Derren Brown: Sacrifice (2018) Movie Script
We would like to implant a chip in you.
Is it painful when it goes in?
Right, local anesthetic.
Scalpel.
This is the injector.
I'm Derren Brown.
For the last 20 years in the UK,
on the television and stage,
I've performed as a psychological
illusionist.
I based a 20 year career on essentially
two skills,
firstly, the ability to pluck a thought
from your head,
secondly, the ability to get one into
your head
and thats what well do now.
I use a combination of magic techniques,
suggestion and psychology
to explore the stranger edges of human
experience.
Whatever it takes, do it.
Now, in these aggressively divided times,
when we so readily define ourselves by our
tribal identities,
I want to try and create a hero.
Someone who will willingly
lay down their life
and take a bullet,
not for a loved one,
but for a complete stranger.
To put your life on the line,
not just for a stranger,
but for someone you don't identify with,
requires two traits.
To be fearless,
and to have empathy.
So for this to work I need to create those
qualities in my hero.
Everything you will see is 100% real.
I genuinely have no idea
how this plays out
or if the experiment will be
successful.
First though, I have to find my candidate.
I shortlisted 100 people
out of the thousands whoresponded
to an ad
looking for participants
for a TV experiment.
Hello, thank you very much for coming.
Erm...
I brought this hundred
to a daylong audition
and interviewed them
on a broad range of subjects
hoping to find someone with a strong bias
against another group.
And one man quickly caught my attention.
There is absolutely an immigration problem
in the United States.
You think, "You're not even
supposed to be here,
why should we follow
your religious beliefs?"
Phil is a 33-year-old city maintenance
worker from Cocoa Beach, Florida,
married with two young children
and a third on the way.
Raising a family is tough
and much of Phil's frustration
is directed at illegal immigrants
whom he sees as being favoured
over his family.
Just still getting a lot of
immigrants through,
not working, can't work
because they'reillegal.
Am I personally scared of them?
No.
But I'm certainly scared that they
could turn our country to shit.
I say kick 'em out,
I say kick 'em all out.
It's these strongly held views
that make Phil the perfect subject
for this experiment I want to undertake.
Phil believes he's taking part in a
documentary.
Showing how cutting edge biotechnology can
bring dramatic improvements to your life.
Well place electrodes
on the base of your index finger
and the middle finger.
In fact, he is the unsuspecting star
at the center
of an elaboratepsychological experiment
filmed across two continents, based
entirely around him and his beliefs.
As Phil has no idea
what he's taking part in,
to make this work, I have to create
a completely convincing
fictional world around him.
I wanna hear him, I want him to hear
the same things from your mouth, yeah.
I'm using a specialist crew of over
a hundred people in the UK
- and USA...
- That's perfect position.
...pro divers, special effects
supervisors, and stunt teams.
I'm planning scenarios using professional
actors,
which need meticulous rehearsals.
Tell us, you're not threatening with
the gun now, you've made that decision.
And I have multiple hidden cameras
to secretly watch all the action unfold.
And I've designed all of this
to try and create
a huge personal change in Phil
and radically transform
his most strongly felt opinions.
In a way, I've always kind ofbeen
more biased towards white people,
but again I'm not racist.
Thats just how I was brought up.
I hope to show Phil the amazing things
were capable of
when we let go of the stories
that we think define us.
This won't be easy,
but by the end of this journey,
I hope to have him willingly take a bullet
for someone he thinks
is an illegal immigrant.
No!
Phil has been told that his audition was
successful,
and has been chosen to take part in this
documentary about biotechnology.
He stays in London and we invite him
to our production offices.
- See, so this is er, Dr. Jeff.
- Hi, Dr. Jeff. Phil.
- Hi.
- And this is Phil. Have a seat, Phil.
And now I'm going to spin him a line about
what exactly
this experiment
is going to involve.
I developed, with the help of a bunch of
scientists and people
that you'll meet today,
a piece of technology,
which is about gaining a kind of control
over ones own life and decisions.
This documentary is about beta testing
that piece of technology,
and you are one of six people
chosen from yesterday
who we will follow as you
- beta test that technology.
- Fantastic.
- Does that make sense so far?
- Yes, that makes sense so far.
All right, good. So, the technologys
based around a microchip.
OK.
Um, so in order to do this
and to put this into practice,
we would like to implant a chip...
...in you.
Can we show Phil the chip?
It's a small bio glass tube.
Okay, so were not really putting
a microchip into Phil,
but I need him to think we are,
it gives me a tool to work with,
namely the placebo effect
which is when a medical treatment
works better just because we expect it to,
and in some tests placebo has made
a treatment twice as effective.
So everything I now tell Phil
about the chip is a lie.
Now this...
sits here,
at the base of your brain
by your pituitary gland,
the chip stimulates your brain
in to releasing adrenaline and dopamine,
motivating you in to action.
- All right, does that make sense?
- Yes, that makes sense.
Pretty amazing technology.
Look, if you agree to do this,
it could bring about
radical improvements in your life,
thats the idea.
I'm...
- absolutely happy to do it.
- You are?
Yeah, absolutely.
- Great.
- Absolutely.
So with Phil now thinking
there's a chip in him,
I moved on to explain that the chip
is connected to an app.
I'm just gonna pair the two things
together.
The apps called Turbine.
Turbine.
It is a little like a meditation app
so when we tell you to you sit down,
you put headphones on
and you listen to it,
and it creates in you
a powerful desire to act decisively,
which is boosted by the chip
in your neck.
And as far as we know, we're
the first people to do that so...
- Very cool.
- ...you're part of an exciting...
That's very cool.
So I sent Phil off to start using the app,
but heres how it really works.
The app films him
and uploads footage so I can make sure
he keeps using it.
Each time he listens to
a recording of my voice...
Feel the change in your body
as you step forward.
...which gets him to tap
into a decisive fearless state
and then plays him the trigger.
Feel how that changes.
Over time, hell associate
the trigger sound
more and more with that feeling.
Each time you do this,
it getsmore powerful,
each time you hear that sound.
This process is called classical
conditioning.
It's even more effective 'cause
Phil believes he's an implanted microchip
doing all the hard work for him.
For him to take a bullet,
I need the app trigger sound
to instantly generate
an active and fearless state in Phil.
And crucially, I'll be able to play
that trigger sound to him
whenever I choose to bring about
that decisive state of mind.
All right, um...
Just thought
I'd do a quick entry.
We asked Phil to keep us updated
on how he's doing
by recording some video diaries.
This is crazy, I've never had
anything like that done before,
I've never been in surgery,
I've never broken a bone, so,
this kinda procedure is just absolutely
crazy.
But it wasn't a case of having to think
about whether I was going to do it or not,
'cause I was going to do it.
It's a little tender but erm...
but just have to see what happens.
Anyway, signing off.
After a week or so of using the app,
I'll test to see if it's working
by bringing him to Carnforth
in the north of England,
and asking him to do something
that will take extraordinary courage.
Fucking hell man,
this is too... it's too much.
But first, I need to embed
a second trigger
to help remove something that stands
in the way of heroism;
the fear of pain.
I'll need your phone er, if you have it.
So I invite Phil back
to our production offices,
telling him we need to try something
to help calibrate the app.
So for this technique, I'll use
special embedded language patterns
to remove the experience of pain
and attach that
to a ritual physical action.
This doesn't work with everyone,
but I think Phil will be responsive.
And the words you'll see on the screen
will give you some idea
of how the technique works.
Put your hand on the table there for me,
- and just look at the back of that hand.
- Right.
There.
One of the reasons why I'm doing it
in this room
this is the same room that you had your
er, implant put in. Right?
So you'll associate this room
with feelings of
anesthesia, you hadit
in the back of your neck
so you couldn't feel anything.
