Beware: Children at Play (1989) - full transcript
After several children have gone missing, a writer and a cop decide to get to the bottom of the problem once and for all. As they find more and more leads they discover that their children are being brainwashed into zombified cannibal killers by a disturbed teen.
Grendel the cannibal wants
to eat your old blood!
No!
No!
Grendel's going to swallow you.
Well, the tickle monster's
going to tickle you.
No, no, no.
Stop.
I'm hungry.
We'll catch us some fish then.
Get up.
--donkey-donk
there, here a donkey,
there a donkey, everywhere
a donkey, donkey.
Old MacDonald had
a farm, E-I-E-I-O.
Whew.
Woods are a-bloom.
The wide world awakens.
Happy the mansions,
the meadows most fair.
And where are ye
going, Glenn Randall, my son?
Where are ye going,
my handsome young man?
I've been to the
woods with father.
I've been to the
woods with father.
But make my bed soon, for I'm
sick at the heart and fain
would lie down.
What do they mean, Daddy?
The words.
The words are magic words.
They're beautiful words, Glenn.
They're like fossils in a rock.
They preserve the
hopes and dreams
of those who came before us.
We say their words
and sing their songs
so we don't forget them.
You understand?
Ah, you will someday
soon, I promise.
You want some more fish?
Soup?
No.
Marshmallow?
Yeah.
Yeah..
OK.
Where's your stick?
Put it on there.
So what do you think, tomorrow
night we cook fish again,
or we go to McDonald's?
We go to McDonald's.
I agree.
Where have you
gone, Glenn Randall?
Oh, now you've angered
the grim demon.
You've made him angry
and eager to kill.
Daddy, what happened?
Help me, Glenn.
Come here, son.
Everything's going
to be all right.
Come here.
Don't be afraid.
Don't be.
Everything going to be all
right if we just keep our heads.
Somebody will come
looking for us soon.
But you must do exactly as
I say-- exactly as I say.
Do you understand?
There's food and provisions
back at the campsite.
Do you remember
how to get there?
OK, go.
Three days.
Where are they?
Why don't they come?
Wild land, lonely land,
land of wolf places.
They're going to kill us.
They're leaving
us to die, Glenn.
Murderers!
God punishes the sin of
murder, banishes monsters
and trolls and goblins
from the fields of men.
Maggots eat my body,
sin eats my soul.
In the darkness, a
demon-- a demon grim.
Cursed, cast out, a
damned exile, angry.
Angry and eager to kill.
Daddy?
Glenn?
Oh, Glenn.
Do as I say.
You must do as I say.
Yes, Daddy.
A grim demon, cursed, cast out.
A savage demon.
No hope to halt the savage
assault. Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
God protect us from
goblins and ghosties
and long-legged
beasties, and things
that go bump in the night.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Are we there yet?
Not yet, sweetheart.
She started asking
that question when
we were still in the driveway.
I have to go potty, Mommy.
We'll be there soon, Cara.
It's number two.
Anybody with kids
ought to have a Portosan
built into the backseat.
Don't take your bad mood
out on the baby, John.
It's not her fault.
I know.
You forgive grumpy
old daddy-bear, honey?
Will you buy me a Barbie doll?
Barbie is not a doll.
Barbie is an addiction.
Do you know what
Barbie leads to?
Barbie hats, Barbie
dresses, Barbie houses.
Who knows, Barbie Kotex.
Once Barbie gets
you, you're gone.
She can't help wanting things.
She takes after her father.
Come on, Julie.
I'm just trying to
make an honest living.
Honest?
That's a laugh.
The column you used to
write for "The Times
Book Review," that was honest.
How could a man who had
the sensitivity and insight
to write beautifully about
new novels and modern poetry
write that trash
for trivial minds?
Books, mostly
paperbacks, with lurid
covers about flying saucers
and ghosts and witches?
John, how could you?
Listen, my books are
honest, and they seek
answers to honest questions.
Then why do they
need those covers?
Girls with cleavages,
front and back,
being pursued by all
manner of ghastly creature?
Garish colors and
cheap graphics.
I don't paint
the covers, Julie.
The publishers think
they help sell the books.
How oft the apparel
doth proclaim the man.
How oft the cover
proclaims the book.
You're a snob, Julie.
Lots of good writers
have their books packaged
in ways they don't
necessarily like,
but they still pick
up the royalty checks.
Money.
Always money.
You don't seem to mind
the creature comforts
that money provides
or the security
we can give Cara because of it.
The college simply
doesn't pay enough.
I like teaching English.
I like eating.
I like to go potty.
OK, honey.
We'll be at Uncle
Ross's any minute now.
Can I play with Mary Rose?
Sure can.
And Amy too?
Amy's gone away
for a while, honey.
Oh, John.
Poor Ross and Cleo.
Have they gotten over it yet?
It's not an easy
thing to forget.
Are you sure we should
be visiting them?
It's been three years now.
Ross thinks we can
help Cleo, kind
of coax her back into society.
She's been very withdrawn
since the incident.
Well, it looks like he
could use some help.
Are we there yet?
