The Spell (1977) Movie Script
Fat Rita! Fat Rita!
- Line up over here and I'll
be with you in a minute.
Is this for time?
Yes, this is for time.
I heard she was really slim
until she started eating
everything in sight.
Now she wears all those big dresses
and old fashion sweatsuits
to hide all her lines.
Very funny.
All right.
And a grade.
Do I have to?
I'm afraid so, Rita.
Okay?
All right girls, let's go.
You can be excused.
- You know that guy from
Fort Ord I was seeing?
What about him?
- He used to take out the
home economics teacher
before she got fat.
Who'd want to take out that tubo?
You going up the rope like that, tubo?
- I'm warning you, Jackie, you
better stop calling me that.
We'll just call you Moby Dick then.
Is it hard?
Kinda.
You going up the rope like that, tubo?
I gotta get to class.
Jackie and Rita.
Go.
Do a spin, Jackie.
I'll hold the end.
At the same time,
the agency issued new regulations
permitting diversions of propane gas...
and other high priority
uses, if necessary...
What's so funny?
Here
Do you really need that second helping?
It's extra. We paid for it.
You aren't paying for it.
I'll take it.
- Don't you two have to
get ready for school?
No.
Why not?
- Well it has to do with Jesus
and it's not his birthday.
Oh, hilarious.
That's really hilarious.
Just trying to be helpful.
Well, don't be.
Is all this necessary?
Excuse me.
Kristina.
I'm not finished.
Why did you do that?
Huh?
You heard me.
That remark about a second helping.
Oh.
Because she's getting fat
and you don't say a word.
You don't help her by humiliating her.
Let's get a governess in here.
Neither of us will have to do it.
She is too old for a governess.
Not a governess, per say.
A sort of,
housekeeper who's good at mediation.
Well, swell.
We can have a union.
The kids will have strikes and labor wars.
Okay.
Let's do something.
How about the grapefruit diet?
Glenn, she's an adolescent.
That's her problem.
Don't you remember when you were 15?
I do.
What a memory.
Well, it was tough.
I ate my way out of going to two proms.
Okay, how do we approach her?
Don't humiliate her.
You got it.
I got some stuff for Margaret to iron.
- Oh, she went to her
sister's for a few days.
I'll do it.
No.
You'll like it.
I'll like it.
- Would you pick up a
bottle of Caligastia?
I've tried all over town.
Would you try Applebee's?
Okay.
Bye.
Glenn?
Bye.
Is he gone?
Finish your breakfast, Kris.
What's your day like?
We're going shopping, remember?
Oh.
If I'm up to it, honey.
Rita did it again.
You know, ever since
Jackie Siegel's accident,
she's been acting really strange.
That was nearly a month ago.
Some of the kids said when she fell...
Kristin.
How about doing the dishes for me, sport?
Okay.
You wanna talk?
Nope.
Bad one, huh?
What?
Real bummer?
Medium bad.
Might help to talk.
Might help you. Won't help me.
Okay.
What are you making?
You know, Rita,
you really make it very difficult
for me to say I'm sorry.
- Is Kathleen
still being peculiar?
I don't know. I haven't seen Ryan.
Kathleen doesn't want to see anyone,
especially me.
Something must have happened.
Best friends just don't
turn off like that.
You know, he's called
in a parapsychologist.
You're kidding.
No.
Analysis didn't do it,
so now he's looking for
ghosts in her closet.
Weird.
The whole town is getting strange.
Ever since that Jackie Siegel accident.
Love it.
Seen the price?
Afraid to look.
Oh, I hate it.
- Let's get the banana
cake at Donatello's.
Oh, that cake is ruining me.
I don't even bother to eat it anymore.
I just supply it directly to my hips.
You don't wanna go?
I didn't say that.
Okay then.
Be honest, is the banana cake fresh?
Yes ladies, the banana cake is fresh
if there's any left.
What's the alternative?
Well we have two day old rum cake
and some nice clairs,
if they haven't gone bad.
Is that what you want?
No.
No, we'll have the banana cake,
if there's any left, please
and some coffee.
You too?
Yes.
He's something.
Are your girls gonna swim in the meet?
Kris is. Rita's too old.
Too old at 15?
Do you love it?
I guess Terri's gonna compete.
She's been so damned impossible, though.
I'm not counting on it.
And Lyn hates Jo
Standish, so I don't know.
Who's Jo Standish?
The new gym teacher at school.
She's also the guidance counselor
and she's a tough one.
Well you have to be to handle our kids
eight hours a day.
Oh, I know.
Terri and Lyn are constantly
at each other's throat.
Please, tell me I'm not alone.
You are not alone.
Thank God.
You are in luck, ladies.
Fresh banana cake.
Thank you.
- You know, Rita's having
an awful time with it.
Kris and the other kids
know how to go right where it hurts.
With Rita, right now, it's her weight.
They call adults cruel.
Used to kill me last year.
I'd go and pick her up at school,
she'd be hiding in a
building, waiting for me.
She'd only come out when she saw my car.
And even then, those kids
still found a way to yell
some rotten thing at
her to finish her off.
- I bet they take classes
on how to hurt each other.
Sadism, 1-A.
Speaking of schools,
did you hear about that Webster
Elementary school business?
What?
On the news.
Oh.
They had to close the school.
The kids were throwing up, eyes burning,
disorientation.
I tell you, the whole
peninsula is getting weird.
How is the banana cake? Good?
- If I ever come in and
ask for this recipe,
don't dare give it to me.
Trust me.
Rita?
Kris?
Kris?
Hey.
What's going on?
Nothing.
What've you been doing?
Hey.
I'm talking to you.
I thought you were talking to Kris.
I'm talking to both of you.
Ask Kris.
I'm asking you.
Will you stop these games?
We made a bet.
She lost.
What kind of bet?
- She said she could hold
her breath for two minutes
and she didn't make it so now she's mad.
How intelligent.
May I be excused?
Please.
Why are you out of breath?
I beat her.
I made it to a minute and a half.
And if she'd lose about 500 pounds,
she might be able to make it to a minute.
That's enough!
That is enough. You can scrap shopping.
Oh, mom!
Oh, mom.
Will you stop it, Rita? Damn it.
I can't stand her whining.
Stop it! Both of you!
She starts it.
You both start it.
- We don't like each
other, mother. Face it.
Rita, that's an awful thing to say.
That is awful.
No it isn't.
It doesn't bother her any.
Ask her.
No, it doesn't bother me.
It bothers me.
Then let's not discuss it.
7:10, boarding at gate one.
What're you doing here?
I don't need a lift.
I thought we might go out for a drink.
What's the matter?
Nothing's the matter.
Yeah, something's the matter.
No kiss. No hello.
You're not programmed for anything
but going to Los Angeles and coming home.
Keep your voice down.
Boy have you changed.
I remember a time we used to
sit on the football field,
you with one goal post, me at another,
a bottle of cheap red wine between us,
yelling dirty things at each other.
What's the matter? Am I embarrassing you?
Don't want me to yell.
Wanna hear?
- Are you gonna try
and ruin my reputation?
- No, I'm just trying to
put some of the old pizzaz
back in our marriage.
We're not 25 anymore.
We're not 85 either,
but you act like you're pushing it.
- You want to drop by
the field on the way home
and have a replay?
Don't make fun of me.
I'm not kidding.
I'm not either.
I'll meet you at the Three Knights.
You're on.
Now get in that car and drive.
I'll get there before you.
Oh, yeah?
I will.
She had the strangest
expression on her face.
Like what?
I don't know.
A kind of
cynicism.
A hardness.
A cruelty. I don't know.
A cynic at 15?
Only in the screwy times
could you be a cynic at 15.
Maybe I saw something that wasn't there.
- I heard a great definition
of a cynic the other day.
Knowledgeable apathy.
Isn't that grand?
Knowledgeable apathy.
Knowledgeable apathy.
Maybe we should send
her to a psychiatrist.
Or a firing squad.
Come on.
Scratch that.
- Rita's going through a
very, very bad time now
and she needs our support.
Nobody ever said that kids were easy.
Some are more difficult than others.
- Well, she's difficult
because she's unhappy.
She's unhappy because she's fat
and she's fat because...
Yes?
You want another drink?
She's fat because?
Something's missing.
End analysis.
Oh, I'll tell you.
Don't say, love.
You love her.
Of course I love her.
Do you love her enough?
Kris is so easy for you to love.
Rita's harder.
She's ours too.
She's a part of both of us.
Can't we both love her a little harder?
I could use a little too, you know?
She looks at me like I just
won the ogre award.
How do you look at her?
Like she'd just given me the award.
All right, I'll give it a shot.
I'm still gonna kick her in the butt
when she gets smart.
And compliment her when she does right.
And pray, God, she's 18 tomorrow.
Tonight.
- That's all the time I'm
giving her right now.
My evenings are short enough.
What the?
What's wrong with that thing?
I'll take care of it.
Call them.
The door person.
You alright honey?
Yeah, that light is still out.
Oh, he's coming Tuesday.
I thought you said Monday.
No, Tuesday.
And when do the cable people come?
Thursday.
We're home.
Hi.
How's dinner coming?
