The Woods Are Real (2024) Movie Script
1
Do you make him leap
like the locust?
So, is Gano
still trying to buy you out?
Oh, sure, yeah, he's now
working on simulated worlds.
It's like
nobody can handle real life.
Speaking of which...
Oh, yeah, Stan,
did Caleb happen to tell you
where he went
for the past three months?
He tells me nothing.
Oh, secrets. Bad Caleb.
All he said is it was amazing.
Life changing.
-And?
-And...
you two are both
very, very good people.
Wow. Caleb said we're good.
I know.
He's clearly up to something.
And they're hilariously
funny as well.
They are funny.
And good. Remember? Your words.
Quincy, did you grow up
with these two?
No. I met Joba in college.
At Yale.
Wow!
Yale, Stan.
Yale.
-Yale.
-Thank you.
Yale. Yale.
Where did you go, Stan?
Binghamton.
It's the Ivy of the SUNY system.
- Hmm.
- There is no Ivy
of the SUNY system.
And that is what makes it
the SUNY system.
- Caleb...
- He says it all the time.
I personally would like
to hear a little bit more though
about me being good.
Yes, please.
It'll help with his humility.
That's all he said.
He disappeared on this retreat.
He came back, said nothing,
and then mentioned,
"You know, those two are good."
Uh-uh, Stan.
That is vague as hell.
Where the fuck was he
for three months?
-Quincy.
-What? I'm not mad.
That was a friendly
"where the fuck."
I can sense the friendliness.
I mean,
you did miss a few things.
I know. I know.
Mm-hmm.
You missed James's wedding.
Missed implies it was something
I wanted to go to.
Fair.
But you missed my fundraiser.
And you missed Joba's speech for
the annual shareholders meeting.
What was that thing you said?
Oh, uh, just...
technology is the new God,
but we are its masters.
Oh, dramatic.
What god did you mean?
What do you mean? Just God.
The Christian one, I guess.
Right, but did you mean
the Old Testament
vengeful motherfucker,
or the kinder,
friendlier God we know today?
It was a metaphor.
I'd be careful with that.
Okay.
It must have been
quite the retreat.
Stan called it a retreat.
And you,
what do you call it?
I call it a pilgrimage.
Stan,
you didn't go at all?
No, I just know he went,
came back,
and said it was life-changing.
- Hmm.
- Life-changing?
Well, I thought
Ibiza changed your life.
I was waist-deep in cock
in Ibiza.
-Okay.
-So it was meaningful.
But that's all that Ibiza was.
Well, I mean, that
personally would change my life.
But this was spiritual.
I was in a cabin, in a field.
Okay, this is good.
Some human sacrifice vibe,
- blood rituals.
- Baby, let him talk.
And I was alone.
Carla recommended it.
- Carla Holmes?
- Mm-hmm.
Who is Carla Holmes?
Our parents
came up together.
-Did she have a watch?
-Ah, yes.
The company watches.
Makes it easier
to spot the prick.
Where's yours, by the way?
I lost it.
You lost your watch?
Anyway, I was in this cabin
in a field, and I was alone.
And I sat and I walked...
and I prayed.
You're an atheist.
- Uh-huh.
And time started to slow down.
It nearly stopped.
And it was-- it was very hard.
But at the end of it,
I felt good.
Clean.
That's it?
Essentially.
I'm sorry, Caleb, you...
you went to the woods
for three months,
made everybody worry,
fucked off a bunch of promises.
But you feel good.
Cool.
I mean, you could have at least
called about the fundraiser.
What was this fundraiser?
Quincy runs a program for kids
from disadvantaged homes
in the city,
giving them an opportunity to go
to the woods every summer.
It's fake.
Excuse me?
The urban Outward Bound thing
you do, it's fake.
Oh wait, you're joking.
Stan, is he-- He's joking.
I don't know.
You're joking, right?
You send these kids away
for a month to the woods,
and then they spend
the rest of the year
back at whatever hellhole
they came from.
And they're sent by me and you
and Joba and not Stan.
You can't afford it, honey.
And that makes you feel good.
Which is nice for you,
but it doesn't actually
do anything.
It's fake.
Wow, I...
I didn't realize how little
respect you have for me.
- Honey, he's just--
- No, no, no. I'm sorry.
You give up Netflix for a month
and now
you're the fucking Dalai Lama?
How dare you?
You asked me
what I learned in the woods.
That's something I learned.
Is this the dessert?
You know, honey,
you can have some dessert.
Hmm?
You still think I'm good?
I do.
Angry people can be good.
Get the fuck out.
-Get the fuck out, Caleb.
-Hey. Hey. Just--
Caleb,
get the fuck out.
Have a good night.
I am sorry.
I-- I don't know
what's wrong with him.
It's fine.
Just a misunderstanding.
Of course it's fine.
It doesn't matter at all.
I'm sorry.
You're sorry?
You rubbed a cake in his face?
What is your deal with him?
He calls me fake
right in front of you,
and you don't do anything?
I could barely keep up
with what was happening.
"Barely keep up with..." What?
Did you make out with him
in boarding school or something?
I didn't make out with him.
-We didn't make out.
-Oh, that's it.
You-- you're gay,
you're bi and you never
got over it. Got it.
I made out with a different guy
when I was experimenting.
-Roger. Okay?
-Oh, Roger.
I-- Once, in college,
and I don't invite him places.
I don't even follow him
-on Instagram.
-Uh-huh.
It's actually pretty mean of me.
This is back when you and Caleb
were experimenting.
No, Caleb was not experimenting.
Caleb is gay.
It's not an experiment
when the conclusion is,
"Yes, I am gay."
You just, like,
left me out to dry.
I don't think you're really
looking at what he was saying.
Oh, do not mansplain me
right now.
Oh, God.
I hate that term.
I can't change
the fact that I am a man
trying to explain something.
So you-- you agree
that I just
spend my time doing fake shit?
That's not what he was saying.
Enlighten me.
He was saying that
charity should maybe be harder
than a fundraiser,
or a foundation.
And except for Stan,
his life is hard enough.
He went to Binghamton.
-Please, he's in finance.
-He's a bank teller.
Why did you apologize to Caleb?
It was just easier. Okay?
I-- I didn't want him
to feel judged.
God, you picked the wrong team.
I've known him
since I was a kid.
Okay? He has always been lost.
He joined the Merchant Marines
when he was young.
He created a startup,
for Christ's sake.
He says
his life changed in a cabin.
Just let him.
He wasn't trying to hurt you.
He just doesn't know what
he's doing and that scares him.
You think that's it?
He'll do something
to make up for it.
Do you respect me?
If it's connected
to fearing you, then yeah.
Emphatically.
You love me?
I think it's also connected
to the fear.
Oh, you didn't even
tell them that we were trying.
Ah, it seemed like a bad time.
Two good people in the world.
Yeah. Two good people.
Ow!
-Did you just stab me?
-Mm-mm.
You see, this is where
the fear of you comes in.
Oh. Fear God, baby,
not me.
Hey...
wanna try?
Yeah.
Let's try.
Okay.
What is that?
So this is the place.
Naked I came
from my mother's womb.
And naked shall I return.
Uh, I don't know.
I mean, it wasn't really for me.
Makes me feel
like a bad progressive.
Yeah, but you like
telling people that you read it.
- I like telling people?
- Yeah.
You think I use it?
I think it feels good to you
to tell people that you read it.
"I read Ta-Nehisi Coates.
I have a Black wife.
I vote Democrat
and march at rallies.
I'm so good."
Oh, okay. Okay. So I'm bad?
-I'm very bad. I get it.
-Okay. Don't get mad.
I'm just saying,
like, it wasn't for me.
But I need to read it.
I am going to impregnate you.
Okay. Wow.
Now it just got weird.
I will then have
a Black son or daughter.
And have a Black ex-wife
in a minute.
And I just will
want them to know
that I read Ta-Nehisi Coates
and I'm trying to learn that I--
Do you want the baby
to know this?
I was thinking more
when they were in middle school.
But, yeah, I want to understand.
-I-- I just wanna be--
-Right.
Yeah. And good.
I mean, I wanna be good.
Just like
our friend Caleb said I was.
