Curiosity Kills (2022) Movie Script

1
(tense music)
(moves to eerie music)
It's hard to believe that serial killer,
Edmund Kimber, once lived in my town.
I used to walk past this bar every day
to go to and from school.
I used to have to hold my nose
because the sidewalk smelled like piss.
And this place was Edmund
Kimber's favorite hangout.
Edmund Kimber worked with
California Highway Department.
He dumped the bodies of his victims here,
as he new place, where
they would never be found.
Now, almost 50 years later,
our college dorms are
only a rock throw away
from this haunted graveyard
of a serial killer.
And now, almost 50 years later,
we are once again talking
about a serial killer
who has roamed the streets
of our small town here in Alameda.
I wonder where he would actually hide
the bodies out here?
Under those rocks, in those shrubs?
Maybe even in the water.
(eerie music continues)
Welcome back truth seekers.
Blonde hair, don't care. (chuckles)
For those of you watching
for the first time,
I'm Frankie Fisher.
And I'm a journalism
student here, in Alameda.
And on this, my "True Seeker" channel,
I address local crimes that affect us all.
So first, I wanna say thank you so much
for all the great comments that I got
on my last episode, where
I uncovered a hacker
who changed his friend's grades
so that they qualify for law school.
You know, sometimes criminals need to brag
about their exploits so that other people
can think that they're smart,
which proves that
they're not really smart,
but very insecure.
For those of you who have
been following my journey,
um, for me to discover who
my biological parents are,
I did find out some news
from the state this week.
Um, and it turns out
that they are both dead.
Um, and in my next video,
I'm going to reveal their names,
but I just wanted to get a little bit
more information on them first.
So, thank you guys so much though,
for all your love and financial support
and legal advice, you know,
through this journey with
me for the last year.
Um, but, in other news,
moving on to my new two series,
I'm going to be talking about
how people become serial killers
and the effects that they have
on the people closest to the victims.
So the girls at the Beta PI sorority,
right here in Alameda,
have agreed to let me talk to them
about their late friend, Veronica Lake,
who was killed in their sorority house,
allegedly by the serial killer who
was operating right here on our campus.
And police claimed that that person
also died that same night.
Damn it.
The Cross-Country Killer,
so called by local media
because he was known for targeting women
on the running team.
He was actually implicated in five murders
in the last two years,
operating under the same MO.
Does anyone watching live
know what that means?
(soft music)
Right, modus operandi, in Latin,
or method of operation.
That's the who and how
they intend to kill,
when speaking of a serial killer.
You know, the very rare element
about the Cross-Country Killer
is that he never raped any of
his exclusive female victims.
Now, I have a trivia question for you all.
And the FBI actually uses this question
to identify psychopaths,
because only a self-identifying psychopath
can get it right?
And this is actually a true
story from a case file.
So, at her mother's wake and funeral
a woman meets a man who says he's a friend
of a family, and the woman falls instantly
in love with him.
He gets a call on his pager and he says
he'll be right back to make a phone call,
however, he never returns
back to talk to her.
And the woman, she has no idea
what his name is and nobody can tell her.
So, she had no way to contact him.
Now, three days later,
she kills her own sister.
The question is, why
did she kill her sister
who she said she loved dearly?
Send out your comments down below,
and I'll reveal the
answer on my next stream.
But don't feel bad if
you don't get it right,
because that just means
you're not a psychopath.
The official police report
on the Cross-Country Killer said,
"That though not ever a suspect
in serial murders, Timothy Luke Booth
was a janitor who worked at
the college athletic center."
And reports made to police
after he was killed.
"There were claims that he was known
to leer at and try to make conversation
with members of the
women's cross country team,
which made them feel very uncomfortable.
And every day after practice,
he was sure to happened to
"be cleaning near their locker room doors."
On this day, Booth saw, who
would be his last victim,
film student, Veronica Lake.
Who, it was later discovered,
had submitted complaints
about him to faculty,
but they were somehow
lost and not processed
until after it was too late.