I don't know.
What do you mean you don't know?
Well, Rita left.
She was supposed to fix dinner.
She didn't.
I'll try again.
Did she make an attempt to start dinner?
No.
Did you?
Mhmm.
- Was there any excuse why
she didn't make dinner?
She said she had better things to do.
Boot in the rear time.
All right, Glenn.
What did you make, honey?
Surprise.
Who left my bathroom in a mess?
I did.
I was dying some eggs.
Well,
after dinner, you and
some cleanser up here.
Huh?
Kris, I want some answers.
Rita said she was going out
and she would be back in time for dinner.
Who was supposed to make dinner?
You, I guess.
She's got a surprise coming.
No dinner for her?
Don't gloat.
You have nothing to worry about.
Wait until you see what I made.
Good lord.
I'll clean it up.
You're not kidding.
What could you make that
would take all these pots?
Pizza.
Pizza?
From scratch.
Where'd you get the recipe?
Kid at school.
A kid at school?
An Italian kid.
You're heading for a fall, little lady.
Your mother asked you to do something.
I had something else to do.
That was more important?
Yes.
- I think you can go
without your dinner tonight.
Big deal.
I'm going.
Thanks for dropping in.
Sorry about dinner.
Are you, Rita?
Well, it's no great tragedy, is it?
No, but it's rude
and I think it's a rotten thing to do.
Can I go to my room?
In a minute.
Well?
I'd like an explanation.
Where I went?
For start.
Just out.
Walking.
I know that it's hard to believe
that I felt that walking
was more important
than making dinner, but I did.
That's it?
That's it.
Okay.
You stated your case. Now I'll state mine.
This is not a crash pad.
This is our home.
You will live here as
a member of our family.
Not a guest.
If you don't.
Then what?
- Then you will have to
find another place to live.
You don't care too much for me, do you?
How dare you say that to me, Rita.
I love you, you know?
No, I'm not sure I do know that.
You're the only one I do love.
Nobody, just you.
I love you too.
Sometimes you make it very hard.
We all do.
Don't give me that we stuff.
I don't like my father
anymore than he loves me.
And Kristina could die for all I care.
Rita!
Kristina is a simpering little toad.
She traps you with all her looks.
Underneath, she's weak and stupid,
unworthy and useless.
Stop it.
You gave me life.
You cared for me when I was sick.
You held me when I cried.
You fed me when I was hungry.
Those things are not forgotten.
Nothing is forgotten.
Each deed is written in fog
and when I must, I draw upon those deeds.
I reproach myself.
Each deed is written in fog.
Stop it!
Stop it!
Stop that, Rita!
Stop it!
- I must now call those
deeds an act of God.
Each deed is written in fog.
I know I must draw upon those deeds.
I reproach myself.
- And
she seemed out of control.
Certainly out of my control.
It was as though she had been hypnotized.
Possessed.
I don't know.
And it didn't seem to be coming from her.
It was a recitation, a litany.
Something rehearsed.
It was also delivered with anger.
With commitment.
I didn't know what to do.
I wanted to shake it out of her.
Bring her back or hold
her tight to let her know
it was all right, that I loved her.
But it frightened me being that close.
For the first time, I was
afraid of my own daughter.
I was afraid to take my eyes off her.
To turn my back on her.
I was afraid to hold her.
You're probably wondering why
I didn't do something then.
It certainly wasn't natural behavior.
But kids are always dramatizing.
They work hard at trying to be noticed.
Acknowledged.
Especially Rita.
At school they tease
her for being different.
At home, she flaunts it.
I thought it was just another act.
Rita, I told you no dinner.
I think you should go to your room.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Glenn, wait a minute.
What was all that about?
I don't know.
What are we having for dinner?
Pizza.
What?
Pizza.
You gotta be kidding.
Pizza?
That's what she made.
Hey, Kris, I hear you made a pizza.
That's terrific.
- Well, I think I got
all the bugs worked out.
Looks kinda funny.
Oh, looks great.
Nice try.
Dinner's on me.
I'll get Rita.
No.
No Rita.
It's not right.
It doesn't seem right to you, Marilyn,
because she will be unhappy.
Now that's a lousy reason.
She asked for it.
I can't leave without her.
- In the first place, missing
one meal won't hurt her.
And the second place, it's
about time she found out
who's running this house.
She parades around here like
she's a damn movie queen.
Let's go.
All right, I'll warm up the car.
Kris.
Hi, Glenn.
Marilyn.
Stan.
- Hi, what're you doing out?
- Sit down.
Before the big battle?
- Oh, getting my brief
together in the bar.
Oh, that's what they mean
by the California bar association.
Oh.
Man, she's gorgeous.
You must be sick of hearing that.
When does a woman hate a compliment?
Where's Rita?
She's doing her homework.
I really wish you well tomorrow.
I think you mean it.
Damn right I do.
You nail those landlords to the wall.
To the wall.
I better go home.
I think I'm a little high.
- You'll fit right in to the
Elliot's party on Friday.
Oh, yes.
The Elliot's.
Just once, I'd like to go
to a party and enjoy myself.
I'm getting too old to fight all the time.
Same old routine.
Shake up the wasps.
You all get purged. I just get tired.
Oh, come on, you love it.
No, I mean it.
I'd just like to sit there
and listen to there pap
and get quietly loaded.
You're on your way tonight.
Well, I'm off.
Chow all.
Good luck tomorrow.
Thank you.
Let's go.
What's the matter?
Are you all right?
Yeah.
Glenn?
Daddy, are you all right?
Just get in the car.
I don't wanna get in the car!
Kris, get in the car.
Stan just tried to kill me.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Did you see him?
I saw the car, Marilyn.
Maybe it just looked like his car.
It was Stan.
What're you going to do?
I don't know.
You know you can ruin him?
He coulda killed me.
It doesn't make any sense.
I know he was high.
Call him.
Yeah, you can bet on it.
Get in the car.
I'm gonna get some soda.
Do you want something?
No thanks.
What is it?
Huh?
Somebody's been driving my car!
Were you driving the car?
I hate driving.
Where were you with the car?
I told you, I didn't take the car.
Somebody's been driving that car.
The hood is warm.
Is that it?
Hate to disappoint you all.
So?
So, if you check the garage,
you'll find my electric
blanket on the ledge.
Why?
I was trying to hatch these eggs
and I need a flat surface, so
I used the hood of the car.
Where's the mother?
Dead.
Well why not here?
Why the hood of my car?
I never tried hatching anything before.
I didn't know what to expect.
I thought there might be a mess.
And if you messed up the hood of my car?
I'd have cleaned it up.
I don't understand you.
I know.
No luck?
No.
Nothing happened.
Well,
you keep it warm.
It just might hatch.
It's funny how things die for no reason.
I'm gonna lock up downstairs.
Are you through there?
Yeah.
Goodnight, darling.
Goodnight.
You feel warm.
I'm okay, really.
Let's just see about it.
Poor baby.
Marilyn?
In a minute.
Be right back.
I can read it.
Don't both of you talk at once.
What is it?
Helen is on the extension.
She's nearly hysterical.
He blacked out.
Doesn't remember a thing.
I knew it.
Stan?
Just listen to me.
I didn't tell anybody,
so if nobody saw you,
you're okay.
Well, you know, that's your department.
No, I don't know what you should do.
I think we should talk, though.
Good.
Yeah, whenever.
Okay.
He says his enemies would
love to get a hold of this.
It could ruin him.
Of course.
How does it feel to hold a
man's future in your hands?
Scary.
- There must be an
explanation to all this.
Don't harass the left wing.
I love it.
It's a shame to lose it.
Time marches on.
Yeah.
You know, you never do your
Richard Widmark anymore.
Oh.
Oh, my famous wheelchair scene.
Yeah.
- Where I push the old
lady down the stairs.
Yeah.
- You wanna see me push the
old lady down the stairs?
Stop.
Your work's killing you.
Can't you cut back?
You don't cut back in furniture design.
You stay ahead.
Toss the chips.
Why don't we toss in a few?
We don't have to impress.
All right.
- I'll close the plant and
I'll open a handy craft store
and we'll make funky jewelry
out of our silverware.
- I'm afraid that we'll
fall into a martini pitcher
and we'll never be heard from again.
We're not gonna drown.
Promise?
Yes.
We could do with a lot less, you know?
I mean, keeping up with the neighbors
is a thing of the past.
You don't have to prove
anything to anyone.
We have each other,
the girls, our family,
it's the only important thing.
I never see you anymore.
Good morning.
How you feel?
Pretty good.
Morning.
You hungry?
No.
What do you want?
Some fruit?
It's all yours.
Could I have some coffee?
I guess so.
Me too?
You stick to milk.
What are you doing today?
- Well, this afternoon
I'm going to charity tea
and then your dad's working late,
so this evening I'm going
over to the Bellamy's.
Kathleen called.
No!
She might have something you can catch.
She doesn't.
Please.
Well, I have to, Rita.
Kathleen is my friend.
I agree with her.
You shouldn't go.
Eat.
Hi, Marilyn.
Hi.
Come on in.
Sure.
Sit down?
How about a drink?
No, thank you.
How is she?
