Things Will Be Different (2024) Movie Script
1
(wind whistling)
(phone line ringing)
(Sidney breathing heavily)
- Joseph: (over phone) Yeah?
- Sidney: Hey.
Joseph: Oh, fuck, man.
Are you okay?
Sidney: Yeah. Are you?
Joseph: Yeah.
Found a room for the night.
- You good?
- Sidney: Yeah, but...
I don't have
any of the money.
Joseph: No, no, no. It's okay.
I grabbed both bags.
Sidney: Oh, fuck. Sorry.
The cops were coming around
the corner, and I just...
- I couldn't find an exit.
- Joseph: Hey, it's okay.
It's okay, all right?
(breathing deeply)
I'm just glad you're safe.
- (Sidney breathing heavily)
- (Joseph sighing)
Sidney: Okay.
Okay. So, what now?
Do we lay low at this place?
Joseph: Yeah.
I'll meet you at the diner
at the edge of town,
and then... away we go.
Sidney: It's just
two weeks, yeah?
'Cause I can't leave
my kid any longer.
Joseph:
It'll be two weeks, tops. Okay?
You'll be back with her
before you know it.
- (Sidney exhaling heavily)
- Joseph: It'll be good, okay?
We can catch up on some,
you know, brother-sister
rekindling time.
I owe you that much
at least, right?
- I'll see you in the morning.
- (phone clatters)
(wind whistling)
("Too Late to Turn Back Now"
by Cornelius Brothers
and Sister Rose's plays)
My mama told me
She said,
"Son please beware
There's this thing
Called love
And it's everywhere...
Sidney: Hey.
(sighs)
- What?
- Enjoying the music?
- It's fine. Sit down.
- Hey, clean yourself up.
You look like
you slept in a ditch.
Look, we may not eat
like this again, all right?
So, please sit.
(cash machine thuds, beeps)
It's too late
To turn back now...
- Ordered it special for you.
- Mm.
Thought you'd
find it comforting.
Just like Cynthia used to make.
For me or for you?
Learn to like fucking onions.
I found myself phoning her
Get the count?
At least
Ten times a day
And?
It's so unusual for me...
I thought it was five.
I need your help
carrying a bag, though.
It's still a couple miles away.
I can't sleep at night...
What?
Well, five covered
the expenses a little bit,
but seven...
Seven lets me dream.
You dreaming big now?
Yeah, bigger shop,
bigger house.
Maybe a dog for Steph.
I don't know.
She's got to be, what,
ten by now?
Close. She's six.
But with craftsman skills
like this,
she may as well be ten.
- Ten-year-old didn't make that.
- She's six.
Okay. A six-year-old
didn't make that.
She did.
Her 30-year-old teacher
probably made that.
She did. She made it
with her own hands.
- Uh, no.
- Yeah.
I couldn't color inside
the lines when I was six,
much less make a bracelet.
Teacher totally
fucking made that.
You couldn't do anything
when you were six.
You can't even chew
with your mouth closed now.
- Exactly. Shut it.
- You know what?
I'm gonna fashion you
a bracelet right now.
- (police siren wailing)
- Fuck.
(police sirens become louder)
(birds chirping)
- Sidney: What's the backup?
- Joseph: There is no backup.
Sidney: What about Detroit?
Joseph: I'm not walking
a hundred miles.
Sidney: Harder to track
in the city.
Joseph: Harder to run
if we're caught.
Okay, so, what?
It's just this house or bust?
(grunts) The house is there.
I checked.
What about the part we need?
Trust me. She's good for it.
(thunder rumbling)
Sidney: She rack up a tab
or something?
Joseph: She was just being nice.
I said it was a donation
to my cause.
If she said that
we were going to Mars,
would you believe her then?
If it happened to her,
then yeah.
It's nice to have hope.
Gotta love hope.
- (insects chirping)
- (birds squawking)
Hey.
You said that this
was all abandoned.
What the hell is this?
- People like to camp.
- People like to camp here?
I don't control where people go.
(gun clanking)
(sighs)
- (gunshot)
- (birds squawking)
(indistinct chatter)
Drunkard 1:
Where'd you learn to shoot?
Drunkard 2: That was practice.
It wasn't loaded.
- Drunkard 1: It's not...
- Drunkard 2: Shut up.
Drunkard 1: It's not
a muzzle loader, dipshit.
- (indistinct chatter)
- (gunshot)
Drunkard 2:
You fucking threw it wrong.
Drunkard 3: Aim at your foot.
See if you'll hit that better.
Drunkard 1: Your mom did
a fucking awful job
teaching you how to shoot.
Drunkard 3: We ain't drinking
fast enough
for you to miss like this.
(softly)
One Alabama, two Alabama,
three Alabama, four Alabama.
Five.
I just don't think
you're gonna fucking throw...
- Sidney: Hey!
- (gunshot)
You've got five seconds
to get off my land.
- Who the fuck are you?
- One! Two!
- Five!
- (gunshot)
You heard her.
Five more until I stop missing.
- Go, go, go, go, go.
- What about my stuff?
Leave it in the woods, man.
- One...
- Drunkard 1: Go! Go!
Five!
Fucking idiots.
(sighs)
But they'll be back with people
who know how to shoot.
Is this it?
Okay. Grab your shell.
(ominous music playing)
(chiming softly)
(door creaking)
(door closing)
(ominous music intensifies)
(flies buzzing)
- (gasps)
- (sighs)
- (music concludes)
- (sighs) Anything?
(police siren wailing
in distance)
Maybe we can double back,
find a place by the diner.
(breathes shakily)
Joe?
- (voice distorting) Joe? Joe.
- (high-pitched ringing tone)
(in normal voice)
Joe! We gotta go.
This is it.
(tense music playing)
(police siren continues wailing)
- What's the other one?
- "1-9-3-2.
Spin clockwise,
- set to noon, then run up."
- Okay.
(softly) Okay.
(sniffs)
(clock chiming)
(clock chiming)
(doorknob rattling)
(tense music building)
(police siren grows louder)
- (police siren blares)
- (whispers) Hey. Come on.
(music concludes)
(indistinct police
radio chatter)
(thunder rumbling)
(breathing heavily)
Here. Follow these
instructions exactly,
- then hang up.
- Okay.
Police officer: (in distance)
Dining room good.
(indistinct police
radio chatter)
Police officer: Foyer clear.
Hurry up. I hear them.
- They're on their way.
- Yeah.
(police officer
speaking indistinctly)
(dial pad whirring)
(door banging in distance)
(police officer
continues speaking)
Police officer: Bathroom clear.
"Sit peto tutum
peregrinatione."
(telephone thuds)
- (blows air)
- (thunder rumbling)
(high-pitched ringing tone)
- (Joseph breathing heavily)
- (Sidney breathing heavily)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
(wind continues roaring outside)
(clock clicking)
(clock hands whirring)
(clicks)
So, is that it?
We just...
We're clear here and there?
Now, we wait for time to pass
in our present.
Then we head back,
make sure we're clear.
(fridge rattling)
- (Joseph sighs)
- (fridge door closing)
So, two weeks then?
Two weeks and counting.
- Ah!
- (Joseph laughs)
(whirring, buzzing)
("Time Keeps Dancing"
by Jimmy Lavalle plays)
Watching seconds fall
Like grains of sand
Clock ticking loudly
Echoes in my brain
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Boredom's a memory
Excitement's the key
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
Clock hands spinning
Like a carnival ride
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Boredom's a memory
Excitement's the key
In this symphony of time
We're wild and free
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
- (gun cocking)
- (gunshot)
Time keeps dancing
(retches)
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a day
- (song ends abruptly)
- (wind whistling)
(both laugh)
(insects chirping)
(wind howling)
Joseph: All right.
And last but not least...
this thing.
(smooth jazz song
playing over stereo)
Four-fifty.
- Four-fifty for this?
- Sidney: Yeah, 450.
It's Indian, so it's exotic.
And that is early 1900s,
so it's an antique.
Looks handmade,
so it's one of a kind.
And what I'm gonna do
from there is haggle
from five, maybe six.
Make them think
they're getting a good deal.
Fo' fiddy, bitch.
Fucking weird.
Sidney: Yeah, but that's even
if they want it.
'Cause these days not a lot
of bull hook enthusiasts
walk into the store,
and it's very sad.
(exhales deeply)
You gotta be sick of drinking
that well garbage.
I prefer the bite.
Okay. So, you hate
my concoctions.
(chuckles)
You don't have to do that,
you know?
Do what?
You said on the phone that...
(sighs) ...you owe me
this brother-sister
rekindling time.
So, why do you feel that?
I feel like I do.
- And I know you feel like I do.
- Since when?
I know you.
All right, you don't say it,
but I can feel it.
Sidney: I was 24. I...
