Books of Blood (2020) Movie Script
[rocking chair creaking]
[eerie music]
MARY: We all die.
But sometimes the tales
of our passing are so shocking
that they must be
forever carved
into our collective memory.
There is a place where
these horrors are transcribed
by the dead.
And they want
their stories told.
[music builds]
[door creaks]
[books crash]
[distant clanging]
[ominous music]
[distant clanging]
[ominous beat]
[door creaks]
[dramatic musical sting]
[grunting]
[moans]
Bennett, look, II told you,
I can pay!
I just need time.
Time ran out.
They want blood now.
I have something.
Something very valuable.
It's a book.
It's a rare book
worth millions.
Go on.
BOOKMAN: I can tell you
where to find it.
[Marilyn Manson's "Deep Six"]
[dark rock music]
MANSON:
Yeah
Thanks.
[ominous music]
MANSON:
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
[tires squeal, engine revving]
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
He tried
to buy himself loose.
Gave me a tip on something
that could be our shot
at cashing out.
Oh, yeah?
A book.
One of a kind, apparently.
Where?
Ravenmoor.
You do know that place is
royally fucked up, right?
Something happened there.
They say it's like
fucking Chernobyl.
Urban decay.
That's what happened.
[phone beeps]
GPS: Begin route to Ravenmoor,
47 Tollington Place.
You want to run
with the fucking rats
the rest of your life?
What's this book called?
The Book of Blood.
[tense music]
[eerie music]
[ominous music]
NICOLE:
That's why I bought this place.
The view.
It's so beautiful.
So desolate.
It's like we're looking
at two different places.
Ten minutes
in that hellish water,
and you'd freeze to death.
Why do you do that,
and why can't you just
enjoy anything?
What happened at school is
on him,
not on you.
You don't know what happened.
Tell me.
Tell someone.
I mean, how do you expect us
to help you
if you're not willing to talk
about it?
Maybe Dr. Lerner needs to tweak
your meds.
I stopped taking them.
NICOLE: What?
Yeah, I stopped taking
the meds, like, a week ago.
You can't just stop
your meds, Jenna.
The doctor was very clear
about that.
They weren't helping.
They just made me feel tired
and numb all the time.
Tired and numb is better
than having a broken brain.
Yeah, well,
you're not the one
who has to take them.
NICOLE: Dinner's ready,
if you're interested.
DAN:
Hello, Princess.
JENNA: Women prefer
to be called queens now, Dan.
Show a little respect.
For what?
When I was your age, I wouldn't
be caught dead living at home.
JENNA:
What does that even mean?
What?
"Caught dead."
You know,
that's your problem, Jen.
You're so lost in the trees
that you can't even see
the leaves.
DAN: The forest.
I think that's what you can't
see for the trees.
[laughs]
[chewing]
[loud chewing]
[slurping]
[swallows]
[chewing crescendos]
[chair scrapes]
Oh, here we go
Jenna off her meds.
You want me to dissolve
the food in my mouth?
I mean, how can I eat
without chewing, Jenna?
You're getting back
on those meds,
because I am not going down
that road again.
[waves crashing]
Three different shrinks
since she was 10 years old.
Tutoring and private coaches
to get her into college,
and then she flushes it
down the shithole.
You said yourself
she was a victim, too,
so don't blame the victim.
NICOLE: I don't want to blame
the victim.
I want to bill the victim.
I'm sending her back
to the farm.
And you know what?
If she fucks it up, I am done.
They're coming
to get her tomorrow.
[ominous music]
[waves crashing]
[laughter]
Get over here.
Oh, my
[laughs]
[laughter]
[laughter cuts off]
[door creaks]
[both grunt]
Excuse me.
Has the bus for Los Angeles
left yet?
ATTENDANT:
Leaves in five minutes.
Great.
I need to get a ticket.
Please.
[mop squishes]
ANNOUNCER: Last call.
Now boarding.
[indistinct announcement]
[crunching and chewing]
[people coughing]
[loud chewing]
[loud crunching and chewing]
[chewing crescendos]
[chewing cuts off]
[sighs]
[muffled]
Okay.
[mysterious beating]
[music building]
[mysterious beating]
[horn blares]
[tires squeal]
[tense music]
[door squeaks]
[indistinct chatter]
ELLIE: Very pleased
to meet you, Jenna.
Now, you just rest here
a moment
while we go
get your room ready.
Okay?
[shivers]
I knew it.
What?
I just saw you in the web...
at Spider's Web Caf.
Oh.
It's, um...
God, what's the word?
Like alike a coincidence
but more cosmic or something?
Right, synchronicity.
That's it.
Like a...
a meaningful coincidence.
Your folks seem so nice.
No,
they're a total nightmare.
Fortunately, they're back home
in Sydney.
Oh.
So you're not family?
We like to think everyone
who stays here is family.
It's destiny.
Or synchronicity.
Hmm.
[exhales deeply]
[sighs]
[light tapping]
[wood creaks]
[sighs]
[faint scratching]
[scratching]
[loud scratching]
[gasps]
BOTH:
Oh!
Oh.
Oh, I'm so sorry, dear.
That's okay.
I didn't mean to startle you.
Are you all right, dear?
JENNA: Yeah.
Yeah.
I just think I'm really tired.
I saw you must love music,
so I put a radio
right by your bed.
I don't really like music.
These are just so that
I don't...
hear anything.
Oh, I understand.
You're sensitive.
Of course.
You're an artist.
No, these are just, uh...
drawings.
In a strange town,
in a stranger's home,
after a long night journey...
For moments like these,
the good Lord gave us tea
and cake.
Come.
JENNA: I wasn't planning
on stopping.
I was, um
II was headed to LA,
and I just...
couldn't stand the thought
of, uh, being nauseous
for a day and a half on a bus.
I'm sure
you weren't nauseous, dear.
Oh, but I was.
Nauseous means you make
other people sick.
Nauseated is what you were.
Ellie is very particular
about words,
especially medical words.
See, Ellie was
a registered nurse
you know, someone that does
what a doctor does
for a dime, not a dollar.
Now, Sam Austin,
that is not true.
Doctors and nurses
are completely different.
Doctors treat illnesses.
Nurses treat people.
As for me, I don't know
what to do with my hands
if I'm not building.
I did the chairs
and this table.
Just did the cabinets.
Carved my own wooden leg.
No, kidding.
[both laugh]
Can you imagine?
[scratching]
So did you build this house?
SAM: We just added
here and there.
ELLIE:
Oh, he's such a modest mouse.
He doubled the size
of this place.
[scratching continues]
SAM: When you start
fixing things,
you know how it is.
There's always something else.
Oh, no, don't.
Yeah, a little bit
of a roach problem.
Don't worry about it.
I say we should just gas 'em,
but Ellie won't hear of that.
It's so much easier
to take life than to make life.
[clock chimes and cuckoos]
And on that
cheery little note,
this old man's going to bed.
Good night, all.
What's in LA?
Oh.
Tell you the truth,
I'm not sure where I'm going.
Maybe the only way to know
where you're headed
is to keep going
till you find it.
Maybe.
GAVIN: I'm just taking
some time to look around.
How about you?
You know what? Sorry.
That's none of my business.
I had a bad experience...
at school with a guy.
Bad breakup?
More like a breakdown.
Life sucks.
Yeah.
Like my dad says,
we ain't born laughin'.
Hmm.
Sounds like a smart man.
GAVIN: You know his one
big piece of life advice
in this world,
you're either the anvil
or the hammer.
Which do you want to be?
I'd rather be the ant.
What ant?
The ant crawling
across the anvil
when the hammer comes down.
Then at least
it's over quickly.
[chuckles]
[slurps]
Oh, um...
uh, sorry?
I just have a thing
with mouth noises.
Any noises, really.
Sometimes I think
I'd just be happier deaf.
Oh, don't say that.
JENNA: No, no, no.
It's ait's a thing.
My doctor says
it's neurological.
It's called misophonia
literally the hatred of sound.
Wow.
That must suck.
Would've probably been better
if I'd just crawled
back into the womb
and stayed there.
You're weird.
I like weird.
Hey, so I'm getting up early
to tour the college.
You gonna be here tomorrow?
Not sure.
I guess.
Well, uh, maybe
we could meet up for coffee.
Mm.
Text me?
[phones chime and buzz]
[door creaks]
[door closes, lock clicks]
[insects chirping]
[tapping]
[scratching]
[scratching cuts off]
[ominous music]
[waves crashing]
NICOLE:
She's fucking hopeless.
I want her out.
[dramatic sting]
[loud banging]
[loud thumping]
[eerie music]
[dramatic sting]
[door creaks]
[gasps]
[knocking]
[distorted, indistinct voice]
Maybe Dr. Lerner needs
to tweak your meds.
[voice echoes]
[music building]
[gurgling]
[retches]
[birds singing]
[crows cawing]
[hammer pounding]
Morning.
[cawing continues]
I do envy them.
Birds don't fly for pleasure.
Flying is just an endless,
desperate search for food.
Well, it still looks fun.
[silverware clattering,
indistinct chatter]
[cup rattles]
[mugs thump and clatter]
[cups scrape]
[loud chewing]
[slurping]
[sound cuts off]
[dark ambient music]
[sighs]
[buzzes]
[buzzing]
[thumps]
[chatter and clinking]
SERVER: Can I help you?
Hi.
Can I get a, uh, large coffee
to go?
Decaf.
[sighs]
[ominous music]
[music building]
Large decaf?
[gasps]
Oh.
Uh, no.
I'm
SERVER: Are you okay?
[suspenseful music]
You can't go in there.
Oh, my dear.
What's wrong?
Oh. Oh, I was just
I wasI was
supposed to meet Gavin,
and then he didn't
show up and
[breathing heavily]
I don't know.
I don't know.
Sometimes I see things
when I'm anxious, and...
I justI
Poor bird.
I'm working
in the garden today.
Would you like to come see?