You don't need to stop for a
stranger with Cara in the car.
John!
Kid!
Kid!
Mommy, it hurts.
Stay in the car, sweetheart.
Don't get out.
Just stay in the car.
Mighty good of you, neighbor.
Mighty good.
You know, you don't see too many
good Samaritans around anymore,
not even here below the
buckle of the New Jersey
Bible Belt. Didn't
mean to frighten
your little one like that.
Ordinarily I'm very
good with children.
Always had a little space
in my heart for the tykes,
as you might say.
Well, then watch your own son
and keep him out of the road.
He might
have been killed.
Well, hold on, hold on.
Don't get your
bowels in an uproar.
Besides, it wasn't
any kid of mine
you seen running out there--
leastwise not that I know of.
You know, I'm a
salesman, you know.
I'm on the road all the time.
Franklin Ludwig's the
name, salvation's the game.
Say, you wouldn't happen
to have some spare water
for the radiator, would you?
I'm afraid I can't help
you there, Mr. Ludwig.
God damn it, then it'll
have to cool off by itself.
What a hunk of tin.
If there was a
hell for cars, it'd
be right comfortable there.
What are you selling
there, Mr. Ludwig?
Goddamn best little
book you ever saw.
Beebs Bibles-- the
word made cheap.
That's what they want out
here in the boondoggles,
cut-rate salvation.
Hell, these farmers can't
afford to patch up their asses.
But you mention the good news,
and they'll always manage
to cough up a couple of bucks.
The price is right.
How about it?
Sorry.
We're not really religious.
Well, I knew that soon
as you got out of the car.
Oh, by the way, if I was you, I
wouldn't go around volunteering
that information around here.
You know, New England wasn't
the only place where they burned
witches and other folks
whose viewpoints differed
from that of the local files.
Is that so?
Oh, hell yeah.
This place was teeming
with federal marshals
right after World
War I. Seems as
though a couple of the
locals took it into the minds
that some of the city slickers
were possessed by demons,
and they exorcised them
the best way they knew how.
What was that?
Put goddamn bullets through
their wiped out all families--
kids, dogs, cats, goldfish.
As the good book says,
they left not one to piss
against the wall.
Left not one to piss
against the wall?
The Bible says that?
Book of Kings, John.
You're right, ma'am.
Hey, I thought you said
you wasn't religious.
I'm not.
I teach English literature.
That includes the King James
translation of the Bible.
Your quotation
from King's refers
to the instruction
given to Hebrew warriors
before they attacked the enemy.
Right again, ma'am.
Here they take
that kind of stuff
literal like, standard operating
procedures for fighting
the enemies of Jehovah.
What was the name of the group?
Are any of them still around?
If you want to believe it,
their names were Brownies.
Not the little girls with
beanies on their heads.
Nah, this group was more
like the Ku Klux Klan,
except maybe not quite
so friendly or tolerant.
Their leader was a man
named Preacher Brown.
He and his family disappeared
when the marshals came
in to clean out their flock.
Nobody's heard or seen
of him since then.
Most of the people
around these parts
are descendants
of those brownies.
Personally I think
they've gone underground.
What makes you say that?
You'll see.
You're in the pine
barrens of New Jersey.
These people are mean
and suspicious folks.
Anybody beyond a second
or a third grade education
is called Doctor around here.
And then of course there are
the missing people, mostly kids.
Well, we know Sheriff Carr, and
we know about his daughter Amy.
Have there been others?
Oh, hell yeah, maybe 12
kids, four or five adults
over the last couple of years.
You close to the sheriff?
He kin?
-No.
Ross and I were in
the Marines together.
We keep in touch.
Your buddy's in a heap
of trouble, Mister.
I'll tell you, if his
daughter hadn't disappeared
too a couple of years
ago, they probably
would have strong him up.
They don't trust him, you know.
He was raised in the big city.
What the hell do you think
I talk like this for?
I'm an NYU graduate.
Thanks for the information,
Mr. Ludwig, and the advice.
Good luck with your sales.
Luck?
You don't need any god damn
luck with these yokels.
You just say it's the word
of God and open sesame.
Their flyblown pocketbooks
spread their cheek,
and the long green pops
out like pus from a pimple.
You're sure you're not
interested in one of these?
Makes for good protective power.
Those god damned heathens.
God damn it, I'm
beginning to spook myself.
Ross, you son of a bitch.
You haven't changed much.
It's good to see you.
Thanks for coming.
Julie, honey!
You're looking smart
and pretty as ever.
Hi, Ross.
And hello to you,
Princess Cara.
Did you come to play
with Mary Rose, huh?
Uh-huh.
And Amy too when she comes home.
Oh, Ross, I'm sorry.
Are you sure Cleo is really
up to having house guests?
Yeah, Dr. Fish was
just checking her out.
She-- she'll be fine.
Oh, Julie, honey, I'm sorry.
This is county medical
examiner, Dr. Robert T. Fish.
-Nice to meet you.
-John.
Nice to meet you.
-Dr. Fish.
Pleasure to meet
you, Mr. DeWolfe.
I'm a great fan of yours.