She's been feeling fine all day.
She's really looking
forward to seeing you.
Oh, good.
Well, where is she?
She's upstairs.
She'll be down in a few minutes.
I, ah.
You, ah, what?
Called in a parapsychologist.
I heard.
- Well, damn it Marilyn, I
didn't know what else to do.
I had to call somebody.
I'll laugh if you laugh.
I can't laugh.
I've watched Kathleen
come apart for no reason.
We've tried everything.
Marilyn, don't give me that look.
I'm sorry, Ryan.
It's just that the occult, you know?
I'll go get Kathleen.
What did he say about it?
That somebody hexed her.
Kathleen, here's Marilyn.
What is it?
Kathleen!
Help her!
Do something!
She burned.
She just burned.
I mean, there wasn't any fire.
She just exploded.
You should've seen her face.
I mean her blood was just,
it was boiling.
And she just burned up.
Oh.
Is Ryan all right?
Yeah.
Is he?
Well, he's fine.
His brother's there with him.
The doctor thought
somebody should be around.
Yeah?
- The shock and everything
kinda wiped him out.
But his heart is okay.
There's nothing to worry about.
Oh, god.
The kids are studying.
I saw Stan.
He cried all over me
and we vowed an undying friendship
and free legal fees for two years.
Still doesn't remember anything.
It's a big blank.
Do you want anything?
How about some soup?
No, honey, nothing.
You sure?
How do you feel?
Rest, okay.
Oh.
Pretty shaky.
Brought you some soup.
Thank you, honey.
It'll make you feel better.
I warned you, didn't I?
Yes.
And then you left.
Where did you go to?
Just out.
Did you go over there?
Why should I go over there?
Why don't you tell me?
How is it?
Good.
It's packaged.
Rita.
I didn't go over there.
I'm not hungry.
Okay.
I'll check back later.
She's no problem.
She's bright as a penny.
On the honor roll, as you know.
The girls tease her.
They make fun of her.
Most of the time they
don't even talk to her.
The Siegel girl used to tease her a lot.
I know.
Rita is not an unattractive girl.
No, she's pretty
and gifted.
What about Jackie Siegel?
What kind of girl was she?
Very pretty. Popular.
A little preoccupied with boys.
What happened?
Jackie fell.
She just fell.
And the fall broke her neck.
I wish I could be more help to you.
Mrs. Matchett, I know
that Rita's your daughter
and I know you would like her
to be more like other girls.
But some girls will be different.
Most of the people who've left
a meaningful legacy in
this world have been.
No, that's not much for you.
Not this week.
Thank you very much.
Okay, my lovelies.
Shower time!
Hold on to me, Glenn.
I feel like I'm on the last mile.
Honey, these are you friends.
They better be.
Let's have a drink.
Marilyn, so nice to see you.
Glenn.
Oh, I'm glad you came.
I was afraid you wouldn't.
No, I'm feeling a little crazy.
Tie down the lamp shade.
That's good.
What can I get you to drink?
Scotch for both of us.
Hers neat, mine with water.
There you go.
Both of you will be better
when you've had a drink.
Did you get our check?
Yes, yes, thanks.
You know, we've pulled
in over 15 thousand?
That used to be an endangered species.
Excuse me a second, honey.
My tongue is trapped.
You know that feeling?
I can't talk about Kathleen.
It was awful, that's all.
Mine's the neat one.
Yes.
Oh, Glenn.
How do you feel?
Like I hoped.
Nice party.
It's a bit classy, but Fenetia likes it.
Could do with a few more good friends.
Oh, is Stan here?
Right over there.
Hantly's trying to shoot holes in his plan
for a national health program.
One of them's gonna need
a doctor before it's over.
Well, I think you know
everybody else here.
Jill,
Marilyn.
Marilyn, I want you to meet someone.
I'll see you in a minute.
Marilyn Matchett, this is Dale Boyce.
How do you do?
Hello.
Oh Jill.
Excuse me.
I was sorry to hear about your friend.
About Mrs. Bellamy.
You knew her?
Her husband called me.
You're the parapsychologist.
She was murdered, you know.
I'm sorry, I tend to be blunt.
That's putting it mildly.
- Somebody hated Kathleen
Bellamy enough to kill her
and you were the
instrument, Mrs. Matchett.
You were the weapon.
You know that your name terrified her?
I'm not listening to you.
That your physical presence killed her?
That is not true.
I tried very hard to reach you.
And I wouldn't have listened.
Would you please excuse me?
You should leave the area altogether.
Only you won't.
Of course not.
Mrs. Matchett, I am on a lecture tour.
I'm gonna be in San Francisco.
If you should ever need me.
The Elliot party was my first experience
of such a concentration of power.
The Lang-Meadows telekinetic folio
clearly states that such concentrations
are usually accompanied by an odor
and, or a sound.
The odor is said to resemble
vegetable decomposition
and the sound is a clicking.
A clicking noise.
I experienced neither of these,
but noted a swelling of
the glands in my throat
accompanied by a rising fever,
resulting in epidermal sensitivity
and a strange visual phenomenon
I can only describe as...
A wave of ink.
My initial assumption
was secondary delirium
brought on by the fever,
but I am not ruling out the possibility
of visual recording of the power itself.
If that is true, then the alpha shade
places the source of evil at between
plus 30
and 35.
My breathing returned to
normal within five minutes
after leaving the source of power.
After the experience
with Kathleen Bellamy,
I should've packed us all
up and left, but I didn't.
Meeting you only confirmed my suspicions.
I never told you I went to
see Jackie Siegel's mother.
I think I was hoping that
Jackie would answer the door
and make a liar out of her mother
and Jo Standish and everyone else.
I'd discover it was
just another cruel joke
that they were playing on Rita.
It was a stupid thing to do.
I got a hysterical mother who
slammed the door in my face.
Still, not enough proof.
I would've needed a train
wreck on my front porch
to convince me something was wrong.
The nightmare got worse.
I can't believe.
What's the matter with Kris?
She seems upset.
Is she upset to you?
Huh?
No, I think she's gonna be all right.
It's just that,
well, she and Rita were having it out.
Both girls were really having a shout.
What did they fight about?
Hell.
Didn't you hear anything?
- I don't know what they
were fighting about.
We're in trouble again.
Beautiful, Kris.
Kris!
Kris!
Kris!
Kris!
You all right?
She's okay.
You'll be warm in a minute.
How'd it go?
There was an accident.
I'm sorry.
Didn't even ask what happened.
Thank god.
Get her out of this house.
Please, just get her out.
What were you two fighting about?
Nothing.
I want to know.
She's been spying on me.
I warned her to stop.
What kind of warning?
I am talking to you.
- The only kind of
warning she understands.
- What kind of warning
does a 15 year old kid
give a 13 year old kid?
To grow up.
That is not a warning.
That is a request.
I told Kris that if she didn't grow up
she wouldn't be around to grow up.
And that's a threat.
- People who mess around
on other people's business,
people who laugh at other
people because they're different
deserve to be punished.
Jackie Siegel was one of those.
Jackie Siegel fell.
That was an accident.
I know.
I was there.
Rita?
You're playing a dangerous
game with your mind.
You could delude yourself
right into a sanitarium.
You're scaring a lot of people.
You're not fooling me.
It's cheap and easy to scare people
who are younger than you.
The only power you have
is the power of your own will.
That's all any of us has.
That's right.
Want anything before I leave?
Yeah, as a matter of fact,
I think I'd like one of
those garbage sandwiches.
You know, everything in the fridge.
Heavy on the mayo.
Oh that's what I mean.
Just heaps of it.
Want a beer?
Yeah, but you don't have to bring it up.
I'll come down.
Damn right.
What was that?
Oh, I love it when you swear at me.
Not now.
Not now.
You want me to go with you to Ryan?
No.
If he's not feeling well,
it'll probably be too much.
- Tell him that I'll come by
toward the end of the week.
Ryan?
Hello?
Ryan?
Hello?
Ryan?
Mrs. Matchett.
Ross.
You scared the hell out of me.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Why are all the lights out?
Where's Ryan?
My brother's dead, Mrs. Matchett.
This afternoon, he took a sudden turn.
His heart just couldn't take it, I guess,
with Kathleen dying and all.
I know how you felt.
We'll let you know about
the funeral arrangements.
You know he had a bad heart.
He had a weak heart.
Honey, it's the same thing.
No.
It slowed him down.
It shouldn't have
killed him.
After that shock?
Honey,
I hate to bring this up now.
I think we oughta send Rita away.
Do you understand?
I want to send her away.
No.
We can't dump her
like garbage.
Nobody's dumping her.
Remember that school
outside of London?
Saint Catherine's.
If you remember, last year she begged us
to let her go there.
No!
I don't wanna talk about
it anymore tonight.
Well, we have to.
I'm gonna have to move fast.
Look, it won't hurt to check it out.
Maybe going away is what she needs.
She needs us.
I'm not so sure about that.
Maybe she needs a break from us.
A chance to breathe on her own.
Kids are different there.
Just let me check it out.
Please, let me check it out.
All right.
Check.
It's me.
I was asleep.
I have to talk to you.
I'm tired.
It's important.
Can't it wait?