But as you look at this,
I want you to imagine,
that you've had an anesthetic again,like
you had in your neck, and that feeling,
or lack of feeling, just starts to spread
through the hand
like a kind of
blueness.
All sensation drifting out of that hand,
over there.
Once I know he's in a responsive state,
I give him his trigger,
the fist bump.
Bring it above your head,
and you're gonna remove all last traces
of sensation from that hand
by bumping a couple of times on your head.
Do that now.
And that signal gets through to the hand,
and now if you touch it,
you'll find there's just nothing.
What's it like?
- Like a dead hand.
- It's just...
You know when your hand falls asl
That's what it feels like.
Can't feel a thing.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
It is like someone elses hand,
isn't it, like a bit of dead meat.
Other people say this.
You could stick something through
it you'd not--
It feels like a dead hand.
Shall we do it now, are youprepared
to do that now? Yeah, great.
What you'll see next
might look like magic,
but it's the result of overwhelming his
expectation of pain
with the by now fully embedded belief
that his hand is numb.
Let me give you this.
So if you hold this in your right hand.
OK. I'm gonna pinch the skin
here and here on that hand.
OK.
I'm pinching that skin, but you can
feel nothing, right?
- No.
- All right.
Dont push the needle through yet,
but just hold it near,
maybe rest your hand so that
you're supporting... that's good.
About there, right,
just press it gently against the skin.
- All the way through?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
- Absolutely nothing.
- Like pushing it through a steak.
- D'you want me to go the whole way?
- You wanna stop there.
Lets have a look.
So, what's that like to look at?
Very strange, no pain, no tenderness,
- it just feels like nothing.
- Yeah.
- Just look at that for me.
- OK.
And as you look at the back of the hand,
just know that you can bring this
pain free state back
by bumping your head in the same way
whenever you need to.
And this was the crazy part, this is why
tonight has just been absolutely insane.
He says, "I want you to remember
the feeling of when you had the anesthetic
put in your neck for the chip.
Said "I want you to imagine that
with your hand."
He says, "OK, now go ahead and stick
the needle through your skin."
So, slowly I pierced the needle
through my skin.
And I could not...
I could not feel any of it.
Any of it. Erm... so
that was pretty insane.
Just have to wait and see
what tomorrow brings, so goodnight.
That was a really important discovery
for Phil, he's experienced
how subjective pain can be,
and he's linked that state to the
head bump, it's a very encouraging start.
Now, though, I need to see
if the conditioning from the app
is working, so I've designed a test
tailor-made around Phils phobias,
to see if that trigger sound is enough
to make him overcome
the things he dreads the most.
Some of the fears I have are kind of-
some of them are irrational...
Heights, deep water freaks me out,
I dont go in the ocean,
I live in Florida,
but I've never been in the ocean.
I've brought Phil to a disused quarry,
where my team have rigged a platform
50 feet above freezing cold water.
Will the triggers be enough
to make Phil jump?
I know you really don't like heights,
you also dont like open water as well,
right?
I want to jump out of
this wet suit and...
and go back to the hotel.
Okay. Well I'm just gonna
show you something
and well do this step by step.
Well take all the time we need.
Just turn and face that way, oh,
I need your phone for a second.
So, if I asked you to walk as far
as you could, how far would that be?
Oh, fucking hell man.
About there? OK.
Cool, come back. So it's just past
the edge of the grass.
I just need to take your mic off.
Just think for a moment the idea
of walking to the edge.
No further than that, just the edge.
Not off the edge, just to the edge.
Okay, I'm gonna play the app sound
and I want you to notice
what change this makes
to your emotional state.
Amazing.
I'm standing behind you,
just note what's different.
Focus, and notice where that feeling
of stability starts,
right in the middle of it all.
Take a few more steps if you wish.
That's good.
I think the biggest...
leap of faith that we take is when we
step out of our own stories,
particularly the stories
about what were capable of,
like this for example.
That is, I think the real...
step... forward.
- This is too much, yeah, Derren.
- OK, it's OK.
- I feel I've gotta jump.
- Yeah.
But somethings holding me back.
Thats fine, there's two sides,
there's two sides of you.
It's too much.
- Come off for a bit?
- Please.
Yeah? OK.
Just come back.
Somethings pushing me back.
So what was it like,
what were the...
It's like a...
it's like a fucking battle in my head,
I got one strong feeling telling me to
just fucking jump.
And then I got another part of me saying
"What the fuck are you doing
- standing out here?"
- Yeah.
I really need Phil to do this.
Hell need to overcome an even more
substantial fear when the time comes
to make the sacrifice.
It's a good day.
Somethings holding me back.
Somethings holding me back.
- Everything up to jumping is all right,
then I get fucking dizzy.
- I don't think I can do it, Derren.
- OK.
- I dont think I can.
- Dont have to.
It is clearly not working.
The triggers aren't overcoming
his fears,
and even though failure here throws
the whole experiment in to doubt,
I have no alternative but to call it off.
Shall we go and get warm?
- Can I have a minute up here, please?
- Yeah, of course.
I knew in the back of my mind
that he might not jump.
I'm so used though to people just
following
the tracks that I've laid down,
er, so I, I dont know at this point
whether or not when it comes down to it,
that he'll...
step out in front of the gun
and take a bullet which is...
which is ultimately what all this is
heading towards, so...
I dont know at this point.
After that failure, I am wondering
if perhaps I pushed Phil too quickly.
So while I have him continue to work with
the app every day...
Feel the change in your body each time
you hear that sound.
I move on to step three
of this conditioning process.
For Phil to act heroically,
it's not just about
acting decisively and not just
in the face of fear,
but also acting out of empathy
and placing another persons life
before his own.
How Phil responds to the information
I'm about to give him
will be a vital clue as to how hell react
when the time comes to take a bullet
for someone who is very different
from him.
Where's your family from?
Remind me.
Okay my fathers side are all
from the UK.
And then my mother's side
are all from Florida.
When Phil first began this process,he
went through several stages of screening,
including phone and video calls
with my team,
when he was asked to express his opinions.
The big issues is probably from,
from Cuba and Mexico.
This is not your fucking country, this is
our country and you've come in
and you're alienating
your hosts, basically.
There's places where it's that bad
theyve taken over
that Americans arent actually...
it's not suggested to actually go into
these areas because it's unsafe.
He also, like the other
potential contributors,
provided a DNA sample.
I told him the DNA data was for his app,
but really I'm hoping the results
might help him re-evaluate his opinions,
something that must happen if Phil is to
sacrifice himself for a stranger
and become a true hero.
Er, so, as an American you may notbe
aware of this, the rest of the world.
Do you remember at the start of all this
- you did a cheek swab?
- Yes, I do.
So what we got from that with your
DNA test results,
which I have in here,
specifically what we were looking at
was your heritage
and your entire genetic history.
So in a sense,
what's in this envelope,
is the real you.
That's incredible.
These are set out according to the size
- The percentage.
- Yeah, exactly.
- Top of the list is 22.9%
- OK.
From a region known as Fennoscandia,
which is here.
It's Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway.
- Really.
- Yeah.
13% of you,
Western Siberia.
- Si... Siberia?
- Siberia, Russia.
- That's insane.
- Hmm.
It would've never been anything that
I would've considered other than...
- British and American.
- Yeah.
As the percentages get smaller,
the surprises keep coming.
3.4% of you from Israel
and this region goes from Israel
and moves into Syria.
That's extremely interesting.
And finally, just under 1%, 0.9%,
er, Mexico.
- Mexico?
- Mhm.
Mexico, down through Peru.
- That's incredible.
- Mhm.
It's pretty shocking, in a good way.
It's amazing to think over these tens of
thousands of years how
- people have moved around.
- Shifted around.
and that, that story,
which has led to you sitting here,
is from those,
ancient tribes and groups just...
- Moving around.
