Late Phases (2014) Movie Script
1
- Hey, you need help?
- No, I'm just looking.
Well, what exactly
is your range, price-wise?
Depends, what do they cost?
Well, we got little ones and big ones.
- Big ones start at about three thousand.
- No senior citizen discount?
I sell headstones at a senior
citizen discount, I won't last long.
What do you got on the small scale?
Well, the one you were looking at,
that starts at three hundred.
That's pretty good for a budget.
Yeah, but these are shit, people step
on 'em, they wear the words off.
Well, they ain't cheaper
'cause they're better.
Well, the VA's picking up the tab for the
funeral but I gotta pay for the headstone.
Oh, pay for the funeral, that's nice.
Listen, you're a vet,
I'll give you five percent,
plus we'll throw in some flowers.
I'm sure that's a comfort
to dying vets everywhere. Come.
Listen, you want me to
hold anything for you?
Let me think about it, I got time.
Here, pop. Right here. Come on.
Yeah, people always think they got time.
So...
- how'd it go?
- It was lovely. What do you think?
I think it was a bad idea to begin with.
- Did you pick something?
- Dying ain't cheap.
It costs less to pay you to stand in the
cemetery and point at my grave all day.
Will you get off the goddamn cellphone?
It's illegal.
Are you kidding?
How did you know that I was...
Can you hear me pushing
the buttons or something?
You're driving like an idiot,
you're all over the road.
Okay, I'm just... I'm trying to tell Ann
that this is taking a little bit
longer than I thought,
and that I'm going to be late
for dinner. That's all.
Hey.
Hey!
Easy, boy.
Speed limit's 25.
Thanks a lot fucking asshole.
I gotta live here, Will. Don't make them
hate me, I can do that on my own.
What's it look like?
It's nice.
It is... you know,
the houses are close together, but...
It reminds me of that place
we used to live in when I was a kid.
Any jerk-offs staring at us?
Yeah.
Yeah, they are. Yep.
But, I mean, who can blame them,
this is probably the most exciting thing
that's happened to them in a month.
Jesus, what's his problem?
It's you. You have your mother's scent.
That's the first time you've mentioned
her since her funeral, pops.
Come.
- Dad, wait for me, I'll be right there.
- I got it.
- Mailbox on your right.
- Thanks.
Hold on, pops, let me get your bags.
Looks like we beat the movers here.
Sounds empty.
Yeah.
I feel like I'm dropping
you off at prison.
You don't look like
a necklace kind of guy.
I can't see you,
but you smell beautiful.
Oh, thank you very much.
- Did you just move next door?
- Yes.
It's so nice to see
a new face around here.
It's nice to hear somebody referring
anything of me as "new."
- Delores.
- Ambrose.
Hello, Ambrose.
- Hello, Delores.
- Hello, hello.
Delores... Can you tell me what that is?
- Claw-something? Some kind of claw?
- Dad?
You know I really don't like it when you
go walking around without Shadow like that.
I'm sorry, excuse me, my name's Will.
I'm Ambrose's son.
- Oh, hello, Will. Delores.
- Nice to meet you, miss.
Can I get you back to the house?
The movers are going to be here any minute.
I hope to smell you again very soon.
I hope so, too.
Right this way, pops.
- Knock, knock!
- Hello!
Who's there?
We are Crescent Bay's Welcoming Party,
and, well, we just couldn't wait
to introduce ourselves to you!
- I'm Emma.
- And I'm Gloria!
- I'm Clarissa.
- Ambrose McKinley.
Mr. McKinley, is there anything
we can do to help?
No, thanks.
- Did you bring cake?
- Yes.
Yes we did!
And where would you like us to put it?
I can't eat sugar, but thanks anyway.
You were a veteran.
I am a veteran, twenty years
United States Army. Five years Vietnam.
Oh, my!
Oh, that's very impressive!
Yeah? You didn't hear? We lost that one.
Oh, there don't tend
to be firearms at Crescent Bay.
That's nice.
- I didn't think it was legal.
- What, for a blind person to own guns?
- It's legal.
- Oh.
Perhaps you were thinking of retards.
Now, you just hold on
one minute, Mr. McKinley...
You hold on one minute.
I'm a weapons expert.
I know more about guns
than you do Pop-Tarts.
So thank you for the sugar
and have a nice night.
Well...
Welcome to Crescent Bay, Mr. McKinley.
Any help at all, Mr. McKinley...
I'd see you ladies to the door,
but I'm blind.
There we go.
Are you a good doggie,
or are you a bad doggie?
You're a good doggie... yes.
That's my boy. Is that good?
Is that good? Yes.
Darn!
Hey, mom, it's me. I just wanted to say
I'm sorry we missed the yard sale...
Victoria! Are you there?
Hi, Mom!
Didn't think you'd still be awake.
I sure am!
Thank you for calling, sweetheart.
But you actually said
you'd come help tomorrow.
Are you sure?
I'm looking at my planner and...
Oh, Mom, I'm so sorry.
Oh, God. I hope I didn't confuse you.
I'm not the one who's confused,
Victoria.
If I didn't remember these things
nobody else would.
Mom, I'm sorry!
I've been all over the...
Even I can see this ain't
the goddamn bedroom.
What the hell is that?
Mom, remember when we talked about changing
your outgoing answering machine message?
It's just nice to hear
his voice, Victoria.
I'd feel so much better
if you let us get you another dog.
Just a little someone
to keep you company.
There is no point in getting
dog after dog, sweetheart,
if they're all going to run away.
If a third dog runs away I'm going
to have to start taking it personally.
Shadow! Where are you, boy?
Anyway, mom,
I'm going to have to go.
I have to put the little munchkins...
Julie! Put that... put that down!
Mom, I've got to put
the little ones to bed.
Victoria, can you just stay
with me for a second?
Can you stay on the line with me?
Shadow.
What is it, boy?
What? Mom?
Hello? Mom?
Is everything okay?
Delores! Delores!
Delores! Delores!
Delores!
Hello, you've reached
Delores and Jonathan.
Please leave us your name
and number and we'll...
Delores! Delores!
- Mom?
- Delores!
- Delores!
- Mom?!
Okay. Call me back.
Shadow?
What did I do with the guns?
Shadow?
Shadow?
Shadow?
It's me, boy. C'mon.
Shadow?
Shadow? Shadow?
It's okay.
Daddy's here.
It's okay.
Daddy's here, boy.
Shadow.
You know we wouldn't have to come back here
if you hadn't left early last night, right?
You smell that?
- No.
- Swear to God,
I can smell this old folk smell
from all the way up here.
- Really?
- It's following me.
Why is it that they
don't smell the same?
It's almost like, it's on their furniture,
it's on their clothes. I don't even know.
- Is it something medical, you think?
- Dude. Not all old people smell like that.
No, no, no! Old people do smell like that,
I'm telling you.
I smell my grandfather like, every day.
I sleep with him.
I've been sleeping with him
for ten years. In the same bed!
I'm not even lying to you, man!
I'm serious.
Yeah, just be glad
it's not patchouli, alright?
You're lucky you were on vacation when we
had to move this guy from the north end.
He had like twenty guitars that all...
- Oh, man.
- Jesus!
You alright, Mr. McKinley?
Oh, fuck!
Help me, please. My dog...
Don! Don! Come over here, Don!
Get over here now!
No. Yeah, I'm up here right now.
It happened some time last night.
Well, I'm at least an hour
out of the city so...
Look, I'll call you
as soon as I leave here, okay?
Alright. Thank you.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- Was that work?
- Yeah.
I'm catching hell
from missing this meeting.
Will, did you seriously leave
your father alone in the new house
without a working phone?
Honey, what were you thinking?
I wasn't, okay? I've been
a little scattered... recently,
and besides, I thought that the movers
took care of that sort of thing.
You know, he was sitting at home
by himself until someone found him.