- Several times you've
started to tell me things
and each time you stopped.
I want you to tell me now.
I can't.
You must.
I'm afraid.
You have to.
What are you doing?
Rita
and that Standish lady.
They sing together.
They sit and they sing weird things.
What kind of things?
I couldn't get close enough.
Where do they do this?
At the Standish's.
Do they do it alone?
Yeah.
What does the singing sound like?
I don't know.
Think.
It's kind of a chant.
Were you alone when you saw them?
No, Mrs. Bellamy was with me.
We went that day to collect
for the paper drive.
At school, the day you couldn't take me.
I remember.
When she didn't answer the ring,
we went around to the side and looked in
through the window.
That night, Rita told me
if I ever told anybody,
she'd hex me.
Kris,
what really happened to Jackie Seigel?
She fell.
Just like Rita said she would.
Just like Rita told her to?
She still fell.
The kids at school are
scared to death of her.
They all used to tease her.
When they saw what
happened to Jackie Seigel,
exactly like Rita said it would.
What upset your sister?
- Jackie and the kids
were calling her names
and teasing her and laughing at her.
And Rita started to get all red and cry.
- What did you do when
your sister was crying?
Nothing, why?
I'm ashamed that you should ask.
How can you protect her when you know
that she's done all those things?
In the first place,
I don't think she has.
And in the second place,
she is my daughter.
She's sick and crazy.
She is not.
She is different.
She tried to kill me.
Now that was an accident.
It wasn't an accident.
She tried to make it look
like it was an accident
and she's fooling everybody.
How can you protect her?
One day, you will see.
Marilyn Matchett.
Mrs. Matchett.
Mr. Boyce.
Dale.
- I must tell you, I don't
really wanna be here.
I know that.
You pick that up?
- I wouldn't have to be
a sensitive to feel that.
Won't you please sit down?
Are you?
A sensitive?
Yes.
We all are.
Theoretically, everybody
has the ability to send
and to receive.
Not everyone's developed it.
What's the trick?
Pretty much knowing that it's there.
It's like I. Q.
Some people have a high I. Q.
Some people are low.
But everybody has an I. Q.
What do you wanna know?
What the hell's going on?
There's a power loose.
Are you aware that this area
is the most powerful in North America?
How do you mean?
Psychically.
Psychic energy.
Someone has learned to tap that
and to transmit it and has
taught others to transmit.
You can't organize that sort of thing.
Oh yes you can.
Hitler was able to mobilize
an entire nation with words
and only with words.
The human brain is a very powerful weapon.
One word can become a bullet.
But you don't believe
me, so I won't go on.
Do, go on.
Why?
I don't know.
Control. Power.
Always a strong motivation.
Do you know what a mantra is?
A chant.
Yes.
And it works.
It's used in transcendental
meditation,
Nichiren, Shu Buddhism.
Pretty much the same thing.
The reason that it works
is that the individual
passionately wants it to work.
Now if that could work for good,
it could as easily work for
what we might call evil.
One genuine sensitive
with a hierarchy of sensitives under him.
I'll leave it to your imagination.
You're welcome to stay if you like.
Oh, no thank you.
I think that you should stay.
I can't.
I have to get home.
Mrs. Matchett, please.
We must talk.
You and I must really talk.
Will you wait for me?
Yes, all right.
It's good.
Kristina helped.
I sauted.
It's gorgeous.
Fattening though.
Was that for my benefit?
You know it wasn't.
Don't look for a fight.
- It is fattening, but
sometimes it's good for the soul
to eat something that's really
rotten for you, now and then.
I'm not very hungry.
Can I be excused?
Yeah.
Sure.
I've got some news.
Good news I hope.
For Rita, yes.
That school that you
wanted to go to in England,
I did some checking today.
I made a call and you can go late.
Your grades are good,
you're on the honor roll
and they said, under the circumstances...
But I don't wanna go now.
I like it here.
But six months ago.
I've changed my mind.
- Honey, we thought that
it might be a good...
I said I've changed my mind.
Rita.
I think it's best.
I don't.
I can see that.
Since you don't run this household.
Glenn.
Her passport's good.
It's only been two years
since we were there.
So we don't have to worry about that.
I've got her on Pan Am Thursday night.
I thought we'd all go into the
city early and have dinner.
- Why don't you get on
that plane yourself?
Rita.
Nobody's getting rid of me!
I'm staying until you're
all dead and buried.
Till you rot in your graves.
You'll never get rid of me! Never!
- I'll put her on that plane
if I have to kick her on.
Who the hell does she think she is?
I'll drop 30 milligrams of
Lupron in her milk and pour her on.
She's going, I'll tell you that.
She's going up and over that ocean
and out of our lives.
All right.
I know that you don't think I love her.
I do.
At least, I did.
Something soured somewhere.
I don't know where.
You two.
You two were in trouble
from the beginning.
Every father wants a little princess
and she just never was one.
She came out kicking and screaming,
like she hated being born.
- And she's been paying
us back ever since.
- Maybe she knew what
was in store for her.
I don't know.
She's mine.
She's mine.
I can't give her up.
Not yet.
What are you fighting for?
A nervous breakdown?
Fighting for us.
We're a family and she's a part of it.
Well she can be a part of it in England.
On Thursday we give her a second chance
and we give ourselves a break,
I'm not gonna see you
come apart at the seems
just because you wouldn't admit defeat.
- She's hurting inside.
Can't you see that?
Can't you see she's all twisted up?
I can't leave it like this.
A bunch of broken glasses
and a lot of hatred.
I need time with her.
Alone.
You've got a high tolerance for pain.
All right, I'll get Kris
and we'll go to a movie.
No.
I need more time.
You and Kristina sleep over at Stan's.
I want the whole night with her.
Please.
Please.
All right.
I'll call him.
Glenn.
I've never done it before.
Not really.
Not alone.
Rita, you have the power.
And now you know how to use it.
Can't I just make him sick?
He'll get well
and then you'll have to
deal with it all over again.
My mother?
She'll get over it.
Look, I don't want people to die.
I liked Ryan Bellamy.
I had nothing to do with that.
His heart just gave out.
- But if you hadn't done
that to Mrs. Bellamy.
I had to.
She would've told everybody.
Rita, I don't like this turnaround.
You didn't feel like this
when you first came to me
about Jackie Seigel, did you?
But you said you could stop her.
I didn't know you were gonna do that.
Oh yes you did.
You knew exactly.
Why do you think I put her up against you?
- You said you were
going to humiliate her.
And I did.
That silly little girl.
I would have killed her for you.
She was your enemy.
Kathleen Bellamy is our enemy.
Oh Rita, we're building something.
You have a great power.
It's as great as my own.
Now I let you get away
with scaring your sister,
but I can't let your father
put you on that plane.
I'll make him sick.
Real sick.
I can't take that risk.
Soon we'll have a whole
community of special people.
A community?
Do you think it stops with us?
I'll be right back where I was.
What do you mean?
Everybody will be the same.
I won't be different or special.
You are special.
It's mine! I don't want to share it!
Real power is in the sharing.
No.
Rita, trust me.
No, for the first in my life
I have enjoyed being different.
If it's given to others,
I won't be different.
- My dear, you will be with
people who will appreciate you.
I don't wanna be with people!
There's no point in pursuing this.
You're not giving it to anyone else.
And you're not giving any orders.
Mother, is that you?
Yes.
I'm making something.
Hungry?
No.
Making grilled cheese.
I don't know why I get
hungry so late at night.
It's the wrong time to
eat, but I can't help it.
You want me to make you one?
Something wrong?
Sit down.
Let me just get this on the griddle.
Now.
I will, in a minute.
Now.
I said,
in a minute.
What have you done?
Do you understand me?
It is over.
It is finished. It is the end.
How?
How did you?
If anything happens to your father
or to your sister
or to anyone else.
What?
What will you do?
I will destroy you.
Don't try it.
Rita, don't make me.
You can't, I'm the only one.
Where do you think you got it?
No.
I was born with it.
That's right.
You better think of what
you're going to take with you.
I'm not going.
Something warm.
It's quite cold there until July.
I'm not going!
I'll help you.
I'm not going! I'm not going!
Mother!
Oh please, don't make me go.
I like it here.
It's all over.
It's gonna be all right.
You're gonna be all right.
You're home.
You're home.
You're home.
You're home.
- I
have my daughter back now.
And I'm not going to lose her.
I don't want to use the power ever again.
This telekinetic I. Q.
I've got is not a gift.
It's a curse.
I hate it.
And at the same time, I'm grateful for it.
One last thing.
How do you bury it?
I don't want it.
I'm not ready to handle it.
It's like any kind of power.
It's much too tempting.
- I am experiencing the
distortion once again.
It's a little clearer this time.
I have an idea that I'm going to try.
I end this tape with a note.
The telekinetic concentration
seems to intensify
after the Matchett's relocation.
The board indicated
movement to coastal cities.
San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco.
Lake Ridge being only one of four
inland, rural communities
high in alpha intensity.
Carmel, extending to the Big Sur,
then south to San Luis Obispo
and north to Seaside.
Power.
It's much too tempting.
- It's
like any kind of power.