- Just migrating and mixing and...
What's the biggest shock there?
I would have to say,
- this one, the Israel, Syria.
- Mhm.
And of course,
Mexico down through Peru.
- Why's that?
- Um...
I think it's just how I...
I maybe have perceived
different areas of the world,
and maybe not so much
in a positive light.
And I, you know,
and not in any racist way, or...
but you know when you're
from somewhere it's easy to
look at other places
and not understand it and...
make negative assumptions about it.
Which I have done.
Phil seems genuinely affected by these
revelations.
So I asked him to take part in another
test right away.
I tell him it's to recalibrate the app.
But in fact, I'm hoping this will be a
transformational experience.
The experiment was developed by
a New York psychology professor
to provoke feelings of empathy.
Pairs of complete strangers sit
facing each other,
and are asked to silently stare into
each others eyes for four minutes.
I hope that following the news
about his DNA,
staring into the eyes of someone from a
different race will create
intense emotions that I can anchor and
use at the climax of this experiment.
Are you all right?
It was almost like
looking into him, it was almost like
looking into his soul.
I just got this overwhelming feeling
like I already knew him.
Can I give you a hug, dude?
Yeah, yeah sure.
Come here, buddy.
Everything I've ever thought
of other people,
the way I've been towards people, or...
It was gone and I just...
the whole time looking at him, I felt like
I just wanted to give him a hug.
It was overwhelming.
The DNA results and staring test seemed
to have had a profound effect on Phil
and bringing back those heightened
feelings of empathy will be a
key component in the final experiment.
Now though, it's time to tell him filming
is finished and he can head home.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Erm... so,
- I've booked us a table for dinner.
- Oh, fantastic.
yeah, itll be nice,
so it isn't quite goodbye, but...
- we are done with you, that was--
- Wow, incredible.
It's just been an absolute roller-coaster
of emotions
through this whole process.
- Phils coming to say goodbye.
- Goodbye, everyone.
Erm, and it's been an experience
that I can't even begin to explain,
how much it's going to change me
moving forward.
Been great to meet you,
have a safe journey.
- Brother.
- Brother.
It's just been awesome.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, Derren.
- So, goodnight.
Phil has returned to his life
in Florida,
and we've given him enough time to
forget all about me and the experiment,
even though he didn't jump
at the quarry,
Phils empathic connection
to a complete stranger,
combined with his
continued use of the app,
means that I'm hopeful,
the triggersI embedded,
the belief in the chip,
overcoming the fear of pain,
and heightened levels of empathy,
will be enough to make him
act heroically.
And I really hope this works, I want
everyone to see what's possible if we can
just get past the narrow constraints
of the stories that we tell ourselves.
This is where Phil will hopefully
be taking a bullet
and making the ultimate sacrifice,
the middle of the desert,
and we've come up with a ruse
to get him here.
We asked a friend of Phils to call him
and say he'd won a trip to Vegas
and that Phil could join him.
So Phil has flown to LA
to drive down to Vegas,
he believes, to meet his friend.
Now we have cameras in that car,
the driver is one of us.
How's the hotel?
And Phil has no idea that this is being
filmed, no idea that this is part of this
TV project, and no idea
that he'snever gonna make it to Vegas.
For the scenario we've planned for Phil,
we've taken over a remote bar
in the middle of nowhere,
which we've populated with a biker gang
played by actors,
and spent the whole week adapting
inside and out
with carefully hidden
cameras and microphones.
So this is a fake wall that we've built
and then behind it, if you come through,
hopefully you can see, camera here,
therell be another camera here.
These are filming through these
one-way mirrory things,
and then we've got the same
behind the bar,
So these'll give us great shots from
behind the bar,
looking at them sat at the bar.
So all the shots that we will see
are perfectly hidden.
Hell have no idea that any of this
is being filmed.
- We had two days of really intense rain.
- Did you?
Like biblical.
It's actually a very important line, er,
"You're one of us now."
So I think just make it land a bit more,
put your hand on his shoulder and give it
a moment, "You're one of us now."
I tell the driver to say they're having
car trouble to give them a reason
to stop at the bar.
Right, lets go, time to hide.
Here we go.
They pull up for the driver to solvethe
supposed car issue
and more importantly,
to abandon Phil.
- Everybody.
- Let's go.
Stay on the mark.
- Something to drink?
- Yeah, Diet Coke, please.
I'll do a Diet Coke too, please.
How many bars do you have on your phone?
4G. I'm not even on the one bar on 4G.
- D'you mind if I borrow it?
- No. Go ahead.
Thanks, I'm just gonna call the office.
Alright, cool. Alright.
And he's given the driver his phone,
the drivers asked to take the phone
so he can call and find a local mechanic.
It's important as we need to get
Phils phone out of the equation.
Okay, Martin, go wider.
For this to work, I need Phil
to feel alone
and cut off because I want him to form
a bond with the biker gang.
OK, John, go to the bar.
Cue John.
Anybody need any more?
Gonna grab some more.
Hey Kelly, can I get one more?
Yeah, yeah, please.
- What you riding?
- Er, I'm actually...
I'm in a car with somebody.
Driving from LA to Vegas.
- Oh sweet. Very cool.
- Yeah we've had some car problems
- and he's taken it to go get fixed.
- That sucks. Where you from?
- I live inCocoa Beach, Florida.
- Cocoa Beach?
What are you doing?
Erm, I work in, work for the city of
Cocoa Beach.
- What do you do, are you a cop, or...
- No, public works.
Made me nervous then,
said "Oh are you a cop?"
- Hi, well, were gonna roll out now.
- No, no, definitely not a cop.
- What's your name again?
- I'm John, how are you?
- Phil, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, John.
It's going well, so the idea here is to
create a connection
with one of the bikers,
a rapport thats crucial for
the next stage to work.
What are you drinking?
Er, just soda, but now,
I'm thinking about maybe getting a beer.
You're gonna start tearing it up
in Vegas, kinda pacing yourself?
Yeah, definitely.
- Call him now?
- Yeah.
Right, and we ended up on the same
team again, so I kinda thought...
- Well, it's fate.
- It's fate, sure.
Erm, but when we first met, er, yeah...
- Are you Phil?
- Yes.
You have a phone call.
Hello?
Hey Phil, it's Jason. How you doin', man?
- Hey Jason.
- Hey good.
I'm at the mechanic, I don't think
it's gonna take very long,
but I can't leave the car
er, and I can't like come and get you with
it because it's not working very well
insurance purposes, all that kinda stuff,
I need you to get a cab and
come down here.
Erm, it's called Edgeley Garage,
it's about two and a half miles
from thebar.
D'you mind doing that?
Do you, sorry, do you know
Edgeley Garage?
It's, yeah, down near...
four or five miles.
Erm, is there any way I could get
a cab here?
Alright, Phil, the mechanic is calling,
I gotta let you go.
- All right, man, talk to you soon. Bye.
- Bye.
Erm, are there cabs out here?
Yeah thats why I was laughing, I'm sorry,
didnt mean to be rude, but...
Why, what do you need?
I guess the cars at Edgeley Garage.
He's saying it's about two and a half
miles, but he can't leave the truck.
Dude, we can give you a ride.
We can give you a ride.
We just got the truck here.
Just right down the road, it's where
we get our bikes taken care of.
If that's OK with you, it's up to you.
Yeah, yeah that's fine.
It's a pretty straight shot,
there's nothing out here.
Like, it's completely just desert.
So, enjoy the view...
So with Phil settling in and having
agreed to take a ride from the bikers,
it's time for us to create some conflict.
Cue Pablo and Carlos,
start heading to the bar.
and things are going to turn
a little nasty.
This is Phils first test,
I'm hoping hell empathise with them
and at least speak up in their defense.
Plan, that was the original plan.
And it just, it just never happened.
Chico. Man.