- I needed the tough love.
- (police siren blares)
Joseph: You needed a brother.
A brother who didn't
leave you behind.
Okay, then where would I be?
Hmm?
Maybe I wouldn't
have learned jack.
Maybe I would have fallen
even deeper into more shit.
Maybe I'd be dead,
and I wouldn't have Steph.
So, all in all,
I think I came out ahead.
Is that what you tell yourself?
- That's how I feel, yeah.
- And now you're in debt.
- That's not your problem.
- No, it is.
(breathes deeply)
I know you think that you...
that you needed this thing
more than me.
I think
it's the other way around.
I fucked up, Sid.
And I'm gonna do anything
I can to make that better.
There's so much closure
in the air tonight.
Yet you won't tell me a thing
about this regular of yours,
or why she has
a magical safe house.
Yeah. I mean, that's the trust
that keeps my customers
coming back.
Mm.
Which is something
you know very little about
- in your line of work.
- Right, yeah.
No, she trusts you enough
to loan you her house,
but not enough to tell you
how it works.
- That's... that's trust.
- (chuckles)
Do you ask how the plumbing
works when you stay at a B&B?
- Yeah, I do.
- (laughs)
There's navy shit around,
so I think the family
must have served.
Maybe they studied
quantum mechanics.
She didn't serve, I don't think.
Do you have any stories for me
inside that big, fat head?
(both chuckle)
She mostly lets me
do the talking.
- Sidney: Mm.
- She knows a lot about you.
- And how fucking lame you are.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah. (chuckles)
- Cool.
I actually think she gave me
the notebook just out of pity.
Yeah, I hate her.
- (laughs)
- (chuckles)
She sounds pretty lame.
Yeah, well,
Dad was always,
"Mind your business unless
it becomes your business,"
which I think has served me
pretty well so far.
Oh, is that right?
I don't know.
I think Dad said it.
Come on. You know the deal.
You remember Dad,
I remember Mom,
and between us we've got...
a normal family.
(chuckles) Yeah.
(music stops playing)
(ice clinking)
(gulps)
You remember her playing?
(inaudible)
No, not really.
I just remember disco...
on the stereo.
I don't remember
what the song names were,
but I just remember how they go.
And there was this one
that had this, like,
rolling electronic-violin
thing and...
(sighs) It went like...
(hums melody)
It's just always in my head.
Sounds catchy.
Get me back to her, Joe.
(wind whistling)
(wood creaking)
(intense ringing tone)
(sighs)
(ominous music playing)
(breathes deeply)
(door closing)
(breathes heavily)
Sid!
- (door opens, shuts)
- Joseph: Sid!
Sid!
- We have to go now. (pants)
- (breathes heavily)
(ominous music intensifies)
Sidney: Shit! Where's the key?
There's got to be
a key somewhere, right?
There never was a key.
- No. No!
- (loud thud)
- No! Sid, stop!
- No!
- Wait!
- Get off of me!
Sid! I was just there! Wait!
Sid!
Sid!
- (Sidney pants)
- (door closing)
Joseph: Here.
Just stay calm
and follow me, okay?
(Sidney breathing heavily)
(ominous music continues)
(Sidney breathing heavily)
(metal creaking)
- Joseph: Hey.
- Sidney: Huh?
(tense music playing)
(gasps, sighs)
(ominous music playing)
Joseph: "You are in the grip
of the vise.
I'm the left side,
another is the right.
Give in or join them.
Carve here to comply."
(Sidney breathing heavily)
No. No, no, no, no, no.
I'm not doing this.
- Sid!
- Sidney: No!
- Joseph: Sid!
- Sidney: (yelling) No!
- (footsteps receding)
- (ominous music swells)
(tense music playing)
Sid!
- Sid!
- (pants)
(high-pitch ringing tone)
(wind whistling)
(retches)
(panting shakily)
(ominous music playing)
(groans)
(sighs)
- (gasps)
- (breathes heavily)
(breathes heavily)
(ominous music swells)
(Sidney sobbing)
(yelling)
(somber music playing)
(slurps)
They got her.
The watch was an heirloom.
It was the only thing on her
worth anything of value.
This isn't her place.
Are we safe?
Bar's clean.
Everybody thinks
I'm in Gulf Shores.
Sid...
I'm in Nevada
as far as they're concerned.
- Are we sure?
- Are you sure?
Look, whoever it is,
we have to assume
they know what we have.
And we're in no position
to negotiate.
At this point, Joe,
I don't care.
(hammer banging)
(music fades)
(safe thuds loudly)
(safe thuds softly)
(grunts)
(whirs)
(whirring continues)
- (safe lock clicking)
- (book thuds)
(chain clinking)
(clicks, whirs)
Hello?
(tape recorder clattering)
- (tree thudding)
- (bird squawking)
(safe dial whirring)
- (safe lock clicking)
- (safe door opens)
(chain rattling)
Man: (in distorted voice)
You shouldn't be here.
Who are you?
Man: Who have you told?
- We haven't told anyone.
- (tape recorder clicks)
Man: Who is "we"?
Me and my sister.
Just us two.
Man: Why are you here?
We're just laying low,
that's all.
Man:
Are you hiding with money?
You want a cut? Is that it?
(tape recorder clicks)
I think you broke it.
(tape recorder clicks)
- Joseph: You broke it.
- What did I do?
I think you had to put it back
in the thing...
so that the future can hear us.
The fuck are you talking about?
You have to put it back
so that the future
on the right can hear us.
And then they somehow
send it back to the past
so that they on the left
can respond
and then leave it for us
in the middle.
I think that's the vise grip.
That's the cycle.
Okay, but why did it work
for you automatically?
You didn't have
to put it back in.
Yeah, I don't know what that is.
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Be careful.
The cycle is delicate.
Then be direct.
Do you want a cut or not?
Man: No. We want to wipe you.
You want to what?
Man: Time isn't kind
to the displaced.
It's more humane being wiped
than vomiting blood
along our border.
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: We have our ways
that can make it
painless and instantaneous.
(tape recorder clicks)
- (chain clinking)
- (tape recorder clicks)
So, then why haven't you
wiped us yet?
If it's that easy,
why aren't we dead?
You need us.
Right? For this...
this vise grip to work.
You have to be
two steps removed, right?
So, let's get
really specific here.
What do you need from us
that you can't do yourselves?
- (tape recorder whirring)
- (Man breathes deeply)
Someone is coming.
An unwelcome visitor.
We cannot track them.
We cannot stop them.
And because
we do not know them,
we cannot wipe them.
All we know
is they are using our doors
and leaving destruction
in their wake.
Eliminate them
before they reach the door
and dispose of their remains
where you stand.
We can then safely release
you and your earnings
at a time that is safe
from harm and law.
How do we know you'll do that?
Man: You have our word.
And you don't know
when they'll come?
- Man: No.
- (tape recorder clicks)
Okay.
What else can we do, Sid?
There are no people,
no planes, no cars.
There might as well be no roads.
And even if we wanted to dig,
we can't,
because the ground
is hard as a fucking rock.
Fuck!
(bottles rattling)
This is the only option
we got, Sid.
(bottle lid clinks)
- (liquor pouring)
- (bottle thuds)
Talk to me, man.
What's going on?
What are you thinking?
Sid.
You're gonna see her.
If you post off the porch
facing northwest,
you should get pretty good 180
of this side of the land.
I can take northeast,
scout the other clearing
over there.
Barricade the south side,
and between us we can clock
any dot on the horizon.
What do you think?
- Yeah. That works.
- (liquor pouring)
(bottle thuds)
Joe...
I really don't care about
what you did back then 'cause...
it was just me.
But I am not allowing
my daughter
to grow up without me.
I'm not fucking doing that.
So, if you and I are here,
if we're stuck here...
we are way past being done.
Do you get me?
- (Joseph gulps)
- (glass thuds)
We'll divide shifts
when I get back.
(door opening, closing)
(tense music playing)
That's all we get?
(grunts)
(tense music swells)
(somber music playing)
(wind whistling)
(somber music intensifies)
(door closing)
(music fades)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
("Time Keeps Dancing"
by Jimmy Lavalle plays)
(Sidney exhaling sharply)
Watching seconds fall
Like grains of sand
Clock ticking loudly
Echoes in my brain
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Boredom's a memory
Excitement's the key
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
Clock hands spinning
Like a carnival ride
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Video instructor: Two fingers.
- Boredom's a memory
- (speaks indistinctly)
Excitement's the key
In this symphony of time
We're wild and free
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
(Joseph talking indistinctly
over tape recorder)
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
(song concludes abruptly)
(wind whistling)
- (footsteps approaching)
- (log thuds)
Sidney: That's fine as is.
Drink it.
You know, this used
to have a lot more
pomp and circumstance.
