Big Freakin' Snake (2023) Movie Script
This has been so much fun.
Who would've thought you
knew so much about stars?
Well,
astronomy was one class in college
I actually paid attention to.
It helped that when the professor
took us out to look at the stars,
we were burning on some really good weed.
Well, they do call it
higher education, right?
Yeah, it's fun.
Yeah, well.
I think it's time for
a different kind of fun.
Well I haven't been
camping since I was a kid.
Damn it, hold on.
I have to take this, it's work.
Seriously?
Yeah, I'll just be a second.
No, don't go!
One second.
Don't leave.
It's like 11 o'clock at night.
Shit, I forgot to forward that email.
I'm sorry, it won't happen again.
Oh my God.
Please, please, hello? Hello?
Please, I dunno.
Hello? Can you hear me?
I dunno, I dunno, he's, I dunno.
He's my, my man,
my boyfriend, he's,
there's so many of them out there,
I don't know what,
Please, please, please,
please, please, please.
Can you hear me, hello?
Hello? Please, please, please.
Holy shit.
Oh god.
Deputy. You know what time it is?
Sheriff, I uh,
Never mind. What's going on?
Sir, I received a 911 distress call
from Mike Eaton, and uh,
Jessica.
Mike's dead.
Jess is in a state of shock.
What happened to him? Was
is murda', lovers spat, what?
Well, she's claiming that Mike Eaton was
killed by a rattlesnake, maybe two.
Started after her before
she reached the car.
She's so out of it though, I mean,
state of shock and all.
Plus I found some pot, and who knows?
I just don't think it's
an army of snakes.
You know, I wouldn't
be chalking the girl's
statements up to hysteria or pot,
this has happened here before.
Sir. All due respect,
I've been here 15 years,
and I've never heard any
so much as a snake bite,
or anything of this
kind of nature like this.
That's 'cause it was over 40 years ago,
when my father was sheriff.
I was 12, 13 years old.
I remember him telling me
about swarms of rattlesnakes,
attacking people.
Killing them.
Especially up by the old army base.
Where the commissioner's
building that project
for that adventure trail?
Oh God, I,
I think they started
work out on that trail.
We're gonna have to put
a kibosh on this problem somehow.
Well, since you and I both aren't uh,
experts on snakes,
I think I'm gonna need
you to contact the college,
reach out to a professor,
or someone who's got
some knowledge in this area.
Oh, we'll get right on it, um.
As soon as I get us in
contact with someone,
we'll, we'll contact you.
Oh, hey Deputy,
I'm gonna need you to keep this quiet.
I'm gonna have to break it
to Commissioner Lewis in the morning.
He's gonna be irate.
This land development trail,
they're his baby.
Let's go, thanks sir.
Thank you sir!
Yep.
Hey Sheriff, how can I help you?
Sir, We have a problem
out at Davidson's Ridge.
What kind of problem?
We have groundbreaking,
and a fireworks celebration
near there very soon.
Well, there was an attack out there.
Attack, what attack?
A young couple camping
was attacked by a swarm of snakes.
It killing him, the girlfriend
managed to escape.
A swarm of snakes?
What are you talking about?
We haven't had someone
killed by a snake in over 40 years.
I'm sure,
I'm sure it was just random.
Nothing about this is random.
I believe that we should
reach out for an outside agency,
or some assistance on this.
No, no, no.
That'll bring the media,
get the media involved,
and wreck a lot of
plans, so don't overreact.
So how much longer are we
supposed to have to do this for?
I told you we should
have got out here earlier,
it's boiling damn hot.
Tell me about it man,
couldn't we have done this a few months ago
when it was, you know, cooler outside?
Look,
if you guys would shut
up and quit complaining,
we could be done here in less than an hour,
and we could get out of here.
Besides, this is one of the
commissioner's pet projects.
So if we get this done on time,
could be tons of geo
tech work for the company,
and maybe some raises.
Whatever, I'll believe it when I see it.
Yeah, me too.
Tell you what, so you big
babies don't sweat too much,
I will walk up that ridge over there,
and set up a range rod.
This big baby isn't gonna complain.
Me neither, boss.
I'm no big baby.
It's like a million degrees out here.
Besides, I'm missing my subscribers.
Just start packing what
we don't need while I walk,
and stay off your phones.
Uptight bitch.
Hey, Jason, come on.
There's, there's nothing more
we can do, man, she's gone.
We, we gotta call the cops.
I don't have my phone,
you call them, hurry.
Oh my God.
We gotta get outta here.
Help. There's snakes everywhere!
- They got Melissa!
- You gotta go, go!
Yeah, I heard about it.
I told you, you wouldn't listen.
Hold on, hold on.
Do you know how far fetched
a giant swarm of snakes sounds?
And don't you dump this all on me.
Besides, the survey crew
was just a couple miles away from where the
campers were.
I wanted to close this area down,
but God forbid your little
project get sidetracked.
How dare you.
Small project, little project.
Listen, this is my last term.
