Mind Thief (2022) Movie Script
1
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
CHRIS: I can write this.
I've done it before.
I'd sold lots of copies.
And those critics
who didn't like it
were obviously just... bitter.
Time to put pen to paper.
So what if the publisher
already set the release date?
No pressure.
I eat that for breakfast.
That explains the indigestion.
All of it is here.
Right in front of me.
I just need to put it
in the right order.
But she has
a steep mountain to climb.
So the kids were supposedly...
[INDISTINCT OVERLAPPING
OF STORY LINES CONTINUE]
...almost surgically
implanted live...
...when in fact manipulated
into believing
false memories...
...but how?
This made it impossible
for the subject.
What did they use?
...the kids differentiate
between reality...
Such was the insidious nature
of the brainwashing.
[LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]
Ah.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
Hey, Chris.
Uh, you left your, uh...
Chris, you left your bags
out... out... outside there.
Come down here now, will you?
Word to the wise.
Harold ate a, I think
it was a bad enchilada
down at, uh, Casa--
Well, you know, it wasn't bad.
It wasn't a bad one.
He can't do the spicy.
I'll, um... Okay.
CHRIS: No time to get
my panties in a bunch.
I'm gonna
write myself out of this
impossible corner like a...
[CLOCK TICKING]
Oh, boy, who am I kidding?
I'm caught in a labyrinth
of weak metaphors
and cheesy tropes.
A victim of Chapter 17.
[SIGHS]
Okay, out into
all the nature and
urban residential/commercially
zoned area I can muster...
and absolutely nothing
can stop this pen from...
-[TABLE RATTLES]
-What the hell?
This is going
to drive me crazy.
No more furniture
from sidewalks.
This should fix it.
I am so completely blocked.
Oh, no.
The publishing house
will send Gina to unblock me,
painfully,
like a clogged toilet.
Hmm. Give me the good stuff.
MAN: [ON TV] I would never
have stepped foot
on that nuclear sub
if I had known
you were undercover
in Guatemala.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
You did the right thing.
Your country needed you.
[MUSIC WHINES]
[SIGHS]
I don't know
which ones to press.
-Okay, so...
-Well, that's what
I was pressing.
-Oh, look.
It's the same bird as last time.
-[LAUGHS]
[CHRIS EXCLAIMS]
[BOTH LAUGHING]
MAN: [ON TV] Next on,
a very special episode
of The Tears of Victory.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
Gotta get out of there! Now!
-It's gonna blow!
-[EXPLOSION]
She lied about the Janus virus.
It ain't what you think it is.
[GROANING IN PAIN]
AUTOMATED VOICE:
The time is 1:00 p.m.
Please flip over.
[BEEPS]
[SPLASHES]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[ROBOTIC GRUNT]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[LOCK CLACKING]
[EXCLAIMS]
[EXHALES]
Forgot I gave you a key.
Found your notes.
Right next
to the ice cream bowl.
You're spiraling.
This is spiraling.
I can tell.
This is good.
The first book wasn't this hard.
I need pages.
And you're going
to get them
-as soon as I... [SIGHS]
-Chapter 17.
Can't you write something else
and then circle back,
like, put a real big pin in it?
It's the key
to the whole structure.
Everything leads to Chapter 17
and everything springs forth
from Chapter 17.
It's all on the board.
But a month of notes
and no pages makes me nervous.
Makes the publishing house
nervous.
Gina, I want nothing more
than to sit down
and write those pages. Trust me.
Hmm. Maybe you need
to break up your cycle.
Create some change,
and not just for the writing,
but for you.
You need to move on.
I didn't know you had a pool.
I don't.
The next complex over does.
Cheeky monkey.
That qualifies as a change.
Loitering for the purpose
of sun damage is a start.
Thank you.
-[GASPS] I may have
found some new inspiration.
-Ha! Pool boy.
More like, a large man
in a full business suit
jumps in the pool.
-Is this in the new book?
-No, no, no.
Something was thrown
in the pool.
A minute later,
this guy walks up,
jumps in, gets it,
and leaves.
-In a suit?
-Yep.
And what'd he get?
It was kind of like a cigar tin.
[SIGHS]
Nicotine is a bitch.
-How long has it been?
-Mmm...
147 days and six hours,
but who's counting?
Weird story, but I don't think
pool man makes the cut.
-[METAL GRATING]
-[WOMAN GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
Should we help?
-[GRUNTING CONTINUES]
-You first.
[GRUNTING]
Primitive mating ritual?
[GUTTURAL GRUNTS CONTINUE]
To mate with what, exactly?
Good for the glutes.
Nice heels.
I mean, the dress is ridiculous,
but nice heels.
She is awfully determined.
What do you think
is inside that box?
Usually you take the dead body
out of the apartment.
[RELIEVED GRUNT]
Isn't that Psycho's old place?
-His name is Nathan.
-Whatever.
So what if he fell on scissors?
You'd think you'd
get over it by now.
I'm glad he's gone.
It looks like you've got
strange new neighbors.
It's been two months.
It's the first time
I've seen anyone up there.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
I didn't even see
Nathan move out.
[MAN GRUNTING]
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
Block that psycho.
Your change starts
with not taking that call.
[RINGING CONTINUES]
-[BEEPS]
-[SCOFFS]
-Nathan.
-Hey, Chris.
Um, I just left
a box of your stuff
at your front door.
-When?
-Uh, right now.
And you didn't think to knock?
[EXHALES]
-Nathan!
-[SIGHS SOFTLY]
-Hey, Chris.
-Hey.
[RUSTLES]
Hey, ha-ha, all the stuff
should be in there.
-Feeling lonely?
-Yes.
Getting me through
a rough patch.
No, no. I can't take this.
It's yours.
Uh, uh, it's okay.
Um...
You know, you always
like playing it, and, um...
CHRIS:
I do miss this little thing.
[MUSICAL NOTES PLAYING]
You wanna come in?
I... You know, I... I can't.
I gotta... I gotta go.
You two need a room?
Yeah. Yes.
You know, uh, I can't...
I can't keep her waiting.
How are the stitches holding up?
Uh, you know,
nothing's fallen out, so.
So, who... who moved
into your old place?
An old friend.
Kind of an emergency.
-You mean
"spider lady with the heels"?
-Who?
Just carried half the Titanic
up to your place.
Okay.
I just don't get why you
had to move out so quickly.
Um...
Yeah, I just needed to...
I just needed to be
anywhere but here.
-I was worried.
-I know.
-I'm still worried.
-I know, I know.
And I... Thank you.
Okay, but I'm...
I'm doing all right,
and I promise
that won't happen again.
I got new meds.
-I didn't know you had old meds.
-Look, Chris, I'm fine.
Well, if you're fine,
then why are you
still ghosting me?
Just don't worry about it. Okay?
When the time is right, I'll...
I'll tell you... Really.
Okay, but right now
I have to go.
Good seeing you, Nathan.
Buh-bye.
Okay. Come on. Mmm-hmm.
[EXHALES]
[SOFTLY] Stupid tree.
Hi there.
I see you've moved
into my friend's old place.
I'm Chris.
Lana.
So, do you know, Nathan?
-I live just over here.
-No, I don't.
My friend just moved in.
I'm over on Steenbeck.
I don't think I've ever seen
who lives there now.
It's my friend Walter.
He doesn't get out much.
Recently confined
to a wheelchair.
I'm so sorry to hear that.
Was it an accident?
He fell from a window.
[SUCKS TEETH] That's terrible.
So many strange goings on
around here.
Could fill a book.
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
[BEEPS]
Hello, Chris speaking.
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
[SOFT CHUCKLE]
She does know Nathan.
[GROANS SOFTLY]
[SNORES]
[SIGHS]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC CONTINUES ON STEREO]
-[TABLE RATTLES]
-What the hell?
This should fix it.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
Don't don't die on me.
MAN: [RASPILY, ON TV]
I never got to see Wichita.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
You did the right thing, honey.
Your daughter needed you.
[MUSIC WHINES]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
AUTOMATED VOICE:
The time is 1:00 p.m.
Please flip over.
[SPLASHES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[EXHALES]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[DOOR OPENS]
[WHISPERS]
Pick up, pick up, pick up!
We got an update
on the pool incident.
The return of Pool Man?
Nope.
-Leopard Lady.
-Who?
Who was carrying shit
up to Nathan's old place.
-Really?
-Something went
in the pool again,
and she jumped in right after,
leopard dress and all.
Another cigar?
Not exactly.
What did you do?
-I dove in.
-And?
Get this.
-It had a coded message in it.
-A what?
I just sent it to you.
Check your inbox.
I love you, my friend,
but sometimes...
Oh, my God, this is...
this is some spy stuff.
I'm pretty sure
it's a dead drop.
What's a dead drop?
When spies hit up a random place
to exchange messages like this.
You'd think
they'd be better prepared
than just jump in straight
with their clothes on.
Yeah, I don't know.
Maybe they just follow orders.
[MAN GRUNTING]
Well, I do know an author
who used a cryptologist
for research on a book.
I can give him a call.
[YELLING]
Chris, you hear me?
Chris, where'd you go?
You still there?
-Great. Sounds good. Gotta go.
-Chris?
Shit.
Okay. Where did I put that?
Oh, too many piles.
Is that a saw?
Oh... Oh...
Got my keys.
Oh, this is tiny.
[PANTING]
[SNIFFS] Ooh, stinky.
I need to do laundry.
Okay, this will do.
Jeans. Yeah.
-[THUDS]
-Oh! My boob!
[GASPING]
Okay.
[EXHALES] Keys.
[BIKE REVVING]
Hmm. I don't like this.
I look like
an extra on Friends.
Why do I even care
what I look like?
He ghosted me,
and now he's fighting people
with a saw.
Where's that top he gave me?
Fresh as a daisy.
I look like a corpse.
This will liven it up.
He liked this color on me.
I think.
All I can do is
make him regret it.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[KNOCK AT GATE]
Nathan?
-[CHAIN CLINKING]
-What's going on?
Hey.
-Hey, are you okay?
-Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay.
You know, because of
what just happened...
Oh, yeah, it's, well,
it's a bit complicated.
Okay.
-So, an old friend
moved in, right?
-Yeah. Yeah.
In a wheelchair?
Um...
Yeah, tha...
Yeah, that's the one.
Did you break in?
No, I just, um...
[CLICKS TONGUE]
I just forgot something,
-actually.
-Couldn't knock?
Are you in some kind of
trouble? Money?
No, I... I just...
I just really needed
something in there.
-A saw?
-Uh, it's...
-Still on the meds?
-The meds...
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah,
um, yeah. I'm still on 'em.
-Okay. Is it drugs?
-Chris, I'm... I'm fine.
-Maybe I could get it for you?
-No, uh, stay away
from that place.
I mean, uh...
I appreciate the offer,
but there's a, uh...
It's a terrible
termite problem,
and I just think it's best
if we both just stay away.
Who's that big guy?
I've seen him around.
Really weird.
He's got a good right hook too.
What are you mixed up in, babe?
Nathan?
I will tell you
when I can. Okay?
Uh, but it's not now.
Not now.
Okay, but promise me
you'll tell me.
I do.
I do.
[SOFTLY] You...
you look really nice.
Thanks.
You, uh, got a nice place here.
