think that she's
been waiting here
for someone to come
back and remember her.
Look, fuck that journal and
this fuck lady, all right.
I say we keep moving and find
a door or window that's open.
(thunder crashing)
Keep your voices down.
Okay?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
She's in there.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Kara breathing heavily)
Hey, breathe.
(Kara gasping)
I think she's having
a panic attack.
What do we do?
Is there anything
we can give her?
Kara, hold your shit together.
(breathing heavily)
Fuck you, Miles.
She's gonna find us and God
know what she's gonna do to us.
Well, you overreacting
isn't gonna help us
find a way out of
here though, is it?
Shh, shh, guys.
Do you hear that?
(metal clanging)
It's coming from out there.
(ominous orchestral music)
Okay, so this is
what we're gonna do.
Let's go back to the front
door, try that again, okay?
(suspenseful orchestral music)
Miles.
Go, run.
- We're not leaving.
- Get in there, come on.
Don't worry. I got this bitch.
What the hell
(suspenseful orchestral
music continues)
(knife slicing)
(body thudding)
(ominous orchestral music)
What the hell are you doing?
Jenna?
"I learned long
ago that the only way
to silence the echoes of my
past was to remove anything
and anyone that
dared to resemble it.
The swaggering men with too
much money and too little soul.
I watched them carefully.
And when their presence
stirred old scars,
I made sure they didn't linger.
Each disappearance felt like
reclaiming a piece of myself,
a quiet correction to a world
that had once fed
on my suffering.
But beneath the vengeance,
shimmered a deeper hunger,
the need to be remembered
on my own terms.
So I began searching for a
way to preserve my legacy,
something beyond the
songs I once sang
or the ashes I had risen from,
seeking a story, a shrine,
a shadow that would outlive me,
one final act ensuring that I,
the creature they tried to bury,
"would never be forgotten again."
What does that all mean?
I think she sees
us as objects.
"Another group here to
take pieces of my life,
my pain, my body, my story,
and give nothing back."
Give back?
Give what back?
I don't know.
Okay.
I think she sees us as
spectators, not as guests.
She thinks we're
here to exploit her.
We told her why we came here.
It doesn't matter.
Men have always taken
advantage of her.
Pretty girls like
you mocked her.
Reporters like me just
came for her story.
"They didn't come
to understand me.
They came to dissect me, knowing
full well I was incapable
of ever seeing my reflection
in the mirror ever again."
(dramatic orchestral music)
Jenna, you're scaring me.
What are you saying?
She said no and she
was punished for it.
She opened her heart,
her voice, her gift,
and she was literally
set on fire.
What about Miles?
I think we have to go find
Miles before she kills him.
He could be dead already.
We don't know unless
we go look for ourselves.
You mean you you
wanna go out there?
If we stay here, she will
find a way in. I guarantee it.
We have to take the chance.
(Kara breathing heavily)
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Do you see anything?
Maybe she took him upstairs.
The room down the hall.
That's a long way.
What?
What is it?
Jenna, stop, you're scaring me.
(intense music)
(Kara screaming)
Kara!
Kara!
Kara, Kara, open the door.
Kara.
[Miles] Get out over here.
Quick, there's a way out.
Miles?
[Miles] Hurry, I can't
hold the door much longer.
I found a way out.
Miles, is that you?
Miles?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Miles?
[Miles] Almost there.
A little further up.
That's it.
Perfect.
You're almost there.
Miles?
How do I know that's really you?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Betty laughing)
(ominous orchestral music)
Please don't hurt
me or my friends.
If you just let us go,
we'll forget any of
this ever happened.
We'll forget about all of it.
You want us to remember?
That's why you gave me this.
"If someone hears me,
truly hears me, they must
carry my pain into the world.
Fire birthed me.
"Fire shall unmake me."
Is that why you can't
look in the mirror?
(Jenna sniffling)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Betty giggling)
Ta-da.
Please don't hurt them.
I'll do anything, I'll
Shh.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
They'll be awake soon
and then it's
showtime. (Laughing)
Well, you came here for a story.
Not like this.
(Miles breathing heavily)
Jenna?
What?
What the fuck?
Jenna, come help me.
(Jenna grunting)
What is this?
Jenna, what the hell is this?
I don't know.
We were in the other room and,
and we came out
and you were gone.
And I-
Jenna?
(dramatic orchestral music)
Miles.
Help me, get me outta
this thing. (Whimpering)
You want me to, to read it?
Read out loud?
(dramatic orchestral music)
"He has eyes like something
already gone to rot,
dead, flat."
I'm so blue waiting
for you to take me
I can't go on like this
Gimme a kiss and then maybe
Boop-Boop-Be-Doop-Be-Doop
"Hungry in a way that
no living man should be.
I remember how he cornered
me in the dim hallway
behind the stage,
his breath thick with
whiskey and certainty,
his hands claiming what
he believed he was owed.
He didn't speak like a man.
He spoke like someone
reciting a script he had read
100 times before,
"confident that no one
would ever challenge him."
Oh, fuck this.
Fuck you too. (Spitting)
Jenna, don't read another word.
Don't satisfy this fucking
half bitch. (Breathing heavily)
"And when I pushed back."