And that project was my swan song,
it'll benefit the county
for years and years to come,
so don't start on me.
The hell's the matter with you?
Instead of making me
look like the fall guy,
we should come up with some kind of a plan.
Look, I'm way ahead of you.
Despite you telling me earlier not to,
I've already reached out to an expert.
My deputy's gonna go speak
with them in the morning.
Then maybe, just maybe,
we can get this thing under control.
Okay, great.
Until then,
let's uh,
let's seal that area off.
And find a way to kill those damned snakes.
Keep me posted,
let me know what those experts say.
Okay sir, I'll brief
you the same time tomorrow.
Man, you gotta be a
really strange character
to wanna study snakes.
Yeah, I couldn't agree more,
I wouldn't wanna be called a herpetologist.
A herpes what?
No, not, not, herpes.
Get your mind outta the gutter.
No, no, no,
A Herpetologist studies snakes.
Oh really? Somebody's
been doing some Googling.
Anyway, I don't want
anything to do with herpes,
or any damn snakes.
Let's just go, okay come on.
Come on in, I'm expecting you.
Professor, how you doing today?
Dr. McCauley.
Have a seat.
Deputy Warrick,
this is, Deputy Morris.
We'd uh, we're on the sheriff's behalf
to talk about this, uh
rattlesnake case that,
we got going on.
I understand, I'm glad to help.
When I first heard about the
area of the occurrence, I uh,
it was alarm bells went off.
I was Dr. Parkinson's last grad assistant
before he retired 15 years ago,
and uh, I'm familiar with his area of work.
Well professor, how
familiar are you with CT-4,
and mutations?
Extremely familiar.
I did a lot of extensive work
with the department to uh,
compile and publish his research on the
effects of chemical CT-4 on the snakes.
But it couldn't possibly be the CT-4,
I mean it degrades after 10 years.
Someone's been doing their research.
No, he just knows how to Google.
I tend to agree,
CT-4 does typically degrade,
but who knows given what
was going on in that army base.
Dr. Park son had lingering
suspicions about that base,
and what was really going on there.
Yeah, but that base has
been closed for so many years.
There was an environmental assessment,
and apparently it can be
used for construction now.
Maybe so.
The, uh, sheriff mentioned you had some
enhanced photos you
wanted me to take a look at?
I do professor.
And I'm really sorry, but
these are pretty gruesome.
Do all the puncture
wounds look like this?
They all look the same to me,
I mean, what's wrong?
Well, besides them being very large,
looks like they're deformed.
I need to show these
to one of my colleagues.
Dr. Kaye?
Could you come in here a second, please?
Hi Professor.
I'm not in any trouble am I?
No,
these two deputies from Riverside County,
and they're here about a
couple of snake attacks.
I remember you mentioning
something about that.
That's right.
Anyhow, I need you to
take a look at these photos.
It's like nothing I've ever seen before.
I thought that your
area of expertise could
maybe shed some light on it.
Where were these taken?
Davidson's Ridge in Riverside County.
That's where.
Exactly.
Given the deformities,
that was my first guess.
It has to be the exposure
to the same chemical.
It's been almost 40 years,
and professor, I mean that
army base has been closed,
and we thought everything was cleaned up.
Well, something's
causing the deformities.
Mojave Rattlers aren't this big.
Well that's why we're here,
to get to the bottom of this.
By the sheer number of puncture wounds
there must be 15 to 20 snakes involved.
Have you ever seen a swarm that large?
Not except for Dr. Parkinson's work.
Believe me, you have far more expertise
in the areas of chemicals,
and contamination,
and field collection than I do, so.
I need to go back. And
look at the journals again,
and go out to Davidson's Ridge.
Davidson's Ridge?
The lab, the attacks.
Oh, wait a minute, no, no, no.
I spent three months
in the jungles of Belize,
studying jumping vipers.
I'm sure I'll be fine.
Besides, I'll take some
grad assistants with me.
Okay, well you're
the snake expert, right?
Look, I'll inform the sheriff, okay?
What do you need from our department?
If you could just pull
seismic graphs of the area,
and construction
permits within a few miles,
and seal off the area.
You got it. Nice seeing you, Professor.
Thank you.
See you, Dr. Kaye.
What the hell
could be causing the deformities?
I don't know.
Well, it sounds like it
was a really long day.
Oh my God, baby, you have no idea.
I didn't get outta court until after five.
The defendant, and the other side were
just impossible to deal with.
Past five, what kind of
motion hearing was this?
A hell of one is the
best way to describe it.
But the case should settle now.
Yeah, I wish I was there right now
to take you out and spoil
you after a day like that.
Mm, me too.
I'm drinking a big glass of wine right now.
Damn.
I really wish I was there now.
I know you do, baby.
Look, gimme a rain check for tomorrow.
I'm gonna take the
early flight in the morning.
Ooh, that sounds good.
I'm just gonna finish this wine,
and then I'm gonna take a long bath,
and try to unwind.
Goodnight baby, love you.
I love you too. Bye-bye.