She quickly called her
friend, and sorority sister,
Janet Jameson, for support.
As proved by the records
from the phone company
and the call record
app that Veronica used.
So we know that that
call actually happened
and what exactly was said.
(phone ringing)
Hello, Veronica.
Janet, I just came
out of the locker room,
he's here again, waiting for me.
He just smiled at me. What I do?
Just smile back and wave back
and move on like he means nothing
to you and you're not afraid.
We're told that soon
after Veronica arrived home
that night, her and her housemates heard
the sorority door swing
open from the wind,
which apparently has
happened a few times before.
But, Veronica being a first year student,
and only have living
there for a few months,
had no idea about the fussy door lock.
(door slams)
The front door swung open again,
gotta close it, bitches!
Who was the last one in?
Veronica was.
Veronica, honey, you
gotta push the door hard,
until the magnet catches.
Okay! Sorry!
We're already getting ready for bed.
(tense music)
(distant slam)
(tense music continues)
(door slams)
(sighs)
(latch grates)
(foreboding music)
(girl gasps)
Booth, allegedly, surprised Veronica
and mortally stabbed her.
But, she was able to shoot him once
in the head while he was standing,
and in her panic state,
twice more while he
was lying on the floor,
using a gun that was
registered to Janet Jameson,
who gave it to Veronica for security
when she found out that
Booth was stalking her.
Even though Janet claims
that she never knew
the true extent of how
much of a threat he was.
But this is all contradictory,
and many people have questioned
the police reports anyway, so.
But, I plan to find out the answers.
See you next week, truth seekers.
(soft music)
(moves to foreboding music)
(phone ringing)
Big brother checking up on me?
What are you doing, Frankie?
How do you mean?
You know, I've been
watching these videos,
and it's, it's crazy.
You know, what are you doing?
I told you to stay off my social media.
No, no, look, whatever you post
on Facebook or YouTube,
that's my business too.
This is not healthy, okay?
Our father is dead.
Murdered.
You gotta stop obsessing about it.
Don't worry about me, Matt,
I know what I'm doing.
(somber music)
This is where it all happened.
(anxious music)
Where are you guys?
Honestly, all this scares me.
Reading stories about murders makes me
wanna become a reclusive
and not leave the house.
Violence scares the shit out of me.
But I'm morally curious
about stories like these.
Especially the ones where the victims
were someone like me.
Veronica Lake was me or you, or you.
If you're cute, young, college woman.
Veronica shot Timothy in the head,
right through the eye.
The bullet in his brain
killed him instantly.
But in her panic state,
she shot him three more
times just to be sure.
Just act natural.
But why?
We have to go through this all over again?
If I say no, she's just
gonna keep pushing and pushing.
So?
So I wanna find out
what this chick knows.
Well, like what?
Like she knew he was shot three times.
Well, wouldn't that be
in the coroner's report?
That's a public record.
No, Perry Mason, it
wouldn't be, I looked it up.
I guess someone told her.
Duh. Who?
Wasn't me.
No, you're too busy talking
to yourself all the time.
Well yeah, it's the only
intelligent conversation
I can get around here.
Mariah?
It wasn't me.
Where the hell is Janet?
There's no way in hell Janet
would tell anyone anything.
When it comes to saving my own ass,
I don't trust anyone, including you.
Oh, Gwen.
I don't trust you either.
(doorbell dings)
(knocking on door)
Can I help you?
I'm Frankie.
I emailed ahead.
Gwen said I could come by this morning.
Right. Come on in.
(door slams)
Mm-hmm.
Mm.
Mm. Down
Mm. Down.
Mm. Just.
Mm.
Down.
Mm. Just, down.
I saw your channel, "True Crime",
plus, I love when you say,
"Blonde hair, don't care.",
on your bad hair days.
You're so fun.
Surprised you don't have more views.
Hm, I'm Gwen.
- Frankie.
- Mm.
Thank you again for
agreeing to be a part of this,
it's gonna be worth it.