You guys can't drink here.
Why not?
Certain rules, you can't drink.
- You gotta go.
- Alright, okay.
- OK?
- You know, let's go.
- OK?
- Don't, don't touch me.
Come on.
All right! Chill!
What the fuck...
- Hey, fuck you!
- Get the fuck outta here.
Fucker!
You OK, Rick?
Can we get some beers over here?
- Sorry about that.
- Yeah.
Yeah, so, that was the plan.
Never panned out, hopefully one day.
Once again, sorry about that, are we good?
Sometimes we get Mexicans
come in hereand...
fuckin' pisses us a lot of us,
all about God, country,
and fucking...
you know.
OK, Phils clearly feeling conflict, but
he hasnt been bold enough to speak up,
which is a bit of a worry.
Now give me a second. Hey Chip...
Still, that conflict is important.
So the next thing is er, the biker is
going to give Phil one of their jackets.
This is important because
Phil needs to be made to feel like he's
one of them, one of the club,
which is gonna enhance this conflict
that he's already feeling.
Cue the jacket.
Try this on.
I feel really bad about
what happened, try this on.
The jackets also important for a
technical reason later on.
Check him out. Hey guys, this is Phil.
It's like it was made for you, brother.
You guys don't have to do that.
- I really want you to have that, man.
- I appreciate it.
- Yeah. Woo!
- Look at that!
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
- Now you're one of us man, so...
- Thank you, guys. Thank you.
Phil has now accepted a place
in this gang.
In many ways, they reflect the views
he held when I first met him.
I know, Phil now you can take
your wife home a souvenir.
- Yeah.
- That you met some decent peopleout here.
Yes. Absolutely. Appreciate it, guys,
thank you.
D'you wanna get going?
- Yeah.
- I feel bad I'm keeping you.
No, I didnt know if you wanted to
finish your beer.
I'm good, we'll get you on the road.
The question now, is will the triggers and
conditioning
help him reject those values
and feel compassion when it matters most.
While they re-position the cameras,
that is my cue to go to myhidey-hole.
The camera will be filming
from this truck.
I'll hide in here with them.
- Thanks, guys.
- You all be good.
Thank you very much, guys,
really appreciate it.
- Bad, bad, boy.
- Thanks.
So, like I said, we take all our
bikes there, he's pretty good.
- Pretty quick, so...
- Good.
You hop in the front man,
I'll hop in the back.
Those bikes look knocked over,
dude.
Hey! Get the guys.
Come in our fucking bar,
you mess with our bikes.
- Dude, they knocked over your bike, man!
- Jesus Christ!
Go, go, go!
Fuck this shit, man.
Let's rock it, Mexicans.
The biker gang now begin the chase,
my stunt team have choreographed.
What sounds like a radio station
in the truck is being controlled remotely
by me and it will soon
play a crucial role.
There's nowhere to go.
Got 'em now, they're fenced in,
they're trapped.
What's about to unfold will be extreme
and frightening
and it will take enormouscourage
for Phil to intervene.
No exit out here, so good luck
with this shit.
At the climactic moment, I will trigger
the app sound, which I've embedded
in the jingle of a fake radio broadcast.
Phil, stay in the truck
it's nothing to do with you.
This should produce a rush of adrenaline
and then it's all down to Phil.
Fuck you going? Where the fuck
are you going? Fuck you, man.
What the fuck is he doing?
Come in our fucking bar,
you mess with our bikes.
We just wanted our drink.
Thats the American flag man,
you dont belong here.
But yeah, you come into our fucking
country, come into our fucking bar.
You guys are fucking illegal,
you come across the border,
you rape and pillage our people,
fuck you, man.
Then you fuck with our bikes,
you think you'll walk outta here?
Alright, were sorry, man. Okay?
Are you fucking legal here?
This is our country, man.
- Shut the fuck up.
- You know what, just let us go.
Why would we let you go?
- I'm sorry, we fucked up, okay?
- You definitely fucked up.
- Are you legal here?
- Yeah, we are, man.
Really? Show us your papers.
I mean, I dont carry that.
- You dont have 'em?
- I have my driving licence man.
...warmest weather in all of america
with a constant...
Tell me the truth. Shut the fuckup!
He says anything else, nail him.
You, are you legal?
Are you legal?
- Answer him!
- We're not, man.
Fuck 'em. Fuck it, Rick.
No, no, no.
No, no, no!
- You're listening to KXDV on...
- What the fuck?
...the sound of San Bernandino...
I trigger the app sound
in our radio broadcast.
There's absolutely an immigration problem.
I say kick 'em all out.
I feel like I have to jump...
...like a dead hand...
I have a family.
I have a daughter and I have a son.
Hey, Phil, this has nothing to do
with you. Phil.
Rick, Rick, Rick, man.
Get back in the truck.
This has nothing to do with you.
Phil, this has nothing to do with you.
This ain't right.
I'm serious, get in the fucking truck.
You're gonna get hurt.
Can we not just call the police?
Please call the police.
Fuck that, fuck this shit, fuck it.
I can't watch this, man.
I've never... please.
Dude, Phil, well take careof this,
alright? We got this shit.
- Please, I'm begging you.
- We are not calling the police.
- Please, I'm begging you guys.
- Phil, I got one bullet in this gun.
It's gonna be you or him.
Whos it gonna be? Whos it gonna be?
- Please, Rick. Please.
- Five.
Rick, please stop counting,
I'm begging you, man.
Four.
- Rick. Please. Rick, please man, come on!!
- Three.
Rick, you cannot do this.
Guys, you can't do this.
Two.
- You cannot do this, please stop counting.
- One.
- Please stop counting.
- Damn it.
No! No!
What the fuck? What the fuck?
The fuck?
What the fuck!
- Phil.
- What the fuck!
It's Derren.
You're in shock, it's okay, you're fine,
it's just a special effect.
It's OK, it's a squib.
- It's not real blood.
- What the fuck!
Up you get.
Look at me. Look at me.
Look at me.
This whole thing...
was about...
...who we are,
...and what we are capable of
when we rid ourselves of those
stories,
and what you've just done...
is the single most heroic
and extraordinary thing that any human
being can do for another human being.
Also, Phil...
there was no other participants
in this show, right, it was just you.
This was all just you.
And you don't have a microchip
implanted in you.
You did all this on your own.
I'm so proud of you. Well done.
- We'll get you washed up.
- Let's go.
Thank you, man.
I fucking thought I was dead there.
- You okay, brother?
- Can I call my fucking wife?
You don't need to call her.
- I love you.
- I love you.
I'll show you the cameras.
That was absolutelyintense.
The whole situation up to getting
in the biker bar and...
and getting in this truck with people
I didnt know
was terrifying,
but as I'm sitting in the truck,
something pushed me to get
out of the truck,
and it was like a surge of energy
to get out of the truck.
It was adrenaline, because I couldn't,
sit in the truck and watch it.
I just couldn't watch it. So something
pushed me to get up out of the truck,
grab the handle, open the door,
and walk in front and at least
try to stop whatever was happening.
- I'm begging you, Rick, please!
- Five.
I did it 'cause I wanted to help.
The stories we tell ourselves
dictate the corners we fight from.
One story tells us to protect our group
and guard against outside threat,
even at the expense of the disadvantaged.
The opposite story tells us
to protect the disadvantaged,
even at the expense of overall stability.
Each side is convinced the other
is mad or bad,
yet it's precisely in the dialogue
between sides
that we find truth
and humanity flourishes.
We can protect our groups and maintain
compassion.
So this experiment wasn't to make someone
switch from
one narrow political story to another.
I think what emerged
in Phil's defining moment
was something more important
and more unifying,
which is kindness.
I need to start lookin' at things
differently and...
and helping where I can, and...
changing my outlook on things,
and I just couldn't...
