Man Finds Tape (2025) Movie Script
1
If you're watching this,
I want everyone
within the sound of my voice,
if what you're looking for
is a blessing,
I'm gonna pray with you.
I'm gonna pray with you
right now.
What I want you to do is
I want you to place your hand
there on the TV screen.
Just place it
right up on the screen.
And it's gonna be
like I'm in the room with you
and we're gonna say
a prayer today.
Heavenly Father,
we come to you today,
your humble servants,
and we ask you
to pour out a blessing.
Pour out a blessing among us,
O Lord.
Keep us.
Keep us near your heart.
Keep us close, God,
and protect us through all
that should trouble us.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Hmm.
Did you feel it?
Did you feel it?
That's the blessing.
That's the blessing.
In October of 1967,
Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin
were riding horses
when they spotted
a bipedal figure
on the opposite side of a river
in Northern California.
Patterson recorded
a strip of film
that became so world renowned,
anyone can identify the grainy,
sepia toned footage of Bigfoot
turning to glance at the humans
filming across the divide.
Or consider the so-called
surgeon's photograph.
In it, a silhouetted
creature's neck emerges
out of the shimmering,
rippling waters of Loch Ness.
Did Patterson film
a real Bigfoot,
or did he film Bob Gimlin
in a hairy costume?
Did the London gynecologist
snap a picture
of a prehistoric beast
in a Scottish lake?
Or did he take a blurry picture
of a toy submarine?
Half a century later,
why aren't we capturing
endless footage
of the Loch Ness Monster?
Or Bigfoot?
Have we entered an age
where people look at images
and are incapable of seeing
the monsters within?
Are all monsters a hoax...
or is it possible
the monsters that haunt
the 21st century
hide in plain sight?
Now consider Larkin, Texas,
and the question
of how it's possible
an entire town was preyed upon
for years in broad daylight,
and yet,
even when presented with proof,
some survivors
of the horrors of Larkin
did not believe
what happened to them.
And at the center of all of it
was my family.
My parents,
my brother...
even myself.
Show the residents of Larkin
the Patterson-Gimlin film,
and they can point to Bigfoot.
Show them
the surgeon's photograph,
and they can identify Nessie
with no hesitation.
But show them video
taken before,
during, and after
the Larkin incidents,
and they cannot see the monster
in front of their faces.
But just because
some can't see the monster...
doesn't mean he was never there.
Uh...
Hey, can you come home?
I need your help.
Hey, I'm not doing the thing
coming home and helping you
every time
you need something fixed.
I know
you're not gonna believe me,
but this isn't about that.
Okay, then what is it?
Uh, look,
if you're not gonna come home,
I just, um...
I need you to do one thing
and just record this call.
I'm gonna show you a video,
and I need you
to tell me what you see,
and if you don't record it,
no one's gonna
believe you either.
Um, no.
I'm not doing this
Man Finds Tape stuff with you.
- I'm not participating in it.
- This is not about that.
Something is happening here
in Larkin.
Someone died, for real,
and I just...
Every time
I watch this video...
...it's like when you're driving
a car late at night
and you don't remember
making half the turns,
but you make it home anyways.
Well, don't drive
when you're tired.
- I don't mean literally.
- Or messed up.
- Okay.
- You and Wendy could've died.
We were not fucked up, okay?
That was the fucking car.
How am I supposed to believe
anything that you say?
I swear on Mom and Dad's graves.
I'm not lying, okay? I just...
I need you
to please give me a shot.
- I swear to you.
- Fine.
Thank you. Thank you. Okay.
I'm thinking that this is
gonna be different for you
because you are not in Larkin.
- Are you recording?
- Yes
Lucas,
why are you showing me this?
Lucas, what is this video?
Lucas, what... what is this?
Why am I watching this?
I'm gonna hang up.
Hey, I'm sorry that I hung up.
I just...
Okay.
I don't...
I don't like this at all.
I don't like being on this side.
My brother Lucas
is a complicated person.
He shot to viral fame
due to creepy videos he released
that went on to be known
as the Man Finds Tape series.
So, my parents have this...
creepy, old barn
on their property...
Oh, whoa.
But, um...
...whenever it storms,
I have to come back here
and...
flip the breaker.
And I did.
But this time...
out of the corner of my eye...
I see...
this.
That is me.
Why... Why is this here?
What is this doing up here?
Am I supposed to find this?
Was this put there for me, or...
is this hidden intentionally?
Did they think
I was never gonna find it? I...
Why is there...
a tape... with my name on it?
My parents, they got a bunch
of old camera stuff,
and, um...
I think
they might have something
that I can watch this on.
I don't know
if I even wanna watch this.
That's me, you know,
that kid... that kid is me.
And that house,
that is this house, uh-huh,
but I have no...
no fucking memory
of any of this shit
ever happening, okay?
I... I...
Who the fuck is filming that?
Because it certainly isn't me.
While some assumed
Lucas hired an actor
or some friend's kid
to help him go viral,
I knew the truth.
The boy in the video was Lucas,
and it was filmed
over a decade earlier
when we were children.
Okay, so I heard
those noises again last night.
Um... so I'm out here...
investigating.
Over the course
of several months,
the Man Finds Tape series
became an unlikely
social media sensation,
gaining over
a million followers,
all obsessed with
what was happening to Lucas.
So, some of y'all still think
that this is
just some elaborate prank.
Trust me, I am not that smart.
These tapes are capable
of recording
for about 63 minutes.
Now the intruder footage
is, like, a minute,
maybe two minutes long.
The bookends of the tape,
that is the hour after it stops,
the minute before it starts,
has all been erased.
I'm gonna make a copy,
I'm gonna send this
to an expert,
see what else I can find out.
As Lucas' story evolved,
he drew more followers
and more skeptics,
which led him
to search for proof,
debate his own fans,
and spiral deeper into darkness.
"You don't look scared.
That's just a doctor."
You think a doctor is gonna film
him walking through
your house at night
without your parents present,
asleep in bed?
I really wish
there were more tapes.
That would actually shed
so much light on this
because then I could figure out
exactly like...
There's a pattern.
There's more people in this.
Is it just me? Am I alone,
or is this guy
doing it to everyone?
Who is this? What's the motive?
While this engaged his audience,
I'd seen this
obsessive behavior before
when we were growing up.
"Have you ever considered
that you're a little, uh,
effing B?"
Yeah, actually way more
than you'd really think.
I kind of just lay awake in bed
and I'm like, "Oh, my God,
am I an effing B?"
"Do you have a sister,
is she hot?"
"Is your address..."
So, you guys probably know
that I haven't
really been sleeping
a whole lot
since I first watched the tape.
Um...
Uh, I just can't.
Uh, it's like my body won't...
won't let me.
But I finally... I... I...
I finally fell asleep
the other night.
Do you know what happened to me?
I dreamed about
the man in the tape.
And I'm looking right at him.
And all I can see
is a man in a suit
with this black, endless spiral
where his face should be,
and then I hear...
So, he also sent a note.
"There is nothing wrong
with this tape."
"Stop looking."
"Do not contact me again."
After that,
Lucas didn't post any updates
for well over a month.
No videos, no tweets,
no Reddit posts.
He dropped off the radar.
His silence
made his fans look elsewhere
to keep the mystery alive.
Cute.
Okay, so the cloud cover
is actually really good
right now.
We're gonna have you...
I'm gonna have you
actually start
at the top of the stairs,
and then as soon
as you come down...
Yo, is it... Are you her?
Are you... Oh, shit!
It is Lucas Page's sister.
Do you know who she is?
She grew up
in a fucking haunted house,
and now her brother is missing.
My brother is actually
a pathological liar.
My house was not haunted.
- Can I get a...
- Please stop.
I was pulled into Lucas's story,
becoming an
unintentional character
for his fans to dissect.
People harassed me
at work and online,
demanding to know more
about our family,
if there were more tapes,
and if Lucas
was even still alive.
Hey, Lynn, look...
It's important
that you stay close to family,
to community.
Sure, there's this great,
big world out there,
and it's... it's fun to learn
and to explore,
but you can't forget
where you came from,
who you came from,
and where you belong.
You can't forget your roots.
Job said,
"A mother will forget him."
"The worm feeds sweetly
until he is
no longer remembered...
and wickedness
will be broken like a tree."
Think about those words.
What does that mean to you?
You see this? Right here.
Okay?
Now...
watch this.
Right there.
Do you see that?
That's a pin.
That's the same pin.
This marked the return
of Man Finds Tape,
with Lucas drawing connections
to Reverend Endicott Carr's
The Salvation Hour.
Well, howdy.
I'm the Reverend Endicott Carr,
and you're watching
The Salvation Hour.
God has an important message
for you and your life.
"They are not of the world
just as I am not of the world."
We live in a world
that moves constantly,
all around us,
but we don't
have to be of the world,
and what does Jesus mean
when he says that?
Lucas found a villain
to keep his followers engaged,
baiting his audience
to find hidden messages
in episodes of
the Larkin public-access show.