When I told him no,
those dead eyes lit
for the first time,
not with life, but
with, with anger,
the kind of anger that
makes a man destroy
what he cannot possess.
I still see those eyes
sometimes in dreams
and reflections
staring through me
as if I were nothing more
than a thing he had misplaced.
And it's in those moments, I
remember exactly why I became
what I am.
(ominous orchestral music)
"He was the one who
lit the match."
Tell me, did you feel my
pain when you read my words?
Of course I did.
Did they?
I don't, I don't know.
They didn't, they
didn't read it.
They don't
They never do.
(Miles laughing)
Oh, I swear when I get out
of this, I'm gonna fuck you up!
I'm gonna lock you in this house
and burn the rest of you up.
You're gonna burn.
You thought you had it bad?
You're gonna fucking
burn! (Laughing)
(ominous orchestral music)
Please, okay, we'll go. We
won't say anything, I swear.
Do you know what
they did, songbird?
Jenna, tell her we
didn't do anything.
We just came here
for your project.
This is insane.
They didn't hurt you.
They're just students.
They're my friends.
They were him.
They were her.
They're the ones that
sat in the dark corners,
the ones who watched,
the ones who whispered,
the ones who laughed.
And you, you brought
them to my home.
We didn't know.
All right, enough.
This is all bullshit.
Just let us go and
we'll call it even.
Yeah?
You can have your stupid haunted
house and that dumb diary.
Journal.
What are you even gonna do?
Scare us to death?
Oh, some guy,
he was just as strong as you,
just as loud and just as stupid.
(Miles breathing heavily)
Come on.
No.
[Betty] Come on.
Jenna, do something, please.
I'm not hurting my friends.
(both breathing heavily)
No?
Then you'll watch.
(ominous orchestral music)
(knife stabbing)
(Miles groaning)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(flesh squelching)
(Miles groaning)
(knife slicing)
(Jenna gasping)
(flesh squelching)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(Kara sobbing)
Doors chained, windows barred,
(flesh squelching)
My throat full of smoke.
Nobody kicked down the door.
Nobody smashed the window.
Nobody screamed my name.
Tonight, you're gonna have a
better seat than I ever had.
You don't have to do this.
Isn't this what you wanted?
No, I didn't want
this, any of this.
Jenna, please.
I don't wanna die.
I don't wanna die.
Please. (Sobbing)
Do you wanna know
what it felt like?
No. Please.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so, so sorry for
whatever they did to you.
Okay?
I'm sorry.
I, I'm sorry.
I screamed.
I screamed until
there was no air left.
(ominous orchestral music)
(Kara sobbing)
No, take me, take
me instead, please.
Please.
(Kara sobbing)
(knife stabbing)
(Kara screaming)
(knife stabbing)
(Kara screaming)
(flesh squelching)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(Kara breathing heavily)
Now, now you know, don't you?
(eyeballs thudding)
You'll carry this
with you, songbird.
You're insane.
(giggling) Insane?
Insane is what they call a
woman when she finally breaks
the way the world has been
trying to break her all along.
But if you knew
what I'd endured,
you would understand
that my madness
is the only sane thing
I have left. (Giggling)
I will never
forgive you for this.
Forgive?
The only important thing
is that you never forget.
(singer vocalizing)
(ominous music)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(keys clacking)
[Kara] Mom?
Do you have any
idea what time it is?
If I thought that
I was gonna come
all the way up
here just to arrive
and find you still in bed...
Well, lucky you.
I was in the shower.
A close second,
and conveniently located only
10 feet away from your room,
which is a total
disaster by the way.
Did you need something?
I came up here so
I could check on you.
I'm your mother.
I worry about you.
There's nothing
to worry about.
You've been very quiet.
I didn't wanna make
it a whole thing,
but yeah, we broke up.
I'm sorry, sweetheart.
Even when you know it's
coming, it lands hard.
Yeah, well, like I said, I
don't wanna make it a big deal.
Okay?
Okay.
Well, doesn't it seem strange
that you're going on a day
trip with your ex-boyfriend
and his new girlfriend?
Okay, first it's a
project for our senior class
and second, Miles and
Jenna aren't even dating.
They're not?
No, they're not.
They're just friends.
Friends.
You know when a man
has female friends,
he's either lying to
them or lying to himself.
[Kara] I'm late.
We can talk about this later.
Well, I can't stay.
Your father had a meeting nearby
and he just dropped me off.
Can you at least tell me
what this project is about?
- Some cabaret.
- Cabaret?
Well, it's not there
anymore, I don't think.
I don't know.
I mean, I'm sleeping
my way through history.
- Kara.
- What?
It's an 8:00 a.m.
class on a Monday.
Okay, well where is this
little day trip taking you,
in case I need to come
up there and rescue you.
It's upstate, about
three hours from here.
You know, it's alright
to not be alright.
I don't know.
I just feel empty.
So the right people
don't disappear
when things get uncomfortable,
they grow with you.
And breakups don't
mean you're alone.
They just show you
who's always been there.
Thanks, Mom.
All right, kiddo.
Okay, so what is the
name of this cabaret?
Um, Dizzy Dishes.
Dizzy, Dizzy Dishes.
I know that sounds
vaguely familiar.
