The Devil's Doorway (2018) Movie Script
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[FOOTSTEPS]
JOHN: Okay, run. [PANTING]
Thomas.
Thomas, where are ya?
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Thomas! Father Thomas! Thomas, where are you?
Thomas!
Thomas, can you hear me?
THOMAS: John!
John.
JOHN: Thomas?
THOMAS: John.
JOHN: Thomas!
John.
JOHN: Where are you?
[PANTING]
[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
- JOHN: You ready, Thomas?
- Yes, John.
Go. At, uh, action.
Quarter to 8:00 in the mornin',
23rd of October, 1960...
...in this year of our Lord.
I'm Father Thomas Riley.
This is John, Father John Thornton.
We're here to investigate a claim...
...that a statue, uh,
of Our Lady Virgin Mary...
...in the chapel here weeps blood.
Uh, these photos...
...and an accompanying letter...
...were sent anonymously to the bishop...
...who requested an immediate investigation.
This would be a good time, John,
to talk to the lovely Mother Superior.
- Okay? Is that alright, John?
- That was brilliant.
THOMAS: Mother Mary Carmel,
the bishop received these photographs.
The letter's anonymous admitting
only to have come from a nun.
"I am writing to inform you
of the statue of Our Lady...
"...in the chapel that is weeping blood.
"A miracle here in our own presence...
"...which the higher nuns
are attempting to conceal.
"I cannot, in good conscience...
...deny Our Lady
if she wishes to communicate."
Would you like to comment about the
weeping statue of the Virgin and so on?
Father Riley, there is nothing
I would like more...
...than if our beloved Holy Mother
was sending signs here.
What a beautiful thing that would be.
I'm afraid you've been tricked.
THOMAS: Tricked? By whom?
WOMAN: They're not all good girls
in this home, father.
Sure, we'll get to the bottom of it
when we interview the girls.
In the meantime, I wonder,
could you give me a list...
...of all the residents here?
The nuns, the girls,
and, of course, any children.
There are no children in the home any longer.
The children's wing closed during the war.
Is it blood?
THOMAS: If it is, I'll eat my hat.
- JOHN: Can you not test it?
- Uh, we can't.
We need it to be fresh
to get a usable sample.
If it starts again, I will.
JOHN: I've never seen
a miracle before in person.
Did you read about that one?
It was in, uh, New Delhi last year.
No film though.
That could be us now, eh?
Bought me a new camera and everything.
First miracle caught on film.
Imagine.
[HUMMING]
You know, we could be here
for hours and see nothing.
Yeah, but it'd be worth it, I hope.
It won't.
How is that?
You know, this is a waste of your film.
We could be here...
...it'd be better going and getting
some of that... what do you call it?
- The foot...
- The footage?
Aye, footage, uh...
...of the laundry room and the girls at work.
Give us a better sense of the place.
Uh, better use of your film.
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [GIRL GROANING]
NUN: If I told you once, I told you 15...
JOHN: Hey. Hey!
Can I ask you some questions?
- WOMAN: Is the pope gonna watch your film?
- JOHN: No.
- WOMAN: Does he have a telly in the Vatican?
- I think he's too busy for the telly.
- WOMAN: Who is gonna see it?
- No one that you need to worry about.
Now are you gonna talk to me
about the statue?
- WOMAN: Have you asked the sisters?
- No, I'm asking you.
- What have you seen?
- WOMAN: I didn't see nothin'.
- Well, what have you heard?
- WOMAN: I don't know.
- JOHN: I think you do know.
- I never go into the chapel anyway.
- JOHN: So you do know a lot about them.
- We're not allowed to go in there.
JOHN: Not even for mass?
- WOMAN: We're being punished.
- Why are you being punished?
WOMAN:
They need someone to clean all those sheets.
GIRL: Hey, father.
[LAUGHING]
I'll do my party piece for ya.
# If you're Irish, come into the parlor #
# There's a welcome there for you #
- # If you... ##
- WOMAN: Dirty!
You need to say your prayer,
you dirty little bitch. You're not here to...
- Mother Superior, would you take it easy?
- WOMAN: Get into my office, now!
- JOHN: Why, there's no need...
- On your knees the whole way!
[CRYING]
This room is off limits, father!
I hardly think we need that thing here.
We've been directed to document everything,
Reverend Mother, so that's what we'll do.
I you wouldn't mind getting to the point,
I have work to be getting on with.
With respect, Reverend Mother...
...we've become concerned about how
the girls are being treated in this home.
Two of you have, have you?
You're concerned, are you?
Isn't that just lovely.
- Please, I'm only trying...
- Trying to what, Father?
Come on, don't hold back.
You've some neck on you.
Coming into this home
and casting aspersions on me.
Who do you think you are?
You send all the country's
dirty wee secrets here...
...here to my home...
...and sally off without a care in the world.
Sweep it all under the carpet...
...and they expect us to hide
the dirty laundry. Isn't that it, Father?
- Leave all the dirty work to the women.
- Reverend Mother, I don't think that...
No!
You don't, do you?
You worry about how we treat the girls.
[LAUGHS]
What about how you treat us?
Leave us to hide all the messes...
...and cover it all up...
...and sworn and all holier-than-thou.
Do you know how many
of the church's messes...
...that I personally have had to clean up?
Do you know how many
of the babies born here had fathers...
...who were fathers, Father?
[CHUCKLES]
Didn't think so.
Didn't think you'd want to either.
Too busy lording it
about the place, aren't ya?
JOHN: So that was the first day
of the investigation.
We're in a wing.
It's isolated from the women and nuns.
He's in a room down the end of the hall...
...doubting Thomas.
Doesn't believe in anything.
I shouldn't have said that.
The bishop doesn't wanna hear that.
Because we were sent here for facts.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
It's ten past 3:00 in the morning
and I was just woken up by the signs of...
[CHILDREN CLAMORING]
See.
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Interview with Father Riley.
What was your first experience
with the miraculous?
I've never had an experience
with the miraculous.
What was your first experience with evil?
What is this all about, John?
I've been doing this for 25 years, son.
I've been all around the world.
But the evil I've seen
has always been the humankind.
There's no evil in this world or the next...
...that can surpass that done by human hand.
And that goes for the miracles as well.
Oh, I've seen moving statues.
I've seen Our Lady Herself standing
on the white rooftops, Portugal.
I've seen water turned into wine.
But all the miracles I've seen, John...
...you need to pay heed to this...
...can all be explained by the trickster.
Fraud.
Just some priest with a magic lantern.
But we don't wanna believe that, do we?
It's more fun, isn't it?
Less scary, isn't it...
...to believe, or make ourselves
believe that it's something else?
But it isn't.
- [TURNS ON TAPE]
- [CHILDREN CLAMORING ON TAPE]
- What's this?
- Just listen.
[CHILDREN CLAMORING ON TAPE]
So?
So what do you think that sounded like?
I don't know. Probably some girls
up to devilment, no doubt.
And you think the Mother Superior would let
the girls get away with that type of racket...
...at 3 o'clock in the morning?
Maybe she's a heavy sleeper.
I've already taken samples
of the resin at the back of the eye...
...and they're sitting in a jar in my room...
...with a chemical compound.
If the resin is, uh,
the cause of the blood...
...then we'll know soon enough.
Tonight probably.
In the meantime, I'm trying
to rule out the possibility...
...of deliberate m... manipulation.
Fraud.
By making sure that there's no mechanism...
...or tubing inside the head of the statue.
Is that alright?
And if the resin's normal...
...and, uh, there's no mechanism
in the statue, then what?
Well, then I'll just have to figure out...
...how else it could have been done.
And would you not be telling us if it was
a miracle? I mean, maybe it is a miracle?
- It isn't.
- How do you know?
Because it never is.
JOHN: [ON TAPE] Do you have any more...
THOMAS: [ON TAPE] Blasphemy.
Just press one.
[INDISTINCT SONG ON TAPE]
This is the mass that the Jews used
to sing at Terezin Concentration Camp.
- JOHN: But it's a mass?
- THOMAS: It's not a mass.
It's a cry in the dark.
Verdi was no Catholic.
Baptized but no Catholic.
JOHN:
A bit like yourself, would you say, Thomas?
You're the one who's bootlegging
records with church resources.
Women weren't allowed there to sing mass.
Verdi wrote to the pope
asking for a special dispensation.
So you see...
...it's a mass but not a mass.
The whole thing is a challenge
to the set order.
JOHN: And that's why it's your favorite?
It's a soft one that you might like, Thomas?
Rebel without a cause?
THOMAS:
It's my favorite because it's beautiful.
Look, it's beautiful
because it's challengin'.