How is he now?
- You know what? I don't know.
- What do you mean?
Well, his "okay" and his "not okay,"
they look exactly the same.
Mr. McKinley.
Do you have any idea
what attacked you and Shadow?
No. Whatever it was, it was big.
- Like a mountain lion? Or a bear?
- More like a dog.
- You're sure?
- Yeah. I could smell it.
- You've been in Crescent Bay a while?
- No. It's our first night.
Mr. McKinley, we get phone calls
once a month about Crescent Bay.
The police ask us what could do
something like this.
It's actually a very common thing.
Once a month?
This has happened before?
It's a secluded community.
Town basically ends there.
And the woods begin.
Sometimes I'm surprised
it doesn't happen more often.
It's a terrible location.
Even with the gates.
What do you think, Doc?
Does it look like a dog
did this to Shadow?
In passing.
Are you kidding me?
The whole point that we came out here was
so that they were going to take the dog.
We can't take that in my car.
It's a company car.
- He was supposed to leave the dog here.
- Okay. Stop that, Will.
Hi, Ambrose, I came straight from work.
I'm so glad you're okay.
Anne, which car are we taking?
Are we taking you
to take a new guide dog?
No. I'm taking Shadow home.
Dad... seriously?
Yeah. I can take care of myself.
Now, which car are we taking?
- Speed limit's twenty...
- I know it's twenty-five. I got it.
Fine.
There's a lot of cops here.
Let me get you inside. I'll come back
and figure out what's going on.
I want to see the cops.
No. Let me get you
in the house first. Please, Dad.
Just take care of the dog.
I'll see you in a minute.
Please, Mrs. Kaye.
You really don't
want to go in there, Mrs. Kaye.
Let us take you down to the station
and finish your report there.
Oh, for God's sake! How long
does it take you people to do your job?
I just want to get this over with
and move on with my life, okay?
Excuse me. Excuse me.
Are you alright, sir?
Yeah. I was attacked last night.
- Are you Mr. McKinley?
- Yeah.
Excuse me for one second. Excuse me.
Miss?
- Yeah?
- Is Delores your mother?
She was. Yes.
Well, I'm sorry.
She seemed like a nice lady.
Thank you.
God, this place.
I should have taken her out of here
the moment I heard the stories, but...
there were so few options and I swear
I never thought she'd... I'm sorry.
You know the woman
who used to live here?
I only met her once.
You guys need a statement from me?
No, there's no need.
It's just an animal attack.
You got any leads?
Suspect may have sharp teeth.
Hey. Hey.
Sir, attacks like these happen all the time
around wooded areas like this.
The problem is the elderly
can't defend themselves.
So we suggest during the day
you don't walk by the perimeter
of the woods if you're alone.
And at night, please, stay in your house,
keep the doors closed
and the windows closed
until we sort this out. Okay?
- Starting now.
- Gotcha.
- Thanks for the piece of mind, boys!
- You're welcome.
We need another hour at least
to clean up the rest of it.
- Ambrose, I'm so sorry about Shadow.
- Yeah. It is a shame.
It is a shame.
It seems like such a nice place to live.
People don't come
to places like this to live.
They come here to die.
Yeah, well...
Seems like everybody's been
having a crazy couple of days.
Must be the full moon.
Office is filled with a bunch
of nut jobs every time like clockwork.
Hey, pops, have you eaten today?
No.
You've got to eat something.
What is he doing?
Pops, I...
I checked the phone line about
a dozen times. It's working fine now.
We can stay longer if you like.
No, I'm fine.
Nothing's going to happen tonight.
Is it a full moon?
What?
No, the full moon
was last night, Ambrose.
So the next one's in a month.
Yeah, that's pretty much
the way it works, Dad.
One month.
I'll call you tomorrow. Okay, Dad?
Drive safe.
One month.
One month.
I'm only here a week, I got mail?
- Are you Kimberly Carty?
- Do I look like Kimberly Carty?
Not particularly.
- How'd you know I was the mailman?
- I'm not deaf.
You want some chicken?
No, thank you, sir.
Say, what happened here?
- My dog got killed.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
The blood. Where does it lead?
- It goes out to the street.
- Show me.
- Is this it?
- Yeah. 1202 Huntington.
- Gloria and John Baker.
- Good.
I got it from here, thanks. Just point me
in the right direction. Will ya?
- Hey, are you going to be alright?
- Yeah, I'm going to be fine.
Oh, my... Oh, my goodness.
Oh, Ambrose!
What a pleasant surprise! Come in.
Watch your step. Here. Good.
- You're growing vegetables?
- Oh, yes!
I want to apologize for my behavior.
I'm a little stressed with the move.
Oh, yes. Well, sure. Just welcome!
Welcome to our little part
of the world! John and I.
I just gave him a haircut.
My goodness. Why are you carrying
that shovel around?
I've been digging.
You walked all this way.
You must be thirsty.
You know, I just made some sun tea.
I'll go get you a glass.
Thank you.
Stop! Ambrose! Oh! Oh, my god!
You just about turned off
John's machine!
I'm sorry.
I didn't know what it was.
It's alright. I know you
didn't mean it. Let's just go.
- What's wrong with him?
- He's in an iron lung.
Poor fucking bastard.
I've actually got a lot of things
to do with John today, Ambrose.
Any other day
you would be more than welcome.
- I'm sorry about your husband.
- Oh, well.
Does he ever get out of that thing?
About as often as you blink,
Mr. McKinley.
Yeah. Good luck with your vegetable.
You won't believe what just happened.
Hey! This is private property.
Private property is the reason
we were called out here, Mr. McKinley.
A couple people have called in complaints.
Feeling threatened.
- We're the police, sir.
- Yeah.
- I can smell the donuts.
- This is serious business.
We've had two fatal attacks occur
within five blocks of each other.
- Two?
- Yeah, we discovered another victim.
Cole Evanston.
Lives about three blocks...
North of here.
Listen, sir. We get assigned
to patrol Crescent Bay daily.
And a lot of the cranks that live here,
they throw fits, lose their minds
and call in every little problem,
making them into our little problems.
Since when is murder a little problem?
They're animal attacks, sir.
Considered acts of God.
And forgive me, but death at old age is not
on our list of this town's biggest problems.
The only big problem
I'm sensing around here is you.
So don't be a pain in the ass.
You wouldn't like me if I hated my job.
You can always retire. This place is great!
Units opening up all the time!
Sir, please. Please, just stick
to your own property, okay? Thank you.
Hey! I found this in my mailbox.
Can you tell me what it is?
Oh! It's just a flyer
from the St. Anthony's church.
They send a shuttle up here
every Sunday to get people down there.
- You should consider going this Sunday.
- I'm not religious.
Well, even so. You get out of the house,
you get to meet your neighbors.
You might have a good time.
- Morning, sir. You ready to go?
- I was born ready.
I gotcha. Here you go.
Thanks, James.
I'm Father Roger Schmidt
from St. Anthony's.
Who might you be?
Ambrose McKinley.
United States Army. Retired.
Glad to have you. Welcome.
To your left that's James Griffin.
He's the one who organizes
the shuttle services.
Welcome.
You smoke?
Yeah. Guilty.
It's really hard to get the smell
out of your beard...
- What about you?
- Used to. Had to quit. Doctor's orders.
So I've never seen you
at Saint Anthony's before.
- You just moved in, right?
- That's right.
I live on Duke Street, myself.
Right over near the woods there.
It's good to know you, neighbor.
What gives with the shovel?
I lost my cane.
Well, maybe we can get one
donated to you?
It's hardly worth it. Besides,
I like the feel of this one.
A lot of people.
A lot of people
when they hear the word
"sacrifice" think
"I don't think that's so bad.
I make sacrifices all the time."
And they sacrifice their time
and they sacrifice their schedule.
And their plans.