That must be Harriet, over there?
Yeah.
Thank you again for agreeing
to be a part of this project.
Hundreds, if not thousands
of people are gonna view it,
maybe even millions.
It's gonna be important, I can feel it.
I can't wait, so cool
to be on your show.
I always wanted to do
something on social media.
Can I get you something to eat?
Oh, no, thank you.
Mm, I make the best
grilled cheese sandwiches.
The trick is I put a strip
of cooked bacon in the middle.
Don't let these other girls fool you,
I am the best chef of the house.
Their cooking smells like dirty diapers,
and tastes worse, but my shit, yeah.
Um, no thank you, I'm not hungry.
(tense music)
Um...
So, um, where shall we film?
(somber music)
Cool color.
What?
Your phone.
Oh. Thanks.
Okay, Harriet.
I'm just gonna ask you a couple questions,
and you can answer with whatever
comes to mind, easy-peasy.
I know what an interview is.
How would you describe Veronica?
I don't know.
I'm still trying to forget it.
I'm sorry?
I, uh, I mean, I take it you
girls weren't very close?
We didn't talk much, no.
How did her death affect you?
Again, we really didn't talk much.
I see.
You know, I don't think I'm gonna
be a good interview for you.
I know it's really hard,
but I would just like to ask a couple-
- This is some really cool equipment.
But it's almost like
professional. (chuckles)
I thought YouTubers just had
to make do with what they had?
I only ask, 'cause
Veronica was a filmmaker
and I asked her what I'd need
to start my YouTube channel.
Cool.
Yeah, I'd like to see her work sometime.
Yeah, she had a YouTube page,
but I think her family had it taken down.
Ah, I see.
Your channel's really informative.
Like, I didn't know Edmund
Kimber buried as victims here.
(chuckles) Creepy, right?
Yeah. (chuckles)
But why your obsession with true crime?
Um...
Both of my parents were murdered.
So I guess I just became
obsessed with the topic.
Sorry to hear that.
I can't imagine-
It's okay.
Ready?
How would you describe Veronica?
- She was shy.
- Mm.
But she always had a fake
it till you make it attitude
when dealing with strangers.
(tense music)
The irony with her is that she
hated living an anonymous life.
Her personality was at
odds with the world.
But she just wanted to be noticed.
And now she's known for tragic reasons.
Did she have any enemies?
I didn't think so.
She listened more than she talked.
(thunder rumbling)
How did her murder affect you?
I was shocked.
I mean, I haven't had
time to process it all,
but maybe I still haven't,
which is why I agreed to talk with you.
It, just like, one day she was alive
and then the next day she was
murdered by a serial killer.
And they tell you to just move on.
No three days of leave at my work.
She's not family.
What would you say to
Timothy Luke Booth's parents
if they were listening right now?
I don't know.
Congratulations on raising a creep.
Okay.
I'm gonna ask those same questions,
but from my angle, you
can take a break for now.
Okay.
Oh, can you tell me if
I'm right about my guess
about why that woman killed her sister?
Um, sure.
A lot of people in class are saying it's
because her sister was in a relationship
with the man she fell in love with.
Nope.
But I think it's because,
if the man was a friend of her family's,
and he was at her mother's funeral,
then he'd probably be at
her sister's funeral too.
That's correct.
(laughs) That means I'm really smart.
Um, Gwen, that means...
Congratulations.
(Gwen laughs)
Congratulations are in order.
I'll be sure to let everybody know
that you guessed it right.
(Gwen giggles)
(somber music)
How would you describe Veronica?
Did she have any enemies?
How did her murder affect you?
What would you say
to Timothy Luke Booth's parents right now,
if they were watching?
(somber music continues)
She's insane.
My turn now?
Yeah, tell you what,
why don't you have a seat
and I'll be right there.
Bathroom, upstairs?
Mm-hmm, you got it.
Thank you.
Oh, um, and please flush,
I can smell the tacos on your breath.
Smell my farts, bitch.