There's nothing like
the quiet company of plants
to calm a soul down.
Hmm?
[serene music]
Angelica
excellent
for building strength.
JENNA: Mm.
Oh, and here's basil.
Mmm.
Bay leaf, coltsfoot,
devilwood...
JENNA: Mm.
Devilwood sounds dangerous.
Oh, no, dear.
Though if I put too much
in Sam's tea,
he does get a bit persistent.
What's that one?
Feverfew.
As the name suggests,
better for a fever
than anything you can buy
in the drugstore.
First rule of gardening
intruders must be weeded out.
I hate to do it.
Weeds are plants, too.
Got to protect the garden.
Sometimes
I can't help thinking...
it'd be much nicer
to be a plant.
Human life is so cruel...
especially for mothers.
Everything you birth
is taken away from you.
Not here in my garden.
Here, things stay
to grow where they're planted.
Do you have children?
Two.
JENNA: Mm.
My daughter Shiloh
and her twin brother Sam.
Baby Sam...
passed away
when they were newborns.
I'm so sorry.
ELLIE: Thank you.
And thank the good Lord
for Shiloh
and my two beautiful grandkids.
We're a tightknit family,
and I intend to keep it
that way.
Honey?
What's wrong?
Trust Ellie.
Let it out.
There's more room out here
than in there.
[tense music]
Something bad happened...
at college.
It just proved to me
what I always knew...
what you just said...
the world is
an ugly, cruel place.
Oh, my dear.
It is. It is.
And after what happened
at school...
I just didn't feel like myself.
I felt like everyone
was staring at me.
I guess I got super paranoid
because my mother sent me
to the farm.
ELLIE:
The farm?
That's just
what they called it.
The only vegetables they grew
there were the patients.
And then after I left,
it just got worse.
ELLIE:
What did you do?
I stopped taking
my medication.
ELLIE:
How did that feel?
Good.
Really good...
at first.
And then, I don't know,
I just couldn't
I couldn't stay there,
soso I ran,
and then...
ELLIE: What?
No, it'sit's stupid.
Stop judging your feelings
and just feel them.
Now, what did you feel?
Followed.
I felt like I was being
followed by someone,
someone I'm pretty sure
doesn't even exist.
Who could it be?
JENNA: I don't know.
I think I just made
a terrible mistake.
Maybe I should be
in the hospital.
Hospitals make you sick
and keep you sick.
No.
Everything you're experiencing
comes from the withdrawal.
You're safe here.
Sam and I have your back.
But if you feel the need
to leave,
Sam will drive you.
[chainsaw whirring]
[classical music ringtone
playing]
SAM: Oh.
Gosh darn it.
Just got a
Hey.
[serene music]
If it's all right,
I would like to stay
a little longer.
You're right on the verge
of freeing yourself.
Another few days,
you'll be right as rain.
Come.
Help me with my herbs.
This is what we did
this morning.
You got to dry them all year.
[tapping]
[scratching]
[reedy breathing]
[scratching]
[rattling breath]
[scratching]
[wheezing]
[scratching and wheezing]
[scratching increases]
[wheezing]
[gasps]
[sighs]
[faint wheezing]
[moaning]
[panel clunks]
[wheezing]
[door creaks]
[ominous tone]
[panel clunks]
[wheezing]
[scratching]
[wood creaks]
[gasps]
[sighs]
[wheezing]
[ominous rumbling building]
[wheezing]
[dramatic sting]
[yelps]
[wheezing]
[knock on door]
ELLIE: Jenna?
Are you all right, dear?
Yes, yes.
Sorry.
Uh, bad dream.
ELLIE: Can I get you anything?
No, I'm good.
Thank you.
[classical music ringtone
playing]
[suspenseful music building]
[screaming]
[hissing]
[knock on door]
Just open the door
and let me help.
This is a critical time
for you, Jenna.
You can't trust your senses.
I need you to open this door.
Jenna.
[door creaks]
[grunts]
SAM: Ellie?
EllieMay?
Ellie!
Are you all right?
[suspenseful music building]
Ellie.
You upstairs?
Come, woman,
answer me.
[door opens]
[moans]
SAM: Oh, Lord, Ellie.
What happened?
You're hurt.
She walloped me.
[softly]
Okay.
[dramatic sting]
[screaming]
[hissing and moaning]
[breathing heavily]
Oh.
Oh.
Hey!
[wheezes]
There's nothing
to be afraid of here.
No torment, no pain,
no fear or anxiety.
That's all over.
Every member of this family,
every single person
in this house
is perfectly cared for
by my natural painkillers
and nutrients.
[moaning and scrabbling]
Settle now.
[wheezes]
ELLIE: They're so excited
to meet you.
[whimpering]
I suppose I first heard
the calling at the hospital.
All those poor, sick,
lonely people.
I did what I could
to keep them from pain.
It was all too clear
that their fate was to die
a lonely death,
in agony,
surrounded by cold
and indifferent machines.
But I could save them
from that fate.
[dramatic music]
I think the hospital knew
what I was doing.
But they didn't want
anyone else to know.
They gave me early retirement.
Then the plant closed,
and Sam's work dried up, too.
SAM: And right about that time,
our daughter and her family
threatened to move
out of the house.
It was starting to feel like
maybe the saddest Thanksgiving
of all time.
Right back.
That's when it came to me,
just as it did at the hospital.
I knew how I could put together
all my love and knowledge,
along with Sam's skills,
and keep our family together...
forever.
[wheezing]
ELLIE:
Shiloh didn't mind.
I saw the relief in her eyes.
Oh, that husband of hers
didn't like it, but
I took care of him okay.
He was the first
of Ellie's weeds.
And the little ones,
I rocked them in my arms
till it took hold.
They didn't fuss at all
when we relieved them
of their eyes and tongues.
Now we all live
under one roof.
I tend the garden.
Sam maintains the house.
Life can be perfect
when you don't ask
for too much.
SAM: And this B&B thing,
we make enough to get by
and keep the garden watered
and properly fed.
ELLIE: Oh, and sometimes
it brings us something else
someone who needs our help.
Oh, I just can't look at one
of the Lord's little flowers,
can't look 'em in the eye
knowing what the cruel world
has in store for them.
SAM: You know,
we measured you up
the first night you were here?
ELLIE: And watered you
with the first doses
of my special formula.
Gavinhe's here, too.
We helped him
plant some roots.
The two of you belong
together...
with us.
[whimpers]
No, child.
Don't fret.
[whimpers]
ELLIE: Just to make sure
there's no pain.
Ellie has
the kindest of ways.
You won't feel a thing.
Just the relief
of not having to see,
not having to weep anymore.
And guess what.
I built you
the tiniest, comfiest place.
The only problem we have there
is the damn cockroaches
will just keep nibbling away
at everything.
Hush, Sam.
She doesn't need to think
about that now.
Oh, sorry.
All that awaits
is freedom forever
from all the cruelties of life.
[doorbell rings]
Can I help you?
Um, have you, uh
have you seen this girl?
I've been following her
for some time now.
I'm at the motel,
and she isn't there.
I think
she's been staying here.
Yes, she was, but she left
early this evening.
Areare you sure?
I didn't see her leave.
[laughs]
Why don't you come on in?
We'll straighten all this out.
Thank you.
[door closes]
ELLIE: Please.
Sit here, Mr....
Balsam.
ELLIE: Well, Mr. Balsam,
you look exhausted.
You've got no idea
how tired I am.
You stay right here.
I'm gonna bring you
a nice cup of hot tea.
Thank you.
[ominous music]
JENNA:
[whimpers]
There we go.
My son Tony.
Oh.
A very handsome young man.
He's a good boy.
Wouldn't hurt a fly.
He struggled
with depression a bit,
but he's doing all right.
We were so hopeful
when he told us
that he met a girl
that he really liked,
one that really understood him.
A girl by the name
of Jenna Branson.
Kids don't understand.
They've got no sense
of proportion.
Everything is huge...
dramatic, apocalyptic.
It's a passionate time.
They'll learn.
Time's the teacher.
Tony didn't have time,
not enough.
The records show
that he was on the phone...
with Jenna.
[gasps]
BALSAM:
I just want to talk to her.
[grunts]
I'm not trying
to blame anyone.
I just want to know.
[grunts]
You took
your sweet fucking time.
[suspenseful music building]
[grunts]
Bring his car around back
and be quick about it.
[grunting]
[yelps]
[groaning]
[engine revving]
[dramatic music]
[car beeping]
SAM: I'll take him out
to the quarry
[suspenseful music]
We'll get her back
sometime soon, okay?
Okay.
ELLIE: Let's go.
Help me.
Get his legs.
[both grunting]
SAM: He's huge.
All right?
[car door opens]
What are we gonna do
about Jenna?
ELLIE: She's going nowhere.
We'll finish with her later
after the weeding.
[engine turns over]
[ominous music]
[dramatic sting]
[grunts]
[engine idling]
[engine revving]
[screaming]
[metal and glass crashing]
[eerie music]
[ominous music]
[inhuman screeching]
[static crackling]
[distorted voice]
[voices whispering]
[VCR whirs]
MARY:
Where did this come from?
STUDENT: There was just
an envelope by your door
when I got here this morning.
Throw it away.
[door closes]
"That tape was
my first introduction to Simon.
"He embodied
everything I despised,
"all the pitiless parasites
who take advantage of people
"at their most vulnerable,
"but from the moment I met him,
I sensed there was...
there was something
very different about Simon."
"But first...
I set out, quite frankly,
to destroy him."
[laughter]
So love at first sight, then.
I'd say more like hate.
Yeah.
I can confirm that.
[laughter]
Your book is
really all about Miles.
I know it's hard, but can you
talk about your son?
His last few days?
[somber music]
MARY: I was alone with Miles
when he came into the world,
and I was alone with him
when he left.
You know what?
I'm his father.
He's my son, too.
You're not his father.
