The Empty Man (2020) Movie Script

1
(DISTANT METALLIC CLANGING)
(WIND WHISTLING)
(METALLIC CLANGING CONTINUES)
(ALL PANTING)
(ALL CONTINUE PANTING)
(GRUNTING)
(BELLS JINGLING)
(LAUGHTER)
What are you guys waiting for? Come on.
-(BRIDGE CREAKING)
-Come on!
Oh, come on! It's fine.
I think.
Yeah. It's definitely up to code.
(YELPS) Oh, God!
-(LAUGHTER)
-PAUL: Oh, my God.
-(RUTHIE YELPING)
-Okay, okay.
-(BRIDGE CREAKING)
-You okay? Yeah?
(LAUGHTER)
(BELLS JINGLING)
(PAUL AND RUTHIE LAUGH, WHOOP)
(BOTH PANTING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
Looks like a nor'wester
coming in.
FIONA: Think we should
head down?
-(MUFFLED RINGING)
-GREG: Yeah.
I wouldn't wanna get caught...
(SHUSHES)
Where are you going?
What'd you hear?
I don't know.
(MUFFLED RINGING)
There it is again.
I don't hear anything, man.
(MUFFLED RINGING)
What is that?
(RINGING CONTINUES)
(GRUNTS)
-Paul?
-Paul!
RUTHIE: Paul! Paul!
Paul! Paul!
GREG: You okay
down there, buddy?
Oh, shit.
Okay.
Paul!
Don't worry.
I'm gonna go down there,
and I'm gonna get him, okay?
RUTHIE: Paul!
I'm gonna get him, all right?
He's gonna be okay.
Okay, good!
All right,
be ready to pull him up.
(GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
Paul.
What are you doing, man?
Why didn't you answer me?
(QUIETLY) Paul.
(GREG BREATHING SHAKILY)
What the fuck is this?
What...
What the fuck are you?
You all right?
Can you stand up?
(QUIETLY) If you touch me, you'll die.
What?
(QUIETLY) If you touch me, you'll die.
What do you mean,
if I touch you?
Come on.
Come on, man. Come on.
(GROANING SOFTLY)
(SHUDDERING)
(SOBBING)
Paul?
What is it, man?
-Stop, stop, stop. Hey.
-(SNIFFLES)
-(SHUDDERING)
-Hey, come on.
What's going on, buddy?
FIONA: Greg?
-What's going on?
-GREG: Hold on a minute!
Hey.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
Paul, stop fucking around.
Come on, let's go.
Get up. Get up.
Come on. Come on,
I'm gonna get you outta here.
I'm getting you out.
Come on. Stand up.
I got him!
(WIND WHISTLING)
(BELLS JINGLING)
(PANTING)
-Just give me a minute.
-FIONA: Okay.
-Just give me a minute.
-FIONA: Okay.
(GREG PANTING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
There's a house!
Hello!
Hello!
Hello? Hello?
Nobody's here!
GREG: Open the door!
(GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
RUTHIE: Okay, okay. I got him.
I got him. I got him.
GREG: Easy.
RUTHIE: I got him.
(PAUL AND RUTHIE PANTING)
FIONA: Are you in any pain?
GREG: I'm fine. No.
FIONA: I'll be right back.
Okay.
Let's get his clothes off him
and check him
for insect bites.
RUTHIE: Come on, Paul,
can't you say something?
Come on.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
RUTHIE: What's wrong with him?
GREG: I don't know.
There's nothing, um...
I think he's in shock.
(SOBBING)
Come on, Paul,
give us a sign, huh?
Just make sure and yelp for me
if I hit any tender spots,
all right? Hmm?
(MATCH STRIKES)
How's he been lately?
Fine. He's been fine!
GREG: Okay, okay. Calm down.
RUTHIE: He's been fine.
(MUTTERING AND SOBBING)
(WHISTLING)
(WHISPERING) Here.
Some kind of gas pocket, maybe?
I was breathing
the same air he was.
No sign of a head injury
at all?
No.
We need a scan
to be sure but...
What?
If it's not his head,
it's in his head.
RUTHIE: We need to get him
to a hospital.
GREG: How?
RUTHIE: I don't know.
There's gotta be somebody.
We can carry him.
We hiked in here, Ruthie.
Listen to me.
We hiked in here, okay?
We are 5 miles
from the nearest road,
and I can't carry him anymore.
Not in this weather.
(WIND WHISTLING)
Hey.
(RUTHIE SIGHING)
-He's not physically injured.
-(SCOFFING)
Hey, he's not.
Let's keep an eye on him.
And if he doesn't
improve overnight,
then I will hike out
and I will find transport
to Jakar myself, okay?
I'm sure he'll be fine
in the morning.
(WIND WHISTLING)
(BLOWING)
(FLUTE RINGING)
(WOOD CREAKING)
(MUFFLED FOOTSTEPS)
(FOOTSTEPS STOP OUTSIDE DOOR)
(DOOR CREAKING)
(WIND WHISTLING)
GREG: Ruthie,
you gotta eat something.
Come on.
We'll be right back, okay?
(WIND WHISTLING)
-(BLEATING)
-(COWBELLS JINGLING)
(WIND HOWLING)
(GASPS)
Hello, can you help us?
Can you hear me?
We need help!
(FOOTSTEPS CRUNCHING)
(FOOTSTEPS RUNNING)
(GASPS)
(GASPING)
-(RUTHIE SCREAMS)
-(BANGING ON DOOR)
(GASPING)
(BANGING CONTINUES)
Go away! Go away!
GREG: Ruthie, open up!
It's us!
Greg?
(POUNDING ON DOOR)
GREG: Ruthie, open the goddamn door!
(POUNDING CONTINUES)
Ruthie, open!