[NORMAL TONE] Yeah.
Thanks, um...
Uh, yeah.
How's... how's the book going?
-It's going.
-On Chapter 17?
-Still waiting to be written.
-[CHUCKLES]
You'll finish it.
When you do,
I'd love to read it.
Thanks.
You know, I... I have
a pizza thawing in there, um...
Uh...
I actually have
to get back to it.
Of course.
[SOFTLY] Good to see you.
[NATHAN GRUNTING]
[CHAIN CLINKING]
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
[BEEPS]
-Hello.
-Hi, this is James.
Gina sent me a picture
you took of a coded message.
Right, you're the cryptologist.
Good to hear from you.
Well, it doesn't appear to be
a very sophisticated cipher.
It relies on the coder
and the decoder
to have access
to the same source material.
That was the hard part.
Breaking the code
for the codex was simple.
Usually this is
a rare manuscript
or a one-time pad,
but this appears
to just be a book
that was on
the bestsellers list
last spring.
Something called Mind Thief.
With the book
it should be a pretty
straightforward process.
I can send my assistant
to pick up a copy
in the morning.
Um... no need.
I think I can find one.
Can I come to you right now?
Thanks for meeting me
on such short notice.
My pleasure.
You brought the book?
Yeah. There it is.
Pull up a seat.
Okay, let's get to work.
-Oh, so this is your book?
-Yes.
How did you get the message?
In a pool.
Gina said she thinks
it's a dead drop.
I write thrillers.
She has spies on the mind.
Do you think someone might be
pulling a prank on you?
What makes you say that?
What are the odds that
you would not only step into
the middle of a spy dead drop,
but that the key
to the cipher text
is your own book?
Yeah, that is strange.
All right, then.
So here's the key.
Well, the first line
of numbers perplexed me.
It turns out it's not code,
just GPS coordinates.
After that,
each one of these entries
correspond to a word.
You find it
by going to the page,
then line,
and finally the word.
I see.
You want me
to read them out to you?
Yes, please.
Eighteen, three, four.
Okay, so the first word is...
"Open."
How did you know it was my book?
Here, at the top.
It's a pretty simple
Freemason cipher.
It literally says
Mind Thief book.
"Mind Thief book."
95, 14, 13.
"Bolt cutters."
75, 22, 11.
"Rohypnol."
-39, 22...
-"Meat tenderizer."
-Four...
-"Mouth taped shut."
-21, fourteen, nine.
-"Rope."
-"Flashes."
-75, 22, 11.
"June 20th."
What do you make of this?
Home invasion.
Maybe a kidnapping.
I don't know what
the last four numbers mean.
"June 20th."
That's today.
I hope someone is just
playing a joke on you.
What if they're not?
My advice?
I think that you,
and by extension me,
should forget
this ever happened.
GINA: So, what was the message?
Okay. They were GPS coordinates.
A date. Today's date.
A time, 7:15, to open a gate.
And a creepy list of items.
GINA: What kind of items?
Uh, rope, duct tape,
bolt cutters,
and, oh, my God, Rohypnol.
GINA: Sounds like someone's
getting roofied. This is bad.
Yeah, I know, barely make it
unless traffic behaves.
What? You actually going there?
Of course.
Okay. But, Chris, don't go in.
Just take down
license plates
or something.
Sure, I'll stay safe.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[GIRLS GIGGLING]
-Who did it?
-BOTH: She did it.
She did it? She did it?
She did it? She did it?
-GIRLS: She did it!
-She did it!
Oh, are you scared?
Are you scared?
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
-GIRL: Oh!
-I didn't.
-[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
-[KIDS LAUGHING]
-Oh, cheater!
-[KIDS LAUGHING]
WOMEN: What?
Next, uh, you're in the middle.
GIRL: Uh, uh...
You want it? Come here.
Come on. Last time.
All right, that's it.
Milk and cookies time.
Let's go.
Monster's gonna get you!
Monster's gonna get you!
-Monster's gonna get you!
-[GIRLS SCREAMING]
[GRUNTING]
[GASPS]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER ON TV]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER
ON TV CONTINUES]
[GIRLS LAUGHING]
[WOMAN EXHALES]
[BEEPS]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER
ON TV CONTINUES]
WOMAN: Hmm.
[WOMAN HUMS, GIGGLES]
[METALLIC THUD]
[GIRLS GIGGLING]
Where are you going?
[SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING]
Down to the basement.
[TOGETHER]
Monster in the basement?
No. Not tonight.
But we always.
Not tonight.
-Why not?
-We just can't.
Look, we'll go to that
jumpy place tomorrow, okay?
I can tell mom about you
and Uncle Roger in the pantry.
You don't have proof.
He left the proof in the trash.
I took a picture of it.
I'll tell your mom
that you broke
the Waterford crystal
and blamed your cousin.
I didn't mean to.
Neither did I.
[TOGETHER] Okay.
Now go drink your milk.
[WHISPERS] Where's that mop?
Oh, it's right over there.
[CHRIS GASPS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[DOOR UNLOCKS, OPENS]
[LIGHT SWITCH CLICKS]
[GATE CREAKS, CLOSES]
[ELEVATOR RUMBLES]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER
ON TV CONTINUES]
[ELEVATOR STOPS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR UNLOCKS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CREAKING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
CHRIS: Hmm. Nice violin.
[ELEVATOR RUMBLES]
[MOP SQUELCHES]
[ELEVATOR STOPS]
[MOP SQUELCHES]
[ELECTRICITY POWERS DOWN]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
[FOOTSTEPS]
[ELEVATOR RUMBLES]
[ELEVATOR STOPS]
[ELEVATOR DOOR CLOSES]
Zero, three, two-O-nine,
eight, seven... [MUMBLES]
[VAULT LOCK CLACKING]
[VAULT DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CREAKING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
[THUDS]
-[GASPS]
-[SNIFFS]
[EXHALES SOFTLY]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[BEEPING]
Subject One.
[TRUMPET DRONING]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[BEEPS]
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
-Hey. You okay?
-Yeah, I'm fine.
What happened? I've been trying
to reach you, like, a lot.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I just saw your missed calls.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Yeah. What did happen?
[GASPS] Oh! The address
turned out to be a mansion.
Leopard lady has a mansion?
No. The leopard lady
was the nanny at the mansion.
In her leopard dress?
[CHUCKLES] That's progressive.
She had more
of a nanny thing going on.
But anyway...
So she places the kids
in front of the TV.
These two
Stepford-Wives-like twins.
Wow. Wait. Wait a minute.
-How do you know this?
-I went inside.
Just like I said not to.
She spikes their chocolate milk
with I imagine the Rohypnol
-and opens the front gate
for Zeke.
-Wait a minute.
She roofied the kids?
And who's Zeke?
-The pool guy. His name is Zeke.
-How do you know his name?
Nathan was yelling at him
when he went
to his old apartment
-to steal a saw.
-A saw?
Don't worry about it.
So, then she goes down
to the basement
and ties herself up.
Zeke cuts the power to the house
and opens this
super huge vault down there.
That's what the numbers were.
Yup. The vault combination.
And then?
That's all I remember.
So how'd you get out of there?
I don't remember.
It's all kind of
a black hole until...
Really? You don't remember?
But you were there.
How could you...
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Have you been having
other memory lapses?
I don't know. Maybe.
Chris, before the power was cut,
did any of the security cameras
see you?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
Shoot.
Do not go to the cops!
I'll be right over.
I need you
to write the following.
Okay, why am I doing this?
Two.
Next line.
Nine.
It's your handwriting.
-That's impossible.
Why would I be...
-What are you involved in?
How the hell
am I supposed to know?
Okay. Okay. All right.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
What do we know?
You've been having
memory lapses.
Yeah.
You know, sometimes,
I'll be reading my notes
and not remember
when I made them.
I mean, they're definitely
my thoughts,
but I don't remember
committing them to paper.
You meditate, right?
Yeah. Every day.
You do any of that
astrally projecting stuff?
I'm not Doctor Strange.
I didn't astral project
another me.
Meditation doesn't work
like that.
I'm just trying
to narrow the field.
I'm trying to figure out
the mechanism by which
you became a crime lord.
I don't even know
how to write coded messages.
[THUMPING] Or I didn't.
Maybe during these
blackout periods,
you're living
a whole other life.
This is totally Fight Club.
And you're Tyler Durden.
I don't wanna be Tyler Durden.
Why the hell
would I be doing this?
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
Do any gardening today?
No.
Clean chimney's again?
That's weird.
I've been inside the whole day.
Maybe you're sleepwalking.
Nocturnal activities.
Honey,
you need to meet
your other self.
[SIGHS]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[EXHALES]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[STRETCHING] Mmm.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
-[TABLE ROCKING]
-CHRIS: What the hell?
-This should fix it.
-[REFRIGERATOR DOOR OPENS]
MAN: [ON TV] My arm!
It's caught in the shredder.
WOMAN: [ON TV] Cutting it off
is the right thing.
Our other daughter
needs us, honey.
-MAN: [SHAKILY]
Let's talk about this!
-WOMAN: Sorry, baby.
-[CHAINSAW WHIRRING]
-[MAN SCREAMING]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[VIDEO SPEEDING UP]
[DOOR UNLOCKS, OPENS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
CHRIS: Gina was right.
I'm a sleepwalking zombie.
But why?
Who's controlling me?
Kinda remember this.
Oh, God. I remember this.
[DOOR UNLOCKS, OPENS]
MAN: Hmm. Subject Two's
accidental trigger
from watching
the film Delicatessen
highlights the imperative
that both, the triggers
-and un-triggers must consist...
-[MUSIC WHINING]
MAN: ...of absolutely unique
irreproducible sounds.
Ones that the subject
will never hear
in their own world.
...subjects Three and Four
will continue to function
in a reduced cognitive state,
easy to establish control
and not conflict
with the increased amount
of instructions.
Only Subject Three will remember
his induced state.
Must implement damage control
for Subject One
who will never finish
her Chapter 17.
And speak of the devil. [LAUGHS]
Welcome, Chris.
CHRIS: [CALMLY]
Thank you.
Who am I?
-Mastermind.
-[LAUGHS]
[MACHINE BEEPING]
[MUSIC WHINING]
Ah! Good.
-[HIGH-PITCHED TRILLING]
-[CLICKS]
-[BARKING]
-[LAUGHS]
-[BUZZING STOPS]
-Very good. [CHUCKLES]
-[MACHINE BEEPING]
-[MAN SNIFFLES]
Close your eyes.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
You will be taking
a long journey.
Far, far away
to your safe place.
You have been here before.
It is home.
You feel at peace here.
[WHISPERS] Everything as
it should be.
[IN NORMAL VOICE]
Open your eyes.
How's the book coming along?
I'm stuck on Chapter 17.
A new book to break the code?
So sorry to hear about that.
Tell me. Why did you
go to the mansion?
CHRIS: A note led me there.
-The note compelled you?
-The mystery did.
MASTERMIND: Ah.
Couldn't help yourself.
-No.
-MASTERMIND: Ah.
[CHUCKLES]
When was the first mystery?
First time you were compelled
and couldn't stop?
My parents.
They left me.
Disappeared when I was ten.
What happened?
We were camping.
My dad told me
to climb up a tree.
He wanted to take a picture.