Hey, I'm here.
Rebecca.
What'd you forget how to answer your phone?
Rebecca?
Oh my god.
God, Rebecca? No.
Oh god no.
Yeah.
Gotcha.
You just need to circle back around it.
What do you think?
Is it possible can we do this?
Yeah.
Hey, guys,
we gotta hurry up
and get to the first site.
Today is going to be a scorcher.
All right guys, let's get a move on it.
Hey Adam, Adam,
grab that extra bag over there.
Ugh, I have to carry two bags?
Hey, don't start with me, Adam.
I'm really not in the mood right now.
Whatever, I'll carry it.
Okay. Are you sure that
this is all the construction,
and seismic reports for the area?
I'm, I'm positive, I mean,
it's, the last file has
all locations right there,
so that's all the attacks.
My phone,
who're calling me now?
Hello?
Oh God, another one?
How many victims?
Ah, geez.
No, it can't be.
What?
Alright, I'm on my way.
Okay, we'll be there shortly.
We're on the way.
Was it?
There's been another attack.
Oh my gosh.
Some old lady in a bathtub.
The wound's even worse than last time.
It's, it's horrific.
About five miles east from here.
East of here?
Yeah, five miles.
Look, are there security
cams on the premises?
Maybe we can get a glimpse
of what we're up against,
you know?
Yeah, we need to do that, okay.
Let's meet back at one o'clock.
Gotcha, Dr. Kaye.
- Sounds good, let's go.
- Okay? Let's go.
So I take it, no police escort?
Look. Look, there's five of us.
All we gotta do, is stay vigilant,
and we'll be just fine, I promise.
Let's go.
For the record, I'm with Ally here.
For once, we agree, okay?
Hey, I'm dying here.
That's better.
Well, thanks for the
free sunburn, Dr. Kaye.
Hey, Adam?
Yeah?
Shut up.
Gosh, from the sheer
number of snakes, and attacks,
there should be something.
Just, not finding anything.
Not to mention, no actual sightings.
Really weird, especially
for this time of the day.
Guys, I hate to say it,
I think we need to do some wider sweeps.
I think we just need more data.
Excuse me, Wilson's office?
Right this way, ma'am.
Thank you
Dr. Kaye.
Hi.
Howdy.
Professor, I didn't expect to see you here.
You need to look at this.
What is it?
I'm sorry, am I missing something?
I didn't see absolutely anything.
Well that's because the answer's
from underneath the house.
Oh my god!
Now watch this.
Hold on.
And that's when she was.
What did you, uh,
learn on your research trip
down at Davidson's Ridge, Dr. Kaye?
Oh yes.
Elizabeth?
Sorry, uh, yeah,
unfortunately there's no
signs of CT-4 contamination,
but they're still down in
the lab, running samples.
It's them.
Blake, please tell me you found something?
What?
No contamination.
No CT-4, you guys.
Yeah, okay.
Okay, Blake, please call us back
if you find anything at all, okay?
Thanks.
Okay, I'm gonna need you guys to
canvas the workers out there.
Talk to the site managers.
See if they came across
any waste materials,
and if they did,
that they were disposed of properly.
Hey.
Can I help you guys?
Yeah, you the, uh, site supervisor?
What's that, Officer?
I asked you if you're
the site supervisor.
Oh yes I am, my name is Michael Bridger.
How can I help you Officer, and miss, uh
Dr. Kaye.
Come on inside, it's a lot quieter.
It's a hot one today, huh?
Yeah, it's a real scorcher.
Oh, come on in.
Yeah, thanks.
So was it Bridges?
Is that what it is?
No, it was Bridger.
So, uh, can I get either
one of you some water?
No, I'm all set, thank you.
No, thank you.
So, uh, what can I help you with?
I hope I'm not in some
sort of trouble here.
Not at all, Mr. Bridger.
Dr. Kaye and I, are just
taking a look around Davidson Ridge,
just making some inquiries
around some construction sites.
Oh, I see, so, uh,
Doctor, if I might ask you, uh
what is your field of study?
Herpetology.
You study STDs?
No. Reptiles and amphibians.
Mr. Bridger, your,
your company was being
contracted by Cerrone Chemicals,
correct?
Yes, uh, yes, that's right.
So what's this all about, officer?
Let's see, Cerrone Chemicals.
Hmm, it's a power company?
That's what I have right here.
Yes sir, plastics. We
do all the necessary
safety codes if that's what
you're concerned about.
And what about disposal?
We try to keep the
waste footprint non-existent,
if that's what you're asking about, Doctor.
We try to put all our debris
in our roll-out containers,
you know, for safe recycling and disposal.
Mr. Bridger, would you mind if Dr. Kaye
took some samples from the containers?
Uh, sure, I suppose so.
What kind of samples?
Mr. Bridger, did your crew
come across any materials not directly
related to the construction site?
Hm, no, I don't believe we did,
but we were able to get,
right to work without any issues.
And you found no signs
of any industrial waste,
before construction began?
No, we did, we did not, no.