Although I have to
admit, I'm forced to rip
the covers off your paperbacks.
All those cleavages, you know.
Mrs. Fish doesn't approve.
Do tell.
Yes, I was very interested
in your last book--
the one about the couple
who claimed they were
kidnapped by a flying saucer.
"Unexpected Detour"?
They didn't claim they
were abducted, Doctor.
That information was revealed
under hypnotic regression
by a fully certified
psychiatrist.
I invite my readers to
draw their own conclusions.
Yes, but don't you
tend to lead them a bit?
I mean, your books
wouldn't sell nearly
as well as if they were
about some emotionally
disturbed couple.
And that picture
I had to rip off,
it did feature a rather
abundantly proportioned
young lady who was
having her clothes ripped
off by some sort of goblin.
And that title,
"Unexpected Detour,"
doesn't that infer
that they were
actually led off the highway
by some mysterious power?
Maybe they had a daughter
who needed a potty stop.
Speaking of which, we'd
better get the munchkin
here to the nearest facility.
With sirens and red lights.
This way, folks.
God damn piece of shit.
I don't get any water soon,
I'll never get home before 9:00.
Hey, Braun.
Braun!
Braun, wait a minute, will ya?
Braun!
Braun!
Come on, Braun.
How about a little
water for my car,
just a little water for
a poor parishioner who's
trying to spread
the world of God?
If you gentlemen would
just serve yourselves,
Julie and I will get the
children ready for bed.
Thanks.
Ross, what's going on?
Amy isn't the only child
who disappeared, John.
In the past three
years, our community
has lost 12 children, all
gone without a trace or clue.
Amy was the first.
We've lost some adults too,
but the kids-- the kids
seem to vanish in sequence,
one every two months.
Ludwig mentioned the
disappearing kids,
but he didn't say
anything about a pattern.
Ludwig, the salesman?
Where'd you run into him?
Out on the highway.
His car was having some trouble.
Don't you have any leads at all?
None.
It's one of the reasons you're
here, even though I should warn
you that Dr. Fish disapproves.
Good night, Mommy.
No fuss, young lady.
You and Mary Rose have
a busy day tomorrow.
I want you to go nighty-nights
as soon as possible.
Cross my heart, Mommy.
OK.
Good night, Aunt Julie.
Good night.
Good night, Aunt Cleo.
Good night.
No more chit-chat.
Good night, Mary Rose.
Good night, Cara.
We've tried everything, John.
Followed every lead,
exhausted every possibility.
Police and detective
methods just don't
seem to work in this case.
That's where you come in.
In one of your books--
damn, this is tough for me.
In one of your books, you
talked about a medium,
mind reader, something, who
helped police cracked cases.
I gotta know, is she for real?
Or did you pad your stories
to make it seem real?
Mind readers?
What are you talking
about, Ross Carr?
Your daughter is missing.
Why aren't you out
there looking for her?
What kind of a father
are you anyway?
Here's Freddie.
You scared me!
This is my friend, Freddie.
He's one of my dollies.
My daddy's gonna
buy me a Barbie.
Mommy says I'm not old
enough for a Barbie.
I wanted to play with Amy's,
but Mommy won't let me.
It's the woodies.
What?
The woodies,
things in the woods.
You know.
No such things.
Who says?
Mommy.
So does my mommy.
Mommies don't know much.
There are two woodies.
Are not.
Are too.
Are not.
I know, because Amy's a woodie.
Damn it, I shouldn't have
said anything in front of her.
It's bad enough as it is.
I gave her a shot.
She'll rest some now.
Actually, I have read all
of your books, Mr. DeWolfe,
especially since Ross mentioned
that he was considering
asking you down here.
I must admit, I find
your subject matter
provocative and intriguing.
But the problems in this case
are no longer academic for me.
My interests are more
than a mere guessing game.
That's why my questions
must be blunt.
Shoot.
How well did you
do your research?
And do you honestly
believe in what you write?
And is this mind
reader thing genuine?
You see, I have to be
convinced that there
are other possibilities
such as people being
kidnapped by flying saucers.
Sheriff Carr is my friend.
I know-- I know he's
a friend of yours.
That's why I must
know the truth.
If your books are phony, I
won't reveal it to the public.
Dr. Fish, I can assure--
I want my daughter
back, damn it.
I want her back.
Just received word, Sheriff.
Pete Gordon's eight-year-old,
gone like the rest.
Some of the boys
are out there now.
Any comment on the latest
disappearance, Sheriff?
I mean, do you
consider the number
13 to be unlucky or anything?
Should I just jot
down the usual?
No clues, no leads, no
hits, no runs, no errors?
Just 13 kids left on base,
except you don't even
know where the ballpark is.
Sheriff I think you and Mr.
DeWolfe better get on inside.
I'll handle this.
Mr. DeWolfe?
Not the Mr. DeWolfe, the
sheriff's famous friend?
John DeWolfe-- author,
lecturer, and get
this, folks, ghost hunter.
Isn't that right, Mr. DeWolfe?
You better step
aside, Miss Hawthorne.
