After She Wakes (2019) - full transcript

I think about
the day you were born,

Not when I first
laid eyes on you.

When you first
opened your eyes.

And when you closed them

the last time.

So when do they start providing alcohol at kids' birthday parties?

Okay, sure.

- I guess I'll drive.
- I mean, they had adult brownies.

What's in--

You know, I used to try
to do anything to get out

of the birthday
parties, you know.



- Did you all have fun?
- All right. Everyone set?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

- Did you-- did you take your pill?
- Yeah, thanks.

- You need a cup of coffee?
- No.

All right.

- Let's hit it.
- Okay.

Cassie, please stop.
Get in the car.

They have no ser-- I told you
to take Riverton Drive.

I'm trying to figure
it out right now.

- We're stuck in the middle of nowhere.
- Why are you yelling at me?

I'm trying to figure
it out right now.

- What am I going to do?
- Go get him a bottle.

I need you to go get him a bottle.
He's going to wake up.

Now I never
want to close my eyes.



I never should have
closed my eyes.

Danni, wake up!
Wake up! Wake up!

I can save him.

I can save him!

I miss you so much.

I'm so sorry.

¶¶¶

Okay. Do you have to do that
now? While I'm driving?

Cass!

When's dad coming home?

Um...

- What's today?
- Tuesday.

Sorry.

I don't feel well.

- Does this sound that bad?
- No.

No. It's not that.

- You okay to drive?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

- You don't look fine.
- I'm fine.

Okay.

¶¶¶

Can you grab that
last bag, please?

Have you seen the bag of fruits where there were like six peaches?

Nah.

I'm losing it.

Come on, Danni.

¶ Cuddle up a little closer ¶

¶ Lovely mine ¶

¶ Cuddle up and be my little ¶

¶ Clinging vine ¶

¶ Like to feel
Your cheek so rosy ¶

¶ Like to make you comfy, cozy ¶

¶ 'Cause I love
From head to toesie ¶

Alice, there's something else I have to tell you.

You've told me everything you have to for now, darling.

You're coming home.

Pack up your bags.

Hey, I mean praying's for church, huh?
Come on.

I haven't
seen you in church lately.

Well, there's not much sense in my going to church.

Over there.

I jumped out at you from behind a tree,
and grandpa got all excited and he shook

his fist at me and he said,
"Boy, you'll be damned to hell."

Remember that?
Right over there.

Boy, we used to be
really scared here.

Johnny.

Well, you're still afraid.

Stop it now! I mean it!

They're coming to
get you, Barbara.

Stop it.

You're ignorant.

They're coming for you, Barbara.

Stop it.
You're acting like a child.

They're
coming for you.

Look.

Here comes one of them now.

Oh, damn it.

Do you know
where my black tie is?

I don't know when the last
time I wore the damn thing.

In my boots maybe.

Yeah.

You look good, babe.

Hey. Hey.

Come here. Come here.

This is what we're
supposed to do, right?

Yeah.

Okay.

Hey, you guys.
Thanks for coming.

Yeah. We're just getting ready.

Answer me.

Look.

Look.

Look.

You're gonna fucking die.

¶¶¶

Danni, wake up!
Wake up! Danni, wake up!

Oh.

Yeah. That sounds fun.

I wish.

- Cass, who are you on the phone with?
- I'll call you back.

I asked you a question.

Okay, bye.

You're going to make
me ask you again?

Just a girl from school.

She's transferring
to the valley.

Her parents are
getting divorced.

That's terrible.

I think I woke up
a bit too early.

I'm still tired.

Okay.

- Did you eat enough?
- I'm tired.

Okay.

Cass.

Yeah?

Did you hear
anything last night?

No, like what?

- Anything weird?
- No.

Okay.

See you when you wake up.

Bye.

It's going to be okay.

Do you hear me? And don't
you even worry about work.

Sarah's got you covered.

We can get as many
extensions as we need.

Do you need anything else?

Let's go. Get a cup
of coffee or something.

Get out of my house.

Danni. Danni, come
here. You're upset.

- I'll make you some--
- Get off me.

Hey! This is my house too. All right?
Don't make a scene in front of all these people.

I don't give a shit
about these people.

Do they know how I feel? Do
they actually care? Do you care?

- Do you actually care?
- Of course, I care!

Girl, come with me.

I'm sorry.

Everyone out.

Get the fuck out of my house!

Get out!

You did this.

Sorry.

Hey.

What are you doing?

Um...

I'm just checking out
your cool setup here.

Okay.

- What's it for?
- My safe house.

Why do you feel you
need a safe house?

- You don't feel safe at home?
- I don't know.

Sometimes I like to be alone,
or when I walk during my sleep.