Right. Well,
I better go collect those samples.
Well, thank you for your time Mr. Bridger.
Dr. Kaye and I will be in touch,
if we have any more
further questions for you.
Well, absolutely.
I'm still not quite sure
what it is you're looking for.
I wish I could be more
helpful, but like I said
you're both free to look around.
Dr. Kaye, Dr. Kaye!
What is it? You gotta come over here.
What?
Look, why don't you
tell me what I'm seeing?
Let's go.
Hey, hold it, step back.
You don't wanna get near that.
What is this Mr. Bridger?
Huh? What is this?
Well, sorry, I forgot to mention
we do have a small natural methane leak.
On a construction site?
You know how dangerous this is?
Yeah, I know, but it's a small one,
and the county said we could keep working.
I thought you said that
there were no issues
with the construction site.
This hazard area
is considerable distance
from any hot work, okay?
And this sinkhole came
about three weeks ago when it,
when the county was trenching a line,
and hit some kind of fault line, okay?
Did you even pull permits for this?
Is this even legal?
I'm gonna check with the city.
See if you're telling me the truth.
No, no, no, you don't understand.
We've been sanctioned to
continue the construction.
We've been cleared.
By who?
By the commissioner.
The commissioner?
Yeah.
Hey mom, did I end up missing anything?
No, it's just getting started, honey.
Okay, good, I was worried.
Looks like we made it in time.
Lucky you.
I love you, Sam.
I love you too, but what
are fireworks made out of?
Uh, fireworks?
Oh, okay, that makes sense.
Yeah.
- It's cool, they're awesome.
- Pretty beautiful.
- Yeah.
- Look at that one.
How exciting.
I know, it's great.
Honey, can you hand me my bon bon?
Oh, all right.
Mom, mom!
Oh, shit!
Shit.
Hello? 911?
Yeah, this is either some really good shit,
or there's like a bunch of
snakes attacking everybody.
Yeah, I'll hold.
What's happening?
It looks like the show was just starting.
Yeah, what the hell?
What is going on?
Let's get out of here.
What the?
Sheriff, sheriff!
There was an attack at
the fireworks celebration,
Two people dead!
It's complete chaos!
Told Commissioner Lewis
to cancel that damn thing.
I need that area sealed off.
Where did these snakes escape to?
In the drainage.
Okay, Deputy Warrick, do me a favor,
get me all the maps of the
drainage system, will ya?
I'm on it, I'm on it.
Yes sir!
Well, you're the expert here.
You got any idea how these
damn things seem to be everywhere,
and nowhere at the same time?
I have no idea, but
they're obviously mutated,
but by what? There's no traces of CT-4.
Keep digging on it, people are dying.
This can't be right.
Dear god.
Okay, I got it, shut everything down.
The excavation combined with the gas leak
must have caused the mutation.
I agree. Start there.
Doctor, what's all this
talk about mutations?
The CT-4 must have mutated into CT-5,
which we weren't even testing for,
which is far more dangerous!
How can something mutate
that's been lying dormant
in the ground for over 40 years?
Because, there was some
sort of fissure in the ground,
and it caused it to
combine with the gas, or chemical leak.
Fissure, Cerrone Chemical,
was the foreman talking about
the fissure, or the gas leak?
Blake,
is it possible that the
natural gas exposure
caused the mutation?
Possibly.
But who knows if the
leak is strictly natural gas?
Look, Cerrone chemicals
is located along the ridge
of the old wash ravine,
and look at the pattern of attacks,
it's right in the center of the gorge,
just north of the power plant.
Finally making yourself useful, huh?
Well, better late than never.
I didn't see any excavations on that ridge.
None on the map that
would create a fissure.
That's because the commissioner buried it.
Damn it. I need that area cordoned off.
I need you to get your
hands on as much explosives
as you can to seal this
goddamned pit in once and for all.
You got it, sir.
Wait, I, I need some,
I need some specimens for my research!
Doctor, it's too dangerous,
five people have died.
No, sir, but,
But nothing, I said it's too dangerous.
As long as I'm in charge
every one of these snakes is going to die.
Just listen to the sheriff,
okay? It's too dangerous.
You know what? I think we'll be fine.
I think we've already
gathered enough materials.
She'll be good.
Hey, Deputy Warrick,
I need you to get the
response team together.
- First light.
- Okay. Yes, sir.
Dr. Kaye,
I'm gonna need you to
join us tomorrow at the site,
to confirm the pit's closed.
All of you guys, I
suggest you get some rest,
tomorrow's the day.
All right, everybody listen up.
Deputy Warrick's laying down explosives.
We need you to keep your guard up.
Get ready to take cover.
Okay, I mean, there are dozens of them.
They mutated?
Yeah, I mean look at
their heads, and the size of their fangs,
it's like a whole new breed of rattlesnake.
Die, you sons of bitches.
My god! Warrick!
- Not Warrick! Warrick!
- No, get off me!
No, Warrick!
Looks like we got 'em this time,
nothing's gonna survive that.