It's much too tempting.
It's much too tempting.
- Line up over here and I'll
be with you in a minute.
Is this for time?
Yes, this is for time.
I heard she was really slim
until she started eating
everything in sight.
Now she wears all those big dresses
and old fashion sweatsuits
to hide all her lines.
Very funny.
All right.
And a grade.
Do I have to?
I'm afraid so, Rita.
Okay?
All right girls, let's go.
You can be excused.
- You know that guy from
Fort Ord I was seeing?
What about him?
- He used to take out the
home economics teacher
before she got fat.
Who'd want to take out that tubo?
You going up the rope like that, tubo?
- I'm warning you, Jackie, you
better stop calling me that.
We'll just call you Moby Dick then.
Is it hard?
Kinda.
You going up the rope like that, tubo?
I gotta get to class.
Jackie and Rita.
Go.
Do a spin, Jackie.
I'll hold the end.
At the same time,
the agency issued new regulations
permitting diversions of propane gas...
and other high priority
uses, if necessary...
What's so funny?
Here
Do you really need that second helping?
It's extra. We paid for it.
You aren't paying for it.
I'll take it.
- Don't you two have to
get ready for school?
No.
Why not?
- Well it has to do with Jesus
and it's not his birthday.
Oh, hilarious.
That's really hilarious.
Just trying to be helpful.
Well, don't be.
Is all this necessary?
Excuse me.
Kristina.
I'm not finished.
Why did you do that?
Huh?
You heard me.
That remark about a second helping.
Oh.
Because she's getting fat
and you don't say a word.
You don't help her by humiliating her.
Let's get a governess in here.
Neither of us will have to do it.
She is too old for a governess.
Not a governess, per say.
A sort of,
housekeeper who's good at mediation.
Well, swell.
We can have a union.
The kids will have strikes and labor wars.
Okay.
Let's do something.
How about the grapefruit diet?
Glenn, she's an adolescent.
That's her problem.
Don't you remember when you were 15?
I do.
What a memory.
Well, it was tough.
I ate my way out of going to two proms.
Okay, how do we approach her?
Don't humiliate her.
You got it.
I got some stuff for Margaret to iron.
- Oh, she went to her
sister's for a few days.
I'll do it.
No.
You'll like it.
I'll like it.
- Would you pick up a
bottle of Caligastia?
I've tried all over town.
Would you try Applebee's?
Okay.
Bye.
Glenn?
Bye.
Is he gone?
Finish your breakfast, Kris.
What's your day like?
We're going shopping, remember?
Oh.
If I'm up to it, honey.
Rita did it again.
You know, ever since
Jackie Siegel's accident,
she's been acting really strange.
That was nearly a month ago.
Some of the kids said when she fell...
Kristin.
How about doing the dishes for me, sport?
Okay.
You wanna talk?
Nope.
Bad one, huh?
What?
Real bummer?
Medium bad.
Might help to talk.
Might help you. Won't help me.
Okay.
What are you making?
You know, Rita,
you really make it very difficult
for me to say I'm sorry.
- Is Kathleen
still being peculiar?
I don't know. I haven't seen Ryan.
Kathleen doesn't want to see anyone,
especially me.
Something must have happened.
Best friends just don't
turn off like that.
You know, he's called
in a parapsychologist.
You're kidding.
No.
Analysis didn't do it,
so now he's looking for
ghosts in her closet.
Weird.
The whole town is getting strange.
Ever since that Jackie Siegel accident.
Love it.
Seen the price?
Afraid to look.
Oh, I hate it.
- Let's get the banana
cake at Donatello's.
Oh, that cake is ruining me.
I don't even bother to eat it anymore.
I just supply it directly to my hips.
You don't wanna go?
I didn't say that.
Okay then.
Be honest, is the banana cake fresh?
Yes ladies, the banana cake is fresh
if there's any left.
What's the alternative?
Well we have two day old rum cake
and some nice clairs,
if they haven't gone bad.
Is that what you want?
No.
No, we'll have the banana cake,
if there's any left, please
and some coffee.
You too?
Yes.
He's something.
Are your girls gonna swim in the meet?
Kris is. Rita's too old.
Too old at 15?
Do you love it?
I guess Terri's gonna compete.
She's been so damned impossible, though.
I'm not counting on it.
And Lyn hates Jo
Standish, so I don't know.
Who's Jo Standish?
The new gym teacher at school.
She's also the guidance counselor
and she's a tough one.
Well you have to be to handle our kids
eight hours a day.
Oh, I know.
Terri and Lyn are constantly
at each other's throat.
Please, tell me I'm not alone.
You are not alone.
Thank God.
You are in luck, ladies.
Fresh banana cake.
Thank you.
- You know, Rita's having
an awful time with it.
Kris and the other kids
know how to go right where it hurts.
With Rita, right now, it's her weight.
They call adults cruel.
Used to kill me last year.
I'd go and pick her up at school,
she'd be hiding in a
building, waiting for me.
She'd only come out when she saw my car.
And even then, those kids
still found a way to yell
some rotten thing at
her to finish her off.
- I bet they take classes
on how to hurt each other.
Sadism, 1-A.
Speaking of schools,
did you hear about that Webster
Elementary school business?
What?
On the news.
Oh.
They had to close the school.
The kids were throwing up, eyes burning,
disorientation.
I tell you, the whole
peninsula is getting weird.
How is the banana cake? Good?
- If I ever come in and
ask for this recipe,
don't dare give it to me.
Trust me.
Rita?
Kris?
Kris?
Hey.
What's going on?
Nothing.
What've you been doing?
Hey.
I'm talking to you.
I thought you were talking to Kris.
I'm talking to both of you.
Ask Kris.
I'm asking you.
Will you stop these games?
We made a bet.
She lost.
What kind of bet?
- She said she could hold
her breath for two minutes
and she didn't make it so now she's mad.
How intelligent.
May I be excused?
Please.
Why are you out of breath?
I beat her.
I made it to a minute and a half.
And if she'd lose about 500 pounds,
she might be able to make it to a minute.
That's enough!
That is enough. You can scrap shopping.
Oh, mom!
Oh, mom.
Will you stop it, Rita? Damn it.
I can't stand her whining.
Stop it! Both of you!
She starts it.
You both start it.
- We don't like each
other, mother. Face it.
Rita, that's an awful thing to say.
That is awful.
No it isn't.
It doesn't bother her any.
Ask her.
No, it doesn't bother me.
It bothers me.
Then let's not discuss it.
7:10, boarding at gate one.
What're you doing here?
I don't need a lift.
I thought we might go out for a drink.
What's the matter?
Nothing's the matter.
Yeah, something's the matter.
No kiss. No hello.
You're not programmed for anything
but going to Los Angeles and coming home.
Keep your voice down.
Boy have you changed.
I remember a time we used to
sit on the football field,
you with one goal post, me at another,
a bottle of cheap red wine between us,
yelling dirty things at each other.
What's the matter? Am I embarrassing you?
Don't want me to yell.
Wanna hear?
- Are you gonna try
and ruin my reputation?
- No, I'm just trying to
put some of the old pizzaz
back in our marriage.
We're not 25 anymore.
We're not 85 either,
but you act like you're pushing it.
- You want to drop by
the field on the way home
and have a replay?
Don't make fun of me.
I'm not kidding.
I'm not either.
I'll meet you at the Three Knights.
You're on.
Now get in that car and drive.
I'll get there before you.
Oh, yeah?
I will.
She had the strangest
expression on her face.
Like what?
I don't know.
A kind of
cynicism.
A hardness.
A cruelty. I don't know.
A cynic at 15?
Only in the screwy times
could you be a cynic at 15.
Maybe I saw something that wasn't there.
- I heard a great definition
of a cynic the other day.
Knowledgeable apathy.
Isn't that grand?
Knowledgeable apathy.
Knowledgeable apathy.
Maybe we should send
her to a psychiatrist.
Or a firing squad.
Come on.
Scratch that.
- Rita's going through a
very, very bad time now
and she needs our support.
Nobody ever said that kids were easy.
Some are more difficult than others.
- Well, she's difficult
because she's unhappy.
She's unhappy because she's fat
and she's fat because...
Yes?
You want another drink?
She's fat because?
Something's missing.
End analysis.
Oh, I'll tell you.
Don't say, love.
You love her.
Of course I love her.
Do you love her enough?
Kris is so easy for you to love.
Rita's harder.
She's ours too.
She's a part of both of us.
Can't we both love her a little harder?
I could use a little too, you know?
She looks at me like I just
won the ogre award.
How do you look at her?
Like she'd just given me the award.
All right, I'll give it a shot.
I'm still gonna kick her in the butt
when she gets smart.
And compliment her when she does right.
And pray, God, she's 18 tomorrow.
Tonight.
- That's all the time I'm
giving her right now.
My evenings are short enough.
What the?
What's wrong with that thing?
I'll take care of it.
Call them.
The door person.
You alright honey?
Yeah, that light is still out.
Oh, he's coming Tuesday.
I thought you said Monday.
No, Tuesday.
And when do the cable people come?
Thursday.
We're home.
Hi.
How's dinner coming?
I don't know.
What do you mean you don't know?