Now when he returns,
we may not know
the time or place,
but I'll return right here
next week
on The Salvation Hour.
However,
Lucas conveniently withheld
the fact that the only reason
he had this trove of footage
was because our parents
were the ones paid
to film the show.
How will they know
how to reach me
if I don't say the number?
Uh, I can throw it
on the screen.
- You can do that?
- Movie magic.
It's the easy part.
What's the hard part?
Making them watch a TV show
without, uh, falling asleep.
The word of God isn't boring.
No, I know.
Uh, I was just joking.
Um...
So, yeah, you just, uh,
worry about your message, right?
And, um...
let us worry about how it gets
out there, and...
we're doing this commercial.
You ready for a take?
Yeah. Look. Everything's good.
What's wrong?
For years,
our parents ran Page Video...
a modestly successful business
that made them the go-to couple
for everything,
from shooting local commercials
to installing security cameras.
When they decided
to start a family,
they moved away from the city,
bought an old farm in Larkin,
and soon after had us.
And they passed their love
for all things video
onto my brother and I.
- I'm Lucas Page.
- And I'm Lynn Page,
and this is
a Page Family News.
- We have breaking news.
- Dad caught farting.
They led a simple,
beautiful life
until a mysterious illness
appeared first in our mother
and then our father.
Within six months,
they were both gone.
Shortly after their deaths,
I moved away,
leaving Lucas behind in Larkin.
Man Finds Tape launched Lucas
from a complete nobody
living in the middle of nowhere
to somebody fielding
multiple offers from producers
to adapt his story
into a feature film.
Larkin, Texas might be
a small town,
but even small towns
have the internet.
And as soon
as Endicott was made aware
of what Lucas was up to,
he put a stop to it
the old-fashioned way.
I have something I have to say.
I would like to retract
statements I made
in videos uploaded
between December 18th, 2022,
and January 8th, 2023.
I claimed Reverend Endicott Carr
entered my bedroom
and secretly filmed me
as a child.
This is not true.
I have no proof of this,
I never sent any tapes
to any experts,
and any statements
to that effect
were made
for entertainment purposes
and without malicious intent
to lie or defame
the character of Endicott Carr.
The error was
the unfortunate result
of my attempt to conflate
real but completely unrelated
pieces of footage,
and, in doing so,
drawing a conclusion
that defamed an innocent man.
I completely retract
the false information
and apologize for my mistake.
I'm sorry
and I hope you will forgive me
for this lapse in judgment.
All right.
I have not heard from you,
so I am...
on my way home.
Um...
I'm about five hours away,
but I...
Well, we'll just talk
when I get there.
But, I just...
Leave the door unlocked.
I don't know
if my key still works.
Okay. Bye.
I once knew
A sad, sad husband
He had a very bad day
The worst thing
In the world...
I lost two...
...Has happened to him...
I'm singing, do you mind?
No, go ahead.
Two hours, just...
You know, when it's
daylight savings night--
day time, and you feel horrible
because you lose one hour?
- Well, I lost two.
- You lost two hours?
Plus the three hours of sleep
I didn't get.
Mm-hmm.
You okay?
I'm so sorry.
You want me to break some dishes
or something?
I want you to learn
how to transcode.
Fuck no.
Okay, so I've got
new footage to show you,
but I'm gonna need your help
because whenever I watch it,
it does something to me.
I went to film Endicott myself,
but now I can't remember
what happened.
I think I've determined
the sections of this video
that's giving me blackouts,
and I'm gonna keep watching it
until I can understand it.
Okay.
Neighbors, I'll tell you this.
As the devil works,
so shall the one true God.
Amen.
As the demons are working,
so are the angels,
and, friends, I believe,
as in the time of the Bible,
that there will be a visitation
of man by the angels.
God speaks through us in ways
that we cannot understand,
and, my friends...
we know our duty...
for as the Shepherd calls...
The flock shall hear his voice.
I say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Shepherd calls...
The flock shall hear his voice.
Neighbors, I'll tell you this.
As the devil works,
so shall the one true God.
Amen.
Say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Call...
Hey.
Lucas, I'm here.
Lucas. Hey, Lucas!
Wake up!
Wake up. Look at me. Look at me.
It's hard to think
about what might have
happened to Lucas
if I hadn't shown up
when I did.
He'd spent months at a low point
after Man Finds Tape imploded
and his 15 minutes were up.
He didn't remember
showing me the van footage.
He didn't even remember
asking me to come to Larkin.
Slowly,
and with my repeated reminders,
he started to remember
what was happening,
and then he was right back
to filming.
Fuck. I hate this house.
Yo, don't be hating
on our fucking house.
This was never supposed
to be our house.
Mom and Dad said...
Whenever they leave,
that we just need to...
Is this all some part
of this creepy pasta thing
that you're doing?
Because I swear to God if it is,
- I'm gonna get in my car.
- I swear...
- I'm gonna go.
- ...on Mom and Dad's graves.
Lucas,
you have gotta stop doing that.
They are not some
get out of jail free card
for you.
Most of it was bullshit, okay?
I admitted that.
I owned up to that.
But the first tape,
- where it all started that...
- Okay. Nope.
- See that's where...
- ...shit's real. I'm serious.
I'm not... No, come on, dude.
Please, listen.
Listen, stop, stop,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
- Going.
- I'm sorry, please,
Lynn.
For fuck's sake, I am...
You're so lucky it's raining.
I am sorry.
For everything.
Literally everything, okay?
I know that people
do not trust me right now.
I have lost that right.
Especially with you.
And I admit that,
I... I accept that.
But something
is happening here in Larkin,
and I need your help.
I cannot do this without you.
Look, we both know I was never
gonna be the one to live up
to anyone's expectations.
All right? That's you.
I tried.
Okay?
I tried.
But I can't. I can't.
I'm like a fuck-up.
I am a major fuck-up,
and I've always been one,
and I always will be.
You fucking know that.
And honestly...
I think it's just something
in my brain that just
- doesn't really click.
- No.
We later sent our footage
to a real
forensic digital analyst,
the kind that determines
if a piece of media
is at risk of triggering people
with photosensitive epilepsy.
The results came back normal.
On a purely visual level,
there was nothing remarkable
about the video
to explain
what happened to Lucas
when he recorded himself
watching the sermon.
So we consulted an audiologist.
There was a frequency found,
but it was so low
it would have been inaudible
to human ears.
The audiologist stated
that even if the frequency
were audible,
they didn't believe
it was medically possible
for an image or sound to induce
a catatonic state
or temporary amnesia.
So this is another tape
that you shot that you can't...
- Becau...
- That's correct.
I, uh, I just need you
to tell me what you see.
I say again, hallelujah,
for when the shepherd call...
Okay, so they're all bowing
just like you did.
No, wait, this guy's moving.
Wait, what... what guy?
What does he look like?
I mean,
I've never seen this guy.
But he's got a long coat
and he's carrying a weird bag.
Like a...
like a brown...
like a brown satchel?
Like, uh, this right here?
I mean, kind of,
but this looks old
and it's more rounded
- at the top.
- Yeah, okay.
Okay, so Wendy
has seen this guy.
This guy comes
into Boon's Barbecue.
He... he just sits there.
He doesn't order anything.
He doesn't eat, just...
Okay. Okay, you go to Wendy.
You talk to her,
see what you can find out.
I'm gonna go see if Boon knows
anything about this guy.
Okay.
Well, do you wanna come with?
As it turns out,
Lucas was not the only
unreliable narrator
in this story.
Am I, like...
Okay.
Gotcha, yeah.
Uh, yeah. Yeah.
Um, like, before all this?
Okay.
I was
Reverend Endicott's surrogate.
I guess it was never really,
like... official,
but I was kinda
Lucas's girlfriend.
I mean, I lived in Larkin.
There's not, like,
a whole lot for you to,
like, be, you know?
You know what it's like.
I am Winston Boon.
I own
the best damn barbecue joint
in Larkin, Texas.
It's also
the only barbecue joint
in Larkin, Texas.
Uh, Joelle Cantor.
Born and raised, Larkin, Texas.
A proud mom of three.
My name is Abigail Webber.
And I'm Vernette Webber.
- We're the only twins...
- We're the only twins
- in Larkin, Texas.
- ...in Larkin, Texas.
Hell, Charlie... Uh, yeah.
It was a real shame
what happened to him.
If Sheriff Hoyt weren't such
a wet fart of a cop,
he'd have caught the guy by now.
And I'll tell you,
I'm allowed to say that
because he's one
of my oldest friends.
He's also
one of my best customers,
so maybe I shouldn't call him
a wet fart.
No, he's a wet fart.
He knows it.
We were in church,
must have been.
I know now that I was there,
uh... because you've told me
and you've showed me.
I mean, you've tried to show me.
I can't really, like,
see... the whole thing,
but... Yeah, I was there.
This is Main Street.
And, uh...
from the angle of the camera,
it looks like, uh...