Yeah, I, I hope so.
Who would've thought you
knew so much about stars?
Well,
astronomy was one class in college
I actually paid attention to.
It helped that when the professor
took us out to look at the stars,
we were burning on some really good weed.
Well, they do call it
higher education, right?
Yeah, it's fun.
Yeah, well.
I think it's time for
a different kind of fun.
Well I haven't been
camping since I was a kid.
Damn it, hold on.
I have to take this, it's work.
Seriously?
Yeah, I'll just be a second.
No, don't go!
One second.
Don't leave.
It's like 11 o'clock at night.
Shit, I forgot to forward that email.
I'm sorry, it won't happen again.
Oh my God.
Please, please, hello? Hello?
Please, I dunno.
Hello? Can you hear me?
I dunno, I dunno, he's, I dunno.
He's my, my man,
my boyfriend, he's,
there's so many of them out there,
I don't know what,
Please, please, please,
please, please, please.
Can you hear me, hello?
Hello? Please, please, please.
Holy shit.
Oh god.
Deputy. You know what time it is?
Sheriff, I uh,
Never mind. What's going on?
Sir, I received a 911 distress call
from Mike Eaton, and uh,
Jessica.
Mike's dead.
Jess is in a state of shock.
What happened to him? Was
is murda', lovers spat, what?
Well, she's claiming that Mike Eaton was
killed by a rattlesnake, maybe two.
Started after her before
she reached the car.
She's so out of it though, I mean,
state of shock and all.
Plus I found some pot, and who knows?
I just don't think it's
an army of snakes.
You know, I wouldn't
be chalking the girl's
statements up to hysteria or pot,
this has happened here before.
Sir. All due respect,
I've been here 15 years,
and I've never heard any
so much as a snake bite,
or anything of this
kind of nature like this.
That's 'cause it was over 40 years ago,
when my father was sheriff.
I was 12, 13 years old.
I remember him telling me
about swarms of rattlesnakes,
attacking people.
Killing them.
Especially up by the old army base.
Where the commissioner's
building that project
for that adventure trail?
Oh God, I,
I think they started
work out on that trail.
We're gonna have to put
a kibosh on this problem somehow.
Well, since you and I both aren't uh,
experts on snakes,
I think I'm gonna need
you to contact the college,
reach out to a professor,
or someone who's got
some knowledge in this area.
Oh, we'll get right on it, um.
As soon as I get us in
contact with someone,
we'll, we'll contact you.
Oh, hey Deputy,
I'm gonna need you to keep this quiet.
I'm gonna have to break it
to Commissioner Lewis in the morning.
He's gonna be irate.
This land development trail,
they're his baby.
Let's go, thanks sir.
Thank you sir!
Yep.
Hey Sheriff, how can I help you?
Sir, We have a problem
out at Davidson's Ridge.
What kind of problem?
We have groundbreaking,
and a fireworks celebration
near there very soon.
Well, there was an attack out there.
Attack, what attack?
A young couple camping
was attacked by a swarm of snakes.
It killing him, the girlfriend
managed to escape.
A swarm of snakes?
What are you talking about?
We haven't had someone
killed by a snake in over 40 years.
I'm sure,
I'm sure it was just random.
Nothing about this is random.
I believe that we should
reach out for an outside agency,
or some assistance on this.
No, no, no.
That'll bring the media,
get the media involved,
and wreck a lot of
plans, so don't overreact.
So how much longer are we
supposed to have to do this for?
I told you we should
have got out here earlier,
it's boiling damn hot.
Tell me about it man,
couldn't we have done this a few months ago
when it was, you know, cooler outside?
Look,
if you guys would shut
up and quit complaining,
we could be done here in less than an hour,
and we could get out of here.
Besides, this is one of the
commissioner's pet projects.
So if we get this done on time,
could be tons of geo
tech work for the company,
and maybe some raises.
Whatever, I'll believe it when I see it.
Yeah, me too.
Tell you what, so you big
babies don't sweat too much,
I will walk up that ridge over there,
and set up a range rod.
This big baby isn't gonna complain.
Me neither, boss.
I'm no big baby.
It's like a million degrees out here.
Besides, I'm missing my subscribers.
Just start packing what
we don't need while I walk,
and stay off your phones.
Uptight bitch.
Hey, Jason, come on.
There's, there's nothing more
we can do, man, she's gone.
We, we gotta call the cops.
I don't have my phone,
you call them, hurry.
Oh my God.
We gotta get outta here.
Help. There's snakes everywhere!
- They got Melissa!
- You gotta go, go!
Yeah, I heard about it.
I told you, you wouldn't listen.
Hold on, hold on.
Do you know how far fetched
a giant swarm of snakes sounds?
And don't you dump this all on me.
Besides, the survey crew
was just a couple miles away from where the
campers were.
I wanted to close this area down,
but God forbid your little
project get sidetracked.
How dare you.
Small project, little project.
Listen, this is my last term.
And that project was my swan song,
it'll benefit the county
for years and years to come,
so don't start on me.