Well, Rita left.
She was supposed to fix dinner.
She didn't.
I'll try again.
Did she make an attempt to start dinner?
No.
Did you?
Mhmm.
- Was there any excuse why
she didn't make dinner?
She said she had better things to do.
Boot in the rear time.
All right, Glenn.
What did you make, honey?
Surprise.
Who left my bathroom in a mess?
I did.
I was dying some eggs.
Well,
after dinner, you and
some cleanser up here.
Huh?
Kris, I want some answers.
Rita said she was going out
and she would be back in time for dinner.
Who was supposed to make dinner?
You, I guess.
She's got a surprise coming.
No dinner for her?
Don't gloat.
You have nothing to worry about.
Wait until you see what I made.
Good lord.
I'll clean it up.
You're not kidding.
What could you make that
would take all these pots?
Pizza.
Pizza?
From scratch.
Where'd you get the recipe?
Kid at school.
A kid at school?
An Italian kid.
You're heading for a fall, little lady.
Your mother asked you to do something.
I had something else to do.
That was more important?
Yes.
- I think you can go
without your dinner tonight.
Big deal.
I'm going.
Thanks for dropping in.
Sorry about dinner.
Are you, Rita?
Well, it's no great tragedy, is it?
No, but it's rude
and I think it's a rotten thing to do.
Can I go to my room?
In a minute.
Well?
I'd like an explanation.
Where I went?
For start.
Just out.
Walking.
I know that it's hard to believe
that I felt that walking
was more important
than making dinner, but I did.
That's it?
That's it.
Okay.
You stated your case. Now I'll state mine.
This is not a crash pad.
This is our home.
You will live here as
a member of our family.
Not a guest.
If you don't.
Then what?
- Then you will have to
find another place to live.
You don't care too much for me, do you?
How dare you say that to me, Rita.
I love you, you know?
No, I'm not sure I do know that.
You're the only one I do love.
Nobody, just you.
I love you too.
Sometimes you make it very hard.
We all do.
Don't give me that we stuff.
I don't like my father
anymore than he loves me.
And Kristina could die for all I care.
Rita!
Kristina is a simpering little toad.
She traps you with all her looks.
Underneath, she's weak and stupid,
unworthy and useless.
Stop it.
You gave me life.
You cared for me when I was sick.
You held me when I cried.
You fed me when I was hungry.
Those things are not forgotten.
Nothing is forgotten.
Each deed is written in fog
and when I must, I draw upon those deeds.
I reproach myself.
Each deed is written in fog.
Stop it!
Stop it!
Stop that, Rita!
Stop it!
- I must now call those
deeds an act of God.
Each deed is written in fog.
I know I must draw upon those deeds.
I reproach myself.
- And
she seemed out of control.
Certainly out of my control.
It was as though she had been hypnotized.
Possessed.
I don't know.
And it didn't seem to be coming from her.
It was a recitation, a litany.
Something rehearsed.
It was also delivered with anger.
With commitment.
I didn't know what to do.
I wanted to shake it out of her.
Bring her back or hold
her tight to let her know
it was all right, that I loved her.
But it frightened me being that close.
For the first time, I was
afraid of my own daughter.
I was afraid to take my eyes off her.
To turn my back on her.
I was afraid to hold her.
You're probably wondering why
I didn't do something then.
It certainly wasn't natural behavior.
But kids are always dramatizing.
They work hard at trying to be noticed.
Acknowledged.
Especially Rita.
At school they tease
her for being different.
At home, she flaunts it.
I thought it was just another act.
Rita, I told you no dinner.
I think you should go to your room.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Glenn, wait a minute.
What was all that about?
I don't know.
What are we having for dinner?
Pizza.
What?
Pizza.
You gotta be kidding.
Pizza?
That's what she made.
Hey, Kris, I hear you made a pizza.
That's terrific.
- Well, I think I got
all the bugs worked out.
Looks kinda funny.
Oh, looks great.
Nice try.
Dinner's on me.
I'll get Rita.
No.
No Rita.
It's not right.
It doesn't seem right to you, Marilyn,
because she will be unhappy.
Now that's a lousy reason.
She asked for it.
I can't leave without her.
- In the first place, missing
one meal won't hurt her.
And the second place, it's
about time she found out
who's running this house.
She parades around here like
she's a damn movie queen.
Let's go.
All right, I'll warm up the car.
Kris.
Hi, Glenn.
Marilyn.
Stan.
- Hi, what're you doing out?
- Sit down.
Before the big battle?
- Oh, getting my brief
together in the bar.
Oh, that's what they mean
by the California bar association.
Oh.
Man, she's gorgeous.
You must be sick of hearing that.
When does a woman hate a compliment?
Where's Rita?
She's doing her homework.
I really wish you well tomorrow.
I think you mean it.
Damn right I do.
You nail those landlords to the wall.
To the wall.
I better go home.
I think I'm a little high.
- You'll fit right in to the
Elliot's party on Friday.
Oh, yes.
The Elliot's.
Just once, I'd like to go
to a party and enjoy myself.
I'm getting too old to fight all the time.
Same old routine.
Shake up the wasps.
You all get purged. I just get tired.
Oh, come on, you love it.
No, I mean it.
I'd just like to sit there
and listen to there pap
and get quietly loaded.
You're on your way tonight.
Well, I'm off.
Chow all.
Good luck tomorrow.
Thank you.
Let's go.
What's the matter?
Are you all right?
Yeah.
Glenn?
Daddy, are you all right?
Just get in the car.
I don't wanna get in the car!
Kris, get in the car.
Stan just tried to kill me.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Did you see him?
I saw the car, Marilyn.
Maybe it just looked like his car.
It was Stan.
What're you going to do?
I don't know.
You know you can ruin him?
He coulda killed me.
It doesn't make any sense.
I know he was high.
Call him.
Yeah, you can bet on it.
Get in the car.
I'm gonna get some soda.
Do you want something?
No thanks.
What is it?
Huh?
Somebody's been driving my car!
Were you driving the car?
I hate driving.
Where were you with the car?
I told you, I didn't take the car.
Somebody's been driving that car.
The hood is warm.
Is that it?
Hate to disappoint you all.
So?
So, if you check the garage,
you'll find my electric
blanket on the ledge.
Why?
I was trying to hatch these eggs
and I need a flat surface, so
I used the hood of the car.
Where's the mother?
Dead.
Well why not here?
Why the hood of my car?
I never tried hatching anything before.
I didn't know what to expect.
I thought there might be a mess.
And if you messed up the hood of my car?
I'd have cleaned it up.
I don't understand you.
I know.
No luck?
No.
Nothing happened.
Well,
you keep it warm.
It just might hatch.
It's funny how things die for no reason.
I'm gonna lock up downstairs.
Are you through there?
Yeah.
Goodnight, darling.
Goodnight.
You feel warm.
I'm okay, really.
Let's just see about it.
Poor baby.
Marilyn?
In a minute.
Be right back.
I can read it.
Don't both of you talk at once.
What is it?
Helen is on the extension.
She's nearly hysterical.
He blacked out.
Doesn't remember a thing.
I knew it.
Stan?
Just listen to me.
I didn't tell anybody,
so if nobody saw you,
you're okay.
Well, you know, that's your department.
No, I don't know what you should do.
I think we should talk, though.
Good.
Yeah, whenever.
Okay.
He says his enemies would
love to get a hold of this.
It could ruin him.
Of course.
How does it feel to hold a
man's future in your hands?
Scary.
- There must be an
explanation to all this.
Don't harass the left wing.
I love it.
It's a shame to lose it.
Time marches on.
Yeah.
You know, you never do your
Richard Widmark anymore.
Oh.
Oh, my famous wheelchair scene.
Yeah.
- Where I push the old
lady down the stairs.
Yeah.
- You wanna see me push the
old lady down the stairs?
Stop.
Your work's killing you.
Can't you cut back?
You don't cut back in furniture design.
You stay ahead.
Toss the chips.
Why don't we toss in a few?
We don't have to impress.
All right.
- I'll close the plant and
I'll open a handy craft store
and we'll make funky jewelry
out of our silverware.
- I'm afraid that we'll
fall into a martini pitcher
and we'll never be heard from again.
We're not gonna drown.
Promise?
Yes.
We could do with a lot less, you know?
I mean, keeping up with the neighbors
is a thing of the past.
You don't have to prove
anything to anyone.
We have each other,
the girls, our family,
it's the only important thing.
I never see you anymore.
Good morning.
How you feel?
Pretty good.
Morning.
You hungry?
No.
What do you want?
Some fruit?
It's all yours.
Could I have some coffee?
I guess so.
Me too?
You stick to milk.
What are you doing today?
- Well, this afternoon
I'm going to charity tea
and then your dad's working late,
so this evening I'm going
over to the Bellamy's.
Kathleen called.
No!
She might have something you can catch.
She doesn't.
Please.
Well, I have to, Rita.
Kathleen is my friend.
I agree with her.
You shouldn't go.
Eat.
Hi, Marilyn.
Hi.
Come on in.
Sure.
Sit down?
How about a drink?
No, thank you.
How is she?
She's been feeling fine all day.
She's really looking
forward to seeing you.