(groans softly)
Are you sure it's not Oswald?
'Cause I still think
it's Oswald.
Sidney: Okay, so this
is taking into consideration
the box of photos that I found
in the mill's crawl space,
and it's helped me fill in
a ton of gaps that I had before.
- And?
- Sidney: And what I found
is that it's not
the original owners.
Oh.
Okay, great, so it's not
somebody this time.
- Mm-mm.
- Mm.
No, so the history of this land,
whether it be the crops,
- or the art,
or the buildings...
- (eerie music playing)
...that they physically moved
here or what have you,
all of those things reflect
very specific moments in time
up until the Korean War.
And then there's nothing.
There's no new photos,
no paperwork showing anybody
that lived here past 1955.
None. And the naval officer
on the walls...
Well, he died here around
that time from a supposed
fall down the stairs,
so that leads me to think
that the vise grip
came here around that time,
and they took the place over
with their tech, I guess,
and they made
the place habitable
by updating the wiring
and the heating and throwing
a fucking TV downstairs
for pizzazz, or whatever.
And then they used
that dead time
and beyond to relocate people
for whatever reason,
and then clean up after them
as if no one
was ever here at all.
(music fades)
So when we snuck in, we tipped
them off with the trace
that they didn't recognize,
and that's how we got stuck.
Okay.
Doesn't really answer
the big looming question,
though, does it?
No, but at this point, dude,
I'm taking any wins I can get.
Of course, of course.
'Cause this is just another
one of your outlandish
yet possible theories
that you've come up with
over the... I don't know
how long we've been here.
Okay. Can you fucking
humor me for once, Joe?
I mean, it could've been any
of the dozens of people
that you screwed over
at your pawn shop.
Or it could have been
any number of the assholes
that I threw out of the bar
that I used to own.
I think you're still drunk,
so you can just go back to bed
- if you're not gonna listen.
- What about the theory
that it was us
from another timeline?
Now, that one... (chuckles)
That one I really liked
because it only makes sense
to punish the stupidest
version of myself for getting
stuck in a place like this.
Can you get the fuck out,
please?
- If you're not gonna help.
- Joseph: My favorite theory,
though. My favorite one
was that it was our parents
from a different timeline.
Now, that one,
that one I really,
really wanted to come true.
So, why couldn't it be?
Because it's impossible.
It's fucking impossible, Sid.
It's impossibly impossible,
and it's crazy
to even consider this
possibly possible.
Okay, then. What's your big
fucking guess, Joe?
Coincidental torture porn.
A power play
by a couple of assholes
who don't give a fuck
about what we did.
Just want to burn us
with their magnifying glass
because they can.
There's no unwelcome visitor.
There's no going home.
There's just the tap, tap
on the glass until we die
a slow and lonely death.
Is that what you really think?
What the fuck
is that supposed to mean?
You know what it means.
- Fuck you.
- Yeah. Fuck me, Joe!
Joseph: You see this?
This is your real theory.
You're trying to get
a rise out of me,
so I spill whatever information
I'm supposedly hiding from you.
Yeah? Why not?
I've seen your fucking shrine.
You talk to that thing
more than you talk to me.
You won't even let me
see the goddamn tape.
You are fucking
working with them.
You brought me here to fuck me
over for my share. I...
- (Sidney shouting)
- Why would I do
any of that, huh?
Why?
Why would I try and screw you
and Steph in the stupidest
fucking long con
while I stare at the wall
and wait for some magical
fucking visitor
to come shoot us both
in the back of the fucking head?
No, you know what?
Fuck my original plan.
My plan is to stay
at this boring ass farm
and fuck over the only family
I've got all over again!
Fuck!
(sobs)
I'm sorry.
(sobs, sniffles)
(melancholic music playing)
(Joseph sobbing)
Video instructor: (over TV)
One of the things that
we've been teaching
our people here
is meditative breathing.
So first off,
whenever we realize
that we are in an excited
state, we straighten up.
Very good.
And then, we close our eyes,
and we breathe in
on the count of five.
One, two, three...
Hey, do you think
we would ever have kept in touch
if we hadn't gotten these?
(inaudible)
Sidney: Hmm?
Video Instructor: All right.
Take in our surroundings.
Never mind.
Video instructor:
Breathe out in only five, four,
three, two, one.
Operator, how do you feel?
Operator:
I feel calm, collected,
ready to make good decisions.
(melancholic music continues)
Joseph: Is anyone listening?
I know you have
to protect yourself.
I get it.
You don't want
anybody finding you.
I just can't take it anymore.
This never-ending
fucking bullshit.
Just give me something.
Some guidance. Some comfort.
Anything.
Please.
We just want to go home.
(music concludes)
(tape recorder whirring)
(wind whistling)
(wind intensifies)
Joseph: (yelling) Sid!
- (gun cocks)
- (gasps)
(gunshot)
(screams, panting)
(gun cocks)
(gunshot)
(panting)
- (gunshot)
- (grunts)
Joseph: Sid!
(tense music playing)
- Did you get him?
- No. Where's your rifle?
- At my post.
- Okay, lock the doors.
Draw them out. I'll hold here
just in case
they get up into the door.
Joseph: Hey.
We're getting you home.
(thunder rumbling)
(rain pouring)
(suspenseful music playing)
(suspenseful music intensifying)
(music concludes)
(gunshot)
(gunshot)
- (gunshot)
- (Joseph grunts)
- (breathes heavily)
- (gun clicks)
(wind whistling)
(gunshot)
(gunshot)
- (gun cylinder clicks)
- (shells clatter)
(gun cocks)
(floorboard creaks)
(gunshot echoes)
Sidney: (softly) Come on.
Where are you?
(pants)
- (speaker turns on)
- (gasps)
(static screeching)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
Joseph!
(static screeching)
(eerie music playing)
("Shadow Dance"
by Lorna Dune plays)
(song continues playing)
(volume increases)
(gun cocks)
- (gunshot)
- (song cuts off)
(gunshot)
(gunshot)
(yelps, groans)
(song resumes playing)
(pants)
I am going out of my mind
Looking for a man
To hold my body
I got you
In my crosshairs...
(shouts, screams)
(groaning)
(panting)
Don't you cry, darling
Looking back in time
From dark to the sunshine
- (Sidney groans)
- Let the shadow dance play
Come on now, baby
You know
(song ends abruptly)
(Sidney groans)
(whimpers)
(water continues running)
(gasps)
(hisses)
- Fuck! (breathes deeply)
- (object clatters in sink)
(water stops)
(exhales heavily)
(grunts)
- (groans)
- (wooden plank thuds)
(laughs)
(grunts)
(groans)
(wooden plank thuds)
Oh, fucking move!
- (grunts)
- (safe thuds)
(Joseph gasps)
(safe dial whirring)
- (safe lock clicks)
- (Sidney groans)
Man:
Why are you breaking the door?
They have my brother,
and I'm fucking done.
We're fucking out of here.
So, I'm breaking down that door
and I'm getting him,
whether you fucks
like it or not.
(tape recorder clatters)
(safe door closes)
(safe thuds)
(safe dial clinking)
(safe door opens)
Man: If you break the door,
you and your brother
will die here.
(safe lock clicking)
(inhales sharply)
(pants)
(groans)
- (bones cracking)
- (shouts, groans)
Let us the fuck out of here!
Man: We can't risk
the visitor's escape.
Why?
What are they going to do?
Man: We cannot say.
I think that's bullshit,
and you know it.
Man:
Why would you think that?
Because I heard them
playing that music.
I heard them
playing that song, and...
My... my mom was playing
that song.
Man: (in normal voice)
That's not your mother, Sidney.
What?
Man: The visitor,
Sidney, it's not your mother.
(grunts, panting)
Sidney: How do you know that?
Man: I told you, we can't say.
I know this isn't what
you want to hear,
but revealing
any more information
could be detrimental
to not just us,
but to you and your brother's
life as well.
(inhales deeply)
(panting, grunts)
(groans)
Hello?
(groans)
(safe dial whirring)
- Man: Sidney.
- (groans)
Man: I know you're angry,
and I know this hasn't
been easy,
but maybe we can...
Maybe we can meet you
in the middle.
Tell us everything you know
about the visitor so far,
and in return
we can tell you why
we know it's not your mother.
How does that sound?
You first.
Man: All right, Sid.
- We know that...
- (object clatters over tape)
Hello?
Hello?
What do you know?
Tell me what you...
(pants)
Man: (in distorted voice)
Are they with you?
"No."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Are they dead?
(tape recorder clicks)
"Yes."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man:
Why are they not here?
(tape recorder clicks)
"The weather is bad.
I'll have to trace back
for the body
once the wind dies down."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man:
We can't let you through
until we have confirmation
of their remains.
(tape recorder clicks)
"I'm hurt in the church.