(suspenseful music)
(moves to gentle music)
This is crazy.
This is crazy.
What are we going to do?
She's gonna find out.
She'll find out!
Oh, what did we do?
She's gonna find out.
She'll find out!
Never should have let Gwen talk.
Gwen, you need to get back here
and get here out of here, damn it,
who knows what someone's gonna say?
We know, we never should
have let Gwen talk us
into the interview without asking first.
Or maybe, you never should
be trying to kill a man!
(moves to suspenseful music)
You're scaring me, Janet.
You know we're in this together.
What are you doing?
Oh, my gosh, you scared me.
What are you doing?
I, I was looking for the bathroom
and, um, I saw all this camera stuff.
Yeah?
Well, I'm into film gear.
Veronica had some cool stuff.
Bathroom's down the hall.
Right.
Right.
(somber music)
I know we never should
have let Gwen talk us
into the interview without asking first.
Damn.
What is she saying?
But maybe, we never should
have let you talk into. (clicking)
(knocking on door)
Hurry up if you wanna do the interview,
I have to shower and go to work.
Okay!
Nearly finished.
(flatulence)
Oops, maybe not. Sorry!
Be sure to use the air freshener.
Huh, I think what I need is an exorcist.
(flatulence)
(water sploshing)
(flatulence)
(tense music)
Well maybe, we never should have
let you talk into. (clicking)
Have a seat.
It's a little chilly outside.
Okay, just give me a second.
Okay.
Okay.
(tense music)
(clears throat)
Okay.
Well, for starters,
how are would you describe Veronica?
Well she had beautiful
eyes, I was jealous.
They were this startling shade of green.
She didn't really say much,
but you know she was thinking about a lot.
How did her or death affect you?
We all have our
different ways of coping.
But none of us have done
anything self-destructive.
No drugs?
Drinking? To help numb the pain?
Nope, we're boring.
And to be honest, we really
haven't talked about it.
At least not lately.
(soft music)
What else can you tell
me about that night?
I mean, things should still
be fresh in your mind.
I mean, nothing you
probably haven't already read.
How did it feel to help kill a man?
That wasn't a man, that
Timothy Luke Booth was an animal.
It was you, who helped
fired the shot, wasn't it?
You don't know what
you're talking about.
I read the report.
This interview's over.
You need to learn about boundaries.
I'm sorry.
I wanna learn.
Sit down. Please.
How have you coped with
everything that's happened?
I mean, emotionally?
Well, it's been hard.
I mean, I've tried really hard
to be a good Christian
and to be forgiving.
Who do you need to forgive?
Well, that man, or should I say, animal.
(chuckles) Yes, but
isn't there someone else
that needs to be forgiven?
Like who?
You.
Why would I need forgiveness?
Well, a life was taken.
I was defending somebody.
You shot him in the head.
How did you get that close?
I'm a ninja.
Timothy Luke Booth was shot in the head,
that's the kill shot.
But he was shot twice more.
The adrenaline rush, the fear.
How scary is a man
that's lying on the ground
with his brains-
Why are you doing this?
(soft music)
Let's just say...
It's become personal.
What more can you tell me about him?
(chuckles) Read the fucking
newspaper and find out.
Now get the fuck out of here.
I mean it.
I'm going.
What's going on?
Who are you?
I'm Frankie.
I'm here to do the interviews.
What's with the camera?
Um, I'm doing a documentary series.
No, no, thank you.
Come on, out.
I don't understand what the problem is.
I emailed ahead.
And Gwen said I could-
- And whatever answer
was then, it's a no now.
Now get out before I dick slap you.
Threatening someone is a felony.
(slapping)
Get out, before I call the cops.
Is that more legal for you?
It's nice meeting you.
(tense music)
(moves to suspenseful music)
Please work.
Please work.
(girl laughing)
You set me up!
No.
Shoot this piece of, come on.
Who wants to do it?
- Gwen?
- What the fuck?
Shouldn't we just all
You set me up.
fucking do it?
Aren't you ashamed of yourself?