(PANTING)
FIONA: We can't
get through the pass.
Not in this storm.
Did you see someone out there?
FIONA: No. Just you.
RUTHIE: What?
What were you doing out there?
There... There...
There was someone out there.
He chased me.
-I wanna get outta here.
-Come on, calm down.
Do not tell me to calm down!
We need to leave!
(RUTHIE GASPING HEAVILY)
(WHISPERING VOICE CHANTING)
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
(CONTINUES WHISPERING CHANT)
RUTHIE: Paul?
Paul?
Where are you?
Where is he?
He's gotta be here somewhere.
Hey, Paul.
FIONA: His jacket's gone.
(FLUTE RINGING)
GREG: For fuck's sake, Paul,
what are you doing?
What are you doing?
I am sick
of your "I'm so special"
bullshit, you know that?
That's not helping.
What's going on, sweetheart?
-You can tell me.
-Oh, don't encourage him!
-Just back off, Greg. Calm down.
-GREG: No, don't tell me to back off!
FIONA: Do you want him
to get better or not?
GREG: No, I don't really give a shit.
This is his fucking fault.
It's not helping, what you're doing.
Just stop it.
GREG: I've been dealing
with this selfish bullshit
for 20 years!
He has us lost on a mountain
because he's having a bad day?
Would you fucking
say something?
(QUIETLY) I told you... (ECHOING)
What?
(WHISPERING VOICE CHANTING)
(SCREAMS)
(SCREAMS)
(CHOKES AND GURGLES)
(FLUTE RINGING)
(ENGINE ROARS IN DISTANCE)
(PANTING)
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)
WOMAN: (WHISPERING)
Where were you?
Where were you?
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
Where were you?
(DOORBELL JINGLES)
(MUSIC PLAYING ON SPEAKERS)
CUSTOMER: Just this, please.
Yeah, you don't want that one.
Well, it says
that one has more sprays
than the other ones.
Yes, that's right.
But it uses a formula
where you have to shake it
before you use it.
Oh.
Not something you're gonna
want in an emergency.
I'll show you what you need.
It's actually cheaper, anyway.
ANNOUNCER: (ON RADIO)
St. Louis. Todd 3-for-31
-to open this year.
-(LIGHTER CLICKING)
He really got into that ball.
It's 2-0.
Former Home Run Derby champ
Todd Frazier
trying to knock another one
outta the park
and up into the stands.
So it's three balls,
no strikes.
(MURMUR OF CHATTER)
(LOUNGE MUSIC PLAYING
ON SPEAKERS)
Hi. Don't go anywhere.
-This.
-Oh.
JAMES: You might wanna
check it, see if it's expired.
Oh, of course.
And this is for you.
-I'll be right back.
-Thank you.
Well, I don't need any change.
It's fine.
PEOPLE: (SINGING)
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, dear customer
Happy birthday to you
WAITRESS: Hip, hip.
WAITERS: Hooray.
WAITRESS: Hip, hip.
WAITERS: Hooray.
(APPLAUSE)
JAMES: Hello, Amanda.
Your mom know you're here?
How's she doing?
I came here to find out
how you're doing.
I mean,
it's been almost a year.
I was concerned about you.
Thank you.
Maybe you think that's silly.
No.
Ever since my father died,
and so soon after
when Allison and Henry...
It's okay. It's fine.
I mean...
It was more
than any of us could bear.
Yeah.
Any of us. I myself felt like
I was gonna burst
into a million pieces.
But I... I came to tell you
that I found something
so wonderful
and so freeing.
And it's helped me to realize
that nothing can hurt you,
because nothing is real.
Amanda,
a lot of things are real.
-Are they?
-Yeah.
How could you know?
I've learned it the hard way.
What's real starts here,
and it ends up out here.
What we think about with focus
and intention and repetition,
we manifest.
It's the power
of positive thinking,
the power
of negative thinking. Right?
Right.
But what if
there's a secret truth?
What if our thoughts
actually begin somewhere else?
And they travel through us
like a signal
traveling down a wire.
Thoughts that are old
and hidden and singular.
I have no idea
what you're talking about.
(CHUCKLES)
Yes, you do. Of course you do.
(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)
Duty calls.
Okay.
Can I tell her that I saw you?
Yeah, of course.
Bye.
Thanks for checking on me.
ALLISON: (ECHOING)
Where were you?
Where were you?
Where were you?
Where were you? (SCREAMING)
(GASPS)
(PANTING)
(DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE)
ALLISON: Where were you?
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
NORA: Amanda, want any eggs?
We don't have any eggs.
Amanda?
Mandy, you up?
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
Amanda.
(OPENS DOOR)
(GASPS)
Hey.
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
It's okay. Come on. Come on.
(NORA SOBBING)
JAMES: You already
called the police?
NORA: Uh-huh.
A few minutes, they said.
(DOOR CREAKING)
(INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO
CHATTER)
FORENSIC TECH:
I'll be outside.
-Who are you?
-I'm James Lasombra.
Neighbor. Family friend.
Didn't you used to be a cop?
-Yes, I did. St. Louis.
-Undercover, right?
Yeah. I remember
hearing about you.
She came to see you yesterday?
Amanda. Yes.
VILLIERS: She say anything
to make you think
she was going somewhere?
JAMES: No, not at all.
How about her father?
Where's he?
He died two years ago.
Heart attack.
VILLIERS: Ma'am.
They were close?
She deal with any depression
after that?
-Any more than the usual?
-Just the usual.
-Nothing too... No.
-VILLIERS: No?
How are things
for your daughter at school?
Any trouble?
Not at all.
She had, I mean,
a panic attack the other day,
but it was nothing serious.
VILLIERS: She had a panic attack?
I got a call from the school.
-She'd been crying in class.