You're just a man
who walked out
because I refused to have
an abortion.
Yeah, well, I'm here now.
My God, you're drunk.
Well, I'm handling this
my own way.
Get out of my sight.
[door closes]
MILES: You, Mom?
MARY: Hey, Miles.
How you doing?
Good.
Can I get you anything?
Mom.
MARY: Mmhmm?
Where do you think we go...
after we die?
Um...
well, I think that we just...
We just go to sleep, you know?
That's all right.
I'm awfully tired.
Where do you want to go?
With you.
I just want to be with you.
Close your eyes.
[smooching]
Love you very, very, very much.
I love you.
MARY: I was like a fish
trying to survive on air.
But then it all changed.
Hi.
What are you doing?
I was just saying hello.
No, what are you doing
in my office?
Who let you in?
Which one do you want me
to answer first?
What?
Who am I, who let me in,
what am I doing here?
Can you please leave?
I thought
this was your office hours.
You're a student?
Of life.
Right, you either leave,
or I'm calling
the campus police.
And have me arrested?
For doing what?
For daring to disturb
the famous
Professor Mary Florensky?
I do dare, apparently.
[bell tolls outside]
Professor, this is
not so much a profession for me
but a calling, a vocation.
And what exactly is
your calling?
I'm a speaker for the dead.
You see my tape?
That was you?
Well, you're either a magician,
or you're mentally ill.
[chuckles]
I did go crazy there
for a while
while I was refusing
my calling.
I tried
every numbing agent possible.
I'm still in recovery.
I always will be,
they say, but...
other than that,
I'm deeply and tragically sane.
Or a glutton for punishment.
You do know what it is I do?
Yes.
Yes.
You expose frauds.
You publicly humiliate them.
I've read your books.
I've seen you on TV,
and, quite frankly,
you are no fun.
Neither are frauds.
Why is it so important
that you convince everybody
it's all bullshit?
Who are you really trying
to convinceyourself?
Right, time's up.
I'm very busy.
Now leave, or I am calling
the campus police.
Professor,
I don't want to be here
any more than you want me here.
Good.
We agree.
Now leave.
SIMON:
I can't do that.
And why is that?
Because Miles sent me here.
MARY: Science was once defined
as putting nature to the rack,
and I guess, in a way,
that's what I did with Simon.
I tested him every way,
everywhere I could.
So from skeptic to believer?
Believer?
No.
Faith is believing in things
that you can't see,
but I saw what Simon can do.
Well, it's not me
that does anything.
Oh...
All right,
what comes through him.
I challenge any of you to...
to witness
one of Simon's convocations
and remain unchanged.
[ominous sting]
All right, our subject today
is Simon McNeal.
He's 28 years old.
In addition to being
a charming narcissist,
he's also
a selfprofessed medium.
Today we'll put those claims
to the test.
So, as you can see,
the room is bare.
Simon, too.
Arms.
[whispering]
He's almost here.
[ominous music]
For those of you
that don't know,
I've recently lost my son Miles
to leukemia.
He was 7 years old.
This is what people like Simon
like to prey on
grief.
So today we're gonna make
an example of him.
All right, Simon,
can you hear us?
We're ready for your miracles
whenever you are.
You're all gonna hear
some very disturbing sounds.
That's part of the convocation.
But no matter what you hear,
that door must stay closed.
Mary, I've accepted
your controls
and your precautions,
but I need complete darkness.
Or rather, they do.
"They"?
The dead.
[electricity crackles]
[screaming]
[eerie music]
[static crackling]
[inhuman screeching]
[distorted screaming]
[static crackling]
[distorted moan]
Simon, can you hear us?
Simon?
[dramatic sting]
[inhuman screech]
SIMON: [breathing heavily]
MARY:
Hey, hey.
It's okay.
It's all right.
Can you call a medic?
STUDENT: Yeah.
It's okay, Simon.
Breathe.
[ominous music]
[dramatic sting]
[siren wailing]
[indistinct radio chatter]
What happened back there?
I just let them speak.
I let him speak.
It's not possible.
Oh, Mary.
You aren't ready.
I need to know
what happened back there.
You aren't ready, Mary.
What happened?
Ma'am.
Please.
[dramatic music]
He's not in there, you know.
Not the real him.
That's just some old clothes
he's grown out of.
I see you've recovered.
I see you haven't.
No, I haven't.
I can't stop thinking
about him.
SIMON:
Is that why you asked me here?
Assumptions must be tempered
by an open mind
to new evidence.
The best scientists
always question.
I'm willing to have
my mind opened...
by you.
I'm telling you,
he's not in there.
Then where is he?
He just wants to be near you.
That's what he said...
his very last words to me.
He's so much closer
than you realize.
No, I'm okay.
Sorry.
I forgot.
Don't be.
I'm a better man on the wagon.
I've fallen off enough times
to know.
MARY: Why would my son come
to you and not me?
I'm his mother.
I don't understand.
I need to understand.
Please.
Once upon a time,
we were wanderers.
And long before we ever built
a permanent home for ourselves,
we built homes for our dead,
places we'd return to
in our wanderings,
to rest,
to recover, to honor them.
And then as we stopped
our wanderings,
we stopped building new homes.
We moved in with our dead.
We buried them beneath us
as we continued to honor them
and be protected and nurtured
by them.
But as time passed,
our conception of them changed.
We began to fear them.
And in that fear,
we banished them...
from the homes
to the churchyard
and then farther...
to outside the city walls.
Step by step, we exiled them
to their highway,
leaving them homeless
and voiceless.
They want their stories
to be told.
They want their voices
to be heard.
They want to be close
to those they love the most...
like your son.
My son exists
only in my memory.
Didn't he leave you
a message?
Whatever happened that day,
it doesn't prove anything.
Miles sent me to you
for a reason, Mary.
Because if you,
with all your tools of science,
with all your certainty,
if you fail to prove me wrong,
it will change the world.
And at that point,
you will see how close
your son really is to you.
[ominous music]
[gasps, breathing heavily]
Simon knew things
that no one else could know,
and through him,
Miles sent me messages
that couldn't be
from anyone else.
I guess that's why
I fell in love with him.
It's almost like Miles
was giving me permission.
A year later,
I can still feel my son
everywhere I go.
And then I began to realize
that this wasn't just about me
and my son.
It was about all of us.
I mean, what if scientists were
the ones acting on faith
instead of using
our best resources
to find the truth?
We have the ability
to study quantum objects
a billion times smaller
than an atom to...
the largest structure
there isthe universe itself.
And that's why we started
this foundation.
With your financial support,
we would have access
to the best imaging power
science has to offer.
Simon has a great quote for it.
Yes.
"The horizon is just the limits
of our vision."
Isn't he something?
You have no idea
what he's capable of.
What are you doing?
Oh, fuck.
I'm so sorry, Professor.
You want to stop looking
at me like that?
MARY: Like what?
Like I just shot
your fucking dog.
Explain yourself.
Can it wait till I'm sober?
MARY: No.
Now.
Well, I think the crime scene
speaks for itself, no?
This isn't you, Simon.
What if it is?
What if this is
exactly who I am?
Don't do that.
No.
Simon.
I know you.
You don't know me.
You haven't got a fucking clue.
You're in recovery,
and this is part
of the struggle with your gift.
What you don't know...
is that's where I met your ex.
I was his sponsor
in the program.
He told me
all about your dying son.
What do you
No, what are you saying?
No.
You answer me!
I was smalltime, Mary.
You helped me go bigtime.
But investorsthat's
another story completely.
I've been to prison.
I have no interest
in going back there.
You don't fuck with people
with money.
You understand me?
They don't take lightly
to being conned.
What con?
Oh, Mary, wake the fuck up.
It was a con.
It was all a con.
No.
That's impossible.
You couldn't fake that.
I was there.
That first time in the lab,
I rigged it.
I paid a maintenance guy
to cut the power.
And the messages from beyond?
I wrote those
the night before.
I used phenolphthalein.
It's invisible until exposed
to an activating agent
in this case, simple ammonia.
[distorted screams]
Oh, and the seizures?
That was a microdose
of penicillin.
I'm allergic to it.
Takes an hour to kick in
and makes the drama
all the more convincing.
You fell for it, Mary,
but you fell too hard.
I tried to slow things down,
but you were obsessed.
This ends here and now.
Your son is dead.
He's gone.
He's six feet under.
Fucking piece of shit.
For what, Mary?
For telling people
what they want to hear?
For giving them closure?
You fucking drunk!
SIMON:
Just remember something.
No one's gonna believe
that you're not in this
with me.
So, if I'm going to jail,
you're going with me.
[breathing heavily]
[chalk squeaking and scraping]
[bedsprings squeak]
[labored breathing]
[dark music]
[swing squeaking]
I'm not entirely sure
what I said last night.
Uh, I blacked out,
which isn't surprising.
When you haven't fallen off
the wagon in a while,
sometimes it can be
a pretty big fall.
I get it.
Right, so what did I say?
You told me the truth.
Yeah, I was afraid of that.
Um, I'm gonna grab my stuff.
Why?
Where are you going?
I don't know.
Uh, not here.
I assume
you don't want me here.
You're not going anywhere.
We have a lot of work to do.
What do you mean "we"?
Maybe I knew all along.
Hmm.
But that doesn't matter now.
This is much bigger
than you and me.
I'm sorry.
I'm not understanding.
The show must go on.
There's a lot of money
on the table.
We still have investors
coming tonight.
Go get yourself cleaned up.
Go on.
[laughs]
We're inviting you to become
part of a Manhattan Project
to see over the horizon
that separates life from death.
[crowd murmurs excitedly]
The real final frontier.
Are you ready, my love?
Ready.
You're all in
for a real treat.
[man chuckles]
Simon has agreed to perform
a convocation tonight.
So, if you'd like
to come upstairs,
you can witness
what Simon can do.
Come.
[crowd chatters excitedly]
What the fuck are you doing?