I sometimes end up out here.

How often does that happen?

I've been keeping track.
When I wear the face,

all the bad stuff
seems to stay away.

It's hard wearing it
all the time, though.

Maybe you can make me one.

I could use some help
keeping the bad stuff away.

So, what sounds good to eat?

We could get something
delivered or we could go out.

When was the last time we did that, huh?
I could use a good excuse to shave.

Look at that.

Not that hungry.

Come on, Cass, you
got to eat something.

I'm okay really.

Okay.

All right.

So what are you saying?

Just saying you guys
should get a hotel tonight.

What about Cassie?

I'll get some more clothes.

Tomorrow's Friday, right?

Maybe I can pick her up.
She can spend the weekend with me.

Or not.

You know this is still
your home, right?

I do want see her
sometime soon, okay?

I mean,

actually I got to head up north for work in a couple of days.
Quick trip.

Close a couple of contract.
Maybe she can tag along.

I'm just saying you
still have a key.

I just don't understand
wasting money on a hotel.

I'm not the one
who's doing this.

You asked me to leave, remember?

I just-

I just need some
time, okay? I-- I--

reorganize my brain.

We can figure this out.

Okay.

Danni, wait, wait, wait.

I have-- I have to finish
cleaning up, so.

Look, I'm sorry.

Hey, it's-

this is just going to get better.
I just-- after everything-

I can forgive you, Michael.

I have.

I'm trying to let it go. Why
can't you do the same?

I'll talk to you later, okay?

Fuck.

In actuality, we all experience
a few common ones from the list.

People fall asleep and wake up
in random parts of their home.

They fall asleep at the
wheel while driving.

For those who are
an narcoleptic of course.

Take sleep paralysis,
for instance.

People claim to see these intruders in
their home where they feel defenseless.

Someone of the more religious patients believe
it's an apparition or something demonic.

But most of the time it is because you are still half asleep.

Grief is a very, very
powerful emotion.

Most humans don't take
the time to go through it.

¶¶¶

¶ Some days you feel like
No one gives you a chance ¶

Please! No!

Help me!

Die! Die! Die!
Die! Die! Die! Die!

Cassie!

Oh! God.

I thought you were sleeping.

- Did you open this?
- No, why would I?

I swear I locked every window.

You feeling okay?
You seem a bit warm.

Yeah. Fine.

Just need some water.

Morning.

Die! Die! Die!

Die! Die! Die! Die!

But if he's not here,
who will take care of me?

No.

No.

Yes.

You can't do that.

Why not?

Because
it wouldn't be right.

Yes, it would.

I'm not going to
do that. It wasn't her fault.

She was there.

She allowed it to happen.

She couldn't do
anything about it.

But you can.

You can do something
about it now.

- Aren't you angry?
- I don't know.

Aren't you mad? Get out.

Get out and fucking
die. Get out.

Get out. Get out!

Shut up
and leave me alone.

Get out.
Get out and destroy her.

Destroy her family.

Go and fucking
kill her. Get out.

You punk.

Fucking whore.

Is that my phone?

Cassie, what's going on?
Why are you filming these?

Give me my phone, please?

Who are you talking to?
You're scaring me.

I said give me my phone!

- Who are you speaking to?
- I don't know!

Are you on the phone?
Is it someone from school?

Are-- are you talking
to yourself?

- I said I don't fucking know. Okay?
- Cassie!

Hey.

So, what's up?

I don't know if I'm losing my mind or
something is watching me while I sleep.

What's wrong? Are you not sleeping enough?
Not taking your pills?

- Not the pills, Michael. I'm serious.
- Like how?

I don't want to talk about it.

All right, fine.

I wake up in the middle
of the night alone,

but I truly believe
that something is here

watching me, staring at me.

I can feel it breathing
down my neck sometimes.

- Really? Are you serious?
- I don't know.

I can't explain it, but
there is a presence.

It's-- I swear to
God, I'm not crazy.

Something or someone is watching me sleep,
it feels like every night.

Well, sometimes
I see things too.

- I'm really tired.
- Yeah, but there's seeing

and then there's feeling, Michael,
I physically feel this presence.

Kiddo.

Have fun.

I'll have her back tomorrow.

Got a couple of meetings
in the morning.

She promised to suck
it up and wait on.

- Thanks for this.
- Yeah.

Good night.

Michael.

Yeah.

Nothing. It's just--
Uh, we'll talk later.

All right.

I don't know.

She's just so hard to
communicate with.

And now she's talking
to herself in her sleep.

How do I even deal with that?

Have you
considered counseling?

- For me or for her?
- Maybe all three of y'all.