Yeah, well, I'll call you in
a few days. I'm really late.
Okay.
(mom sighing)
(door clicking)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(sighing) Okay, Dizzy dishes.
Huh.
I want to make whoopee
And if I want
to make whoopee
I have to have boop-boop-a-doop-a-doop,
boop-boop-a-doop
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
Jenna.
Jenna.
- Huh?
She's late.
It's a far drive.
You know Kara, she'll be here.
You worried?
Worried?
No, I just wanna get
it right, you know?
You're at the top of
your journalism class.
Even if this project failed,
you still have a job
lined up after graduation.
Yeah, but field reporter
jobs are not easy to come by,
not to mention a
little competitive.
And you already have one.
What are you
two talking about?
- You're late.
- I'm here.
Congratulations.
Okay.
I say we get going.
Agreed.
(doors clicking)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(doors clicking)
I thought you said this
was some kind of cabaret.
This is clearly a house.
This is the address
she gave on the phone.
[Kara] You first.
[Miles] We'll all go together.
Yeah?
(ominous orchestral music)
(knuckles rapping)
(ominous orchestral music)
(Jenna gasping)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(door clicking)
(door creaking)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Where are you?
You killed my friends.
You want someone
to hear your story?
Fine.
I heard you, but I am
not gonna die for it.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
This is your final test.
You killed my friends.
Go on.
Will that even kill you?
Death took my pulse,
but not my purpose,
and after you've crossed that
line, it becomes real hard
for you to be killed again.
A fire, that shall unmake me.
You want someone to help
you reclaim your story.
You're punishing the
symbols of your abuse
and you're grooming me
to be your storyteller.
A life is a small thing
to surrender when you've
already had it stolen
from you once before.
But ash settles
where it pleases.
But in the right
light, it teaches.
And maybe some girl
with shaking hands
will hear my story
from your lips
and she'll find the
strength to say no
before the fire
reaches her door.
And maybe some man will
hear you whisper my name
and he'll think twice
before he darkens another
doorway with his wanting.
I can't stay long.
Let the world forget my face.
Let it forget my voice.
But let it never forget
what happened to me
and what I won't
allow to happen again.
(sighing) All right.
I think I'm ready now.
That's the thing.
You won't die.
This is the only skin
that they never managed to scar.
Bodies burn, voices fade,
but a story, a story has
always outlived every fire
that was ever lit against it.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(chair sliding)
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(Betty moaning)
(Betty whimpering)
(skin sizzling)
(Betty gasping)
(Betty moaning)
(Betty moaning)
(ominous orchestral music)
(skin sizzling)
(footsteps thudding)
(dramatic orchestral music)
[Jenna Voiceover]
They say a story dies
the moment the last
person forgets it.
Pain remembers, even when
people choose not to.
It coils itself into
the bones of old houses,
waits in the mirrors
that don't forgive,
sleeps beneath the
ashes of places
that should have stayed safe.
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(fire crackling)
So if my voice
lingers in the walls,
if my shadow follows you home
tonight, do not be afraid.
It is only because I want you
to see what I never could.
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
[Betty] Yoo-hoo!
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(Betty laughing)
(door slamming)
(Jenna screaming)
(ominous orchestral music)
(upbeat jazz music)
(upbeat jazz music continues)
(upbeat jazz music continues)
(upbeat jazz music continues)
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(fire crackling)
(Jenna coughing)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Jenna screaming)
(upbeat jazz music)
Mmm.
(radio beeping)
[Radio] Unit 12,
this is Central.
Sorry to bother you off shift.
This is 12. Go ahead.
[Radio] We've had three
welfare check requests
on the same address.
Neighbor reports lights on
for days, mail piling up.
Also no response at the door.
Okay, well that's
not my zone today.
[Radio] I know, but
patrol's tied up on a rollover
and a domestic across town.
You're the closest unit with
keys to the neighborhood.
(radio beeping)
Who lives there?
[Radio] I don't see any
records in the system.
So you're asking me to
roll on a welfare check
and I'm not even
on the clock yet.
[Radio] I wouldn't
ask if it could wait,
but the neighbor
says there's a TV on
and something knocking
inside like a loose door
and maybe some
screaming from inside.
Are you logging this?
[Radio] Already
started the call.
You'd be supplemental,
not primary.
All right, I'll go up there,
I'll bang on the door,
I'll look in the windows,
check the place out,
and I won't enter
unless there's cause.
[Radio] Copy that.
I'll notify fire and EMS to
stage nearby just in case.
Send me the address.
Mmm.
(ominous music)
(ominous orchestral music)
(knuckles rapping)
Police department.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(door rattling)
(radio beeping)
Hey, Dispatch.
So I'm here at this old
manor on the welfare check,
but nobody's home.
So tell that caller I'll
try back in a few days.
(tones beeping)
(door creaking)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
It's the police department.
Yeah, we got a call that someone
might need some help in there.
(radio beeping)
Hey, Dispatch.
I have a possible 146.
Just stand by for confirmation.
(tones beeping)
Show yourself.
I'm gonna enter the home.
(ominous orchestral music)
(flesh squelching)
(knife stabbing)
(officer groaning)
(officer screaming)
What the...