Just play along.
You'll see.
[whispering] You know,
you really pissed them off.
Now, you are gonna hear
some very disturbing noises,
but you mustn't be concerned.
It's all part
of the convocation.
The dead have highways,
and Simon creates an opening,
an exit, so to speak.
No matter what happens,
no matter what we hear,
we mustn't open the door.
Isn't that right, Simon?
[rocking chair creaking]
MILES: [whispering eerily]
We're not sleeping.
[suspenseful sting]
[eerie rumbling]
[voices whispering]
[screaming]
[voices whispering]
What the fuck is this?
[voices whispering]
Mary!
Save me!
[screaming]
[crunching and cracking]
[screaming]
What the fuck is happening
to me?
It's very disturbing
how he suffers
to communicate with the beyond.
SIMON: Mary, let me
the fuck out of here!
But we mustn't interfere.
[voices whispering]
SIMON:
[screaming]
[eerie music]
[inhuman shrieking]
[voices whispering]
[screaming]
[voices whispering]
[screaming]
[screaming]
[voices stop,
electricity crackles]
[wind whistling]
[door creaks]
[wheezing]
[ominous music]
[gasps and wheezes]
MARY: Shh.
[wheezes]
[choking coughs]
I'm so sorry.
[softly] It's okay.
Shh.
Shh.
[gasps]
[eerie music]
$7.50.
Yes.
Thanks.
Ooh.
I'm sorry.
I think I left my wallet
in my other coat.
I got you.
[rock music playing]
Oh, fuck.
Would you allow us
to take these with us,
and then we'll come by later
and pay you?
Yeah, no can do.
Really?
Wow, man.
Wha[scoffs]
That's gonna be $7.50.
Do you know Ravenmoor?
Yeah.
BENNETT:
Is it a nice place?
No.
Well, we're headed there.
Unless you want to join us
in the trunk of our car,
you'll surrender
these beverages to us
and allow us to pay you later,
and you will do it very quickly
so they do not get cold.
Okay, these are on the house.
Thank you very much.
[engine turns over]
[tires squeal]
Hey, hey!
Oh, fuck!
[tires squeal]
[horn blares]
[engine revving]
Fucking kids
with their headphones.
Generation of zombies, man.
Sorry, B.
Whatever, man.
[ominous music]
STEVE: Place is
royally fucked up, man.
Some bad shit happened here
when I was a kid.
Everybody knows this whole
neighborhood is haunted.
Hey, do you even know
where we're going?
47 Tollington Place.
It's probably
up the street here,
a few blocks away.
Just keep driving.
[cell phone rings]
Oh, fuck.
Shit, who's that, man?
That is my happy place.
We get this book,
get out of here,
I'm buying a condo in Mexico
on the beach.
Me and Jeannie,
we're gonna sip tequilas
and watch the divorcees
doing downwardfacing dog
on the yoga lawn.
[laughs]
And I'm gonna read.
Gonna read Jack Reacher
and William Shakespeare
and leave the fucking rats
in the sewer.
[dramatic sting]
Whoa!
[tires squeal]
What the fuck, man?
You see that, man?
There was a
there was a woman, man.
What woman?
She was just right there.
[car rumbling]
Aw, shit.
[engine sputtering]
Aw, no, no, no, no.
Okay, pop the hood.
[car door closes]
Hey, uh, what's wrong, B?
Hold on.
[person moaning]
[dramatic sting]
PERSON: Stevie...
[voices whispering]
[eerie music]
BENNETT:
Try it now.
Dude, you hear me?
Hey, bro, where you going?
Where the fuck you going, man?
Steve!
Steve?
Are you praying, man?
To God?
'Cause I guarantee
He ain't listening.
STEVE:
Nah. Not God, B.
Then who?
STEVE:
My mom, man.
BENNETT: Your mom?
STEVE: Yeah.
Yeah, you remember my mom, B?
BENNETT:
Of course I remember your mom.
[laughs]
BENNETT: Amazing lady.
Yeah, she is.
BENNETT:
Tell her I say hey.
She says, uhshe says
she always liked you, B.
BENNETT: What the fuck?
What are you doing, Steve?
She wants me
to come with her, man.
Put the gun down, man.
Oh, it's nice where she is.
You know, it's a
it's a happy place, man.
Brother, listen to me.
You were right, man.
There's nothing here for us.
[gunshot, inhuman scream]
[eerie music building]
[breathing heavily]
[engine turns over, revs]
[engine revs]
[tires squeal]
[suspenseful music]
[rats squeaking]
[eerie music]
[door creaks]
[person laughing]
[dramatic sting]
[suspenseful music building]
[door creaks]
Where is it?
What?
The book.
Don't fuck with me, lady.
Just give me what I want,
and I'll go.
Oh, I don't think you know
what you want...
Or where you're going.
Believe it or not,
I don't want to have to kill
anybody else today.
So I'm asking you one
last time, where's the book?
What book?
The Book of Blood.
Oh, that book.
Well, you're looking at it.
[rocking chair creaking]
And it's looking at you.
What happened to him?
You see,
all the dead have stories.
In fact, that's all they have.
And they chose Simon...
to be their page.
He lives on so that the dead
can have a voice.
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
I'm his sole reader.
The dead can be heard
all around
these abandoned streets.
But all roads lead to Simon,
where the highways
first opened.
Because of Simon,
I'm exactly where I want to be.
I'm in my happy place.
I just want the book, lady.
So, if he's the fucking book,
then I'm taking him with me.
You're not the first,
and you certainly will not be
the last,
to seek The Book of Blood.
See, all their stories are
on him, too...
as yours will be.
You've been writing your story
your whole life.
And now it's time
to come to its end.
My story doesn't end here.
All stories end here.
[scrabbling]
[rats squeaking]
[screams]
Fuck! Get off!
[rats screeching]
[rat screeches]
[moaning]
[indistinct chatter]
SAM: All right, one, two,
three, and...
[grunting]
[coughs]
SAM: How much cake
did you eat tonight?
[grunting]
Can I help you with something?
[suspenseful music]
Got to protect the garden.
[tense music]
[machines beeping]
[grunts]
SHERIFF:
Recognize him?
NICOLE: I believe that's
the father of her exboyfriend.
SHERIFF: You probably heard
about what happened to the boy?
Jenna was quite broken up
about it.
She hasn't been herself since.
SHERIFF: You ever meet him?
Or the father?
NICOLE: No.
Well, he tried to see us.
He wanted to talk to Jenna.
I wouldn't let him.
SHERIFF: Why is that?
What good would it have done,
dredging all that up?
I mean, the boy was dead.
No fault of Jenna's.
She needed to move on
with her life.
He believed
your daughter was responsible
for his son's death.
He stalked her for some time
and then either convinced her
to meet
or snatched her off the street
and then drugged her.
Vehicle software shows
that it was parked
before it sped off the cliff.
That and the lack
of any skid marks
or signs of braking suggest
that this was no accident.
Best guesshe was aiming
for suicide and murder,
but only succeeded
in the first part.
DOCTOR:
Your daughter is very lucky.
I have no doubt that
physically she will be fine.
She has little memory
of what happened,
but given the drugs
and the trauma,
that's not unexpected,
maybe even a blessing.
[chewing]
NICOLE: Want to talk about it?
It's okay.
That's fine.
You don't have to say a word.
[chewing]
Mom's gonna take care
of everything.
[chewing and slurping
crescendo]
[spinner whirs]
All right.
[game piece tapping]
Lucky girl.
Hmm.
A law degree.
Nice.
You're set for life.
[loud crunch]
[somber music]
TONY:
I wish you were here.
JENNA:
Wherever we are is here.
TONY:
I know, but still...
Tell me again
about the first time.
You were right behind me
in that ridiculous class.
Deconstructing
the Neoliberal Gaze.
JENNA: And you looked
over my shoulder
and saw me drawing everyone.
Like a horde
of zombie lemmings
marching off the edge
of a cliff.
And you leaned in
and whispered into my ear...
"Life is a problem
in search of a solution."
I knew
we were meant for each other.
TONY:
We are.
I just wish
JENNA: What?
That we could be together.
We're joining
the great, infinite nothing.
We will be together.
No, I mean...
when we do it,
we could do it together.
No, don't you see?
It's not just about us.
It's about the sign
we leave behind us,
the footprints in the sand
showing others the way.
Our folks, all the students,
they'll just think
it was about us,
that we were in love and
I am in love with you.
Me too,
but that's not the point.
It'll completely muddy
the message.
The message?
That life is a lie,
that we said no
to all the bullshit,
that we chose the freedom
of annihilation.
Right.
If you want out, just say it.
No, II just
[ominous music]
Okay, try this.
Close your eyes.
Picture me.
I'm right there with you.
We'll do it at the same time.
You're on the roof, right?
Me too.
TONY:
I want to.
I really, really do.
I just don't think I can.
I'm scared.
JENNA: If you don't do it now,
you're never gonna do it.
I thought you understood.
I'm getting off the ledge.
No, don't you dare,
you fucking coward!
Okay.
I'm still here.
Okay, good.
Now we just do it, together.
We do it right now, okay?
We just fucking do it now!
[somber music]
Hello?
[sobbing]
Tony?
Hello?
[tense music]
[quietly eerie music]
[music builds]
[exhales deeply]
[eerie music]
So many stories, my love.
So many stories.
Whose will be next?
[Marilyn Manson's "Deep Six"]
MANSON: Yeah
It's like a stranger had
a key
Came inside my mind
And moved
all my things around
He didn't know
snakes can't kneel or pray
Can't try to break
My psyche down
Yow!
As if my feathers are wax
And your artillery lead
Do you like our bed?
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
Yeah
Watch yourself
Watch yourself,
watch yourself
Watch yourself
Love is evil
Con is confidence
Eros is sore
Sin is sincere
Love is evil
Con is confidence
Eros is sore
So deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
[disquieting music]
[melancholy music]
[disquieting music]
[eerie music]
MARY: We all die.