-Crying?
NORA: It was...
It was nothing.
She had a bad day, that's all.
She has a lot of schoolwork,
you know?
Which is a lot of pressure.
VILLIERS: Anything like that
happen before?
Um...
Would you say
you two were close?
Yeah, Amanda and I are great.
We're perfect.
VILLIERS: Okay.
Listen, Mrs. Quail,
your daughter's 18 years old.
-She's a legal adult.
-She's in high school.
You say
her suitcase is missing,
and she appears
to have deliberately packed.
-She is free to...
-That's not what happened.
I know my daughter.
(TEARFULLY) Christ,
don't you think I'd rather
that was the case
than what I'm afraid of?
-(CELL PHONE CHIMES)
-(NORA SOBS)
I understand your concern.
We'll see what we can find.
In the meantime, if you hear
anything, let me know.
Do you have any pets?
No, why?
VILLIERS: No reason.
Have a good day, Mrs. Quail.
We'll be in touch.
Talk to you outside?
(SOBS)
-(LIGHTER CLICKS)
-(SIGHS)
Their theory is
Amanda is distressed
and she's acting out
to hurt you.
(NORA SCOFFS)
(SOBS)
They're not gonna do anything,
are they?
No. Probably not.
NORA: Why did
they ask about pets?
I'm assuming they figure
the blood on the mirror
is not human.
(GASPS) God,
what am I supposed to do?
"He is here, he is there.
He is every-fucking-where."
Who's "he"?
-Probably Peter.
-Yeah?
Yeah, I don't know.
Why don't you make me a list
of Amanda's friends?
Thank you.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
(SCHOOL BELL RINGS)
Excuse me, Davara.
Davara Walsh?
Hi, I'm James Lasombra.
I'm a friend of Amanda's.
-Yeah. I know who you are.
-You know who I am.
Uh, well, do you know
where Amanda is?
-No.
-No?
You know why
she might run off?
Can I have one?
You know
smoking's bad for you?
All right. Get in the car.
Okay.
(LIGHTER CLICKS)
So Amanda's mom told me
she was crying in class
the other day.
She wasn't crying.
She was screaming.
(GASPS SOFTLY)
All right, um...
The police, they, um...
They came to gym class today.
They asked us about Amanda.
What'd you tell them?
What didn't you tell them?
You tell them
about the Empty Man?
That's just some
stupid kid's thing.
JAMES: What is it?
DAVARA: I don't know.
Some story started
going around
that if you went to a bridge
after dark
and you found
an empty bottle,
and if you blew into it,
and you thought about him,
something would happen.
What happens?
You try it?
When?
DAVARA: Two nights ago,
a few of us were down on
the old Chain of Rocks Bridge.
You know where that is?
JAMES: Yeah. Yeah, I know.
AMANDA: When I was little,
I had this theory
that I could prevent
anything bad from happening
by thinking about it beforehand.
What do you mean?
AMANDA: It's like every time
I got into a car,
I'd think about
all the different ways
we could get
into a car accident.
DAVARA: Mm-hmm.
Because what are the odds
of getting hit by a bus
when you just thought about
getting hit by a bus?
Kids are fucking stupid.
Yeah.
He said,
proving his own point.
Dude, what the fuck?
Come on, let's bounce.
You missed some.
JAMES: Who was there?
DAVARA: Lisa, Duncan,
Meyer, Brandon, and Amanda.
And Julianne was there too.
Bitch.
BRANDON: So,
do you still wanna go?
I don't know.
Not like before,
but sometimes I still feel
like I could just disappear
and no one would even notice.
I get that.
Have you ever thought
about suicide?
Plenty of times.
I even tried it once.
(LAUGHS) Psych.
It's where I fell
through some French doors
rollerblading in my house.
If I ever slit my wrist,
it'll be long and vertical.
Hey, wait.
We gotta try it.
Please don't be dumb.
Try what?
Calling the Empty Man.
-(DAVARA SIGHS)
-Who's the Empty Man?
Well, supposedly
if you're on a bridge
and you find a bottle,
you blow into it
and you think
about the Empty Man.
Then after a little while,
you're supposed to hear him
coming for you.
Tell him the rest.
AMANDA: Well, so on
the first night, you hear him.
Then you can't stop
thinking about him.
And then
on the second night,
you see him.
Following you.
And on the third night?
Well, on the third night,
he finds you.
Oh, come on, Mandy.
How old are you?
Yeah, please, let's go home.
I've got swim at 6:00.
DUNCAN: Nah, Amanda,
let's do it.
Brandon wants to find out
what happens.
Don't you, Brandon?
Not particularly. No.
(CHUCKLES)
-(BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMS)
Your turn, scrub.
-(BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMS)
-(BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMS)
-(BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMS)
Nailed it.
-(BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMS)
This is bullshit.
If it's bullshit,
why won't you do it?
You don't want everyone
thinking you don't blow,
right, Davara?
(BLOWS) Fuck all you guys.
-(BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMS)
-(CONTINUES BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMMING)
(CHANTING SOFTLY)
The Empty Man.
The Empty Man. The Empty Man.
(CONTINUES CHANTING)
(CONTINUES CHANTING)
(WIND GUSTING)
(DISTANT RATTLING)
-What?
-Shh!
(DISTANT THUDDING)
(THUDDING STOPS)
(FAINT THUD)
Hey, who's out there?
Whoever's out there,
stop fucking around.
Yeah, that's really gonna
handle it. Thanks, Meyer.
MEYER: Shut up.
It's just an asshole.
Some drunk or a bum or something.
Let's go, please. Please.
(BOTTLE CLINKING)
(FOOTSTEPS THUDDING)
(BOTTLE HUMMING)
(FOOTSTEPS THUDDING)
(BOTTLE HUMMING)
(FOOTSTEPS RUNNING)
DAVARA: It's probably
just some dorks
messing with us, right?