Your friend Caleb.
I can't believe
you said "impregnate."
-So cold.
-I meant it warmly.
Well, it was not.
It's like an alien in one
of those old sci-fi movies.
Very clinical.
That's my charm, babe.
The look of a doctor
with none of the effort.
Oh, I talked to Deborah,
'cause I wanted to know
what James was gonna do
about the Gano offer.
Yeah. And?
And she said--
You are not ready.
She said she just found out
that James is into cuckolding.
I'm not sure what to do
with that information.
You're not into that, are you?
I'm not even fully sure
I could define it.
Good.
Well,
this is gonna change our lives.
I am gonna be non-judgmental.
I'm gonna be very unjudgmental
about this shack.
Oh, my God.
This is a nightmare.
It's Victorian grandma
nightmare,
and it smells like old.
Well, Caleb said
pilgrimage, right?
Mm.
What is this?
Double-barred cross.
Oh, yeah.
I learned about these in Latin.
There's Anglican ones,
where the lines are, like,
graded and closer together,
but this is--
Like something an alien ploughed
into a field in Scotland.
Oh, my God.
Maybe Caleb was abducted.
I'm fucking with you.
Okay, I'm out.
That's the mothership,
and they wanna
investigate our taxes
and probe us in a crop circle.
You think aliens
wanna make us do chores?
Taxes.
Come on. No, leave it.
Leave it. Leave it. Come on.
I wanna feed you
before the probing.
You would love to watch that
with your freaky ass.
-What about the mess?
-Just leave it.
It's just,
um, part of the decor.
So,
your dad's gonna sell to Gano?
Mm-hmm. I don't know.
He should, though.
-You think so?
-Well, yeah.
I mean, a monster like Gano
comes along...
you can't fight that.
-Mm.
-You know?
And everybody always gets
fascinated by his ideas
and keeps feeding him money.
But keep in mind,
he's never actually
made anything useful.
-Cars?
-No. He acquired that company.
Now he just wants
a world where, you know,
people can wake up
and be in a ice castle
or a space station.
-You can work your nine to five.
-We don't have nine to fives.
And you could wake up
in a whole new reality.
But there's no consequence
to that.
Like, your decisions
don't matter.
If you hate it so much,
why sell?
Because I live
in the real world.
My family makes wrist watches.
Like, who even
wears watches anymore?
Fancy people.
The elite.
-You.
-Yeah. Well.
Okay, so you sell
your shares to Gano.
Yes, and then...
I think we go full in
on the foundation.
We get involved
with world health, with hunger.
We create the change
that we wanna see in the world.
I mean, I already
pledged my inheritance.
See, I love
when you talk like that.
Yeah. My dad
won't love it, but...
Whatever.
You guys
are an old world company.
For business
to succeed nowadays, you'd--
you gotta be eaten up
by a monster.
Your parents believe that?
They own tanzanite mines.
They really cornered
the market on a mineral.
-They are the monster.
-No.
And like our folks...
Gano just wants to get bigger.
Yeah, but our folks are good,
hardworking people.
Oh, God, you think everyone's
good, hardworking people.
I think
most people try their best.
Really?
I think
most people are on Twitter.
It's the same song.
It's not hard work,
we're here because of...
colonization and
unfair practices.
Not during hamburgers, please.
You don't want
oppression ruining your beef?
Is it always that? Really?
I mean, look
at your family's company.
They own the mines, and that
is a Black-owned business.
I mean,
can they even be oppressive?
Yeah.
Do you know
anything about mines?
I mean, Caleb talked shit,
but why do you think
I do so much activism?
Because you have a big heart.
Because I feel guilty.
It's a really good burger.
What's that sound?
I don't know.
Mmm! It's really good.
It's good.
- Joba?
- Yep.
Hey.
Hey, uh, I'm just putting
this stuff back up.
-I have no idea how they fell.
-I have to tell you something.
-What the fuck?
-What?
It says our name on it.
-What do you mean?
-It says "Quincy and Joba."
Okay. Did you just write that?
I did not.
Maybe Caleb left it behind,
but there's one
with his name on it too.
And Carla's.
Wait, I have to
tell you something.
Let me just pop this in.
-I'm pregnant.
-What?
Whoa.
Okay.
-Wait. Are you serious?
-Mm-hmm.
Are you doing this?
How would I be doing this?
You will give
everything to him.
What is this?
Everything.
What the fuck was that?
We didn't get WiFi.
What is it?
-It's the bank.
-What?
Wait--
It's all gone. What the fuck?
Wait, how can this even be?
Where's all our money?
It's not letting me
access anything.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
The fucking phonograph
just talked to us.
I'm not imagining that. Right?
- I-- I-- I--
- Okay.
Let-- let-- I'll go--
Let's just go-- go and get--
Sort this out-- out there,
at home.
-Come on, let's just go.
-Okay.
Where's the fucking house?
The spirit of God has made me...
and the breath
of the almighty gives me life.
Just focus.
What's left in the bag?
Besides the DEET?
-Well, we can't eat tick spray.
-No.
It's, like,
strong cheese and...
...maraschino cherries.
'Cause you wanted to
make Manhattans, remember?
I told you
we should have rationed.
Well, I'm not eating
just for me.
No road...
no way even
to get back to the cabin.
We shouldn't have left.
Yeah, well, we needed
to look for help, for people.
Mm.
-What was that?
-A gun.
A Winchester.
Well, you think or you know?
No, my dad hunted
foxes with them.
Well, that is the whitest thing
I've ever heard you say.
-My dad, I said--
-Wait, wait, wait, wait.
So somebody else is out here.
-Hello?
-What are you doing? Stop.
-Hey.
-No, no, no. They have a gun.
-So what? We wanna be found.
-Yeah, but we need to be safe.
- Hello?
- Shut up!
Stop! Just stop!
Okay. He left footprints.
-So?
-They go this way.
Wait, so you wanna follow him?
He's the only person we've seen.
We need to look for help.
We'll stay far behind.
No, Joba,
I'm thinking about our kid.
Yeah. So am I.
- Come on.
- Fuck!
This is stupid.
Okay, so what is it then?
What is all this?
Well, I mean, if it was just
some escape room experience
that Caleb roped us into,
then there would be rules
to go by, right?
Okay, then a simulation then,
like, what Gano makes.
His company wants yours,
so he somehow
devises this whole,
like, illusion experience.
-Come on, Quinn--
-What? What?
The potential sale
of your company,
-Caleb doing a 180. What?
-Wait, look.
Another cross.
You wanted
a rule, right?
That weird ass cross was back
at the cabin and now it's here.
It's a-- it's a compass.
Well, if it's a compass,
it's going in the same direction
as the footprints.
You smell smoke?
-Get into the grass.
-Okay.
Go with me,
but stay out of sight.
If you're right
and he's bad news,
then you stay hidden, okay?
Okay.
-Promise.
-I will.
Hello?
Is someone out there?
We're looking for help.
And we're--
we're wondering
if you could help us get found.
Oh!
Oh, Quincy! Quincy!
It's fresh and cooked.
Quinn.
Um, look, uh, we--
we don't mean any harm.
We're just looking for help.
You just come in here
and eat a man's food?
Ask him. Ask him.
He says, "You just come here
and eat a man's food?"
-We're hungry.
-Everyone's fucking hungry.
Everyone's hungry.
Um, please, just--
just let my wife go.
I think you should turn around.
Tell him.
He wants--
He wants you to turn around.
What?
Turn a-- around.
Sit, like a good boy.
Sit, like a good boy.
Do not move.
Do not move.
A good boy.
Caleb said
this place made him good.
A good man
would not leave his wife.
Hey! Hey!
Hey!
Oh, my God!
Congratulations.
You are not a cock.
He says, "Congratulations.
You are not a cock."
You'd be
surprised how many fail that.
You'd be surprised
how many fail that.
Fail what?
First test.
First test.
Stop using my wife!
Be a man, take your mask off
and talk to me.
Oh.
You know,
so many guys these days,
they just sit out there
for days, cowering...
and forget their wives.
Forget their promise.
Forget that they're men.
But you, you just step
right into the fire.
So-- so many?
So many guys?
You-- There's others.