But sometimes the tales
of our passing are so shocking
that they must be
forever carved
into our collective memory.
There is a place where
these horrors are transcribed
by the dead.
And they want
their stories told.
[music builds]
[door creaks]
[books crash]
[distant clanging]
[ominous music]
[distant clanging]
[ominous beat]
[door creaks]
[dramatic musical sting]
[grunting]
[moans]
Bennett, look, II told you,
I can pay!
I just need time.
Time ran out.
They want blood now.
I have something.
Something very valuable.
It's a book.
It's a rare book
worth millions.
Go on.
BOOKMAN: I can tell you
where to find it.
[Marilyn Manson's "Deep Six"]
[dark rock music]
MANSON:
Yeah
Thanks.
[ominous music]
MANSON:
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
[tires squeal, engine revving]
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
He tried
to buy himself loose.
Gave me a tip on something
that could be our shot
at cashing out.
Oh, yeah?
A book.
One of a kind, apparently.
Where?
Ravenmoor.
You do know that place is
royally fucked up, right?
Something happened there.
They say it's like
fucking Chernobyl.
Urban decay.
That's what happened.
[phone beeps]
GPS: Begin route to Ravenmoor,
47 Tollington Place.
You want to run
with the fucking rats
the rest of your life?
What's this book called?
The Book of Blood.
[tense music]
[eerie music]
[ominous music]
NICOLE:
That's why I bought this place.
The view.
It's so beautiful.
So desolate.
It's like we're looking
at two different places.
Ten minutes
in that hellish water,
and you'd freeze to death.
Why do you do that,
and why can't you just
enjoy anything?
What happened at school is
on him,
not on you.
You don't know what happened.
Tell me.
Tell someone.
I mean, how do you expect us
to help you
if you're not willing to talk
about it?
Maybe Dr. Lerner needs to tweak
your meds.
I stopped taking them.
NICOLE: What?
Yeah, I stopped taking
the meds, like, a week ago.
You can't just stop
your meds, Jenna.
The doctor was very clear
about that.
They weren't helping.
They just made me feel tired
and numb all the time.
Tired and numb is better
than having a broken brain.
Yeah, well,
you're not the one
who has to take them.
NICOLE: Dinner's ready,
if you're interested.
DAN:
Hello, Princess.
JENNA: Women prefer
to be called queens now, Dan.
Show a little respect.
For what?
When I was your age, I wouldn't
be caught dead living at home.
JENNA:
What does that even mean?
What?
"Caught dead."
You know,
that's your problem, Jen.
You're so lost in the trees
that you can't even see
the leaves.
DAN: The forest.
I think that's what you can't
see for the trees.
[laughs]
[chewing]
[loud chewing]
[slurping]
[swallows]
[chewing crescendos]
[chair scrapes]
Oh, here we go
Jenna off her meds.
You want me to dissolve
the food in my mouth?
I mean, how can I eat
without chewing, Jenna?
You're getting back
on those meds,
because I am not going down
that road again.
[waves crashing]
Three different shrinks
since she was 10 years old.
Tutoring and private coaches
to get her into college,
and then she flushes it
down the shithole.
You said yourself
she was a victim, too,
so don't blame the victim.
NICOLE: I don't want to blame
the victim.
I want to bill the victim.
I'm sending her back
to the farm.
And you know what?
If she fucks it up, I am done.
They're coming
to get her tomorrow.
[ominous music]
[waves crashing]
[laughter]
Get over here.
Oh, my
[laughs]
[laughter]
[laughter cuts off]
[door creaks]
[both grunt]
Excuse me.
Has the bus for Los Angeles
left yet?
ATTENDANT:
Leaves in five minutes.
Great.
I need to get a ticket.
Please.
[mop squishes]
ANNOUNCER: Last call.
Now boarding.
[indistinct announcement]
[crunching and chewing]
[people coughing]
[loud chewing]
[loud crunching and chewing]
[chewing crescendos]
[chewing cuts off]
[sighs]
[muffled]
Okay.
[mysterious beating]
[music building]
[mysterious beating]
[horn blares]
[tires squeal]
[tense music]
[door squeaks]
[indistinct chatter]
ELLIE: Very pleased
to meet you, Jenna.
Now, you just rest here
a moment
while we go
get your room ready.
Okay?
[shivers]
I knew it.
What?
I just saw you in the web...
at Spider's Web Caf.
Oh.
It's, um...
God, what's the word?
Like alike a coincidence
but more cosmic or something?
Right, synchronicity.
That's it.
Like a...
a meaningful coincidence.
Your folks seem so nice.
No,
they're a total nightmare.
Fortunately, they're back home
in Sydney.
Oh.
So you're not family?
We like to think everyone
who stays here is family.
It's destiny.
Or synchronicity.
Hmm.
[exhales deeply]
[sighs]
[light tapping]
[wood creaks]
[sighs]
[faint scratching]
[scratching]
[loud scratching]
[gasps]
BOTH:
Oh!
Oh.
Oh, I'm so sorry, dear.
That's okay.
I didn't mean to startle you.
Are you all right, dear?
JENNA: Yeah.
Yeah.
I just think I'm really tired.
I saw you must love music,
so I put a radio
right by your bed.
I don't really like music.
These are just so that
I don't...
hear anything.
Oh, I understand.
You're sensitive.
Of course.
You're an artist.
No, these are just, uh...
drawings.
In a strange town,
in a stranger's home,
after a long night journey...
For moments like these,
the good Lord gave us tea
and cake.
Come.
JENNA: I wasn't planning
on stopping.
I was, um
II was headed to LA,
and I just...
couldn't stand the thought
of, uh, being nauseous
for a day and a half on a bus.
I'm sure
you weren't nauseous, dear.
Oh, but I was.
Nauseous means you make
other people sick.
Nauseated is what you were.
Ellie is very particular
about words,
especially medical words.
See, Ellie was
a registered nurse
you know, someone that does
what a doctor does
for a dime, not a dollar.
Now, Sam Austin,
that is not true.
Doctors and nurses
are completely different.
Doctors treat illnesses.
Nurses treat people.
As for me, I don't know
what to do with my hands
if I'm not building.
I did the chairs
and this table.
Just did the cabinets.
Carved my own wooden leg.
No, kidding.
[both laugh]
Can you imagine?
[scratching]
So did you build this house?
SAM: We just added
here and there.
ELLIE:
Oh, he's such a modest mouse.
He doubled the size
of this place.
[scratching continues]
SAM: When you start
fixing things,
you know how it is.
There's always something else.
Oh, no, don't.
Yeah, a little bit
of a roach problem.
Don't worry about it.
I say we should just gas 'em,
but Ellie won't hear of that.
It's so much easier
to take life than to make life.
[clock chimes and cuckoos]
And on that
cheery little note,
this old man's going to bed.
Good night, all.
What's in LA?
Oh.
Tell you the truth,
I'm not sure where I'm going.
Maybe the only way to know
where you're headed
is to keep going
till you find it.
Maybe.
GAVIN: I'm just taking
some time to look around.
How about you?
You know what? Sorry.
That's none of my business.
I had a bad experience...
at school with a guy.
Bad breakup?
More like a breakdown.
Life sucks.
Yeah.
Like my dad says,
we ain't born laughin'.
Hmm.
Sounds like a smart man.
GAVIN: You know his one
big piece of life advice
in this world,
you're either the anvil
or the hammer.
Which do you want to be?
I'd rather be the ant.
What ant?
The ant crawling
across the anvil
when the hammer comes down.
Then at least
it's over quickly.
[chuckles]
[slurps]
Oh, um...
uh, sorry?
I just have a thing
with mouth noises.
Any noises, really.
Sometimes I think
I'd just be happier deaf.
Oh, don't say that.
JENNA: No, no, no.
It's ait's a thing.
My doctor says
it's neurological.
It's called misophonia
literally the hatred of sound.
Wow.
That must suck.
Would've probably been better
if I'd just crawled
back into the womb
and stayed there.
You're weird.
I like weird.
Hey, so I'm getting up early
to tour the college.
You gonna be here tomorrow?
Not sure.
I guess.
Well, uh, maybe
we could meet up for coffee.
Mm.
Text me?
[phones chime and buzz]
[door creaks]
[door closes, lock clicks]
[insects chirping]
[tapping]
[scratching]
[scratching cuts off]
[ominous music]
[waves crashing]
NICOLE:
She's fucking hopeless.
I want her out.
[dramatic sting]
[loud banging]
[loud thumping]
[eerie music]
[dramatic sting]
[door creaks]
[gasps]
[knocking]
[distorted, indistinct voice]
Maybe Dr. Lerner needs
to tweak your meds.
[voice echoes]
[music building]
[gurgling]
[retches]
[birds singing]
[crows cawing]
[hammer pounding]
Morning.
[cawing continues]
I do envy them.
Birds don't fly for pleasure.
Flying is just an endless,
desperate search for food.
Well, it still looks fun.
[silverware clattering,
indistinct chatter]
[cup rattles]
[mugs thump and clatter]
[cups scrape]
[loud chewing]
[slurping]
[sound cuts off]
[dark ambient music]
[sighs]
[buzzes]
[buzzing]
[thumps]
[chatter and clinking]
SERVER: Can I help you?
Hi.
Can I get a, uh, large coffee
to go?
Decaf.
[sighs]
[ominous music]
[music building]
Large decaf?
[gasps]
Oh.
Uh, no.
I'm
SERVER: Are you okay?
[suspenseful music]
You can't go in there.
Oh, my dear.
What's wrong?
Oh. Oh, I was just
I wasI was
supposed to meet Gavin,
and then he didn't
show up and
[breathing heavily]
I don't know.
I don't know.
Sometimes I see things
when I'm anxious, and...
I justI
Poor bird.
I'm working
in the garden today.
Would you like to come see?
There's nothing like
the quiet company of plants
to calm a soul down.