(officer screaming)
(officer groaning)
(officer screaming)
(flesh squelching)
(officer gasping)
Fuck.
(officer screaming)
(flesh squelching)
(body thudding)
(officer groaning)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(officer groaning)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(officer coughing)
(singer vocalizing)
(officer gurgling)
(officer coughing)
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(doors clicking)
I thought you said this
was some kind of cabaret.
This is clearly a house.
Yeah.
Jenna, are you sure
this is the right place?
This is the address
she gave on the phone.
All right, if you say so.
So what do we do,
just go up and knock?
I guess.
I mean, she knows
we're coming, right?
I don't know.
(dramatic orchestral music)
This place feels weird.
Kind of gives me the creeps.
The title of the project is
Urban Legends of Decadence.
I think feeling the creeps is
part of the whole experience.
That's right, Kara.
I think if we
don't feel nervous,
we're probably doing
something wrong.
Let's just go up and
see if anyone's home.
You first.
We'll all go up together.
Yeah?
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral music)
(knuckles rapping)
Try again.
(knuckles rapping)
Well, maybe no one's home.
(door creaking)
That's not weird or anything.
[Kara] Well, what do we do?
Go inside.
Take a look around.
I mean, no one ever comes here
'cause of the
history of the place.
She probably wants company.
Or she could invite
us in and shoot us.
[Jenna] With what?
I don't know.
A shotgun.
It's a figure of speech.
Alright, look, Kara,
are you gonna be this jumpy
the whole time we're here?
Yeah, maybe you should
just wait in the car.
I'm not waiting in the car.
Fine. (Sighing)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(door clicking)
God, what is that smell?
Smells like smoke.
Not cigarettes though.
Anyone home?
(ominous orchestral music)
It's Jenna. We spoke
last week on the phone.
Maybe she's really not home
With the door open like that?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
Screw this. I
say we just leave.
Yeah, I'm with
Miles. We should go.
I'll just be a moment.
Make yourselves at
home. (Giggling)
See, she's here.
Okay, that's not
super weird or anything.
Yeah, for real, Jenna.
Guys, let's just have a look
around, hang out for a sec.
She said she'd be
down in just a second.
(ominous orchestral music)
(Miles sighing)
This place is huge.
I know, right?
Kara don't touch anything.
I wasn't gonna touch anything.
Hey.
She got banned from
Theta Kappa for a reason.
Oh my God, she might
be listening to you.
Wonder what's in here.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
I'm confused.
Is this or is this
not the right place?
The article on the
internet said the club
burned down to the studs.
She spent her entire life
fortune on rebuilding it.
When prohibition happened and
the clubs had to close down,
I guess she just focused on
making it a place to live.
She should have
spent a little more
on an interior decorator.
(alarm blaring)
Shit.
There's bad weather on the way.
I don't want to get stuck up
here. We need to hurry this up.
Yeah, it's been a minute.
Where the hell is she?
Can you two just calm down?
This is what we came here to do.
Besides, I'm not just
gonna go up there
and ask her to hurry.
Why the hell not?
(footsteps thudding)
Because I'm already here.
Hi, this is so silly,
but I don't know
what to call you.
The phone number was
listed under N. Lee.
I'm Jenna.
We spoke on the phone about
coming to do an interview.
And these are my
friends, Kara and Miles.
The name of the project is
Urban Legends of Decadence.
That's right.
And it's about Dizzy Dishes,
your former club.
We're seniors, history majors.
Can I interest you in a drink?
I'm fine, thanks.
I'll take one. I mean,
if you're offering.
Me too, that'd be great.
(upbeat jazz music)
Kara, what the hell?
What?
I'm not taking a drink
from that creep show.
Why not?
I don't know.
What if she laces it something?
It's already weird
enough. Okay, just take it.
You don't have to drink it.
Whatever.
Shit.
She's coming back.
Just chill.
So, as you know, we
are working on our thesis
for our final semester
and the story,
your story was one
of the options and
when we heard about it,
I mean, wow.
How could you not
wanna know more?
There's some bad
weather coming through.
If it's all right with
you, I don't know,
maybe we could hurry this along.
Right, so I have
a list of questions,
if that's all right with you.
Um, we could start
with what happened
to the Dizzy Dishes Club?
That was your club?
(dramatic orchestral music)
(fire crackling)
Hello?
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Betty sighing)
What's this?
(gentle orchestral music)
What the hell is going on?
What is that?
Stop drinking that.
I think it's a journal
and I think it's hers.
Oh yeah, no shit, Sherlock.
What does it say?
It's dated and every
page is all about the club.
This is what we need. This
is what we came here for.
I thought we came here
so we could speak with her.
Yeah, but this is even better.
I mean, as long as she doesn't
mind us taking it with us.
- Taking it?
- Borrowing it.
We'll bring it back.
Well, whatever you want
to do, just do it already.
I wanna get the hell
out of this place.
Kara, can you
please calm down?
Calm down?
Look at this place, Jenna.
That smell.
I had a pet die last year
and I know what running
flesh smells like.
Not to mention the
weather's gonna turn
and that hill was
almost a 90 degree angle
to get up here.
Let's go.
Hey, okay.
I say we just take
the journal and go.