-He knew I loved climbing.
-[BIRDS CHIRPING]
CHRIS: It was an old oak.
Branches stretching
every which way.
And into the sky.
I was a good climber.
I wanted to touch the clouds.
I turned around...
they were gone.
The tent.
Car.
Everything was
just like we left it.
They just disappeared.
And they left you alone.
Where were they found?
They were never found.
An unsolved mystery. [CHUCKLES]
And you were orphaned.
I wish my parents
had abandoned me.
They were, uh, abusive.
Psychologically.
One of their little games
when I was a child
was to convince me
there was a monster
who would eat me,
just devour me
if ever I disobeyed them.
Named him, uh, Belphegor.
I never figured out
how they did this, but...
when they told me
Belphegor was getting ready
to eat me,
there was this, uh...
terrible scratching noise
from under the floorboards
like, um, a rusty shuffle
across concrete.
[SCRATCHING, SHUFFLING]
And it would move towards me
from under the floor
unless they told it to stop.
[SCRATCHING, SHUFFLING]
A monster [CHUCKLES]
who would eat their only child.
Your mystery led you
to your books.
Your wrongly orphaned children
and the puzzles in their mind.
[WHISPERS] My mystery
led me to neuroscience.
[IN NORMAL VOICE] The puzzle
of controlling the mind.
You must miss your parents.
Does Nathan make you feel safe
like your father?
Did you feel safe
when Nathan attacked you
with his scissors?
No.
He didn't attack me.
You told me he attacked you.
That he was a lion in wait.
Did I?
Yes. [LAUGHS]
He tried to kill you.
Nathan is a violent man.
He threw me out a window.
And now, this is my prison.
Prison of a broken man.
He is a lion in wait.
And he will kill you.
No, he won't.
Now that I have this back
from my employer,
my former employer,
I will give you one last dream.
-[BUTTONS CLICKING]
-[MACHINE BEEPING]
No. She's Type A.
Won't remember anything.
-[BUTTONS CLICKING]
-You're one of the lucky ones.
When you wake from this spell,
you'll remember nothing at all.
[WHISPERS] Goodbye, Chris.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[MACHINE CLICKING]
[HIGH-PITCHED RINGING]
MASTERMIND: Deeper and...
-[DISTORTED ECHOING MUSIC]
-MASTERMIND: [ECHOING]
Deeper into the subconscious.
There you are.
He is a lion in wait.
He will kill you.
One. Nathan is a violent man.
Twelve. Ah. Two.
There you are.
Eight. Zero.
241. Three.
Yes. Nine. 98. 60.
[PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS]
MASTERMIND: Two. Four.
He is a lion in wait.
Three. Four. One. Eight. Six.
[DISTORTED ECHOING LAUGH]
Eight. Six. Dash one, one.
Eight. Four. Six. Seven. Five.
[DISTORTED MUSIC FADES OUT]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
CHRIS: I write
coded messages in my sleep?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[GASPING, CHOKING]
[CHOKING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHOKING, GASPING]
[ZEKE BREATHING HEAVILY]
[GASPS SOFTLY]
[GASPS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES]
[GASPS]
[GRUNTS]
[RATTLING]
Hmm.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[RATTLES]
[SIGHS IN RELIEF]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[HAND TRUCK RUMBLING]
-[DOOR OPENS]
-[GASPS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[DOG BARKING]
CHRIS: I've been framed
for murder.
Gotta see this through.
What else did I do?
[VIDEO SPEEDING UP]
CHRIS: Oh, God.
A second note.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
CHRIS: I've signed
my own death warrant.
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[CELL PHONE BEEPS, RINGS]
[BREATH TREMBLING]
I need you to come over
right now.
CHRIS: [WHISPERS] Psst.
Psst. Hey.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
-What are we doing?
-[WHISPERS] Quiet!
We're waiting
for my killer to arrive.
-[SHOUTING] Say what?
-Shh!
[SOFTLY] I wrote
two more messages.
One was an order to kill me.
[SOFTLY] Why would you do that?
I don't know.
But I'm not the mastermind.
Some guy in a wheelchair
in Nathan's old apartment is.
He's controlling everything.
Well, that's a relief.
Yeah. Except the someone
is trying to kill me part.
Right.
[WHISPERS] What did
the other messages say?
To kill someone
named Lana Niles.
Nathan actually knew her.
I met her once.
[GASPS] She lied to me.
So, what happened?
Zeke strangled her.
[GULPS] She's dead.
[SOFTLY] Holy shit!
Why aren't we going to the cops?
Mainly because I think
I'm being framed.
The killer put my note
on Lana Niles' body.
And he took a Polaroid.
[WHISPERS] Of the note
on the corpse?
Time, location
and method of murder.
All in my handwriting.
-[BREATH TREMBLING, GASPS]
-[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SOFTLY] Did you really think
that Norma was the killer?
I don't know. She sometimes has
a look in her eye.
[SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING]
[KEYS JINGLING]
[WHISPERS] Fucking hectic.
[DOOR UNLOCKS]
This is not happening. [GASPS]
I'm not gonna tell you,
"I told you so," but...
[KEYS JINGLING]
[SIGHS, WHISPERS]
It's not him.
[SIGHS IN RELIEF]
GINA: [SOFTLY] Maybe he planted
a bomb in there.
-The note did say that
the murder weapon is a blade.
-[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
And it was right
about the strangulation.
[IN NORMAL VOICE]
He is a lion in wait.
-MASTERMIND:
He is a lion in wait.
-[CHRIS GASPS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
-[GINA GRUNTS]
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[GINA GRUNTS]
[CHRIS BREATHING HEAVILY]
[IN NORMAL VOICE] Where am I?
[GASPING SOFTLY]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
And why is there
a knife in my leg?
You just tried to kill me
with that knife.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
My aim's a bit off.
I sort of guided it
into your leg.
Okay, yeah. That makes sense.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Why was I trying to kill you?
You were hypnotized.
Who would do that?
An asshole.
[BREATHING HEAVILY] Of course.
[WINCING]
I hope this doesn't
hurt our friendship?
We're fine.
I've been hypnotized too.
Kill anyone?
I don't actually know.
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[WINCES] This was my sexy leg.
[GINA GROANS]
[CHRIS BREATHING HEAVILY]
[WHISPERS] Here, careful.
[GRUNTS IN PAIN]
-[HEADS BUMP]
-BOTH: Oh!
-Sorry.
-[DOOR CLOSES]
Okay, duck.
GINA: [BREATHING HEAVILY]
Why not the couch?
Kinda stains easily.
-[GINA GRUNTING IN PAIN]
-Okay.
Just sit right there.
I'll get something.
Um... should we pull
the knife out?
-CHRIS: Uh, not yet.
It's gonna bleed.
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Okay. Well, it's kinda
bleeding anyway.
This might sting a little.
It's already stinging,
so "a little"
would be an improvement.
-[PULLS KNIFE OUT]
-[WINCES]
Motherfucking hell!
CHRIS: Sorry.
I'm new at this.
-[LIQUID SPLASHES]
-Ahhh!
[HIGH-PITCHED]
Shit balls and donkey punch.
-Okay. Hold it down.
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
-I've got pills.
-[RASPILY] Give me pills!
The prescription on these
might be old.
I do not care!
-[PILLS RATTLING]
-[IN NORMAL VOICE]
Can I have a glass of water?
[WHISPERS] Please.
CHRIS: Bottled?
[IN NORMAL VOICE] I'm not picky.
[WHISPERS] Thank you.
[SIGHS WEARILY]
I'm good. [SIGHS IN RELIEF]
[SIGHS] Okay.
So you're good?
I will be once these kick in.
-Okay, good.
-[GROANING SOFTLY]
[BREATHING HEAVILY, WHISPERS]
That's fine. That's fine.
Yeah.
What are you looking for?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
I knew it.
-So there's Nathan.
-Hmm.
That's the murderer.
Zeke Tillman.
He killed her,
Lana Niles.
And that's the Mastermind.
Walter Blackwood.
I think I know him.
Really?
Yeah, but he was
in a wheelchair.
Offered to help me
kick my smoking habit
with hypnosis therapy.
I think I went
to his office and it's...
It's just fuzzy now.
Yup, that's definitely her.
She's the mother of the twins.
I think she was
funding their research but...
Yes!
There was an ethics scandal.
She pulled the plug.
Wait, I gotta show you this.
Oh! [GROANS]
[KEYBOARD CLACKS]
Oh, is this the footage
from your spycam?
And it's awfully peculiar.
That's him all right.
So he's been trying
to get me to kill Nathan.
I said no.
And then they put
this weird helmet on me.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
That's what programmed me
to write the messages.
Wait. How did you
get to his place?
-[KEYBOARD CLACKS]
-I'll show you.
So I wake up here at 3:07.
And then, I guess, sleepwalk?
-Whoa, wait. Let's go back.
-[KEYBOARD CLACKS]
What happened right before?
[EERIE BUZZING]
-[SLAMS KEYBOARD]
-[BUZZING STOPS]
Let's not do that again.
Okay. Right, right.
So... stabbing me in my leg
snapped me out of it.
You're not into
self-harm are you?
Only in relationships.
[SOFTLY] Okay.
[IN NORMAL VOICE] Yesterday,
do you remember anything
before you called me?
No. I was just home.
Playing my bowl.
My bowl.
[METALLIC DING]
[MAN GRUNTING]
CHRIS: Hmm?
-[METALLIC DING]
-[MAN GRUNTING]
-[METALLIC DING]
-[HAMMER DROPS]
[GASPS] Well, there goes
my way out of this.
[SNIFFS] This is heavy.
I need ice cream.
Pills are where it's at.
"Ask the bear."
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
GINA: What is it?
NATHAN: Chris, I'm so sorry
to have involved you in this.
But I need you to read
every word carefully.
The man who moved into
my old apartment,
Walter Blackwood,
was the head of our cognitive
neuroscience group at Berkeley.
Inadvertently,
we discovered a way
to affect the hypnotic state
through advanced
neural manipulation.
It breaks my heart
to tell you this,
but you were our first subject.
Now, the thoughts
produced in this state
are indistinguishable
from the subject's reality.
Initially, these experiments
were genuine.
Walter, however,
became obsessed with
the hypnotic aspect of the work
and took it down
a sinister path.
-He is extremely dangerous.
-[MUSIC WHINING]
By now, you may know that
the singing bowl I gave you
lifts you
out of your hypnotic state.
Please, guard the bowl
with your life.
As it is your only
lifeline to reality.
Walter has burdened me
with only one hypnotic command.
To kill you.
My own lifeline,
as well as Zeke,
now Walter's
personal bodyguard,
are tied
to the sound of the saw.
But it's only a theory,
as I haven't been able
un-trigger myself.
I'm sorry, but I can't be
of any use to you
with this condition.
I can only hope that you
unlock the mystery to the saw.
[EXHALES]
I love you.
Goodbye.
[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[DISTORTED] Nathan!
[DISTORTED SCREAMING]
He left the saw.
GINA: Chris.
CHRIS: It's gotta be
here somewhere.
Chris.
CHRIS: How in the hell
do you hide a saw?
Chris!
What?
GINA: That saw?
Wily old minx.
Um, what's with the saw?
I don't think
this is a good idea.
You have a better idea?