Hmm?
[serene music]
Angelica
excellent
for building strength.
JENNA: Mm.
Oh, and here's basil.
Mmm.
Bay leaf, coltsfoot,
devilwood...
JENNA: Mm.
Devilwood sounds dangerous.
Oh, no, dear.
Though if I put too much
in Sam's tea,
he does get a bit persistent.
What's that one?
Feverfew.
As the name suggests,
better for a fever
than anything you can buy
in the drugstore.
First rule of gardening
intruders must be weeded out.
I hate to do it.
Weeds are plants, too.
Got to protect the garden.
Sometimes
I can't help thinking...
it'd be much nicer
to be a plant.
Human life is so cruel...
especially for mothers.
Everything you birth
is taken away from you.
Not here in my garden.
Here, things stay
to grow where they're planted.
Do you have children?
Two.
JENNA: Mm.
My daughter Shiloh
and her twin brother Sam.
Baby Sam...
passed away
when they were newborns.
I'm so sorry.
ELLIE: Thank you.
And thank the good Lord
for Shiloh
and my two beautiful grandkids.
We're a tightknit family,
and I intend to keep it
that way.
Honey?
What's wrong?
Trust Ellie.
Let it out.
There's more room out here
than in there.
[tense music]
Something bad happened...
at college.
It just proved to me
what I always knew...
what you just said...
the world is
an ugly, cruel place.
Oh, my dear.
It is. It is.
And after what happened
at school...
I just didn't feel like myself.
I felt like everyone
was staring at me.
I guess I got super paranoid
because my mother sent me
to the farm.
ELLIE:
The farm?
That's just
what they called it.
The only vegetables they grew
there were the patients.
And then after I left,
it just got worse.
ELLIE:
What did you do?
I stopped taking
my medication.
ELLIE:
How did that feel?
Good.
Really good...
at first.
And then, I don't know,
I just couldn't
I couldn't stay there,
soso I ran,
and then...
ELLIE: What?
No, it'sit's stupid.
Stop judging your feelings
and just feel them.
Now, what did you feel?
Followed.
I felt like I was being
followed by someone,
someone I'm pretty sure
doesn't even exist.
Who could it be?
JENNA: I don't know.
I think I just made
a terrible mistake.
Maybe I should be
in the hospital.
Hospitals make you sick
and keep you sick.
No.
Everything you're experiencing
comes from the withdrawal.
You're safe here.
Sam and I have your back.
But if you feel the need
to leave,
Sam will drive you.
[chainsaw whirring]
[classical music ringtone
playing]
SAM: Oh.
Gosh darn it.
Just got a
Hey.
[serene music]
If it's all right,
I would like to stay
a little longer.
You're right on the verge
of freeing yourself.
Another few days,
you'll be right as rain.
Come.
Help me with my herbs.
This is what we did
this morning.
You got to dry them all year.
[tapping]
[scratching]
[reedy breathing]
[scratching]
[rattling breath]
[scratching]
[wheezing]
[scratching and wheezing]
[scratching increases]
[wheezing]
[gasps]
[sighs]
[faint wheezing]
[moaning]
[panel clunks]
[wheezing]
[door creaks]
[ominous tone]
[panel clunks]
[wheezing]
[scratching]
[wood creaks]
[gasps]
[sighs]
[wheezing]
[ominous rumbling building]
[wheezing]
[dramatic sting]
[yelps]
[wheezing]
[knock on door]
ELLIE: Jenna?
Are you all right, dear?
Yes, yes.
Sorry.
Uh, bad dream.
ELLIE: Can I get you anything?
No, I'm good.
Thank you.
[classical music ringtone
playing]
[suspenseful music building]
[screaming]
[hissing]
[knock on door]
Just open the door
and let me help.
This is a critical time
for you, Jenna.
You can't trust your senses.
I need you to open this door.
Jenna.
[door creaks]
[grunts]
SAM: Ellie?
EllieMay?
Ellie!
Are you all right?
[suspenseful music building]
Ellie.
You upstairs?
Come, woman,
answer me.
[door opens]
[moans]
SAM: Oh, Lord, Ellie.
What happened?
You're hurt.
She walloped me.
[softly]
Okay.
[dramatic sting]
[screaming]
[hissing and moaning]
[breathing heavily]
Oh.
Oh.
Hey!
[wheezes]
There's nothing
to be afraid of here.
No torment, no pain,
no fear or anxiety.
That's all over.
Every member of this family,
every single person
in this house
is perfectly cared for
by my natural painkillers
and nutrients.
[moaning and scrabbling]
Settle now.
[wheezes]
ELLIE: They're so excited
to meet you.
[whimpering]
I suppose I first heard
the calling at the hospital.
All those poor, sick,
lonely people.
I did what I could
to keep them from pain.
It was all too clear
that their fate was to die
a lonely death,
in agony,
surrounded by cold
and indifferent machines.
But I could save them
from that fate.
[dramatic music]
I think the hospital knew
what I was doing.
But they didn't want
anyone else to know.
They gave me early retirement.
Then the plant closed,
and Sam's work dried up, too.
SAM: And right about that time,
our daughter and her family
threatened to move
out of the house.
It was starting to feel like
maybe the saddest Thanksgiving
of all time.
Right back.
That's when it came to me,
just as it did at the hospital.
I knew how I could put together
all my love and knowledge,
along with Sam's skills,
and keep our family together...
forever.
[wheezing]
ELLIE:
Shiloh didn't mind.
I saw the relief in her eyes.
Oh, that husband of hers
didn't like it, but
I took care of him okay.
He was the first
of Ellie's weeds.
And the little ones,
I rocked them in my arms
till it took hold.
They didn't fuss at all
when we relieved them
of their eyes and tongues.
Now we all live
under one roof.
I tend the garden.
Sam maintains the house.
Life can be perfect
when you don't ask
for too much.
SAM: And this B&B thing,
we make enough to get by
and keep the garden watered
and properly fed.
ELLIE: Oh, and sometimes
it brings us something else
someone who needs our help.
Oh, I just can't look at one
of the Lord's little flowers,
can't look 'em in the eye
knowing what the cruel world
has in store for them.
SAM: You know,
we measured you up
the first night you were here?
ELLIE: And watered you
with the first doses
of my special formula.
Gavinhe's here, too.
We helped him
plant some roots.
The two of you belong
together...
with us.
[whimpers]
No, child.
Don't fret.
[whimpers]
ELLIE: Just to make sure
there's no pain.
Ellie has
the kindest of ways.
You won't feel a thing.
Just the relief
of not having to see,
not having to weep anymore.
And guess what.
I built you
the tiniest, comfiest place.
The only problem we have there
is the damn cockroaches
will just keep nibbling away
at everything.
Hush, Sam.
She doesn't need to think
about that now.
Oh, sorry.
All that awaits
is freedom forever
from all the cruelties of life.
[doorbell rings]
Can I help you?
Um, have you, uh
have you seen this girl?
I've been following her
for some time now.
I'm at the motel,
and she isn't there.
I think
she's been staying here.
Yes, she was, but she left
early this evening.
Areare you sure?
I didn't see her leave.
[laughs]
Why don't you come on in?
We'll straighten all this out.
Thank you.
[door closes]
ELLIE: Please.
Sit here, Mr....
Balsam.
ELLIE: Well, Mr. Balsam,
you look exhausted.
You've got no idea
how tired I am.
You stay right here.
I'm gonna bring you
a nice cup of hot tea.
Thank you.
[ominous music]
JENNA:
[whimpers]
There we go.
My son Tony.
Oh.
A very handsome young man.
He's a good boy.
Wouldn't hurt a fly.
He struggled
with depression a bit,
but he's doing all right.
We were so hopeful
when he told us
that he met a girl
that he really liked,
one that really understood him.
A girl by the name
of Jenna Branson.
Kids don't understand.
They've got no sense
of proportion.
Everything is huge...
dramatic, apocalyptic.
It's a passionate time.
They'll learn.
Time's the teacher.
Tony didn't have time,
not enough.
The records show
that he was on the phone...
with Jenna.
[gasps]
BALSAM:
I just want to talk to her.
[grunts]
I'm not trying
to blame anyone.
I just want to know.
[grunts]
You took
your sweet fucking time.
[suspenseful music building]
[grunts]
Bring his car around back
and be quick about it.
[grunting]
[yelps]
[groaning]
[engine revving]
[dramatic music]
[car beeping]
SAM: I'll take him out
to the quarry
[suspenseful music]
We'll get her back
sometime soon, okay?
Okay.
ELLIE: Let's go.
Help me.
Get his legs.
[both grunting]
SAM: He's huge.
All right?
[car door opens]
What are we gonna do
about Jenna?
ELLIE: She's going nowhere.
We'll finish with her later
after the weeding.
[engine turns over]
[ominous music]
[dramatic sting]
[grunts]
[engine idling]
[engine revving]
[screaming]
[metal and glass crashing]
[eerie music]
[ominous music]
[inhuman screeching]
[static crackling]
[distorted voice]
[voices whispering]
[VCR whirs]
MARY:
Where did this come from?
STUDENT: There was just
an envelope by your door
when I got here this morning.
Throw it away.
[door closes]
"That tape was
my first introduction to Simon.
"He embodied
everything I despised,
"all the pitiless parasites
who take advantage of people
"at their most vulnerable,
"but from the moment I met him,
I sensed there was...
there was something
very different about Simon."
"But first...
I set out, quite frankly,
to destroy him."
[laughter]
So love at first sight, then.
I'd say more like hate.
Yeah.
I can confirm that.
[laughter]
Your book is
really all about Miles.
I know it's hard, but can you
talk about your son?
His last few days?
[somber music]
MARY: I was alone with Miles
when he came into the world,
and I was alone with him
when he left.
You know what?
I'm his father.
He's my son, too.
You're not his father.
You're just a man
who walked out
because I refused to have
an abortion.