I couldnt have rightfully stepped aside
and watched him get killed.
Is it painful when it goes in?
Right, local anesthetic.
Scalpel.
This is the injector.
I'm Derren Brown.
For the last 20 years in the UK,
on the television and stage,
I've performed as a psychological
illusionist.
I based a 20 year career on essentially
two skills,
firstly, the ability to pluck a thought
from your head,
secondly, the ability to get one into
your head
and thats what well do now.
I use a combination of magic techniques,
suggestion and psychology
to explore the stranger edges of human
experience.
Whatever it takes, do it.
Now, in these aggressively divided times,
when we so readily define ourselves by our
tribal identities,
I want to try and create a hero.
Someone who will willingly
lay down their life
and take a bullet,
not for a loved one,
but for a complete stranger.
To put your life on the line,
not just for a stranger,
but for someone you don't identify with,
requires two traits.
To be fearless,
and to have empathy.
So for this to work I need to create those
qualities in my hero.
Everything you will see is 100% real.
I genuinely have no idea
how this plays out
or if the experiment will be
successful.
First though, I have to find my candidate.
I shortlisted 100 people
out of the thousands whoresponded
to an ad
looking for participants
for a TV experiment.
Hello, thank you very much for coming.
Erm...
I brought this hundred
to a daylong audition
and interviewed them
on a broad range of subjects
hoping to find someone with a strong bias
against another group.
And one man quickly caught my attention.
There is absolutely an immigration problem
in the United States.
You think, "You're not even
supposed to be here,
why should we follow
your religious beliefs?"
Phil is a 33-year-old city maintenance
worker from Cocoa Beach, Florida,
married with two young children
and a third on the way.
Raising a family is tough
and much of Phil's frustration
is directed at illegal immigrants
whom he sees as being favoured
over his family.
Just still getting a lot of
immigrants through,
not working, can't work
because they'reillegal.
Am I personally scared of them?
No.
But I'm certainly scared that they
could turn our country to shit.
I say kick 'em out,
I say kick 'em all out.
It's these strongly held views
that make Phil the perfect subject
for this experiment I want to undertake.
Phil believes he's taking part in a
documentary.
Showing how cutting edge biotechnology can
bring dramatic improvements to your life.
Well place electrodes
on the base of your index finger
and the middle finger.
In fact, he is the unsuspecting star
at the center
of an elaboratepsychological experiment
filmed across two continents, based
entirely around him and his beliefs.
As Phil has no idea
what he's taking part in,
to make this work, I have to create
a completely convincing
fictional world around him.
I wanna hear him, I want him to hear
the same things from your mouth, yeah.
I'm using a specialist crew of over
a hundred people in the UK
- and USA...
- That's perfect position.
...pro divers, special effects
supervisors, and stunt teams.
I'm planning scenarios using professional
actors,
which need meticulous rehearsals.
Tell us, you're not threatening with
the gun now, you've made that decision.
And I have multiple hidden cameras
to secretly watch all the action unfold.
And I've designed all of this
to try and create
a huge personal change in Phil
and radically transform
his most strongly felt opinions.
In a way, I've always kind ofbeen
more biased towards white people,
but again I'm not racist.
Thats just how I was brought up.
I hope to show Phil the amazing things
were capable of
when we let go of the stories
that we think define us.
This won't be easy,
but by the end of this journey,
I hope to have him willingly take a bullet
for someone he thinks
is an illegal immigrant.
No!
Phil has been told that his audition was
successful,
and has been chosen to take part in this
documentary about biotechnology.
He stays in London and we invite him
to our production offices.
- See, so this is er, Dr. Jeff.
- Hi, Dr. Jeff. Phil.
- Hi.
- And this is Phil. Have a seat, Phil.
And now I'm going to spin him a line about
what exactly
this experiment
is going to involve.
I developed, with the help of a bunch of
scientists and people
that you'll meet today,
a piece of technology,
which is about gaining a kind of control
over ones own life and decisions.
This documentary is about beta testing
that piece of technology,
and you are one of six people
chosen from yesterday
who we will follow as you
- beta test that technology.
- Fantastic.
- Does that make sense so far?
- Yes, that makes sense so far.
All right, good. So, the technologys
based around a microchip.
OK.
Um, so in order to do this
and to put this into practice,
we would like to implant a chip...
...in you.
Can we show Phil the chip?
It's a small bio glass tube.
Okay, so were not really putting
a microchip into Phil,
but I need him to think we are,
it gives me a tool to work with,
namely the placebo effect
which is when a medical treatment
works better just because we expect it to,
and in some tests placebo has made
a treatment twice as effective.
So everything I now tell Phil
about the chip is a lie.
Now this...
sits here,
at the base of your brain
by your pituitary gland,
the chip stimulates your brain
in to releasing adrenaline and dopamine,
motivating you in to action.
- All right, does that make sense?
- Yes, that makes sense.
Pretty amazing technology.
Look, if you agree to do this,
it could bring about
radical improvements in your life,
thats the idea.
I'm...
- absolutely happy to do it.
- You are?
Yeah, absolutely.
- Great.
- Absolutely.
So with Phil now thinking
there's a chip in him,
I moved on to explain that the chip
is connected to an app.
I'm just gonna pair the two things
together.
The apps called Turbine.
Turbine.
It is a little like a meditation app
so when we tell you to you sit down,
you put headphones on
and you listen to it,
and it creates in you
a powerful desire to act decisively,
which is boosted by the chip
in your neck.
And as far as we know, we're
the first people to do that so...
- Very cool.
- ...you're part of an exciting...
That's very cool.
So I sent Phil off to start using the app,
but heres how it really works.
The app films him
and uploads footage so I can make sure
he keeps using it.
Each time he listens to
a recording of my voice...
Feel the change in your body
as you step forward.
...which gets him to tap
into a decisive fearless state
and then plays him the trigger.
Feel how that changes.
Over time, hell associate
the trigger sound
more and more with that feeling.
Each time you do this,
it getsmore powerful,
each time you hear that sound.
This process is called classical
conditioning.
It's even more effective 'cause
Phil believes he's an implanted microchip
doing all the hard work for him.
For him to take a bullet,
I need the app trigger sound
to instantly generate
an active and fearless state in Phil.
And crucially, I'll be able to play
that trigger sound to him
whenever I choose to bring about
that decisive state of mind.
All right, um...
Just thought
I'd do a quick entry.
We asked Phil to keep us updated
on how he's doing
by recording some video diaries.
This is crazy, I've never had
anything like that done before,
I've never been in surgery,
I've never broken a bone, so,
this kinda procedure is just absolutely
crazy.
But it wasn't a case of having to think
about whether I was going to do it or not,
'cause I was going to do it.
It's a little tender but erm...
but just have to see what happens.
Anyway, signing off.
After a week or so of using the app,
I'll test to see if it's working
by bringing him to Carnforth
in the north of England,
and asking him to do something
that will take extraordinary courage.
Fucking hell man,
this is too... it's too much.
But first, I need to embed
a second trigger
to help remove something that stands
in the way of heroism;
the fear of pain.
I'll need your phone er, if you have it.
So I invite Phil back
to our production offices,
telling him we need to try something
to help calibrate the app.
So for this technique, I'll use
special embedded language patterns
to remove the experience of pain
and attach that
to a ritual physical action.
This doesn't work with everyone,
but I think Phil will be responsive.
And the words you'll see on the screen
will give you some idea
of how the technique works.
Put your hand on the table there for me,
- and just look at the back of that hand.
- Right.
There.
One of the reasons why I'm doing it
in this room
this is the same room that you had your
er, implant put in. Right?
So you'll associate this room
with feelings of
anesthesia, you hadit
in the back of your neck
so you couldn't feel anything.