I do not, but why do you
have to go in there?
CHRIS:
Because the saw is in there.
The magic saw?
CHRIS: I mean, in theory,
they won't expect me
because [STRAINING] I shouldn't
know where the key is.
And two, they think I'm dead.
Because you killed me.
Keep your phone on silent,
but keep it visible.
I'll text you if anyone comes.
All right, let's do this.
That's undercover?
It's the darkest thing
that wasn't in my hamper.
[DRAMATIC NOTE PLAYS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[FLOORBOARD CREAKS]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANING]
Sorry, Norma.
[FLOORBOARD CREAKS]
Huh.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[NORMA GROANING]
[SNORING]
[SNORING STOPS]
Hmm.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
-What is it?
-Follow Zeke.
GINA: Okay.
He's going out to the street,
I think, carrying that helmet.
Follow Zeke wherever he goes.
Zeke's gone,
why are you whispering?
-I don't wanna wake Norma.
-She's sleeping?
-[NORMA GROANS]
-I knocked her out.
Good girl. Okay, I'm on it.
[WINCES]
[GROANING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CRUNCHING]
[MUFFLED GROANING]
[CHOKING]
[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[GROANING]
[PANTING]
[GROANS]
[GROANS]
[WINCES]
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
Gina?
GINA: Guess where I am?
In your car?
Well, yes,
but I'm parked
behind Zeke's car on some road.
He took the helmet
and went into the woods.
Okay, don't do anything.
Oh, like when I told you
not to do anything?
Yeah. I mean, no.
Like for real,
don't do anything.
Just stay there. I'm on my way.
I gotta change that ringtone.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR OPENING]
Didn't expect your flight
to touch down for an hour.
STACY: Jet stream
over the Pacific
is extremely strong.
So... how are you?
I mean, did they hurt you or...
Oh, no. This? No.
This, it's fine.
-I'll be fine.
-Okay. Good.
Wait, they...
They didn't take anything
out of the vault, did they?
Nope. I was right there.
I think something
scared the robber
before he could try to open it.
-Did they take the kids?
-Nope.
-They're in the dining room.
-Well, there's that.
NANNY: They found me
the next morning.
They're my little heroes.
STACY: Well, hello, my darlings.
BOTH: Hello, Mother.
NANNY:
I'll fix you a nice tea.
STACY: Well, that was weird.
Come here. Give me a hug.
Gosh, you guys are so slow.
Did the cops scare them?
NANNY: Um, maybe, a little.
What's up with the present?
-We don't know.
-Uncle Roger dropped it off.
Shall we open it?
Not yet.
Uncle Roger said we have
to read the letter first.
All right. Bring it to me.
-STACY: Thank you.
-NANNY: You're welcome.
"Hello, Stacy.
"I hope this finds you
of sound mind and body.
"This is a present...
"This is a present...
"for the whole world.
"A gift that you didn't
want to share.
"Looks like I'll be sharing
this gift with you."
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
"And thank you for your...
"sound mind and...
"body..."
[MUFFLED SCREAM]
Gosh!
It's the kind of stuff
I write about.
[MUFFLED SPEECH]
I guess I shouldn't
have gone inside.
Common mistake.
Yes.
Common mistake.
They're busy hypnotizing
the lady of the house right now.
Looks like the kids
are already under his spell.
This is some trippy...
[STRAINING] Holy mother of God.
[GROANING]
[GINA SCREAMS]
Oh, no! Not again.
Well, yeah.
I'm really embarrassed.
What is it?
I got it.
The mayor's behind it.
What?
Chapter 17.
Alcohol.
Not as good as pills, but...
-To clean the wound.
-Right.
-And then get you wasted.
-Righter.
I'm gonna need your sweater.
What, I just got this!
And I like the color!
Macy's having
a sale on Thursday.
It's on me.
Okay, it's a date...
if we're alive.
Whoa! Whoa! Okay.
Can we have
a countdown this time?
-Okay. On three.
-Okay.
-Okay?
-Okay.
-One, two, three!
-One, two, three!
[STRAINED SCREAMING]
[HIGH-PITCHED] That didn't help!
[GRITTING TEETH]
[PANTING]
Oh, I think
I'm getting the hang of this.
Yes, so much better
than last time.
What is the sound of a deaf saw?
Is that a riddle?
I don't know.
It's what's written
on the handle.
Does that mean
it's for the deaf?
Or it deafens?
But saws aren't that loud.
Maybe just a lousy musician.
Musician?
Yeah, a great uncle,
he played the saw.
How do you play a saw?
He used a bow,
like, like a violin.
You just, you just kind of
bend it back in the...
You gotta, you gotta...
[LOUD INSTRUMENT PLAYING]
WALTER: Do you know who I am?
Yes, Mastermind.
Are you ready
to take another journey?
First, you need
to take the elevator
to the second floor.
I imagine...
you've grown to hate me.
And that I might deserve
a fitting...
punishment.
But maybe that's not enough
to complete the task.
Step out of the elevator
and close the gate behind you.
This task will not
compromise your integrity.
It's a simple Darwinian theory.
Survival of the fittest.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Now come into the living room.
There's one last request.
I want you to kill me.
Strike me in the heart
and you'll be free.
No more commands,
your free will returned,
then I escape my prison.
I want to die.
You will be putting me
out of great misery.
It is a kindness.
I cannot deal with this life
in this chair anymore.
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[PANTING]
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.
Oh, no. [BREATH TREMBLING]
Oh, no. Oh, no.
[SOBBING]
-[DISTANT LAUGHTER]
-[CLAPPING]
Bravo!
Bravo, my sweet!
You monster.
[CONTINUES LAUGHING]
That was a dirty trick.
Mmm, yes.
A regrettable necessity...
For what?
For what?
To demonstrate
the power of the hypnosis.
To show it can enact
any behavior,
despite our moral
and mortal peril.
For what...
You couldn't get Nathan
to kill me.
No.
He'd rather fall on a knife
and throw me out a window.
But the urge
to kill you was always there.
He chose to literally...
[CHUCKLING]
handcuff himself
to prevent hurting you.
Ah, love.
And you had to trick me
to kill him.
Yes.
In that I fail.
But I have also learned
and I will use that to succeed.
The hypnosis will prove
stronger than even love.
-[SCREAMS] No!
-I'll smash it!
You'll be doing many people
from never escaping
their entrapped minds if you do.
Well, you'd do
a lot of bad things, if I don't.
[LAUGHS MOCKINGLY]
You're such a Boy Scout.
You'll do one bad thing,
if you do.
-Yes.
-Chris...
I need you to leave.
You ought to bash
her brains in, don't you?
Don't you?
-NATHAN: Just leave.
-She's right there.
All you have to do is kill her.
And the hunger goes away.
Kill her. Kill her.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
WALTER: Kill her.
No! I'd rather
bash your brains in!
GINA:
Play the notes. D, E, A, F!
CHRIS:
D, E, A, F
-Bend it like this? Okay.
-Yeah, something like that.
Wait, wait. No, no, no, no.
Not the blade side.
The other side.
Oh, right.
[GROANING]
[GROANS]
Come on. Come on, come on.
[SAW WHINES]
Yes!
[GASPS]
-I got this.
-Okay.
[GINA GRUNTING]
[WALTER SCREAMING]
[GROANS]
-D
-[NOTE PLAYING]
[PANTING]
-E
-[NOTE PLAYING]
-A
-[NOTE PLAYING]
You got this, bitch!
[SCREAMS]
-F
-[NOTE PLAYING]
WALTER: No! No!
No! No! No.
You made me a murderer.
You made me kill Lana!
You remember.
Zeke, Zeke, Zeke,
don't kill him.
I need him, Zeke.
He has to deprogram me.
He's the only one
that can break the spell.
Why would you make me do that?
Why?
I will never have
my free will if he dies.
[CHOKING]
[COUGHING]
You deserve to die.
You deserve to die.
Where am I?
Play the notes to end
the kill command,
and we'll let you live.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
So says the Boy Scout.
Hmm.
You know, I've become
quite good at playing
this thing,
even in my condition.
An absolute army of commands.
Why an old saw?
Specifically, this saw?
One of a kind.
So the sounds
can't be reproduced.
Well, except for the recordings
that were in my poly-synth.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[EXHALES]
How are you feeling?
I'm not sure.
I mean, I...
I don't wanna murder you.
Well, that's a good thing.
Should we unlock it?
Let's not get carried away.
Look I guess
I'm seeing the humor in the...
Was that better?
That week we spent
in the Maldives.
Didn't I lose our passports?
That's right, you did.
Don't unlock him just yet.
Wait. How did you
not get triggered
by the didgeridoo?
Oh, I did, but Gina stabbed me.
-[GRUNTS]
-[SCREAMING]
CHRIS:
I'm still getting the hang
of the whole stabbing thing.
It's kind of my thing.
I should probably get
a tetanus shot.
Wait. Could we have
just stabbed you?
No.
Walter made sure
that the urge to murder you
was implanted deeply.
Nothing short of death
could free him of that impulse.
Almost as hard as making Dolores
wear an animal print.
No. No. No, no, no.
-I would never wear
an animal print.
-[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
So you remember everything.
I would never spare him
the nightmare
of killing the one he loved.
Whose suit is this?
Did you have to stab Stacey?
She was
one of our main investors.
I was careful and it worked.
Now where are those kids?
KIDS: [TOGETHER]
What's with the screwdriver?
[YELPS] Hey!
So, what now?
You know what?
I really don't know.
Clean up your mess.
Try and clear our names.
You remember the early days?
When our only test subjects
were ourselves.
We learned a lot back then.
Trigger points
of our consciousness,
how our memories shape us.
Our dreams were in there.
But also our nightmares.
[CLICKING]
CHRIS:
Which program should I run?
ZEKE:
Definitely Walter's Mind Trap.
CHRIS: Perfect.
GUARD: Looks like
you got your first visitor.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
You're supposed to be dead.
So is Nathan.
How can this be?
Since you're the Mastermind.
I guess
none of us got what we wanted.
And so...
when did you get to me?
Right before you ratted us out
to Stacy.
I knew you were too much
of a Boy Scout
to let us reach the end game.
Hmm.
I clearly disagreed
with your end game.
How did you send
the letter to Stacy
if I already had control of you?
I realized
it was only a matter of time...
before one of us took over
the others.
I had a fail-safe.
One that you...
apparently didn't discover.
What was it?
[CHUCKLES]
Why would I tell you?
You're only delaying
the inevitable.
My plan ensures the world
will be a better place.
It will be cold and incapable
of love a world in your image.
[SNIFFS]
I'm guessing
you don't have the helmet.
Oh, but I will.
First, I am going to kill Nathan
and then his darling Chris.
And then the helmet
will be mine.
You don't have to leave me here.
Walter, sorry, you see,
I was never here.
And you won't remember
the last two years of your life.
[EERIE MUSIC PLAYING]
What is this?
What is this?
[PANICKING] What is...
Where is this?
[CRYING HYSTERICALLY]
Where is this? Where is this?
What happened?
What happened?
Please.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
My legs! My legs!
What's happened to my legs?
[CRYING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[THRILLING MUSIC PLAYING]
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
CHRIS: I can write this.
I've done it before.
I'd sold lots of copies.