Was that the last time
you saw Amanda?
DAVARA: I saw her at the mall
the next day
talking to Brandon.
(WHISPERING INDISTINCT CHANT)
But I didn't talk to her.
(CONTINUES WHISPERING CHANT)
You okay?
(SIGHS SOFTLY)
No, I have to go.
Well, wait a second. Hey.
Could you give me
an address for Brandon?
-Here.
-Thank you.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
-Hi.
-MAN: Yes?
(WOMAN SOBBING)
Does Brandon Maibaum
live here?
Have you seen him?
JAMES: He's not home?
No. He's not here.
Okay, uh, my name is
James Lasombra.
I'm a friend of Nora Quail's, who's...
Hello? Lisa?
Mrs. Schwartz?
Anybody home?
MAN: (ON TV)
Why didn't you run, you fool?
You were nearly killed.
MAN 2: Quiet.
The god is coming.
HOREMHEB: What's he talking about?
He said the god is coming.
JAMES: Hello?
HOREMHEB: Which god?
SINUHE: His god. Aten.
HOREMHEB: Aten?
SINUHE: Look!
JAMES: Lisa?
(DOOR OPENS)
(WHISPERING VOICE CHANTING)
(WHISPERING STOPS)
(FLIES BUZZING)
NORA: (ON PHONE) Hello?
JAMES: Hey, Nora, it's me.
Listen, how well do you know
Amanda's friends?
Do any of them
seem kinda off to you?
Off how?
Into weird stuff.
What kind of weird stuff?
I don't know.
I'm just grasping, Nora.
I mean,
I don't wanna worry you,
but I tried to find, uh,
all of Amanda's friends
who were last seen with her,
and I just can't
seem to locate them.
NORA: None of them?
JAMES: Aside from
Davara Walsh, no.
You ever heard
of the Pontifex Institute?
She ever mention that before?
-No. No. What is that?
-I don't know.
It might not have anything
to do with anything.
Listen, I got
a few more stops to make.
So, why don't we
talk about this later tonight?
Everything's gonna be fine, Nora.
All right, bye.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(INSECTS TRILLING)
-(BLOWING)
-(BOTTLE HUMS)
(WATER SPLASHES)
(WIND WHISTLING)
(SILENCE)
(DISTANT METALLIC CLANGING)
(CLANGING CONTINUES)
(CREAKING)
-(BIRDS CHIRPING)
-(WINGS FLUTTERING)
(ROPES CREAKING)
(CLANGING)
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
(INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER)
(SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE)
(SIREN WHOOPS)
(SIREN BLARES)
(SIREN CHIRPS)
(HELICOPTER HOVERING)
(INDISTINCT WHISPER)
-(WATER TRICKLING)
-(STEAM HISSING)
(WATER DRIPPING)
(HISSING STOPS)
(DAVARA SCREAMS)
(SCREAMING)
Leave me alone!
(BODY THUDS)
(STIFLED GASPING)
(WHEEZES)
(WHISPERING VOICE CHANTING)
WOMAN: What is your problem?
Why would she do that?
VILLIERS: She knew Amanda Quail.
Is that why
you were talking to her?
Yeah, that's right.
They're friends.
I was hoping
maybe she'd seen her.
And had she?
Not since yesterday
at school. No.
How well did you know
the Walsh girl?
Hardly at all.
What do you mean "did"?
Davara Walsh died tonight.
Her body was found in a spa
earlier this evening.
Stabbed multiple times.
We don't know how many. A lot.
Oh, crap.
She was stabbed in the face.
You have a suspect?
By all appearances,
it was a suicide.
People don't...
People just don't do that
to themselves.
My point exactly.
You know this town.
One, two murders a year.
Three if we're frisky.
Now this?
It poisons the atmosphere.
Sure as sewage
would the water supply.
It's communicable.
It changes people.
Three weeks ago,
in a house in Maryville,
a mother fed
her newborn infant
to a pack of stray dogs.
She said the baby
had been whispering to her.
In the kitchen,
she wrote "The Empty Man"
on the linoleum floor.
We found
the same thing tonight
near the body
of the Walsh girl.
I've come to the conclusion
that there is no solving
crimes like these.
Sure, we can put
that mother in prison.
We can even put her
in the gas chamber.
But that's not solving it.
It's inexplicable.
It's too big. It's... (SIGHS)
We can't indict the cosmos.
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
(SNIFFS)
JAMES: (ON RECORDING) You tell
them about the Empty Man?
DAVARA: That's just
some stupid kid's thing.
JAMES: What is it?
DAVARA: It started a while ago.
I don't know.
Some story started
going around
that if you went to a bridge
after dark
and you found
an empty bottle,
and if you blew into it,
and you thought about him,
something would happen.
JAMES: What happens?
DAVARA: On the first night,
you'd hear him.
And then the second night,
you'd see him.
On the third night...
you'd feel him.
-(SNIFFS)
-(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)
-Hello.
-NORA: Are you all right?
(SNIFFS) Yeah, fine.
You don't sound fine.
It's just a bloody nose.
Oh, okay.
Um... I'm outside.
Hi.
I'm guessing
you forgot to eat.
No, I didn't forget.
It just never occurred to me.
Come inside.
-Plates?
-Next one on your right.
I just got you some, um,
egg rolls and Szechuan beef,
a little egg drop soup.
There's a big vigil
in Slattery Park.
You know, everyone's there.
I made some flyers,
I was gonna
put up around town...
Hey.
-(SOBS) I'm sorry.
-It's okay.
-I'm sorry.
-No, no, no.
-None of this is your problem.
-Don't be sorry.
Don't be sorry.