JOHN: So you're saying that sometimes
rules should be broken?
THOMAS: Sometimes, yes. Not very often.
JOHN: So you won't tell the bishop we used
church resources to bootleg your records then?
This use of church resources
isn't the worst thing you could be doing.
JOHN: Oh, it's getting going now.
THOMAS: Go back to the start, John.
JOHN: It's the second night...
...8:46 p.m.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
- GIRL: ...take him by the left leg...
- JOHN: Hello?
Once he's at the bottom, try and...
...take him by the left leg...
Old Father Long-Legs can't say his...
JOHN: What?
[HEAVY BREATHING]
- GIRL: They're gonna kill you.
- [SCREAMS]
I can't sleep.
Because every time I close my eyes, I'm
afraid I'm gonna see that little girl again.
I told Father Riley, but he didn't
believe me about what I saw.
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
And, uh, at night, there are children...
...playin' in the hallway.
[CHILDREN CLAMORING]
There is something going on in this house.
- [THUD]
- [SCREAMS, HEAVY BREATHING]
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
GIRLS: Old Father Long-Legs
can't say his prayers.
Take him by the left leg
and throw him down the stairs.
Once he's at the bottom...
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[CHILD LAUGHING]
[CHILD LAUGHING]
[CHILD LAUGHING]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
GIRL: # Father Long-Legs, Father Long-Legs ##
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
Father!
[GASPING]
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
[LAUGHING]
[DOOR SLAMS]
JOHN: Thomas!
Thomas!
THOMAS: What are you doing?
JOHN: There's not supposed
to be any children here.
- You've been drinking?
- JOHN: No.
- You sneaking the altar wine?
- JOHN: No.
THOMAS: You were dreaming, John.
Did you really not hear anything last night?
If you're gonna ask
silly questions like that...
...I'd rather you took your camera
and, uh, did your filmin' somewhere else.
No. You don't believe in anything.
Why are you a priest?
Because my brother, the doctor...
...was my mommy's favorite.
Well, what do you expect me to say?
It's a genuine question. At the very least,
you should be open to the idea...
...of God trying to communicate
with us here on Earth.
I am, but that's not what's happenin' here.
But how do you know?
Alright.
Alright.
You wanna know why I became a priest?
I became a priest because
I wanted to be a good man.
I wanted to get closer to God.
But that's not what happened.
What do you mean?
Look around you, John.
Do you think God is here in this place?
This place disgusts me.
The people who run this place disgust me.
The bishop who sent us here...
...the Vatican itself
with its costumes and theater...
...and luxury...
...built on the back of ordinary people.
That nun was right about
the church and its dirty secrets.
And I'm sick of it.
Yes, uh, I believe in God...
...or I try to, anyway.
But doing this kind of work
doesn't bring you any closer to God.
Workin' in places like this.
For these girls,
this place must be a livin'...
[BLOOD DRIPPING]
- Good God.
- [WOMEN SCREAMING]
- Father, the statue's bleedin'!
- And I can see that, sister.
No, Father, all the statues are bleedin'!
[WOMEN CLAMORING]
[BELL TOLLING]
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
JOHN:
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Have you ever seen anything
like this before, Thomas?
THOMAS: Not quite like this.
JOHN: It has to be a miracle.
But what does She want from us?
THOMAS: Just let me do my job, John.
JOHN: What have you found, Thomas?
I tested the blood from all the statues.
It's human blood. Type O-negative.
So probably all from the same person.
Female.
And whoever's blood it is...
...she's pregnant.
Pregnant? What if the blood
doesn't belong to anyone here?
It does.
And whenever we find out who it belongs to...
...well, we'll have found our trickster.
JOHN: We've asked the sisters to gather
all the pregnant inmates...
...of which there are nine
in order to have their blood tested...
...and none of them are a match
for type O-negative blood.
THOMAS: We haven't tested the nuns yet.
I'm not letting this go,
for propriety's sake.
If they have nothing to hide,
then they've nothing to fear.
- The Reverend Mother won't like that.
- THOMAS: Well, that's just too bad.
WOMAN:
Maybe it's one of the other girls, Father.
So we'll test all the girls, Reverend Mother.
She wouldn't deal with them. The only
virgins in this home are the statues.
And surely the sisters, Reverend Mother.
I do not appreciate your insinuation, Father.
Nonetheless, every woman of childbearing
age in this house must be tested.
Nuns included.
[SOBBING]
WOMAN: I'm the one who sent
the letter to the bishop, Father.
- The anonymous letter.
- THOMAS: That's okay, sister.
The Reverend Mother made it really clear
that we were not to talk about the statue.
But my conscience wouldn't
let me keep, Father, and now...
...the Virgin Mother must be
very angry with me, Father.
THOMAS: It's alright, sister. Take it easy.
There are things going on in this house.
- JOHN: Like what?
- John, let me handle this.
THOMAS: Okay, sister.
WOMAN: I became a nun because God called me.
Because the Virgin Mother called me.
Do you understand?
THOMAS: Of course.
WOMAN: So if the Virgin is making
Herself known in this place...
...well, then it's my responsibility
to take heed.
I'm not here to ignore Her warnings, Father.
THOMAS: Of course, I understand that, sister.
- WOMAN: There is evil in this place.
- THOMAS: What do you mean?
There's a girl in the basement locked up.
We're not allowed to see her
or to talk to her.
Her name's Kathleen O'Brien.
THOMAS: Sister, is this girl pregnant?
WOMAN: The Bible says...
...if your right hand
causes you to stumble...
...then you cut it off and you throw it away.
Would it be better that you lose one of your
members than your whole body goin' to hell?
But what if it's your eyes
that have sinned, Father?
THOMAS: Well, what do you mean?
Bearing witness is not a sin, child.
It depends on how we act on that.
WOMAN:
So sometimes you sin to do good, Father?
THOMAS: Yes, sister. And indeed
sometimes we can't do bad...
...without doing good.
There are no absolutes in this world.
We can only hope that...
...the balance of good outweighs
the bad in the end.
WOMAN:
If thine eyes offend thee, pluck them out.
If thine eyes offend thee, pluck them out.
JOHN: Sister.
[SOBBING] Father, I'm sorry.
Father, there is such evil in this place.
- THOMAS: Sister, it's...
- Father, I'm really sorry.
Sister, it's alright. Wait! Sister, wait.
No, I am not having you traipsing around
disturbing sick women at this hour!
You're either taking us down
to see this Kathleen O'Brien...
...or we're gonna break down
the door ourselves.
[CHUCKLES]
You'll regret that sharp and quick.
WOMAN: You're not prepared
for this, Father Riley...
...but if you want to see, I will show you.
Where are we goin'?
The lower infirmary is where you asked to.
It's where we keep the women who are mad.
Some of them are dangerous,
so watch yourself.
WOMAN: Father, my baby. Give
my baby, please. Please, Father. No...
Prepare yourself, Father.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
THOMAS: Good God. What is this?
MOTHER SUPERIOR:
She's a danger to herself and others.
- She's no more than a child.
- She's hardly a child anymore.
She's lain with a man.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
THOMAS: You're pregnant, child?
Were you crying, child?
They're lonely.
They have no mothers.
THOMAS: I want her cleaned up
and given medical attention.
And for God's sake,
get the girl some proper food.
Remove these chains now.
I'm not gonna ask again, Reverend Mother.
Unlock her, sister.
- Reverend Mother.
- Now, sister.
[SNARLING]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
- JOHN: No. No, no, no, no, no!
- Put her back inside!
Put her back!
JOHN: Thomas! Thomas!
MOTHER SUPERIOR: Now you see
why we have her locked up in there?
- JOHN: Thomas!
- I want someone to come down here...
...and clean this girl up, Reverend Mother.
JOHN: God!
[WOMAN LAUGHING]
Can you tell me your name, child?
Kathleen. Kathleen O'Brien.
Kathleen, I'm Father Riley.
- Do you know why you've been chained up?
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: The girl is dangerous.
- You've seen that for yourself!
- No, that wasn't me. That wasn't me.
You've got to help me. I didn't do anything.
I swear I didn't. I shouldn't be here.
I didn't do it. It wasn't me. It wasn't...
[SPEAKING IN ANCIENT GREEK]
THOMAS: What did she say?
This girl speaks Greek, Ancient Greek.
Who taught her that?
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: No one.
- How did you learn that?
- I didn't learn it.
- Do you know what you said?
- Yes, but I don't know how.
- She knows because she's the devil.
- I'm not. I'm not. Father, please...
- I very much doubt that, Reverend Mother.
Will you pray with me, Kathleen?
Yes. Father, thank you.
The devil can't pray, can he?