Yeah, well, I'm here now.
My God, you're drunk.
Well, I'm handling this
my own way.
Get out of my sight.
[door closes]
MILES: You, Mom?
MARY: Hey, Miles.
How you doing?
Good.
Can I get you anything?
Mom.
MARY: Mmhmm?
Where do you think we go...
after we die?
Um...
well, I think that we just...
We just go to sleep, you know?
That's all right.
I'm awfully tired.
Where do you want to go?
With you.
I just want to be with you.
Close your eyes.
[smooching]
Love you very, very, very much.
I love you.
MARY: I was like a fish
trying to survive on air.
But then it all changed.
Hi.
What are you doing?
I was just saying hello.
No, what are you doing
in my office?
Who let you in?
Which one do you want me
to answer first?
What?
Who am I, who let me in,
what am I doing here?
Can you please leave?
I thought
this was your office hours.
You're a student?
Of life.
Right, you either leave,
or I'm calling
the campus police.
And have me arrested?
For doing what?
For daring to disturb
the famous
Professor Mary Florensky?
I do dare, apparently.
[bell tolls outside]
Professor, this is
not so much a profession for me
but a calling, a vocation.
And what exactly is
your calling?
I'm a speaker for the dead.
You see my tape?
That was you?
Well, you're either a magician,
or you're mentally ill.
[chuckles]
I did go crazy there
for a while
while I was refusing
my calling.
I tried
every numbing agent possible.
I'm still in recovery.
I always will be,
they say, but...
other than that,
I'm deeply and tragically sane.
Or a glutton for punishment.
You do know what it is I do?
Yes.
Yes.
You expose frauds.
You publicly humiliate them.
I've read your books.
I've seen you on TV,
and, quite frankly,
you are no fun.
Neither are frauds.
Why is it so important
that you convince everybody
it's all bullshit?
Who are you really trying
to convinceyourself?
Right, time's up.
I'm very busy.
Now leave, or I am calling
the campus police.
Professor,
I don't want to be here
any more than you want me here.
Good.
We agree.
Now leave.
SIMON:
I can't do that.
And why is that?
Because Miles sent me here.
MARY: Science was once defined
as putting nature to the rack,
and I guess, in a way,
that's what I did with Simon.
I tested him every way,
everywhere I could.
So from skeptic to believer?
Believer?
No.
Faith is believing in things
that you can't see,
but I saw what Simon can do.
Well, it's not me
that does anything.
Oh...
All right,
what comes through him.
I challenge any of you to...
to witness
one of Simon's convocations
and remain unchanged.
[ominous sting]
All right, our subject today
is Simon McNeal.
He's 28 years old.
In addition to being
a charming narcissist,
he's also
a selfprofessed medium.
Today we'll put those claims
to the test.
So, as you can see,
the room is bare.
Simon, too.
Arms.
[whispering]
He's almost here.
[ominous music]
For those of you
that don't know,
I've recently lost my son Miles
to leukemia.
He was 7 years old.
This is what people like Simon
like to prey on
grief.
So today we're gonna make
an example of him.
All right, Simon,
can you hear us?
We're ready for your miracles
whenever you are.
You're all gonna hear
some very disturbing sounds.
That's part of the convocation.
But no matter what you hear,
that door must stay closed.
Mary, I've accepted
your controls
and your precautions,
but I need complete darkness.
Or rather, they do.
"They"?
The dead.
[electricity crackles]
[screaming]
[eerie music]
[static crackling]
[inhuman screeching]
[distorted screaming]
[static crackling]
[distorted moan]
Simon, can you hear us?
Simon?
[dramatic sting]
[inhuman screech]
SIMON: [breathing heavily]
MARY:
Hey, hey.
It's okay.
It's all right.
Can you call a medic?
STUDENT: Yeah.
It's okay, Simon.
Breathe.
[ominous music]
[dramatic sting]
[siren wailing]
[indistinct radio chatter]
What happened back there?
I just let them speak.
I let him speak.
It's not possible.
Oh, Mary.
You aren't ready.
I need to know
what happened back there.
You aren't ready, Mary.
What happened?
Ma'am.
Please.
[dramatic music]
He's not in there, you know.
Not the real him.
That's just some old clothes
he's grown out of.
I see you've recovered.
I see you haven't.
No, I haven't.
I can't stop thinking
about him.
SIMON:
Is that why you asked me here?
Assumptions must be tempered
by an open mind
to new evidence.
The best scientists
always question.
I'm willing to have
my mind opened...
by you.
I'm telling you,
he's not in there.
Then where is he?
He just wants to be near you.
That's what he said...
his very last words to me.
He's so much closer
than you realize.
No, I'm okay.
Sorry.
I forgot.
Don't be.
I'm a better man on the wagon.
I've fallen off enough times
to know.
MARY: Why would my son come
to you and not me?
I'm his mother.
I don't understand.
I need to understand.
Please.
Once upon a time,
we were wanderers.
And long before we ever built
a permanent home for ourselves,
we built homes for our dead,
places we'd return to
in our wanderings,
to rest,
to recover, to honor them.
And then as we stopped
our wanderings,
we stopped building new homes.
We moved in with our dead.
We buried them beneath us
as we continued to honor them
and be protected and nurtured
by them.
But as time passed,
our conception of them changed.
We began to fear them.
And in that fear,
we banished them...
from the homes
to the churchyard
and then farther...
to outside the city walls.
Step by step, we exiled them
to their highway,
leaving them homeless
and voiceless.
They want their stories
to be told.
They want their voices
to be heard.
They want to be close
to those they love the most...
like your son.
My son exists
only in my memory.
Didn't he leave you
a message?
Whatever happened that day,
it doesn't prove anything.
Miles sent me to you
for a reason, Mary.
Because if you,
with all your tools of science,
with all your certainty,
if you fail to prove me wrong,
it will change the world.
And at that point,
you will see how close
your son really is to you.
[ominous music]
[gasps, breathing heavily]
Simon knew things
that no one else could know,
and through him,
Miles sent me messages
that couldn't be
from anyone else.
I guess that's why
I fell in love with him.
It's almost like Miles
was giving me permission.
A year later,
I can still feel my son
everywhere I go.
And then I began to realize
that this wasn't just about me
and my son.
It was about all of us.
I mean, what if scientists were
the ones acting on faith
instead of using
our best resources
to find the truth?
We have the ability
to study quantum objects
a billion times smaller
than an atom to...
the largest structure
there isthe universe itself.
And that's why we started
this foundation.
With your financial support,
we would have access
to the best imaging power
science has to offer.
Simon has a great quote for it.
Yes.
"The horizon is just the limits
of our vision."
Isn't he something?
You have no idea
what he's capable of.
What are you doing?
Oh, fuck.
I'm so sorry, Professor.
You want to stop looking
at me like that?
MARY: Like what?
Like I just shot
your fucking dog.
Explain yourself.
Can it wait till I'm sober?
MARY: No.
Now.
Well, I think the crime scene
speaks for itself, no?
This isn't you, Simon.
What if it is?
What if this is
exactly who I am?
Don't do that.
No.
Simon.
I know you.
You don't know me.
You haven't got a fucking clue.
You're in recovery,
and this is part
of the struggle with your gift.
What you don't know...
is that's where I met your ex.
I was his sponsor
in the program.
He told me
all about your dying son.
What do you
No, what are you saying?
No.
You answer me!
I was smalltime, Mary.
You helped me go bigtime.
But investorsthat's
another story completely.
I've been to prison.
I have no interest
in going back there.
You don't fuck with people
with money.
You understand me?
They don't take lightly
to being conned.
What con?
Oh, Mary, wake the fuck up.
It was a con.
It was all a con.
No.
That's impossible.
You couldn't fake that.
I was there.
That first time in the lab,
I rigged it.
I paid a maintenance guy
to cut the power.
And the messages from beyond?
I wrote those
the night before.
I used phenolphthalein.
It's invisible until exposed
to an activating agent
in this case, simple ammonia.
[distorted screams]
Oh, and the seizures?
That was a microdose
of penicillin.
I'm allergic to it.
Takes an hour to kick in
and makes the drama
all the more convincing.
You fell for it, Mary,
but you fell too hard.
I tried to slow things down,
but you were obsessed.
This ends here and now.
Your son is dead.
He's gone.
He's six feet under.
Fucking piece of shit.
For what, Mary?
For telling people
what they want to hear?
For giving them closure?
You fucking drunk!
SIMON:
Just remember something.
No one's gonna believe
that you're not in this
with me.
So, if I'm going to jail,
you're going with me.
[breathing heavily]
[chalk squeaking and scraping]
[bedsprings squeak]
[labored breathing]
[dark music]
[swing squeaking]
I'm not entirely sure
what I said last night.
Uh, I blacked out,
which isn't surprising.
When you haven't fallen off
the wagon in a while,
sometimes it can be
a pretty big fall.
I get it.
Right, so what did I say?
You told me the truth.
Yeah, I was afraid of that.
Um, I'm gonna grab my stuff.
Why?
Where are you going?
I don't know.
Uh, not here.
I assume
you don't want me here.
You're not going anywhere.
We have a lot of work to do.
What do you mean "we"?
Maybe I knew all along.
Hmm.
But that doesn't matter now.
This is much bigger
than you and me.
I'm sorry.
I'm not understanding.
The show must go on.
There's a lot of money
on the table.
We still have investors
coming tonight.
Go get yourself cleaned up.
Go on.
[laughs]
We're inviting you to become
part of a Manhattan Project
to see over the horizon
that separates life from death.
[crowd murmurs excitedly]
The real final frontier.
Are you ready, my love?
Ready.
You're all in
for a real treat.
[man chuckles]
Simon has agreed to perform
a convocation tonight.
So, if you'd like
to come upstairs,
you can witness
what Simon can do.
Come.
[crowd chatters excitedly]
What the fuck are you doing?
Just play along.
You'll see.
[whispering] You know,
you really pissed them off.