You have nothing...
You have nothing
to apologize for. Okay?
All right?
Yes. Yes, I do.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry it's been so long.
(VOICE BREAKING)
And I'm sorry about why.
Do you think she's okay?
(SOBBING)
Come here.
(SOFTLY) It's okay.
It's okay. Everything's okay.
May I stay?
God.
Boundaries.
-You want a drink?
-Mm-hmm.
(PUTS DOWN GLASS)
(NORA SNIFFLES)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
ALLISON: (WHISPERING)
Where were you?
Where were you?
DAVARA: (WHISPERING)
On the first night,
you hear him. (ECHOING)
-Hey, sleepyhead.
-(SNIFFLING)
(EXHALES HEAVILY)
(GROANS)
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
JAMES: Hello?
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
(FOOTSTEPS THUDDING)
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
-(CLICKING)
-(DOG BARKING OUTSIDE)
(DOOR CREAKING)
(DOG CONTINUES BARKING)
-(DOOR CLOSES)
-(SIGHS)
NEWSCASTER: (ON RADIO) ...self-inflicted.
Any reason
the group of friends
might have committed suicide
remain unclear at this hour.
Another member of the group,
Amanda Quail,
is still missing.
Welcome.
Go ahead and have a seat.
You're just in time.
Well, that's good news.
Can I ask you a question?
How long you guys been
in business here?
We were established in 2013.
But what we can offer you
is as old as time.
Okay.
(TAPPING PEN)
Hi.
What is this?
That is your first step
on a journey
to discovering
your deepest self.
Oh, yeah. No, I get all that.
I grew up in San Francisco.
What is this?
RECEPTIONIST: Welcome, everyone.
Please just have a seat.
I'll be with you in a moment.
(WHISPERING) Hey. Hey.
So I'm looking for someone.
Just make yourself comfortable.
I'm sure you'll find the answers
you're looking for.
MAN: Follow me.
WOMAN: (ON MIC)
Sound check. One, two, three.
Check. One, two, three.
(MIC FEEDBACK WHINES)
MAN: Each one of you
here today
is looking for something.
Why else would you be here?
We go looking for things
we have lost.
Yes? Well, I'm here
to tell you,
there is nothing
you have lost.
More than that, there is
no such thing as loss.
From our earliest days,
meeting in garages,
living rooms,
church basements,
to this very moment,
our message
has always remained
"you are complete
in yourself."
There is no struggle.
Struggling has failed.
Struggling is what
wakes you up every day,
wondering how much
more you can acquire,
how much more you can use,
how much more space
can you take up in the world.
When the question we really
need to ask ourselves is,
how much less can you use?
How much less space
can you occupy?
There is no struggle
because there are
no distinctions.
To say that you are wrong,
or I am right,
is to divide us.
Therefore we deny
there is such a thing
as right or wrong.
These are
exclusionary constructs
designed to foster
the illusion of separateness.
There is no such thing
as disunity.
There is only the great, binding
nothingness of things.
At one time we were one.
We will all be one again.
This message comes to you
directly from
the Empty Man.
He beckons you
to discover the true face
of the world.
(APPLAUSE)
WOMAN: Can I ask you
to sign these?
Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
For a second there,
I thought you were
about to say "namaste."
I can if you like. (CHUCKLING)
No, no, no.
Please, please, please.
-I grew up in San Francisco.
-Ah.
But towards the end
you did say...
"The Empty Man."
That's right.
That's an interesting phrase.
You could say
he called out to you.
-Or not.
-Hmm.
What does it mean?
The Empty Man is a meditation.
A focal point
for the targeted manifestation
of hidden energies.
Right. And already
you're starting to lose me.
Just as man feeds and is fed
by the biosphere
and the atmosphere,
so it is our thoughts feed
and are fed by the noosphere.
The noosphere?
The sum
of all conscious thought,
transmission from which
can be stimulated
through the application
of certain vectors,
very much like a virus.
(SIGHS) You can't see it.
Well, what is it?
The veil
between form and flesh,
and the means by which
it can be pierced
and the two allowed
to commingle.
(CHUCKLES)
We're each of us blind
in our way.
Distractions rob us of focus.
Technology robs us of memory.
Repetition robs us
of comprehension.
You know the child's game,
if you say your name
enough times,
it becomes gibberish?
That holds true
for whole concepts,
even entire bodies of thought.
For example,
take Nietzsche's old line,
"If you stare into an abyss,
it also stares into you."
Right? Well... (SCOFFS)
That has been
rendered meaningless
through repetition.
(SUCKS TEETH)
It's a refrigerator magnet.
It's clich. It's harmless.
But when was the last time
you really thought about that?
What is an abyss?
And if you stare into it, why?
What about it calls to you?
And if it stares into you,
it stands to reason
something in you
must also be calling to it.
And that, my friend,
is anything but harmless,
if you really reflect on it.
So the question becomes,
if profound meaning
can be robbed of something
by so simple a task
as repetition,
which is more fundamental?
Which is more true?
Your name
or the gibberish?
That is the Empty Man.
I'm so glad you came back.
Hope you stay longer
this time.
I've never been here before.
WOMAN: And here.
ARTHUR: Hmm.
There must be
something about you.
WOMAN 2: Sir, just one more signature.
Hey, man.
You, uh...
You seen this girl here?
She hang out here?
No?
Liar.
MAN: Thank you so much.
ARTHUR: Give us a minute.
Hmm. Thank you for coming.
Thank you.
Here.
(DOOR CLOSES)
(MUFFLED WOMAN SPEAKING)
WOMAN: (ON SPEAKERS)
Nothing exists.
Even if something exists,
nothing can be known about it.
Even if something
can be known about it,
knowledge about it can't be
communicated to others.
Even if it can be communicated,
it cannot be understood.