And you-- you-- you do this?
Yes, I do this.
We-- we thought this was a game.
-Out here in the woods?
-Yeah. Or-- or simulation.
Well, nothing
simulated out here.
All real acts.
Real sex, real murder.
- I have money.
- I have your wife.
Seems our holdings
aren't comparable.
You want some tea?
-What?
-Tea.
Break bread, boy.
-Help him.
-Just take the tea.
Take the tea. It's fine. I--
What are you doing?
-These are ours.
-What do you mean?
What the--
- Hmm.
- Fuck! Fucking--
Fucking took me out of context.
There we go.
Um, thank you.
Where are we?
In the forest.
Forest of Elijah...
and Hagar...
Ishmael and Moses.
And who are you?
Well, I'm just a motherfucker.
Formerly in finance.
Legal piracy, but...
made a good life doing it.
Now I'm just a hunter.
Old tech.
-Input weapon, output meat.
-What do you hunt?
I weed out
the stragglers for him.
Him? Who?
And you, you drink your tea
and we see if you can
get out of the forest.
Right.
Out the darkness,
if you can get to the light.
- There's your game.
- We're good people.
We're not. But you might be.
Just gotta sacrifice.
Joba?
Welcome to the kingdom.
Joba?
Joba.
Come.
One day the angels came
to present themselves
before the Lord...
and Satan also came with them.
Quinn?
Quincy?
What the fuck?
No, no, no.
Quincy!
What the fuck is this?
Roses and lilacs.
Roses and lilacs.
And earthworms and rabbits.
And earthworms, and rabbits.
I know this.
"I will bury you alive."
Help, help, help.
- Please, help.
- Caleb!
Caleb. Caleb.
Caleb. What-- what--
What are you doing here?
Uh, I don't know, frankly.
Wait, no,
maybe you've been following me?
What? No. No.
I was eating a filet.
A filet?
Steak. At home, uh...
Stan knows there's something
I'm not telling him.
So he's plying me with meat.
Uh, we had wine and then...
the room spun
and it went dark and...
-You fucking invited us here!
-I know!
-What? To be killed?
-No.
-A pilgrimage, you said.
-It is a pilgrimage.
And now
it's your fucking pilgrimage.
I'm gonna kill--
I'll fucking kill you.
Yeah.
Just like back in school.
I remember.
And my mail, Caleb.
My mail.
They took all of our money.
Our companies are cratering.
They-- they have
my fucking school desk.
Huh.
-Uh-huh.
-They took Quincy.
She's pregnant.
Do you know that?
No.
They have all of our shit.
They know everything. They--
Uh-huh.
Whoever has me out here,
Gano, or--
I never blamed you,
you know.
Your brain was always in that
jock-y, prep school,
pre-evolved mode.
And I was pushy.
This is why you sent me here.
I didn't send you here.
You sent you here.
Then how did you get out?
By giving you up.
So it's a pyramid scheme.
Oh, no. It's just...
it's just survival.
I had to give up
what I held most dear.
My family
are as good as strangers.
I've never had
a meaningful relationship.
So...
I gave up the person
I love most in the world.
My friend.
My best friend.
But where's Quincy?
I don't know.
But I can help you find her.
Fuck!
I bet Stan
is the reason I'm here.
Wait, I thought
you did this alone.
No, I was with Pedro.
Who the fuck is Pedro?
He's hot and dead.
They got him.
Why the fuck am I back here?
I did all the steps.
Repent, submit,
accept, sacrifice.
Wait, wait, wait. What is that?
What is that-- that list?
What is that list you just said?
Repent all of your sins
of the past.
Submit to what
is basest inside you.
Accept all the wickedness
you have yet to acknowledge.
Wait, what is it
that I have yet to accept?
Wait, and then what?
And then what?
And then
after you've done all of that...
you sacrifice.
And that's how you got out?
Yeah. Well, the first time.
So this is repent.
Yeah.
And I'm waiting.
I'm sorry.
Too easy.
The women never eat.
Always leave me to start.
Come on.
-Farm fresh.
-Hmm.
What farm is that?
It's a little spot
up the way I built for some...
ladies.
Lucky ladies.
Hmm. You're the luckiest
right now.
What makes me so special?
You're the first woman
out here carrying.
With child.
-A second soul.
-Mmm.
That gives you a special power.
-How did you know that?
-I smell it.
Nausea you're trying
to hide from me.
It's not good
to lie to your man.
Is that what you are to me now?
Oh, yeah. A drinker.
Okay.
You'll enjoy this.
I made it myself.
You know what?
I don't buy
into any of your bullshit.
I know.
-And that's a shame.
-Hmm.
'Cause if you think me
and this place are bullshit...
you'll never see
that we're your only way back.
-Back to what?
-Good old life.
Make your way to the altar...
and all will come back.
-My old life?
-Stone on the hill.
Sacrifice all.
But...
not before you submit.
-Submit?
-Submit...
and all will be given.
He loves bravery.
People talk
about the meek, but...
bravery.
Bravery is real.
Out here,
bad people become good.
Good people become martyrs.
And-- and we're good.
Oh, Jesus.
Have you met yourself?
Hmm?
It's a marvel.
You just wipe it from your mind.
All those little villages,
your family craters
for the-- what is it?
Tanzanite.
You ship that off
to Joba's people,
so they can put it in their
very important wrist watches.
"What time is it? Oh, oh, good."
Watches that are, uh, assembled
by tiny brown hands, of course.
And all the poisonings
and the class action suits.
Well, you'll get
that all settled...
but otherwise, you're good.
Better than most.
Right?
There we go.
Come on.
The little wine
won't hurt the baby.
And all those little kids
you like to send up here
and their expeditions
to the country...
it changed their lives forever?
That's your penance?
I don't know.
Well, now it's you
out here in the country.
You think this trip
will change your life, Quincy?
Let's see.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Where are we going?
-I'm gonna go find my husband.
-Ah.
You run, you're dead.
You understand that?
You just said
sacrifice gets us out of here.
I say a lot of shit.
Look, this is not
Brooklyn, love.
Things are...
historical here.
Women respect their men.
Obedience, loyalty.
That's what's valued.
Or people die.
So what are we gonna do?
What are we gonna do?
There we go.
Take care of yourself.
Look at you eat up!
Oh, my, my, my,
getting down to the bone.
Look at you.
Hmm.
-Okay.
-Better?
Yeah.
You know, you're right.
You're right.
Lie down.
Uh, we don't do that out here.
I said, lie down.
I wanna show you something.
All the way down.
Whoa, whoa.
Mm-hmm.
Oh. Mm-mm.
Now, that is not nice.
I think a real man...
can handle a little pain,
don't you?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, Jesus!
What was that?
The Woodsman got someone.
Who?
Screams like that,
always The Woodsman.
You mean the man with the axe?
He was with Quincy.
He took Quincy from me.
He took Quincy. He--
This might be
a good time to repent.
I will forgive their sins
and remember them no more.
If we confess our sins...
he will be faithful and just.
I've loved you
since I was five years old.
You're the first boy
I ever kissed.
You're the first boy
I was ever in love with.
When I came out,
I only came out to you.
And then when
you fell in love with Quincy,
I left you the fuck alone!
I sacrificed,
so now you must repent.
Quincy's my wife.
Vengeance is the Lord's.
Vengeance is the Lord's.
When you steal it,
you are stealing from him.
Come on!
You see? I-- I got nothing.
Okay?
Whoever you are,
wherever you are...
I'm alone!
You understand me?
You win!
Why did I not perish at birth...
and die as I came from the womb?
Why were there knees
to receive me
and breasts
that I might be nursed?
For now, I would be
lying down in peace.
I would be asleep...
and I'd rest.
Hey!
Hey!
- What's wrong?
- She's being dramatic.
No, she's seen something.
Is he here? Was it he who--
Hi.
I'm, uh...
I'm Joba.
Joba who?
Joba, um...
Actually, I forget
my whole name right now.
-But, uh, you have food?
-He didn't kill you?
-Who?
-The man with the axe.
No. He took my wife.
He killed my wife.
He didn't kill me, obviously.
-He should have--
-He let you live?
He didn't let me anything.