The hell's the matter with you?
Instead of making me
look like the fall guy,
we should come up with some kind of a plan.
Look, I'm way ahead of you.
Despite you telling me earlier not to,
I've already reached out to an expert.
My deputy's gonna go speak
with them in the morning.
Then maybe, just maybe,
we can get this thing under control.
Okay, great.
Until then,
let's uh,
let's seal that area off.
And find a way to kill those damned snakes.
Keep me posted,
let me know what those experts say.
Okay sir, I'll brief
you the same time tomorrow.
Man, you gotta be a
really strange character
to wanna study snakes.
Yeah, I couldn't agree more,
I wouldn't wanna be called a herpetologist.
A herpes what?
No, not, not, herpes.
Get your mind outta the gutter.
No, no, no,
A Herpetologist studies snakes.
Oh really? Somebody's
been doing some Googling.
Anyway, I don't want
anything to do with herpes,
or any damn snakes.
Let's just go, okay come on.
Come on in, I'm expecting you.
Professor, how you doing today?
Dr. McCauley.
Have a seat.
Deputy Warrick,
this is, Deputy Morris.
We'd uh, we're on the sheriff's behalf
to talk about this, uh
rattlesnake case that,
we got going on.
I understand, I'm glad to help.
When I first heard about the
area of the occurrence, I uh,
it was alarm bells went off.
I was Dr. Parkinson's last grad assistant
before he retired 15 years ago,
and uh, I'm familiar with his area of work.
Well professor, how
familiar are you with CT-4,
and mutations?
Extremely familiar.
I did a lot of extensive work
with the department to uh,
compile and publish his research on the
effects of chemical CT-4 on the snakes.
But it couldn't possibly be the CT-4,
I mean it degrades after 10 years.
Someone's been doing their research.
No, he just knows how to Google.
I tend to agree,
CT-4 does typically degrade,
but who knows given what
was going on in that army base.
Dr. Park son had lingering
suspicions about that base,
and what was really going on there.
Yeah, but that base has
been closed for so many years.
There was an environmental assessment,
and apparently it can be
used for construction now.
Maybe so.
The, uh, sheriff mentioned you had some
enhanced photos you
wanted me to take a look at?
I do professor.
And I'm really sorry, but
these are pretty gruesome.
Do all the puncture
wounds look like this?
They all look the same to me,
I mean, what's wrong?
Well, besides them being very large,
looks like they're deformed.
I need to show these
to one of my colleagues.
Dr. Kaye?
Could you come in here a second, please?
Hi Professor.
I'm not in any trouble am I?
No,
these two deputies from Riverside County,
and they're here about a
couple of snake attacks.
I remember you mentioning
something about that.
That's right.
Anyhow, I need you to
take a look at these photos.
It's like nothing I've ever seen before.
I thought that your
area of expertise could
maybe shed some light on it.
Where were these taken?
Davidson's Ridge in Riverside County.
That's where.
Exactly.
Given the deformities,
that was my first guess.
It has to be the exposure
to the same chemical.
It's been almost 40 years,
and professor, I mean that
army base has been closed,
and we thought everything was cleaned up.
Well, something's
causing the deformities.
Mojave Rattlers aren't this big.
Well that's why we're here,
to get to the bottom of this.
By the sheer number of puncture wounds
there must be 15 to 20 snakes involved.
Have you ever seen a swarm that large?
Not except for Dr. Parkinson's work.
Believe me, you have far more expertise
in the areas of chemicals,
and contamination,
and field collection than I do, so.
I need to go back. And
look at the journals again,
and go out to Davidson's Ridge.
Davidson's Ridge?
The lab, the attacks.
Oh, wait a minute, no, no, no.
I spent three months
in the jungles of Belize,
studying jumping vipers.
I'm sure I'll be fine.
Besides, I'll take some
grad assistants with me.
Okay, well you're
the snake expert, right?
Look, I'll inform the sheriff, okay?
What do you need from our department?
If you could just pull
seismic graphs of the area,
and construction
permits within a few miles,
and seal off the area.
You got it. Nice seeing you, Professor.
Thank you.
See you, Dr. Kaye.
What the hell
could be causing the deformities?
I don't know.
Well, it sounds like it
was a really long day.
Oh my God, baby, you have no idea.
I didn't get outta court until after five.
The defendant, and the other side were
just impossible to deal with.
Past five, what kind of
motion hearing was this?
A hell of one is the
best way to describe it.
But the case should settle now.
Yeah, I wish I was there right now
to take you out and spoil
you after a day like that.
Mm, me too.
I'm drinking a big glass of wine right now.
Damn.
I really wish I was there now.
I know you do, baby.
Look, gimme a rain check for tomorrow.
I'm gonna take the
early flight in the morning.
Ooh, that sounds good.
I'm just gonna finish this wine,
and then I'm gonna take a long bath,
and try to unwind.
Goodnight baby, love you.
I love you too. Bye-bye.
Hey, I'm here.
Rebecca.