God, we'd never--

And Cassie won't even
look me in the eyes anymore.

I feel like a goddamn prisoner
in my own house.

Listen, baby, this
happens all the time.

You guys are close.
You have an important bond.

You'll pull through it.

I was so young when I had her.

I feel like she just doesn't
respect me as a mom.

I feel like her older sister
sometimes, you know.

I--

- I think I might be pregnant.
- What?

How?

I don't know.

I-- I-- I feel like Michael and I haven't
even slept in the same bed in months.

Girl, don't you know,
those little guys can swim for weeks up inside of you

unless you're out there giving
up that booty to someone else.

Oh, please.

Oh.

Look, you just need to get some rest so we can focus on the writing.

Blogs have paid the
bills for just a little bit,

but an online autobiography
that followers can relate to.

Now that's the real money.

You know about that paper?

Look, girl, it'll turn around.

I'm here for you.

But you should keep yourself.

- What?
- What do you mean what?

I'm just saying that maybe you
need a little time for yourself.

Okay. Um...

I should probably get going.

Love you, boo.

Love you too.

Come on.

Look up.

Is anyone here?

You had a good time?

Yeah.

So what did you guys do?

Watched some films, sat
through some boring movies.

Hm. Did you sit
through some meetings?

I like your hair.

It's very pretty.

Thanks.

Dad's friend
came over last night.

She did it.

Hm.

Yeah, she's cool.

You two would get along.

I'm going to go and
listen to some music.

No! No! No! No!

No! No! No! No!

- Don't touch me!
- Mom.

- Mom.
- Oh, my God.

You okay?

It's okay.

I'm sorry.

I'm okay.

I'm okay. It was
just a bad dream.

You sure?

Go to bed.

I don't think I can go
to bed after that.

- Wanna lie with me?
- Yeah.

Okay.

Mom,

why can't you ever
sleep at night?

I don't know.

Is it because of him?

Your dad?

No.

No.

I know I'm only nine, but I'm
much smarter than I look.

Yes.

Yes, you are.

Do you think he's in heaven?

Of course.

Of course he is.

I miss him.

I miss him too.

For real, breakfast? What have
you done with my mother?

Oh, you're so funny.

What do you think I was going to do with all these groceries?
Go sit.

- You want toast?
- No, thanks.

Okay.

I finally got a few hours
of sleep last night.

Me too.

- So you're ready for school?
- Ugh! Don't remind me.

Not for three more weeks.

You know you're lucky.

When I was your age,
my mom forced me to go to summer school.

I thought you were
a straight A student.

Hey, man.

Your mom was cool.

Anyway.

I was a nice student
pretty much but

my mom always said to
never stop learning, so

even till now I try to learn
something new every day.

What did you learn today?

How to get you to smile again.

Hey.

Girl, is everything okay?

Oh, yeah, sorry I had
to get back last night.

No, not that. The video
that you sent me.

What are you talking about?

The video you posted.

Like, there's-- there's like
twelve videos on your page.

People are commenting,
bucking the fuck out.

Okay. Sorry. Hold on a second.

Look at it.

Wait, wait, first of all,
how do you not know what I'm talking about?

That's what's confusing to me.

Sera, I'm going to have
to call you back.

What the hell is wrong with you?

- You're crazy.
- You haven't even seen crazy yet.

- I didn't do anything.
- Go to your room!

I hate you!

Jesus Christ!

That's enough! I've had it!

- Give me back my phone!
- Your work is bullshit.

Wait!

Enough is enough.
No more phone. No more iPad.

No more e-mail. You are through.

This is why dad hates you.

I hate you. I wish
you died and not him.

Go to your room!

Mom?

Wake up, Danni.

Wake up!

Cassie! Are you okay?
Did he hurt you?

What? Mom, what
are you talking about?

- Did the man hurt you?
- What man?

Listen, there's somebody
in our home, okay?

No, the alarm didn't went off.

Okay. Listen to me, I need
you to go into your room.

I need you to go into your
room and I need you to lock it.

- Mom!
- Right now!

Lock it!

Cassie?

No!

Cassie!

Cassie!

Hello?

ATI Security.

Hello.

Yes, ma'am,
do you have your associated PIN number on hand by any chance?

I can't remember.
My fucking child was just taken!

Easy. It's an emergency.
Can you describe her?

- My daughter?
- Yeah. What does she look like?

She's 9. She's-- uh...

I don't know. She's beautiful.

How long ago was she taken?

This has just happened! I need
you to send someone right now!

Okay, ma'am, I'm going
to need you to calm down.

Calm down? I can't fucking calm down.
My child was just taken!

- Mommy!
- Cassie!

Mom!

I'm coming!