Oh, good.
Well, where is she?
She's upstairs.
She'll be down in a few minutes.
I, ah.
You, ah, what?
Called in a parapsychologist.
I heard.
- Well, damn it Marilyn, I
didn't know what else to do.
I had to call somebody.
I'll laugh if you laugh.
I can't laugh.
I've watched Kathleen
come apart for no reason.
We've tried everything.
Marilyn, don't give me that look.
I'm sorry, Ryan.
It's just that the occult, you know?
I'll go get Kathleen.
What did he say about it?
That somebody hexed her.
Kathleen, here's Marilyn.
What is it?
Kathleen!
Help her!
Do something!
She burned.
She just burned.
I mean, there wasn't any fire.
She just exploded.
You should've seen her face.
I mean her blood was just,
it was boiling.
And she just burned up.
Oh.
Is Ryan all right?
Yeah.
Is he?
Well, he's fine.
His brother's there with him.
The doctor thought
somebody should be around.
Yeah?
- The shock and everything
kinda wiped him out.
But his heart is okay.
There's nothing to worry about.
Oh, god.
The kids are studying.
I saw Stan.
He cried all over me
and we vowed an undying friendship
and free legal fees for two years.
Still doesn't remember anything.
It's a big blank.
Do you want anything?
How about some soup?
No, honey, nothing.
You sure?
How do you feel?
Rest, okay.
Oh.
Pretty shaky.
Brought you some soup.
Thank you, honey.
It'll make you feel better.
I warned you, didn't I?
Yes.
And then you left.
Where did you go to?
Just out.
Did you go over there?
Why should I go over there?
Why don't you tell me?
How is it?
Good.
It's packaged.
Rita.
I didn't go over there.
I'm not hungry.
Okay.
I'll check back later.
She's no problem.
She's bright as a penny.
On the honor roll, as you know.
The girls tease her.
They make fun of her.
Most of the time they
don't even talk to her.
The Siegel girl used to tease her a lot.
I know.
Rita is not an unattractive girl.
No, she's pretty
and gifted.
What about Jackie Siegel?
What kind of girl was she?
Very pretty. Popular.
A little preoccupied with boys.
What happened?
Jackie fell.
She just fell.
And the fall broke her neck.
I wish I could be more help to you.
Mrs. Matchett, I know
that Rita's your daughter
and I know you would like her
to be more like other girls.
But some girls will be different.
Most of the people who've left
a meaningful legacy in
this world have been.
No, that's not much for you.
Not this week.
Thank you very much.
Okay, my lovelies.
Shower time!
Hold on to me, Glenn.
I feel like I'm on the last mile.
Honey, these are you friends.
They better be.
Let's have a drink.
Marilyn, so nice to see you.
Glenn.
Oh, I'm glad you came.
I was afraid you wouldn't.
No, I'm feeling a little crazy.
Tie down the lamp shade.
That's good.
What can I get you to drink?
Scotch for both of us.
Hers neat, mine with water.
There you go.
Both of you will be better
when you've had a drink.
Did you get our check?
Yes, yes, thanks.
You know, we've pulled
in over 15 thousand?
That used to be an endangered species.
Excuse me a second, honey.
My tongue is trapped.
You know that feeling?
I can't talk about Kathleen.
It was awful, that's all.
Mine's the neat one.
Yes.
Oh, Glenn.
How do you feel?
Like I hoped.
Nice party.
It's a bit classy, but Fenetia likes it.
Could do with a few more good friends.
Oh, is Stan here?
Right over there.
Hantly's trying to shoot holes in his plan
for a national health program.
One of them's gonna need
a doctor before it's over.
Well, I think you know
everybody else here.
Jill,
Marilyn.
Marilyn, I want you to meet someone.
I'll see you in a minute.
Marilyn Matchett, this is Dale Boyce.
How do you do?
Hello.
Oh Jill.
Excuse me.
I was sorry to hear about your friend.
About Mrs. Bellamy.
You knew her?
Her husband called me.
You're the parapsychologist.
She was murdered, you know.
I'm sorry, I tend to be blunt.
That's putting it mildly.
- Somebody hated Kathleen
Bellamy enough to kill her
and you were the
instrument, Mrs. Matchett.
You were the weapon.
You know that your name terrified her?
I'm not listening to you.
That your physical presence killed her?
That is not true.
I tried very hard to reach you.
And I wouldn't have listened.
Would you please excuse me?
You should leave the area altogether.
Only you won't.
Of course not.
Mrs. Matchett, I am on a lecture tour.
I'm gonna be in San Francisco.
If you should ever need me.
The Elliot party was my first experience
of such a concentration of power.
The Lang-Meadows telekinetic folio
clearly states that such concentrations
are usually accompanied by an odor
and, or a sound.
The odor is said to resemble
vegetable decomposition
and the sound is a clicking.
A clicking noise.
I experienced neither of these,
but noted a swelling of
the glands in my throat
accompanied by a rising fever,
resulting in epidermal sensitivity
and a strange visual phenomenon
I can only describe as...
A wave of ink.
My initial assumption
was secondary delirium
brought on by the fever,
but I am not ruling out the possibility
of visual recording of the power itself.
If that is true, then the alpha shade
places the source of evil at between
plus 30
and 35.
My breathing returned to
normal within five minutes
after leaving the source of power.
After the experience
with Kathleen Bellamy,
I should've packed us all
up and left, but I didn't.
Meeting you only confirmed my suspicions.
I never told you I went to
see Jackie Siegel's mother.
I think I was hoping that
Jackie would answer the door
and make a liar out of her mother
and Jo Standish and everyone else.
I'd discover it was
just another cruel joke
that they were playing on Rita.
It was a stupid thing to do.
I got a hysterical mother who
slammed the door in my face.
Still, not enough proof.
I would've needed a train
wreck on my front porch
to convince me something was wrong.
The nightmare got worse.
I can't believe.
What's the matter with Kris?
She seems upset.
Is she upset to you?
Huh?
No, I think she's gonna be all right.
It's just that,
well, she and Rita were having it out.
Both girls were really having a shout.
What did they fight about?
Hell.
Didn't you hear anything?
- I don't know what they
were fighting about.
We're in trouble again.
Beautiful, Kris.
Kris!
Kris!
Kris!
Kris!
You all right?
She's okay.
You'll be warm in a minute.
How'd it go?
There was an accident.
I'm sorry.
Didn't even ask what happened.
Thank god.
Get her out of this house.
Please, just get her out.
What were you two fighting about?
Nothing.
I want to know.
She's been spying on me.
I warned her to stop.
What kind of warning?
I am talking to you.
- The only kind of
warning she understands.
- What kind of warning
does a 15 year old kid
give a 13 year old kid?
To grow up.
That is not a warning.
That is a request.
I told Kris that if she didn't grow up
she wouldn't be around to grow up.
And that's a threat.
- People who mess around
on other people's business,
people who laugh at other
people because they're different
deserve to be punished.
Jackie Siegel was one of those.
Jackie Siegel fell.
That was an accident.
I know.
I was there.
Rita?
You're playing a dangerous
game with your mind.
You could delude yourself
right into a sanitarium.
You're scaring a lot of people.
You're not fooling me.
It's cheap and easy to scare people
who are younger than you.
The only power you have
is the power of your own will.
That's all any of us has.
That's right.
Want anything before I leave?
Yeah, as a matter of fact,
I think I'd like one of
those garbage sandwiches.
You know, everything in the fridge.
Heavy on the mayo.
Oh that's what I mean.
Just heaps of it.
Want a beer?
Yeah, but you don't have to bring it up.
I'll come down.
Damn right.
What was that?
Oh, I love it when you swear at me.
Not now.
Not now.
You want me to go with you to Ryan?
No.
If he's not feeling well,
it'll probably be too much.
- Tell him that I'll come by
toward the end of the week.
Ryan?
Hello?
Ryan?
Hello?
Ryan?
Mrs. Matchett.
Ross.
You scared the hell out of me.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Why are all the lights out?
Where's Ryan?
My brother's dead, Mrs. Matchett.
This afternoon, he took a sudden turn.
His heart just couldn't take it, I guess,
with Kathleen dying and all.
I know how you felt.
We'll let you know about
the funeral arrangements.
You know he had a bad heart.
He had a weak heart.
Honey, it's the same thing.
No.
It slowed him down.
It shouldn't have
killed him.
After that shock?
Honey,
I hate to bring this up now.
I think we oughta send Rita away.
Do you understand?
I want to send her away.
No.
We can't dump her
like garbage.
Nobody's dumping her.
Remember that school
outside of London?
Saint Catherine's.
If you remember, last year she begged us
to let her go there.
No!
I don't wanna talk about
it anymore tonight.
Well, we have to.
I'm gonna have to move fast.
Look, it won't hurt to check it out.
Maybe going away is what she needs.
She needs us.
I'm not so sure about that.
Maybe she needs a break from us.
A chance to breathe on her own.
Kids are different there.
Just let me check it out.
Please, let me check it out.
All right.
Check.
It's me.
I was asleep.
I have to talk to you.
I'm tired.
It's important.
Can't it wait?
- Several times you've
started to tell me things
and each time you stopped.