I can't reach my si..."
(groans)
"I can't reach my sister.
If you can reach her
to help me... (groans)
...then we'll get you the body."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Copy. Stand by.
Man: (in normal voice)
Your brother's alive
in the church.
- (sighs)
- (tape recorder clicks)
(sniffles)
(tape recorder clicks)
Did he reach out to you?
- (tape recorder clicks)
- Man: Yes.
(tape recorder clicks)
Is it with him?
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Yes.
(tape recorder clicks)
Stay close.
Man: (in distorted voice)
We have left word.
Hold position until directed.
(tape recorder clicks)
(wind whistling)
(rifle clicking)
You use that thing
to talk, right?
You got any tapes
for small talk,
or is it all for
just shit like this?
Seriously, why can't you talk?
(rifle clicks)
(grunts, pants)
Why are you here?
What do you want?
(pen scratching paper)
(thunder rumbling in distance)
- (paper rustling)
- (pen scratching paper)
Joseph: Who?
(Joseph speaking indistinctly)
(birds screeching)
(breathes heavily)
- (thunder rumbles)
- One Alabama.
Two Alabama.
Three Alabama.
Four Alabama.
Five.
(high-pitching ringing tone)
(rifle thuds)
(door slams)
(grunting)
(panting)
(grunting)
(sighs)
(grunts)
(yelps, groans)
(whimpers, pants)
Sidney: (softly) Ah! Goddamn it!
Fuck!
(Joseph groaning)
- (door bangs open)
- (panting)
- (door slams open)
- Sidney: Hey!
(grunts)
(dramatic piano music
playing over stereo)
(Joseph groaning)
(grunting)
(grunts)
(grunting)
(yells)
(screams, grunts)
(grunts, groans)
- (yells, grunts)
- (grunts)
(yells)
(gasps)
Come on!
- (music continues playing)
- (pants)
(groans) Fuck! (grunts)
(groans) No!
(The Visitor grunts, yells)
(both grunting)
Show me your face!
(Joseph groaning)
(both grunting)
Show me your face!
(gasps)
- Steph?
- (grunts)
(Sidney groans)
(door closing)
(pants)
No, no, no, no, no!
- (gunshot)
- (music stops abruptly)
- (music resumes playing)
- (pants)
- (breathes shakily)
- (thuds)
- (Sidney wheezing)
- Sid.
Sid, it's okay. It's okay.
Stay with me, stay with me,
stay with me, stay with me.
Look at me. Look at me.
I'm so sorry.
(gasps)
Joseph: Stay with me, all right?
Stay with me.
(Sidney wheezes )
Joseph: (softly) It's okay.
- (gasps)
- Joseph: Stay with me.
Stay with me.
Just stay with me, okay?
Stay with me.
(coughs) It's...
- (door opening in distance)
- (shushes) Stay with me.
- (Sidney groans)
- Just stay with me.
(intense ringing tone)
- (wheezes)
- (thunder crashing outside)
You're gonna be okay.
Just stay with me, stay with me.
- (music distorting)
- (inaudible
(gasps weakly)
(softly) It's okay.
(music continues playing)
(exhales weakly)
(music fades)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
- (floorboards creaking)
- (footsteps approaching)
Joseph: It's gone.
Man: (in distorted voice)
Are you hurt?
Yes.
(tape recorder clicks)
Man:
We will send morphine.
Take it and go to
the work shed.
Go inside and wait
for our instruction.
(tape recorder clicks)
(sobs) What about my sister?
(tape recorder clicks)
(yells) What about my sis...
(insects chirping)
(wind whistling)
(door rumbling)
(door closes)
(high pitched ringing tone)
(lighter clicks)
(lighter clicks)
Vise Grip Right: Turn around.
Vise Grip Left:
You can't look at us.
Turn around, please.
Can you hear us?
Vise Grip Right:
Verbal confirmation, please.
- Can you hear us?
- Yes.
Vise Grip Left: Okay, then.
Do you have any pertinent
information about the visitor
that you can relay to us?
Vise Grip Right:
Any facial features?
Sex, voice, any details
you can remember?
I don't know.
Vise Grip Left: (sighs)
All right, uh,
- we are going to wipe you now.
- What?
Vise Grip Right:
Look away. Please.
Vise Grip Left: Unfortunately,
you and your sister
failed to carry out the task
as we asked.
And now our unwanted
visitor is on the loose.
Vise Grip Right:
We're going back to you
and your sister's origin point
to pull up the root.
Acting as if you never
existed, it is not perfect,
it's not easy,
but it is the best we've got.
Why are you doing this?
We did everything
we could for you, everything.
And you still...
Why are you doing this?
Vise Grip Left: Look. I get it.
You feel you are
the centerpiece
to this whole ordeal.
You feel that you're special
and that there's some
poetic reason why everything
went the way that it did.
The truth is,
is that none of this
has anything to do with you.
It's bigger than you.
You were simply
in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
And, uh, I'm sorry
we put you in this position.
We thought you'd weed out
the problem for us,
but we were mistaken.
Really, we, uh... We failed you.
I wish...
(exhales) ...we had some
more answers or closure, but...
We have people we need
to answer to.
And they have people
they need to answer to,
and so on and so on.
And the only things
that matter to them
and to us are results.
And results are answers
with consequences...
meaningful,
tangible consequences.
That is all that matters.
And your results have left us
with some dire consequences.
So we need to provide
new results
to the people we answer to.
It's nothing personal.
It just is what it is.
Vise Grip Left:
For what it's worth,
we really did appreciate
the shrine.
At least what we could see
on our end.
Now, if you'll please relax,
this will all be over
in a couple of minutes.
Wait.
Just wait.
Look, I can get her back.
I have to get her back.
She can't just die.
Maybe if I could just...
fix a few mistakes.
And then I could get her back.
And I could get you
what you want.
I could get you results.
Okay? I could.
Believe me.
Things will be different.
Trust me.
You just have to give me
another chance.
Please just give me
one more chance.
Vise Grip Left: We're assuming
that you remember
the morning of well.
Vise Grip Right: Can you walk?
Vise Grip Left: Leave the bags,
remove the redundancy,
slip in when you see your sister
as quickly as you can.
Vise Grip Right: Be sure
to remove the redundancy,
or you and your sister
will be wiped.
Understood?
Verbal confirmation, please.
Yes.
Vise Grip Left:
Sit peto tutum peregrinatione.
(door opening)
(intense ringing tone)
(birds chirping)
(airplane flying overhead)
(ominous music playing)
(drunkards
speaking indistinctly)
Drunkard:
On the count of three.
One, two...
- (gunshot)
- (Drunkard speaks indistinctly)
(drunkards laughing)
(ominous music building)
(twig snaps)
- (grunts)
- (thuds)
(ominous music quietens)
(water splashing)
(ominous music intensifying)
(music concludes)
("I Want to Go Back to Michigan"
by The Andrew Sisters plays)
I was born in Michigan
And I wish and wish again
That I was back in the town
Where I was born
(waitress gasps)
There's a farm in Michigan
And I'd like to fish again
In the river that flows
Beside the fields
Of waving corn
A lonesome soul am I
See there a certain someone
Full of charm
That's I wish again
That I was in Michigan
Down on the farm
That's why I wish again
That I was in Michigan
Down on the farm
(song concludes)
Vise Grip Left: Cycle is set.
Do you feel bad
about this one?
Who knows,
maybe he'll be the first one
to break it, you know?
It's nice to hope.
Gotta love hope.
("Too Late to Turn Back Now"
by Cornelius Brothers
and Sister Rose's plays)
My mama told me
She said,
"Son please beware
There's this thing
Called love
And it's everywhere
She told me
She can break your heart...
Who are you?
Since I met
This little woman...
Hey. Who are you?
Joseph: I'm no one.
Where'd you get those bags,
no one?
Joseph: Stole them.
And the man that had them?
Joseph: Long gone.
At least ten times a day
It's so unusual for me
To carry on this way
I'll tell you
I can't sleep at night
For wanting
To hold her tight...
Did you kill him?
Joseph:
It was to make things right.
(white noise rumbling)
How's that going?
Joseph: Not well.
I tried.
I tried so many times.
But now...
I'm tired.
So, please...
you have to end this.
It's the only way.
(breathes shakily)
Joseph: Leave the money.
And run.
Run to Steph.
Before I kill you again.
And again.
And again.
(sniffles)
- (grunts)
- Joseph: (softly) End me.
Please.
(white noise builds,
ends abruptly)
- Kill me!
- (gunshot)
- (body thuds)
- (waitress screams)
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now, baby
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
(police siren wailing)
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
(melancholic music playing)
(music concludes)
(wind whistling)
(phone line ringing)
(Sidney breathing heavily)
- Joseph: (over phone) Yeah?