MOTHER SUPERIOR: She won't pray.
Our Father who art in heaven
hallowed by Thy...
[WOMAN SCREAMING]
- THOMAS: Oh, my... good God!
- WOMAN: Make her stop!
- THOMAS: Oh, my God!
- WOMAN: Make her stop!
- WOMAN: Make her stop!
- THOMAS: Oh, God!
KATHLEEN: It's not me! It's not me
doing that, Father, I swear!
THOMAS: Go back to your... Kathleen...
This girl, she may need to see a doctor. Now!
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: What did I say?
- JOHN: Pray for us.
JOHN: Thomas...
...do you think she's possessed?
THOMAS: No, John.
JOHN: She's pregnant.
Could it be her blood in the statues?
THOMAS: She couldn't have done it by herself.
JOHN: The devil?
Maybe she's evil.
THOMAS: No more than you or I.
Evil is in all of us now.
She's just an ordinary girl.
[EERIE MUSIC]
Evil is all around us, John.
Evil is in each of us.
The devil doesn't have to hide
in a pregnant young girl.
He roams freely amongst us.
JOHN: It's half past 3:00 in the morning.
I was woken again by the sound
of children in the hallway.
CHILD 1: Take him by the left leg
and throw him down the stairs.
Once he's at the bottom crying...
- Take him by the...
- [CHILD 2 SHUSHING]
[INDISTINCT WHISPERING]
- [SHUSHING]
- [JOHN SCREAMS]
[JOHN SIGHS] Sister. Hello?
- JOHN: Sister?
- Be quiet.
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[RATTLING]
[SHATTERS]
[BANGING ON DOOR]
THOMAS: John! John!
You've got the camera. Come on.
- My way...
- JOHN: What's wrong?
- [CRASH]
- The statues, they're... they're broken.
[SHATTERING]
JOHN: We're gonna lose this light.
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[EERIE MUSIC]
JOHN: Do you see her?
Thomas?
[INTENSE MUSIC]
Oh, Thomas, where'd she go?
THOMAS: Where are you going?
John? John?
[HEAVY BREATHING]
JOHN: Oh, no, no, no.
[DOOR CREAKING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Do you hear that?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Okay.
[INTENSE MUSIC]
Whoa!
Thomas, careful. There's someone...
[EERIE MUSIC]
Oh, my... Lord.
Oh, my Lord.
THOMAS: There was a black mass here.
This is a satanic sanctuary.
JOHN: Uh, how do you know?
I've seen one like it.
It was before in Greece, years ago.
Let's hear what Mother Superior
has to say now.
[BANGING ON DOOR]
Father Riley, what is it?
- You're fully dressed.
- I'm not going to answer my door...
...in the middle of the night to two priests
in a night dress, am I? What do you want?
- Come with us.
- What for?
- You'll find out soon enough.
- What's this? What happened to my statues?
THOMAS: They're all broken.
That's the least of your problems.
MOTHER SUPERIOR:
What's this? Is this some kind of a joke?
There were signs of satanic
worship here. I saw them.
There were satanic symbols
on the walls and floor.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: Really, Father?
How stupid do you think I am?
JOHN: Thomas.
Thomas, what's happening here?
[SCREAMING]
- THOMAS: Kathleen! Kathleen!
- [INTENSE MUSIC]
JOHN: Oh, God, she...
she's trying to cut it out.
What are you doing?
Thomas!
- Thomas! Thomas!
- [SCREAMS]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
John, help us.
JOHN: Help! Somebody, help!
Help!
Someone!
- WOMAN: Get this thing out of here.
- KATHLEEN: Oh, help me!
We have to do this with a minimum of steps.
- [BANGING ON DOOR]
- No! Kathleen!
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
THOMAS: This is Doctor Cleary.
Would you mind repeating what you
just said for the camera, please?
I examined the girl, Kathleen O'Brien.
- It appears that she's a virgin.
- JOHN: So she's not pregnant?
No, you don't follow me. She is pregnant.
In fact, she's very close to giving birth.
But she's also a virgin.
And that she's... intact.
I've never seen the like of it before.
I'm sure there's a medical explanation
for it but it's beyond my experience.
I've never heard of such a thing.
THOMAS: And what do you think
is the best course of action, doctor?
The girl has displayed serious issues
with harming herself...
...as we know from last night.
Possibly the child.
She's a very sick girl, very frail...
- ...and her body...
- [FOOTSTEPS]
[SIGHS]
I don't think...
...she would survive labor.
She's very weak. Very frail.
The child is strong. It's a healthy child.
I think we need to give the child
the best chance we can.
JOHN: And what about Kathleen,
can we not take her to hospital?
The nuns here are her primary guardians.
They feel she shouldn't leave this place.
They feel very strongly
about it, in fact. I...
...suggest an operation on the frontal lobe.
It will calm her, make her less violent...
...and perhaps we can deliver the child
as safely as possible, although...
...we might not be able to save the girl.
JOHN: Uh, can she have a...
a cesarean section?
DOCTOR: Indeed, no.
I would expect you to know the church
doesn't endorse that procedure.
In any case, the girl
is type O-negative blood...
...and it would be nigh on impossible to find
such a rare blood type for a transfusion...
...which she would need
if she had a cesarean.
- JOHN: So we're just gonna let her die?
- THOMAS: John.
- JOHN: No! No, we can't just let her...
- THOMAS: Please, John.
DOCTOR: We aren't letting her die, Father.
We will do what we can...
...but in the circumstances, it's highly
unlikely she will make it. That's all.
She's a very sick girl.
We must try and do what we can for the child.
There's something going on in this house
and you're up to your neck in it.
I mean to get to the bottom of it.
Turn that damn thing off!
She needs to be in a hospital.
THOMAS: Hello, Kathleen.
Hello, Father.
THOMAS: How are you today?
Sore.
JOHN: Hello, Kathleen.
THOMAS:
How long have you been here, Kathleen?
I don't know, Father. I can't remember.
THOMAS: Do you remember the statues upstairs?
I love the statues, Father.
The Blessed Virgin, especially.
- I pray to her.
- [THUD]
[SCREAMS]
THOMAS: John! John!
They don't like it when I...
THOMAS: When? What, Kathleen?
- What? Who doesn't like it?
- [GRUNTING]
Kathleen... what's happening?
- JOHN: God Almighty! God Almighty!
- Kathleen.
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
JOHN: Thomas.
Oh, my God.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art...
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners...
[EERIE MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
- [HEAVY BREATHING]
- [GHOSTLY WHISPERING]
[GROANING]
Be at peace. Pray for us
and the soul of Kathleen.
[INTENSE MUSIC]
JOHN: Thomas!
- Thomas!
- [LAUGHING]
John, this is the cross.
We need to take care of the room.
THOMAS:
We have to get her out of here to a hospital.
Come on, Kathleen. Come to me.
They... they said I can't go outside.
- JOHN: Maybe we shouldn't take her out.
- I think we should. This is fucking insane.
It's alright.
Come on, child.
JOHN: Thomas, no. Thomas, help her!
Put it out!
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
JOHN: "Languages they could not have known."
We've got that.
"Supernatural strength." I'd say so.
Wouldn't you, Thomas?
Uh, "loss of appetite...
...cutting, scratching, biting of the skin."
Yes, yes, yes. "Cold feeling in the room...
- ...unnatural body postures."
- We don't have that. Not from her.
JOHN: "Losing control and entering
into a frenzy of rage. Uh...
"Knowledge of things
that were distant or hidden."
I think we've got that.
- Do you, really?
- Yep, and so do you.
Because she knew something about you.
JOHN: She's resting.
THOMAS: I'm sorry, Kathleen.
This isn't gonna work,
whatever it is we're trying to do here.
I'm just not good enough.
I'm not strong enough.
I'm sorry.
JOHN: I know.
When she spoke to you in Greek...
...what did she say?
She said...
...you were born here.
It could be true.
What do you mean?
I was born out of wedlock.
- Here?
- I don't know.
I haven't had a chance to check the records.
But I will.
I was raised in an orphanage.
What about your mother's
favorite, the doctor?
I don't have a mother.
I don't have a brother. I lied.
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.
It's been too fucking long
since my last confession. [SIGHS]
I'm sorry, John.
It's alright, Thomas.
[KATHLEEN SPEAKING IN ANCIENT GREEK]
JOHN: What did she say?
THOMAS: The beasts...
...below us in hell.
[SPEAKING IN ANCIENT GREEK]
I am in limbo. So are you.
The children...
...heaven is above...
...but they are in hell with the beasts.
Down there.
KATHLEEN: [ON RECORDING]
In some ways, limbo is worse.