And parents, in particular,
make a life-long
occupation of sacrifice.
And if they... And if they do it right,
their children have no awareness
of sacrifices that have
been made on their behalf.
But it dawned on me
that if sacrifice comes easily,
if sacrifice comes naturally to you,
you don't know the half of it.
Richard.
Why does he have to bring a shovel?
Why is he bringing the shovel
into our church?
Hey, Ambrose.
- Follow my smoke trail?
- Yeah.
Hey, I hope you don't...
mind me gearing my sermon towards you.
You said you were a vet
and it got me thinking about sacrifice.
You were in 'Nam?
Yeah.
Hey, you got an extra fag?
Oh, sure. Take mine.
Because, my brother...
older brother... went over there.
I was in the seminary
when he shipped out.
When he came back...
he came back... he came back screaming.
And he still does it at night sometimes.
I guess it's fear...
No. He's angry.
Yeah.
Me?
I come back with eye trauma.
Kept getting worse, but...
I was too stubborn to ask for help.
By the time I went blind I couldn't stand
to look at the world anyway.
You mean, you think you deserved it
because you didn't ask for more help?
Maybe.
Well, because you said that you didn't think
it was worth you getting a cane.
Canes are for cripples.
Besides, I don't plan on
being around much longer anyway.
I hope you're not talking about
what I think you're talking about.
Because that's not an option.
I will not participate
in that sort of giving in.
Everybody dies, Father. Besides,
some things are okay to quit.
Mr. McKinley, Father.
The shuttle's getting ready to go.
One, two,
three,
four, five.
It's two weeks
and he's still doing this.
Oh, god, that smell.
I can't believe the neighbors
haven't complained about it.
Six,
seven.
One, two, three, four, five,
six...
One, two, three.
One, four, two, five, three, six.
One, four, two...
Mr. Griffin?
I just want to say that we all really
appreciate what you're doing for us.
Keeping the shuttle bus going.
And we do believe that everyone
should have a chance to hear God's word.
But, I don't feel comfortable
having him on this bus.
He tried to kill my husband and he
scratched up my floors with his shovel.
I mean, I think he has a capacity for...
- Violence.
- Yes!
I'll talk to Father about it and see if I can
get an alternate vehicle or something.
- Oh, thank you.
- Means a lot to us.
- Thank you, Mr. Griffin.
- Please, just James.
Four, five, five, seven,
eight, nine.
Seems to be a lot of new dogs
popping up in the area.
Maybe we should start talking about
getting you a little Shadow Jr.
No, thank you.
How are you doing
on your blood pressure medicine?
I've got a couple bottles left.
Fucking things make me constipated.
You know, Ambrose, I was reading
about this thing online,
this great new microwave
for the visually impaired.
It actually reads the numbers out loud
as you're entering them.
Jesus Christ,
I'm not that goddam lonely.
I want this one.
- Dad...
- Are you sure?
That's a little pricier than some of
the ones we were looking at before.
You don't have that much
money left. Okay?
I mean, how can you justify
spending it all on a headstone?
Because it's not for me.
Okay!
This should cover it.
- Okay. Hey.
- What?
- These are tens not hundreds!
- You're kidding.
- Okay. It's just a joke.
- Real funny.
Can I have this delivered to my house?
Yep! I've got a guy. Take two days.
As long as I have it in two weeks.
- You got it.
- Is there a gun store around here?
What you want a gun for, old man?
Guns I got. I need ammo.
I know a guy. Uptown.
Westmark. That's the name of the shop.
Can you write it down for me?
Will,
he still has all that cash with him.
What if he loses it?
Oh, shit. Pops! Hold on!
What?
- Pops.
- What?
Hey.
- What do you want?
- I need to get that cash from you.
What for?
I want to deposit it in a bank, okay?
Why?
Because it's not safe walking around
with your entire savings
in your pocket like that.
I can take care of myself.
What do I look like, an idiot?
Would you please stop acting like this?
Okay? I'm trying to help you. Alright?
You're making it harder
and harder for me to do that.
It's my money. I'm keeping it.
Stop acting like your mother.
I don't want to argue
about it anymore, Will.
I said, I didn't want to talk about it.
I smell you, you son of a bitch.
When are you going to bury
your dog, Mr. McKinley?
Thinking about having him stuffed.
Look, we can't get prints off a scarf.
None of the neighbors
saw any sign of this assailant
but he did kill a couple of dogs.
But there's not witnesses.
Well, there was one.
- But it was an Alzheimer's patient.
- You can smell the scarf though, right?
- No, sir. Not over the smell of your dog.
- Smelled like smoke.
What the fuck?
Mr. McKinley! It's James Griffin.
I'll be your ride today.
- Here, let me help you.
- I got it.
I'm blind. I'm not crippled.
So some of the neighbors thought the shuttle
might be a little cumbersome for you.
So I was happy to volunteer.
Lucky me. How long have you been
at Saint Anthony's?
About twenty-five years now.
You must know the priest pretty well?
I suppose you could say that.
- Not as well as he knows me though.
- Oh, yeah?
Yeah, I owe my undying soul to that man.
Seems a little strange to me.
Father Roger is the least strange
person I know. Myself included.
I can tell you he's been quite concerned
with you this past week.
Oh, yeah? That's reassuring.
You don't seem like a very
religious man, Mr. McKinley.
I'm not. Just because you wear
a collar don't mean much.
A man can get away with a lot
in uniform. Believe me.
It's just... I don't know.
I was just... it was funny
when you called, because it...
You know, I went to high school with
your mother and you look just like her.
- Isn't that amazing.
- It's really incredible.
Hey, Father!
Well, I've got to talk to this guy.
I'll talk to you again.
- Okay, thank you.
- Yeah. Stay in touch.
I owed you one.
That's kind of you.
I was very glad to see you
came back in this week.
And, you know, it looked to me
like you were paying attention.
When you're blind, it always
looks like you're paying attention.
Yeah, well, what the hell were you
thinking about so intently for an hour?
How you became a priest.
It's funny how people don't ask that...
question much anymore.
I don't know, I was a bad kid and I...
was mean and greedy
and stole and hurt a lot people.
Then... I don't know, one day, you...
you have to pick college or trade or...
- The Army.
- Yeah.
And I decided to go into the seminary.
Go for the full transformation.
It's sort of life and death, really.
So you killed that bad part of yourself.
Killed it? No.
You can't kill that thing.
I guess I caged it and starved it and...
and whittled it down to...
a half pack a day.
When I went to 'Nam,
I honestly thought
I was going to save lives.
Yeah, but you ended up taking them.
My last tour, '68, Dien Phu Valley...
The gooks,
they strapped a grenade to a kid,
maybe six years old.
And they sent him at us.
Nobody would take the shot.
I did.
Is that what happened
to the "good side" of you?
I might be blind, but when I close
my eyes I still see that kid's face.
That moment was like a transformation.
God don't want nothing
to do with me, Father.
And I don't want nothing to do with him.
Excuse me, Mr. McKinley,
we better get going.
Talking about this felt good, didn't it?
If you want to talk to me, Father,
you know where I live.
So what did you and Father talk about?
Not much. I don't think he is
who I thought he was.
You ever see him act violent?
What are you saying?
I mean, he's a human being. He's just
another monkey like right of us. Come on.
Look, you can disrespect the community,
you can disrespect our neighbors,
you can disrespect me. I don't care.
Do not disrespect that man. Do not...
We're here.
Yeah. Here we are.
I wish I had that goddamn ammo.
- Yeah?
- Hey.
Is this the right address for the cross?
You're late. Is it heavy?
Yeah, it's fucking heavy. You want it inside
or you want it somewhere else?
Bring it around back.
Jesus.
What's the rest of your day
look like, Chief?
I dunno.
You mind giving a old man
a ride into town?
Afternoon.
O'Brien sent me. You Westmark?