I mean, she gave it to
us for a reason, right?
Okay, I'm with you.
But I think we should
at least say something.
I'm at least gonna tell her
we're gonna bring it back.
Fine.
But make it quick and
meet us at the front door.
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello, anyone up here?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Hello?
It's me, Jenna.
Thanks for the journal.
I was just coming to ask
do you mind if my
friends and I borrow it?
We'll bring it right back. We
only need it for a few days.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Betty humming)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
What's wrong?
I was about to ask
you the same thing.
Nothing.
I'm cool, let's go.
Wait, we can't leave now.
It's raining cats
and dogs out there
and the main road is flooded.
Those turns we came up through,
there's no way we
can make it back down
with it raining like this.
It says it should clear
up in a few hours.
Hours?
Did you say a few hours?
Look, Kara, don't get
all hysterical right now.
So what do you wanna do?
Okay, you're
acting really weird.
What the hell happened up there?
Nothing.
I asked if I could
borrow her journal.
She said, "Yes."
So what do we do?
Just wait it out?
And where are
we gonna do that?
I don't know,
big enough house.
Just pick a spot
and stick together.
You guys are talking like
we're actually in danger.
The living room.
One way in, one way out.
Yeah?
(ominous orchestral music)
(thunder crashing)
(thunder crashing)
Oh shit.
What is it?
Flood warning was
extended another two hours.
How long have we been in here?
40 minutes.
Feels like it's been a week.
That smell is
killing me for real.
Jenna, earth to Jenna.
Hello?
Hmm?
How can you sit there
all calm like that?
I mean the storm, that smell,
none of it has you
the least bit worried?
Dizzy Dishes.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
"I had no name, none
that anyone knew anyway."
Half woman, half something else.
A sideshow act dragged
from one cold carnival
tent to another.
People paid nickels
to stare, to laugh,
to shrink back when my
shadow didn't match my shape.
But I learned early that
if you can't be beautiful,
you'd better be unforgettable.
I wandered into the city
and found a smoky little club
where married men shed
their vows like overcoats.
I told the owner I could sing
and when he heard me, the room
didn't see a freak anymore.
They heard a pretty girl.
The name they gave me when my
voice started pulling secrets
"out of their chests."
What else does it say?
"The wealthy ones
with gold bands
and wandering hands gathered
nightly, drinking deep
and hunting for someone to
blame for their loneliness.
One of them a smooth
talker, dead eyes,
money dripping off
him like sweat,
decided I belonged to him.
Backstage he cornered me,
whispering about what he could buy
and what he expected in return.
I told him, 'No.'
But men like him
don't take kindly
to final answers.
Not from the kind of woman
they believe was born to obey.
A week later, the club
went up in flames,
gasoline in the walls, curtains
blooming fire like flowers.
They say he stood
outside watching it burn.
Match still warm in his fingers.
Some swear I died
there on that stage,
swallowed by the smoke.
Others claim they saw
me slip into the alley,
vanishing into the night
like a rumor with teeth.
To this day, the old timers
swear that if the moon is low
and the street is quiet, they
still hear someone singing.
"Dizzy Dishes and pretty girl,
the freak who refused to bow."
They burned her
live in the club.
And she built a home,
this home, her home
from the ashes.
(man speaking indistinctly)
(gentle orchestral music)
Lovin', I have
to have lovin'
But when I'm
having my lovin'
I have to have
boop-boop-a-doop and have
Boop-boop-a-doop
Lovin'
I don't like this.
I don't like this at all.
- Kara.
- No, Jenna.
We don't even know
what to call her.
And she is obviously the
singer in that journal.
Not to mention, why
would she just hand
that over to you like that?
Maybe she was
ashamed to tell us.
Ashamed?
Putting all that shit
aside, which we can't,
what's all this nonsense
about being half animal?
It's not literal.
And you know this how?
Maybe it is, I don't know.
"Some days I don't
even feel like a human,
just a shape stitched from
other people's cruelty.
"And the more I look, the less
of myself I seem to find."
Oh, that's good.
Anything in there about how
she kills three college kids
for asking too many
fucking questions.
Guys, enough?
Listen.
(ominous orchestral music)
Storm has passed.
Let's get the fuck out of here.
(ominous orchestral music)
(Kara scoffing)
(thunder crashing)
(thunder crashing)
Oh shit.
(thunder crashing)
What, what is it?
- Our car's gone.
- What?
(Miles sighing)
Miles, what are you doing?
Calling an Uber.
No fucking rides out this far.
Hang on.
Who are you calling now?
The police.
The police?
Jenna, our car is fucking gone
and we're in this
freak show's house.
He's right. I don't
want to be here anymore.
(thunder crashing)
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
[Kara] What is it now?
It's dead.
Try yours.
Shit, I left it in the car.
Jenna, try yours.
I left it in the living room.
I say we all go get it together.
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral music)
Go, go, go, go, go.
Just go. Come on, go.
(thunder crashing)
(door slamming)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
What are you doing?
Being safe.
By barricading the
door with us in the room?
That's what they do in
the movies. Did you find it?
No, it's not here.
Keep looking.
Kara, go help.
It's gone.
How is that possible?
Shhh.