Seeing me and my sister
walking down the street.
Judging by our hats,
it was a Sunday.
Yeah, this is me.
Looks like I'm walking
with our youngest.
But that stroller...
Well, that must have...
- Yeah, there's me.
- I'm...
I think I'm, like,
carrying groceries or something.
This is from in front of, uh...
in front of Daryl's Groce...
Did that answer your question?
I'm sorry.
What were we, uh, talking about?
Them Webber sisters,
they sure got some big ass hats.
- No.
- No.
Yeah.
Yeah. Charles Danforth dies,
and none of us do
a damn thing about it.
The Danforth footage
came from a security camera
our parents
were hired to install
at Daryl's Groceries
over a decade ago.
Daryl thought he was having
problems with the camera,
so he asked Lucas
to take a look.
But the problem
wasn't with the footage.
It was with the people
watching it.
And the Danforth footage
was not even the first evidence
that something was wrong
in Larkin.
Okay. Do it.
- No, no, no.
- No, do it.
- Do it. No, no, no.
- You can't record me doing it.
- It's too good to not...
- No.
- ...preserve forever.
- People are...
gonna think
I'm making fun of...
No. Nobody's gonna think
you're making fun.
- No one cares.
- Oh, my God.
- Just do it.
- Don't post it.
Okay, I won't. I promise.
Okay, hold on. I have to get...
get in character.
If you're over the age...
Stop...
You can't.
If you're over the age of 65,
you might be noticing
some changes to your body.
Hold on.
It should...
Sir, this is a serious matter.
- Oh, I'm so sorry.
- I'm trying to inform
- the public.
- Absolutely.
If you're over the age of 65,
you may have what I have.
If you're seeing changes
in your body,
you may have elderly,
type-two, late-onset puberty.
- Oh, my God.
- Now, if you're noticing
these changes, then I hope
that you will join me,
Wilford Brimley...
Wilford Brimley...
...in learning about the changes
to your body.
I've had enough of this.
You know,
I think Wilford Brimley
is gonna be very upset
when he sees this.
He's not going to see it.
Oh, my God.
Hey, hey! Are you okay?
- Huh? Wha...
- What the hell?
What happened?
- Oh, my God.
- Hey.
- You're bleeding.
- I am?
Yeah, you're bleeding.
Are you okay?
- Oh, my God.
- Are you okay?
- I don't know.
- Hey, hey. Hey.
- Where are we?
- What happened?
Hey, hold on.
Stop, stop.
Let me just...
- Here, let me just...
- Oh, my God.
It's so scary,
like, having no control. I...
I just didn't...
We're all a culmination
of our choices, I think.
And, you know,
the good ones and the bad ones.
And I...
have made some bad ones.
But those were mine,
they were my choices.
Well, he took that.
He took all of our choices.
I think it's a fucking miracle
that more of us didn't end up
like Charlie Danforth.
So, how is that going?
Oh, it's fine.
Aside from feeling
like the actual... Titanic,
the whole surrogacy thing
is really not a bad gig,
especially compared
to the hundreds of other gigs
- that I've had in Larkin.
- Hmm.
And, you know,
not all of us got the luxury
of being able to leave, so...
- Yeah.
- Mm.
Speaking of plans changing,
I have to show you this.
I found this
while I was unpacking.
It is too good.
Lucas,
you are also gonna love this.
Look at that.
- Oh, my God.
- Can you believe that?
I know.
I think that was science class.
Oh, my God, and look at the...
the Mash game.
- Hmm.
- Oh, my God.
You were gonna be an artist,
drive a motorcycle,
have 12 kids...
Way too many.
Make 200 a year.
You were gonna be married
to R. Patz.
And you were gonna
- live in Austin.
- Jesus.
Well, at least I got
one of those right.
You're married to R. Patz?
Shut up.
Uh, can I show you something?
I also wanted to know, is...
uh...
Has Lucas been weird lately?
Weird? Lucas?
The most normal human boy
on the planet?
Like, is he partying a lot?
No, not really. I mean,
since I've slowed down,
he kind of has, too...
At least that I know of.
Yeah.
Uh, if you could just watch this
and tell me
if you notice anything.
If you're over the age...
Stop.
You can't...
You know, I think...
...Wilford Brimley is gonna
be very upset
when he sees this.
He's not gonna see it.
Wendy?
Wendy?
What is going on?
Wendy?
Wendy?
Have you noticed
a weird guy around town?
He's got a long coat,
and he's carrying
- this bag that's like...
- Oh, yeah, like...
- ...beat up...
- ...some old ass like satchel?
- Yes!
- Like a weird 1920's doctor?
Yes, we saw him...
Um, where did we s...
Oh, we saw him at Boon's.
It was so weird.
He was just, like,
sitting there,
like, staring at Boon,
didn't order anything.
Why? Who is he?
Well, we think
he has something to do with...
- Hey.
- Hey.
Am I interrupting anything?
- Thanks.
- How you feeling?
Oh, better today, thanks.
Is that Miss Lynn Page I see?
- The one and only.
- Hi, Mr. Carr.
It's been a while.
Heard you became a filmmaker.
You making a movie?
Hope it's better
than your brother's last one.
I don't know
what I'm doing, to be honest.
They know we only have
so much attention
that can be paid
to the world around us.
They are banking
on that attention
being spread thin.
They are banking on it!
They want your heart
and your eyes
and your mind focused
on whatever loud and shiny
and lascivious thing
keeps your attention away
from what really matters!
They are the hand...
that distracts you
during the magic trick.
I know he ordered
his brisket fatty,
so it couldn't be all bad,
right?
Reverend Carr was a great man.
Absolute shame
what happened to him.
Absolute shame.
He's the only thing that kept
faith alive in this town.
The only thing.
If you are righteous,
what do you give to Him?
What does He receive from you?
I want each and every one of you
to ask yourself that question,
"What do I give to Him?"
"Do I give all of myself?"
"Is there something more
I could give?"
Everybody in Larkin
had a relationship
with Endicott,
like it or not.
After the accident,
after we, like, almost died,
this was also...
pretty soon
after my mom passed.
And, um...
When she was sick,
I drove her to church
every Sunday.
Yeah,
the Sunday after the accident...
it wasn't...
it wasn't like a come to Jesus
or anything,
but I just thought...
the routine might be nice,
so I... got in my car.
It was like muscle memory.
I just drove there, and...
it's like he knew.
That's when he...
pulled me aside and...
asked me to be his surrogate.
I wish I could say
that I thought about it...
...really hard...
that I... ...you know,
did my research or...
prayed, I don't know...
but I didn't.
He knew that... I would say yes.
He knew that I needed it.
He got really spooked.
He was paranoid,
like, he thought something bad
was gonna happen to me.
I don't know,
like, die in childbirth
for a kid that wasn't even mine.
He did really care about me,
and...
I appreciate that
Our God comes
and will not be silent.
A fire devours before Him,
and around Him a tempest rages.
He summons
the heavens above and the Earth,
that He may judge as me.
Gather to me
this consecrated people
who made a covenant
with me by sacrifice,
and the heavens proclaim
His righteousness,
for He is a God of justice.
- Hey, you speeding?
- Yeah.
- What... what's going on?
- Hey.
- Hey. What?
- I had to do something.
I need you guys
not to freak out.
Look, I'm not making this up.
I'm not fucking crazy, okay?
I need you to believe me.
- Okay? You believe me, right?
- Yeah, of course.
Of course we do.
You're gonna want to film this.
Wait. Lucas.
Go look at his neck.
Look at Boon's neck.
Look, I came in here,
and he's just fucking
rooting around
with a knife in there, and...
and I take this fucking sack,
and I just put it over his head,
- and the guy fucking drops...
- ...like that.
Lucas,
what the fuck is that?
I don't fucking know, man.
But all this is fucking real.
Why don't you just call
the cops?
We need to call somebody.
What the fuck
am I gonna tell them?
- I mean, tell them...
- There's this fucking
magic sack...
...on this guy's head?
No, stop, stop.
Shit.
No fucking way, dude.
You're a fucking murderer.
You see this?
You see this?
I got everything.
You are so fucked.
Who are you talking about?
Oh, not again.
What's happening to them?
No!
I'm... I'm calling the cops.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God!
Oh, you better fucking help!
What the fuck is that?
You okay?
Boon.
Where's he going?
Are those in them too?
Well, can you fix them?
I wouldn't say I trusted him.
I would say that I...
believed him.
I would say that I...
believed that he knew
what he was doing
and what he was talking about.
Well, Boon would have died.
He would have bled to death,
- and it would have been my fault.
- I...
...because I had no idea
what the fuck was going on,
but he knew.
He knew how to do things
that weren't possible.
Is this a problem?
The cameras are the reason
I'm here in the first place.
Sit.
Okay.
Can you at least tell us
what you're doing?
Cutting the connection
between him and the feeder.
Okay, you keep saying feeder.
What is the feeder?