The babies have no mothers,
so I am their mother.
They are suffering for the sins of others.
Isn't that always the way?
THOMAS: What babies?
KATHLEEN: The dead babies.
They killed them.
THOMAS: Who killed them?
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[SCREAMS]
MOTHER SUPERIOR: What is it?
What's this? Have you been snooping, Father?
What's your excuse this time?
- You're not making sense.
- Where are all those...
...where...
...are all those children?
These children? Why, all over the place.
America, mostly.
Is that so?
Well, I called the American
adoption agency listed here.
So I know as well as you do...
...that these records are lies.
All lies. Your lies.
So where are the children?
You tell me, Father.
You give the impression of a man who
thinks he knows what he's talking about.
They're dead, aren't they?
- [CHUCKLES] Are you serious?
- Damn right, I'm serious.
- I would appreciate you not swearing...
- I'll damn well swear where I...
These babies were murdered...
...and their records wiped away.
- Their little lives wiped away.
- Murdered? By who?
By you...
...and all your evil kind.
[LAUGHS] Lordy-lo, but you're a queer one.
Alright.
- I'll tell ya.
- Go on.
- I sold them.
- What?
It's not unusual. They still go
to a good home, don't they?
The money to clothe and feed and house
these girls has to come from somewhere.
And Lord knows the church
isn't much of a help.
They still go where
they're wanted, don't they?
You do know I'll be informing
the bishop of this...
...and all the other
evil practices in this house.
Whatever you want.
But I think you'll be surprised
to learn that he's not surprised.
WOMAN: Reverend Mother, come quickly!
Kathleen has started!
- THOMAS: Call the doctor back.
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: There isn't time.
He said she probably
wouldn't survive the birth.
Then that will be the end
of all our troubles, won't it?
[SCREAMING]
- Tie her down!
- THOMAS: She's not an animal!
Get out of here! Have some decency!
- Get her ready for symphysiotomy, sister.
- JOHN: We need to get her a doctor.
Do you think I've never delivered
a child before, Father? Get out of here.
Stop interfering on women's business.
[SCREAMING]
- THOMAS: We'll go and get a doctor.
- Too late. She'll be done with by then.
JOHN: Thomas.
- Thomas, we can't leave her.
- THOMAS: Quickly, John.
MOTHER SUPERIOR:
I'm going to cut the ligament.
- Hold her, sister!
- [SCREAMING]
Open your legs, girl. Come on,
you've done it often enough before.
[GROANING]
Think of our Lord...
...feeling the thorns.
The precious blood, the nails.
Do you not know that suffering
is His gift to us women?
- Show some gratitude.
- [SCREAMS]
[SINGING]
# By the blood that flowed from Thee #
# In Thy bitter agony #
# By the scourge so meekly borne #
# By Thy purple robe of scorn #
# By the thorns that crowned Thy head #
# By Thy scepter of a reed #
# By Thy footsteps faint and slow #
# Weighed beneath Thy cross of woe #
# By the nails and painted spear #
# By Thy people's cruel jeer #
# By Thy... ##
THOMAS: Where's that damn doctor?
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
JOHN: I don't think he's coming.
[BABY CRYING]
[BELL TOLLING]
[EERIE MUSIC]
Kathleen?
Kathleen.
Oh, God.
Blood.
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[BABY CRYING]
- Where's the Reverend Mother?
- JOHN: Thomas, the baby.
[BABY CRYING]
JOHN: Thomas.
CHILD: Father.
Hey, Father.
JOHN: Thomas, wait.
- CHILD: They're gonna kill you.
- [GASPING]
THOMAS: John?
Hurry!
[BABY CRYING]
CHILD: # Father Long-Legs,
Father Long-Legs ##
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[BABY CRYING]
THOMAS: This way, John. Come on.
- They're gettin' away from us.
- THOMAS: Listen.
[BABY CRYING]
Come on.
JOHN: I think we've lost them.
- CHILD: Hi, Father.
- [INTENSE MUSIC]
- JOHN: Dear God.
- God has nothing to do with it.
JOHN: Oh, no.
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
If thine eyes offend thee, pluck them out.
JOHN: Oh, that's... that's alright.
THOMAS: We should go get help.
- JOHN: From who, the priest?
- Probably that nice doctor?
The bishop? Don't be naive, John.
JOHN: Thomas, let me go first.
THOMAS: Ah, be careful.
Ah, alright.
[BABY CRYING]
The noise. Try that one, John.
JOHN: Alright.
Thomas?
THOMAS: Don't move.
[FOOTSTEPS]
JOHN: They're coming for us, Thomas.
[GRUNTS]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
- THOMAS: John!
- Oh, my God.
Keep that light, uh, on, John.
- JOHN: I know.
- Please.
I can understand.
JOHN: This bulb's about to go.
I only have a few matches left.
What's that?
Oh, Christ, there's... there's bones!
Bones, John.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[GASPING]
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
THOMAS: Oh, good God.
JOHN: You didn't believe
that Kathleen was possessed.
- You wouldn't.
- Save your breath...
Just like you wouldn't admit that there
was miraculous goings on in the house.
- Miraculous in here?
- [RATTLING]
[GASPS]
[BABY CRYING]
THOMAS: This way.
This way.
[EERIE MUSIC]
JOHN: They're coming for us, Thomas.
[GHOSTLY WHISPERING]
These tunnels all look the same.
JOHN: Thomas, look.
THOMAS: I can remember this.
[CHIMING]
Okay, go ahead.
[GHOSTLY WHISPERING]
JOHN: We're lost, Thomas. Listen to me.
We're really lost.
Keep your head. We'll find our way.
JOHN: We're really lost, Thomas.
We're really lost.
We're...
...we're gonna die down here.
[BABY CRYING]
JOHN: Thomas.
Thomas. Um, I can't.
I'm not going any further.
It's alright, John. It's alright.
Take it easy. Don't you see?
We're gonna rouse the child
who's responsible for all this.
JOHN: I can't breathe.
- Calm down, John.
- JOHN: Calm down?
Fucking calm down?
We're not getting out of here!
Take it easy.
THOMAS: John. John.
JOHN: Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
What was that?
- THOMAS: What?
- I thought I just saw a bat.
[EERIE MUSIC]
JOHN: Thomas.
[SCREAMING]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[GASPING]
Father Thomas!
Thomas!
Thomas!
Oh, Christ, help me.
Christ, help me.
Can you hear me?
Thomas, can you hear me?
THOMAS: John!
JOHN: Thomas!
THOMAS: I'm here, John.
- John!
- Where are you?
THOMAS: Where are ya, son?
- [JOHN EXHALES] I'm over...
- [SNARLING]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[GAGGING]
THOMAS: John! John!
Oh, John!
John! Oh, my God.
[COUGHS]
THOMAS: God Almighty. Almighty.
It's alright, John. It's alright. Come on.
[JOHN SOBBING]
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
Oh, forgive me, John.
JOHN: You have to hope
that something's... [GAGGING]
You're not getting out of this one, Thomas.
Not this time.
I only hope that ya...
[GRUNTS]
To whoever might find this...
...this is the last confession
of Thomas Riley.
A person or...
Bless me, Father.
Bless me, God...
[SIGHS]
...for I have sinned.
I have caused a good man...
...Father John Thornton, to lose his life.
Ah.
I allowed my stubbornness to blind me.
The statues bleeding...
...the spirits of the dead children...
...they were signs of the evil in this house.
I don't want to think...
[SOBBING]
I don't want to think
of what happened to these children.
But, God...
...God in heaven...
...help me save this one child...
...Kathleen's child...
...Your child...
...so I can make amends for my sins.
If I was born here...
...I can die here.
God...
...be with me now.
[GRUNTS]
In the name of Jesus Christ,
our God and Lord...
...strengthened by the intercession
of the Immaculate...
...Virgin Mary, mother of God...
...of blessed Michael, the Archangel...
...of the blessed apostles Peter
and Paul and all the saints...
...and powerful in the holy
authority of our ministry...
...we confidently undertake to repulse.
God arises.
His enemies are scattered and those
who hate Him flee before Him.
The smoke is driven...
God, the Father, command...
God, the Father, commands you!
God, the Son, commands you!
God, the Holy Ghost, co... commands you!
Begone, Satan!
Begone, Satan!
Begone, Satan!
Inventor and master of all deceit...
...enemy of man's salvation!
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[BABY CRYING]
What?
Ah!
- Christ.
- Welcome home, Thomas.
- [GRUNTS]
- [GASPING]
[BABY CRYING]
WOMAN: Hush, child.
[FOOTSTEPS]
JOHN: Okay, run. [PANTING]
Thomas.