Nothing exists.
Even if something exists,
nothing can be known about it.
(WHISPERING VOICES CHANTING)
Even if something
can be known about it,
knowledge about it can't be
communicated to others.
Even if it can be communicated,
it cannot be understood.
(MUFFLED SPEECH
ON SPEAKER CONTINUES)
(WATER DRIPPING)
(MUFFLED VOICES SPEAKING)
PEOPLE: (CHANTING)
...from his thoughts.
From his thoughts
come the dreams.
From the dreams
comes the power.
From the power
comes the bridge.
From the bridge comes the man.
From the man
comes his thoughts.
From his thoughts
come the dreams.
From the dreams
comes the power.
From the power
comes the bridge.
-From the bridge comes the...
-(SOFT CLACK)
(CHANTING STOPS)
(BEEPS)
(QUIETLY) Shit. Shit. Shit.
WOMAN: (WHISPERING)
Is there someone here now?
If you're here now,
show yourself.
Make yourself known to us.
(THUD)
We hear you.
-We're listening.
-(RATTLING)
Welcome.
Show yourself.
Show yourself.
(RATTLING CONTINUES)
-(ALL BLOWING)
-(BOTTLES HUMMING)
(SCRAPING)
(SWITCH CLICKS)
MAN: Would you come with us, sir?
JAMES: Huh.
How you doing?
Exit's that way.
MAN 2: You'll never get
anywhere like that, man.
Not with these cats.
Cats?
Man, these cats,
they're on another plane, man.
You know?
Like, far out
on the outer rim.
(CHUCKLES)
Aren't you a little young
for the Neal Cassady routine?
Who's that, man?
(SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE)
You got a smoke?
She's been here.
But she's not here now.
Got big plans for her.
They're moving her up.
Where is she?
Elsewhere.
Downstate.
Pontifex camp,
where they go to get PR'd.
What is that?
Pre-Released.
It's the First Threshold
to achieving Singularity.
(LAUGHS) Christ, this jargon.
They have bullshit names
for everything, man.
Comes to them in dreams,
they say.
His whispers.
Whose whispers?
I don't know.
But they do.
These aren't just flakes
and outcasts.
They don't have 5-year plans,
they have 500-year plans.
You have no idea how dangerous
these people are, man.
JAMES: Where's the camp?
GARRET: In the forest.
Off Route 32.
Near the Meramec River Bridge.
(INSECTS DRONING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(DOORKNOB RATTLES)
(DOOR CREAKS)
Yeah, okay.
That's funny.
You guys are funny.
(CLATTERING)
(VHS PLAYER WHIRRING)
(TRANQUIL MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
WOMAN: The Pontifex Society.
We transmit. You receive.
-(STATIC CRACKLES)
-(MUSIC STOPS)
MAN: Testing.
(STATIC WARBLES)
MAN 2: (CHANTING) From his thoughts
comes the dream.
From the dream comes the power.
From the power comes the bridge.
From the bridge comes the man.
(CONTINUES CHANTING)
(STOPS CHANTING)
(CRACKLY BREATHING ON TAPE)
(CRACKLY BREATHING)
(FRIGHTENED YELLING)
MAN 3: We should turn it off.
(STATIC CRACKLES)
MAN 4: Did you see that?
MAN 5: What?
MAN 4: Come give me
a hand with this.
(CROAKY GRUNTING)
What the hell is he doing?
Fuck.
Nasty.
This is only getting worse.
(RAPID HISSING)
(STATIC CRACKLES, HISSING)
(DOOR CREAKS)
(PEOPLE CHANTING IN DISTANCE)
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
(ALL CHANTING INDISTINCTLY)
(ALL CHANTING FASTER)
(CHANTING STOPS)
(LOW CHANTING)
(CHANTING STOPS)
(CRICKETS QUIET)
(FOOTSTEPS RUSTLING)
(FOOTSTEPS THUD)
(FOOTSTEPS THUD)
Yeah, no.
(THUNDER CRASHING)
(GRUNTS)
(PEOPLE SHOUTING)
(JAMES GRUNTING)
Come on.
-Come on!
-(ENGINE STARTS)
(PEOPLE SHOUTING)
(PANTING) What the fuck was that?
What the fuck was that?
(THUNDER CRASHING)
Will you be able to identify
any of them?
No. Way too dark, man.
VILLIERS: Uh-huh.
And they attacked you
after you took these files?
Yeah, but that had...
There was two cabins.
I took the files
from the first cabin.
But they wouldn't know that.
They couldn't see it.
Were these cabins locked?
No, they were not locked.
Was the road
into the camp blocked?
What are you trying to say?
You're saying
that I was trespassing?
-(SLAMS FILE)
-I am trying to determine
if you have irretrievably
fucked this investigation.
You can check out
the Pontifex Institute.
VILLIERS: Major Cases
is already on it.
JAMES: This is bad news.
This is weird occult shit.
VILLIERS: And you are not
a cop anymore.
Come on, Lasombra.
Just write a statement.
Everything that happened.
I'll be right back.
(TAPPING PENCIL)
(TAPPING PENCIL FASTER)
Nora!
NORA: Hi.
-Are you alone?
-Yes.
-Has anyone come by?
-No.
-Contacted by anybody?
-NORA: Like who?
What are you doing? James?
Do you have a place
you can go for a few days?
NORA: What?
I don't want to scare you...
Well, you are.
You are scaring me.
James.
Maybe I want to scare you
a little bit.
Do you remember
the Pontifex Institute?
I told you about them.
-NORA: Yes.
-I checked them out.
On the surface,
it looks like some sort of
self-empowerment "oneness"
hippy bullshit.
But they're dangerous.
Are you saying
that Amanda has joined a...
-A cult?