I want you to tell me now.
I can't.
You must.
I'm afraid.
You have to.
What are you doing?
Rita
and that Standish lady.
They sing together.
They sit and they sing weird things.
What kind of things?
I couldn't get close enough.
Where do they do this?
At the Standish's.
Do they do it alone?
Yeah.
What does the singing sound like?
I don't know.
Think.
It's kind of a chant.
Were you alone when you saw them?
No, Mrs. Bellamy was with me.
We went that day to collect
for the paper drive.
At school, the day you couldn't take me.
I remember.
When she didn't answer the ring,
we went around to the side and looked in
through the window.
That night, Rita told me
if I ever told anybody,
she'd hex me.
Kris,
what really happened to Jackie Seigel?
She fell.
Just like Rita said she would.
Just like Rita told her to?
She still fell.
The kids at school are
scared to death of her.
They all used to tease her.
When they saw what
happened to Jackie Seigel,
exactly like Rita said it would.
What upset your sister?
- Jackie and the kids
were calling her names
and teasing her and laughing at her.
And Rita started to get all red and cry.
- What did you do when
your sister was crying?
Nothing, why?
I'm ashamed that you should ask.
How can you protect her when you know
that she's done all those things?
In the first place,
I don't think she has.
And in the second place,
she is my daughter.
She's sick and crazy.
She is not.
She is different.
She tried to kill me.
Now that was an accident.
It wasn't an accident.
She tried to make it look
like it was an accident
and she's fooling everybody.
How can you protect her?
One day, you will see.
Marilyn Matchett.
Mrs. Matchett.
Mr. Boyce.
Dale.
- I must tell you, I don't
really wanna be here.
I know that.
You pick that up?
- I wouldn't have to be
a sensitive to feel that.
Won't you please sit down?
Are you?
A sensitive?
Yes.
We all are.
Theoretically, everybody
has the ability to send
and to receive.
Not everyone's developed it.
What's the trick?
Pretty much knowing that it's there.
It's like I. Q.
Some people have a high I. Q.
Some people are low.
But everybody has an I. Q.
What do you wanna know?
What the hell's going on?
There's a power loose.
Are you aware that this area
is the most powerful in North America?
How do you mean?
Psychically.
Psychic energy.
Someone has learned to tap that
and to transmit it and has
taught others to transmit.
You can't organize that sort of thing.
Oh yes you can.
Hitler was able to mobilize
an entire nation with words
and only with words.
The human brain is a very powerful weapon.
One word can become a bullet.
But you don't believe
me, so I won't go on.
Do, go on.
Why?
I don't know.
Control. Power.
Always a strong motivation.
Do you know what a mantra is?
A chant.
Yes.
And it works.
It's used in transcendental
meditation,
Nichiren, Shu Buddhism.
Pretty much the same thing.
The reason that it works
is that the individual
passionately wants it to work.
Now if that could work for good,
it could as easily work for
what we might call evil.
One genuine sensitive
with a hierarchy of sensitives under him.
I'll leave it to your imagination.
You're welcome to stay if you like.
Oh, no thank you.
I think that you should stay.
I can't.
I have to get home.
Mrs. Matchett, please.
We must talk.
You and I must really talk.
Will you wait for me?
Yes, all right.
It's good.
Kristina helped.
I sauted.
It's gorgeous.
Fattening though.
Was that for my benefit?
You know it wasn't.
Don't look for a fight.
- It is fattening, but
sometimes it's good for the soul
to eat something that's really
rotten for you, now and then.
I'm not very hungry.
Can I be excused?
Yeah.
Sure.
I've got some news.
Good news I hope.
For Rita, yes.
That school that you
wanted to go to in England,
I did some checking today.
I made a call and you can go late.
Your grades are good,
you're on the honor roll
and they said, under the circumstances...
But I don't wanna go now.
I like it here.
But six months ago.
I've changed my mind.
- Honey, we thought that
it might be a good...
I said I've changed my mind.
Rita.
I think it's best.
I don't.
I can see that.
Since you don't run this household.
Glenn.
Her passport's good.
It's only been two years
since we were there.
So we don't have to worry about that.
I've got her on Pan Am Thursday night.
I thought we'd all go into the
city early and have dinner.
- Why don't you get on
that plane yourself?
Rita.
Nobody's getting rid of me!
I'm staying until you're
all dead and buried.
Till you rot in your graves.
You'll never get rid of me! Never!
- I'll put her on that plane
if I have to kick her on.
Who the hell does she think she is?
I'll drop 30 milligrams of
Lupron in her milk and pour her on.
She's going, I'll tell you that.
She's going up and over that ocean
and out of our lives.
All right.
I know that you don't think I love her.
I do.
At least, I did.
Something soured somewhere.
I don't know where.
You two.
You two were in trouble
from the beginning.
Every father wants a little princess
and she just never was one.
She came out kicking and screaming,
like she hated being born.
- And she's been paying
us back ever since.
- Maybe she knew what
was in store for her.
I don't know.
She's mine.
She's mine.
I can't give her up.
Not yet.
What are you fighting for?
A nervous breakdown?
Fighting for us.
We're a family and she's a part of it.
Well she can be a part of it in England.
On Thursday we give her a second chance
and we give ourselves a break,
I'm not gonna see you
come apart at the seems
just because you wouldn't admit defeat.
- She's hurting inside.
Can't you see that?
Can't you see she's all twisted up?
I can't leave it like this.
A bunch of broken glasses
and a lot of hatred.
I need time with her.
Alone.
You've got a high tolerance for pain.
All right, I'll get Kris
and we'll go to a movie.
No.
I need more time.
You and Kristina sleep over at Stan's.
I want the whole night with her.
Please.
Please.
All right.
I'll call him.
Glenn.
I've never done it before.
Not really.
Not alone.
Rita, you have the power.
And now you know how to use it.
Can't I just make him sick?
He'll get well
and then you'll have to
deal with it all over again.
My mother?
She'll get over it.
Look, I don't want people to die.
I liked Ryan Bellamy.
I had nothing to do with that.
His heart just gave out.
- But if you hadn't done
that to Mrs. Bellamy.
I had to.
She would've told everybody.
Rita, I don't like this turnaround.
You didn't feel like this
when you first came to me
about Jackie Seigel, did you?
But you said you could stop her.
I didn't know you were gonna do that.
Oh yes you did.
You knew exactly.
Why do you think I put her up against you?
- You said you were
going to humiliate her.
And I did.
That silly little girl.
I would have killed her for you.
She was your enemy.
Kathleen Bellamy is our enemy.
Oh Rita, we're building something.
You have a great power.
It's as great as my own.
Now I let you get away
with scaring your sister,
but I can't let your father
put you on that plane.
I'll make him sick.
Real sick.
I can't take that risk.
Soon we'll have a whole
community of special people.
A community?
Do you think it stops with us?
I'll be right back where I was.
What do you mean?
Everybody will be the same.
I won't be different or special.
You are special.
It's mine! I don't want to share it!
Real power is in the sharing.
No.
Rita, trust me.
No, for the first in my life
I have enjoyed being different.
If it's given to others,
I won't be different.
- My dear, you will be with
people who will appreciate you.
I don't wanna be with people!
There's no point in pursuing this.
You're not giving it to anyone else.
And you're not giving any orders.
Mother, is that you?
Yes.
I'm making something.
Hungry?
No.
Making grilled cheese.
I don't know why I get
hungry so late at night.
It's the wrong time to
eat, but I can't help it.
You want me to make you one?
Something wrong?
Sit down.
Let me just get this on the griddle.
Now.
I will, in a minute.
Now.
I said,
in a minute.
What have you done?
Do you understand me?
It is over.
It is finished. It is the end.
How?
How did you?
If anything happens to your father
or to your sister
or to anyone else.
What?
What will you do?
I will destroy you.
Don't try it.
Rita, don't make me.
You can't, I'm the only one.
Where do you think you got it?
No.
I was born with it.
That's right.
You better think of what
you're going to take with you.
I'm not going.
Something warm.
It's quite cold there until July.
I'm not going!
I'll help you.
I'm not going! I'm not going!
Mother!
Oh please, don't make me go.
I like it here.
It's all over.
It's gonna be all right.
You're gonna be all right.
You're home.
You're home.
You're home.
You're home.
- I
have my daughter back now.
And I'm not going to lose her.
I don't want to use the power ever again.
This telekinetic I. Q.
I've got is not a gift.
It's a curse.
I hate it.
And at the same time, I'm grateful for it.
One last thing.
How do you bury it?
I don't want it.
I'm not ready to handle it.
It's like any kind of power.
It's much too tempting.
- I am experiencing the
distortion once again.
It's a little clearer this time.
I have an idea that I'm going to try.
I end this tape with a note.
The telekinetic concentration
seems to intensify
after the Matchett's relocation.
The board indicated
movement to coastal cities.
San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco.
Lake Ridge being only one of four
inland, rural communities
high in alpha intensity.
Carmel, extending to the Big Sur,
then south to San Luis Obispo
and north to Seaside.
Power.
It's much too tempting.
- It's
like any kind of power.
It's much too tempting.
It's much too tempting.