Thomas, where are ya?
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Thomas! Father Thomas! Thomas, where are you?
Thomas!
Thomas, can you hear me?
THOMAS: John!
John.
JOHN: Thomas?
THOMAS: John.
JOHN: Thomas!
John.
JOHN: Where are you?
[PANTING]
[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]
- JOHN: You ready, Thomas?
- Yes, John.
Go. At, uh, action.
Quarter to 8:00 in the mornin',
23rd of October, 1960...
...in this year of our Lord.
I'm Father Thomas Riley.
This is John, Father John Thornton.
We're here to investigate a claim...
...that a statue, uh,
of Our Lady Virgin Mary...
...in the chapel here weeps blood.
Uh, these photos...
...and an accompanying letter...
...were sent anonymously to the bishop...
...who requested an immediate investigation.
This would be a good time, John,
to talk to the lovely Mother Superior.
- Okay? Is that alright, John?
- That was brilliant.
THOMAS: Mother Mary Carmel,
the bishop received these photographs.
The letter's anonymous admitting
only to have come from a nun.
"I am writing to inform you
of the statue of Our Lady...
"...in the chapel that is weeping blood.
"A miracle here in our own presence...
"...which the higher nuns
are attempting to conceal.
"I cannot, in good conscience...
...deny Our Lady
if she wishes to communicate."
Would you like to comment about the
weeping statue of the Virgin and so on?
Father Riley, there is nothing
I would like more...
...than if our beloved Holy Mother
was sending signs here.
What a beautiful thing that would be.
I'm afraid you've been tricked.
THOMAS: Tricked? By whom?
WOMAN: They're not all good girls
in this home, father.
Sure, we'll get to the bottom of it
when we interview the girls.
In the meantime, I wonder,
could you give me a list...
...of all the residents here?
The nuns, the girls,
and, of course, any children.
There are no children in the home any longer.
The children's wing closed during the war.
Is it blood?
THOMAS: If it is, I'll eat my hat.
- JOHN: Can you not test it?
- Uh, we can't.
We need it to be fresh
to get a usable sample.
If it starts again, I will.
JOHN: I've never seen
a miracle before in person.
Did you read about that one?
It was in, uh, New Delhi last year.
No film though.
That could be us now, eh?
Bought me a new camera and everything.
First miracle caught on film.
Imagine.
[HUMMING]
You know, we could be here
for hours and see nothing.
Yeah, but it'd be worth it, I hope.
It won't.
How is that?
You know, this is a waste of your film.
We could be here...
...it'd be better going and getting
some of that... what do you call it?
- The foot...
- The footage?
Aye, footage, uh...
...of the laundry room and the girls at work.
Give us a better sense of the place.
Uh, better use of your film.
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [GIRL GROANING]
NUN: If I told you once, I told you 15...
JOHN: Hey. Hey!
Can I ask you some questions?
- WOMAN: Is the pope gonna watch your film?
- JOHN: No.
- WOMAN: Does he have a telly in the Vatican?
- I think he's too busy for the telly.
- WOMAN: Who is gonna see it?
- No one that you need to worry about.
Now are you gonna talk to me
about the statue?
- WOMAN: Have you asked the sisters?
- No, I'm asking you.
- What have you seen?
- WOMAN: I didn't see nothin'.
- Well, what have you heard?
- WOMAN: I don't know.
- JOHN: I think you do know.
- I never go into the chapel anyway.
- JOHN: So you do know a lot about them.
- We're not allowed to go in there.
JOHN: Not even for mass?
- WOMAN: We're being punished.
- Why are you being punished?
WOMAN:
They need someone to clean all those sheets.
GIRL: Hey, father.
[LAUGHING]
I'll do my party piece for ya.
# If you're Irish, come into the parlor #
# There's a welcome there for you #
- # If you... ##
- WOMAN: Dirty!
You need to say your prayer,
you dirty little bitch. You're not here to...
- Mother Superior, would you take it easy?
- WOMAN: Get into my office, now!
- JOHN: Why, there's no need...
- On your knees the whole way!
[CRYING]
This room is off limits, father!
I hardly think we need that thing here.
We've been directed to document everything,
Reverend Mother, so that's what we'll do.
I you wouldn't mind getting to the point,
I have work to be getting on with.
With respect, Reverend Mother...
...we've become concerned about how
the girls are being treated in this home.
Two of you have, have you?
You're concerned, are you?
Isn't that just lovely.
- Please, I'm only trying...
- Trying to what, Father?
Come on, don't hold back.
You've some neck on you.
Coming into this home
and casting aspersions on me.
Who do you think you are?
You send all the country's
dirty wee secrets here...
...here to my home...
...and sally off without a care in the world.
Sweep it all under the carpet...
...and they expect us to hide
the dirty laundry. Isn't that it, Father?
- Leave all the dirty work to the women.
- Reverend Mother, I don't think that...
No!
You don't, do you?
You worry about how we treat the girls.
[LAUGHS]
What about how you treat us?
Leave us to hide all the messes...
...and cover it all up...
...and sworn and all holier-than-thou.
Do you know how many
of the church's messes...
...that I personally have had to clean up?
Do you know how many
of the babies born here had fathers...
...who were fathers, Father?
[CHUCKLES]
Didn't think so.
Didn't think you'd want to either.
Too busy lording it
about the place, aren't ya?
JOHN: So that was the first day
of the investigation.
We're in a wing.
It's isolated from the women and nuns.
He's in a room down the end of the hall...
...doubting Thomas.
Doesn't believe in anything.
I shouldn't have said that.
The bishop doesn't wanna hear that.
Because we were sent here for facts.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
It's ten past 3:00 in the morning
and I was just woken up by the signs of...
[CHILDREN CLAMORING]
See.
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Interview with Father Riley.
What was your first experience
with the miraculous?
I've never had an experience
with the miraculous.
What was your first experience with evil?
What is this all about, John?
I've been doing this for 25 years, son.
I've been all around the world.
But the evil I've seen
has always been the humankind.
There's no evil in this world or the next...
...that can surpass that done by human hand.
And that goes for the miracles as well.
Oh, I've seen moving statues.
I've seen Our Lady Herself standing
on the white rooftops, Portugal.
I've seen water turned into wine.
But all the miracles I've seen, John...
...you need to pay heed to this...
...can all be explained by the trickster.
Fraud.
Just some priest with a magic lantern.
But we don't wanna believe that, do we?
It's more fun, isn't it?
Less scary, isn't it...
...to believe, or make ourselves
believe that it's something else?
But it isn't.
- [TURNS ON TAPE]
- [CHILDREN CLAMORING ON TAPE]
- What's this?
- Just listen.
[CHILDREN CLAMORING ON TAPE]
So?
So what do you think that sounded like?
I don't know. Probably some girls
up to devilment, no doubt.
And you think the Mother Superior would let
the girls get away with that type of racket...
...at 3 o'clock in the morning?
Maybe she's a heavy sleeper.
I've already taken samples
of the resin at the back of the eye...
...and they're sitting in a jar in my room...
...with a chemical compound.
If the resin is, uh,
the cause of the blood...
...then we'll know soon enough.
Tonight probably.
In the meantime, I'm trying
to rule out the possibility...
...of deliberate m... manipulation.
Fraud.
By making sure that there's no mechanism...
...or tubing inside the head of the statue.
Is that alright?
And if the resin's normal...
...and, uh, there's no mechanism
in the statue, then what?
Well, then I'll just have to figure out...
...how else it could have been done.
And would you not be telling us if it was
a miracle? I mean, maybe it is a miracle?
- It isn't.
- How do you know?
Because it never is.
JOHN: [ON TAPE] Do you have any more...
THOMAS: [ON TAPE] Blasphemy.
Just press one.
[INDISTINCT SONG ON TAPE]
This is the mass that the Jews used
to sing at Terezin Concentration Camp.
- JOHN: But it's a mass?
- THOMAS: It's not a mass.
It's a cry in the dark.
Verdi was no Catholic.
Baptized but no Catholic.
JOHN:
A bit like yourself, would you say, Thomas?
You're the one who's bootlegging
records with church resources.
Women weren't allowed there to sing mass.
Verdi wrote to the pope
asking for a special dispensation.
So you see...
...it's a mass but not a mass.
The whole thing is a challenge
to the set order.
JOHN: And that's why it's your favorite?
It's a soft one that you might like, Thomas?
Rebel without a cause?
THOMAS:
It's my favorite because it's beautiful.
Look, it's beautiful
because it's challengin'.
JOHN: So you're saying that sometimes
rules should be broken?
THOMAS: Sometimes, yes. Not very often.