Do y'all hear that?
(ominous orchestral music)
(distant upbeat jazz music)
It's coming from
inside the walls.
I have to get the
fuck out of here.
What about the car?
Shit, I forgot about the car.
We'll walk.
Walk where?
I don't know.
Down the hill.
Who the fuck cares?
Just far away from here.
Let's go through the window.
Damn it.
It's locked from the outside.
Break the glass.
No, wait.
If she hears this, then
she'll know that we left.
Jenna's right and we, we
need to sneak out of here
so she doesn't know we're gone.
[Jenna] How?
We just saw her on the stairs.
She can easily get
to the front door.
That's probably
locked like these.
[Jenna] Front
door's way too easy.
The back.
The back, I saw a
door on our way in.
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
Oh shit, it's jammed.
[Kara] Great.
What do we do now?
What else does it
say in that thing?
What does that
matter right now?
I don't know.
Maybe we can figure out
why we're locked in here.
"They mistook my
silence for weakness,
my strange face for an
invitation to use me, shape me,
take what they wanted and
leave the pieces behind.
I learned early on
that beauty is a currency I
was never allowed to touch
"and power is a game I was
never allowed to play."
So now when I see those women,
perfect polished creatures
who glide the rooms collecting
admiration like pearls,
I feel the old heat rise in me,
a bitterness sharpened by
years of being the sideshow
no one loved, but
everyone wanted to own.
I hate them both now, the
beautiful and the powerful,
"because they were born with
the things I had to bleed for."
It's just useless thoughts.
She's right, Jenna.
Any ideas?
I think she's punishing
us for what happened to her.
(fire roaring)
But we had nothing to
do with whatever happened.
It doesn't matter.
I think that she's
been waiting here
for someone to come
back and remember her.
Look, fuck that journal and
this fuck lady, all right.
I say we keep moving and find
a door or window that's open.
(thunder crashing)
Keep your voices down.
Okay?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
She's in there.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(thunder crashing)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Kara breathing heavily)
Hey, breathe.
(Kara gasping)
I think she's having
a panic attack.
What do we do?
Is there anything
we can give her?
Kara, hold your shit together.
(breathing heavily)
Fuck you, Miles.
She's gonna find us and God
know what she's gonna do to us.
Well, you overreacting
isn't gonna help us
find a way out of
here though, is it?
Shh, shh, guys.
Do you hear that?
(metal clanging)
It's coming from out there.
(ominous orchestral music)
Okay, so this is
what we're gonna do.
Let's go back to the front
door, try that again, okay?
(suspenseful orchestral music)
Miles.
Go, run.
- We're not leaving.
- Get in there, come on.
Don't worry. I got this bitch.
What the hell
(suspenseful orchestral
music continues)
(knife slicing)
(body thudding)
(ominous orchestral music)
What the hell are you doing?
Jenna?
"I learned long
ago that the only way
to silence the echoes of my
past was to remove anything
and anyone that
dared to resemble it.
The swaggering men with too
much money and too little soul.
I watched them carefully.
And when their presence
stirred old scars,
I made sure they didn't linger.
Each disappearance felt like
reclaiming a piece of myself,
a quiet correction to a world
that had once fed
on my suffering.
But beneath the vengeance,
shimmered a deeper hunger,
the need to be remembered
on my own terms.
So I began searching for a
way to preserve my legacy,
something beyond the
songs I once sang
or the ashes I had risen from,
seeking a story, a shrine,
a shadow that would outlive me,
one final act ensuring that I,
the creature they tried to bury,
"would never be forgotten again."
What does that all mean?
I think she sees
us as objects.
"Another group here to
take pieces of my life,
my pain, my body, my story,
and give nothing back."
Give back?
Give what back?
I don't know.
Okay.
I think she sees us as
spectators, not as guests.
She thinks we're
here to exploit her.
We told her why we came here.
It doesn't matter.
Men have always taken
advantage of her.
Pretty girls like
you mocked her.
Reporters like me just
came for her story.
"They didn't come
to understand me.
They came to dissect me, knowing
full well I was incapable
of ever seeing my reflection
in the mirror ever again."
(dramatic orchestral music)
Jenna, you're scaring me.
What are you saying?
She said no and she
was punished for it.
She opened her heart,
her voice, her gift,
and she was literally
set on fire.
What about Miles?
I think we have to go find
Miles before she kills him.
He could be dead already.
We don't know unless
we go look for ourselves.
You mean you you
wanna go out there?
If we stay here, she will
find a way in. I guarantee it.
We have to take the chance.
(Kara breathing heavily)
(ominous orchestral music)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Do you see anything?
Maybe she took him upstairs.
The room down the hall.
That's a long way.
What?
What is it?
Jenna, stop, you're scaring me.
(intense music)
(Kara screaming)
Kara!
Kara!
Kara, Kara, open the door.
Kara.
[Miles] Get out over here.
Quick, there's a way out.
Miles?
[Miles] Hurry, I can't
hold the door much longer.
I found a way out.
Miles, is that you?
Miles?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Miles?
[Miles] Almost there.
A little further up.
That's it.
Perfect.
You're almost there.
Miles?
How do I know that's really you?