We'll keep you and
the rest of the press
informed of our progress, Dale.
So far there hasn't been
a thimbleful of progress
to be informed about.
Excuse me.
John DeWolfe.
My, my.
Mr. DeWolfe.
Hello, Doctor.
Well, it isn't
everybody that gets
a welcoming committee
like that when
they come to work every day.
Morning, Bob.
Dr. Fish.
Luke.
Well, I'm still waiting for
those answers, Mr. DeWolfe.
Call me cynical,
but I don't think
you're going to add
anything of significance
to this investigation.
None of your methods have
done anything so far, Doctor.
Maybe it's time we started
thinking of this case
in different terms,
with new eyes.
In any event, it won't hurt.
The worst that can
happen is we'll
be right back where we are now.
Well, I can't argue
with you there,
except to say just
one thing-- we've got
to set a time limit on this.
Now, if we don't get any
results with your methods,
we're going to have to go
back to the sure and safe way.
Agreed.
Good.
Where do we start?
Says here's that this Isaac
Braun was interviewed again
by detectives two months
after his son's disappearance
and claimed to have seen
the boys subsequently.
The detectives couldn't get
him to explain what he meant,
though, so they dropped it.
That's because they
know Isaac Braun.
He's a crazy backwoods farmer
and a religious fanatic.
A brownie?
No.
There's no brownies
around here anymore.
Why told you about the brownies?
The salesman, Ludwig.
Outsiders are always fascinated
by stories about the brownies.
You sure they're gone?
Ludwig said they had
just gone underground.
Some of these sects
are pretty weird, Ross.
This-- this could
be your tie-in.
I doubt it, John.
There haven't been
any brownies around
here since before I was born.
Hell, I've lived
here all my life.
I mean, except for
school and Vietnam,
I've been here all that time.
You don't think I would
have heard something?
Not necessarily.
Consider your position and
these brownies' history.
Well, I wasn't the
sheriff when I was a kid,
and kids hear everything.
Don't forget that one, John.
That's a dead end.
Our friend Isaac Braun
is just your garden
variety religious nut.
He probably thought he saw his
son in some kind of a vision.
OK.
I'll file the brownies
away for a while.
Let's go talk to this Mr. Braun
and get us some salvation.
Morning, Mr. Braun.
Morning, Sheriff.
This is John DeWolfe.
Mr. DeWolfe.
Mr. Braun, in your last
interview with detectives,
you claimed you
saw your son again.
Did you see him or didn't you?
I'm through with
fooling with you, Braun.
Now, where did you see Jamie?
There.
Did you go to him
or did you call him?
No.
Why not.
Because that boy
was not my Jamie.
What do you mean?
You just said he was.
Goblins and giants
who battle with God.
Come again?
Goblins and giants
who battle with God.
What is that, a line from
the Bible or something?
No, not the good book.
Mr. Braun, I don't
know what's going on--
Sheriff, you got a warrant?
No, but I don't think that's--
Then get off
my land, or I'll--
Or what?
Or I'll call the police.
Ross, let's get back.
I'll talk to you later, Braun.
What was that up there?
Ross, does Braun strike
you as the hospitable type?
I mean, the sort who'd invite
in strangers off the road?
Are you kidding?
You saw the way he acted.
Besides, this whole
area is posted.
Take a look around.
Right, then
we're agreed he isn't
the kind of guy who'd
invite in a traveling
salesman off the road.
Not a chance.
What are you getting at, John?
Ross, when we get
back to town, I
think you'd better give
Ludwig's home office a call
and see if he's checked in.
What's the name of that outfit?
Beebs Bibles, the
word made cheap.
Why?
Because I saw Ludwig's
car behind the barn.
There's no mistaking that heap.
I can't believe
Braun would invite
Ludwig in for an overnight.
Those two would
make the Odd Couple
look like identical twins.
He's giving me weird
vibrations, Ross.
Yes, Pete?
I thought you just
wrote about that stuff.
Some of the people I've talked
to tell you that everybody has
is, a sort of a sixth sense.
Check it out for me, Ross.
It might not be anything,
but I don't know.
OK.
What did the sheriff want, Pa?
Same as always.
They just don't understand.
Well, I don't
understand either.
How could you see our Jamie
and not go to fetch him?
Ain't no words to
some things, Mother.
I'm scared, Pa.
That car by the barn and
that blood in the fields.
Something's very wrong here,
and you know what it is.
You've got to tell me.
The Lord works in
mysterious ways.
I'm waiting for divine guidance.
The Lord will tell us
in his own good time.
Jamie?
Is that you?
I get so worried.
Even though Ross put
that fence up after Amy,
I still get frightened
when she's out there.
You can't keep her
inside all day, Cleo.
Why are you Julie?
Why is John?
And all those terrible books--
flying saucers, ghosts,
witches.
What do they have to
do with my little girl?
Nothing, Cleo.
Nothing.
Ross only asked John down
here because-- because they're
old friends.
He thought maybe John
would think of something.
Oh, honey, the
books don't matter.
They're not real.
John only wrote those stories
to make extra money for us.
They're horrible.