And those critics
who didn't like it
were obviously just... bitter.
Time to put pen to paper.
So what if the publisher
already set the release date?
No pressure.
I eat that for breakfast.
That explains the indigestion.
All of it is here.
Right in front of me.
I just need to put it
in the right order.
But she has
a steep mountain to climb.
So the kids were supposedly...
[INDISTINCT OVERLAPPING
OF STORY LINES CONTINUE]
...almost surgically
implanted live...
...when in fact manipulated
into believing
false memories...
...but how?
This made it impossible
for the subject.
What did they use?
...the kids differentiate
between reality...
Such was the insidious nature
of the brainwashing.
[LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]
Ah.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
Hey, Chris.
Uh, you left your, uh...
Chris, you left your bags
out... out... outside there.
Come down here now, will you?
Word to the wise.
Harold ate a, I think
it was a bad enchilada
down at, uh, Casa--
Well, you know, it wasn't bad.
It wasn't a bad one.
He can't do the spicy.
I'll, um... Okay.
CHRIS: No time to get
my panties in a bunch.
I'm gonna
write myself out of this
impossible corner like a...
[CLOCK TICKING]
Oh, boy, who am I kidding?
I'm caught in a labyrinth
of weak metaphors
and cheesy tropes.
A victim of Chapter 17.
[SIGHS]
Okay, out into
all the nature and
urban residential/commercially
zoned area I can muster...
and absolutely nothing
can stop this pen from...
-[TABLE RATTLES]
-What the hell?
This is going
to drive me crazy.
No more furniture
from sidewalks.
This should fix it.
I am so completely blocked.
Oh, no.
The publishing house
will send Gina to unblock me,
painfully,
like a clogged toilet.
Hmm. Give me the good stuff.
MAN: [ON TV] I would never
have stepped foot
on that nuclear sub
if I had known
you were undercover
in Guatemala.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
You did the right thing.
Your country needed you.
[MUSIC WHINES]
[SIGHS]
I don't know
which ones to press.
-Okay, so...
-Well, that's what
I was pressing.
-Oh, look.
It's the same bird as last time.
-[LAUGHS]
[CHRIS EXCLAIMS]
[BOTH LAUGHING]
MAN: [ON TV] Next on,
a very special episode
of The Tears of Victory.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
Gotta get out of there! Now!
-It's gonna blow!
-[EXPLOSION]
She lied about the Janus virus.
It ain't what you think it is.
[GROANING IN PAIN]
AUTOMATED VOICE:
The time is 1:00 p.m.
Please flip over.
[BEEPS]
[SPLASHES]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[ROBOTIC GRUNT]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[LOCK CLACKING]
[EXCLAIMS]
[EXHALES]
Forgot I gave you a key.
Found your notes.
Right next
to the ice cream bowl.
You're spiraling.
This is spiraling.
I can tell.
This is good.
The first book wasn't this hard.
I need pages.
And you're going
to get them
-as soon as I... [SIGHS]
-Chapter 17.
Can't you write something else
and then circle back,
like, put a real big pin in it?
It's the key
to the whole structure.
Everything leads to Chapter 17
and everything springs forth
from Chapter 17.
It's all on the board.
But a month of notes
and no pages makes me nervous.
Makes the publishing house
nervous.
Gina, I want nothing more
than to sit down
and write those pages. Trust me.
Hmm. Maybe you need
to break up your cycle.
Create some change,
and not just for the writing,
but for you.
You need to move on.
I didn't know you had a pool.
I don't.
The next complex over does.
Cheeky monkey.
That qualifies as a change.
Loitering for the purpose
of sun damage is a start.
Thank you.
-[GASPS] I may have
found some new inspiration.
-Ha! Pool boy.
More like, a large man
in a full business suit
jumps in the pool.
-Is this in the new book?
-No, no, no.
Something was thrown
in the pool.
A minute later,
this guy walks up,
jumps in, gets it,
and leaves.
-In a suit?
-Yep.
And what'd he get?
It was kind of like a cigar tin.
[SIGHS]
Nicotine is a bitch.
-How long has it been?
-Mmm...
147 days and six hours,
but who's counting?
Weird story, but I don't think
pool man makes the cut.
-[METAL GRATING]
-[WOMAN GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
Should we help?
-[GRUNTING CONTINUES]
-You first.
[GRUNTING]
Primitive mating ritual?
[GUTTURAL GRUNTS CONTINUE]
To mate with what, exactly?
Good for the glutes.
Nice heels.
I mean, the dress is ridiculous,
but nice heels.
She is awfully determined.
What do you think
is inside that box?
Usually you take the dead body
out of the apartment.
[RELIEVED GRUNT]
Isn't that Psycho's old place?
-His name is Nathan.
-Whatever.
So what if he fell on scissors?
You'd think you'd
get over it by now.
I'm glad he's gone.
It looks like you've got
strange new neighbors.
It's been two months.
It's the first time
I've seen anyone up there.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
I didn't even see
Nathan move out.
[MAN GRUNTING]
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
Block that psycho.
Your change starts
with not taking that call.
[RINGING CONTINUES]
-[BEEPS]
-[SCOFFS]
-Nathan.
-Hey, Chris.
Um, I just left
a box of your stuff
at your front door.
-When?
-Uh, right now.
And you didn't think to knock?
[EXHALES]
-Nathan!
-[SIGHS SOFTLY]
-Hey, Chris.
-Hey.
[RUSTLES]
Hey, ha-ha, all the stuff
should be in there.
-Feeling lonely?
-Yes.
Getting me through
a rough patch.
No, no. I can't take this.
It's yours.
Uh, uh, it's okay.
Um...
You know, you always
like playing it, and, um...
CHRIS:
I do miss this little thing.
[MUSICAL NOTES PLAYING]
You wanna come in?
I... You know, I... I can't.
I gotta... I gotta go.
You two need a room?
Yeah. Yes.
You know, uh, I can't...
I can't keep her waiting.
How are the stitches holding up?
Uh, you know,
nothing's fallen out, so.
So, who... who moved
into your old place?
An old friend.
Kind of an emergency.
-You mean
"spider lady with the heels"?
-Who?
Just carried half the Titanic
up to your place.
Okay.
I just don't get why you
had to move out so quickly.
Um...
Yeah, I just needed to...
I just needed to be
anywhere but here.
-I was worried.
-I know.
-I'm still worried.
-I know, I know.
And I... Thank you.
Okay, but I'm...
I'm doing all right,
and I promise
that won't happen again.
I got new meds.
-I didn't know you had old meds.
-Look, Chris, I'm fine.
Well, if you're fine,
then why are you
still ghosting me?
Just don't worry about it. Okay?
When the time is right, I'll...
I'll tell you... Really.
Okay, but right now
I have to go.
Good seeing you, Nathan.
Buh-bye.
Okay. Come on. Mmm-hmm.
[EXHALES]
[SOFTLY] Stupid tree.
Hi there.
I see you've moved
into my friend's old place.
I'm Chris.
Lana.
So, do you know, Nathan?
-I live just over here.
-No, I don't.
My friend just moved in.
I'm over on Steenbeck.
I don't think I've ever seen
who lives there now.
It's my friend Walter.
He doesn't get out much.
Recently confined
to a wheelchair.
I'm so sorry to hear that.
Was it an accident?
He fell from a window.
[SUCKS TEETH] That's terrible.
So many strange goings on
around here.
Could fill a book.
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
[BEEPS]
Hello, Chris speaking.
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
[SOFT CHUCKLE]
She does know Nathan.
[GROANS SOFTLY]
[SNORES]
[SIGHS]
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC CONTINUES ON STEREO]
-[TABLE RATTLES]
-What the hell?
This should fix it.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
Don't don't die on me.
MAN: [RASPILY, ON TV]
I never got to see Wichita.
WOMAN: [ON TV]
You did the right thing, honey.
Your daughter needed you.
[MUSIC WHINES]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
AUTOMATED VOICE:
The time is 1:00 p.m.
Please flip over.
[SPLASHES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[EXHALES]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[METAL GATE SQUEAKING]
[DOOR OPENS]
[WHISPERS]
Pick up, pick up, pick up!
We got an update
on the pool incident.
The return of Pool Man?
Nope.
-Leopard Lady.
-Who?
Who was carrying shit
up to Nathan's old place.
-Really?
-Something went
in the pool again,
and she jumped in right after,
leopard dress and all.
Another cigar?
Not exactly.
What did you do?
-I dove in.
-And?
Get this.
-It had a coded message in it.
-A what?
I just sent it to you.
Check your inbox.
I love you, my friend,
but sometimes...
Oh, my God, this is...
this is some spy stuff.
I'm pretty sure
it's a dead drop.
What's a dead drop?
When spies hit up a random place
to exchange messages like this.
You'd think
they'd be better prepared
than just jump in straight
with their clothes on.
Yeah, I don't know.
Maybe they just follow orders.
[MAN GRUNTING]
Well, I do know an author
who used a cryptologist
for research on a book.
I can give him a call.
[YELLING]
Chris, you hear me?
Chris, where'd you go?
You still there?
-Great. Sounds good. Gotta go.
-Chris?
Shit.
Okay. Where did I put that?
Oh, too many piles.
Is that a saw?
Oh... Oh...
Got my keys.
Oh, this is tiny.
[PANTING]
[SNIFFS] Ooh, stinky.
I need to do laundry.
Okay, this will do.
Jeans. Yeah.
-[THUDS]
-Oh! My boob!
[GASPING]
Okay.
[EXHALES] Keys.
[BIKE REVVING]
Hmm. I don't like this.
I look like
an extra on Friends.
Why do I even care
what I look like?
He ghosted me,
and now he's fighting people
with a saw.
Where's that top he gave me?
Fresh as a daisy.
I look like a corpse.
This will liven it up.
He liked this color on me.
I think.
All I can do is
make him regret it.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[GATE CLOSES]
[KNOCK AT GATE]
Nathan?
-[CHAIN CLINKING]
-What's going on?
Hey.
-Hey, are you okay?
-Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay.
You know, because of
what just happened...
Oh, yeah, it's, well,
it's a bit complicated.
Okay.
-So, an old friend
moved in, right?
-Yeah. Yeah.
In a wheelchair?
Um...
Yeah, tha...
Yeah, that's the one.
Did you break in?
No, I just, um...
[CLICKS TONGUE]
I just forgot something,
-actually.
-Couldn't knock?
Are you in some kind of
trouble? Money?
No, I... I just...
I just really needed
something in there.
-A saw?
-Uh, it's...
-Still on the meds?
-The meds...
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah,
um, yeah. I'm still on 'em.
-Okay. Is it drugs?
-Chris, I'm... I'm fine.
-Maybe I could get it for you?
-No, uh, stay away
from that place.
I mean, uh...
I appreciate the offer,
but there's a, uh...
It's a terrible
termite problem,
and I just think it's best
if we both just stay away.
Who's that big guy?
I've seen him around.
Really weird.
He's got a good right hook too.
What are you mixed up in, babe?
Nathan?
I will tell you
when I can. Okay?
Uh, but it's not now.
Not now.
Okay, but promise me
you'll tell me.
I do.
I do.
[SOFTLY] You...
you look really nice.
Thanks.
You, uh, got a nice place here.
[NORMAL TONE] Yeah.
Thanks, um...