It's called the feeder
because he's the one
who's been feeding on every man,
woman, and child in Larkin.
You got hitchhikers inside you.
And when he gets thirsty...
your hitchhiker
is the straw he uses...
...to drink you.
So, why aren't you helping us?
I'm helping myself.
Oh. Oh, what is that?
Uh, can you please not kill me?
Oh, God!
- Whoa!
- What the fuck?
Oh!
Oh, my God!
Holy shit!
Oh, my God. Wait.
Those are all...
Yes.
Fuck!
Oh! Oh, my God.
Wait. What are you doing?
- Hey!
- Hey. You have to...
What are you doing?
No, it's...
it's Endicott Carr's.
I'm his surrogate.
What the fuck?
What?
Talk to us. What?
So, that was the first time
that I really felt him
kind of like...
like, inside me,
like, controlling me.
But I swear
it was not me doing that.
Wendy!
What the fuck is that?
What the fuck is that?
Hey.
Wendy, no. Come back.
Wendy. Don't... Stay... Fuck.
Hey!
Fuck!
No! Lucas!
Well,
all I really... remember is,
like, I think I was just
kind of on autopilot.
I just, like, went home and...
you know, ended up back
in my apartment.
I... I don't remember
making the choice.
Wendy?
No, come back. Wendy, don't.
Hey!
What the fuck?
We were only able
to theorize why things happened
after we discovered the depths
of Endicott's paranoia
and transgressions.
Prior to Wendy's surrogacy,
Endicott's feedings
must have taken
place in the middle
of the night,
allowing him to prey
undetected for decades.
When Endicott decided he wanted
an heir to his legacy,
he began draining
Larkin's life force
into the bodies
of himself and his child
in Wendy's womb.
As for The Stranger,
we initially thought
he was here to save us.
But now know his plan all
along was to infect himself
with Endicott's power
and use it in ways even
the Reverend never dared.
You have no idea what it's like
to not only know
that he's inside your head,
but also, like...
I fucking hate him.
He knew that he could
just do whatever... he wanted,
because that's what he'd been
doing our entire lives, and...
he preyed on me.
And despite that decree,
that all fealty
and all worship should be
paid to Darius...
Daniel defied that decree.
No.
I just remember waking up...
tied to that chair.
- Oh, my...
- Don't scream.
Don't... scream.
I am gonna hurt you.
Because it has to be real.
I'm doing this
for your own good.
He kept praying.
His faith...
Wendy!
Just...
Go. Right there. Stop.
- Okay. Is this too far?
- Great.
She's not here.
- Come.
- Okay.
Oh, Reverend,
I want a lot more than a town.
Pick up
that motherfucking camera!
Stop!
Where is this?
What? What? What the...
What the fuck?
Hey!
Hey, stop!
Oh, my God!
...he disappeared.
Ma'am,
is the assailant still with you?
No, he went...
- he went into the wall.
And the person
who was stabbed,
- are they conscious?
- Yes, they are.
And the Reverend?
A unit is on its way.
Can you describe the suspect?
He's... six foot tall.
Wendy,
and then my brother Lucas.
Everyone else is gone.
Oh, fuck.
And I saw an angel
standing in the sun,
cried in a loud voice
to all the birds flying
in mid-air,
"Come,
gather together
for the great supper of God,
so that you may eat the flesh
of kings, generals,
the mighty,
of horses and their riders,
and the flesh of all people
free and slave,
great and small."
Then I saw the beast
and the kings of the earth,
and their armies
gathered together
to wage war against the rider
on the horse and his army.
But the beast was captured,
and with it the false prophet
who performed the signs
on its behalf.
And with these signs
he had deluded those
who had received the mark
of the beast
and worshipped its image.
The two of them
were thrown alive
into the fiery lake
of burning sulfur.
Lucas took me to the hospital,
but...
the doctors didn't even
really see me.
'Cause, like...
there was nothing,
like, the wounds had healed.
You know,
like there was nothing
really... clearly wrong.
Um, you still think they'd want
to know more information.
I mean...
We gave
Sheriff Hoyt a copy
of the footage from that night.
The Stranger slitting
Wendy's throat.
The Stranger crippling Endicott.
Endicott bursting into flames.
Everything.
We never heard back.
He either couldn't see
the footage or is in denial.
He wouldn't be the only one.
Despite sending it
to a cryptologist,
we still haven't been able
to translate the book.
And that left us with the sack.
We'd seen him use it.
We knew what it could do.
Whatever The Stranger did
to give it power seems
to have faded along with him.
And without being able to read
The Stranger's book,
it was useless in our hands.
We still have no idea
what happened to The Stranger,
where he went,
how he traveled the way he did,
or what he's capable of.
It's as if he didn't mind
leaving behind several locks,
knowing full well
we didn't have the keys.
We never saw The Stranger again.
When something like this
happens to you, like,
you don't trust reality anymore.
So in... in reality,
I knew he was dead.
I knew he was gone. Um...
But...
in the moment, like...
...you know, I...
I just freaked out, and, um...
I don't know if it was like a...
like a hallucination
or whatever, but,
um, at one point,
it's like he was there.
And of course,
after the fact, it's like...
what the fuck was it all for?
I thought
I was helping somebody...
and... then everything happened,
and then he's dead,
and I'm stuck with this.
Like, I thought the kid
was gonna be some kind
of fucking monster, like...
I got, like, one...
good look...
at the baby.
It looked like
a pretty perfect little kid.
No.
No.
A baby's a baby.
Doesn't need
to be burdened with...
whatever shit his father...
was doing.
Doesn't need that legacy.
Deserves a fresh start.
After Endicott died,
all the physical signs
of the infection
in Larkin's resident's
faded away.
Despite that, some still
do not see
what's right
in front of their faces.
Uh,
Winston Boon here, um...
Probably dead.
I hate...
I don't like being here.
I know. Me either.
We're gonna need
to get these tapes.
Hey, Lynn, you see this?
Okay.
What?
Holy shit.
I can't help but think
of a detail about H.H. Holmes,
one of America's
first serial killers.
He was a businessman who had
a custom furnace built
in the basement of
an apartment building he owned.
It's been reported that
after the residents
went to sleep,
Holmes would descend
into the basement,
ignite the furnace
and sit in front of it,
feeling its all-consuming heat
as the bodies of his victims
were incinerated.
People knew about the furnace.
Someone had to build it for him.
Someone had to show him
how to use it.
Our parents installed
Endicott's cameras,
but like the contractors
that built Holmes's furnace,
they didn't know
the system's true purpose.
Endicott not only
wanted to remember
every moment of preying
on his victims...
...but he was brazen
enough to think
no one would ever
find his archives.
And without
the Reverend's vanity...
I'm not sure we ever
would have been able
to piece this together.
Lucas and I watched our parents
prematurely decline
over our teenage years.
Their minds, memories,
and bodies failing them
as an undiagnosable disease
took their lives weeks apart.
There's nothing more
devastating than losing
the people you love
and not understanding why.
But now I believe
their proximity to Endicott
is what cost them their lives.
I can't prove why he did it,
but I know it was him.
I'm not ashamed to say
I'm happy he lived long enough
to know my family was there
when he lost everything.
My brother once told a story
about finding a videotape
in our barn.
The truth was he'd found it
in an envelope
in our parents' desk.
I believe some part of them
knew they were complicit
in Endicott's plans.
Our parents knew they had
to get proof,
but Endicott's control
kept them
from understanding
the part they played
in spreading his influence.
I think we all have an instinct
for what's right
and what's wrong in the world.
Lucas' gut instinct led him
to expose the first tape,
just like his gut instinct
led him
to believe
Endicott was involved.
Where his gut instinct
let him down was
in believing he was
the most important character
in the story.
That he was the only person
Endicott had been targeting.
He wasn't.
I do.
A lie doesn't stop being a lie
just because it leads
to the truth.
And, um...
I really don't want
to be remembered as a liar.
You know, there
are good people in Larkin.
Um, people would have figured it
out eventually,
you know, even if I hadn't
done what I had done.
I have to believe
that the truth
would have come out...
regardless.
And people
would have believed it.
I needed Lucas
after our parents died.
And I resented him
for falling down
his own rabbit hole.
If I hadn't answered Lucas,
his story, our story,
would have ended
very differently.
But that's the thing
with family.
You always risk giving them
one last chance.
You always risk hoping
they're going
to prove you wrong.
But after uncovering the truth
of what happened to my family,
I'm still haunted by something.
Why was I not affected?
Is it because I left Larkin?
Or are there parts of this story
even I'm blind to?
I might never know.
Not all monsters are a hoax.
They just don't look
like Bob Gimlin
in a hairy costume.
Or a toy submarine photographed
in black and white.
The monsters
of the 21st century
feed in broad daylight.
Hello.
I'm the Reverend Endicott Carr,
spelled with two T's
and two R's.
If you don't know me already,
I hope to know some of you
real well, real soon.
If you let me in, of course.