If I'm not then he should be grateful
that I'm paying all his bills.
Come on in.
Watch your step here,
it's a little uneven.
What can I do for ya?
Do me a favor. I don't need no wisecracks,
no questions. You good with that?
Hell, yeah, I'm good with that.
What do you need?
Berreta's? M16's?
Uzi. You're an Uzi guy.
Come in here. Come in my office.
Watch your step right here. There it is.
What can I do for ya?
Can you make silver bullets?
Yeah. I can make silver bullets.
What guns?
Smith and Wesson 64 revolver,
Remington 700 BDL rifle.
- Yeah, I can make those.
- Can you do silver shotgun shells?
Shotgun shells? Well...
Shotgun shells
are a little more complicated.
- They take like an hour to make.
- I only need one. I'll take it.
Hey.
What do silver bullets
make you think of?
Me? The Lone Ranger.
You ever see that?
Vigilante, fighting for
justice and all that.
He used silver bullets,
something about how the precious metal
stood for the preciousness of life.
The only thing precious
about life is that it ends.
I heard that, brother!
Anybody else ever come in here?
Asking for these?
Only guy I can remember,
come in about a year ago.
Do you mind if I ask who?
Nah.
I got to look.
My memory is not what it used to be.
Let me see here...
Oh, yeah! Here it is. His name was...
Thanks.
Take care.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for everything.
Dad! Dad! Dad! Jesus Christ!
It's Will! Put the fucking gun down!
What the fuck are you doing here?
I came here to check up on you, man.
You almost shot me, Dad!
What has gotten into you?
What have you done to this place?
What are you doing with this house?
Why are you sitting in the closet with a gun?
It's a system.
It's your system?
This house, I mean,
it's a complete mess.
You've only been living here
for a month, Dad.
Tomorrow will be a month.
What do you want, Will?
Anne's pregnant, Dad.
Good.
Look, I came here to tell you that...
She wants to have the baby
closer to her family.
So we're moving, pops.
I'm happy for you, Will.
Are you?
What do you want from me?
Hugs and kisses? Go live your life.
You know what...
You know what I want from you?
How about the truth?
You know what that is?
I think you know exactly what that is.
I found that when I was
cleaning up your house.
Now you told me you threw that
in my mother's casket when she died.
Why?
Why'd you tell me that?
Why did you lie to your son?
It's got nothing to do with you, Will.
No. No, that's a lie too.
It's got everything to do with me.
You know what, Dad.
If you ever need anything from me,
don't come calling 'cause
I'm going to go live my own life.
Will...
Richard? Richard? Wake up!
- What?
- I think there's someone inside.
Oh! Richard...
Mr. Griffin?
Mr. Griffin...
- Should I call the police?
- No! No, no.
- Are you alright?
- Clarissa, Richard...
What are you doing here?
James? Do you know where you are?
Will you kneel with me? Will you
pray with me? Just for a moment.
Hey, look. What is this?
It's the middle of night!
Richard...
Yes. Yes, James, we will pray.
We will pray.
Lord,
make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred,
let me sow love.
Where there is injury,
pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith,
and where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
And where there is sadness, joy.
Lord...
Lord let me seek not to be consoled
but to console.
Let me seek not to be understood
but to understand.
Let me seek not be loved
but to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
And it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life.
Mr. Griffin! Hello?
- It's meals on wheels!
- Knock it off, Lang.
- You think he's gone?
- I don't know.
What a pleasant surprise, Mr. Griffin!
What brings you to my door?
Please, Emma, call me James.
I...
I need your help.
May I have your hand, please?
Alright.
Emma, you know I've always been
quite fond of you.
And,
please understand, I would never
do this if I didn't need the help.
What are you...
- I thought I smelled smoke.
- Yeah, I'm still working on that.
- Is this a good time, Ambrose?
- Yeah.
You got an extra cigarette?
What's with the hole in the lawn?
My dog.
That's a big cross for a dog.
It was a big dog.
I came out here today
to visit one of your neighbors
but I wanted to stop by because
I didn't like the way our last talk ended.
Well...
Wasn't exactly a happy topic.
Yeah, well. I got to thinking you don't
have a lot of happy topics in your life.
Yeah, at this point what can I expect?
You've got stories.
You have wisdom. You...
You're a deep guy, Ambrose. I mean, you still
see a bigger picture than most people.
All I got left, Father,
are consequences.
Okay, you're a loner,
either by choice or by nature.
But no one can be truly alone.
So stop trying.
It's a little late in my game
for advice, but thanks.
You wanted to save lives
a long time ago, right?
Yeah.
A long time ago.
Yeah, well,
it's never too late to save your own.
You hear me?
I'm pointing at you.
I hear ya.
"Visiting a neighbor..." Shit!
Oh, James. No!
You made it!
We talked about this and you promised.
Whatever you think this medieval business
accomplishes, it simply doesn't.
It's corporal mortification, Father.
Acts of contrition.
I chastise my body
and bring it into subjection.
Did you... I gave you prayers.
Did you use them? And the rosaries?
I tried those. Didn't work.
What do you mean
that you cannot find him?
You are the police!
I mean, he's an old man!
Let me tell you something, he attacked
both me and my neighbors in our own home.
I am lucky to be alive!
God, this neighborhood has gone to pot.
It's tonight already, Father.
Will you sit down here?
I'll take care of your cuts.
I've done everything.
Everything this week.
Everything you said.
I turned to you and you gave me shit!
I took your confession and I gave you
what you need to come back to light.
This necklace? Prayers?
It's Sunday school garbage.
You gave me nothing
because you never believed me!
I believe that you think
that you are possessed by an evil.
But have you killed any more dogs?
They wouldn't stop barking at me!
I swear to God they're barking in my head!
Father, I need absolution.
I need it before it's too late.
James...
When I moved here, no one believed me.
I hunted the beast.
I went in the woods and I killed it.
But it got to me first. I have tried
everything and nothing works.
All I want to do is live and worship
and kill in solitude and die in peace!
- No more killing, James. No more killing.
- You have to!
You have to kill what you attack.
If you draw blood and you
leave it alive it carries over,
- it transforms with you.
- You're making all this up.
No, I'm telling you this
because I want you to know
that when I kill you it's out of love.
It's an act of mercy.
Son of a bitch.
Mrs. Baker?
It's Ambrose McKinley.
Is everything alright?
I know that perfume, you bitch.
Will, pick up the fucking phone.
Will,
it's your old man.
I don't want to leave it
like this between us.
I got something I need to tell you.
Oh, shit.
Shit!
Here comes the welcoming party.
Oh, fuck.
Fuck!
Oh, fuck.
Griffin...
Oh, come on.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Oh, shit.
Come on.
Come on, Dad! Pick up your phone!
Come on, Dad, pick up your phone!
Fuck.
One, two, three, four.
I'm done.
Oh, my God. Hey.
Dad.
Dad!
Will.
It's your old man.
I don't want to leave
it like this between us.
I got something I need to tell you.
I know I wasn't the father
you needed me to be.
I wasn't a good husband to your mother.
You both deserve better.
When you were born it was
the happiest day of my life.
You don't remember but those
were good years for all of us.
When they told me I was going blind,
there was a black thing inside me
that shut out the light.
Including you and your mother.
I left because I didn't want it
touching you or her, but I was wrong.
I know that now.
I wasn't just blind in my eyes,
I was blind in my heart.
The only thing I was good at
was being a soldier.
That's what I am
and that's how I'm going out.
Remember me, son,
for that and nothing else.
I'm proud to be your father and I'm sorry
I won't get to see my grandkids.
You have a good woman
and a future in front of you.
Don't look back. That was my mistake.
You can't live in the past.
You've got to put it away
and move forward.
Life's a gift.
Don't waste it like I did.
Give my love to Anne
and be the man I couldn't be.
I love you, boy. I always have.