He drugged me and I escaped.
-And now I--
-What else? What else?
This man, he made it this far.
-He made it here alive.
-I just need food.
You may go.
This is the widows' lunch.
Widows?
All of our husbands died...
sometime in the middle stages
out there.
So we're here now.
Stuck, I guess,
waiting for a good man.
But you're the first widower.
Widower. My God.
No, not God.
He only comes
if a good man makes it out.
Out from what?
The woods, Joba What's-His-Name.
Are you...
a good man?
What do you care?
Well, if a good man comes,
then God will judge us,
set us free.
The Woodsman told you this?
The Woodsman is everything.
- He killed your husbands.
- Some of them.
We're not sure which.
Some died
before he could get to them.
He made up this crazy shit
and you believe him?
Faith...
is not simple.
We have to preserve some hope.
-Without hope we're just--
-Hope? Hope?
You-- The people
you love are dead.
You live
on a fucking dead ass farm.
You...
I lived. I had...
things, I had friends.
I had Brooklyn. I had a wife.
We were going to have a...
child, we...
No one makes it this far.
We don't cry about what we had,
or who we were,
or dear old Brooklyn.
-Or Marin.
-Or Seattle.
We accept where we are.
What makes you
so fucking special?
Sonia!
Well, how am I supposed to feel?
You sweep in here on the one day
that we raise
our voices to The Woodsman,
admitting, accepting
the weaknesses of our husbands.
How did you even survive?
- Wait. Accepting, you said?
- I did.
So that's this stage then?
Acceptance, that-- that's here?
Answer me.
Why you, not them?
I killed my best friend.
Maybe that's why.
But I lost my wife.
Maybe I'll kill all of you.
Let's make our friend a plate.
Is it okay?
Hmm. Yes. Yeah.
You're so welcome.
I need to
talk to you about --
What do you do, Joba?
- Hmm?
- Your family?
Um, we, um, run a watch company.
-Wristwatches.
-Oh. Mm-hmm.
Does that mean something?
Everything means something.
Don't speak in riddles, please.
My husband's company,
uh, was a phone company.
-Which?
-Bell Atlantic. Hear of it?
-Mine ran Coda.
-Mine was General Motors.
Wanna get in the backseat?
- Anna!
- Wait, so...
people are picked?
Picked?
Well, yeah, um...
watches, telephones,
cameras, cars.
It's all old money, right?
It's legacy industries. It--
So whoever's...
Oh, my God, of course.
Fucking hell, of course.
Whoever is behind this,
someone is teaching us a lesson.
The 1%, right?
They-- they-- they've bled
the lower and middle class
for years.
And now it is our turn. Right?
It's the final act
of a digital revolution.
It-- all of this
makes sense now!
I didn't kill Caleb.
Q-- Quin--
Quincy is alive and-- and--
Everyone's fucking
dead, asshole.
Everyone. Learn to live with it.
God and The Woodsman are
the only things that are real.
Are you a good man?
Why are you asking me?
I'm talking
about real acceptance.
The worst...
of you.
Don't be shy.
Either way, it's kinda hot.
If you're God's chosen,
who can resist that?
Or if you're just some bad boy,
making God look like a schmuck,
we're down with that, too.
Joba,
are you a good man?
I don't know.
I'm a man...
heir to this company,
but also just the...
son of a father.
An only child.
My dad had inherited
the operation.
And, um,
you know, with it,
he was away for work a lot.
Um, Milan, Geneva,
Glashutte, wherever.
For a lot of the time
growing up, it was just me,
my mom, and the various
people we employed.
I had friends, um.
But...
when night would come and...
...they would all retreat
to the messy chaos
of their homes and siblings.
I would always feel a lack
creep in, a sense
of something missing.
Got to the point
where my mom knew this.
And when I turned 11,
she got me a dog.
A sweet poodle mix thing.
Rufus.
Um, no, I knew I was gonna
take over the company
since I could
remember anything...
which, probably
why I never showed any pull
to make any real
effort at school.
Find my thing.
Uh, my behavior was entitled.
Shitty.
I was hiding.
Experimenting.
This disappointed my dad,
of course.
Shame of me just coated him.
It got to the point
where on his little brief stints
at home with us this time,
I would look forward to
and treasure more than anything.
He would start showing
more attention,
more-- more...
affection, even to the dog
than to me.
I mean, the dog was simple,
pure, and obedient,
where I just--
I wasn't measuring up.
Um, one night,
uh, the phone rang.
My dad had arrived at JFK,
he-- earlier than expected,
so he said that he'd be in--
home in time for dinner.
And earlier that afternoon,
I had come home
with another shit report card.
A threat of expulsion.
And I begged my mom
not to tell my dad,
but she insisted
that it was his right to know.
And so I panicked.
I, um, I picked up Rufus.
He was a small dog.
And, you know,
my mom was downstairs
so she couldn't hear
anything on the top floor.
I--
I grabbed one of those, um...
those nylon nap sacks that--
the kind you get at--
at summer camp with the--
with the draw strings.
And I had to set out
some food for Rufus.
He dug in and...
while he was eating, I--
I got behind him.
I put the bag
over his head and, um...
I yanked the string's top.
And I, uh...
I just held.
After, I had, um...
you know,
put some chocolate nearby,
and staged it like...
Rufus got in there, poisoned
himself, you know.
And, uh...
my dad was crushed.
He was furious.
Obviously, he's furious
of my carelessness, furious.
But...
his sadness at losing Rufus...
was greater
than his anger at me.
So it made it worth it.
So, no.
I'm not a good man.
And I wasn't a good boy either.
Fuck!
Quincy?
Quincy. Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God.
How did you find this place?
I heard the singing
and I just-- just ran.
Where-- where is he?
He's dead.
Dead?
What?
-But how?
-By me. What do you mean how?
-This is blood everywhere.
-What have you done?
You killed The Woodsman?
Yeah, I did.
Have-- have you been here
this whole time?
Oh no. Oh no.
Oh.
-Whore!
-What are you talking about?
- You're free.
- Whore!
No, no, no, no.
This is so much worse.
Whore!
Call me a whore
one more fucking time!
No, no, no, no, no.
She killed your captor.
But now we have
to answer to God.
-Hey.
-What?
-Give me your hand. In here.
-What?
I feel it.
God is here.
I know that now.
Who are you?
Hey! Who are you?
How did you get here?
Where are your parents?
Don't you see?
See what?
It's our son.
It's Daniel.
He can't live here.
No. We-- we-- we--
we would do our best.
But it wouldn't
be enough.
I mean, he'd just
have to run like us.
So you're saying...
Give him up.
Sacrifice.
What do you think he'd be like?
Quincy,
the boy we saw, if he grew up...
what do you think he'd be like?
Think he'd be cursed.
What do you want?
Not to go up there.
You wanna run?
Yes.
Hide forever?
I wanna be a family. I want--
What?
I want to--
I wanna have a son. I--
I wanna...
revel in his favorite blanket.
I wanna think about
how the worst thing
that could happen
is me and you dying and--
and I wanna
drop him off at school
and realize I'm wrong.
The worst thing
that could happen is him dying.
I wanna feel
that new bottom of fear.
I-I want to show him
ice cream and mountain tops,
you know.
Shame and-- and joy.
And, uh, I want--
Something that's already gone.
I want a boy who has friends.
Who laughs
and plays baseball or--
or codes computers.
I want him to eat too much
and have crushes,
heartbreak, love.
I want him to walk free.
And I want him
to be somewhere real.
The woods are real.
Mm-mm.
They have to be.
The woods are us.
Only us.
This is the place.
What if we're wrong?
We just try again.
So I'm just going to--
Yeah.
-How many times--
-I think you'll just know.
-Okay.
-Mm-hmm.
-I love you.
-I love you.
Stop!
-Looks great.
-Thank you.
Almost ready.
You ready?
-I'm ready.
-Okay.
Let's go.
There he is.
Okay.
Okay.
Then Job answered
the Lord and said,
"I know that you can do anything
and that no thought
can be hidden from you.
Surely I have spoken things
I did not understand.
Things too wonderful
for me to know.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes."
Happy birthday, Daniel.
My ears had heard of you...