If you're watching this,
I want everyone
within the sound of my voice,
if what you're looking for
is a blessing,
I'm gonna pray with you.
I'm gonna pray with you
right now.
What I want you to do is
I want you to place your hand
there on the TV screen.
Just place it
right up on the screen.
And it's gonna be
like I'm in the room with you
and we're gonna say
a prayer today.
Heavenly Father,
we come to you today,
your humble servants,
and we ask you
to pour out a blessing.
Pour out a blessing among us,
O Lord.
Keep us.
Keep us near your heart.
Keep us close, God,
and protect us through all
that should trouble us.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Hmm.
Did you feel it?
Did you feel it?
That's the blessing.
That's the blessing.
In October of 1967,
Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin
were riding horses
when they spotted
a bipedal figure
on the opposite side of a river
in Northern California.
Patterson recorded
a strip of film
that became so world renowned,
anyone can identify the grainy,
sepia toned footage of Bigfoot
turning to glance at the humans
filming across the divide.
Or consider the so-called
surgeon's photograph.
In it, a silhouetted
creature's neck emerges
out of the shimmering,
rippling waters of Loch Ness.
Did Patterson film
a real Bigfoot,
or did he film Bob Gimlin
in a hairy costume?
Did the London gynecologist
snap a picture
of a prehistoric beast
in a Scottish lake?
Or did he take a blurry picture
of a toy submarine?
Half a century later,
why aren't we capturing
endless footage
of the Loch Ness Monster?
Or Bigfoot?
Have we entered an age
where people look at images
and are incapable of seeing
the monsters within?
Are all monsters a hoax...
or is it possible
the monsters that haunt
the 21st century
hide in plain sight?
Now consider Larkin, Texas,
and the question
of how it's possible
an entire town was preyed upon
for years in broad daylight,
and yet,
even when presented with proof,
some survivors
of the horrors of Larkin
did not believe
what happened to them.
And at the center of all of it
was my family.
My parents,
my brother...
even myself.
Show the residents of Larkin
the Patterson-Gimlin film,
and they can point to Bigfoot.
Show them
the surgeon's photograph,
and they can identify Nessie
with no hesitation.
But show them video
taken before,
during, and after
the Larkin incidents,
and they cannot see the monster
in front of their faces.
But just because
some can't see the monster...
doesn't mean he was never there.
Uh...
Hey, can you come home?
I need your help.
Hey, I'm not doing the thing
coming home and helping you
every time
you need something fixed.
I know
you're not gonna believe me,
but this isn't about that.
Okay, then what is it?
Uh, look,
if you're not gonna come home,
I just, um...
I need you to do one thing
and just record this call.
I'm gonna show you a video,
and I need you
to tell me what you see,
and if you don't record it,
no one's gonna
believe you either.
Um, no.
I'm not doing this
Man Finds Tape stuff with you.
- I'm not participating in it.
- This is not about that.
Something is happening here
in Larkin.
Someone died, for real,
and I just...
Every time
I watch this video...
...it's like when you're driving
a car late at night
and you don't remember
making half the turns,
but you make it home anyways.
Well, don't drive
when you're tired.
- I don't mean literally.
- Or messed up.
- Okay.
- You and Wendy could've died.
We were not fucked up, okay?
That was the fucking car.
How am I supposed to believe
anything that you say?
I swear on Mom and Dad's graves.
I'm not lying, okay? I just...
I need you
to please give me a shot.
- I swear to you.
- Fine.
Thank you. Thank you. Okay.
I'm thinking that this is
gonna be different for you
because you are not in Larkin.
- Are you recording?
- Yes
Lucas,
why are you showing me this?
Lucas, what is this video?
Lucas, what... what is this?
Why am I watching this?
I'm gonna hang up.
Hey, I'm sorry that I hung up.
I just...
Okay.
I don't...
I don't like this at all.
I don't like being on this side.
My brother Lucas
is a complicated person.
He shot to viral fame
due to creepy videos he released
that went on to be known
as the Man Finds Tape series.
So, my parents have this...
creepy, old barn
on their property...
Oh, whoa.
But, um...
...whenever it storms,
I have to come back here
and...
flip the breaker.
And I did.
But this time...
out of the corner of my eye...
I see...
this.
That is me.
Why... Why is this here?
What is this doing up here?
Am I supposed to find this?
Was this put there for me, or...
is this hidden intentionally?
Did they think
I was never gonna find it? I...
Why is there...
a tape... with my name on it?
My parents, they got a bunch
of old camera stuff,
and, um...
I think
they might have something
that I can watch this on.
I don't know
if I even wanna watch this.
That's me, you know,
that kid... that kid is me.
And that house,
that is this house, uh-huh,
but I have no...
no fucking memory
of any of this shit
ever happening, okay?
I... I...
Who the fuck is filming that?
Because it certainly isn't me.
While some assumed
Lucas hired an actor
or some friend's kid
to help him go viral,
I knew the truth.
The boy in the video was Lucas,
and it was filmed
over a decade earlier
when we were children.
Okay, so I heard
those noises again last night.
Um... so I'm out here...
investigating.
Over the course
of several months,
the Man Finds Tape series
became an unlikely
social media sensation,
gaining over
a million followers,
all obsessed with
what was happening to Lucas.
So, some of y'all still think
that this is
just some elaborate prank.
Trust me, I am not that smart.
These tapes are capable
of recording
for about 63 minutes.
Now the intruder footage
is, like, a minute,
maybe two minutes long.
The bookends of the tape,
that is the hour after it stops,
the minute before it starts,
has all been erased.
I'm gonna make a copy,
I'm gonna send this
to an expert,
see what else I can find out.
As Lucas' story evolved,
he drew more followers
and more skeptics,
which led him
to search for proof,
debate his own fans,
and spiral deeper into darkness.
"You don't look scared.
That's just a doctor."
You think a doctor is gonna film
him walking through
your house at night
without your parents present,
asleep in bed?
I really wish
there were more tapes.
That would actually shed
so much light on this
because then I could figure out
exactly like...
There's a pattern.
There's more people in this.
Is it just me? Am I alone,
or is this guy
doing it to everyone?
Who is this? What's the motive?
While this engaged his audience,
I'd seen this
obsessive behavior before
when we were growing up.
"Have you ever considered
that you're a little, uh,
effing B?"
Yeah, actually way more
than you'd really think.
I kind of just lay awake in bed
and I'm like, "Oh, my God,
am I an effing B?"
"Do you have a sister,
is she hot?"
"Is your address..."
So, you guys probably know
that I haven't
really been sleeping
a whole lot
since I first watched the tape.
Um...
Uh, I just can't.
Uh, it's like my body won't...
won't let me.
But I finally... I... I...
I finally fell asleep
the other night.
Do you know what happened to me?
I dreamed about
the man in the tape.
And I'm looking right at him.
And all I can see
is a man in a suit
with this black, endless spiral
where his face should be,
and then I hear...
So, he also sent a note.
"There is nothing wrong
with this tape."
"Stop looking."
"Do not contact me again."
After that,
Lucas didn't post any updates
for well over a month.
No videos, no tweets,
no Reddit posts.
He dropped off the radar.
His silence
made his fans look elsewhere
to keep the mystery alive.
Cute.
Okay, so the cloud cover
is actually really good
right now.
We're gonna have you...
I'm gonna have you
actually start
at the top of the stairs,
and then as soon
as you come down...
Yo, is it... Are you her?
Are you... Oh, shit!
It is Lucas Page's sister.
Do you know who she is?
She grew up
in a fucking haunted house,
and now her brother is missing.
My brother is actually
a pathological liar.
My house was not haunted.
- Can I get a...
- Please stop.
I was pulled into Lucas's story,
becoming an
unintentional character
for his fans to dissect.
People harassed me
at work and online,
demanding to know more
about our family,
if there were more tapes,
and if Lucas
was even still alive.
Hey, Lynn, look...
It's important
that you stay close to family,
to community.
Sure, there's this great,
big world out there,
and it's... it's fun to learn
and to explore,
but you can't forget
where you came from,
who you came from,
and where you belong.
You can't forget your roots.
Job said,
"A mother will forget him."
"The worm feeds sweetly
until he is
no longer remembered...
and wickedness
will be broken like a tree."
Think about those words.
What does that mean to you?
You see this? Right here.
Okay?
Now...
watch this.
Right there.
Do you see that?
That's a pin.
That's the same pin.
This marked the return
of Man Finds Tape,
with Lucas drawing connections
to Reverend Endicott Carr's
The Salvation Hour.
Well, howdy.
I'm the Reverend Endicott Carr,
and you're watching
The Salvation Hour.
God has an important message
for you and your life.
"They are not of the world
just as I am not of the world."
We live in a world
that moves constantly,
all around us,
but we don't
have to be of the world,
and what does Jesus mean
when he says that?
Lucas found a villain
to keep his followers engaged,
baiting his audience
to find hidden messages
in episodes of
the Larkin public-access show.