Okay. Goodbye, son.
- Hey, you need help?
- No, I'm just looking.
Well, what exactly
is your range, price-wise?
Depends, what do they cost?
Well, we got little ones and big ones.
- Big ones start at about three thousand.
- No senior citizen discount?
I sell headstones at a senior
citizen discount, I won't last long.
What do you got on the small scale?
Well, the one you were looking at,
that starts at three hundred.
That's pretty good for a budget.
Yeah, but these are shit, people step
on 'em, they wear the words off.
Well, they ain't cheaper
'cause they're better.
Well, the VA's picking up the tab for the
funeral but I gotta pay for the headstone.
Oh, pay for the funeral, that's nice.
Listen, you're a vet,
I'll give you five percent,
plus we'll throw in some flowers.
I'm sure that's a comfort
to dying vets everywhere. Come.
Listen, you want me to
hold anything for you?
Let me think about it, I got time.
Here, pop. Right here. Come on.
Yeah, people always think they got time.
So...
- how'd it go?
- It was lovely. What do you think?
I think it was a bad idea to begin with.
- Did you pick something?
- Dying ain't cheap.
It costs less to pay you to stand in the
cemetery and point at my grave all day.
Will you get off the goddamn cellphone?
It's illegal.
Are you kidding?
How did you know that I was...
Can you hear me pushing
the buttons or something?
You're driving like an idiot,
you're all over the road.
Okay, I'm just... I'm trying to tell Ann
that this is taking a little bit
longer than I thought,
and that I'm going to be late
for dinner. That's all.
Hey.
Hey!
Easy, boy.
Speed limit's 25.
Thanks a lot fucking asshole.
I gotta live here, Will. Don't make them
hate me, I can do that on my own.
What's it look like?
It's nice.
It is... you know,
the houses are close together, but...
It reminds me of that place
we used to live in when I was a kid.
Any jerk-offs staring at us?
Yeah.
Yeah, they are. Yep.
But, I mean, who can blame them,
this is probably the most exciting thing
that's happened to them in a month.
Jesus, what's his problem?
It's you. You have your mother's scent.
That's the first time you've mentioned
her since her funeral, pops.
Come.
- Dad, wait for me, I'll be right there.
- I got it.
- Mailbox on your right.
- Thanks.
Hold on, pops, let me get your bags.
Looks like we beat the movers here.
Sounds empty.
Yeah.
I feel like I'm dropping
you off at prison.
You don't look like
a necklace kind of guy.
I can't see you,
but you smell beautiful.
Oh, thank you very much.
- Did you just move next door?
- Yes.
It's so nice to see
a new face around here.
It's nice to hear somebody referring
anything of me as "new."
- Delores.
- Ambrose.
Hello, Ambrose.
- Hello, Delores.
- Hello, hello.
Delores... Can you tell me what that is?
- Claw-something? Some kind of claw?
- Dad?
You know I really don't like it when you
go walking around without Shadow like that.
I'm sorry, excuse me, my name's Will.
I'm Ambrose's son.
- Oh, hello, Will. Delores.
- Nice to meet you, miss.
Can I get you back to the house?
The movers are going to be here any minute.
I hope to smell you again very soon.
I hope so, too.
Right this way, pops.
- Knock, knock!
- Hello!
Who's there?
We are Crescent Bay's Welcoming Party,
and, well, we just couldn't wait
to introduce ourselves to you!
- I'm Emma.
- And I'm Gloria!
- I'm Clarissa.
- Ambrose McKinley.
Mr. McKinley, is there anything
we can do to help?
No, thanks.
- Did you bring cake?
- Yes.
Yes we did!
And where would you like us to put it?
I can't eat sugar, but thanks anyway.
You were a veteran.
I am a veteran, twenty years
United States Army. Five years Vietnam.
Oh, my!
Oh, that's very impressive!
Yeah? You didn't hear? We lost that one.
Oh, there don't tend
to be firearms at Crescent Bay.
That's nice.
- I didn't think it was legal.
- What, for a blind person to own guns?
- It's legal.
- Oh.
Perhaps you were thinking of retards.
Now, you just hold on
one minute, Mr. McKinley...
You hold on one minute.
I'm a weapons expert.
I know more about guns
than you do Pop-Tarts.
So thank you for the sugar
and have a nice night.
Well...
Welcome to Crescent Bay, Mr. McKinley.
Any help at all, Mr. McKinley...
I'd see you ladies to the door,
but I'm blind.
There we go.
Are you a good doggie,
or are you a bad doggie?
You're a good doggie... yes.
That's my boy. Is that good?
Is that good? Yes.
Darn!
Hey, mom, it's me. I just wanted to say
I'm sorry we missed the yard sale...
Victoria! Are you there?
Hi, Mom!
Didn't think you'd still be awake.
I sure am!
Thank you for calling, sweetheart.
But you actually said
you'd come help tomorrow.
Are you sure?
I'm looking at my planner and...
Oh, Mom, I'm so sorry.
Oh, God. I hope I didn't confuse you.
I'm not the one who's confused,
Victoria.
If I didn't remember these things
nobody else would.
Mom, I'm sorry!
I've been all over the...
Even I can see this ain't
the goddamn bedroom.
What the hell is that?
Mom, remember when we talked about changing
your outgoing answering machine message?
It's just nice to hear
his voice, Victoria.
I'd feel so much better
if you let us get you another dog.
Just a little someone
to keep you company.
There is no point in getting
dog after dog, sweetheart,
if they're all going to run away.
If a third dog runs away I'm going
to have to start taking it personally.
Shadow! Where are you, boy?
Anyway, mom,
I'm going to have to go.
I have to put the little munchkins...
Julie! Put that... put that down!
Mom, I've got to put
the little ones to bed.
Victoria, can you just stay
with me for a second?
Can you stay on the line with me?
Shadow.
What is it, boy?
What? Mom?
Hello? Mom?
Is everything okay?
Delores! Delores!
Delores! Delores!
Delores!
Hello, you've reached
Delores and Jonathan.
Please leave us your name
and number and we'll...
Delores! Delores!
- Mom?
- Delores!
- Delores!
- Mom?!
Okay. Call me back.
Shadow?
What did I do with the guns?
Shadow?
Shadow?
Shadow?
It's me, boy. C'mon.
Shadow?
Shadow? Shadow?
It's okay.
Daddy's here.
It's okay.
Daddy's here, boy.
Shadow.
You know we wouldn't have to come back here
if you hadn't left early last night, right?
You smell that?
- No.
- Swear to God,
I can smell this old folk smell
from all the way up here.
- Really?
- It's following me.
Why is it that they
don't smell the same?
It's almost like, it's on their furniture,
it's on their clothes. I don't even know.
- Is it something medical, you think?
- Dude. Not all old people smell like that.
No, no, no! Old people do smell like that,
I'm telling you.
I smell my grandfather like, every day.
I sleep with him.
I've been sleeping with him
for ten years. In the same bed!
I'm not even lying to you, man!
I'm serious.
Yeah, just be glad
it's not patchouli, alright?
You're lucky you were on vacation when we
had to move this guy from the north end.
He had like twenty guitars that all...
- Oh, man.
- Jesus!
You alright, Mr. McKinley?
Oh, fuck!
Help me, please. My dog...
Don! Don! Come over here, Don!
Get over here now!
No. Yeah, I'm up here right now.
It happened some time last night.
Well, I'm at least an hour
out of the city so...
Look, I'll call you
as soon as I leave here, okay?
Alright. Thank you.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- Was that work?
- Yeah.
I'm catching hell
from missing this meeting.
Will, did you seriously leave
your father alone in the new house
without a working phone?
Honey, what were you thinking?
I wasn't, okay? I've been
a little scattered... recently,
and besides, I thought that the movers
took care of that sort of thing.
You know, he was sitting at home
by himself until someone found him.
How is he now?