Uh, yeah.
How's... how's the book going?
-It's going.
-On Chapter 17?
-Still waiting to be written.
-[CHUCKLES]
You'll finish it.
When you do,
I'd love to read it.
Thanks.
You know, I... I have
a pizza thawing in there, um...
Uh...
I actually have
to get back to it.
Of course.
[SOFTLY] Good to see you.
[NATHAN GRUNTING]
[CHAIN CLINKING]
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
[BEEPS]
-Hello.
-Hi, this is James.
Gina sent me a picture
you took of a coded message.
Right, you're the cryptologist.
Good to hear from you.
Well, it doesn't appear to be
a very sophisticated cipher.
It relies on the coder
and the decoder
to have access
to the same source material.
That was the hard part.
Breaking the code
for the codex was simple.
Usually this is
a rare manuscript
or a one-time pad,
but this appears
to just be a book
that was on
the bestsellers list
last spring.
Something called Mind Thief.
With the book
it should be a pretty
straightforward process.
I can send my assistant
to pick up a copy
in the morning.
Um... no need.
I think I can find one.
Can I come to you right now?
Thanks for meeting me
on such short notice.
My pleasure.
You brought the book?
Yeah. There it is.
Pull up a seat.
Okay, let's get to work.
-Oh, so this is your book?
-Yes.
How did you get the message?
In a pool.
Gina said she thinks
it's a dead drop.
I write thrillers.
She has spies on the mind.
Do you think someone might be
pulling a prank on you?
What makes you say that?
What are the odds that
you would not only step into
the middle of a spy dead drop,
but that the key
to the cipher text
is your own book?
Yeah, that is strange.
All right, then.
So here's the key.
Well, the first line
of numbers perplexed me.
It turns out it's not code,
just GPS coordinates.
After that,
each one of these entries
correspond to a word.
You find it
by going to the page,
then line,
and finally the word.
I see.
You want me
to read them out to you?
Yes, please.
Eighteen, three, four.
Okay, so the first word is...
"Open."
How did you know it was my book?
Here, at the top.
It's a pretty simple
Freemason cipher.
It literally says
Mind Thief book.
"Mind Thief book."
95, 14, 13.
"Bolt cutters."
75, 22, 11.
"Rohypnol."
-39, 22...
-"Meat tenderizer."
-Four...
-"Mouth taped shut."
-21, fourteen, nine.
-"Rope."
-"Flashes."
-75, 22, 11.
"June 20th."
What do you make of this?
Home invasion.
Maybe a kidnapping.
I don't know what
the last four numbers mean.
"June 20th."
That's today.
I hope someone is just
playing a joke on you.
What if they're not?
My advice?
I think that you,
and by extension me,
should forget
this ever happened.
GINA: So, what was the message?
Okay. They were GPS coordinates.
A date. Today's date.
A time, 7:15, to open a gate.
And a creepy list of items.
GINA: What kind of items?
Uh, rope, duct tape,
bolt cutters,
and, oh, my God, Rohypnol.
GINA: Sounds like someone's
getting roofied. This is bad.
Yeah, I know, barely make it
unless traffic behaves.
What? You actually going there?
Of course.
Okay. But, Chris, don't go in.
Just take down
license plates
or something.
Sure, I'll stay safe.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[GIRLS GIGGLING]
-Who did it?
-BOTH: She did it.
She did it? She did it?
She did it? She did it?
-GIRLS: She did it!
-She did it!
Oh, are you scared?
Are you scared?
Oh, oh, oh, oh!
-GIRL: Oh!
-I didn't.
-[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
-[KIDS LAUGHING]
-Oh, cheater!
-[KIDS LAUGHING]
WOMEN: What?
Next, uh, you're in the middle.
GIRL: Uh, uh...
You want it? Come here.
Come on. Last time.
All right, that's it.
Milk and cookies time.
Let's go.
Monster's gonna get you!
Monster's gonna get you!
-Monster's gonna get you!
-[GIRLS SCREAMING]
[GRUNTING]
[GASPS]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER ON TV]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER
ON TV CONTINUES]
[GIRLS LAUGHING]
[WOMAN EXHALES]
[BEEPS]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER
ON TV CONTINUES]
WOMAN: Hmm.
[WOMAN HUMS, GIGGLES]
[METALLIC THUD]
[GIRLS GIGGLING]
Where are you going?
[SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING]
Down to the basement.
[TOGETHER]
Monster in the basement?
No. Not tonight.
But we always.
Not tonight.
-Why not?
-We just can't.
Look, we'll go to that
jumpy place tomorrow, okay?
I can tell mom about you
and Uncle Roger in the pantry.
You don't have proof.
He left the proof in the trash.
I took a picture of it.
I'll tell your mom
that you broke
the Waterford crystal
and blamed your cousin.
I didn't mean to.
Neither did I.
[TOGETHER] Okay.
Now go drink your milk.
[WHISPERS] Where's that mop?
Oh, it's right over there.
[CHRIS GASPS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[DOOR UNLOCKS, OPENS]
[LIGHT SWITCH CLICKS]
[GATE CREAKS, CLOSES]
[ELEVATOR RUMBLES]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER
ON TV CONTINUES]
[ELEVATOR STOPS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR UNLOCKS]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CREAKING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
CHRIS: Hmm. Nice violin.
[ELEVATOR RUMBLES]
[MOP SQUELCHES]
[ELEVATOR STOPS]
[MOP SQUELCHES]
[ELECTRICITY POWERS DOWN]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
[FOOTSTEPS]
[ELEVATOR RUMBLES]
[ELEVATOR STOPS]
[ELEVATOR DOOR CLOSES]
Zero, three, two-O-nine,
eight, seven... [MUMBLES]
[VAULT LOCK CLACKING]
[VAULT DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CREAKING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
[THUDS]
-[GASPS]
-[SNIFFS]
[EXHALES SOFTLY]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[BEEPING]
Subject One.
[TRUMPET DRONING]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[BEEPS]
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
-Hey. You okay?
-Yeah, I'm fine.
What happened? I've been trying
to reach you, like, a lot.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I just saw your missed calls.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Yeah. What did happen?
[GASPS] Oh! The address
turned out to be a mansion.
Leopard lady has a mansion?
No. The leopard lady
was the nanny at the mansion.
In her leopard dress?
[CHUCKLES] That's progressive.
She had more
of a nanny thing going on.
But anyway...
So she places the kids
in front of the TV.
These two
Stepford-Wives-like twins.
Wow. Wait. Wait a minute.
-How do you know this?
-I went inside.
Just like I said not to.
She spikes their chocolate milk
with I imagine the Rohypnol
-and opens the front gate
for Zeke.
-Wait a minute.
She roofied the kids?
And who's Zeke?
-The pool guy. His name is Zeke.
-How do you know his name?
Nathan was yelling at him
when he went
to his old apartment
-to steal a saw.
-A saw?
Don't worry about it.
So, then she goes down
to the basement
and ties herself up.
Zeke cuts the power to the house
and opens this
super huge vault down there.
That's what the numbers were.
Yup. The vault combination.
And then?
That's all I remember.
So how'd you get out of there?
I don't remember.
It's all kind of
a black hole until...
Really? You don't remember?
But you were there.
How could you...
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Have you been having
other memory lapses?
I don't know. Maybe.
Chris, before the power was cut,
did any of the security cameras
see you?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
Shoot.
Do not go to the cops!
I'll be right over.
I need you
to write the following.
Okay, why am I doing this?
Two.
Next line.
Nine.
It's your handwriting.
-That's impossible.
Why would I be...
-What are you involved in?
How the hell
am I supposed to know?
Okay. Okay. All right.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
What do we know?
You've been having
memory lapses.
Yeah.
You know, sometimes,
I'll be reading my notes
and not remember
when I made them.
I mean, they're definitely
my thoughts,
but I don't remember
committing them to paper.
You meditate, right?
Yeah. Every day.
You do any of that
astrally projecting stuff?
I'm not Doctor Strange.
I didn't astral project
another me.
Meditation doesn't work
like that.
I'm just trying
to narrow the field.
I'm trying to figure out
the mechanism by which
you became a crime lord.
I don't even know
how to write coded messages.
[THUMPING] Or I didn't.
Maybe during these
blackout periods,
you're living
a whole other life.
This is totally Fight Club.
And you're Tyler Durden.
I don't wanna be Tyler Durden.
Why the hell
would I be doing this?
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
Do any gardening today?
No.
Clean chimney's again?
That's weird.
I've been inside the whole day.
Maybe you're sleepwalking.
Nocturnal activities.
Honey,
you need to meet
your other self.
[SIGHS]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[EXHALES]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[STRETCHING] Mmm.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
-[TABLE ROCKING]
-CHRIS: What the hell?
-This should fix it.
-[REFRIGERATOR DOOR OPENS]
MAN: [ON TV] My arm!
It's caught in the shredder.
WOMAN: [ON TV] Cutting it off
is the right thing.
Our other daughter
needs us, honey.
-MAN: [SHAKILY]
Let's talk about this!
-WOMAN: Sorry, baby.
-[CHAINSAW WHIRRING]
-[MAN SCREAMING]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[VIDEO SPEEDING UP]
[DOOR UNLOCKS, OPENS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC CONTINUES]
CHRIS: Gina was right.
I'm a sleepwalking zombie.
But why?
Who's controlling me?
Kinda remember this.
Oh, God. I remember this.
[DOOR UNLOCKS, OPENS]
MAN: Hmm. Subject Two's
accidental trigger
from watching
the film Delicatessen
highlights the imperative
that both, the triggers
-and un-triggers must consist...
-[MUSIC WHINING]
MAN: ...of absolutely unique
irreproducible sounds.
Ones that the subject
will never hear
in their own world.
...subjects Three and Four
will continue to function
in a reduced cognitive state,
easy to establish control
and not conflict
with the increased amount
of instructions.
Only Subject Three will remember
his induced state.
Must implement damage control
for Subject One
who will never finish
her Chapter 17.
And speak of the devil. [LAUGHS]
Welcome, Chris.
CHRIS: [CALMLY]
Thank you.
Who am I?
-Mastermind.
-[LAUGHS]
[MACHINE BEEPING]
[MUSIC WHINING]
Ah! Good.
-[HIGH-PITCHED TRILLING]
-[CLICKS]
-[BARKING]
-[LAUGHS]
-[BUZZING STOPS]
-Very good. [CHUCKLES]
-[MACHINE BEEPING]
-[MAN SNIFFLES]
Close your eyes.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
You will be taking
a long journey.
Far, far away
to your safe place.
You have been here before.
It is home.
You feel at peace here.
[WHISPERS] Everything as
it should be.
[IN NORMAL VOICE]
Open your eyes.
How's the book coming along?
I'm stuck on Chapter 17.
A new book to break the code?
So sorry to hear about that.
Tell me. Why did you
go to the mansion?
CHRIS: A note led me there.
-The note compelled you?
-The mystery did.
MASTERMIND: Ah.
Couldn't help yourself.
-No.
-MASTERMIND: Ah.
[CHUCKLES]
When was the first mystery?
First time you were compelled
and couldn't stop?
My parents.
They left me.
Disappeared when I was ten.
What happened?
We were camping.
My dad told me
to climb up a tree.
He wanted to take a picture.