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Betty laughing)
(ominous orchestral music)
Please don't hurt
me or my friends.
If you just let us go,
we'll forget any of
this ever happened.
We'll forget about all of it.
You want us to remember?
That's why you gave me this.
"If someone hears me,
truly hears me, they must
carry my pain into the world.
Fire birthed me.
"Fire shall unmake me."
Is that why you can't
look in the mirror?
(Jenna sniffling)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(Betty giggling)
Ta-da.
Please don't hurt them.
I'll do anything, I'll
Shh.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
They'll be awake soon
and then it's
showtime. (Laughing)
Well, you came here for a story.
Not like this.
(Miles breathing heavily)
Jenna?
What?
What the fuck?
Jenna, come help me.
(Jenna grunting)
What is this?
Jenna, what the hell is this?
I don't know.
We were in the other room and,
and we came out
and you were gone.
And I-
Jenna?
(dramatic orchestral music)
Miles.
Help me, get me outta
this thing. (Whimpering)
You want me to, to read it?
Read out loud?
(dramatic orchestral music)
"He has eyes like something
already gone to rot,
dead, flat."
I'm so blue waiting
for you to take me
I can't go on like this
Gimme a kiss and then maybe
Boop-Boop-Be-Doop-Be-Doop
"Hungry in a way that
no living man should be.
I remember how he cornered
me in the dim hallway
behind the stage,
his breath thick with
whiskey and certainty,
his hands claiming what
he believed he was owed.
He didn't speak like a man.
He spoke like someone
reciting a script he had read
100 times before,
"confident that no one
would ever challenge him."
Oh, fuck this.
Fuck you too. (Spitting)
Jenna, don't read another word.
Don't satisfy this fucking
half bitch. (Breathing heavily)
"And when I pushed back."
When I told him no,
those dead eyes lit
for the first time,
not with life, but
with, with anger,
the kind of anger that
makes a man destroy
what he cannot possess.
I still see those eyes
sometimes in dreams
and reflections
staring through me
as if I were nothing more
than a thing he had misplaced.
And it's in those moments, I
remember exactly why I became
what I am.
(ominous orchestral music)
"He was the one who
lit the match."
Tell me, did you feel my
pain when you read my words?
Of course I did.
Did they?
I don't, I don't know.
They didn't, they
didn't read it.
They don't
They never do.
(Miles laughing)
Oh, I swear when I get out
of this, I'm gonna fuck you up!
I'm gonna lock you in this house
and burn the rest of you up.
You're gonna burn.
You thought you had it bad?
You're gonna fucking
burn! (Laughing)
(ominous orchestral music)
Please, okay, we'll go. We
won't say anything, I swear.
Do you know what
they did, songbird?
Jenna, tell her we
didn't do anything.
We just came here
for your project.
This is insane.
They didn't hurt you.
They're just students.
They're my friends.
They were him.
They were her.
They're the ones that
sat in the dark corners,
the ones who watched,
the ones who whispered,
the ones who laughed.
And you, you brought
them to my home.
We didn't know.
All right, enough.
This is all bullshit.
Just let us go and
we'll call it even.
Yeah?
You can have your stupid haunted
house and that dumb diary.
Journal.
What are you even gonna do?
Scare us to death?
Oh, some guy,
he was just as strong as you,
just as loud and just as stupid.
(Miles breathing heavily)
Come on.
No.
[Betty] Come on.
Jenna, do something, please.
I'm not hurting my friends.
(both breathing heavily)
No?
Then you'll watch.
(ominous orchestral music)
(knife stabbing)
(Miles groaning)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(flesh squelching)
(Miles groaning)
(knife slicing)
(Jenna gasping)
(flesh squelching)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(Kara sobbing)
Doors chained, windows barred,
(flesh squelching)
My throat full of smoke.
Nobody kicked down the door.
Nobody smashed the window.
Nobody screamed my name.
Tonight, you're gonna have a
better seat than I ever had.
You don't have to do this.
Isn't this what you wanted?
No, I didn't want
this, any of this.
Jenna, please.
I don't wanna die.
I don't wanna die.
Please. (Sobbing)
Do you wanna know
what it felt like?
No. Please.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so, so sorry for
whatever they did to you.
Okay?
I'm sorry.
I, I'm sorry.
I screamed.
I screamed until
there was no air left.
(ominous orchestral music)
(Kara sobbing)
No, take me, take
me instead, please.
Please.
(Kara sobbing)
(knife stabbing)
(Kara screaming)
(knife stabbing)
(Kara screaming)
(flesh squelching)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(Kara breathing heavily)
Now, now you know, don't you?
(eyeballs thudding)
You'll carry this
with you, songbird.
You're insane.
(giggling) Insane?
Insane is what they call a
woman when she finally breaks
the way the world has been
trying to break her all along.
But if you knew
what I'd endured,
you would understand
that my madness
is the only sane thing
I have left. (Giggling)
I will never
forgive you for this.
Forgive?
The only important thing
is that you never forget.
(singer vocalizing)
(ominous music)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(keys clacking)
[Kara] Mom?
Do you have any
idea what time it is?
If I thought that
I was gonna come
all the way up
here just to arrive
and find you still in bed...
Well, lucky you.
I was in the shower.