Ma'am, are you still there?

Mom!

Cassie!

Ma'am, before I can send help,
I need you to answer a few more questions.

Fuck off with your stupid
fucking questions!

You fucking idiot!

Ma'am...

Hello.

Hello?

Oh, fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Oh, shit.

Fuck!

- Mom!
- Cassie!

This is getting sloppy.

If you're not professional,
you're going to get caught. You hear me?

Now what do you want
me to do with her?

I want my fucking money!

Otherwise you're not going to see either one of them again.
You hear me?

Fuck.

Fuck! I'll call you back.

Oh, oh!

Cassie!

Oh, Cassie.

Cassie. Cassie, it's me.

It's me. Cassie, please be okay. You're okay.
You're okay, right? You're okay?

Cassie? Cassie.

Cassie, are you okay?
Baby, I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do.

- Tell me what to do.
- Mom.

- Cassie, are you okay?
- I don't remember.

Where did he go?
Where did he go? Cassie.

I ran as fast as I could.

I hit a branch, I fell.

Let me see your head.

Oh, God.

Shh! Just be quiet.

Shh!

Okay.

Okay. Okay.

- What are you doing?
- Shhh! Just trust me.

Just trust me, okay?

Just trust me, okay? Just--

Okay, you too. Come on, faster.

Okay. Okay.

Okay. Okay, just
close your eyes.

Okay. Okay.

Okay.

I got to get the car keys and then we got to get out of here, okay?

- I don't know how long until help comes.
- Mom, you can't even walk.

Just help me get
through the front door.

Okay.

- Mom, what if he comes back?
- He went the other way. I saw him.

Mom, I want dad.

Okay.

We're going to get the hell out of here, okay?
Call your dad again.

Hey, this is Michael.
Sorry, I missed you.

Just leave a message
and I'll call you back.

Hey, dad. It's me.

Someone broke into the house.

Oh. No!

¶¶¶

Wake up, Danni.
- Danni!

Danni.

What happened? Hey.

Look, I don't know
where Cassie is.

Oh. Ah! I think it's broken.

Fuck. Fuck. Okay.
We got to call for help.

- We had-- I called. No one came.
- Hey, I'm here.

I'm here.

You got to go find her.

You know I love
you just so much.

- You're so beautiful.
- What the fuck is wrong with you? Go, go.

Get her! Go!

It's all going to be okay.

What are you talking about? What are you talking about?
What is happening? Just go, go get her.

What are you talk-- Where is he?

She's safe.

- What the fuck are you doing?
- I'm so sorry.

I'm so so sorry.

Hey.

I'm sorry, Danni,
but you-- you've already taken one of my children.

I can't allow you
to do that again.

What the hell is going
on? Just let me go.

I can't do that.

You see, I love my children.

All I've wanted was my baby
boy. You destroyed that.

And then you destroyed us.

Now you're trying to take away
the one thing that I have left.

I would never do that.

But you did.

But you did!

You did! You fucking
killed him! You know it!

Danni, wake up!
Wake up! Danni, wake up!

You fucking killed him.
Just fucking say it.

Just say it.

- Just fucking say it.
- I'm sorry.

Just let me go.

So this is how it's
going to go, babe.

You're sleeping

and it's funny he's been
watching you every night,

learning everything
there is to know about you.

Breaks in.

He ties you up.

You wrestle
with him a little bit.

You're so strong.

You tried to escape
through the woods.

But he caught you and
he brought you back here.

He roughed you up.

Michael, I saw what you did.

You don't have to.

- It's the only way.
- You don't want to do this.

You don't want to do this.

He tossed the drawers, looking
for jewelry. He found nothing!

And he decided it was time.

- You don't want to do--
- It's time to put a bullet in your head.

You don't want to do this.

You don't want to do this.

Cassie and I, we'll live
together forever,

happy and safe.

Michael, I'm pregnant.

It's yours.

- You're lying to me!
- I swear to God, I'm not lying.

- Just let me go and I will show you.
- No.

I will show you.

Okay? I swear to God.

Stop. Don't do that. Lies!

You're lying!

I swear to God. I swear to God.
I'm not lying to you.

Just please let me go.

Where is she?

Where is he?

Christ.

Where is my little girl?

She's sleeping
safely in the back.

She's not here.

She was fucking just
there. I swear to God.

I'm going to give you
one more chance.

She was just fucking there.
I swear to God.

She's my child.

She was in the fucking back.

She was there.

Look, Danni.

Fuck! Oh, fuck!

Cassie!

No.

Don't look.

Don't look.

Don't look.

Mom, I forgive you.

¶¶¶

Morning, babe.

Look.

Can you see me?