-He knew I loved climbing.
-[BIRDS CHIRPING]
CHRIS: It was an old oak.
Branches stretching
every which way.
And into the sky.
I was a good climber.
I wanted to touch the clouds.
I turned around...
they were gone.
The tent.
Car.
Everything was
just like we left it.
They just disappeared.
And they left you alone.
Where were they found?
They were never found.
An unsolved mystery. [CHUCKLES]
And you were orphaned.
I wish my parents
had abandoned me.
They were, uh, abusive.
Psychologically.
One of their little games
when I was a child
was to convince me
there was a monster
who would eat me,
just devour me
if ever I disobeyed them.
Named him, uh, Belphegor.
I never figured out
how they did this, but...
when they told me
Belphegor was getting ready
to eat me,
there was this, uh...
terrible scratching noise
from under the floorboards
like, um, a rusty shuffle
across concrete.
[SCRATCHING, SHUFFLING]
And it would move towards me
from under the floor
unless they told it to stop.
[SCRATCHING, SHUFFLING]
A monster [CHUCKLES]
who would eat their only child.
Your mystery led you
to your books.
Your wrongly orphaned children
and the puzzles in their mind.
[WHISPERS] My mystery
led me to neuroscience.
[IN NORMAL VOICE] The puzzle
of controlling the mind.
You must miss your parents.
Does Nathan make you feel safe
like your father?
Did you feel safe
when Nathan attacked you
with his scissors?
No.
He didn't attack me.
You told me he attacked you.
That he was a lion in wait.
Did I?
Yes. [LAUGHS]
He tried to kill you.
Nathan is a violent man.
He threw me out a window.
And now, this is my prison.
Prison of a broken man.
He is a lion in wait.
And he will kill you.
No, he won't.
Now that I have this back
from my employer,
my former employer,
I will give you one last dream.
-[BUTTONS CLICKING]
-[MACHINE BEEPING]
No. She's Type A.
Won't remember anything.
-[BUTTONS CLICKING]
-You're one of the lucky ones.
When you wake from this spell,
you'll remember nothing at all.
[WHISPERS] Goodbye, Chris.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[MACHINE CLICKING]
[HIGH-PITCHED RINGING]
MASTERMIND: Deeper and...
-[DISTORTED ECHOING MUSIC]
-MASTERMIND: [ECHOING]
Deeper into the subconscious.
There you are.
He is a lion in wait.
He will kill you.
One. Nathan is a violent man.
Twelve. Ah. Two.
There you are.
Eight. Zero.
241. Three.
Yes. Nine. 98. 60.
[PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS]
MASTERMIND: Two. Four.
He is a lion in wait.
Three. Four. One. Eight. Six.
[DISTORTED ECHOING LAUGH]
Eight. Six. Dash one, one.
Eight. Four. Six. Seven. Five.
[DISTORTED MUSIC FADES OUT]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
CHRIS: I write
coded messages in my sleep?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[GASPING, CHOKING]
[CHOKING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHOKING, GASPING]
[ZEKE BREATHING HEAVILY]
[GASPS SOFTLY]
[GASPS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES]
[GASPS]
[GRUNTS]
[RATTLING]
Hmm.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[RATTLES]
[SIGHS IN RELIEF]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[HAND TRUCK RUMBLING]
-[DOOR OPENS]
-[GASPS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[DOG BARKING]
CHRIS: I've been framed
for murder.
Gotta see this through.
What else did I do?
[VIDEO SPEEDING UP]
CHRIS: Oh, God.
A second note.
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
CHRIS: I've signed
my own death warrant.
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[CELL PHONE BEEPS, RINGS]
[BREATH TREMBLING]
I need you to come over
right now.
CHRIS: [WHISPERS] Psst.
Psst. Hey.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
-What are we doing?
-[WHISPERS] Quiet!
We're waiting
for my killer to arrive.
-[SHOUTING] Say what?
-Shh!
[SOFTLY] I wrote
two more messages.
One was an order to kill me.
[SOFTLY] Why would you do that?
I don't know.
But I'm not the mastermind.
Some guy in a wheelchair
in Nathan's old apartment is.
He's controlling everything.
Well, that's a relief.
Yeah. Except the someone
is trying to kill me part.
Right.
[WHISPERS] What did
the other messages say?
To kill someone
named Lana Niles.
Nathan actually knew her.
I met her once.
[GASPS] She lied to me.
So, what happened?
Zeke strangled her.
[GULPS] She's dead.
[SOFTLY] Holy shit!
Why aren't we going to the cops?
Mainly because I think
I'm being framed.
The killer put my note
on Lana Niles' body.
And he took a Polaroid.
[WHISPERS] Of the note
on the corpse?
Time, location
and method of murder.
All in my handwriting.
-[BREATH TREMBLING, GASPS]
-[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SOFTLY] Did you really think
that Norma was the killer?
I don't know. She sometimes has
a look in her eye.
[SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING]
[KEYS JINGLING]
[WHISPERS] Fucking hectic.
[DOOR UNLOCKS]
This is not happening. [GASPS]
I'm not gonna tell you,
"I told you so," but...
[KEYS JINGLING]
[SIGHS, WHISPERS]
It's not him.
[SIGHS IN RELIEF]
GINA: [SOFTLY] Maybe he planted
a bomb in there.
-The note did say that
the murder weapon is a blade.
-[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
And it was right
about the strangulation.
[IN NORMAL VOICE]
He is a lion in wait.
-MASTERMIND:
He is a lion in wait.
-[CHRIS GASPS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
-[GINA GRUNTS]
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[GINA GRUNTS]
[CHRIS BREATHING HEAVILY]
[IN NORMAL VOICE] Where am I?
[GASPING SOFTLY]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
And why is there
a knife in my leg?
You just tried to kill me
with that knife.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
My aim's a bit off.
I sort of guided it
into your leg.
Okay, yeah. That makes sense.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Why was I trying to kill you?
You were hypnotized.
Who would do that?
An asshole.
[BREATHING HEAVILY] Of course.
[WINCING]
I hope this doesn't
hurt our friendship?
We're fine.
I've been hypnotized too.
Kill anyone?
I don't actually know.
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[WINCES] This was my sexy leg.
[GINA GROANS]
[CHRIS BREATHING HEAVILY]
[WHISPERS] Here, careful.
[GRUNTS IN PAIN]
-[HEADS BUMP]
-BOTH: Oh!
-Sorry.
-[DOOR CLOSES]
Okay, duck.
GINA: [BREATHING HEAVILY]
Why not the couch?
Kinda stains easily.
-[GINA GRUNTING IN PAIN]
-Okay.
Just sit right there.
I'll get something.
Um... should we pull
the knife out?
-CHRIS: Uh, not yet.
It's gonna bleed.
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Okay. Well, it's kinda
bleeding anyway.
This might sting a little.
It's already stinging,
so "a little"
would be an improvement.
-[PULLS KNIFE OUT]
-[WINCES]
Motherfucking hell!
CHRIS: Sorry.
I'm new at this.
-[LIQUID SPLASHES]
-Ahhh!
[HIGH-PITCHED]
Shit balls and donkey punch.
-Okay. Hold it down.
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
-I've got pills.
-[RASPILY] Give me pills!
The prescription on these
might be old.
I do not care!
-[PILLS RATTLING]
-[IN NORMAL VOICE]
Can I have a glass of water?
[WHISPERS] Please.
CHRIS: Bottled?
[IN NORMAL VOICE] I'm not picky.
[WHISPERS] Thank you.
[SIGHS WEARILY]
I'm good. [SIGHS IN RELIEF]
[SIGHS] Okay.
So you're good?
I will be once these kick in.
-Okay, good.
-[GROANING SOFTLY]
[BREATHING HEAVILY, WHISPERS]
That's fine. That's fine.
Yeah.
What are you looking for?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
I knew it.
-So there's Nathan.
-Hmm.
That's the murderer.
Zeke Tillman.
He killed her,
Lana Niles.
And that's the Mastermind.
Walter Blackwood.
I think I know him.
Really?
Yeah, but he was
in a wheelchair.
Offered to help me
kick my smoking habit
with hypnosis therapy.
I think I went
to his office and it's...
It's just fuzzy now.
Yup, that's definitely her.
She's the mother of the twins.
I think she was
funding their research but...
Yes!
There was an ethics scandal.
She pulled the plug.
Wait, I gotta show you this.
Oh! [GROANS]
[KEYBOARD CLACKS]
Oh, is this the footage
from your spycam?
And it's awfully peculiar.
That's him all right.
So he's been trying
to get me to kill Nathan.
I said no.
And then they put
this weird helmet on me.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
That's what programmed me
to write the messages.
Wait. How did you
get to his place?
-[KEYBOARD CLACKS]
-I'll show you.
So I wake up here at 3:07.
And then, I guess, sleepwalk?
-Whoa, wait. Let's go back.
-[KEYBOARD CLACKS]
What happened right before?
[EERIE BUZZING]
-[SLAMS KEYBOARD]
-[BUZZING STOPS]
Let's not do that again.
Okay. Right, right.
So... stabbing me in my leg
snapped me out of it.
You're not into
self-harm are you?
Only in relationships.
[SOFTLY] Okay.
[IN NORMAL VOICE] Yesterday,
do you remember anything
before you called me?
No. I was just home.
Playing my bowl.
My bowl.
[METALLIC DING]
[MAN GRUNTING]
CHRIS: Hmm?
-[METALLIC DING]
-[MAN GRUNTING]
-[METALLIC DING]
-[HAMMER DROPS]
[GASPS] Well, there goes
my way out of this.
[SNIFFS] This is heavy.
I need ice cream.
Pills are where it's at.
"Ask the bear."
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
GINA: What is it?
NATHAN: Chris, I'm so sorry
to have involved you in this.
But I need you to read
every word carefully.
The man who moved into
my old apartment,
Walter Blackwood,
was the head of our cognitive
neuroscience group at Berkeley.
Inadvertently,
we discovered a way
to affect the hypnotic state
through advanced
neural manipulation.
It breaks my heart
to tell you this,
but you were our first subject.
Now, the thoughts
produced in this state
are indistinguishable
from the subject's reality.
Initially, these experiments
were genuine.
Walter, however,
became obsessed with
the hypnotic aspect of the work
and took it down
a sinister path.
-He is extremely dangerous.
-[MUSIC WHINING]
By now, you may know that
the singing bowl I gave you
lifts you
out of your hypnotic state.
Please, guard the bowl
with your life.
As it is your only
lifeline to reality.
Walter has burdened me
with only one hypnotic command.
To kill you.
My own lifeline,
as well as Zeke,
now Walter's
personal bodyguard,
are tied
to the sound of the saw.
But it's only a theory,
as I haven't been able
un-trigger myself.
I'm sorry, but I can't be
of any use to you
with this condition.
I can only hope that you
unlock the mystery to the saw.
[EXHALES]
I love you.
Goodbye.
[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[DISTORTED] Nathan!
[DISTORTED SCREAMING]
He left the saw.
GINA: Chris.
CHRIS: It's gotta be
here somewhere.
Chris.
CHRIS: How in the hell
do you hide a saw?
Chris!
What?
GINA: That saw?
Wily old minx.
Um, what's with the saw?
I don't think
this is a good idea.