-Maybe.
They're not connected
to any sort of
fucking church
I've ever heard of.
Oh, my God.
And whoever they are,
they seem to believe
that they can channel
some sort of entity.
-The Empty Man.
-Yeah.
Do you have place you can go?
I... I have to work.
I mean, what am I...
Hey, hey, hey.
I think they killed
those kids, Nora.
And they know where you live.
(PHONE RINGING)
Get it.
Hello?
Give it to me.
(WHISPERING VOICE
ON PHONE CHANTING)
(PHONE BEEPS)
(WHISPERS) We need to go right now.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
-Get in your car, follow me.
-Okay.
(CAR ENGINE STARTS)
JAMES: I don't think
we've been followed.
If you see
anything suspicious,
you'll let me know?
Anything at all?
Okay.
(TEARFULLY) She's dead, isn't she?
No, no.
No, she's not dead.
I think the fact that
she wasn't under that bridge
means she's not. Okay?
Hey.
Does she know?
About what?
About us?
You mean the thing
we never talk about?
No, no, I don't think so.
Why?
You never told her?
Why would I?
Do you think maybe
we've punished ourselves
long enough?
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
ALLISON: (WHISPERING)
Where were you?
(HIGH-PITCHED HUM)
(RECORD CRACKLING)
ALLISON: (WHISPERING)
Where were you?
HENRY: (WHISPERING)
On the second night...
On the second night,
you see him. (ECHOING)
(TAPPING TEETH)
ALLISON: (SCREAMING)
Where were you?
(GASPS)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(SIGHS)
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY)
(GRUNTS)
(FLOORBOARD CREAKING)
(YELPING)
-(SNARLS)
-(JAMES GRUNTS)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SWITCH CLICKS)
(DOORBELL RINGS)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(CAR HORN HONKS)
(CAR ENGINE STARTS)
(SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE)
WOMAN: (ON PA)
All available doctors
to Med Wing 3.
All available doctors
to Med Wing 3.
EKG stat to ER.
EKG stat to ER.
(EKG BEEPING)
GARRET: All right,
I'll see you next week.
MAN: You got it.
JAMES: How you doing,
Neal Cassady?
(GARRET GROANING)
Come here.
Get in the car.
Get in the fucking car!
Give me your hands.
(GARRET GRUNTING)
(GARRET STRUGGLING)
I didn't know what
they were gonna do, man.
They just told me
to tell you about it.
-That's all.
-JAMES: That's bullshit!
Who's that guy
in the hospital?
I saw you, freak show.
You and your buddies.
Jesus, this shit
really stings, man.
I don't give a shit.
Who was he?
GARRET: It's hard to explain.
JAMES: Why don't you
give it a go, man?
I'm your only friend
right now.
He's like an antenna.
Tuned to frequencies
we only get through him.
He transmits, we receive.
Fuck.
(TIRES SCREECH)
Get the fuck out of the car.
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Get on your knees.
On your knees!
GARRET: All right. Fuck.
JAMES: You say something
that makes sense,
or I swear to fucking God...
GARRET: Thought is communicable.
That is what they say, okay?
JAMES: What?
GARRET: Transmittable.
The noosphere is the sum
of all consciousness.
Not just human.
Other minds are there, too.
-Ancient, and angry.
-You guys are all
-fucking morons!
-You get glimpses
in dreams and fevers, right?
Dj vu?
Every nightmare you've ever had
was just a fucking documentary.
But once in a while,
there's a man.
Sometimes, only one in 1,000 years.
-The prophet of the other.
-The other? What other?
The between one.
He needs an empty man
to be a bridge
to the rest of the world.
He comes to erase
all boundaries.
The only reality is
there is no reality.
Except for him.
His endless, black chaos.
Ah, things are gonna slide, man.
It's gonna be a bloodbath.
(INHALES SHARPLY)
You're coming down
with him already, aren't you?
You don't even know it.
You've got the itch
in the brain.
I'm so sick
of your fucking shit, man.
I grew up in San Francisco.
I just wanna know one thing.
Where's Amanda Quail?
She's on the bridge.
Bridge? What bridge?
There is no bridge.
Haven't you been
fucking listening? (LAUGHING)
(GARRET GROANS)
(JAMES GRUNTING)
(LAUGHING)
(CONTINUES LAUGHING)
(QUIETLY) What is this?
How do you have this?
How do you have any of this?
You're fucking with me.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
ALLISON: (WHISPERING)
Where were you?
Where were you?
GARRET: Coming down with it...
-He transmits, we receive.
-(TAPPING TEETH)
HENRY: On the third night...
GARRET: You've got an itch
in the brain.
HENRY: (WHISPERING)
He finds you.
On the third night,
he finds you.
-You feel...
-(RECORD CRACKLING)
GARRET: In the brain.
HENRY: You feel him.
WOMAN: He transmits,
we receive.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
(VOICES CONTINUE WHISPERING)
WOMAN: Can I help you?
Yes.
My name is James Lasombra.
I'm a private detective.
Been hired to find someone,
and I have reason to believe
they are a patient
in your hospital.
So, maybe you could just
tell me about that guy,
in that room, right there?
I can't divulge
patient information, sir.
Of course, you can't do that.
Maybe you could just tell me
how long he's been here.
I could cross him off my list.
He's been here for some time.
Since before I started here.
How long ago was that?
Almost a year.
Is he stable?
Well, he's not
on life support,
if that's what you mean.
Oh, but he's unresponsive?
He fluctuates
between a three and a nine
on the Glasgow Coma Scale.
Usually, he's a three.
What does that mean?
Unresponsive to stimuli,
non-vocal, eyes closed.
Uh-huh. Is it common
for someone who's stable to be
in the ICU for that long?
No.
It's not common.