- Sidney: Hey.
Joseph: Oh, fuck, man.
Are you okay?
Sidney: Yeah. Are you?
Joseph: Yeah.
Found a room for the night.
- You good?
- Sidney: Yeah, but...
I don't have
any of the money.
Joseph: No, no, no. It's okay.
I grabbed both bags.
Sidney: Oh, fuck. Sorry.
The cops were coming around
the corner, and I just...
- I couldn't find an exit.
- Joseph: Hey, it's okay.
It's okay, all right?
(breathing deeply)
I'm just glad you're safe.
- (Sidney breathing heavily)
- (Joseph sighing)
Sidney: Okay.
Okay. So, what now?
Do we lay low at this place?
Joseph: Yeah.
I'll meet you at the diner
at the edge of town,
and then... away we go.
Sidney: It's just
two weeks, yeah?
'Cause I can't leave
my kid any longer.
Joseph:
It'll be two weeks, tops. Okay?
You'll be back with her
before you know it.
- (Sidney exhaling heavily)
- Joseph: It'll be good, okay?
We can catch up on some,
you know, brother-sister
rekindling time.
I owe you that much
at least, right?
- I'll see you in the morning.
- (phone clatters)
(wind whistling)
("Too Late to Turn Back Now"
by Cornelius Brothers
and Sister Rose's plays)
My mama told me
She said,
"Son please beware
There's this thing
Called love
And it's everywhere...
Sidney: Hey.
(sighs)
- What?
- Enjoying the music?
- It's fine. Sit down.
- Hey, clean yourself up.
You look like
you slept in a ditch.
Look, we may not eat
like this again, all right?
So, please sit.
(cash machine thuds, beeps)
It's too late
To turn back now...
- Ordered it special for you.
- Mm.
Thought you'd
find it comforting.
Just like Cynthia used to make.
For me or for you?
Learn to like fucking onions.
I found myself phoning her
Get the count?
At least
Ten times a day
And?
It's so unusual for me...
I thought it was five.
I need your help
carrying a bag, though.
It's still a couple miles away.
I can't sleep at night...
What?
Well, five covered
the expenses a little bit,
but seven...
Seven lets me dream.
You dreaming big now?
Yeah, bigger shop,
bigger house.
Maybe a dog for Steph.
I don't know.
She's got to be, what,
ten by now?
Close. She's six.
But with craftsman skills
like this,
she may as well be ten.
- Ten-year-old didn't make that.
- She's six.
Okay. A six-year-old
didn't make that.
She did.
Her 30-year-old teacher
probably made that.
She did. She made it
with her own hands.
- Uh, no.
- Yeah.
I couldn't color inside
the lines when I was six,
much less make a bracelet.
Teacher totally
fucking made that.
You couldn't do anything
when you were six.
You can't even chew
with your mouth closed now.
- Exactly. Shut it.
- You know what?
I'm gonna fashion you
a bracelet right now.
- (police siren wailing)
- Fuck.
(police sirens become louder)
(birds chirping)
- Sidney: What's the backup?
- Joseph: There is no backup.
Sidney: What about Detroit?
Joseph: I'm not walking
a hundred miles.
Sidney: Harder to track
in the city.
Joseph: Harder to run
if we're caught.
Okay, so, what?
It's just this house or bust?
(grunts) The house is there.
I checked.
What about the part we need?
Trust me. She's good for it.
(thunder rumbling)
Sidney: She rack up a tab
or something?
Joseph: She was just being nice.
I said it was a donation
to my cause.
If she said that
we were going to Mars,
would you believe her then?
If it happened to her,
then yeah.
It's nice to have hope.
Gotta love hope.
- (insects chirping)
- (birds squawking)
Hey.
You said that this
was all abandoned.
What the hell is this?
- People like to camp.
- People like to camp here?
I don't control where people go.
(gun clanking)
(sighs)
- (gunshot)
- (birds squawking)
(indistinct chatter)
Drunkard 1:
Where'd you learn to shoot?
Drunkard 2: That was practice.
It wasn't loaded.
- Drunkard 1: It's not...
- Drunkard 2: Shut up.
Drunkard 1: It's not
a muzzle loader, dipshit.
- (indistinct chatter)
- (gunshot)
Drunkard 2:
You fucking threw it wrong.
Drunkard 3: Aim at your foot.
See if you'll hit that better.
Drunkard 1: Your mom did
a fucking awful job
teaching you how to shoot.
Drunkard 3: We ain't drinking
fast enough
for you to miss like this.
(softly)
One Alabama, two Alabama,
three Alabama, four Alabama.
Five.
I just don't think
you're gonna fucking throw...
- Sidney: Hey!
- (gunshot)
You've got five seconds
to get off my land.
- Who the fuck are you?
- One! Two!
- Five!
- (gunshot)
You heard her.
Five more until I stop missing.
- Go, go, go, go, go.
- What about my stuff?
Leave it in the woods, man.
- One...
- Drunkard 1: Go! Go!
Five!
Fucking idiots.
(sighs)
But they'll be back with people
who know how to shoot.
Is this it?
Okay. Grab your shell.
(ominous music playing)
(chiming softly)
(door creaking)
(door closing)
(ominous music intensifies)
(flies buzzing)
- (gasps)
- (sighs)
- (music concludes)
- (sighs) Anything?
(police siren wailing
in distance)
Maybe we can double back,
find a place by the diner.
(breathes shakily)
Joe?
- (voice distorting) Joe? Joe.
- (high-pitched ringing tone)
(in normal voice)
Joe! We gotta go.
This is it.
(tense music playing)
(police siren continues wailing)
- What's the other one?
- "1-9-3-2.
Spin clockwise,
- set to noon, then run up."
- Okay.
(softly) Okay.
(sniffs)
(clock chiming)
(clock chiming)
(doorknob rattling)
(tense music building)
(police siren grows louder)
- (police siren blares)
- (whispers) Hey. Come on.
(music concludes)
(indistinct police
radio chatter)
(thunder rumbling)
(breathing heavily)
Here. Follow these
instructions exactly,
- then hang up.
- Okay.
Police officer: (in distance)
Dining room good.
(indistinct police
radio chatter)
Police officer: Foyer clear.
Hurry up. I hear them.
- They're on their way.
- Yeah.
(police officer
speaking indistinctly)
(dial pad whirring)
(door banging in distance)
(police officer
continues speaking)
Police officer: Bathroom clear.
"Sit peto tutum
peregrinatione."
(telephone thuds)
- (blows air)
- (thunder rumbling)
(high-pitched ringing tone)
- (Joseph breathing heavily)
- (Sidney breathing heavily)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
(wind continues roaring outside)
(clock clicking)
(clock hands whirring)
(clicks)
So, is that it?
We just...
We're clear here and there?
Now, we wait for time to pass
in our present.
Then we head back,
make sure we're clear.
(fridge rattling)
- (Joseph sighs)
- (fridge door closing)
So, two weeks then?
Two weeks and counting.
- Ah!
- (Joseph laughs)
(whirring, buzzing)
("Time Keeps Dancing"
by Jimmy Lavalle plays)
Watching seconds fall
Like grains of sand
Clock ticking loudly
Echoes in my brain
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Boredom's a memory
Excitement's the key
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
Clock hands spinning
Like a carnival ride
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Boredom's a memory
Excitement's the key
In this symphony of time
We're wild and free
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
- (gun cocking)
- (gunshot)
Time keeps dancing
(retches)
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a day
- (song ends abruptly)
- (wind whistling)
(both laugh)
(insects chirping)
(wind howling)
Joseph: All right.
And last but not least...
this thing.
(smooth jazz song
playing over stereo)
Four-fifty.
- Four-fifty for this?
- Sidney: Yeah, 450.
It's Indian, so it's exotic.
And that is early 1900s,
so it's an antique.
Looks handmade,
so it's one of a kind.
And what I'm gonna do
from there is haggle
from five, maybe six.
Make them think
they're getting a good deal.
Fo' fiddy, bitch.
Fucking weird.
Sidney: Yeah, but that's even
if they want it.
'Cause these days not a lot
of bull hook enthusiasts
walk into the store,
and it's very sad.
(exhales deeply)
You gotta be sick of drinking
that well garbage.
I prefer the bite.
Okay. So, you hate
my concoctions.
(chuckles)
You don't have to do that,
you know?
Do what?
You said on the phone that...
(sighs) ...you owe me
this brother-sister
rekindling time.
So, why do you feel that?
I feel like I do.
- And I know you feel like I do.
- Since when?
I know you.
All right, you don't say it,
but I can feel it.
Sidney: I was 24. I...
- I needed the tough love.
- (police siren blares)
Joseph: You needed a brother.
A brother who didn't
leave you behind.
Okay, then where would I be?
Hmm?