Now when he returns,
we may not know
the time or place,
but I'll return right here
next week
on The Salvation Hour.
However,
Lucas conveniently withheld
the fact that the only reason
he had this trove of footage
was because our parents
were the ones paid
to film the show.
How will they know
how to reach me
if I don't say the number?
Uh, I can throw it
on the screen.
- You can do that?
- Movie magic.
It's the easy part.
What's the hard part?
Making them watch a TV show
without, uh, falling asleep.
The word of God isn't boring.
No, I know.
Uh, I was just joking.
Um...
So, yeah, you just, uh,
worry about your message, right?
And, um...
let us worry about how it gets
out there, and...
we're doing this commercial.
You ready for a take?
Yeah. Look. Everything's good.
What's wrong?
For years,
our parents ran Page Video...
a modestly successful business
that made them the go-to couple
for everything,
from shooting local commercials
to installing security cameras.
When they decided
to start a family,
they moved away from the city,
bought an old farm in Larkin,
and soon after had us.
And they passed their love
for all things video
onto my brother and I.
- I'm Lucas Page.
- And I'm Lynn Page,
and this is
a Page Family News.
- We have breaking news.
- Dad caught farting.
They led a simple,
beautiful life
until a mysterious illness
appeared first in our mother
and then our father.
Within six months,
they were both gone.
Shortly after their deaths,
I moved away,
leaving Lucas behind in Larkin.
Man Finds Tape launched Lucas
from a complete nobody
living in the middle of nowhere
to somebody fielding
multiple offers from producers
to adapt his story
into a feature film.
Larkin, Texas might be
a small town,
but even small towns
have the internet.
And as soon
as Endicott was made aware
of what Lucas was up to,
he put a stop to it
the old-fashioned way.
I have something I have to say.
I would like to retract
statements I made
in videos uploaded
between December 18th, 2022,
and January 8th, 2023.
I claimed Reverend Endicott Carr
entered my bedroom
and secretly filmed me
as a child.
This is not true.
I have no proof of this,
I never sent any tapes
to any experts,
and any statements
to that effect
were made
for entertainment purposes
and without malicious intent
to lie or defame
the character of Endicott Carr.
The error was
the unfortunate result
of my attempt to conflate
real but completely unrelated
pieces of footage,
and, in doing so,
drawing a conclusion
that defamed an innocent man.
I completely retract
the false information
and apologize for my mistake.
I'm sorry
and I hope you will forgive me
for this lapse in judgment.
All right.
I have not heard from you,
so I am...
on my way home.
Um...
I'm about five hours away,
but I...
Well, we'll just talk
when I get there.
But, I just...
Leave the door unlocked.
I don't know
if my key still works.
Okay. Bye.
I once knew
A sad, sad husband
He had a very bad day
The worst thing
In the world...
I lost two...
...Has happened to him...
I'm singing, do you mind?
No, go ahead.
Two hours, just...
You know, when it's
daylight savings night--
day time, and you feel horrible
because you lose one hour?
- Well, I lost two.
- You lost two hours?
Plus the three hours of sleep
I didn't get.
Mm-hmm.
You okay?
I'm so sorry.
You want me to break some dishes
or something?
I want you to learn
how to transcode.
Fuck no.
Okay, so I've got
new footage to show you,
but I'm gonna need your help
because whenever I watch it,
it does something to me.
I went to film Endicott myself,
but now I can't remember
what happened.
I think I've determined
the sections of this video
that's giving me blackouts,
and I'm gonna keep watching it
until I can understand it.
Okay.
Neighbors, I'll tell you this.
As the devil works,
so shall the one true God.
Amen.
As the demons are working,
so are the angels,
and, friends, I believe,
as in the time of the Bible,
that there will be a visitation
of man by the angels.
God speaks through us in ways
that we cannot understand,
and, my friends...
we know our duty...
for as the Shepherd calls...
The flock shall hear his voice.
I say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Shepherd calls...
The flock shall hear his voice.
Neighbors, I'll tell you this.
As the devil works,
so shall the one true God.
Amen.
Say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Say again, hallelujah,
for when the Shepherd call...
Call...
Hey.
Lucas, I'm here.
Lucas. Hey, Lucas!
Wake up!
Wake up. Look at me. Look at me.
It's hard to think
about what might have
happened to Lucas
if I hadn't shown up
when I did.
He'd spent months at a low point
after Man Finds Tape imploded
and his 15 minutes were up.
He didn't remember
showing me the van footage.
He didn't even remember
asking me to come to Larkin.
Slowly,
and with my repeated reminders,
he started to remember
what was happening,
and then he was right back
to filming.
Fuck. I hate this house.
Yo, don't be hating
on our fucking house.
This was never supposed
to be our house.
Mom and Dad said...
Whenever they leave,
that we just need to...
Is this all some part
of this creepy pasta thing
that you're doing?
Because I swear to God if it is,
- I'm gonna get in my car.
- I swear...
- I'm gonna go.
- ...on Mom and Dad's graves.
Lucas,
you have gotta stop doing that.
They are not some
get out of jail free card
for you.
Most of it was bullshit, okay?
I admitted that.
I owned up to that.
But the first tape,
- where it all started that...
- Okay. Nope.
- See that's where...
- ...shit's real. I'm serious.
I'm not... No, come on, dude.
Please, listen.
Listen, stop, stop,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
- Going.
- I'm sorry, please,
Lynn.
For fuck's sake, I am...
You're so lucky it's raining.
I am sorry.
For everything.
Literally everything, okay?
I know that people
do not trust me right now.
I have lost that right.
Especially with you.
And I admit that,
I... I accept that.
But something
is happening here in Larkin,
and I need your help.
I cannot do this without you.
Look, we both know I was never
gonna be the one to live up
to anyone's expectations.
All right? That's you.
I tried.
Okay?
I tried.
But I can't. I can't.
I'm like a fuck-up.
I am a major fuck-up,
and I've always been one,
and I always will be.
You fucking know that.
And honestly...
I think it's just something
in my brain that just
- doesn't really click.
- No.
We later sent our footage
to a real
forensic digital analyst,
the kind that determines
if a piece of media
is at risk of triggering people
with photosensitive epilepsy.
The results came back normal.
On a purely visual level,
there was nothing remarkable
about the video
to explain
what happened to Lucas
when he recorded himself
watching the sermon.
So we consulted an audiologist.
There was a frequency found,
but it was so low
it would have been inaudible
to human ears.
The audiologist stated
that even if the frequency
were audible,
they didn't believe
it was medically possible
for an image or sound to induce
a catatonic state
or temporary amnesia.
So this is another tape
that you shot that you can't...
- Becau...
- That's correct.
I, uh, I just need you
to tell me what you see.
I say again, hallelujah,
for when the shepherd call...
Okay, so they're all bowing
just like you did.
No, wait, this guy's moving.
Wait, what... what guy?
What does he look like?
I mean,
I've never seen this guy.
But he's got a long coat
and he's carrying a weird bag.
Like a...
like a brown...
like a brown satchel?
Like, uh, this right here?
I mean, kind of,
but this looks old
and it's more rounded
- at the top.
- Yeah, okay.
Okay, so Wendy
has seen this guy.
This guy comes
into Boon's Barbecue.
He... he just sits there.
He doesn't order anything.
He doesn't eat, just...
Okay. Okay, you go to Wendy.
You talk to her,
see what you can find out.
I'm gonna go see if Boon knows
anything about this guy.
Okay.
Well, do you wanna come with?
As it turns out,
Lucas was not the only
unreliable narrator
in this story.
Am I, like...
Okay.
Gotcha, yeah.
Uh, yeah. Yeah.
Um, like, before all this?
Okay.
I was
Reverend Endicott's surrogate.
I guess it was never really,
like... official,
but I was kinda
Lucas's girlfriend.
I mean, I lived in Larkin.
There's not, like,
a whole lot for you to,
like, be, you know?
You know what it's like.
I am Winston Boon.
I own
the best damn barbecue joint
in Larkin, Texas.
It's also
the only barbecue joint
in Larkin, Texas.
Uh, Joelle Cantor.
Born and raised, Larkin, Texas.
A proud mom of three.
My name is Abigail Webber.
And I'm Vernette Webber.
- We're the only twins...
- We're the only twins
- in Larkin, Texas.
- ...in Larkin, Texas.
Hell, Charlie... Uh, yeah.
It was a real shame
what happened to him.
If Sheriff Hoyt weren't such
a wet fart of a cop,
he'd have caught the guy by now.
And I'll tell you,
I'm allowed to say that
because he's one
of my oldest friends.
He's also
one of my best customers,
so maybe I shouldn't call him
a wet fart.
No, he's a wet fart.
He knows it.
We were in church,
must have been.
I know now that I was there,
uh... because you've told me
and you've showed me.
I mean, you've tried to show me.
I can't really, like,
see... the whole thing,
but... Yeah, I was there.
This is Main Street.