But as you look at this,
I want you to imagine,
that you've had an anesthetic again,like
you had in your neck, and that feeling,
or lack of feeling, just starts to spread
through the hand
like a kind of
blueness.
All sensation drifting out of that hand,
over there.
Once I know he's in a responsive state,
I give him his trigger,
the fist bump.
Bring it above your head,
and you're gonna remove all last traces
of sensation from that hand
by bumping a couple of times on your head.
Do that now.
And that signal gets through to the hand,
and now if you touch it,
you'll find there's just nothing.
What's it like?
- Like a dead hand.
- It's just...
You know when your hand falls asl
That's what it feels like.
Can't feel a thing.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
It is like someone elses hand,
isn't it, like a bit of dead meat.
Other people say this.
You could stick something through
it you'd not--
It feels like a dead hand.
Shall we do it now, are youprepared
to do that now? Yeah, great.
What you'll see next
might look like magic,
but it's the result of overwhelming his
expectation of pain
with the by now fully embedded belief
that his hand is numb.
Let me give you this.
So if you hold this in your right hand.
OK. I'm gonna pinch the skin
here and here on that hand.
OK.
I'm pinching that skin, but you can
feel nothing, right?
- No.
- All right.
Dont push the needle through yet,
but just hold it near,
maybe rest your hand so that
you're supporting... that's good.
About there, right,
just press it gently against the skin.
- All the way through?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
- Absolutely nothing.
- Like pushing it through a steak.
- D'you want me to go the whole way?
- You wanna stop there.
Lets have a look.
So, what's that like to look at?
Very strange, no pain, no tenderness,
- it just feels like nothing.
- Yeah.
- Just look at that for me.
- OK.
And as you look at the back of the hand,
just know that you can bring this
pain free state back
by bumping your head in the same way
whenever you need to.
And this was the crazy part, this is why
tonight has just been absolutely insane.
He says, "I want you to remember
the feeling of when you had the anesthetic
put in your neck for the chip.
Said "I want you to imagine that
with your hand."
He says, "OK, now go ahead and stick
the needle through your skin."
So, slowly I pierced the needle
through my skin.
And I could not...
I could not feel any of it.
Any of it. Erm... so
that was pretty insane.
Just have to wait and see
what tomorrow brings, so goodnight.
That was a really important discovery
for Phil, he's experienced
how subjective pain can be,
and he's linked that state to the
head bump, it's a very encouraging start.
Now, though, I need to see
if the conditioning from the app
is working, so I've designed a test
tailor-made around Phils phobias,
to see if that trigger sound is enough
to make him overcome
the things he dreads the most.
Some of the fears I have are kind of-
some of them are irrational...
Heights, deep water freaks me out,
I dont go in the ocean,
I live in Florida,
but I've never been in the ocean.
I've brought Phil to a disused quarry,
where my team have rigged a platform
50 feet above freezing cold water.
Will the triggers be enough
to make Phil jump?
I know you really don't like heights,
you also dont like open water as well,
right?
I want to jump out of
this wet suit and...
and go back to the hotel.
Okay. Well I'm just gonna
show you something
and well do this step by step.
Well take all the time we need.
Just turn and face that way, oh,
I need your phone for a second.
So, if I asked you to walk as far
as you could, how far would that be?
Oh, fucking hell man.
About there? OK.
Cool, come back. So it's just past
the edge of the grass.
I just need to take your mic off.
Just think for a moment the idea
of walking to the edge.
No further than that, just the edge.
Not off the edge, just to the edge.
Okay, I'm gonna play the app sound
and I want you to notice
what change this makes
to your emotional state.
Amazing.
I'm standing behind you,
just note what's different.
Focus, and notice where that feeling
of stability starts,
right in the middle of it all.
Take a few more steps if you wish.
That's good.
I think the biggest...
leap of faith that we take is when we
step out of our own stories,
particularly the stories
about what were capable of,
like this for example.
That is, I think the real...
step... forward.
- This is too much, yeah, Derren.
- OK, it's OK.
- I feel I've gotta jump.
- Yeah.
But somethings holding me back.
Thats fine, there's two sides,
there's two sides of you.
It's too much.
- Come off for a bit?
- Please.
Yeah? OK.
Just come back.
Somethings pushing me back.
So what was it like,
what were the...
It's like a...
it's like a fucking battle in my head,
I got one strong feeling telling me to
just fucking jump.
And then I got another part of me saying
"What the fuck are you doing
- standing out here?"
- Yeah.
I really need Phil to do this.
Hell need to overcome an even more
substantial fear when the time comes
to make the sacrifice.
It's a good day.
Somethings holding me back.
Somethings holding me back.
- Everything up to jumping is all right,
then I get fucking dizzy.
- I don't think I can do it, Derren.
- OK.
- I dont think I can.
- Dont have to.
It is clearly not working.
The triggers aren't overcoming
his fears,
and even though failure here throws
the whole experiment in to doubt,
I have no alternative but to call it off.
Shall we go and get warm?
- Can I have a minute up here, please?
- Yeah, of course.
I knew in the back of my mind
that he might not jump.
I'm so used though to people just
following
the tracks that I've laid down,
er, so I, I dont know at this point
whether or not when it comes down to it,
that he'll...
step out in front of the gun
and take a bullet which is...
which is ultimately what all this is
heading towards, so...
I dont know at this point.
After that failure, I am wondering
if perhaps I pushed Phil too quickly.
So while I have him continue to work with
the app every day...
Feel the change in your body each time
you hear that sound.
I move on to step three
of this conditioning process.
For Phil to act heroically,
it's not just about
acting decisively and not just
in the face of fear,
but also acting out of empathy
and placing another persons life
before his own.
How Phil responds to the information
I'm about to give him
will be a vital clue as to how hell react
when the time comes to take a bullet
for someone who is very different
from him.
Where's your family from?
Remind me.
Okay my fathers side are all
from the UK.
And then my mother's side
are all from Florida.
When Phil first began this process,he
went through several stages of screening,
including phone and video calls
with my team,
when he was asked to express his opinions.
The big issues is probably from,
from Cuba and Mexico.
This is not your fucking country, this is
our country and you've come in
and you're alienating
your hosts, basically.
There's places where it's that bad
theyve taken over
that Americans arent actually...
it's not suggested to actually go into
these areas because it's unsafe.
He also, like the other
potential contributors,
provided a DNA sample.
I told him the DNA data was for his app,
but really I'm hoping the results
might help him re-evaluate his opinions,
something that must happen if Phil is to
sacrifice himself for a stranger
and become a true hero.
Er, so, as an American you may notbe
aware of this, the rest of the world.
Do you remember at the start of all this
- you did a cheek swab?
- Yes, I do.
So what we got from that with your
DNA test results,
which I have in here,
specifically what we were looking at
was your heritage
and your entire genetic history.
So in a sense,
what's in this envelope,
is the real you.
That's incredible.
These are set out according to the size
- The percentage.
- Yeah, exactly.
- Top of the list is 22.9%
- OK.
From a region known as Fennoscandia,
which is here.
It's Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway.
- Really.
- Yeah.
13% of you,
Western Siberia.
- Si... Siberia?
- Siberia, Russia.
- That's insane.
- Hmm.
It would've never been anything that
I would've considered other than...
- British and American.
- Yeah.
As the percentages get smaller,
the surprises keep coming.
3.4% of you from Israel
and this region goes from Israel
and moves into Syria.
That's extremely interesting.
And finally, just under 1%, 0.9%,
er, Mexico.
- Mexico?
- Mhm.
Mexico, down through Peru.
- That's incredible.
- Mhm.
It's pretty shocking, in a good way.
It's amazing to think over these tens of
thousands of years how
- people have moved around.
- Shifted around.
and that, that story,
which has led to you sitting here,
is from those,
ancient tribes and groups just...
- Moving around.
- Just migrating and mixing and...
What's the biggest shock there?