You have a better idea?
I do not, but why do you
have to go in there?
CHRIS:
Because the saw is in there.
The magic saw?
CHRIS: I mean, in theory,
they won't expect me
because [STRAINING] I shouldn't
know where the key is.
And two, they think I'm dead.
Because you killed me.
Keep your phone on silent,
but keep it visible.
I'll text you if anyone comes.
All right, let's do this.
That's undercover?
It's the darkest thing
that wasn't in my hamper.
[DRAMATIC NOTE PLAYS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[FLOORBOARD CREAKS]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANING]
Sorry, Norma.
[FLOORBOARD CREAKS]
Huh.
[CELL PHONE CHIMES]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[NORMA GROANING]
[SNORING]
[SNORING STOPS]
Hmm.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
-What is it?
-Follow Zeke.
GINA: Okay.
He's going out to the street,
I think, carrying that helmet.
Follow Zeke wherever he goes.
Zeke's gone,
why are you whispering?
-I don't wanna wake Norma.
-She's sleeping?
-[NORMA GROANS]
-I knocked her out.
Good girl. Okay, I'm on it.
[WINCES]
[GROANING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CRUNCHING]
[MUFFLED GROANING]
[CHOKING]
[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[GROANING]
[PANTING]
[GROANS]
[GROANS]
[WINCES]
[CELL PHONE WARBLING]
Gina?
GINA: Guess where I am?
In your car?
Well, yes,
but I'm parked
behind Zeke's car on some road.
He took the helmet
and went into the woods.
Okay, don't do anything.
Oh, like when I told you
not to do anything?
Yeah. I mean, no.
Like for real,
don't do anything.
Just stay there. I'm on my way.
I gotta change that ringtone.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR OPENING]
Didn't expect your flight
to touch down for an hour.
STACY: Jet stream
over the Pacific
is extremely strong.
So... how are you?
I mean, did they hurt you or...
Oh, no. This? No.
This, it's fine.
-I'll be fine.
-Okay. Good.
Wait, they...
They didn't take anything
out of the vault, did they?
Nope. I was right there.
I think something
scared the robber
before he could try to open it.
-Did they take the kids?
-Nope.
-They're in the dining room.
-Well, there's that.
NANNY: They found me
the next morning.
They're my little heroes.
STACY: Well, hello, my darlings.
BOTH: Hello, Mother.
NANNY:
I'll fix you a nice tea.
STACY: Well, that was weird.
Come here. Give me a hug.
Gosh, you guys are so slow.
Did the cops scare them?
NANNY: Um, maybe, a little.
What's up with the present?
-We don't know.
-Uncle Roger dropped it off.
Shall we open it?
Not yet.
Uncle Roger said we have
to read the letter first.
All right. Bring it to me.
-STACY: Thank you.
-NANNY: You're welcome.
"Hello, Stacy.
"I hope this finds you
of sound mind and body.
"This is a present...
"This is a present...
"for the whole world.
"A gift that you didn't
want to share.
"Looks like I'll be sharing
this gift with you."
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
"And thank you for your...
"sound mind and...
"body..."
[MUFFLED SCREAM]
Gosh!
It's the kind of stuff
I write about.
[MUFFLED SPEECH]
I guess I shouldn't
have gone inside.
Common mistake.
Yes.
Common mistake.
They're busy hypnotizing
the lady of the house right now.
Looks like the kids
are already under his spell.
This is some trippy...
[STRAINING] Holy mother of God.
[GROANING]
[GINA SCREAMS]
Oh, no! Not again.
Well, yeah.
I'm really embarrassed.
What is it?
I got it.
The mayor's behind it.
What?
Chapter 17.
Alcohol.
Not as good as pills, but...
-To clean the wound.
-Right.
-And then get you wasted.
-Righter.
I'm gonna need your sweater.
What, I just got this!
And I like the color!
Macy's having
a sale on Thursday.
It's on me.
Okay, it's a date...
if we're alive.
Whoa! Whoa! Okay.
Can we have
a countdown this time?
-Okay. On three.
-Okay.
-Okay?
-Okay.
-One, two, three!
-One, two, three!
[STRAINED SCREAMING]
[HIGH-PITCHED] That didn't help!
[GRITTING TEETH]
[PANTING]
Oh, I think
I'm getting the hang of this.
Yes, so much better
than last time.
What is the sound of a deaf saw?
Is that a riddle?
I don't know.
It's what's written
on the handle.
Does that mean
it's for the deaf?
Or it deafens?
But saws aren't that loud.
Maybe just a lousy musician.
Musician?
Yeah, a great uncle,
he played the saw.
How do you play a saw?
He used a bow,
like, like a violin.
You just, you just kind of
bend it back in the...
You gotta, you gotta...
[LOUD INSTRUMENT PLAYING]
WALTER: Do you know who I am?
Yes, Mastermind.
Are you ready
to take another journey?
First, you need
to take the elevator
to the second floor.
I imagine...
you've grown to hate me.
And that I might deserve
a fitting...
punishment.
But maybe that's not enough
to complete the task.
Step out of the elevator
and close the gate behind you.
This task will not
compromise your integrity.
It's a simple Darwinian theory.
Survival of the fittest.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Now come into the living room.
There's one last request.
I want you to kill me.
Strike me in the heart
and you'll be free.
No more commands,
your free will returned,
then I escape my prison.
I want to die.
You will be putting me
out of great misery.
It is a kindness.
I cannot deal with this life
in this chair anymore.
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[MUSIC WHINES]
[PANTING]
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.
Oh, no. [BREATH TREMBLING]
Oh, no. Oh, no.
[SOBBING]
-[DISTANT LAUGHTER]
-[CLAPPING]
Bravo!
Bravo, my sweet!
You monster.
[CONTINUES LAUGHING]
That was a dirty trick.
Mmm, yes.
A regrettable necessity...
For what?
For what?
To demonstrate
the power of the hypnosis.
To show it can enact
any behavior,
despite our moral
and mortal peril.
For what...
You couldn't get Nathan
to kill me.
No.
He'd rather fall on a knife
and throw me out a window.
But the urge
to kill you was always there.
He chose to literally...
[CHUCKLING]
handcuff himself
to prevent hurting you.
Ah, love.
And you had to trick me
to kill him.
Yes.
In that I fail.
But I have also learned
and I will use that to succeed.
The hypnosis will prove
stronger than even love.
-[SCREAMS] No!
-I'll smash it!
You'll be doing many people
from never escaping
their entrapped minds if you do.
Well, you'd do
a lot of bad things, if I don't.
[LAUGHS MOCKINGLY]
You're such a Boy Scout.
You'll do one bad thing,
if you do.
-Yes.
-Chris...
I need you to leave.
You ought to bash
her brains in, don't you?
Don't you?
-NATHAN: Just leave.
-She's right there.
All you have to do is kill her.
And the hunger goes away.
Kill her. Kill her.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
WALTER: Kill her.
No! I'd rather
bash your brains in!
GINA:
Play the notes. D, E, A, F!
CHRIS:
D, E, A, F
-Bend it like this? Okay.
-Yeah, something like that.
Wait, wait. No, no, no, no.
Not the blade side.
The other side.
Oh, right.
[GROANING]
[GROANS]
Come on. Come on, come on.
[SAW WHINES]
Yes!
[GASPS]
-I got this.
-Okay.
[GINA GRUNTING]
[WALTER SCREAMING]
[GROANS]
-D
-[NOTE PLAYING]
[PANTING]
-E
-[NOTE PLAYING]
-A
-[NOTE PLAYING]
You got this, bitch!
[SCREAMS]
-F
-[NOTE PLAYING]
WALTER: No! No!
No! No! No.
You made me a murderer.
You made me kill Lana!
You remember.
Zeke, Zeke, Zeke,
don't kill him.
I need him, Zeke.
He has to deprogram me.
He's the only one
that can break the spell.
Why would you make me do that?
Why?
I will never have
my free will if he dies.
[CHOKING]
[COUGHING]
You deserve to die.
You deserve to die.
Where am I?
Play the notes to end
the kill command,
and we'll let you live.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
So says the Boy Scout.
Hmm.
You know, I've become
quite good at playing
this thing,
even in my condition.
An absolute army of commands.
Why an old saw?
Specifically, this saw?
One of a kind.
So the sounds
can't be reproduced.
Well, except for the recordings
that were in my poly-synth.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[EXHALES]
How are you feeling?
I'm not sure.
I mean, I...
I don't wanna murder you.
Well, that's a good thing.
Should we unlock it?
Let's not get carried away.
Look I guess
I'm seeing the humor in the...
Was that better?
That week we spent
in the Maldives.
Didn't I lose our passports?
That's right, you did.
Don't unlock him just yet.
Wait. How did you
not get triggered
by the didgeridoo?
Oh, I did, but Gina stabbed me.
-[GRUNTS]
-[SCREAMING]
CHRIS:
I'm still getting the hang
of the whole stabbing thing.
It's kind of my thing.
I should probably get
a tetanus shot.
Wait. Could we have
just stabbed you?
No.
Walter made sure
that the urge to murder you
was implanted deeply.
Nothing short of death
could free him of that impulse.
Almost as hard as making Dolores
wear an animal print.
No. No. No, no, no.
-I would never wear
an animal print.
-[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
So you remember everything.
I would never spare him
the nightmare
of killing the one he loved.
Whose suit is this?
Did you have to stab Stacey?
She was
one of our main investors.
I was careful and it worked.
Now where are those kids?
KIDS: [TOGETHER]
What's with the screwdriver?
[YELPS] Hey!
So, what now?
You know what?
I really don't know.
Clean up your mess.
Try and clear our names.
You remember the early days?
When our only test subjects
were ourselves.
We learned a lot back then.
Trigger points
of our consciousness,
how our memories shape us.
Our dreams were in there.
But also our nightmares.
[CLICKING]
CHRIS:
Which program should I run?
ZEKE:
Definitely Walter's Mind Trap.
CHRIS: Perfect.
GUARD: Looks like
you got your first visitor.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
You're supposed to be dead.
So is Nathan.
How can this be?
Since you're the Mastermind.
I guess
none of us got what we wanted.
And so...
when did you get to me?
Right before you ratted us out
to Stacy.
I knew you were too much
of a Boy Scout
to let us reach the end game.
Hmm.
I clearly disagreed
with your end game.
How did you send
the letter to Stacy
if I already had control of you?
I realized
it was only a matter of time...
before one of us took over
the others.
I had a fail-safe.
One that you...
apparently didn't discover.
What was it?
[CHUCKLES]
Why would I tell you?
You're only delaying
the inevitable.
My plan ensures the world
will be a better place.
It will be cold and incapable
of love a world in your image.
[SNIFFS]
I'm guessing
you don't have the helmet.
Oh, but I will.
First, I am going to kill Nathan
and then his darling Chris.
And then the helmet
will be mine.
You don't have to leave me here.
Walter, sorry, you see,
I was never here.
And you won't remember
the last two years of your life.
[EERIE MUSIC PLAYING]
What is this?
What is this?
[PANICKING] What is...
Where is this?
[CRYING HYSTERICALLY]
Where is this? Where is this?
What happened?
What happened?
Please.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
My legs! My legs!
What's happened to my legs?
[CRYING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[THRILLING MUSIC PLAYING]