What makes him so special?
He was admitted to Bellevue
23 years ago.
Five years later,
he was transferred
to Stockham Health.
Then a private clinic
in Cedar Rapids,
until two years ago.
Then who brought him here?
I don't know.
Maybe they were
treating him experimentally
and he took a turn.
-Took a turn?
-Took a turn for the worse.
Maybe he took a turn
for the better.
Either way,
they sent him on to us.
I suppose it won't hurt
to tell you.
As far as I know,
he doesn't have a name.
-He's a John Doe?
-Mm.
And who pays John Doe's bills?
I'm sure I don't know.
But he certainly gets
a lot of visitors.
They come and go all the time.
There's one in there with him
right now.
So, what do you think?
Is he the man
you've been looking for?
I don't know.
May I?
Go right ahead.
(EKG BEEPING)
JAMES: Hello, Amanda.
Been looking for you.
AMANDA: Well, you found me.
JAMES: Who is he?
AMANDA: You know who he is.
No, I don't.
What's his name?
I have no idea.
You can call him
whatever you'd like.
I like to think of him
as a carrier.
Because he's like a disease,
in a way.
But he's also like
a carrier signal, you know?
Modulated by an input signal.
He transmits, we receive.
And his message is contagious.
I need to call your mom.
(CELL PHONE BEEPS)
(LINE RINGING)
NORA: (ON PHONE) Hello?
JAMES: Nora, it's me.
I found Amanda.
I'm sorry, who is this?
It's me, James.
Who are you calling for?
-Nora?
-Yes?
It's me.
-Nora, it's me.
-I'm so sorry.
-It's James. My name...
-I think you have the wrong number.
-(LINE DISCONNECTS)
-I'm James.
What the fuck is going on?
AMANDA: He's weakening now.
There's only so long
a human body can withstand
this kind of power.
(WHISPERING VOICE CHANTING)
We need to find a replacement.
And soon.
Replacement?
Well, there were 500 years
between the last carrier
and this one.
We didn't have
that kind of time.
So we decided to try something
a little bit radical.
An experiment.
What kind of experiment?
We decided to make one.
-(JAMES GRUNTS)
-(CELL PHONE CLATTERS)
(GASPS)
It's getting hard
to tell what's real
and what's in your head
anymore, isn't it?
Listen to your thoughts.
You can hear him, can't you?
-(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)
-Squirming his way in,
crowding you out.
Did you know that
the brain can itch?
Imagine an overwhelming itch
deep in the base
of your skull.
That's him.
You're fucking crazy.
It's not real.
It's not fucking real.
Of course it's not,
so why fight it?
You must detach
from a false reality
in order to attach
to a new one.
-(JAMES GROANING)
-A stronger one.
JAMES: You're fucking crazy. (SOBS)
I bet you thought
I didn't know about
your little indiscretion
with my mother.
No!
Well, I not only
knew about it,
-I made it happen.
-(GROANS)
I wrote it into your script
when we created you.
(GASPING)
What are you talking about?
What high school
did you go to?
BOTH: Crossroads.
What hospital
were you born in?
BOTH: Emancipated Heart.
-And what day were you born?
-November 7th.
No, it was three days ago, remember?
You spent it alone
in a Mexican restaurant
and the waiters all sang you
Happy Birthday.
-We made you as a group.
-(GRUNTING)
We wrote up a complete
biography for you,
and focused on it intently
for several sessions
to conjure you into being.
(GROANING)
You are our Tulpa.
Our Empty Man.
Thought plus concentration
plus time equals flesh.
Your flesh.
(WHIMPERING)
We tried once before
but failed.
The signal can only penetrate
through the cracks
of sorrow, grief, and guilt.
Fear. That's what
we were missing.
Shut up.
So we built you that way.
Shut up!
What's the worst thing
that's ever happened to you?
Go on. You can say it.
(BREATH TREMBLING)
(GASPS) Fuck you!
AMANDA: It was the death of
Allison and Henry, wasn't it?
(VOICES WHISPERING)
The death of your wife
and son.
(HIGH-PITCHED HUM)
AMANDA: (ECHOING)
And where were you
when they needed you the most?
Nothing you do
is in your control.
You cannot make
your own choices.
You're not your own man.
You're our man.
But isn't that a relief, really?
Isn't that what you want
most anyway?
So just let go.
Wouldn't it be easier
to just let go?
PEOPLE: (CHANTING)
From the bridge comes the man.
From the man
comes his thoughts.
From his thoughts
come the dreams.
From the dreams
comes the power.
...thoughts come the dreams.
From the dreams
comes the power.
From the power
comes the bridge.
From the bridge comes the man.
From the man
come his thoughts.
From his thoughts
come the dreams.
From the dreams
-comes the power.
-(SOFT CLACK)
(BEEPS)
(WHISPERING) Is there someone here?
If you're here now, show yourself.
Make yourself known to us.
(THUD)
We hear you.
(RATTLING)
We're listening.
Show yourself.
Show yourself.
We're listening.
Show yourself.
-(ALL BLOWING)
-(BOTTLES HUMMING)
(CRACKING)
(WHIMPERING)
(GUN CLICKS)
(GUN CLICKS)
(GRUNTING)
(YELPS)
(JAMES WHIMPERING)
(ROARING)
(JAMES WHIMPERING)
(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(REQUIEM PLAYING)
(HIGH-PITCHED HUM)
(REQUIEM CONTINUES PLAYING)
(TAPPING TEETH)
-(SCREAMING)
-(TIRES SCREECHING)
(SCREAMING)
(PANTING)
(MEDITATION CHANT MUSIC PLAYING)
(EKG BEEPING)
(CLICKS)
(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)
PEOPLE: (CHANTING)
You transmit. We receive.
You transmit. We receive.