I would have to say,
- this one, the Israel, Syria.
- Mhm.
And of course,
Mexico down through Peru.
- Why's that?
- Um...
I think it's just how I...
I maybe have perceived
different areas of the world,
and maybe not so much
in a positive light.
And I, you know,
and not in any racist way, or...
but you know when you're
from somewhere it's easy to
look at other places
and not understand it and...
make negative assumptions about it.
Which I have done.
Phil seems genuinely affected by these
revelations.
So I asked him to take part in another
test right away.
I tell him it's to recalibrate the app.
But in fact, I'm hoping this will be a
transformational experience.
The experiment was developed by
a New York psychology professor
to provoke feelings of empathy.
Pairs of complete strangers sit
facing each other,
and are asked to silently stare into
each others eyes for four minutes.
I hope that following the news
about his DNA,
staring into the eyes of someone from a
different race will create
intense emotions that I can anchor and
use at the climax of this experiment.
Are you all right?
It was almost like
looking into him, it was almost like
looking into his soul.
I just got this overwhelming feeling
like I already knew him.
Can I give you a hug, dude?
Yeah, yeah sure.
Come here, buddy.
Everything I've ever thought
of other people,
the way I've been towards people, or...
It was gone and I just...
the whole time looking at him, I felt like
I just wanted to give him a hug.
It was overwhelming.
The DNA results and staring test seemed
to have had a profound effect on Phil
and bringing back those heightened
feelings of empathy will be a
key component in the final experiment.
Now though, it's time to tell him filming
is finished and he can head home.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Erm... so,
- I've booked us a table for dinner.
- Oh, fantastic.
yeah, itll be nice,
so it isn't quite goodbye, but...
- we are done with you, that was--
- Wow, incredible.
It's just been an absolute roller-coaster
of emotions
through this whole process.
- Phils coming to say goodbye.
- Goodbye, everyone.
Erm, and it's been an experience
that I can't even begin to explain,
how much it's going to change me
moving forward.
Been great to meet you,
have a safe journey.
- Brother.
- Brother.
It's just been awesome.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, Derren.
- So, goodnight.
Phil has returned to his life
in Florida,
and we've given him enough time to
forget all about me and the experiment,
even though he didn't jump
at the quarry,
Phils empathic connection
to a complete stranger,
combined with his
continued use of the app,
means that I'm hopeful,
the triggersI embedded,
the belief in the chip,
overcoming the fear of pain,
and heightened levels of empathy,
will be enough to make him
act heroically.
And I really hope this works, I want
everyone to see what's possible if we can
just get past the narrow constraints
of the stories that we tell ourselves.
This is where Phil will hopefully
be taking a bullet
and making the ultimate sacrifice,
the middle of the desert,
and we've come up with a ruse
to get him here.
We asked a friend of Phils to call him
and say he'd won a trip to Vegas
and that Phil could join him.
So Phil has flown to LA
to drive down to Vegas,
he believes, to meet his friend.
Now we have cameras in that car,
the driver is one of us.
How's the hotel?
And Phil has no idea that this is being
filmed, no idea that this is part of this
TV project, and no idea
that he'snever gonna make it to Vegas.
For the scenario we've planned for Phil,
we've taken over a remote bar
in the middle of nowhere,
which we've populated with a biker gang
played by actors,
and spent the whole week adapting
inside and out
with carefully hidden
cameras and microphones.
So this is a fake wall that we've built
and then behind it, if you come through,
hopefully you can see, camera here,
therell be another camera here.
These are filming through these
one-way mirrory things,
and then we've got the same
behind the bar,
So these'll give us great shots from
behind the bar,
looking at them sat at the bar.
So all the shots that we will see
are perfectly hidden.
Hell have no idea that any of this
is being filmed.
- We had two days of really intense rain.
- Did you?
Like biblical.
It's actually a very important line, er,
"You're one of us now."
So I think just make it land a bit more,
put your hand on his shoulder and give it
a moment, "You're one of us now."
I tell the driver to say they're having
car trouble to give them a reason
to stop at the bar.
Right, lets go, time to hide.
Here we go.
They pull up for the driver to solvethe
supposed car issue
and more importantly,
to abandon Phil.
- Everybody.
- Let's go.
Stay on the mark.
- Something to drink?
- Yeah, Diet Coke, please.
I'll do a Diet Coke too, please.
How many bars do you have on your phone?
4G. I'm not even on the one bar on 4G.
- D'you mind if I borrow it?
- No. Go ahead.
Thanks, I'm just gonna call the office.
Alright, cool. Alright.
And he's given the driver his phone,
the drivers asked to take the phone
so he can call and find a local mechanic.
It's important as we need to get
Phils phone out of the equation.
Okay, Martin, go wider.
For this to work, I need Phil
to feel alone
and cut off because I want him to form
a bond with the biker gang.
OK, John, go to the bar.
Cue John.
Anybody need any more?
Gonna grab some more.
Hey Kelly, can I get one more?
Yeah, yeah, please.
- What you riding?
- Er, I'm actually...
I'm in a car with somebody.
Driving from LA to Vegas.
- Oh sweet. Very cool.
- Yeah we've had some car problems
- and he's taken it to go get fixed.
- That sucks. Where you from?
- I live inCocoa Beach, Florida.
- Cocoa Beach?
What are you doing?
Erm, I work in, work for the city of
Cocoa Beach.
- What do you do, are you a cop, or...
- No, public works.
Made me nervous then,
said "Oh are you a cop?"
- Hi, well, were gonna roll out now.
- No, no, definitely not a cop.
- What's your name again?
- I'm John, how are you?
- Phil, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you, John.
It's going well, so the idea here is to
create a connection
with one of the bikers,
a rapport thats crucial for
the next stage to work.
What are you drinking?
Er, just soda, but now,
I'm thinking about maybe getting a beer.
You're gonna start tearing it up
in Vegas, kinda pacing yourself?
Yeah, definitely.
- Call him now?
- Yeah.
Right, and we ended up on the same
team again, so I kinda thought...
- Well, it's fate.
- It's fate, sure.
Erm, but when we first met, er, yeah...
- Are you Phil?
- Yes.
You have a phone call.
Hello?
Hey Phil, it's Jason. How you doin', man?
- Hey Jason.
- Hey good.
I'm at the mechanic, I don't think
it's gonna take very long,
but I can't leave the car
er, and I can't like come and get you with
it because it's not working very well
insurance purposes, all that kinda stuff,
I need you to get a cab and
come down here.
Erm, it's called Edgeley Garage,
it's about two and a half miles
from thebar.
D'you mind doing that?
Do you, sorry, do you know
Edgeley Garage?
It's, yeah, down near...
four or five miles.
Erm, is there any way I could get
a cab here?
Alright, Phil, the mechanic is calling,
I gotta let you go.
- All right, man, talk to you soon. Bye.
- Bye.
Erm, are there cabs out here?
Yeah thats why I was laughing, I'm sorry,
didnt mean to be rude, but...
Why, what do you need?
I guess the cars at Edgeley Garage.
He's saying it's about two and a half
miles, but he can't leave the truck.
Dude, we can give you a ride.
We can give you a ride.
We just got the truck here.
Just right down the road, it's where
we get our bikes taken care of.
If that's OK with you, it's up to you.
Yeah, yeah that's fine.
It's a pretty straight shot,
there's nothing out here.
Like, it's completely just desert.
So, enjoy the view...
So with Phil settling in and having
agreed to take a ride from the bikers,
it's time for us to create some conflict.
Cue Pablo and Carlos,
start heading to the bar.
and things are going to turn
a little nasty.
This is Phils first test,
I'm hoping hell empathise with them
and at least speak up in their defense.
Plan, that was the original plan.
And it just, it just never happened.
Chico. Man.
You guys can't drink here.
Why not?