They hurt people and
they frightened them.
Why does John want
to frighten people?
What kind of person is he?
Cara, honey, what's the matter?
Mommy's busy.
I have no one to play with me.
What do you mean, baby?
Where's Mary Rose?
She went away with the woodies.
Can I have a cookie?
We couldn't cover this
forest in 1,000 years,
not even with the
National Guard.
John, I can't wait any longer.
Can you get that mind
reader down here now?
John?
John?
Hm?
Are you really bringing
that psychic down here?
Mm-hmm.
How can you carry
this farce so far?
How can you turn this
tragedy into a circus?
I don't understand why Ross
believes that trash you write.
I've had enough, Julie.
I wrote the truth in my books
as best I could perceive it.
While you were
lecturing politely
on Anglo-Saxon literature,
I was scraping up
every bit of information
I could find, pro and con,
for my case studies.
Believe me, my master's
thesis wasn't as thorough.
I don't understand you, Julie.
You-- you teach poetry, and yet
you lack the faculty of wonder.
It's almost as if
you were afraid
that-- that the
real facts of life
would somehow threaten
the popular opinions
of Short Hills, New Jersey.
Grow up, John.
Please grow up.
Stop muddling in this
psychic nonsense.
You and Ross should
be out looking
for some kind of a pervert,
not a flying saucer or a ghost.
You're just a big kid who's
read too much science fiction,
and now you're pretending
that it's real.
For God's sakes, grow
up before it's too late.
Oh, my.
Yes.
Yes, indeed.
Anything, Mrs. Allegari?
Alice, dearie.
Just Alice.
You have to be patient
with these things.
Alice just got here
after a long trip, Ross.
She needs to be rested first.
John, I have to know.
You will, dearie.
You will.
But Johnny is right.
I'll do much better
after I catch a few Z's.
What?
Sleep, dearie.
A short snooze.
But can't you tell me anything?
I mean, any little--
Your little girl is
still alive, dearie, if that's
what you want to know.
Only she's changed somehow.
How?
I don't know yet.
Let me take the dollie to my
cabin, and I'll sleep on it.
Too bad it's not one
of those GI Joes, huh?
Don't worry, dearie.
I'll pick up the
vibrations, like a plant--
you know os-moozis.
That's osmosis, Mrs. Allegari.
Right, dearie.
Hold onto him, John.
He's a smart one.
Is the new calf gonna
be all right, Pa?
Fine.
I'll fetch you something
to eat right away.
Jamie?
Jamie?
Don't go outside, Mary.
Why not?
Mind me.
Jamie?
Jamie?
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside
the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
Afternoon, gentlemen.
I got that report on
Mr. Ludwig, Sheriff.
Good.
Let's have it.
Seems Ludwig was due to check
in with the folks at Beebs
Bibles yesterday, but they
haven't heard hide nor hare
from him.
Is it usual for Mr. Ludwig
to go AWOL from his company?
No, sir.
He's their best salesman
and regular like clockwork.
He hasn't miss a
check-in in 12 years.
There's something there, Ross.
I know there is-- some tie-in.
We have to be cautious, John.
We don't know that for sure.
Well, one thing's for certain.
We're going to pay our
friend Mr. Braun a visit.
But first, I want to get Mrs.
Allegari back in the office.
I have to know about Mary Rose.
Give her a call.
See if she's up yet.
Hello, Mabel?
This is Sheriff Carr.
Would you ring Mrs.
Allegari's cabin for me?
I think it's number 12.
Hello?
Thank you, dearie.
I had a very good rest.
15 minutes will be fine.
I'll be ready, dearie.
Bye-bye.
What are you trying
to tell me, dearie?
Dearie?
Where are you off to, dearie?
I want to talk to you.
Slow down.
I can't keep up with you.
Dearie?
Dearie, please.
Slow down.
Not so fast, dearie.
I can't keep up.
No more.
My legs ain't what they used to
be when I was a child your age.
You want to come
home with me, dearie?
Your mommy and daddy
miss you, Mary Rose.
Hello, dearies.
Are these your
friends, Mary Rose?
Hold it right there.
I don't want to hurt you.
Don't come any closer.
What do you want?
Why won't you speak?
Ow.
Come on, come on.
Put those things down.
Put those down.
Put them down.
Put those things down.
Go, go.
Ow, ow, ow!
Come on.
Put that down.
I'm a nice little lady.
Don't do that.
No, your mom and dad would
be very angry at you.
Oh, my baby.
Did you hear something?
No.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bone.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite--
What was that?
Nothing.
Try some.
It's good.
OK.
It was definitely
a woman screaming.
Wait.
Where are you going?
Oh, my god!
Doctor, I've seen a lot,
but nothing like this.
Go tell the sheriff we're
bringing the body out now.
And this woman was
just lying on the ground
with all this blood.
And then they started
this horrible chanting.
Oh, god.
It was so awful.
Chanting?
What do you mean?
You know, like reciting
something together.
What'd they say?
Hard to remember it all.
Something like, tear up, bite
her bones, swallow her blood.
No, not swallow.