- You know what? I don't know.
- What do you mean?
Well, his "okay" and his "not okay,"
they look exactly the same.
Mr. McKinley.
Do you have any idea
what attacked you and Shadow?
No. Whatever it was, it was big.
- Like a mountain lion? Or a bear?
- More like a dog.
- You're sure?
- Yeah. I could smell it.
- You've been in Crescent Bay a while?
- No. It's our first night.
Mr. McKinley, we get phone calls
once a month about Crescent Bay.
The police ask us what could do
something like this.
It's actually a very common thing.
Once a month?
This has happened before?
It's a secluded community.
Town basically ends there.
And the woods begin.
Sometimes I'm surprised
it doesn't happen more often.
It's a terrible location.
Even with the gates.
What do you think, Doc?
Does it look like a dog
did this to Shadow?
In passing.
Are you kidding me?
The whole point that we came out here was
so that they were going to take the dog.
We can't take that in my car.
It's a company car.
- He was supposed to leave the dog here.
- Okay. Stop that, Will.
Hi, Ambrose, I came straight from work.
I'm so glad you're okay.
Anne, which car are we taking?
Are we taking you
to take a new guide dog?
No. I'm taking Shadow home.
Dad... seriously?
Yeah. I can take care of myself.
Now, which car are we taking?
- Speed limit's twenty...
- I know it's twenty-five. I got it.
Fine.
There's a lot of cops here.
Let me get you inside. I'll come back
and figure out what's going on.
I want to see the cops.
No. Let me get you
in the house first. Please, Dad.
Just take care of the dog.
I'll see you in a minute.
Please, Mrs. Kaye.
You really don't
want to go in there, Mrs. Kaye.
Let us take you down to the station
and finish your report there.
Oh, for God's sake! How long
does it take you people to do your job?
I just want to get this over with
and move on with my life, okay?
Excuse me. Excuse me.
Are you alright, sir?
Yeah. I was attacked last night.
- Are you Mr. McKinley?
- Yeah.
Excuse me for one second. Excuse me.
Miss?
- Yeah?
- Is Delores your mother?
She was. Yes.
Well, I'm sorry.
She seemed like a nice lady.
Thank you.
God, this place.
I should have taken her out of here
the moment I heard the stories, but...
there were so few options and I swear
I never thought she'd... I'm sorry.
You know the woman
who used to live here?
I only met her once.
You guys need a statement from me?
No, there's no need.
It's just an animal attack.
You got any leads?
Suspect may have sharp teeth.
Hey. Hey.
Sir, attacks like these happen all the time
around wooded areas like this.
The problem is the elderly
can't defend themselves.
So we suggest during the day
you don't walk by the perimeter
of the woods if you're alone.
And at night, please, stay in your house,
keep the doors closed
and the windows closed
until we sort this out. Okay?
- Starting now.
- Gotcha.
- Thanks for the piece of mind, boys!
- You're welcome.
We need another hour at least
to clean up the rest of it.
- Ambrose, I'm so sorry about Shadow.
- Yeah. It is a shame.
It is a shame.
It seems like such a nice place to live.
People don't come
to places like this to live.
They come here to die.
Yeah, well...
Seems like everybody's been
having a crazy couple of days.
Must be the full moon.
Office is filled with a bunch
of nut jobs every time like clockwork.
Hey, pops, have you eaten today?
No.
You've got to eat something.
What is he doing?
Pops, I...
I checked the phone line about
a dozen times. It's working fine now.
We can stay longer if you like.
No, I'm fine.
Nothing's going to happen tonight.
Is it a full moon?
What?
No, the full moon
was last night, Ambrose.
So the next one's in a month.
Yeah, that's pretty much
the way it works, Dad.
One month.
I'll call you tomorrow. Okay, Dad?
Drive safe.
One month.
One month.
I'm only here a week, I got mail?
- Are you Kimberly Carty?
- Do I look like Kimberly Carty?
Not particularly.
- How'd you know I was the mailman?
- I'm not deaf.
You want some chicken?
No, thank you, sir.
Say, what happened here?
- My dog got killed.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
The blood. Where does it lead?
- It goes out to the street.
- Show me.
- Is this it?
- Yeah. 1202 Huntington.
- Gloria and John Baker.
- Good.
I got it from here, thanks. Just point me
in the right direction. Will ya?
- Hey, are you going to be alright?
- Yeah, I'm going to be fine.
Oh, my... Oh, my goodness.
Oh, Ambrose!
What a pleasant surprise! Come in.
Watch your step. Here. Good.
- You're growing vegetables?
- Oh, yes!
I want to apologize for my behavior.
I'm a little stressed with the move.
Oh, yes. Well, sure. Just welcome!
Welcome to our little part
of the world! John and I.
I just gave him a haircut.
My goodness. Why are you carrying
that shovel around?
I've been digging.
You walked all this way.
You must be thirsty.
You know, I just made some sun tea.
I'll go get you a glass.
Thank you.
Stop! Ambrose! Oh! Oh, my god!
You just about turned off
John's machine!
I'm sorry.
I didn't know what it was.
It's alright. I know you
didn't mean it. Let's just go.
- What's wrong with him?
- He's in an iron lung.
Poor fucking bastard.
I've actually got a lot of things
to do with John today, Ambrose.
Any other day
you would be more than welcome.
- I'm sorry about your husband.
- Oh, well.
Does he ever get out of that thing?
About as often as you blink,
Mr. McKinley.
Yeah. Good luck with your vegetable.
You won't believe what just happened.
Hey! This is private property.
Private property is the reason
we were called out here, Mr. McKinley.
A couple people have called in complaints.
Feeling threatened.
- We're the police, sir.
- Yeah.
- I can smell the donuts.
- This is serious business.
We've had two fatal attacks occur
within five blocks of each other.
- Two?
- Yeah, we discovered another victim.
Cole Evanston.
Lives about three blocks...
North of here.
Listen, sir. We get assigned
to patrol Crescent Bay daily.
And a lot of the cranks that live here,
they throw fits, lose their minds
and call in every little problem,
making them into our little problems.
Since when is murder a little problem?
They're animal attacks, sir.
Considered acts of God.
And forgive me, but death at old age is not
on our list of this town's biggest problems.
The only big problem
I'm sensing around here is you.
So don't be a pain in the ass.
You wouldn't like me if I hated my job.
You can always retire. This place is great!
Units opening up all the time!
Sir, please. Please, just stick
to your own property, okay? Thank you.
Hey! I found this in my mailbox.
Can you tell me what it is?
Oh! It's just a flyer
from the St. Anthony's church.
They send a shuttle up here
every Sunday to get people down there.
- You should consider going this Sunday.
- I'm not religious.
Well, even so. You get out of the house,
you get to meet your neighbors.
You might have a good time.
- Morning, sir. You ready to go?
- I was born ready.
I gotcha. Here you go.
Thanks, James.
I'm Father Roger Schmidt
from St. Anthony's.
Who might you be?
Ambrose McKinley.
United States Army. Retired.
Glad to have you. Welcome.
To your left that's James Griffin.
He's the one who organizes
the shuttle services.
Welcome.
You smoke?
Yeah. Guilty.
It's really hard to get the smell
out of your beard...
- What about you?
- Used to. Had to quit. Doctor's orders.
So I've never seen you
at Saint Anthony's before.
- You just moved in, right?
- That's right.
I live on Duke Street, myself.
Right over near the woods there.
It's good to know you, neighbor.
What gives with the shovel?
I lost my cane.
Well, maybe we can get one
donated to you?
It's hardly worth it. Besides,
I like the feel of this one.
A lot of people.
A lot of people
when they hear the word
"sacrifice" think
"I don't think that's so bad.
I make sacrifices all the time."
And they sacrifice their time
and they sacrifice their schedule.
And their plans.
And parents, in particular,
make a life-long
occupation of sacrifice.