Certain rules, you can't drink.
- You gotta go.
- Alright, okay.
- OK?
- You know, let's go.
- OK?
- Don't, don't touch me.
Come on.
All right! Chill!
What the fuck...
- Hey, fuck you!
- Get the fuck outta here.
Fucker!
You OK, Rick?
Can we get some beers over here?
- Sorry about that.
- Yeah.
Yeah, so, that was the plan.
Never panned out, hopefully one day.
Once again, sorry about that, are we good?
Sometimes we get Mexicans
come in hereand...
fuckin' pisses us a lot of us,
all about God, country,
and fucking...
you know.
OK, Phils clearly feeling conflict, but
he hasnt been bold enough to speak up,
which is a bit of a worry.
Now give me a second. Hey Chip...
Still, that conflict is important.
So the next thing is er, the biker is
going to give Phil one of their jackets.
This is important because
Phil needs to be made to feel like he's
one of them, one of the club,
which is gonna enhance this conflict
that he's already feeling.
Cue the jacket.
Try this on.
I feel really bad about
what happened, try this on.
The jackets also important for a
technical reason later on.
Check him out. Hey guys, this is Phil.
It's like it was made for you, brother.
You guys don't have to do that.
- I really want you to have that, man.
- I appreciate it.
- Yeah. Woo!
- Look at that!
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
- Now you're one of us man, so...
- Thank you, guys. Thank you.
Phil has now accepted a place
in this gang.
In many ways, they reflect the views
he held when I first met him.
I know, Phil now you can take
your wife home a souvenir.
- Yeah.
- That you met some decent peopleout here.
Yes. Absolutely. Appreciate it, guys,
thank you.
D'you wanna get going?
- Yeah.
- I feel bad I'm keeping you.
No, I didnt know if you wanted to
finish your beer.
I'm good, we'll get you on the road.
The question now, is will the triggers and
conditioning
help him reject those values
and feel compassion when it matters most.
While they re-position the cameras,
that is my cue to go to myhidey-hole.
The camera will be filming
from this truck.
I'll hide in here with them.
- Thanks, guys.
- You all be good.
Thank you very much, guys,
really appreciate it.
- Bad, bad, boy.
- Thanks.
So, like I said, we take all our
bikes there, he's pretty good.
- Pretty quick, so...
- Good.
You hop in the front man,
I'll hop in the back.
Those bikes look knocked over,
dude.
Hey! Get the guys.
Come in our fucking bar,
you mess with our bikes.
- Dude, they knocked over your bike, man!
- Jesus Christ!
Go, go, go!
Fuck this shit, man.
Let's rock it, Mexicans.
The biker gang now begin the chase,
my stunt team have choreographed.
What sounds like a radio station
in the truck is being controlled remotely
by me and it will soon
play a crucial role.
There's nowhere to go.
Got 'em now, they're fenced in,
they're trapped.
What's about to unfold will be extreme
and frightening
and it will take enormouscourage
for Phil to intervene.
No exit out here, so good luck
with this shit.
At the climactic moment, I will trigger
the app sound, which I've embedded
in the jingle of a fake radio broadcast.
Phil, stay in the truck
it's nothing to do with you.
This should produce a rush of adrenaline
and then it's all down to Phil.
Fuck you going? Where the fuck
are you going? Fuck you, man.
What the fuck is he doing?
Come in our fucking bar,
you mess with our bikes.
We just wanted our drink.
Thats the American flag man,
you dont belong here.
But yeah, you come into our fucking
country, come into our fucking bar.
You guys are fucking illegal,
you come across the border,
you rape and pillage our people,
fuck you, man.
Then you fuck with our bikes,
you think you'll walk outta here?
Alright, were sorry, man. Okay?
Are you fucking legal here?
This is our country, man.
- Shut the fuck up.
- You know what, just let us go.
Why would we let you go?
- I'm sorry, we fucked up, okay?
- You definitely fucked up.
- Are you legal here?
- Yeah, we are, man.
Really? Show us your papers.
I mean, I dont carry that.
- You dont have 'em?
- I have my driving licence man.
...warmest weather in all of america
with a constant...
Tell me the truth. Shut the fuckup!
He says anything else, nail him.
You, are you legal?
Are you legal?
- Answer him!
- We're not, man.
Fuck 'em. Fuck it, Rick.
No, no, no.
No, no, no!
- You're listening to KXDV on...
- What the fuck?
...the sound of San Bernandino...
I trigger the app sound
in our radio broadcast.
There's absolutely an immigration problem.
I say kick 'em all out.
I feel like I have to jump...
...like a dead hand...
I have a family.
I have a daughter and I have a son.
Hey, Phil, this has nothing to do
with you. Phil.
Rick, Rick, Rick, man.
Get back in the truck.
This has nothing to do with you.
Phil, this has nothing to do with you.
This ain't right.
I'm serious, get in the fucking truck.
You're gonna get hurt.
Can we not just call the police?
Please call the police.
Fuck that, fuck this shit, fuck it.
I can't watch this, man.
I've never... please.
Dude, Phil, well take careof this,
alright? We got this shit.
- Please, I'm begging you.
- We are not calling the police.
- Please, I'm begging you guys.
- Phil, I got one bullet in this gun.
It's gonna be you or him.
Whos it gonna be? Whos it gonna be?
- Please, Rick. Please.
- Five.
Rick, please stop counting,
I'm begging you, man.
Four.
- Rick. Please. Rick, please man, come on!!
- Three.
Rick, you cannot do this.
Guys, you can't do this.
Two.
- You cannot do this, please stop counting.
- One.
- Please stop counting.
- Damn it.
No! No!
What the fuck? What the fuck?
The fuck?
What the fuck!
- Phil.
- What the fuck!
It's Derren.
You're in shock, it's okay, you're fine,
it's just a special effect.
It's OK, it's a squib.
- It's not real blood.
- What the fuck!
Up you get.
Look at me. Look at me.
Look at me.
This whole thing...
was about...
...who we are,
...and what we are capable of
when we rid ourselves of those
stories,
and what you've just done...
is the single most heroic
and extraordinary thing that any human
being can do for another human being.
Also, Phil...
there was no other participants
in this show, right, it was just you.
This was all just you.
And you don't have a microchip
implanted in you.
You did all this on your own.
I'm so proud of you. Well done.
- We'll get you washed up.
- Let's go.
Thank you, man.
I fucking thought I was dead there.
- You okay, brother?
- Can I call my fucking wife?
You don't need to call her.
- I love you.
- I love you.
I'll show you the cameras.
That was absolutelyintense.
The whole situation up to getting
in the biker bar and...
and getting in this truck with people
I didnt know
was terrifying,
but as I'm sitting in the truck,
something pushed me to get
out of the truck,
and it was like a surge of energy
to get out of the truck.
It was adrenaline, because I couldn't,
sit in the truck and watch it.
I just couldn't watch it. So something
pushed me to get up out of the truck,
grab the handle, open the door,
and walk in front and at least
try to stop whatever was happening.
- I'm begging you, Rick, please!
- Five.
I did it 'cause I wanted to help.
The stories we tell ourselves
dictate the corners we fight from.
One story tells us to protect our group
and guard against outside threat,
even at the expense of the disadvantaged.
The opposite story tells us
to protect the disadvantaged,
even at the expense of overall stability.
Each side is convinced the other
is mad or bad,
yet it's precisely in the dialogue
between sides
that we find truth
and humanity flourishes.
We can protect our groups and maintain
compassion.
So this experiment wasn't to make someone
switch from
one narrow political story to another.
I think what emerged
in Phil's defining moment
was something more important
and more unifying,
which is kindness.
I need to start lookin' at things
differently and...
and helping where I can, and...
changing my outlook on things,
and I just couldn't...
I couldnt have rightfully stepped aside
and watched him get killed.