It was more like-- like, gulp.
Gulp her blood.
Yeah, and gobble her flesh.
Oh, god.
I think I'm going
to be sick again.
- Can I go?
- Sure.
I mean to talk to you later.
Did you catch all that?
I think so.
I'll double check
with them when they're
feeling a little less queasy.
What do you make of it,
some kind of voodoo thing?
It's not like any voodoo
ritual I've ever heard of.
And believe me, in my business,
I've heard of a lot of them.
A whole group of kids chanting
and acting like savages.
Do you think my
kids are with them?
I don't know, Ross.
Alice said that Mary
Rose was somehow changed.
I liked her, John.
I believe she would
have helped us.
I'm sorry.
Me too.
Sheriff, the body's
coming out now.
Uh, I looked everywhere.
There's no sign of it.
What?
Mary Rose's doll.
Well, Mr. DeWolfe,
looks like the makings
for another bestseller here.
That lady was my
friend, Miss Hawthorne.
So who says bestsellers
can't be about friends,
especially mystical friends?
We don't need all this
hocus-pocus, Sheriff.
Damn it, our wives and
kids are getting scared
to walk the dog to the corner.
Come to think of it, I'd rather
let him go on the rug myself.
Stay calm, Josiah.
Sheriff Carr has
everything under control.
Before the next two
or three kids vanish,
I'm sure his author friend will
have discovered a spaceship
from Saturn that's
been playing the Pied
Piper for the past three years.
Isn't that right, Mr. DeWolfe?
That's your story,
Miss Hawthorne.
Why don't you put it in a
hopper and let it rotate?
And he's rude too.
How about that, folks?
When are you going to
do something, Sheriff?
Yeah, we voted you in.
We can vote you out.
You voted for him.
I didn't.
We don't care about
all this crap, Sheriff.
We want our families to be safe.
Whose kids are next, Sheriff?
Yeah!
And if you can't handle it,
we'll see to it ourselves.
How nice to incite a riot.
Ta-ta.
Sheriff, Mr. DeWolfe.
Oh, and remember, the
medium is the message.
Mr. Braun?
Mr. Braun?
Please, Mr. Braun.
I'll only take a few minutes.
I know the sheriff was out
here yesterday, Mr. Braun.
Why?
What did he hope to
find after a full year?
Mr. Braun?
Mr. Braun?
Mrs. Braun, hello!
Mrs. Braun?
Mrs. Braun?
Mrs. Braun?
Mrs. Braun?
Now.
We still have to drive
over to Braun's farm
and check on Ludwig's car.
John, what that young
couple heard, don't you
have any idea what it means?
No.
They kept repeating
four main words--
tear, bite, gulp, and gobble.
Like some kind of savage ritual.
Sounds like "Beowulf."
What?
Sounds like "Beowulf."
You remember, John--
the Anglo-Saxon epic.
Angle what?
Anglo-Saxon.
Anglo-Saxon was the language
that preceded English.
"Beowulf" was the
story of a Viking hero
who roamed the country
conquering monsters.
When John said gulp and
gobble, it reminded me
of Anglo-Saxon
alliteration-- successions
of the same initial sound.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Julie may have
something there, Ross.
What was it that
farmer Braun said?
Here.
Giants and goblins
who battle with God.
See?
That succession of G
sounds-- goblins, god, gulp,
gobble-- typical
Anglo-Saxon poetry.
But that doesn't make sense.
Why would children run
around eating people and then
quoting angel-axon poetry?
Where would they have hear it?
Anglo-Saxon.
And that sounds like "Beowulf."
I think you'll find
those lines in a story
about a monster named Grendel.
But why Grendel?
Grendel was a cannibal.
Let's get to the office.
Maybe the files.
I'll call Dr. Fish and have
him meet us over there.
Oh, Julie.
Lock the door afterwards.
And don't let in anyone
who speaks in alliteration.
I can't rest.
I can't sleep.
I just need
something to calm me.
Let me make you a cup of tea.
No, sit down.
Let me do it.
I told Cara to be quiet.
Now she's going to get it.
Here it is.
A college professor
named Randall
disappeared about 10 years ago.
What did he teach?
Medieval English,
Old English, and--
Yeah?
Anglo-Saxon.
Is Cara all right?
Julie?
Julie!
Cara!
Can I take two?
No.
You can only take one.
Why don't you take this one?
I want to take Marianne.
Cara!
Look Aunt Cleo, it's Mary Rose.
Get her!
A formidable monster,
there's Grendel.
It seems he felt
himself an outcast
of society, scorned, ridiculed.
So he took his revenge out
on the king and his soldiers.
Now, according to
this book-- here
it is-- he could carry off and
eat a dozen warriors at a time.
Some appetite.
Look at this.
He was also invulnerable.
You see how the swords and
spears are useless against him?
The hero, Beowulf,
literally had to pull
him apart with his bare hands.
And even with one arm
torn away, Grendel
still managed to crawl off into
the woods and die by himself.
-Aunt Cleo!
-Quiet.
You're coming with us.
I hope you're finding
something, gentlemen.