And, uh...
from the angle of the camera,
it looks like, uh...
Seeing me and my sister
walking down the street.
Judging by our hats,
it was a Sunday.
Yeah, this is me.
Looks like I'm walking
with our youngest.
But that stroller...
Well, that must have...
- Yeah, there's me.
- I'm...
I think I'm, like,
carrying groceries or something.
This is from in front of, uh...
in front of Daryl's Groce...
Did that answer your question?
I'm sorry.
What were we, uh, talking about?
Them Webber sisters,
they sure got some big ass hats.
- No.
- No.
Yeah.
Yeah. Charles Danforth dies,
and none of us do
a damn thing about it.
The Danforth footage
came from a security camera
our parents
were hired to install
at Daryl's Groceries
over a decade ago.
Daryl thought he was having
problems with the camera,
so he asked Lucas
to take a look.
But the problem
wasn't with the footage.
It was with the people
watching it.
And the Danforth footage
was not even the first evidence
that something was wrong
in Larkin.
Okay. Do it.
- No, no, no.
- No, do it.
- Do it. No, no, no.
- You can't record me doing it.
- It's too good to not...
- No.
- ...preserve forever.
- People are...
gonna think
I'm making fun of...
No. Nobody's gonna think
you're making fun.
- No one cares.
- Oh, my God.
- Just do it.
- Don't post it.
Okay, I won't. I promise.
Okay, hold on. I have to get...
get in character.
If you're over the age...
Stop...
You can't.
If you're over the age of 65,
you might be noticing
some changes to your body.
Hold on.
It should...
Sir, this is a serious matter.
- Oh, I'm so sorry.
- I'm trying to inform
- the public.
- Absolutely.
If you're over the age of 65,
you may have what I have.
If you're seeing changes
in your body,
you may have elderly,
type-two, late-onset puberty.
- Oh, my God.
- Now, if you're noticing
these changes, then I hope
that you will join me,
Wilford Brimley...
Wilford Brimley...
...in learning about the changes
to your body.
I've had enough of this.
You know,
I think Wilford Brimley
is gonna be very upset
when he sees this.
He's not going to see it.
Oh, my God.
Hey, hey! Are you okay?
- Huh? Wha...
- What the hell?
What happened?
- Oh, my God.
- Hey.
- You're bleeding.
- I am?
Yeah, you're bleeding.
Are you okay?
- Oh, my God.
- Are you okay?
- I don't know.
- Hey, hey. Hey.
- Where are we?
- What happened?
Hey, hold on.
Stop, stop.
Let me just...
- Here, let me just...
- Oh, my God.
It's so scary,
like, having no control. I...
I just didn't...
We're all a culmination
of our choices, I think.
And, you know,
the good ones and the bad ones.
And I...
have made some bad ones.
But those were mine,
they were my choices.
Well, he took that.
He took all of our choices.
I think it's a fucking miracle
that more of us didn't end up
like Charlie Danforth.
So, how is that going?
Oh, it's fine.
Aside from feeling
like the actual... Titanic,
the whole surrogacy thing
is really not a bad gig,
especially compared
to the hundreds of other gigs
- that I've had in Larkin.
- Hmm.
And, you know,
not all of us got the luxury
of being able to leave, so...
- Yeah.
- Mm.
Speaking of plans changing,
I have to show you this.
I found this
while I was unpacking.
It is too good.
Lucas,
you are also gonna love this.
Look at that.
- Oh, my God.
- Can you believe that?
I know.
I think that was science class.
Oh, my God, and look at the...
the Mash game.
- Hmm.
- Oh, my God.
You were gonna be an artist,
drive a motorcycle,
have 12 kids...
Way too many.
Make 200 a year.
You were gonna be married
to R. Patz.
And you were gonna
- live in Austin.
- Jesus.
Well, at least I got
one of those right.
You're married to R. Patz?
Shut up.
Uh, can I show you something?
I also wanted to know, is...
uh...
Has Lucas been weird lately?
Weird? Lucas?
The most normal human boy
on the planet?
Like, is he partying a lot?
No, not really. I mean,
since I've slowed down,
he kind of has, too...
At least that I know of.
Yeah.
Uh, if you could just watch this
and tell me
if you notice anything.
If you're over the age...
Stop.
You can't...
You know, I think...
...Wilford Brimley is gonna
be very upset
when he sees this.
He's not gonna see it.
Wendy?
Wendy?
What is going on?
Wendy?
Wendy?
Have you noticed
a weird guy around town?
He's got a long coat,
and he's carrying
- this bag that's like...
- Oh, yeah, like...
- ...beat up...
- ...some old ass like satchel?
- Yes!
- Like a weird 1920's doctor?
Yes, we saw him...
Um, where did we s...
Oh, we saw him at Boon's.
It was so weird.
He was just, like,
sitting there,
like, staring at Boon,
didn't order anything.
Why? Who is he?
Well, we think
he has something to do with...
- Hey.
- Hey.
Am I interrupting anything?
- Thanks.
- How you feeling?
Oh, better today, thanks.
Is that Miss Lynn Page I see?
- The one and only.
- Hi, Mr. Carr.
It's been a while.
Heard you became a filmmaker.
You making a movie?
Hope it's better
than your brother's last one.
I don't know
what I'm doing, to be honest.
They know we only have
so much attention
that can be paid
to the world around us.
They are banking
on that attention
being spread thin.
They are banking on it!
They want your heart
and your eyes
and your mind focused
on whatever loud and shiny
and lascivious thing
keeps your attention away
from what really matters!
They are the hand...
that distracts you
during the magic trick.
I know he ordered
his brisket fatty,
so it couldn't be all bad,
right?
Reverend Carr was a great man.
Absolute shame
what happened to him.
Absolute shame.
He's the only thing that kept
faith alive in this town.
The only thing.
If you are righteous,
what do you give to Him?
What does He receive from you?
I want each and every one of you
to ask yourself that question,
"What do I give to Him?"
"Do I give all of myself?"
"Is there something more
I could give?"
Everybody in Larkin
had a relationship
with Endicott,
like it or not.
After the accident,
after we, like, almost died,
this was also...
pretty soon
after my mom passed.
And, um...
When she was sick,
I drove her to church
every Sunday.
Yeah,
the Sunday after the accident...
it wasn't...
it wasn't like a come to Jesus
or anything,
but I just thought...
the routine might be nice,
so I... got in my car.
It was like muscle memory.
I just drove there, and...
it's like he knew.
That's when he...
pulled me aside and...
asked me to be his surrogate.
I wish I could say
that I thought about it...
...really hard...
that I... ...you know,
did my research or...
prayed, I don't know...
but I didn't.
He knew that... I would say yes.
He knew that I needed it.
He got really spooked.
He was paranoid,
like, he thought something bad
was gonna happen to me.
I don't know,
like, die in childbirth
for a kid that wasn't even mine.
He did really care about me,
and...
I appreciate that
Our God comes
and will not be silent.
A fire devours before Him,
and around Him a tempest rages.
He summons
the heavens above and the Earth,
that He may judge as me.
Gather to me
this consecrated people
who made a covenant
with me by sacrifice,
and the heavens proclaim
His righteousness,
for He is a God of justice.
- Hey, you speeding?
- Yeah.
- What... what's going on?
- Hey.
- Hey. What?
- I had to do something.
I need you guys
not to freak out.
Look, I'm not making this up.
I'm not fucking crazy, okay?
I need you to believe me.
- Okay? You believe me, right?
- Yeah, of course.
Of course we do.
You're gonna want to film this.
Wait. Lucas.
Go look at his neck.
Look at Boon's neck.
Look, I came in here,
and he's just fucking
rooting around
with a knife in there, and...
and I take this fucking sack,
and I just put it over his head,
- and the guy fucking drops...
- ...like that.
Lucas,
what the fuck is that?
I don't fucking know, man.
But all this is fucking real.
Why don't you just call
the cops?
We need to call somebody.
What the fuck
am I gonna tell them?
- I mean, tell them...
- There's this fucking
magic sack...
...on this guy's head?
No, stop, stop.
Shit.
No fucking way, dude.
You're a fucking murderer.
You see this?
You see this?
I got everything.
You are so fucked.
Who are you talking about?
Oh, not again.
What's happening to them?
No!
I'm... I'm calling the cops.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God!
Oh, you better fucking help!
What the fuck is that?
You okay?
Boon.
Where's he going?
Are those in them too?
Well, can you fix them?
I wouldn't say I trusted him.
I would say that I...
believed him.
I would say that I...
believed that he knew
what he was doing
and what he was talking about.
Well, Boon would have died.
He would have bled to death,
- and it would have been my fault.
- I...
...because I had no idea
what the fuck was going on,
but he knew.
He knew how to do things
that weren't possible.
Is this a problem?
The cameras are the reason
I'm here in the first place.
Sit.
Okay.
Can you at least tell us
what you're doing?
Cutting the connection
between him and the feeder.
Okay, you keep saying feeder.
What is the feeder?