Maybe I wouldn't
have learned jack.
Maybe I would have fallen
even deeper into more shit.
Maybe I'd be dead,
and I wouldn't have Steph.
So, all in all,
I think I came out ahead.
Is that what you tell yourself?
- That's how I feel, yeah.
- And now you're in debt.
- That's not your problem.
- No, it is.
(breathes deeply)
I know you think that you...
that you needed this thing
more than me.
I think
it's the other way around.
I fucked up, Sid.
And I'm gonna do anything
I can to make that better.
There's so much closure
in the air tonight.
Yet you won't tell me a thing
about this regular of yours,
or why she has
a magical safe house.
Yeah. I mean, that's the trust
that keeps my customers
coming back.
Mm.
Which is something
you know very little about
- in your line of work.
- Right, yeah.
No, she trusts you enough
to loan you her house,
but not enough to tell you
how it works.
- That's... that's trust.
- (chuckles)
Do you ask how the plumbing
works when you stay at a B&B?
- Yeah, I do.
- (laughs)
There's navy shit around,
so I think the family
must have served.
Maybe they studied
quantum mechanics.
She didn't serve, I don't think.
Do you have any stories for me
inside that big, fat head?
(both chuckle)
She mostly lets me
do the talking.
- Sidney: Mm.
- She knows a lot about you.
- And how fucking lame you are.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah. (chuckles)
- Cool.
I actually think she gave me
the notebook just out of pity.
Yeah, I hate her.
- (laughs)
- (chuckles)
She sounds pretty lame.
Yeah, well,
Dad was always,
"Mind your business unless
it becomes your business,"
which I think has served me
pretty well so far.
Oh, is that right?
I don't know.
I think Dad said it.
Come on. You know the deal.
You remember Dad,
I remember Mom,
and between us we've got...
a normal family.
(chuckles) Yeah.
(music stops playing)
(ice clinking)
(gulps)
You remember her playing?
(inaudible)
No, not really.
I just remember disco...
on the stereo.
I don't remember
what the song names were,
but I just remember how they go.
And there was this one
that had this, like,
rolling electronic-violin
thing and...
(sighs) It went like...
(hums melody)
It's just always in my head.
Sounds catchy.
Get me back to her, Joe.
(wind whistling)
(wood creaking)
(intense ringing tone)
(sighs)
(ominous music playing)
(breathes deeply)
(door closing)
(breathes heavily)
Sid!
- (door opens, shuts)
- Joseph: Sid!
Sid!
- We have to go now. (pants)
- (breathes heavily)
(ominous music intensifies)
Sidney: Shit! Where's the key?
There's got to be
a key somewhere, right?
There never was a key.
- No. No!
- (loud thud)
- No! Sid, stop!
- No!
- Wait!
- Get off of me!
Sid! I was just there! Wait!
Sid!
Sid!
- (Sidney pants)
- (door closing)
Joseph: Here.
Just stay calm
and follow me, okay?
(Sidney breathing heavily)
(ominous music continues)
(Sidney breathing heavily)
(metal creaking)
- Joseph: Hey.
- Sidney: Huh?
(tense music playing)
(gasps, sighs)
(ominous music playing)
Joseph: "You are in the grip
of the vise.
I'm the left side,
another is the right.
Give in or join them.
Carve here to comply."
(Sidney breathing heavily)
No. No, no, no, no, no.
I'm not doing this.
- Sid!
- Sidney: No!
- Joseph: Sid!
- Sidney: (yelling) No!
- (footsteps receding)
- (ominous music swells)
(tense music playing)
Sid!
- Sid!
- (pants)
(high-pitch ringing tone)
(wind whistling)
(retches)
(panting shakily)
(ominous music playing)
(groans)
(sighs)
- (gasps)
- (breathes heavily)
(breathes heavily)
(ominous music swells)
(Sidney sobbing)
(yelling)
(somber music playing)
(slurps)
They got her.
The watch was an heirloom.
It was the only thing on her
worth anything of value.
This isn't her place.
Are we safe?
Bar's clean.
Everybody thinks
I'm in Gulf Shores.
Sid...
I'm in Nevada
as far as they're concerned.
- Are we sure?
- Are you sure?
Look, whoever it is,
we have to assume
they know what we have.
And we're in no position
to negotiate.
At this point, Joe,
I don't care.
(hammer banging)
(music fades)
(safe thuds loudly)
(safe thuds softly)
(grunts)
(whirs)
(whirring continues)
- (safe lock clicking)
- (book thuds)
(chain clinking)
(clicks, whirs)
Hello?
(tape recorder clattering)
- (tree thudding)
- (bird squawking)
(safe dial whirring)
- (safe lock clicking)
- (safe door opens)
(chain rattling)
Man: (in distorted voice)
You shouldn't be here.
Who are you?
Man: Who have you told?
- We haven't told anyone.
- (tape recorder clicks)
Man: Who is "we"?
Me and my sister.
Just us two.
Man: Why are you here?
We're just laying low,
that's all.
Man:
Are you hiding with money?
You want a cut? Is that it?
(tape recorder clicks)
I think you broke it.
(tape recorder clicks)
- Joseph: You broke it.
- What did I do?
I think you had to put it back
in the thing...
so that the future can hear us.
The fuck are you talking about?
You have to put it back
so that the future
on the right can hear us.
And then they somehow
send it back to the past
so that they on the left
can respond
and then leave it for us
in the middle.
I think that's the vise grip.
That's the cycle.
Okay, but why did it work
for you automatically?
You didn't have
to put it back in.
Yeah, I don't know what that is.
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Be careful.
The cycle is delicate.
Then be direct.
Do you want a cut or not?
Man: No. We want to wipe you.
You want to what?
Man: Time isn't kind
to the displaced.
It's more humane being wiped
than vomiting blood
along our border.
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: We have our ways
that can make it
painless and instantaneous.
(tape recorder clicks)
- (chain clinking)
- (tape recorder clicks)
So, then why haven't you
wiped us yet?
If it's that easy,
why aren't we dead?
You need us.
Right? For this...
this vise grip to work.
You have to be
two steps removed, right?
So, let's get
really specific here.
What do you need from us
that you can't do yourselves?
- (tape recorder whirring)
- (Man breathes deeply)
Someone is coming.
An unwelcome visitor.
We cannot track them.
We cannot stop them.
And because
we do not know them,
we cannot wipe them.
All we know
is they are using our doors
and leaving destruction
in their wake.
Eliminate them
before they reach the door
and dispose of their remains
where you stand.
We can then safely release
you and your earnings
at a time that is safe
from harm and law.
How do we know you'll do that?
Man: You have our word.
And you don't know
when they'll come?
- Man: No.
- (tape recorder clicks)
Okay.
What else can we do, Sid?
There are no people,
no planes, no cars.
There might as well be no roads.
And even if we wanted to dig,
we can't,
because the ground
is hard as a fucking rock.
Fuck!
(bottles rattling)
This is the only option
we got, Sid.
(bottle lid clinks)
- (liquor pouring)
- (bottle thuds)
Talk to me, man.
What's going on?
What are you thinking?
Sid.
You're gonna see her.
If you post off the porch
facing northwest,
you should get pretty good 180
of this side of the land.
I can take northeast,
scout the other clearing
over there.
Barricade the south side,
and between us we can clock
any dot on the horizon.
What do you think?
- Yeah. That works.
- (liquor pouring)
(bottle thuds)
Joe...
I really don't care about
what you did back then 'cause...
it was just me.
But I am not allowing
my daughter
to grow up without me.
I'm not fucking doing that.
So, if you and I are here,
if we're stuck here...
we are way past being done.
Do you get me?
- (Joseph gulps)
- (glass thuds)
We'll divide shifts
when I get back.
(door opening, closing)
(tense music playing)
That's all we get?
(grunts)
(tense music swells)
(somber music playing)
(wind whistling)
(somber music intensifies)
(door closing)
(music fades)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
("Time Keeps Dancing"
by Jimmy Lavalle plays)
(Sidney exhaling sharply)
Watching seconds fall
Like grains of sand
Clock ticking loudly
Echoes in my brain
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Boredom's a memory
Excitement's the key
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
Clock hands spinning
Like a carnival ride
Chasing dreams
On this timeworn slide
Video instructor: Two fingers.
- Boredom's a memory
- (speaks indistinctly)
Excitement's the key
In this symphony of time
We're wild and free
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
(Joseph talking indistinctly
over tape recorder)
Time keeps dancing
In this endless trance
Lost in the rhythm
Of a daydream dance
(song concludes abruptly)
(wind whistling)
- (footsteps approaching)
- (log thuds)
Sidney: That's fine as is.
Drink it.
You know, this used
to have a lot more
pomp and circumstance.
(groans softly)
Are you sure it's not Oswald?