And if they... And if they do it right,
their children have no awareness
of sacrifices that have
been made on their behalf.
But it dawned on me
that if sacrifice comes easily,
if sacrifice comes naturally to you,
you don't know the half of it.
Richard.
Why does he have to bring a shovel?
Why is he bringing the shovel
into our church?
Hey, Ambrose.
- Follow my smoke trail?
- Yeah.
Hey, I hope you don't...
mind me gearing my sermon towards you.
You said you were a vet
and it got me thinking about sacrifice.
You were in 'Nam?
Yeah.
Hey, you got an extra fag?
Oh, sure. Take mine.
Because, my brother...
older brother... went over there.
I was in the seminary
when he shipped out.
When he came back...
he came back... he came back screaming.
And he still does it at night sometimes.
I guess it's fear...
No. He's angry.
Yeah.
Me?
I come back with eye trauma.
Kept getting worse, but...
I was too stubborn to ask for help.
By the time I went blind I couldn't stand
to look at the world anyway.
You mean, you think you deserved it
because you didn't ask for more help?
Maybe.
Well, because you said that you didn't think
it was worth you getting a cane.
Canes are for cripples.
Besides, I don't plan on
being around much longer anyway.
I hope you're not talking about
what I think you're talking about.
Because that's not an option.
I will not participate
in that sort of giving in.
Everybody dies, Father. Besides,
some things are okay to quit.
Mr. McKinley, Father.
The shuttle's getting ready to go.
One, two,
three,
four, five.
It's two weeks
and he's still doing this.
Oh, god, that smell.
I can't believe the neighbors
haven't complained about it.
Six,
seven.
One, two, three, four, five,
six...
One, two, three.
One, four, two, five, three, six.
One, four, two...
Mr. Griffin?
I just want to say that we all really
appreciate what you're doing for us.
Keeping the shuttle bus going.
And we do believe that everyone
should have a chance to hear God's word.
But, I don't feel comfortable
having him on this bus.
He tried to kill my husband and he
scratched up my floors with his shovel.
I mean, I think he has a capacity for...
- Violence.
- Yes!
I'll talk to Father about it and see if I can
get an alternate vehicle or something.
- Oh, thank you.
- Means a lot to us.
- Thank you, Mr. Griffin.
- Please, just James.
Four, five, five, seven,
eight, nine.
Seems to be a lot of new dogs
popping up in the area.
Maybe we should start talking about
getting you a little Shadow Jr.
No, thank you.
How are you doing
on your blood pressure medicine?
I've got a couple bottles left.
Fucking things make me constipated.
You know, Ambrose, I was reading
about this thing online,
this great new microwave
for the visually impaired.
It actually reads the numbers out loud
as you're entering them.
Jesus Christ,
I'm not that goddam lonely.
I want this one.
- Dad...
- Are you sure?
That's a little pricier than some of
the ones we were looking at before.
You don't have that much
money left. Okay?
I mean, how can you justify
spending it all on a headstone?
Because it's not for me.
Okay!
This should cover it.
- Okay. Hey.
- What?
- These are tens not hundreds!
- You're kidding.
- Okay. It's just a joke.
- Real funny.
Can I have this delivered to my house?
Yep! I've got a guy. Take two days.
As long as I have it in two weeks.
- You got it.
- Is there a gun store around here?
What you want a gun for, old man?
Guns I got. I need ammo.
I know a guy. Uptown.
Westmark. That's the name of the shop.
Can you write it down for me?
Will,
he still has all that cash with him.
What if he loses it?
Oh, shit. Pops! Hold on!
What?
- Pops.
- What?
Hey.
- What do you want?
- I need to get that cash from you.
What for?
I want to deposit it in a bank, okay?
Why?
Because it's not safe walking around
with your entire savings
in your pocket like that.
I can take care of myself.
What do I look like, an idiot?
Would you please stop acting like this?
Okay? I'm trying to help you. Alright?
You're making it harder
and harder for me to do that.
It's my money. I'm keeping it.
Stop acting like your mother.
I don't want to argue
about it anymore, Will.
I said, I didn't want to talk about it.
I smell you, you son of a bitch.
When are you going to bury
your dog, Mr. McKinley?
Thinking about having him stuffed.
Look, we can't get prints off a scarf.
None of the neighbors
saw any sign of this assailant
but he did kill a couple of dogs.
But there's not witnesses.
Well, there was one.
- But it was an Alzheimer's patient.
- You can smell the scarf though, right?
- No, sir. Not over the smell of your dog.
- Smelled like smoke.
What the fuck?
Mr. McKinley! It's James Griffin.
I'll be your ride today.
- Here, let me help you.
- I got it.
I'm blind. I'm not crippled.
So some of the neighbors thought the shuttle
might be a little cumbersome for you.
So I was happy to volunteer.
Lucky me. How long have you been
at Saint Anthony's?
About twenty-five years now.
You must know the priest pretty well?
I suppose you could say that.
- Not as well as he knows me though.
- Oh, yeah?
Yeah, I owe my undying soul to that man.
Seems a little strange to me.
Father Roger is the least strange
person I know. Myself included.
I can tell you he's been quite concerned
with you this past week.
Oh, yeah? That's reassuring.
You don't seem like a very
religious man, Mr. McKinley.
I'm not. Just because you wear
a collar don't mean much.
A man can get away with a lot
in uniform. Believe me.
It's just... I don't know.
I was just... it was funny
when you called, because it...
You know, I went to high school with
your mother and you look just like her.
- Isn't that amazing.
- It's really incredible.
Hey, Father!
Well, I've got to talk to this guy.
I'll talk to you again.
- Okay, thank you.
- Yeah. Stay in touch.
I owed you one.
That's kind of you.
I was very glad to see you
came back in this week.
And, you know, it looked to me
like you were paying attention.
When you're blind, it always
looks like you're paying attention.
Yeah, well, what the hell were you
thinking about so intently for an hour?
How you became a priest.
It's funny how people don't ask that...
question much anymore.
I don't know, I was a bad kid and I...
was mean and greedy
and stole and hurt a lot people.
Then... I don't know, one day, you...
you have to pick college or trade or...
- The Army.
- Yeah.
And I decided to go into the seminary.
Go for the full transformation.
It's sort of life and death, really.
So you killed that bad part of yourself.
Killed it? No.
You can't kill that thing.
I guess I caged it and starved it and...
and whittled it down to...
a half pack a day.
When I went to 'Nam,
I honestly thought
I was going to save lives.
Yeah, but you ended up taking them.
My last tour, '68, Dien Phu Valley...
The gooks,
they strapped a grenade to a kid,
maybe six years old.
And they sent him at us.
Nobody would take the shot.
I did.
Is that what happened
to the "good side" of you?
I might be blind, but when I close
my eyes I still see that kid's face.
That moment was like a transformation.
God don't want nothing
to do with me, Father.
And I don't want nothing to do with him.
Excuse me, Mr. McKinley,
we better get going.
Talking about this felt good, didn't it?
If you want to talk to me, Father,
you know where I live.
So what did you and Father talk about?
Not much. I don't think he is
who I thought he was.
You ever see him act violent?
What are you saying?
I mean, he's a human being. He's just
another monkey like right of us. Come on.
Look, you can disrespect the community,
you can disrespect our neighbors,
you can disrespect me. I don't care.
Do not disrespect that man. Do not...
We're here.
Yeah. Here we are.
I wish I had that goddamn ammo.
- Yeah?
- Hey.
Is this the right address for the cross?
You're late. Is it heavy?
Yeah, it's fucking heavy. You want it inside
or you want it somewhere else?
Bring it around back.
Jesus.
What's the rest of your day
look like, Chief?
I dunno.
You mind giving a old man
a ride into town?
Afternoon.
O'Brien sent me. You Westmark?
If I'm not then he should be grateful
that I'm paying all his bills.