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
Do you make him leap
like the locust?
So, is Gano
still trying to buy you out?
Oh, sure, yeah, he's now
working on simulated worlds.
It's like
nobody can handle real life.
Speaking of which...
Oh, yeah, Stan,
did Caleb happen to tell you
where he went
for the past three months?
He tells me nothing.
Oh, secrets. Bad Caleb.
All he said is it was amazing.
Life changing.
-And?
-And...
you two are both
very, very good people.
Wow. Caleb said we're good.
I know.
He's clearly up to something.
And they're hilariously
funny as well.
They are funny.
And good. Remember? Your words.
Quincy, did you grow up
with these two?
No. I met Joba in college.
At Yale.
Wow!
Yale, Stan.
Yale.
-Yale.
-Thank you.
Yale. Yale.
Where did you go, Stan?
Binghamton.
It's the Ivy of the SUNY system.
- Hmm.
- There is no Ivy
of the SUNY system.
And that is what makes it
the SUNY system.
- Caleb...
- He says it all the time.
I personally would like
to hear a little bit more though
about me being good.
Yes, please.
It'll help with his humility.
That's all he said.
He disappeared on this retreat.
He came back, said nothing,
and then mentioned,
"You know, those two are good."
Uh-uh, Stan.
That is vague as hell.
Where the fuck was he
for three months?
-Quincy.
-What? I'm not mad.
That was a friendly
"where the fuck."
I can sense the friendliness.
I mean,
you did miss a few things.
I know. I know.
Mm-hmm.
You missed James's wedding.
Missed implies it was something
I wanted to go to.
Fair.
But you missed my fundraiser.
And you missed Joba's speech for
the annual shareholders meeting.
What was that thing you said?
Oh, uh, just...
technology is the new God,
but we are its masters.
Oh, dramatic.
What god did you mean?
What do you mean? Just God.
The Christian one, I guess.
Right, but did you mean
the Old Testament
vengeful motherfucker,
or the kinder,
friendlier God we know today?
It was a metaphor.
I'd be careful with that.
Okay.
It must have been
quite the retreat.
Stan called it a retreat.
And you,
what do you call it?
I call it a pilgrimage.
Stan,
you didn't go at all?
No, I just know he went,
came back,
and said it was life-changing.
- Hmm.
- Life-changing?
Well, I thought
Ibiza changed your life.
I was waist-deep in cock
in Ibiza.
-Okay.
-So it was meaningful.
But that's all that Ibiza was.
Well, I mean, that
personally would change my life.
But this was spiritual.
I was in a cabin, in a field.
Okay, this is good.
Some human sacrifice vibe,
- blood rituals.
- Baby, let him talk.
And I was alone.
Carla recommended it.
- Carla Holmes?
- Mm-hmm.
Who is Carla Holmes?
Our parents
came up together.
-Did she have a watch?
-Ah, yes.
The company watches.
Makes it easier
to spot the prick.
Where's yours, by the way?
I lost it.
You lost your watch?
Anyway, I was in this cabin
in a field, and I was alone.
And I sat and I walked...
and I prayed.
You're an atheist.
- Uh-huh.
And time started to slow down.
It nearly stopped.
And it was-- it was very hard.
But at the end of it,
I felt good.
Clean.
That's it?
Essentially.
I'm sorry, Caleb, you...
you went to the woods
for three months,
made everybody worry,
fucked off a bunch of promises.
But you feel good.
Cool.
I mean, you could have at least
called about the fundraiser.
What was this fundraiser?
Quincy runs a program for kids
from disadvantaged homes
in the city,
giving them an opportunity to go
to the woods every summer.
It's fake.
Excuse me?
The urban Outward Bound thing
you do, it's fake.
Oh wait, you're joking.
Stan, is he-- He's joking.
I don't know.
You're joking, right?
You send these kids away
for a month to the woods,
and then they spend
the rest of the year
back at whatever hellhole
they came from.
And they're sent by me and you
and Joba and not Stan.
You can't afford it, honey.
And that makes you feel good.
Which is nice for you,
but it doesn't actually
do anything.
It's fake.
Wow, I...
I didn't realize how little
respect you have for me.
- Honey, he's just--
- No, no, no. I'm sorry.
You give up Netflix for a month
and now
you're the fucking Dalai Lama?
How dare you?
You asked me
what I learned in the woods.
That's something I learned.
Is this the dessert?
You know, honey,
you can have some dessert.
Hmm?
You still think I'm good?
I do.
Angry people can be good.
Get the fuck out.
-Get the fuck out, Caleb.
-Hey. Hey. Just--
Caleb,
get the fuck out.
Have a good night.
I am sorry.
I-- I don't know
what's wrong with him.
It's fine.
Just a misunderstanding.
Of course it's fine.
It doesn't matter at all.
I'm sorry.
You're sorry?
You rubbed a cake in his face?
What is your deal with him?
He calls me fake
right in front of you,
and you don't do anything?
I could barely keep up
with what was happening.
"Barely keep up with..." What?
Did you make out with him
in boarding school or something?
I didn't make out with him.
-We didn't make out.
-Oh, that's it.
You-- you're gay,
you're bi and you never
got over it. Got it.
I made out with a different guy
when I was experimenting.
-Roger. Okay?
-Oh, Roger.
I-- Once, in college,
and I don't invite him places.
I don't even follow him
-on Instagram.
-Uh-huh.
It's actually pretty mean of me.
This is back when you and Caleb
were experimenting.
No, Caleb was not experimenting.
Caleb is gay.
It's not an experiment
when the conclusion is,
"Yes, I am gay."
You just, like,
left me out to dry.
I don't think you're really
looking at what he was saying.
Oh, do not mansplain me
right now.
Oh, God.
I hate that term.
I can't change
the fact that I am a man
trying to explain something.
So you-- you agree
that I just
spend my time doing fake shit?
That's not what he was saying.
Enlighten me.
He was saying that
charity should maybe be harder
than a fundraiser,
or a foundation.
And except for Stan,
his life is hard enough.
He went to Binghamton.
-Please, he's in finance.
-He's a bank teller.
Why did you apologize to Caleb?
It was just easier. Okay?
I-- I didn't want him
to feel judged.
God, you picked the wrong team.
I've known him
since I was a kid.
Okay? He has always been lost.
He joined the Merchant Marines
when he was young.
He created a startup,
for Christ's sake.
He says
his life changed in a cabin.
Just let him.
He wasn't trying to hurt you.
He just doesn't know what
he's doing and that scares him.
You think that's it?
He'll do something
to make up for it.
Do you respect me?
If it's connected
to fearing you, then yeah.
Emphatically.
You love me?
I think it's also connected
to the fear.
Oh, you didn't even
tell them that we were trying.
Ah, it seemed like a bad time.
Two good people in the world.
Yeah. Two good people.
Ow!
-Did you just stab me?
-Mm-mm.
You see, this is where
the fear of you comes in.
Oh. Fear God, baby,
not me.
Hey...
wanna try?
Yeah.
Let's try.
Okay.
What is that?
So this is the place.
Naked I came
from my mother's womb.
And naked shall I return.
Uh, I don't know.
I mean, it wasn't really for me.
Makes me feel
like a bad progressive.
Yeah, but you like
telling people that you read it.
- I like telling people?
- Yeah.
You think I use it?
I think it feels good to you
to tell people that you read it.
"I read Ta-Nehisi Coates.
I have a Black wife.
I vote Democrat
and march at rallies.
I'm so good."
Oh, okay. Okay. So I'm bad?
-I'm very bad. I get it.
-Okay. Don't get mad.
I'm just saying,
like, it wasn't for me.
But I need to read it.
I am going to impregnate you.
Okay. Wow.
Now it just got weird.
I will then have
a Black son or daughter.
And have a Black ex-wife
in a minute.
And I just will
want them to know
that I read Ta-Nehisi Coates
and I'm trying to learn that I--
Do you want the baby
to know this?
I was thinking more
when they were in middle school.
But, yeah, I want to understand.
-I-- I just wanna be--
-Right.
Yeah. And good.
I mean, I wanna be good.
Just like
our friend Caleb said I was.
Your friend Caleb.