'Cause I still think
it's Oswald.
Sidney: Okay, so this
is taking into consideration
the box of photos that I found
in the mill's crawl space,
and it's helped me fill in
a ton of gaps that I had before.
- And?
- Sidney: And what I found
is that it's not
the original owners.
Oh.
Okay, great, so it's not
somebody this time.
- Mm-mm.
- Mm.
No, so the history of this land,
whether it be the crops,
- or the art,
or the buildings...
- (eerie music playing)
...that they physically moved
here or what have you,
all of those things reflect
very specific moments in time
up until the Korean War.
And then there's nothing.
There's no new photos,
no paperwork showing anybody
that lived here past 1955.
None. And the naval officer
on the walls...
Well, he died here around
that time from a supposed
fall down the stairs,
so that leads me to think
that the vise grip
came here around that time,
and they took the place over
with their tech, I guess,
and they made
the place habitable
by updating the wiring
and the heating and throwing
a fucking TV downstairs
for pizzazz, or whatever.
And then they used
that dead time
and beyond to relocate people
for whatever reason,
and then clean up after them
as if no one
was ever here at all.
(music fades)
So when we snuck in, we tipped
them off with the trace
that they didn't recognize,
and that's how we got stuck.
Okay.
Doesn't really answer
the big looming question,
though, does it?
No, but at this point, dude,
I'm taking any wins I can get.
Of course, of course.
'Cause this is just another
one of your outlandish
yet possible theories
that you've come up with
over the... I don't know
how long we've been here.
Okay. Can you fucking
humor me for once, Joe?
I mean, it could've been any
of the dozens of people
that you screwed over
at your pawn shop.
Or it could have been
any number of the assholes
that I threw out of the bar
that I used to own.
I think you're still drunk,
so you can just go back to bed
- if you're not gonna listen.
- What about the theory
that it was us
from another timeline?
Now, that one... (chuckles)
That one I really liked
because it only makes sense
to punish the stupidest
version of myself for getting
stuck in a place like this.
Can you get the fuck out,
please?
- If you're not gonna help.
- Joseph: My favorite theory,
though. My favorite one
was that it was our parents
from a different timeline.
Now, that one,
that one I really,
really wanted to come true.
So, why couldn't it be?
Because it's impossible.
It's fucking impossible, Sid.
It's impossibly impossible,
and it's crazy
to even consider this
possibly possible.
Okay, then. What's your big
fucking guess, Joe?
Coincidental torture porn.
A power play
by a couple of assholes
who don't give a fuck
about what we did.
Just want to burn us
with their magnifying glass
because they can.
There's no unwelcome visitor.
There's no going home.
There's just the tap, tap
on the glass until we die
a slow and lonely death.
Is that what you really think?
What the fuck
is that supposed to mean?
You know what it means.
- Fuck you.
- Yeah. Fuck me, Joe!
Joseph: You see this?
This is your real theory.
You're trying to get
a rise out of me,
so I spill whatever information
I'm supposedly hiding from you.
Yeah? Why not?
I've seen your fucking shrine.
You talk to that thing
more than you talk to me.
You won't even let me
see the goddamn tape.
You are fucking
working with them.
You brought me here to fuck me
over for my share. I...
- (Sidney shouting)
- Why would I do
any of that, huh?
Why?
Why would I try and screw you
and Steph in the stupidest
fucking long con
while I stare at the wall
and wait for some magical
fucking visitor
to come shoot us both
in the back of the fucking head?
No, you know what?
Fuck my original plan.
My plan is to stay
at this boring ass farm
and fuck over the only family
I've got all over again!
Fuck!
(sobs)
I'm sorry.
(sobs, sniffles)
(melancholic music playing)
(Joseph sobbing)
Video instructor: (over TV)
One of the things that
we've been teaching
our people here
is meditative breathing.
So first off,
whenever we realize
that we are in an excited
state, we straighten up.
Very good.
And then, we close our eyes,
and we breathe in
on the count of five.
One, two, three...
Hey, do you think
we would ever have kept in touch
if we hadn't gotten these?
(inaudible)
Sidney: Hmm?
Video Instructor: All right.
Take in our surroundings.
Never mind.
Video instructor:
Breathe out in only five, four,
three, two, one.
Operator, how do you feel?
Operator:
I feel calm, collected,
ready to make good decisions.
(melancholic music continues)
Joseph: Is anyone listening?
I know you have
to protect yourself.
I get it.
You don't want
anybody finding you.
I just can't take it anymore.
This never-ending
fucking bullshit.
Just give me something.
Some guidance. Some comfort.
Anything.
Please.
We just want to go home.
(music concludes)
(tape recorder whirring)
(wind whistling)
(wind intensifies)
Joseph: (yelling) Sid!
- (gun cocks)
- (gasps)
(gunshot)
(screams, panting)
(gun cocks)
(gunshot)
(panting)
- (gunshot)
- (grunts)
Joseph: Sid!
(tense music playing)
- Did you get him?
- No. Where's your rifle?
- At my post.
- Okay, lock the doors.
Draw them out. I'll hold here
just in case
they get up into the door.
Joseph: Hey.
We're getting you home.
(thunder rumbling)
(rain pouring)
(suspenseful music playing)
(suspenseful music intensifying)
(music concludes)
(gunshot)
(gunshot)
- (gunshot)
- (Joseph grunts)
- (breathes heavily)
- (gun clicks)
(wind whistling)
(gunshot)
(gunshot)
- (gun cylinder clicks)
- (shells clatter)
(gun cocks)
(floorboard creaks)
(gunshot echoes)
Sidney: (softly) Come on.
Where are you?
(pants)
- (speaker turns on)
- (gasps)
(static screeching)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
Joseph!
(static screeching)
(eerie music playing)
("Shadow Dance"
by Lorna Dune plays)
(song continues playing)
(volume increases)
(gun cocks)
- (gunshot)
- (song cuts off)
(gunshot)
(gunshot)
(yelps, groans)
(song resumes playing)
(pants)
I am going out of my mind
Looking for a man
To hold my body
I got you
In my crosshairs...
(shouts, screams)
(groaning)
(panting)
Don't you cry, darling
Looking back in time
From dark to the sunshine
- (Sidney groans)
- Let the shadow dance play
Come on now, baby
You know
(song ends abruptly)
(Sidney groans)
(whimpers)
(water continues running)
(gasps)
(hisses)
- Fuck! (breathes deeply)
- (object clatters in sink)
(water stops)
(exhales heavily)
(grunts)
- (groans)
- (wooden plank thuds)
(laughs)
(grunts)
(groans)
(wooden plank thuds)
Oh, fucking move!
- (grunts)
- (safe thuds)
(Joseph gasps)
(safe dial whirring)
- (safe lock clicks)
- (Sidney groans)
Man:
Why are you breaking the door?
They have my brother,
and I'm fucking done.
We're fucking out of here.
So, I'm breaking down that door
and I'm getting him,
whether you fucks
like it or not.
(tape recorder clatters)
(safe door closes)
(safe thuds)
(safe dial clinking)
(safe door opens)
Man: If you break the door,
you and your brother
will die here.
(safe lock clicking)
(inhales sharply)
(pants)
(groans)
- (bones cracking)
- (shouts, groans)
Let us the fuck out of here!
Man: We can't risk
the visitor's escape.
Why?
What are they going to do?
Man: We cannot say.
I think that's bullshit,
and you know it.
Man:
Why would you think that?
Because I heard them
playing that music.
I heard them
playing that song, and...
My... my mom was playing
that song.
Man: (in normal voice)
That's not your mother, Sidney.
What?
Man: The visitor,
Sidney, it's not your mother.
(grunts, panting)
Sidney: How do you know that?
Man: I told you, we can't say.
I know this isn't what
you want to hear,
but revealing
any more information
could be detrimental
to not just us,
but to you and your brother's
life as well.
(inhales deeply)
(panting, grunts)
(groans)
Hello?
(groans)
(safe dial whirring)
- Man: Sidney.
- (groans)
Man: I know you're angry,
and I know this hasn't
been easy,
but maybe we can...
Maybe we can meet you
in the middle.
Tell us everything you know
about the visitor so far,
and in return
we can tell you why
we know it's not your mother.
How does that sound?
You first.
Man: All right, Sid.
- We know that...
- (object clatters over tape)
Hello?
Hello?
What do you know?
Tell me what you...
(pants)
Man: (in distorted voice)
Are they with you?
"No."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Are they dead?
(tape recorder clicks)
"Yes."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man:
Why are they not here?
(tape recorder clicks)
"The weather is bad.
I'll have to trace back
for the body
once the wind dies down."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man:
We can't let you through
until we have confirmation
of their remains.
(tape recorder clicks)
"I'm hurt in the church.
I can't reach my si..."