The librarian's having kittens
about having to come back here
in the middle of the night.
Well, we're learning
more about the monster.
I still can't see what all
this has to do with the kids,
though.
What'd you find out, Ross?
The college chancellor
knew Randall very well.
Said he was a brilliant
and exceptional scholar.
Could quote freely from any
of the literature he taught.
In all other respects,
he was a solid citizen.
The least likely candidate
for the loony bin.
His only hobby was camping.
That's when he vanished,
after a weekend trip
with his eight-year-old
son, Glenn.
Neither one was ever seen again.
What does that tell us?
I don't know yet.
But this has to be a
major breakthrough.
If Julie's right, and all the
evidence indicates that she is,
then Professor
Randall's our only clue.
He has to be involved somehow.
Who else could have taught
the kids those lines?
The boy Glenn?
Glenn Randall.
Grendel.
Glenn Randall.
What's that suggest to you?
Get out!
Get out of here!
Get out!
Get out of here!
Out!
Cara!
All right.
How do we connect
a professor who
vanished 10 years
ago with a bunch
of kids who act like
cannibals and spout poetry?
What do we know
about his home life?
Did he have a happy marriage?
I mean, could he have been
despondent when he walked off
into the woods that last time?
The chancellor said the
marriage was a good one
by all outward appearances.
At any rate, Mrs. Randall
still lives in the area,
and she hasn't remarried.
You can check with
her in the morning.
What do we do in the meantime?
We go back to the
office and check the files.
We have to be
positive about this.
We can't afford to have
overlooked anything
or get trapped into
a wild goose chase.
If there's a possibility
other than Randall,
we better check it out.
I don't want to reopen old
wounds for Mrs. Randall
unless it's
absolutely necessary.
I have sinned.
We all have sinned.
We have committed
the sin of Jonah.
We have denied who
and what we are.
And like Jonah, we haven't
imperiled our community.
Only an act of faith
can save us now.
We must admit our
heritage and throw
ourselves upon the waters.
We must don our
armor once again,
even against those demons in
the shape of our children.
There can be no exceptions.
We must cleanse ourselves.
The wages of sin is death.
There's one positive
lead we can check on right now.
What's
That?
Ludwig's car.
I'm not finished
with Mr. Braun yet.
Let's do it.
But I don't want to.
Don't be such a baby.
Grendel says it's your job.
Mr. Braun?
Mr. Braun?
Looks like nobody's home.
Looks like.
Wonder why he left
the lights on.
Maybe he's coming right back.
Yeah.
Maybe.
Is there anywhere around
here they might have gone?
Neighbors, bar, or something?
No place near.
This areas all fields
and woods and marshes.
In town, they pull the
sidewalks in around 9 o'clock.
That was three hours ago.
Wherever he is, his
wife must be with him.
Is there any reason he
might go out in the field?
I can't imagine why.
Sheriff
Carr, this is Luke.
Do you copy?
I'll check out front.
OK.
Carr, this is Luke.
Do you copy?
Ross, you out there?
This is Carr.
What's going on, Luke?
I think we've
got a problem here, Sheriff.
How big a problem?
I think you
should get back to the office
right away.
OK, Luke.
10-8.
Just got a call from Luke.
There's some kind of
disturbance in town.
Something's wrong
here too, Ross.
I'm going to stay
and wait for Braun.
You come back and
get me when you can.
John, you sure
you'll be OK here?
Fine.
Now, get going.
Stay loose.
Remember you're
deputized now, buddy.
Hey, stop it.
Cut it out.
Stop it.
The outlander must die.
Kill.
Cut it out.
Glenn.
Glenn.
Glenn!
Glenn?
Glenn!
Glenn!
Oh.
Please, Mr. Braun, please.
Please.
What's going on here, everybody?
Come on.
You're acting like a bunch
of children out here.
Here's the sheriff, finally.
What's this all about?
The usual, except
someone's really
stirred them up this time.
If you were doing
your jobs, we wouldn't
have to do it ourselves.
Folks!
Folks, let me have
your attention, please.
Thanks.
We have an important
new lead tonight.
And we're following
up on it right now.
Try to be patient a
little while longer.
What new lead?
I can't tell
you right now.
You can't
tell us nothing.
You never answer nothing.
You don't catch nothing.
You're kind of an
all-around nothing.
You got no call to
do that, Luke Domain.
Remember who you are.
That was before, Mr. Modicah,
before my time and yours.
That don't matter now.
It matters.
It still matters.
You'll see, Luke.
Blood will tell.
What's he mean, Luke?
What blood?
Don't mean nothing, Sheriff.
That was before.
That don't mean nothing now.
You see?
He never answers nothing.
The only time he's
on the spot is
when that smart little
reporter gal comes around.
Where is she now?
How come Miss Hawthorne
isn't here now?
She ask too many questions
for nothing answers?
You get her
transferred, Sheriff?
I don't know where
Miss Hawthorne is.
But I'm sure she'll
turn up soon.
Him also, Lord.
He too is father
to Satan's spawn.
Sluts and consorts of Beelzebub.
Oh, star of the morning,
how thou has fallen.