I can't believe
you said "impregnate."
-So cold.
-I meant it warmly.
Well, it was not.
It's like an alien in one
of those old sci-fi movies.
Very clinical.
That's my charm, babe.
The look of a doctor
with none of the effort.
Oh, I talked to Deborah,
'cause I wanted to know
what James was gonna do
about the Gano offer.
Yeah. And?
And she said--
You are not ready.
She said she just found out
that James is into cuckolding.
I'm not sure what to do
with that information.
You're not into that, are you?
I'm not even fully sure
I could define it.
Good.
Well,
this is gonna change our lives.
I am gonna be non-judgmental.
I'm gonna be very unjudgmental
about this shack.
Oh, my God.
This is a nightmare.
It's Victorian grandma
nightmare,
and it smells like old.
Well, Caleb said
pilgrimage, right?
Mm.
What is this?
Double-barred cross.
Oh, yeah.
I learned about these in Latin.
There's Anglican ones,
where the lines are, like,
graded and closer together,
but this is--
Like something an alien ploughed
into a field in Scotland.
Oh, my God.
Maybe Caleb was abducted.
I'm fucking with you.
Okay, I'm out.
That's the mothership,
and they wanna
investigate our taxes
and probe us in a crop circle.
You think aliens
wanna make us do chores?
Taxes.
Come on. No, leave it.
Leave it. Leave it. Come on.
I wanna feed you
before the probing.
You would love to watch that
with your freaky ass.
-What about the mess?
-Just leave it.
It's just,
um, part of the decor.
So,
your dad's gonna sell to Gano?
Mm-hmm. I don't know.
He should, though.
-You think so?
-Well, yeah.
I mean, a monster like Gano
comes along...
you can't fight that.
-Mm.
-You know?
And everybody always gets
fascinated by his ideas
and keeps feeding him money.
But keep in mind,
he's never actually
made anything useful.
-Cars?
-No. He acquired that company.
Now he just wants
a world where, you know,
people can wake up
and be in a ice castle
or a space station.
-You can work your nine to five.
-We don't have nine to fives.
And you could wake up
in a whole new reality.
But there's no consequence
to that.
Like, your decisions
don't matter.
If you hate it so much,
why sell?
Because I live
in the real world.
My family makes wrist watches.
Like, who even
wears watches anymore?
Fancy people.
The elite.
-You.
-Yeah. Well.
Okay, so you sell
your shares to Gano.
Yes, and then...
I think we go full in
on the foundation.
We get involved
with world health, with hunger.
We create the change
that we wanna see in the world.
I mean, I already
pledged my inheritance.
See, I love
when you talk like that.
Yeah. My dad
won't love it, but...
Whatever.
You guys
are an old world company.
For business
to succeed nowadays, you'd--
you gotta be eaten up
by a monster.
Your parents believe that?
They own tanzanite mines.
They really cornered
the market on a mineral.
-They are the monster.
-No.
And like our folks...
Gano just wants to get bigger.
Yeah, but our folks are good,
hardworking people.
Oh, God, you think everyone's
good, hardworking people.
I think
most people try their best.
Really?
I think
most people are on Twitter.
It's the same song.
It's not hard work,
we're here because of...
colonization and
unfair practices.
Not during hamburgers, please.
You don't want
oppression ruining your beef?
Is it always that? Really?
I mean, look
at your family's company.
They own the mines, and that
is a Black-owned business.
I mean,
can they even be oppressive?
Yeah.
Do you know
anything about mines?
I mean, Caleb talked shit,
but why do you think
I do so much activism?
Because you have a big heart.
Because I feel guilty.
It's a really good burger.
What's that sound?
I don't know.
Mmm! It's really good.
It's good.
- Joba?
- Yep.
Hey.
Hey, uh, I'm just putting
this stuff back up.
-I have no idea how they fell.
-I have to tell you something.
-What the fuck?
-What?
It says our name on it.
-What do you mean?
-It says "Quincy and Joba."
Okay. Did you just write that?
I did not.
Maybe Caleb left it behind,
but there's one
with his name on it too.
And Carla's.
Wait, I have to
tell you something.
Let me just pop this in.
-I'm pregnant.
-What?
Whoa.
Okay.
-Wait. Are you serious?
-Mm-hmm.
Are you doing this?
How would I be doing this?
You will give
everything to him.
What is this?
Everything.
What the fuck was that?
We didn't get WiFi.
What is it?
-It's the bank.
-What?
Wait--
It's all gone. What the fuck?
Wait, how can this even be?
Where's all our money?
It's not letting me
access anything.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
The fucking phonograph
just talked to us.
I'm not imagining that. Right?
- I-- I-- I--
- Okay.
Let-- let-- I'll go--
Let's just go-- go and get--
Sort this out-- out there,
at home.
-Come on, let's just go.
-Okay.
Where's the fucking house?
The spirit of God has made me...
and the breath
of the almighty gives me life.
Just focus.
What's left in the bag?
Besides the DEET?
-Well, we can't eat tick spray.
-No.
It's, like,
strong cheese and...
...maraschino cherries.
'Cause you wanted to
make Manhattans, remember?
I told you
we should have rationed.
Well, I'm not eating
just for me.
No road...
no way even
to get back to the cabin.
We shouldn't have left.
Yeah, well, we needed
to look for help, for people.
Mm.
-What was that?
-A gun.
A Winchester.
Well, you think or you know?
No, my dad hunted
foxes with them.
Well, that is the whitest thing
I've ever heard you say.
-My dad, I said--
-Wait, wait, wait, wait.
So somebody else is out here.
-Hello?
-What are you doing? Stop.
-Hey.
-No, no, no. They have a gun.
-So what? We wanna be found.
-Yeah, but we need to be safe.
- Hello?
- Shut up!
Stop! Just stop!
Okay. He left footprints.
-So?
-They go this way.
Wait, so you wanna follow him?
He's the only person we've seen.
We need to look for help.
We'll stay far behind.
No, Joba,
I'm thinking about our kid.
Yeah. So am I.
- Come on.
- Fuck!
This is stupid.
Okay, so what is it then?
What is all this?
Well, I mean, if it was just
some escape room experience
that Caleb roped us into,
then there would be rules
to go by, right?
Okay, then a simulation then,
like, what Gano makes.
His company wants yours,
so he somehow
devises this whole,
like, illusion experience.
-Come on, Quinn--
-What? What?
The potential sale
of your company,
-Caleb doing a 180. What?
-Wait, look.
Another cross.
You wanted
a rule, right?
That weird ass cross was back
at the cabin and now it's here.
It's a-- it's a compass.
Well, if it's a compass,
it's going in the same direction
as the footprints.
You smell smoke?
-Get into the grass.
-Okay.
Go with me,
but stay out of sight.
If you're right
and he's bad news,
then you stay hidden, okay?
Okay.
-Promise.
-I will.
Hello?
Is someone out there?
We're looking for help.
And we're--
we're wondering
if you could help us get found.
Oh!
Oh, Quincy! Quincy!
It's fresh and cooked.
Quinn.
Um, look, uh, we--
we don't mean any harm.
We're just looking for help.
You just come in here
and eat a man's food?
Ask him. Ask him.
He says, "You just come here
and eat a man's food?"
-We're hungry.
-Everyone's fucking hungry.
Everyone's hungry.
Um, please, just--
just let my wife go.
I think you should turn around.
Tell him.
He wants--
He wants you to turn around.
What?
Turn a-- around.
Sit, like a good boy.
Sit, like a good boy.
Do not move.
Do not move.
A good boy.
Caleb said
this place made him good.
A good man
would not leave his wife.
Hey! Hey!
Hey!
Oh, my God!
Congratulations.
You are not a cock.
He says, "Congratulations.
You are not a cock."
You'd be
surprised how many fail that.
You'd be surprised
how many fail that.
Fail what?
First test.
First test.
Stop using my wife!
Be a man, take your mask off
and talk to me.
Oh.
You know,
so many guys these days,
they just sit out there
for days, cowering...
and forget their wives.
Forget their promise.
Forget that they're men.
But you, you just step
right into the fire.
So-- so many?
So many guys?
You-- There's others.
And you-- you-- you do this?