A close second,
and conveniently located only
10 feet away from your room,
which is a total
disaster by the way.
Did you need something?
I came up here so
I could check on you.
I'm your mother.
I worry about you.
There's nothing
to worry about.
You've been very quiet.
I didn't wanna make
it a whole thing,
but yeah, we broke up.
I'm sorry, sweetheart.
Even when you know it's
coming, it lands hard.
Yeah, well, like I said, I
don't wanna make it a big deal.
Okay?
Okay.
Well, doesn't it seem strange
that you're going on a day
trip with your ex-boyfriend
and his new girlfriend?
Okay, first it's a
project for our senior class
and second, Miles and
Jenna aren't even dating.
They're not?
No, they're not.
They're just friends.
Friends.
You know when a man
has female friends,
he's either lying to
them or lying to himself.
[Kara] I'm late.
We can talk about this later.
Well, I can't stay.
Your father had a meeting nearby
and he just dropped me off.
Can you at least tell me
what this project is about?
- Some cabaret.
- Cabaret?
Well, it's not there
anymore, I don't think.
I don't know.
I mean, I'm sleeping
my way through history.
- Kara.
- What?
It's an 8:00 a.m.
class on a Monday.
Okay, well where is this
little day trip taking you,
in case I need to come
up there and rescue you.
It's upstate, about
three hours from here.
You know, it's alright
to not be alright.
I don't know.
I just feel empty.
So the right people
don't disappear
when things get uncomfortable,
they grow with you.
And breakups don't
mean you're alone.
They just show you
who's always been there.
Thanks, Mom.
All right, kiddo.
Okay, so what is the
name of this cabaret?
Um, Dizzy Dishes.
Dizzy, Dizzy Dishes.
I know that sounds
vaguely familiar.
Yeah, well, I'll call you in
a few days. I'm really late.
Okay.
(mom sighing)
(door clicking)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(sighing) Okay, Dizzy dishes.
Huh.
I want to make whoopee
And if I want
to make whoopee
I have to have boop-boop-a-doop-a-doop,
boop-boop-a-doop
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
Jenna.
Jenna.
- Huh?
She's late.
It's a far drive.
You know Kara, she'll be here.
You worried?
Worried?
No, I just wanna get
it right, you know?
You're at the top of
your journalism class.
Even if this project failed,
you still have a job
lined up after graduation.
Yeah, but field reporter
jobs are not easy to come by,
not to mention a
little competitive.
And you already have one.
What are you
two talking about?
- You're late.
- I'm here.
Congratulations.
Okay.
I say we get going.
Agreed.
(doors clicking)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(doors clicking)
I thought you said this
was some kind of cabaret.
This is clearly a house.
This is the address
she gave on the phone.
[Kara] You first.
[Miles] We'll all go together.
Yeah?
(ominous orchestral music)
(knuckles rapping)
(ominous orchestral music)
(Jenna gasping)
(Jenna breathing heavily)
(door clicking)
(door creaking)
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
Where are you?
You killed my friends.
You want someone
to hear your story?
Fine.
I heard you, but I am
not gonna die for it.
(ominous orchestral
music continues)
This is your final test.
You killed my friends.
Go on.
Will that even kill you?
Death took my pulse,
but not my purpose,
and after you've crossed that
line, it becomes real hard
for you to be killed again.
A fire, that shall unmake me.
You want someone to help
you reclaim your story.
You're punishing the
symbols of your abuse
and you're grooming me
to be your storyteller.
A life is a small thing
to surrender when you've
already had it stolen
from you once before.
But ash settles
where it pleases.
But in the right
light, it teaches.
And maybe some girl
with shaking hands
will hear my story
from your lips
and she'll find the
strength to say no
before the fire
reaches her door.
And maybe some man will
hear you whisper my name
and he'll think twice
before he darkens another
doorway with his wanting.
I can't stay long.
Let the world forget my face.
Let it forget my voice.
But let it never forget
what happened to me
and what I won't
allow to happen again.
(sighing) All right.
I think I'm ready now.
That's the thing.
You won't die.
This is the only skin
that they never managed to scar.
Bodies burn, voices fade,
but a story, a story has
always outlived every fire
that was ever lit against it.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(chair sliding)
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(Betty moaning)
(Betty whimpering)
(skin sizzling)
(Betty gasping)
(Betty moaning)
(Betty moaning)
(ominous orchestral music)
(skin sizzling)
(footsteps thudding)
(dramatic orchestral music)
[Jenna Voiceover]
They say a story dies
the moment the last
person forgets it.
Pain remembers, even when
people choose not to.
It coils itself into
the bones of old houses,
waits in the mirrors
that don't forgive,
sleeps beneath the
ashes of places
that should have stayed safe.
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(fire crackling)
So if my voice
lingers in the walls,
if my shadow follows you home
tonight, do not be afraid.
It is only because I want you
to see what I never could.
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
[Betty] Yoo-hoo!
(dramatic orchestral
music continues)
(Betty laughing)
(door slamming)
(Jenna screaming)
(ominous orchestral music)
(upbeat jazz music)
(upbeat jazz music continues)
(upbeat jazz music continues)
(upbeat jazz music continues)
(ominous orchestral music)