You set me up, it was all lies.
(girls laughing)
Wait, no, please.
No, please.
I have a family.
Oh God.
You're sick.
Wait, no.
(girls laughing)
Shoot this piece of shit.
Come on, who wants to do it?
Harriet?
Come on, who wants to do it?
This is not right.
This the night that he was killed?
Harriet?
Shouldn't we just turn him in?
I'll fucking do it.
I never did anything to any of you!
(girls laughing)
No, please.
What the fuck, huh?
Wait, no.
Please, no.
I have a family!
Wait!
(gun fires)
(girl sobbing)
He wasn't attacking her.
But why didn't Harriet give
his video to the police?
Harriet. 555 4231.
It's Frankie, saw the video, thanks
Can you give me a call ASAP?
(phone ringing)
Hi, Harriet, that was fast.
I've had my phone in my
head waiting for you to call.
I'm ready to talk.
What the fuck?
I, I couldn't tell the cops.
But you can tell me?
It's time.
What really happened that night?
We lured him into the house.
God, I don't know why
I went along with it.
Why?
We wanted to become
vigilantes instead of victims,
and then things just got out of hand.
You guys killed someone.
He was a bad man.
(anxious music)
I, I couldn't tell the cops.
We didn't mean to kill him,
at least that wasn't the plan.
The plan?
I don't know why I went along with it.
(knocking on door)
Harriet? Who are you talking to?
Um, just my mom.
Oh, okay.
I, uh, I gotta go, mom.
We have a sorority house
meeting about something.
Text you in a half hour.
They killed her.
(sighs) They killed her.
They killed Harriet to shut her up.
Or maybe she's still alive.
Should I call the police,
or is it too late?
Maybe I should stay out of it.
Oh my gosh.
I'd be one of the last
people to talk to her.
Oh my gosh, I'm gonna be a murder suspect?
And I have motive, because they killed...
Oh my gosh, the other girls,
they're gonna lie and say
that I threatened Harriet,
and that I accused her and...
Oh my gosh, I'm gonna go prison.
Oh my gosh, I'm so totally fucked!
(phone pings)
Where's my phone.
Sorry it took so long to text back,
I sprained my ankle and it is killing me.
The other girls are going to a bar
and won't be back for hours,
so you're safe to come over
right now, for a while.
I can't walk down the stairs,
but you know where my
room is, just come up.
Ring the doorbell when you get here,
I can actually unlock
the door with my phone.
Okay. Thanks.
Be right over, 20 minutes.
Sorry to hear about your ankle.
Okay.
Okay.
What the fuck am I doing?
(phone pings)
(foreboding music)
Um, I guess that makes sense.
It's the coolest lock ever.
(door thumps)
(foreboding music continues)
Harriet?
You there?
Harriet?
Harriet?
Yeah, come in.
Leave the light out, I have a headache.
(girl laughing)
Hello, little Frankie.
Fuck.
You really put the dumb in blonde.
(girl laughing)
She asked us for help dying her hair...
Red. (chuckles)
It was just a horrible
misunderstanding. (blows)
I promise. (laughs)
You know, I read the police reports,
and personally, I don't think Booth
did any of the Cross-Country
Killer murders.
But what about the
complaints Veronica made
about him stalking her?
And all the other reports?
Mariah works at the department
where the complaints were
submitted afterwards.
I wrote it.
And then she found those
forged and backdated complaints,
which she had accidentally misfiled.
Oopsie, my bad.
(laughing) All the other girls
were just wanting attention.
It's their shot of victimhood.
Wasn't planned, just happened.
It was just a beautiful bonus.
You know, I don't think Booth
ever bothered anyone, truly.
Then why did you do it?
We just wanted to see
what it was all about.
I mean, we see it on TV all the time.
"Criminal Minds", "CSI",
"Forensic Files", all those shows.
We just wanted to try
it out for ourselves.
Try what?
Murder, of course.
Nothing gets girls excited
like a little danger.