Yes, I do this.
We-- we thought this was a game.
-Out here in the woods?
-Yeah. Or-- or simulation.
Well, nothing
simulated out here.
All real acts.
Real sex, real murder.
- I have money.
- I have your wife.
Seems our holdings
aren't comparable.
You want some tea?
-What?
-Tea.
Break bread, boy.
-Help him.
-Just take the tea.
Take the tea. It's fine. I--
What are you doing?
-These are ours.
-What do you mean?
What the--
- Hmm.
- Fuck! Fucking--
Fucking took me out of context.
There we go.
Um, thank you.
Where are we?
In the forest.
Forest of Elijah...
and Hagar...
Ishmael and Moses.
And who are you?
Well, I'm just a motherfucker.
Formerly in finance.
Legal piracy, but...
made a good life doing it.
Now I'm just a hunter.
Old tech.
-Input weapon, output meat.
-What do you hunt?
I weed out
the stragglers for him.
Him? Who?
And you, you drink your tea
and we see if you can
get out of the forest.
Right.
Out the darkness,
if you can get to the light.
- There's your game.
- We're good people.
We're not. But you might be.
Just gotta sacrifice.
Joba?
Welcome to the kingdom.
Joba?
Joba.
Come.
One day the angels came
to present themselves
before the Lord...
and Satan also came with them.
Quinn?
Quincy?
What the fuck?
No, no, no.
Quincy!
What the fuck is this?
Roses and lilacs.
Roses and lilacs.
And earthworms and rabbits.
And earthworms, and rabbits.
I know this.
"I will bury you alive."
Help, help, help.
- Please, help.
- Caleb!
Caleb. Caleb.
Caleb. What-- what--
What are you doing here?
Uh, I don't know, frankly.
Wait, no,
maybe you've been following me?
What? No. No.
I was eating a filet.
A filet?
Steak. At home, uh...
Stan knows there's something
I'm not telling him.
So he's plying me with meat.
Uh, we had wine and then...
the room spun
and it went dark and...
-You fucking invited us here!
-I know!
-What? To be killed?
-No.
-A pilgrimage, you said.
-It is a pilgrimage.
And now
it's your fucking pilgrimage.
I'm gonna kill--
I'll fucking kill you.
Yeah.
Just like back in school.
I remember.
And my mail, Caleb.
My mail.
They took all of our money.
Our companies are cratering.
They-- they have
my fucking school desk.
Huh.
-Uh-huh.
-They took Quincy.
She's pregnant.
Do you know that?
No.
They have all of our shit.
They know everything. They--
Uh-huh.
Whoever has me out here,
Gano, or--
I never blamed you,
you know.
Your brain was always in that
jock-y, prep school,
pre-evolved mode.
And I was pushy.
This is why you sent me here.
I didn't send you here.
You sent you here.
Then how did you get out?
By giving you up.
So it's a pyramid scheme.
Oh, no. It's just...
it's just survival.
I had to give up
what I held most dear.
My family
are as good as strangers.
I've never had
a meaningful relationship.
So...
I gave up the person
I love most in the world.
My friend.
My best friend.
But where's Quincy?
I don't know.
But I can help you find her.
Fuck!
I bet Stan
is the reason I'm here.
Wait, I thought
you did this alone.
No, I was with Pedro.
Who the fuck is Pedro?
He's hot and dead.
They got him.
Why the fuck am I back here?
I did all the steps.
Repent, submit,
accept, sacrifice.
Wait, wait, wait. What is that?
What is that-- that list?
What is that list you just said?
Repent all of your sins
of the past.
Submit to what
is basest inside you.
Accept all the wickedness
you have yet to acknowledge.
Wait, what is it
that I have yet to accept?
Wait, and then what?
And then what?
And then
after you've done all of that...
you sacrifice.
And that's how you got out?
Yeah. Well, the first time.
So this is repent.
Yeah.
And I'm waiting.
I'm sorry.
Too easy.
The women never eat.
Always leave me to start.
Come on.
-Farm fresh.
-Hmm.
What farm is that?
It's a little spot
up the way I built for some...
ladies.
Lucky ladies.
Hmm. You're the luckiest
right now.
What makes me so special?
You're the first woman
out here carrying.
With child.
-A second soul.
-Mmm.
That gives you a special power.
-How did you know that?
-I smell it.
Nausea you're trying
to hide from me.
It's not good
to lie to your man.
Is that what you are to me now?
Oh, yeah. A drinker.
Okay.
You'll enjoy this.
I made it myself.
You know what?
I don't buy
into any of your bullshit.
I know.
-And that's a shame.
-Hmm.
'Cause if you think me
and this place are bullshit...
you'll never see
that we're your only way back.
-Back to what?
-Good old life.
Make your way to the altar...
and all will come back.
-My old life?
-Stone on the hill.
Sacrifice all.
But...
not before you submit.
-Submit?
-Submit...
and all will be given.
He loves bravery.
People talk
about the meek, but...
bravery.
Bravery is real.
Out here,
bad people become good.
Good people become martyrs.
And-- and we're good.
Oh, Jesus.
Have you met yourself?
Hmm?
It's a marvel.
You just wipe it from your mind.
All those little villages,
your family craters
for the-- what is it?
Tanzanite.
You ship that off
to Joba's people,
so they can put it in their
very important wrist watches.
"What time is it? Oh, oh, good."
Watches that are, uh, assembled
by tiny brown hands, of course.
And all the poisonings
and the class action suits.
Well, you'll get
that all settled...
but otherwise, you're good.
Better than most.
Right?
There we go.
Come on.
The little wine
won't hurt the baby.
And all those little kids
you like to send up here
and their expeditions
to the country...
it changed their lives forever?
That's your penance?
I don't know.
Well, now it's you
out here in the country.
You think this trip
will change your life, Quincy?
Let's see.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Where are we going?
-I'm gonna go find my husband.
-Ah.
You run, you're dead.
You understand that?
You just said
sacrifice gets us out of here.
I say a lot of shit.
Look, this is not
Brooklyn, love.
Things are...
historical here.
Women respect their men.
Obedience, loyalty.
That's what's valued.
Or people die.
So what are we gonna do?
What are we gonna do?
There we go.
Take care of yourself.
Look at you eat up!
Oh, my, my, my,
getting down to the bone.
Look at you.
Hmm.
-Okay.
-Better?
Yeah.
You know, you're right.
You're right.
Lie down.
Uh, we don't do that out here.
I said, lie down.
I wanna show you something.
All the way down.
Whoa, whoa.
Mm-hmm.
Oh. Mm-mm.
Now, that is not nice.
I think a real man...
can handle a little pain,
don't you?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, Jesus!
What was that?
The Woodsman got someone.
Who?
Screams like that,
always The Woodsman.
You mean the man with the axe?
He was with Quincy.
He took Quincy from me.
He took Quincy. He--
This might be
a good time to repent.
I will forgive their sins
and remember them no more.
If we confess our sins...
he will be faithful and just.
I've loved you
since I was five years old.
You're the first boy
I ever kissed.
You're the first boy
I was ever in love with.
When I came out,
I only came out to you.
And then when
you fell in love with Quincy,
I left you the fuck alone!
I sacrificed,
so now you must repent.
Quincy's my wife.
Vengeance is the Lord's.
Vengeance is the Lord's.
When you steal it,
you are stealing from him.
Come on!
You see? I-- I got nothing.
Okay?
Whoever you are,
wherever you are...
I'm alone!
You understand me?
You win!
Why did I not perish at birth...
and die as I came from the womb?
Why were there knees
to receive me
and breasts
that I might be nursed?
For now, I would be
lying down in peace.
I would be asleep...
and I'd rest.
Hey!
Hey!
- What's wrong?
- She's being dramatic.
No, she's seen something.
Is he here? Was it he who--
Hi.
I'm, uh...
I'm Joba.
Joba who?
Joba, um...
Actually, I forget
my whole name right now.
-But, uh, you have food?
-He didn't kill you?
-Who?
-The man with the axe.
No. He took my wife.
He killed my wife.
He didn't kill me, obviously.
-He should have--
-He let you live?
He didn't let me anything.
He drugged me and I escaped.