JOHN: So you won't tell the bishop we used
church resources to bootleg your records then?
This use of church resources
isn't the worst thing you could be doing.
JOHN: Oh, it's getting going now.
THOMAS: Go back to the start, John.
JOHN: It's the second night...
...8:46 p.m.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
- GIRL: ...take him by the left leg...
- JOHN: Hello?
Once he's at the bottom, try and...
...take him by the left leg...
Old Father Long-Legs can't say his...
JOHN: What?
[HEAVY BREATHING]
- GIRL: They're gonna kill you.
- [SCREAMS]
I can't sleep.
Because every time I close my eyes, I'm
afraid I'm gonna see that little girl again.
I told Father Riley, but he didn't
believe me about what I saw.
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
And, uh, at night, there are children...
...playin' in the hallway.
[CHILDREN CLAMORING]
There is something going on in this house.
- [THUD]
- [SCREAMS, HEAVY BREATHING]
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
GIRLS: Old Father Long-Legs
can't say his prayers.
Take him by the left leg
and throw him down the stairs.
Once he's at the bottom...
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[CHILD LAUGHING]
[CHILD LAUGHING]
[CHILD LAUGHING]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
GIRL: # Father Long-Legs, Father Long-Legs ##
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
Father!
[GASPING]
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
[LAUGHING]
[DOOR SLAMS]
JOHN: Thomas!
Thomas!
THOMAS: What are you doing?
JOHN: There's not supposed
to be any children here.
- You've been drinking?
- JOHN: No.
- You sneaking the altar wine?
- JOHN: No.
THOMAS: You were dreaming, John.
Did you really not hear anything last night?
If you're gonna ask
silly questions like that...
...I'd rather you took your camera
and, uh, did your filmin' somewhere else.
No. You don't believe in anything.
Why are you a priest?
Because my brother, the doctor...
...was my mommy's favorite.
Well, what do you expect me to say?
It's a genuine question. At the very least,
you should be open to the idea...
...of God trying to communicate
with us here on Earth.
I am, but that's not what's happenin' here.
But how do you know?
Alright.
Alright.
You wanna know why I became a priest?
I became a priest because
I wanted to be a good man.
I wanted to get closer to God.
But that's not what happened.
What do you mean?
Look around you, John.
Do you think God is here in this place?
This place disgusts me.
The people who run this place disgust me.
The bishop who sent us here...
...the Vatican itself
with its costumes and theater...
...and luxury...
...built on the back of ordinary people.
That nun was right about
the church and its dirty secrets.
And I'm sick of it.
Yes, uh, I believe in God...
...or I try to, anyway.
But doing this kind of work
doesn't bring you any closer to God.
Workin' in places like this.
For these girls,
this place must be a livin'...
[BLOOD DRIPPING]
- Good God.
- [WOMEN SCREAMING]
- Father, the statue's bleedin'!
- And I can see that, sister.
No, Father, all the statues are bleedin'!
[WOMEN CLAMORING]
[BELL TOLLING]
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
JOHN:
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us.
Have you ever seen anything
like this before, Thomas?
THOMAS: Not quite like this.
JOHN: It has to be a miracle.
But what does She want from us?
THOMAS: Just let me do my job, John.
JOHN: What have you found, Thomas?
I tested the blood from all the statues.
It's human blood. Type O-negative.
So probably all from the same person.
Female.
And whoever's blood it is...
...she's pregnant.
Pregnant? What if the blood
doesn't belong to anyone here?
It does.
And whenever we find out who it belongs to...
...well, we'll have found our trickster.
JOHN: We've asked the sisters to gather
all the pregnant inmates...
...of which there are nine
in order to have their blood tested...
...and none of them are a match
for type O-negative blood.
THOMAS: We haven't tested the nuns yet.
I'm not letting this go,
for propriety's sake.
If they have nothing to hide,
then they've nothing to fear.
- The Reverend Mother won't like that.
- THOMAS: Well, that's just too bad.
WOMAN:
Maybe it's one of the other girls, Father.
So we'll test all the girls, Reverend Mother.
She wouldn't deal with them. The only
virgins in this home are the statues.
And surely the sisters, Reverend Mother.
I do not appreciate your insinuation, Father.
Nonetheless, every woman of childbearing
age in this house must be tested.
Nuns included.
[SOBBING]
WOMAN: I'm the one who sent
the letter to the bishop, Father.
- The anonymous letter.
- THOMAS: That's okay, sister.
The Reverend Mother made it really clear
that we were not to talk about the statue.
But my conscience wouldn't
let me keep, Father, and now...
...the Virgin Mother must be
very angry with me, Father.
THOMAS: It's alright, sister. Take it easy.
There are things going on in this house.
- JOHN: Like what?
- John, let me handle this.
THOMAS: Okay, sister.
WOMAN: I became a nun because God called me.
Because the Virgin Mother called me.
Do you understand?
THOMAS: Of course.
WOMAN: So if the Virgin is making
Herself known in this place...
...well, then it's my responsibility
to take heed.
I'm not here to ignore Her warnings, Father.
THOMAS: Of course, I understand that, sister.
- WOMAN: There is evil in this place.
- THOMAS: What do you mean?
There's a girl in the basement locked up.
We're not allowed to see her
or to talk to her.
Her name's Kathleen O'Brien.
THOMAS: Sister, is this girl pregnant?
WOMAN: The Bible says...
...if your right hand
causes you to stumble...
...then you cut it off and you throw it away.
Would it be better that you lose one of your
members than your whole body goin' to hell?
But what if it's your eyes
that have sinned, Father?
THOMAS: Well, what do you mean?
Bearing witness is not a sin, child.
It depends on how we act on that.
WOMAN:
So sometimes you sin to do good, Father?
THOMAS: Yes, sister. And indeed
sometimes we can't do bad...
...without doing good.
There are no absolutes in this world.
We can only hope that...
...the balance of good outweighs
the bad in the end.
WOMAN:
If thine eyes offend thee, pluck them out.
If thine eyes offend thee, pluck them out.
JOHN: Sister.
[SOBBING] Father, I'm sorry.
Father, there is such evil in this place.
- THOMAS: Sister, it's...
- Father, I'm really sorry.
Sister, it's alright. Wait! Sister, wait.
No, I am not having you traipsing around
disturbing sick women at this hour!
You're either taking us down
to see this Kathleen O'Brien...
...or we're gonna break down
the door ourselves.
[CHUCKLES]
You'll regret that sharp and quick.
WOMAN: You're not prepared
for this, Father Riley...
...but if you want to see, I will show you.
Where are we goin'?
The lower infirmary is where you asked to.
It's where we keep the women who are mad.
Some of them are dangerous,
so watch yourself.
WOMAN: Father, my baby. Give
my baby, please. Please, Father. No...
Prepare yourself, Father.
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
THOMAS: Good God. What is this?
MOTHER SUPERIOR:
She's a danger to herself and others.
- She's no more than a child.
- She's hardly a child anymore.
She's lain with a man.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
THOMAS: You're pregnant, child?
Were you crying, child?
They're lonely.
They have no mothers.
THOMAS: I want her cleaned up
and given medical attention.
And for God's sake,
get the girl some proper food.
Remove these chains now.
I'm not gonna ask again, Reverend Mother.
Unlock her, sister.
- Reverend Mother.
- Now, sister.
[SNARLING]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
- JOHN: No. No, no, no, no, no!
- Put her back inside!
Put her back!
JOHN: Thomas! Thomas!
MOTHER SUPERIOR: Now you see
why we have her locked up in there?
- JOHN: Thomas!
- I want someone to come down here...
...and clean this girl up, Reverend Mother.
JOHN: God!
[WOMAN LAUGHING]
Can you tell me your name, child?
Kathleen. Kathleen O'Brien.
Kathleen, I'm Father Riley.
- Do you know why you've been chained up?
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: The girl is dangerous.
- You've seen that for yourself!
- No, that wasn't me. That wasn't me.
You've got to help me. I didn't do anything.
I swear I didn't. I shouldn't be here.
I didn't do it. It wasn't me. It wasn't...
[SPEAKING IN ANCIENT GREEK]
THOMAS: What did she say?
This girl speaks Greek, Ancient Greek.
Who taught her that?
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: No one.
- How did you learn that?
- I didn't learn it.
- Do you know what you said?
- Yes, but I don't know how.
- She knows because she's the devil.
- I'm not. I'm not. Father, please...
- I very much doubt that, Reverend Mother.
Will you pray with me, Kathleen?
Yes. Father, thank you.
The devil can't pray, can he?
MOTHER SUPERIOR: She won't pray.
Our Father who art in heaven
hallowed by Thy...