What'd you forget how to answer your phone?
Rebecca?
Oh my god.
God, Rebecca? No.
Oh god no.
Yeah.
Gotcha.
You just need to circle back around it.
What do you think?
Is it possible can we do this?
Yeah.
Hey, guys,
we gotta hurry up
and get to the first site.
Today is going to be a scorcher.
All right guys, let's get a move on it.
Hey Adam, Adam,
grab that extra bag over there.
Ugh, I have to carry two bags?
Hey, don't start with me, Adam.
I'm really not in the mood right now.
Whatever, I'll carry it.
Okay. Are you sure that
this is all the construction,
and seismic reports for the area?
I'm, I'm positive, I mean,
it's, the last file has
all locations right there,
so that's all the attacks.
My phone,
who're calling me now?
Hello?
Oh God, another one?
How many victims?
Ah, geez.
No, it can't be.
What?
Alright, I'm on my way.
Okay, we'll be there shortly.
We're on the way.
Was it?
There's been another attack.
Oh my gosh.
Some old lady in a bathtub.
The wound's even worse than last time.
It's, it's horrific.
About five miles east from here.
East of here?
Yeah, five miles.
Look, are there security
cams on the premises?
Maybe we can get a glimpse
of what we're up against,
you know?
Yeah, we need to do that, okay.
Let's meet back at one o'clock.
Gotcha, Dr. Kaye.
- Sounds good, let's go.
- Okay? Let's go.
So I take it, no police escort?
Look. Look, there's five of us.
All we gotta do, is stay vigilant,
and we'll be just fine, I promise.
Let's go.
For the record, I'm with Ally here.
For once, we agree, okay?
Hey, I'm dying here.
That's better.
Well, thanks for the
free sunburn, Dr. Kaye.
Hey, Adam?
Yeah?
Shut up.
Gosh, from the sheer
number of snakes, and attacks,
there should be something.
Just, not finding anything.
Not to mention, no actual sightings.
Really weird, especially
for this time of the day.
Guys, I hate to say it,
I think we need to do some wider sweeps.
I think we just need more data.
Excuse me, Wilson's office?
Right this way, ma'am.
Thank you
Dr. Kaye.
Hi.
Howdy.
Professor, I didn't expect to see you here.
You need to look at this.
What is it?
I'm sorry, am I missing something?
I didn't see absolutely anything.
Well that's because the answer's
from underneath the house.
Oh my god!
Now watch this.
Hold on.
And that's when she was.
What did you, uh,
learn on your research trip
down at Davidson's Ridge, Dr. Kaye?
Oh yes.
Elizabeth?
Sorry, uh, yeah,
unfortunately there's no
signs of CT-4 contamination,
but they're still down in
the lab, running samples.
It's them.
Blake, please tell me you found something?
What?
No contamination.
No CT-4, you guys.
Yeah, okay.
Okay, Blake, please call us back
if you find anything at all, okay?
Thanks.
Okay, I'm gonna need you guys to
canvas the workers out there.
Talk to the site managers.
See if they came across
any waste materials,
and if they did,
that they were disposed of properly.
Hey.
Can I help you guys?
Yeah, you the, uh, site supervisor?
What's that, Officer?
I asked you if you're
the site supervisor.
Oh yes I am, my name is Michael Bridger.
How can I help you Officer, and miss, uh
Dr. Kaye.
Come on inside, it's a lot quieter.
It's a hot one today, huh?
Yeah, it's a real scorcher.
Oh, come on in.
Yeah, thanks.
So was it Bridges?
Is that what it is?
No, it was Bridger.
So, uh, can I get either
one of you some water?
No, I'm all set, thank you.
No, thank you.
So, uh, what can I help you with?
I hope I'm not in some
sort of trouble here.
Not at all, Mr. Bridger.
Dr. Kaye and I, are just
taking a look around Davidson Ridge,
just making some inquiries
around some construction sites.
Oh, I see, so, uh,
Doctor, if I might ask you, uh
what is your field of study?
Herpetology.
You study STDs?
No. Reptiles and amphibians.
Mr. Bridger, your,
your company was being
contracted by Cerrone Chemicals,
correct?
Yes, uh, yes, that's right.
So what's this all about, officer?
Let's see, Cerrone Chemicals.
Hmm, it's a power company?
That's what I have right here.
Yes sir, plastics. We
do all the necessary
safety codes if that's what
you're concerned about.
And what about disposal?
We try to keep the
waste footprint non-existent,
if that's what you're asking about, Doctor.
We try to put all our debris
in our roll-out containers,
you know, for safe recycling and disposal.
Mr. Bridger, would you mind if Dr. Kaye
took some samples from the containers?
Uh, sure, I suppose so.
What kind of samples?
Mr. Bridger, did your crew
come across any materials not directly
related to the construction site?
Hm, no, I don't believe we did,
but we were able to get,
right to work without any issues.
And you found no signs
of any industrial waste,
before construction began?
No, we did, we did not, no.
Right. Well,
I better go collect those samples.