It's called the feeder
because he's the one
who's been feeding on every man,
woman, and child in Larkin.
You got hitchhikers inside you.
And when he gets thirsty...
your hitchhiker
is the straw he uses...
...to drink you.
So, why aren't you helping us?
I'm helping myself.
Oh. Oh, what is that?
Uh, can you please not kill me?
Oh, God!
- Whoa!
- What the fuck?
Oh!
Oh, my God!
Holy shit!
Oh, my God. Wait.
Those are all...
Yes.
Fuck!
Oh! Oh, my God.
Wait. What are you doing?
- Hey!
- Hey. You have to...
What are you doing?
No, it's...
it's Endicott Carr's.
I'm his surrogate.
What the fuck?
What?
Talk to us. What?
So, that was the first time
that I really felt him
kind of like...
like, inside me,
like, controlling me.
But I swear
it was not me doing that.
Wendy!
What the fuck is that?
What the fuck is that?
Hey.
Wendy, no. Come back.
Wendy. Don't... Stay... Fuck.
Hey!
Fuck!
No! Lucas!
Well,
all I really... remember is,
like, I think I was just
kind of on autopilot.
I just, like, went home and...
you know, ended up back
in my apartment.
I... I don't remember
making the choice.
Wendy?
No, come back. Wendy, don't.
Hey!
What the fuck?
We were only able
to theorize why things happened
after we discovered the depths
of Endicott's paranoia
and transgressions.
Prior to Wendy's surrogacy,
Endicott's feedings
must have taken
place in the middle
of the night,
allowing him to prey
undetected for decades.
When Endicott decided he wanted
an heir to his legacy,
he began draining
Larkin's life force
into the bodies
of himself and his child
in Wendy's womb.
As for The Stranger,
we initially thought
he was here to save us.
But now know his plan all
along was to infect himself
with Endicott's power
and use it in ways even
the Reverend never dared.
You have no idea what it's like
to not only know
that he's inside your head,
but also, like...
I fucking hate him.
He knew that he could
just do whatever... he wanted,
because that's what he'd been
doing our entire lives, and...
he preyed on me.
And despite that decree,
that all fealty
and all worship should be
paid to Darius...
Daniel defied that decree.
No.
I just remember waking up...
tied to that chair.
- Oh, my...
- Don't scream.
Don't... scream.
I am gonna hurt you.
Because it has to be real.
I'm doing this
for your own good.
He kept praying.
His faith...
Wendy!
Just...
Go. Right there. Stop.
- Okay. Is this too far?
- Great.
She's not here.
- Come.
- Okay.
Oh, Reverend,
I want a lot more than a town.
Pick up
that motherfucking camera!
Stop!
Where is this?
What? What? What the...
What the fuck?
Hey!
Hey, stop!
Oh, my God!
...he disappeared.
Ma'am,
is the assailant still with you?
No, he went...
- he went into the wall.
And the person
who was stabbed,
- are they conscious?
- Yes, they are.
And the Reverend?
A unit is on its way.
Can you describe the suspect?
He's... six foot tall.
Wendy,
and then my brother Lucas.
Everyone else is gone.
Oh, fuck.
And I saw an angel
standing in the sun,
cried in a loud voice
to all the birds flying
in mid-air,
"Come,
gather together
for the great supper of God,
so that you may eat the flesh
of kings, generals,
the mighty,
of horses and their riders,
and the flesh of all people
free and slave,
great and small."
Then I saw the beast
and the kings of the earth,
and their armies
gathered together
to wage war against the rider
on the horse and his army.
But the beast was captured,
and with it the false prophet
who performed the signs
on its behalf.
And with these signs
he had deluded those
who had received the mark
of the beast
and worshipped its image.
The two of them
were thrown alive
into the fiery lake
of burning sulfur.
Lucas took me to the hospital,
but...
the doctors didn't even
really see me.
'Cause, like...
there was nothing,
like, the wounds had healed.
You know,
like there was nothing
really... clearly wrong.
Um, you still think they'd want
to know more information.
I mean...
We gave
Sheriff Hoyt a copy
of the footage from that night.
The Stranger slitting
Wendy's throat.
The Stranger crippling Endicott.
Endicott bursting into flames.
Everything.
We never heard back.
He either couldn't see
the footage or is in denial.
He wouldn't be the only one.
Despite sending it
to a cryptologist,
we still haven't been able
to translate the book.
And that left us with the sack.
We'd seen him use it.
We knew what it could do.
Whatever The Stranger did
to give it power seems
to have faded along with him.
And without being able to read
The Stranger's book,
it was useless in our hands.
We still have no idea
what happened to The Stranger,
where he went,
how he traveled the way he did,
or what he's capable of.
It's as if he didn't mind
leaving behind several locks,
knowing full well
we didn't have the keys.
We never saw The Stranger again.
When something like this
happens to you, like,
you don't trust reality anymore.
So in... in reality,
I knew he was dead.
I knew he was gone. Um...
But...
in the moment, like...
...you know, I...
I just freaked out, and, um...
I don't know if it was like a...
like a hallucination
or whatever, but,
um, at one point,
it's like he was there.
And of course,
after the fact, it's like...
what the fuck was it all for?
I thought
I was helping somebody...
and... then everything happened,
and then he's dead,
and I'm stuck with this.
Like, I thought the kid
was gonna be some kind
of fucking monster, like...
I got, like, one...
good look...
at the baby.
It looked like
a pretty perfect little kid.
No.
No.
A baby's a baby.
Doesn't need
to be burdened with...
whatever shit his father...
was doing.
Doesn't need that legacy.
Deserves a fresh start.
After Endicott died,
all the physical signs
of the infection
in Larkin's resident's
faded away.
Despite that, some still
do not see
what's right
in front of their faces.
Uh,
Winston Boon here, um...
Probably dead.
I hate...
I don't like being here.
I know. Me either.
We're gonna need
to get these tapes.
Hey, Lynn, you see this?
Okay.
What?
Holy shit.
I can't help but think
of a detail about H.H. Holmes,
one of America's
first serial killers.
He was a businessman who had
a custom furnace built
in the basement of
an apartment building he owned.
It's been reported that
after the residents
went to sleep,
Holmes would descend
into the basement,
ignite the furnace
and sit in front of it,
feeling its all-consuming heat
as the bodies of his victims
were incinerated.
People knew about the furnace.
Someone had to build it for him.
Someone had to show him
how to use it.
Our parents installed
Endicott's cameras,
but like the contractors
that built Holmes's furnace,
they didn't know
the system's true purpose.
Endicott not only
wanted to remember
every moment of preying
on his victims...
...but he was brazen
enough to think
no one would ever
find his archives.
And without
the Reverend's vanity...
I'm not sure we ever
would have been able
to piece this together.
Lucas and I watched our parents
prematurely decline
over our teenage years.
Their minds, memories,
and bodies failing them
as an undiagnosable disease
took their lives weeks apart.
There's nothing more
devastating than losing
the people you love
and not understanding why.
But now I believe
their proximity to Endicott
is what cost them their lives.
I can't prove why he did it,
but I know it was him.
I'm not ashamed to say
I'm happy he lived long enough
to know my family was there
when he lost everything.
My brother once told a story
about finding a videotape
in our barn.
The truth was he'd found it
in an envelope
in our parents' desk.
I believe some part of them
knew they were complicit
in Endicott's plans.
Our parents knew they had
to get proof,
but Endicott's control
kept them
from understanding
the part they played
in spreading his influence.
I think we all have an instinct
for what's right
and what's wrong in the world.
Lucas' gut instinct led him
to expose the first tape,
just like his gut instinct
led him
to believe
Endicott was involved.
Where his gut instinct
let him down was
in believing he was
the most important character
in the story.
That he was the only person
Endicott had been targeting.
He wasn't.
I do.
A lie doesn't stop being a lie
just because it leads
to the truth.
And, um...
I really don't want
to be remembered as a liar.
You know, there
are good people in Larkin.
Um, people would have figured it
out eventually,
you know, even if I hadn't
done what I had done.
I have to believe
that the truth
would have come out...
regardless.
And people
would have believed it.
I needed Lucas
after our parents died.
And I resented him
for falling down
his own rabbit hole.
If I hadn't answered Lucas,
his story, our story,
would have ended
very differently.
But that's the thing
with family.
You always risk giving them
one last chance.
You always risk hoping
they're going
to prove you wrong.
But after uncovering the truth
of what happened to my family,
I'm still haunted by something.
Why was I not affected?
Is it because I left Larkin?
Or are there parts of this story
even I'm blind to?
I might never know.
Not all monsters are a hoax.
They just don't look
like Bob Gimlin
in a hairy costume.
Or a toy submarine photographed
in black and white.
The monsters
of the 21st century
feed in broad daylight.
Hello.
I'm the Reverend Endicott Carr,
spelled with two T's
and two R's.
If you don't know me already,
I hope to know some of you
real well, real soon.
If you let me in, of course.