[WOMAN SCREAMING]
- THOMAS: Oh, my... good God!
- WOMAN: Make her stop!
- THOMAS: Oh, my God!
- WOMAN: Make her stop!
- WOMAN: Make her stop!
- THOMAS: Oh, God!
KATHLEEN: It's not me! It's not me
doing that, Father, I swear!
THOMAS: Go back to your... Kathleen...
This girl, she may need to see a doctor. Now!
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: What did I say?
- JOHN: Pray for us.
JOHN: Thomas...
...do you think she's possessed?
THOMAS: No, John.
JOHN: She's pregnant.
Could it be her blood in the statues?
THOMAS: She couldn't have done it by herself.
JOHN: The devil?
Maybe she's evil.
THOMAS: No more than you or I.
Evil is in all of us now.
She's just an ordinary girl.
[EERIE MUSIC]
Evil is all around us, John.
Evil is in each of us.
The devil doesn't have to hide
in a pregnant young girl.
He roams freely amongst us.
JOHN: It's half past 3:00 in the morning.
I was woken again by the sound
of children in the hallway.
CHILD 1: Take him by the left leg
and throw him down the stairs.
Once he's at the bottom crying...
- Take him by the...
- [CHILD 2 SHUSHING]
[INDISTINCT WHISPERING]
- [SHUSHING]
- [JOHN SCREAMS]
[JOHN SIGHS] Sister. Hello?
- JOHN: Sister?
- Be quiet.
[CHILDREN LAUGHING]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[RATTLING]
[SHATTERS]
[BANGING ON DOOR]
THOMAS: John! John!
You've got the camera. Come on.
- My way...
- JOHN: What's wrong?
- [CRASH]
- The statues, they're... they're broken.
[SHATTERING]
JOHN: We're gonna lose this light.
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[EERIE MUSIC]
JOHN: Do you see her?
Thomas?
[INTENSE MUSIC]
Oh, Thomas, where'd she go?
THOMAS: Where are you going?
John? John?
[HEAVY BREATHING]
JOHN: Oh, no, no, no.
[DOOR CREAKING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Do you hear that?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Okay.
[INTENSE MUSIC]
Whoa!
Thomas, careful. There's someone...
[EERIE MUSIC]
Oh, my... Lord.
Oh, my Lord.
THOMAS: There was a black mass here.
This is a satanic sanctuary.
JOHN: Uh, how do you know?
I've seen one like it.
It was before in Greece, years ago.
Let's hear what Mother Superior
has to say now.
[BANGING ON DOOR]
Father Riley, what is it?
- You're fully dressed.
- I'm not going to answer my door...
...in the middle of the night to two priests
in a night dress, am I? What do you want?
- Come with us.
- What for?
- You'll find out soon enough.
- What's this? What happened to my statues?
THOMAS: They're all broken.
That's the least of your problems.
MOTHER SUPERIOR:
What's this? Is this some kind of a joke?
There were signs of satanic
worship here. I saw them.
There were satanic symbols
on the walls and floor.
MOTHER SUPERIOR: Really, Father?
How stupid do you think I am?
JOHN: Thomas.
Thomas, what's happening here?
[SCREAMING]
- THOMAS: Kathleen! Kathleen!
- [INTENSE MUSIC]
JOHN: Oh, God, she...
she's trying to cut it out.
What are you doing?
Thomas!
- Thomas! Thomas!
- [SCREAMS]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
John, help us.
JOHN: Help! Somebody, help!
Help!
Someone!
- WOMAN: Get this thing out of here.
- KATHLEEN: Oh, help me!
We have to do this with a minimum of steps.
- [BANGING ON DOOR]
- No! Kathleen!
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
THOMAS: This is Doctor Cleary.
Would you mind repeating what you
just said for the camera, please?
I examined the girl, Kathleen O'Brien.
- It appears that she's a virgin.
- JOHN: So she's not pregnant?
No, you don't follow me. She is pregnant.
In fact, she's very close to giving birth.
But she's also a virgin.
And that she's... intact.
I've never seen the like of it before.
I'm sure there's a medical explanation
for it but it's beyond my experience.
I've never heard of such a thing.
THOMAS: And what do you think
is the best course of action, doctor?
The girl has displayed serious issues
with harming herself...
...as we know from last night.
Possibly the child.
She's a very sick girl, very frail...
- ...and her body...
- [FOOTSTEPS]
[SIGHS]
I don't think...
...she would survive labor.
She's very weak. Very frail.
The child is strong. It's a healthy child.
I think we need to give the child
the best chance we can.
JOHN: And what about Kathleen,
can we not take her to hospital?
The nuns here are her primary guardians.
They feel she shouldn't leave this place.
They feel very strongly
about it, in fact. I...
...suggest an operation on the frontal lobe.
It will calm her, make her less violent...
...and perhaps we can deliver the child
as safely as possible, although...
...we might not be able to save the girl.
JOHN: Uh, can she have a...
a cesarean section?
DOCTOR: Indeed, no.
I would expect you to know the church
doesn't endorse that procedure.
In any case, the girl
is type O-negative blood...
...and it would be nigh on impossible to find
such a rare blood type for a transfusion...
...which she would need
if she had a cesarean.
- JOHN: So we're just gonna let her die?
- THOMAS: John.
- JOHN: No! No, we can't just let her...
- THOMAS: Please, John.
DOCTOR: We aren't letting her die, Father.
We will do what we can...
...but in the circumstances, it's highly
unlikely she will make it. That's all.
She's a very sick girl.
We must try and do what we can for the child.
There's something going on in this house
and you're up to your neck in it.
I mean to get to the bottom of it.
Turn that damn thing off!
She needs to be in a hospital.
THOMAS: Hello, Kathleen.
Hello, Father.
THOMAS: How are you today?
Sore.
JOHN: Hello, Kathleen.
THOMAS:
How long have you been here, Kathleen?
I don't know, Father. I can't remember.
THOMAS: Do you remember the statues upstairs?
I love the statues, Father.
The Blessed Virgin, especially.
- I pray to her.
- [THUD]
[SCREAMS]
THOMAS: John! John!
They don't like it when I...
THOMAS: When? What, Kathleen?
- What? Who doesn't like it?
- [GRUNTING]
Kathleen... what's happening?
- JOHN: God Almighty! God Almighty!
- Kathleen.
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
JOHN: Thomas.
Oh, my God.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art...
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners...
[EERIE MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
- [HEAVY BREATHING]
- [GHOSTLY WHISPERING]
[GROANING]
Be at peace. Pray for us
and the soul of Kathleen.
[INTENSE MUSIC]
JOHN: Thomas!
- Thomas!
- [LAUGHING]
John, this is the cross.
We need to take care of the room.
THOMAS:
We have to get her out of here to a hospital.
Come on, Kathleen. Come to me.
They... they said I can't go outside.
- JOHN: Maybe we shouldn't take her out.
- I think we should. This is fucking insane.
It's alright.
Come on, child.
JOHN: Thomas, no. Thomas, help her!
Put it out!
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
JOHN: "Languages they could not have known."
We've got that.
"Supernatural strength." I'd say so.
Wouldn't you, Thomas?
Uh, "loss of appetite...
...cutting, scratching, biting of the skin."
Yes, yes, yes. "Cold feeling in the room...
- ...unnatural body postures."
- We don't have that. Not from her.
JOHN: "Losing control and entering
into a frenzy of rage. Uh...
"Knowledge of things
that were distant or hidden."
I think we've got that.
- Do you, really?
- Yep, and so do you.
Because she knew something about you.
JOHN: She's resting.
THOMAS: I'm sorry, Kathleen.
This isn't gonna work,
whatever it is we're trying to do here.
I'm just not good enough.
I'm not strong enough.
I'm sorry.
JOHN: I know.
When she spoke to you in Greek...
...what did she say?
She said...
...you were born here.
It could be true.
What do you mean?
I was born out of wedlock.
- Here?
- I don't know.
I haven't had a chance to check the records.
But I will.
I was raised in an orphanage.
What about your mother's
favorite, the doctor?
I don't have a mother.
I don't have a brother. I lied.
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.
It's been too fucking long
since my last confession. [SIGHS]
I'm sorry, John.
It's alright, Thomas.
[KATHLEEN SPEAKING IN ANCIENT GREEK]
JOHN: What did she say?
THOMAS: The beasts...
...below us in hell.
[SPEAKING IN ANCIENT GREEK]
I am in limbo. So are you.
The children...
...heaven is above...
...but they are in hell with the beasts.
Down there.
KATHLEEN: [ON RECORDING]
In some ways, limbo is worse.