Come on in.
Watch your step here,
it's a little uneven.
What can I do for ya?
Do me a favor. I don't need no wisecracks,
no questions. You good with that?
Hell, yeah, I'm good with that.
What do you need?
Berreta's? M16's?
Uzi. You're an Uzi guy.
Come in here. Come in my office.
Watch your step right here. There it is.
What can I do for ya?
Can you make silver bullets?
Yeah. I can make silver bullets.
What guns?
Smith and Wesson 64 revolver,
Remington 700 BDL rifle.
- Yeah, I can make those.
- Can you do silver shotgun shells?
Shotgun shells? Well...
Shotgun shells
are a little more complicated.
- They take like an hour to make.
- I only need one. I'll take it.
Hey.
What do silver bullets
make you think of?
Me? The Lone Ranger.
You ever see that?
Vigilante, fighting for
justice and all that.
He used silver bullets,
something about how the precious metal
stood for the preciousness of life.
The only thing precious
about life is that it ends.
I heard that, brother!
Anybody else ever come in here?
Asking for these?
Only guy I can remember,
come in about a year ago.
Do you mind if I ask who?
Nah.
I got to look.
My memory is not what it used to be.
Let me see here...
Oh, yeah! Here it is. His name was...
Thanks.
Take care.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for everything.
Dad! Dad! Dad! Jesus Christ!
It's Will! Put the fucking gun down!
What the fuck are you doing here?
I came here to check up on you, man.
You almost shot me, Dad!
What has gotten into you?
What have you done to this place?
What are you doing with this house?
Why are you sitting in the closet with a gun?
It's a system.
It's your system?
This house, I mean,
it's a complete mess.
You've only been living here
for a month, Dad.
Tomorrow will be a month.
What do you want, Will?
Anne's pregnant, Dad.
Good.
Look, I came here to tell you that...
She wants to have the baby
closer to her family.
So we're moving, pops.
I'm happy for you, Will.
Are you?
What do you want from me?
Hugs and kisses? Go live your life.
You know what...
You know what I want from you?
How about the truth?
You know what that is?
I think you know exactly what that is.
I found that when I was
cleaning up your house.
Now you told me you threw that
in my mother's casket when she died.
Why?
Why'd you tell me that?
Why did you lie to your son?
It's got nothing to do with you, Will.
No. No, that's a lie too.
It's got everything to do with me.
You know what, Dad.
If you ever need anything from me,
don't come calling 'cause
I'm going to go live my own life.
Will...
Richard? Richard? Wake up!
- What?
- I think there's someone inside.
Oh! Richard...
Mr. Griffin?
Mr. Griffin...
- Should I call the police?
- No! No, no.
- Are you alright?
- Clarissa, Richard...
What are you doing here?
James? Do you know where you are?
Will you kneel with me? Will you
pray with me? Just for a moment.
Hey, look. What is this?
It's the middle of night!
Richard...
Yes. Yes, James, we will pray.
We will pray.
Lord,
make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred,
let me sow love.
Where there is injury,
pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith,
and where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
And where there is sadness, joy.
Lord...
Lord let me seek not to be consoled
but to console.
Let me seek not to be understood
but to understand.
Let me seek not be loved
but to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
And it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life.
Mr. Griffin! Hello?
- It's meals on wheels!
- Knock it off, Lang.
- You think he's gone?
- I don't know.
What a pleasant surprise, Mr. Griffin!
What brings you to my door?
Please, Emma, call me James.
I...
I need your help.
May I have your hand, please?
Alright.
Emma, you know I've always been
quite fond of you.
And,
please understand, I would never
do this if I didn't need the help.
What are you...
- I thought I smelled smoke.
- Yeah, I'm still working on that.
- Is this a good time, Ambrose?
- Yeah.
You got an extra cigarette?
What's with the hole in the lawn?
My dog.
That's a big cross for a dog.
It was a big dog.
I came out here today
to visit one of your neighbors
but I wanted to stop by because
I didn't like the way our last talk ended.
Well...
Wasn't exactly a happy topic.
Yeah, well. I got to thinking you don't
have a lot of happy topics in your life.
Yeah, at this point what can I expect?
You've got stories.
You have wisdom. You...
You're a deep guy, Ambrose. I mean, you still
see a bigger picture than most people.
All I got left, Father,
are consequences.
Okay, you're a loner,
either by choice or by nature.
But no one can be truly alone.
So stop trying.
It's a little late in my game
for advice, but thanks.
You wanted to save lives
a long time ago, right?
Yeah.
A long time ago.
Yeah, well,
it's never too late to save your own.
You hear me?
I'm pointing at you.
I hear ya.
"Visiting a neighbor..." Shit!
Oh, James. No!
You made it!
We talked about this and you promised.
Whatever you think this medieval business
accomplishes, it simply doesn't.
It's corporal mortification, Father.
Acts of contrition.
I chastise my body
and bring it into subjection.
Did you... I gave you prayers.
Did you use them? And the rosaries?
I tried those. Didn't work.
What do you mean
that you cannot find him?
You are the police!
I mean, he's an old man!
Let me tell you something, he attacked
both me and my neighbors in our own home.
I am lucky to be alive!
God, this neighborhood has gone to pot.
It's tonight already, Father.
Will you sit down here?
I'll take care of your cuts.
I've done everything.
Everything this week.
Everything you said.
I turned to you and you gave me shit!
I took your confession and I gave you
what you need to come back to light.
This necklace? Prayers?
It's Sunday school garbage.
You gave me nothing
because you never believed me!
I believe that you think
that you are possessed by an evil.
But have you killed any more dogs?
They wouldn't stop barking at me!
I swear to God they're barking in my head!
Father, I need absolution.
I need it before it's too late.
James...
When I moved here, no one believed me.
I hunted the beast.
I went in the woods and I killed it.
But it got to me first. I have tried
everything and nothing works.
All I want to do is live and worship
and kill in solitude and die in peace!
- No more killing, James. No more killing.
- You have to!
You have to kill what you attack.
If you draw blood and you
leave it alive it carries over,
- it transforms with you.
- You're making all this up.
No, I'm telling you this
because I want you to know
that when I kill you it's out of love.
It's an act of mercy.
Son of a bitch.
Mrs. Baker?
It's Ambrose McKinley.
Is everything alright?
I know that perfume, you bitch.
Will, pick up the fucking phone.
Will,
it's your old man.
I don't want to leave it
like this between us.
I got something I need to tell you.
Oh, shit.
Shit!
Here comes the welcoming party.
Oh, fuck.
Fuck!
Oh, fuck.
Griffin...
Oh, come on.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Oh, shit.
Come on.
Come on, Dad! Pick up your phone!
Come on, Dad, pick up your phone!
Fuck.
One, two, three, four.
I'm done.
Oh, my God. Hey.
Dad.
Dad!
Will.
It's your old man.
I don't want to leave
it like this between us.
I got something I need to tell you.
I know I wasn't the father
you needed me to be.
I wasn't a good husband to your mother.
You both deserve better.
When you were born it was
the happiest day of my life.
You don't remember but those
were good years for all of us.
When they told me I was going blind,
there was a black thing inside me
that shut out the light.
Including you and your mother.
I left because I didn't want it
touching you or her, but I was wrong.
I know that now.
I wasn't just blind in my eyes,
I was blind in my heart.
The only thing I was good at
was being a soldier.
That's what I am
and that's how I'm going out.
Remember me, son,
for that and nothing else.
I'm proud to be your father and I'm sorry
I won't get to see my grandkids.
You have a good woman
and a future in front of you.
Don't look back. That was my mistake.
You can't live in the past.
You've got to put it away
and move forward.
Life's a gift.
Don't waste it like I did.
Give my love to Anne
and be the man I couldn't be.
I love you, boy. I always have.
Okay. Goodbye, son.