Well, thank you for your time Mr. Bridger.
Dr. Kaye and I will be in touch,
if we have any more
further questions for you.
Well, absolutely.
I'm still not quite sure
what it is you're looking for.
I wish I could be more
helpful, but like I said
you're both free to look around.
Dr. Kaye, Dr. Kaye!
What is it? You gotta come over here.
What?
Look, why don't you
tell me what I'm seeing?
Let's go.
Hey, hold it, step back.
You don't wanna get near that.
What is this Mr. Bridger?
Huh? What is this?
Well, sorry, I forgot to mention
we do have a small natural methane leak.
On a construction site?
You know how dangerous this is?
Yeah, I know, but it's a small one,
and the county said we could keep working.
I thought you said that
there were no issues
with the construction site.
This hazard area
is considerable distance
from any hot work, okay?
And this sinkhole came
about three weeks ago when it,
when the county was trenching a line,
and hit some kind of fault line, okay?
Did you even pull permits for this?
Is this even legal?
I'm gonna check with the city.
See if you're telling me the truth.
No, no, no, you don't understand.
We've been sanctioned to
continue the construction.
We've been cleared.
By who?
By the commissioner.
The commissioner?
Yeah.
Hey mom, did I end up missing anything?
No, it's just getting started, honey.
Okay, good, I was worried.
Looks like we made it in time.
Lucky you.
I love you, Sam.
I love you too, but what
are fireworks made out of?
Uh, fireworks?
Oh, okay, that makes sense.
Yeah.
- It's cool, they're awesome.
- Pretty beautiful.
- Yeah.
- Look at that one.
How exciting.
I know, it's great.
Honey, can you hand me my bon bon?
Oh, all right.
Mom, mom!
Oh, shit!
Shit.
Hello? 911?
Yeah, this is either some really good shit,
or there's like a bunch of
snakes attacking everybody.
Yeah, I'll hold.
What's happening?
It looks like the show was just starting.
Yeah, what the hell?
What is going on?
Let's get out of here.
What the?
Sheriff, sheriff!
There was an attack at
the fireworks celebration,
Two people dead!
It's complete chaos!
Told Commissioner Lewis
to cancel that damn thing.
I need that area sealed off.
Where did these snakes escape to?
In the drainage.
Okay, Deputy Warrick, do me a favor,
get me all the maps of the
drainage system, will ya?
I'm on it, I'm on it.
Yes sir!
Well, you're the expert here.
You got any idea how these
damn things seem to be everywhere,
and nowhere at the same time?
I have no idea, but
they're obviously mutated,
but by what? There's no traces of CT-4.
Keep digging on it, people are dying.
This can't be right.
Dear god.
Okay, I got it, shut everything down.
The excavation combined with the gas leak
must have caused the mutation.
I agree. Start there.
Doctor, what's all this
talk about mutations?
The CT-4 must have mutated into CT-5,
which we weren't even testing for,
which is far more dangerous!
How can something mutate
that's been lying dormant
in the ground for over 40 years?
Because, there was some
sort of fissure in the ground,
and it caused it to
combine with the gas, or chemical leak.
Fissure, Cerrone Chemical,
was the foreman talking about
the fissure, or the gas leak?
Blake,
is it possible that the
natural gas exposure
caused the mutation?
Possibly.
But who knows if the
leak is strictly natural gas?
Look, Cerrone chemicals
is located along the ridge
of the old wash ravine,
and look at the pattern of attacks,
it's right in the center of the gorge,
just north of the power plant.
Finally making yourself useful, huh?
Well, better late than never.
I didn't see any excavations on that ridge.
None on the map that
would create a fissure.
That's because the commissioner buried it.
Damn it. I need that area cordoned off.
I need you to get your
hands on as much explosives
as you can to seal this
goddamned pit in once and for all.
You got it, sir.
Wait, I, I need some,
I need some specimens for my research!
Doctor, it's too dangerous,
five people have died.
No, sir, but,
But nothing, I said it's too dangerous.
As long as I'm in charge
every one of these snakes is going to die.
Just listen to the sheriff,
okay? It's too dangerous.
You know what? I think we'll be fine.
I think we've already
gathered enough materials.
She'll be good.
Hey, Deputy Warrick,
I need you to get the
response team together.
- First light.
- Okay. Yes, sir.
Dr. Kaye,
I'm gonna need you to
join us tomorrow at the site,
to confirm the pit's closed.
All of you guys, I
suggest you get some rest,
tomorrow's the day.
All right, everybody listen up.
Deputy Warrick's laying down explosives.
We need you to keep your guard up.
Get ready to take cover.
Okay, I mean, there are dozens of them.
They mutated?
Yeah, I mean look at
their heads, and the size of their fangs,
it's like a whole new breed of rattlesnake.
Die, you sons of bitches.
My god! Warrick!
- Not Warrick! Warrick!
- No, get off me!
No, Warrick!
Looks like we got 'em this time,
nothing's gonna survive that.
Yeah, I, I hope so.