The babies have no mothers,
so I am their mother.
They are suffering for the sins of others.
Isn't that always the way?
THOMAS: What babies?
KATHLEEN: The dead babies.
They killed them.
THOMAS: Who killed them?
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[SCREAMS]
MOTHER SUPERIOR: What is it?
What's this? Have you been snooping, Father?
What's your excuse this time?
- You're not making sense.
- Where are all those...
...where...
...are all those children?
These children? Why, all over the place.
America, mostly.
Is that so?
Well, I called the American
adoption agency listed here.
So I know as well as you do...
...that these records are lies.
All lies. Your lies.
So where are the children?
You tell me, Father.
You give the impression of a man who
thinks he knows what he's talking about.
They're dead, aren't they?
- [CHUCKLES] Are you serious?
- Damn right, I'm serious.
- I would appreciate you not swearing...
- I'll damn well swear where I...
These babies were murdered...
...and their records wiped away.
- Their little lives wiped away.
- Murdered? By who?
By you...
...and all your evil kind.
[LAUGHS] Lordy-lo, but you're a queer one.
Alright.
- I'll tell ya.
- Go on.
- I sold them.
- What?
It's not unusual. They still go
to a good home, don't they?
The money to clothe and feed and house
these girls has to come from somewhere.
And Lord knows the church
isn't much of a help.
They still go where
they're wanted, don't they?
You do know I'll be informing
the bishop of this...
...and all the other
evil practices in this house.
Whatever you want.
But I think you'll be surprised
to learn that he's not surprised.
WOMAN: Reverend Mother, come quickly!
Kathleen has started!
- THOMAS: Call the doctor back.
- MOTHER SUPERIOR: There isn't time.
He said she probably
wouldn't survive the birth.
Then that will be the end
of all our troubles, won't it?
[SCREAMING]
- Tie her down!
- THOMAS: She's not an animal!
Get out of here! Have some decency!
- Get her ready for symphysiotomy, sister.
- JOHN: We need to get her a doctor.
Do you think I've never delivered
a child before, Father? Get out of here.
Stop interfering on women's business.
[SCREAMING]
- THOMAS: We'll go and get a doctor.
- Too late. She'll be done with by then.
JOHN: Thomas.
- Thomas, we can't leave her.
- THOMAS: Quickly, John.
MOTHER SUPERIOR:
I'm going to cut the ligament.
- Hold her, sister!
- [SCREAMING]
Open your legs, girl. Come on,
you've done it often enough before.
[GROANING]
Think of our Lord...
...feeling the thorns.
The precious blood, the nails.
Do you not know that suffering
is His gift to us women?
- Show some gratitude.
- [SCREAMS]
[SINGING]
# By the blood that flowed from Thee #
# In Thy bitter agony #
# By the scourge so meekly borne #
# By Thy purple robe of scorn #
# By the thorns that crowned Thy head #
# By Thy scepter of a reed #
# By Thy footsteps faint and slow #
# Weighed beneath Thy cross of woe #
# By the nails and painted spear #
# By Thy people's cruel jeer #
# By Thy... ##
THOMAS: Where's that damn doctor?
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
JOHN: I don't think he's coming.
[BABY CRYING]
[BELL TOLLING]
[EERIE MUSIC]
Kathleen?
Kathleen.
Oh, God.
Blood.
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[BABY CRYING]
- Where's the Reverend Mother?
- JOHN: Thomas, the baby.
[BABY CRYING]
JOHN: Thomas.
CHILD: Father.
Hey, Father.
JOHN: Thomas, wait.
- CHILD: They're gonna kill you.
- [GASPING]
THOMAS: John?
Hurry!
[BABY CRYING]
CHILD: # Father Long-Legs,
Father Long-Legs ##
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[BABY CRYING]
THOMAS: This way, John. Come on.
- They're gettin' away from us.
- THOMAS: Listen.
[BABY CRYING]
Come on.
JOHN: I think we've lost them.
- CHILD: Hi, Father.
- [INTENSE MUSIC]
- JOHN: Dear God.
- God has nothing to do with it.
JOHN: Oh, no.
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
If thine eyes offend thee, pluck them out.
JOHN: Oh, that's... that's alright.
THOMAS: We should go get help.
- JOHN: From who, the priest?
- Probably that nice doctor?
The bishop? Don't be naive, John.
JOHN: Thomas, let me go first.
THOMAS: Ah, be careful.
Ah, alright.
[BABY CRYING]
The noise. Try that one, John.
JOHN: Alright.
Thomas?
THOMAS: Don't move.
[FOOTSTEPS]
JOHN: They're coming for us, Thomas.
[GRUNTS]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
- THOMAS: John!
- Oh, my God.
Keep that light, uh, on, John.
- JOHN: I know.
- Please.
I can understand.
JOHN: This bulb's about to go.
I only have a few matches left.
What's that?
Oh, Christ, there's... there's bones!
Bones, John.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
[GASPING]
[INDISTINCT PRAYER]
THOMAS: Oh, good God.
JOHN: You didn't believe
that Kathleen was possessed.
- You wouldn't.
- Save your breath...
Just like you wouldn't admit that there
was miraculous goings on in the house.
- Miraculous in here?
- [RATTLING]
[GASPS]
[BABY CRYING]
THOMAS: This way.
This way.
[EERIE MUSIC]
JOHN: They're coming for us, Thomas.
[GHOSTLY WHISPERING]
These tunnels all look the same.
JOHN: Thomas, look.
THOMAS: I can remember this.
[CHIMING]
Okay, go ahead.
[GHOSTLY WHISPERING]
JOHN: We're lost, Thomas. Listen to me.
We're really lost.
Keep your head. We'll find our way.
JOHN: We're really lost, Thomas.
We're really lost.
We're...
...we're gonna die down here.
[BABY CRYING]
JOHN: Thomas.
Thomas. Um, I can't.
I'm not going any further.
It's alright, John. It's alright.
Take it easy. Don't you see?
We're gonna rouse the child
who's responsible for all this.
JOHN: I can't breathe.
- Calm down, John.
- JOHN: Calm down?
Fucking calm down?
We're not getting out of here!
Take it easy.
THOMAS: John. John.
JOHN: Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
Oh, mother of God, pray for us.
What was that?
- THOMAS: What?
- I thought I just saw a bat.
[EERIE MUSIC]
JOHN: Thomas.
[SCREAMING]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[GASPING]
Father Thomas!
Thomas!
Thomas!
Oh, Christ, help me.
Christ, help me.
Can you hear me?
Thomas, can you hear me?
THOMAS: John!
JOHN: Thomas!
THOMAS: I'm here, John.
- John!
- Where are you?
THOMAS: Where are ya, son?
- [JOHN EXHALES] I'm over...
- [SNARLING]
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[GAGGING]
THOMAS: John! John!
Oh, John!
John! Oh, my God.
[COUGHS]
THOMAS: God Almighty. Almighty.
It's alright, John. It's alright. Come on.
[JOHN SOBBING]
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
Oh, forgive me, John.
JOHN: You have to hope
that something's... [GAGGING]
You're not getting out of this one, Thomas.
Not this time.
I only hope that ya...
[GRUNTS]
To whoever might find this...
...this is the last confession
of Thomas Riley.
A person or...
Bless me, Father.
Bless me, God...
[SIGHS]
...for I have sinned.
I have caused a good man...
...Father John Thornton, to lose his life.
Ah.
I allowed my stubbornness to blind me.
The statues bleeding...
...the spirits of the dead children...
...they were signs of the evil in this house.
I don't want to think...
[SOBBING]
I don't want to think
of what happened to these children.
But, God...
...God in heaven...
...help me save this one child...
...Kathleen's child...
...Your child...
...so I can make amends for my sins.
If I was born here...
...I can die here.
God...
...be with me now.
[GRUNTS]
In the name of Jesus Christ,
our God and Lord...
...strengthened by the intercession
of the Immaculate...
...Virgin Mary, mother of God...
...of blessed Michael, the Archangel...
...of the blessed apostles Peter
and Paul and all the saints...
...and powerful in the holy
authority of our ministry...
...we confidently undertake to repulse.
God arises.
His enemies are scattered and those
who hate Him flee before Him.
The smoke is driven...
God, the Father, command...
God, the Father, commands you!
God, the Son, commands you!
God, the Holy Ghost, co... commands you!
Begone, Satan!
Begone, Satan!
Begone, Satan!
Inventor and master of all deceit...
...enemy of man's salvation!
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[BABY CRYING]
What?
Ah!
- Christ.
- Welcome home, Thomas.
- [GRUNTS]
- [GASPING]
[BABY CRYING]
WOMAN: Hush, child.