-And now I--
-What else? What else?
This man, he made it this far.
-He made it here alive.
-I just need food.
You may go.
This is the widows' lunch.
Widows?
All of our husbands died...
sometime in the middle stages
out there.
So we're here now.
Stuck, I guess,
waiting for a good man.
But you're the first widower.
Widower. My God.
No, not God.
He only comes
if a good man makes it out.
Out from what?
The woods, Joba What's-His-Name.
Are you...
a good man?
What do you care?
Well, if a good man comes,
then God will judge us,
set us free.
The Woodsman told you this?
The Woodsman is everything.
- He killed your husbands.
- Some of them.
We're not sure which.
Some died
before he could get to them.
He made up this crazy shit
and you believe him?
Faith...
is not simple.
We have to preserve some hope.
-Without hope we're just--
-Hope? Hope?
You-- The people
you love are dead.
You live
on a fucking dead ass farm.
You...
I lived. I had...
things, I had friends.
I had Brooklyn. I had a wife.
We were going to have a...
child, we...
No one makes it this far.
We don't cry about what we had,
or who we were,
or dear old Brooklyn.
-Or Marin.
-Or Seattle.
We accept where we are.
What makes you
so fucking special?
Sonia!
Well, how am I supposed to feel?
You sweep in here on the one day
that we raise
our voices to The Woodsman,
admitting, accepting
the weaknesses of our husbands.
How did you even survive?
- Wait. Accepting, you said?
- I did.
So that's this stage then?
Acceptance, that-- that's here?
Answer me.
Why you, not them?
I killed my best friend.
Maybe that's why.
But I lost my wife.
Maybe I'll kill all of you.
Let's make our friend a plate.
Is it okay?
Hmm. Yes. Yeah.
You're so welcome.
I need to
talk to you about --
What do you do, Joba?
- Hmm?
- Your family?
Um, we, um, run a watch company.
-Wristwatches.
-Oh. Mm-hmm.
Does that mean something?
Everything means something.
Don't speak in riddles, please.
My husband's company,
uh, was a phone company.
-Which?
-Bell Atlantic. Hear of it?
-Mine ran Coda.
-Mine was General Motors.
Wanna get in the backseat?
- Anna!
- Wait, so...
people are picked?
Picked?
Well, yeah, um...
watches, telephones,
cameras, cars.
It's all old money, right?
It's legacy industries. It--
So whoever's...
Oh, my God, of course.
Fucking hell, of course.
Whoever is behind this,
someone is teaching us a lesson.
The 1%, right?
They-- they-- they've bled
the lower and middle class
for years.
And now it is our turn. Right?
It's the final act
of a digital revolution.
It-- all of this
makes sense now!
I didn't kill Caleb.
Q-- Quin--
Quincy is alive and-- and--
Everyone's fucking
dead, asshole.
Everyone. Learn to live with it.
God and The Woodsman are
the only things that are real.
Are you a good man?
Why are you asking me?
I'm talking
about real acceptance.
The worst...
of you.
Don't be shy.
Either way, it's kinda hot.
If you're God's chosen,
who can resist that?
Or if you're just some bad boy,
making God look like a schmuck,
we're down with that, too.
Joba,
are you a good man?
I don't know.
I'm a man...
heir to this company,
but also just the...
son of a father.
An only child.
My dad had inherited
the operation.
And, um,
you know, with it,
he was away for work a lot.
Um, Milan, Geneva,
Glashutte, wherever.
For a lot of the time
growing up, it was just me,
my mom, and the various
people we employed.
I had friends, um.
But...
when night would come and...
...they would all retreat
to the messy chaos
of their homes and siblings.
I would always feel a lack
creep in, a sense
of something missing.
Got to the point
where my mom knew this.
And when I turned 11,
she got me a dog.
A sweet poodle mix thing.
Rufus.
Um, no, I knew I was gonna
take over the company
since I could
remember anything...
which, probably
why I never showed any pull
to make any real
effort at school.
Find my thing.
Uh, my behavior was entitled.
Shitty.
I was hiding.
Experimenting.
This disappointed my dad,
of course.
Shame of me just coated him.
It got to the point
where on his little brief stints
at home with us this time,
I would look forward to
and treasure more than anything.
He would start showing
more attention,
more-- more...
affection, even to the dog
than to me.
I mean, the dog was simple,
pure, and obedient,
where I just--
I wasn't measuring up.
Um, one night,
uh, the phone rang.
My dad had arrived at JFK,
he-- earlier than expected,
so he said that he'd be in--
home in time for dinner.
And earlier that afternoon,
I had come home
with another shit report card.
A threat of expulsion.
And I begged my mom
not to tell my dad,
but she insisted
that it was his right to know.
And so I panicked.
I, um, I picked up Rufus.
He was a small dog.
And, you know,
my mom was downstairs
so she couldn't hear
anything on the top floor.
I--
I grabbed one of those, um...
those nylon nap sacks that--
the kind you get at--
at summer camp with the--
with the draw strings.
And I had to set out
some food for Rufus.
He dug in and...
while he was eating, I--
I got behind him.
I put the bag
over his head and, um...
I yanked the string's top.
And I, uh...
I just held.
After, I had, um...
you know,
put some chocolate nearby,
and staged it like...
Rufus got in there, poisoned
himself, you know.
And, uh...
my dad was crushed.
He was furious.
Obviously, he's furious
of my carelessness, furious.
But...
his sadness at losing Rufus...
was greater
than his anger at me.
So it made it worth it.
So, no.
I'm not a good man.
And I wasn't a good boy either.
Fuck!
Quincy?
Quincy. Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God.
How did you find this place?
I heard the singing
and I just-- just ran.
Where-- where is he?
He's dead.
Dead?
What?
-But how?
-By me. What do you mean how?
-This is blood everywhere.
-What have you done?
You killed The Woodsman?
Yeah, I did.
Have-- have you been here
this whole time?
Oh no. Oh no.
Oh.
-Whore!
-What are you talking about?
- You're free.
- Whore!
No, no, no, no.
This is so much worse.
Whore!
Call me a whore
one more fucking time!
No, no, no, no, no.
She killed your captor.
But now we have
to answer to God.
-Hey.
-What?
-Give me your hand. In here.
-What?
I feel it.
God is here.
I know that now.
Who are you?
Hey! Who are you?
How did you get here?
Where are your parents?
Don't you see?
See what?
It's our son.
It's Daniel.
He can't live here.
No. We-- we-- we--
we would do our best.
But it wouldn't
be enough.
I mean, he'd just
have to run like us.
So you're saying...
Give him up.
Sacrifice.
What do you think he'd be like?
Quincy,
the boy we saw, if he grew up...
what do you think he'd be like?
Think he'd be cursed.
What do you want?
Not to go up there.
You wanna run?
Yes.
Hide forever?
I wanna be a family. I want--
What?
I want to--
I wanna have a son. I--
I wanna...
revel in his favorite blanket.
I wanna think about
how the worst thing
that could happen
is me and you dying and--
and I wanna
drop him off at school
and realize I'm wrong.
The worst thing
that could happen is him dying.
I wanna feel
that new bottom of fear.
I-I want to show him
ice cream and mountain tops,
you know.
Shame and-- and joy.
And, uh, I want--
Something that's already gone.
I want a boy who has friends.
Who laughs
and plays baseball or--
or codes computers.
I want him to eat too much
and have crushes,
heartbreak, love.
I want him to walk free.
And I want him
to be somewhere real.
The woods are real.
Mm-mm.
They have to be.
The woods are us.
Only us.
This is the place.
What if we're wrong?
We just try again.
So I'm just going to--
Yeah.
-How many times--
-I think you'll just know.
-Okay.
-Mm-hmm.
-I love you.
-I love you.
Stop!
-Looks great.
-Thank you.
Almost ready.
You ready?
-I'm ready.
-Okay.
Let's go.
There he is.
Okay.
Okay.
Then Job answered
the Lord and said,
"I know that you can do anything
and that no thought
can be hidden from you.
Surely I have spoken things
I did not understand.
Things too wonderful
for me to know.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes."
Happy birthday, Daniel.
My ears had heard of you...
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
My ears have heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore, I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.