My dad was the cop
who led the task force.
He was taking heat because
they didn't have any leads,
and he told me, "They had no suspects.",
because he wanted me to be careful.
Booth was a viable suspect
who could solve the case.
Janet knew no one would bat an eyelid
if he was shot to death
killing another girl.
(girl laughing)
Made it so.
Solved the case.
Except that the real
killer is still out there,
and waiting to do it again.
You're not paying attention.
Maybe investigative journalist
is not the right career for you.
(girl laughing)
The other victims were all rich bitches.
We hated them.
What about Veronica?
Hmm, Veronica?
Well, we were having problems
with her in the house.
She didn't quite understand
everything that was going on.
She wasn't aware of all our
extracurricular activities.
And, of course, she
didn't realize we needed
to have Booth kill her to really
confirm he was the killer.
Or, at least, make it
look like he killed her.
I did it myself, in the same style
as the real killer.
Exactly the same.
How did you get him here?
Told Veronica to invite him to come over
and look at our back patio
and see if he could fix it.
I knew he did some construction.
You lured him here?
You lured an innocent man
and killed him and blamed
him for the murders?
And so my dad wouldn't be
taking so much criticism.
Both of the piece of
shit janitor anyway,
why do you care?
Timothy Luke Booth was
my biological father.
I must admit, we certainly
do not expect that.
But you know what they say,
apple doesn't fall too far from the tree,
and here you are, avenging him.
Look what you did to
our poor friend Harriet.
I get it.
I really do.
I've even thought about it myself before.
Thought about what, darling?
The perfect murder.
Everyone thinks about it really.
But you got away with it.
No one suspected you.
You suspected us.
Harriet. She sent me.
We know she sent you.
It's not a problem.
We'll sort you out just
like we did Harriet.
It all goes away.
It all goes.
How?
Like father, like daughter.
See, and you killed Harriet,
and then we found you.
And then I shot you.
Poor Harriet, we tried to save her.
Harriet's video.
What about it?
I uploaded it to YouTube.
Someone's gonna see it eventually.
Check in.
- It's not here.
- I scheduled it.
Only I can cancel it.
Can she do that?
Passwords and logins, now.
If you don't let me walk,
that video goes live in one hour.
I'm not fucking around.
Neither am I.
(gun firing)
Listen to me, you bitch,
they were all in on it, do you understand?
Everyone but me, I saved you.
And if anyone ask, I saved you.
Listen, it is just as easy
for me to kill you as I did them.
Do you want that?
Is there anything on that
camera that incriminates me?
Am I in Harriet's video?
(tense music)
Okay.
We're going to call the police now.
When they get here, what
are you gonna tell them, hm?
(Frankie gasps)
What are you going to tell them?
What are you gonna tell them?
That you had nothing to do with it.
That you saved me.
That's right.
(gun firing)
(Frankie shrieks)
(suspenseful music)
(gun snaps)
You bitch.
You're making me do this.
They're trying to kill me.
The cops still haven't come yet.
(eerie music)
(tense music)
It doesn't have to end this way!
(Frankie breathing frantically)
(laughs) Rusty door.
(knife squelches)
(Gwen whimpering)
You set all this up.
You're an expert on that.
(Gwen coughs)
Gwen Baxter killed all the members
of her sorority to save her ass,
and then came after me,
after I exposed her.
Here, to die, in the same house
they murdered Timothy Luke Booth.
You little bitch.
Don't you know, blonde hair, don't care.
(Gwen coughs)
(phone ringing)
Frankie, what the hell
is this video you sent me,
are you crazy?
Where the hell are you?
I need to talk to you in person,
because what you're getting
involved in is insane.
Um.
Frankie?
Um, yeah, sure.
Maybe you're right.
Can you come pick me up?
I'm at the Beta PI sorority house.
What the hell are you doing there
at this time of night?
It's, um, complicated.
I'll tell you everything
when you get here.
(somber music)
This was for my dad.
(moves to tense music)
(door creaking)
(suspenseful music)