Now, you are gonna hear
some very disturbing noises,
but you mustn't be concerned.
It's all part
of the convocation.
The dead have highways,
and Simon creates an opening,
an exit, so to speak.
No matter what happens,
no matter what we hear,
we mustn't open the door.
Isn't that right, Simon?
[rocking chair creaking]
MILES: [whispering eerily]
We're not sleeping.
[suspenseful sting]
[eerie rumbling]
[voices whispering]
[screaming]
[voices whispering]
What the fuck is this?
[voices whispering]
Mary!
Save me!
[screaming]
[crunching and cracking]
[screaming]
What the fuck is happening
to me?
It's very disturbing
how he suffers
to communicate with the beyond.
SIMON: Mary, let me
the fuck out of here!
But we mustn't interfere.
[voices whispering]
SIMON:
[screaming]
[eerie music]
[inhuman shrieking]
[voices whispering]
[screaming]
[voices whispering]
[screaming]
[screaming]
[voices stop,
electricity crackles]
[wind whistling]
[door creaks]
[wheezing]
[ominous music]
[gasps and wheezes]
MARY: Shh.
[wheezes]
[choking coughs]
I'm so sorry.
[softly] It's okay.
Shh.
Shh.
[gasps]
[eerie music]
$7.50.
Yes.
Thanks.
Ooh.
I'm sorry.
I think I left my wallet
in my other coat.
I got you.
[rock music playing]
Oh, fuck.
Would you allow us
to take these with us,
and then we'll come by later
and pay you?
Yeah, no can do.
Really?
Wow, man.
Wha[scoffs]
That's gonna be $7.50.
Do you know Ravenmoor?
Yeah.
BENNETT:
Is it a nice place?
No.
Well, we're headed there.
Unless you want to join us
in the trunk of our car,
you'll surrender
these beverages to us
and allow us to pay you later,
and you will do it very quickly
so they do not get cold.
Okay, these are on the house.
Thank you very much.
[engine turns over]
[tires squeal]
Hey, hey!
Oh, fuck!
[tires squeal]
[horn blares]
[engine revving]
Fucking kids
with their headphones.
Generation of zombies, man.
Sorry, B.
Whatever, man.
[ominous music]
STEVE: Place is
royally fucked up, man.
Some bad shit happened here
when I was a kid.
Everybody knows this whole
neighborhood is haunted.
Hey, do you even know
where we're going?
47 Tollington Place.
It's probably
up the street here,
a few blocks away.
Just keep driving.
[cell phone rings]
Oh, fuck.
Shit, who's that, man?
That is my happy place.
We get this book,
get out of here,
I'm buying a condo in Mexico
on the beach.
Me and Jeannie,
we're gonna sip tequilas
and watch the divorcees
doing downwardfacing dog
on the yoga lawn.
[laughs]
And I'm gonna read.
Gonna read Jack Reacher
and William Shakespeare
and leave the fucking rats
in the sewer.
[dramatic sting]
Whoa!
[tires squeal]
What the fuck, man?
You see that, man?
There was a
there was a woman, man.
What woman?
She was just right there.
[car rumbling]
Aw, shit.
[engine sputtering]
Aw, no, no, no, no.
Okay, pop the hood.
[car door closes]
Hey, uh, what's wrong, B?
Hold on.
[person moaning]
[dramatic sting]
PERSON: Stevie...
[voices whispering]
[eerie music]
BENNETT:
Try it now.
Dude, you hear me?
Hey, bro, where you going?
Where the fuck you going, man?
Steve!
Steve?
Are you praying, man?
To God?
'Cause I guarantee
He ain't listening.
STEVE:
Nah. Not God, B.
Then who?
STEVE:
My mom, man.
BENNETT: Your mom?
STEVE: Yeah.
Yeah, you remember my mom, B?
BENNETT:
Of course I remember your mom.
[laughs]
BENNETT: Amazing lady.
Yeah, she is.
BENNETT:
Tell her I say hey.
She says, uhshe says
she always liked you, B.
BENNETT: What the fuck?
What are you doing, Steve?
She wants me
to come with her, man.
Put the gun down, man.
Oh, it's nice where she is.
You know, it's a
it's a happy place, man.
Brother, listen to me.
You were right, man.
There's nothing here for us.
[gunshot, inhuman scream]
[eerie music building]
[breathing heavily]
[engine turns over, revs]
[engine revs]
[tires squeal]
[suspenseful music]
[rats squeaking]
[eerie music]
[door creaks]
[person laughing]
[dramatic sting]
[suspenseful music building]
[door creaks]
Where is it?
What?
The book.
Don't fuck with me, lady.
Just give me what I want,
and I'll go.
Oh, I don't think you know
what you want...
Or where you're going.
Believe it or not,
I don't want to have to kill
anybody else today.
So I'm asking you one
last time, where's the book?
What book?
The Book of Blood.
Oh, that book.
Well, you're looking at it.
[rocking chair creaking]
And it's looking at you.
What happened to him?
You see,
all the dead have stories.
In fact, that's all they have.
And they chose Simon...
to be their page.
He lives on so that the dead
can have a voice.
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
I'm his sole reader.
The dead can be heard
all around
these abandoned streets.
But all roads lead to Simon,
where the highways
first opened.
Because of Simon,
I'm exactly where I want to be.
I'm in my happy place.
I just want the book, lady.
So, if he's the fucking book,
then I'm taking him with me.
You're not the first,
and you certainly will not be
the last,
to seek The Book of Blood.
See, all their stories are
on him, too...
as yours will be.
You've been writing your story
your whole life.
And now it's time
to come to its end.
My story doesn't end here.
All stories end here.
[scrabbling]
[rats squeaking]
[screams]
Fuck! Get off!
[rats screeching]
[rat screeches]
[moaning]
[indistinct chatter]
SAM: All right, one, two,
three, and...
[grunting]
[coughs]
SAM: How much cake
did you eat tonight?
[grunting]
Can I help you with something?
[suspenseful music]
Got to protect the garden.
[tense music]
[machines beeping]
[grunts]
SHERIFF:
Recognize him?
NICOLE: I believe that's
the father of her exboyfriend.
SHERIFF: You probably heard
about what happened to the boy?
Jenna was quite broken up
about it.
She hasn't been herself since.
SHERIFF: You ever meet him?
Or the father?
NICOLE: No.
Well, he tried to see us.
He wanted to talk to Jenna.
I wouldn't let him.
SHERIFF: Why is that?
What good would it have done,
dredging all that up?
I mean, the boy was dead.
No fault of Jenna's.
She needed to move on
with her life.
He believed
your daughter was responsible
for his son's death.
He stalked her for some time
and then either convinced her
to meet
or snatched her off the street
and then drugged her.
Vehicle software shows
that it was parked
before it sped off the cliff.
That and the lack
of any skid marks
or signs of braking suggest
that this was no accident.
Best guesshe was aiming
for suicide and murder,
but only succeeded
in the first part.
DOCTOR:
Your daughter is very lucky.
I have no doubt that
physically she will be fine.
She has little memory
of what happened,
but given the drugs
and the trauma,
that's not unexpected,
maybe even a blessing.
[chewing]
NICOLE: Want to talk about it?
It's okay.
That's fine.
You don't have to say a word.
[chewing]
Mom's gonna take care
of everything.
[chewing and slurping
crescendo]
[spinner whirs]
All right.
[game piece tapping]
Lucky girl.
Hmm.
A law degree.
Nice.
You're set for life.
[loud crunch]
[somber music]
TONY:
I wish you were here.
JENNA:
Wherever we are is here.
TONY:
I know, but still...
Tell me again
about the first time.
You were right behind me
in that ridiculous class.
Deconstructing
the Neoliberal Gaze.
JENNA: And you looked
over my shoulder
and saw me drawing everyone.
Like a horde
of zombie lemmings
marching off the edge
of a cliff.
And you leaned in
and whispered into my ear...
"Life is a problem
in search of a solution."
I knew
we were meant for each other.
TONY:
We are.
I just wish
JENNA: What?
That we could be together.
We're joining
the great, infinite nothing.
We will be together.
No, I mean...
when we do it,
we could do it together.
No, don't you see?
It's not just about us.
It's about the sign
we leave behind us,
the footprints in the sand
showing others the way.
Our folks, all the students,
they'll just think
it was about us,
that we were in love and
I am in love with you.
Me too,
but that's not the point.
It'll completely muddy
the message.
The message?
That life is a lie,
that we said no
to all the bullshit,
that we chose the freedom
of annihilation.
Right.
If you want out, just say it.
No, II just
[ominous music]
Okay, try this.
Close your eyes.
Picture me.
I'm right there with you.
We'll do it at the same time.
You're on the roof, right?
Me too.
TONY:
I want to.
I really, really do.
I just don't think I can.
I'm scared.
JENNA: If you don't do it now,
you're never gonna do it.
I thought you understood.
I'm getting off the ledge.
No, don't you dare,
you fucking coward!
Okay.
I'm still here.
Okay, good.
Now we just do it, together.
We do it right now, okay?
We just fucking do it now!
[somber music]
Hello?
[sobbing]
Tony?
Hello?
[tense music]
[quietly eerie music]
[music builds]
[exhales deeply]
[eerie music]
So many stories, my love.
So many stories.
Whose will be next?
[Marilyn Manson's "Deep Six"]
MANSON: Yeah
It's like a stranger had
a key
Came inside my mind
And moved
all my things around
He didn't know
snakes can't kneel or pray
Can't try to break
My psyche down
Yow!
As if my feathers are wax
And your artillery lead
Do you like our bed?
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
Yeah
Watch yourself
Watch yourself,
watch yourself
Watch yourself
Love is evil
Con is confidence
Eros is sore
Sin is sincere
Love is evil
Con is confidence
Eros is sore
So deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
Deep six, six, six
Six, six feet deep
[disquieting music]
[melancholy music]
[disquieting music]