(groans)
"I can't reach my sister.
If you can reach her
to help me... (groans)
...then we'll get you the body."
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Copy. Stand by.
Man: (in normal voice)
Your brother's alive
in the church.
- (sighs)
- (tape recorder clicks)
(sniffles)
(tape recorder clicks)
Did he reach out to you?
- (tape recorder clicks)
- Man: Yes.
(tape recorder clicks)
Is it with him?
(tape recorder clicks)
Man: Yes.
(tape recorder clicks)
Stay close.
Man: (in distorted voice)
We have left word.
Hold position until directed.
(tape recorder clicks)
(wind whistling)
(rifle clicking)
You use that thing
to talk, right?
You got any tapes
for small talk,
or is it all for
just shit like this?
Seriously, why can't you talk?
(rifle clicks)
(grunts, pants)
Why are you here?
What do you want?
(pen scratching paper)
(thunder rumbling in distance)
- (paper rustling)
- (pen scratching paper)
Joseph: Who?
(Joseph speaking indistinctly)
(birds screeching)
(breathes heavily)
- (thunder rumbles)
- One Alabama.
Two Alabama.
Three Alabama.
Four Alabama.
Five.
(high-pitching ringing tone)
(rifle thuds)
(door slams)
(grunting)
(panting)
(grunting)
(sighs)
(grunts)
(yelps, groans)
(whimpers, pants)
Sidney: (softly) Ah! Goddamn it!
Fuck!
(Joseph groaning)
- (door bangs open)
- (panting)
- (door slams open)
- Sidney: Hey!
(grunts)
(dramatic piano music
playing over stereo)
(Joseph groaning)
(grunting)
(grunts)
(grunting)
(yells)
(screams, grunts)
(grunts, groans)
- (yells, grunts)
- (grunts)
(yells)
(gasps)
Come on!
- (music continues playing)
- (pants)
(groans) Fuck! (grunts)
(groans) No!
(The Visitor grunts, yells)
(both grunting)
Show me your face!
(Joseph groaning)
(both grunting)
Show me your face!
(gasps)
- Steph?
- (grunts)
(Sidney groans)
(door closing)
(pants)
No, no, no, no, no!
- (gunshot)
- (music stops abruptly)
- (music resumes playing)
- (pants)
- (breathes shakily)
- (thuds)
- (Sidney wheezing)
- Sid.
Sid, it's okay. It's okay.
Stay with me, stay with me,
stay with me, stay with me.
Look at me. Look at me.
I'm so sorry.
(gasps)
Joseph: Stay with me, all right?
Stay with me.
(Sidney wheezes )
Joseph: (softly) It's okay.
- (gasps)
- Joseph: Stay with me.
Stay with me.
Just stay with me, okay?
Stay with me.
(coughs) It's...
- (door opening in distance)
- (shushes) Stay with me.
- (Sidney groans)
- Just stay with me.
(intense ringing tone)
- (wheezes)
- (thunder crashing outside)
You're gonna be okay.
Just stay with me, stay with me.
- (music distorting)
- (inaudible
(gasps weakly)
(softly) It's okay.
(music continues playing)
(exhales weakly)
(music fades)
(wind whistling)
(wind howling)
- (floorboards creaking)
- (footsteps approaching)
Joseph: It's gone.
Man: (in distorted voice)
Are you hurt?
Yes.
(tape recorder clicks)
Man:
We will send morphine.
Take it and go to
the work shed.
Go inside and wait
for our instruction.
(tape recorder clicks)
(sobs) What about my sister?
(tape recorder clicks)
(yells) What about my sis...
(insects chirping)
(wind whistling)
(door rumbling)
(door closes)
(high pitched ringing tone)
(lighter clicks)
(lighter clicks)
Vise Grip Right: Turn around.
Vise Grip Left:
You can't look at us.
Turn around, please.
Can you hear us?
Vise Grip Right:
Verbal confirmation, please.
- Can you hear us?
- Yes.
Vise Grip Left: Okay, then.
Do you have any pertinent
information about the visitor
that you can relay to us?
Vise Grip Right:
Any facial features?
Sex, voice, any details
you can remember?
I don't know.
Vise Grip Left: (sighs)
All right, uh,
- we are going to wipe you now.
- What?
Vise Grip Right:
Look away. Please.
Vise Grip Left: Unfortunately,
you and your sister
failed to carry out the task
as we asked.
And now our unwanted
visitor is on the loose.
Vise Grip Right:
We're going back to you
and your sister's origin point
to pull up the root.
Acting as if you never
existed, it is not perfect,
it's not easy,
but it is the best we've got.
Why are you doing this?
We did everything
we could for you, everything.
And you still...
Why are you doing this?
Vise Grip Left: Look. I get it.
You feel you are
the centerpiece
to this whole ordeal.
You feel that you're special
and that there's some
poetic reason why everything
went the way that it did.
The truth is,
is that none of this
has anything to do with you.
It's bigger than you.
You were simply
in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
And, uh, I'm sorry
we put you in this position.
We thought you'd weed out
the problem for us,
but we were mistaken.
Really, we, uh... We failed you.
I wish...
(exhales) ...we had some
more answers or closure, but...
We have people we need
to answer to.
And they have people
they need to answer to,
and so on and so on.
And the only things
that matter to them
and to us are results.
And results are answers
with consequences...
meaningful,
tangible consequences.
That is all that matters.
And your results have left us
with some dire consequences.
So we need to provide
new results
to the people we answer to.
It's nothing personal.
It just is what it is.
Vise Grip Left:
For what it's worth,
we really did appreciate
the shrine.
At least what we could see
on our end.
Now, if you'll please relax,
this will all be over
in a couple of minutes.
Wait.
Just wait.
Look, I can get her back.
I have to get her back.
She can't just die.
Maybe if I could just...
fix a few mistakes.
And then I could get her back.
And I could get you
what you want.
I could get you results.
Okay? I could.
Believe me.
Things will be different.
Trust me.
You just have to give me
another chance.
Please just give me
one more chance.
Vise Grip Left: We're assuming
that you remember
the morning of well.
Vise Grip Right: Can you walk?
Vise Grip Left: Leave the bags,
remove the redundancy,
slip in when you see your sister
as quickly as you can.
Vise Grip Right: Be sure
to remove the redundancy,
or you and your sister
will be wiped.
Understood?
Verbal confirmation, please.
Yes.
Vise Grip Left:
Sit peto tutum peregrinatione.
(door opening)
(intense ringing tone)
(birds chirping)
(airplane flying overhead)
(ominous music playing)
(drunkards
speaking indistinctly)
Drunkard:
On the count of three.
One, two...
- (gunshot)
- (Drunkard speaks indistinctly)
(drunkards laughing)
(ominous music building)
(twig snaps)
- (grunts)
- (thuds)
(ominous music quietens)
(water splashing)
(ominous music intensifying)
(music concludes)
("I Want to Go Back to Michigan"
by The Andrew Sisters plays)
I was born in Michigan
And I wish and wish again
That I was back in the town
Where I was born
(waitress gasps)
There's a farm in Michigan
And I'd like to fish again
In the river that flows
Beside the fields
Of waving corn
A lonesome soul am I
See there a certain someone
Full of charm
That's I wish again
That I was in Michigan
Down on the farm
That's why I wish again
That I was in Michigan
Down on the farm
(song concludes)
Vise Grip Left: Cycle is set.
Do you feel bad
about this one?
Who knows,
maybe he'll be the first one
to break it, you know?
It's nice to hope.
Gotta love hope.
("Too Late to Turn Back Now"
by Cornelius Brothers
and Sister Rose's plays)
My mama told me
She said,
"Son please beware
There's this thing
Called love
And it's everywhere
She told me
She can break your heart...
Who are you?
Since I met
This little woman...
Hey. Who are you?
Joseph: I'm no one.
Where'd you get those bags,
no one?
Joseph: Stole them.
And the man that had them?
Joseph: Long gone.
At least ten times a day
It's so unusual for me
To carry on this way
I'll tell you
I can't sleep at night
For wanting
To hold her tight...
Did you kill him?
Joseph:
It was to make things right.
(white noise rumbling)
How's that going?
Joseph: Not well.
I tried.
I tried so many times.
But now...
I'm tired.
So, please...
you have to end this.
It's the only way.
(breathes shakily)
Joseph: Leave the money.
And run.
Run to Steph.
Before I kill you again.
And again.
And again.
(sniffles)
- (grunts)
- Joseph: (softly) End me.
Please.
(white noise builds,
ends abruptly)
- Kill me!
- (gunshot)
- (body thuds)
- (waitress screams)
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now, baby
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
(police siren wailing)
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
It's too late
To turn back now
I believe, I believe
I believe I'm falling in love
(melancholic music playing)
(music concludes)