All-- all agents of hell,
young whores of Beelzebub.
Mister, if you're calling
my little girls whores,
I'm going to cut your tongue
out with a linoleum knife.
Now, what do you know
about this Braun?
Make it quick.
Goblins.
Goblins and giants
who battle with God.
That angel-axon poetry again.
What the hell is going on
at your place anyway, Braun?
How come you left your house
open and the lights on?
I didn't do it.
They did it.
They did it.
Luke, keep them in line.
When the time comes,
you too will join
us in the sacrifice of Abraham.
Amy!
Amy!
Amy!
Amy!
Amy!
Grendel will pay you for this.
He will avenge his
queen, his Wealtheow.
Wealtheow was the
king's bride, Amy.
I am not Amy.
I am Wealtheow.
Grendel has stolen me
from the king's house,
and I am his alone.
Amy, it's me, your Uncle John.
Your mother and father
are heart-sick over you.
I have no mother,
and I have no father.
They did not come from me.
Grendel said they
would not come for me.
I have only Grendel.
Amy!
Your parents tried
to find you, but
this boy who thinks he's Grendel
hid you away deep in the woods.
They did not come.
He is Grendel.
I am Wealtheow.
We are demons, cast
out and cursed.
Damned exiles.
We are angry.
Angry and eager to kill.
Amy, stop.
That's enough.
Amy.
Uncle John, will
you touch me now?
What do you mean, Amy?
The way Grendel touched
mother when he tied her.
What?
I won't mind.
Grendel touched mother.
Why shouldn't you touch me?
My god, Amy.
Where's Cleo?
And where is Aunt Julie?
How could you not--
Uncle John!
You know, I've always liked you,
even when I was a little girl.
That's enough!
Now, stop it.
Where is my wife?
And Cara.
Is Cara--
Cara learns the exile
way, the magic song
of the outcast fiend.
Amy!
Come on.
Ross!
Wait!
Get back in the car.
John?
Ross!
Get in the car!
They're here, all over.
What?
No!
No!
Grendel's children
will die tonight
on the flesh of their enemies.
He was your father, Amy.
A good man who loved you.
I have no father.
Only Grendel.
Come on.
I've got to get
out of here, Amy.
Wealtheow!
And I'm taking you with me.
I've got to get you to the
town and show the people
what's happening here.
He will never let
you take me from him.
We'll see.
Stay there.
Come on.
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
You're going home, Amy.
And we'll get you de-programmed
or whatever they call it.
There's nothing for you there.
The dark death's shadow
holds you no hope.
Then we'll come back
here and you'll show us
where Grendel's camp is.
These people come in here,
telling us what to do.
Stay down.
Don't make a sound.
Mr. DeWolfe,
where's the sheriff?
Dead.
He's dead.
Luke, I need your help.
I know where the children are.
Something happened
out at the house.
Mrs. Carr, your wife,
and daughter are missing.
I found blood on the staircase.
We can find them, Luke.
For Christ's sake,
you've got to help me.
Come on.
These aren't kids.
They are demons.
Luke!
One of those who
would stand in our way.
What?
This man stands in the
face of heaven's will.
He would stay the
hand of Abraham.
Abraham?
What are you talking about?
But just as Abraham was called
upon to sacrifice his son,
so too are we called
upon to sacrifice,
to cleanse ourselves, to purge
our soul of the darkness.
Sacrifice?
Are you talking about
killing your own children?
Are you crazy?
There's no devil here.
It's just your children being
led by a boy who's been lost
in the mountains for 10 years.
Luke, tell them.
No!
Do not fear!
I know where he goes.
He shall not escape our net.
Come to my farm now.
The upper pasture!
Now you too are in
exile, cursed and outcast.
Shut up.
I'm going to save my
wife and daughter.
Where is the camp?
The wild land.
The lonely land.
The land of wolf places.
You must hurry, Uncle John.
The sun is ahead of you.
I will take you there gladly,
for you will never return.
And if you hurry, you may be on
time for the ceremony of dawn.
And you may even see
Cara consume my mother's
living spirit,.
What does that mean?
How could I tell you?
That would spoil the surprise.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bone.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bone.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to the pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Cleo.
I am Grendel!
We are the goblins.
Lunatic!
I have your queen.
Come and get her,
Grendel, if you dare.
This is Grendel's kill.
Where's my daughter?
I knew.
I knew all along.
But I waited for divine guidance
to deliver them into our hands.
You Bible-thumping moron.
These are children.
They need help.
There's no danger here anymore.
Put down those damn rifles
before someone gets hurt.
Oh God, give us the strength
to complete this purification.
Let us not falter
in this last hour.
If one child is harmed, one
child, I'll have all of you
up on accessory
to murder charges.
Count on that.
Grendel!
No!
Mama!
No!
to eat your old blood!
No!
No!
Grendel's going to swallow you.
Well, the tickle monster's
going to tickle you.
No, no, no.
Stop.
I'm hungry.
We'll catch us some fish then.
Get up.
--donkey-donk
there, here a donkey,
there a donkey, everywhere
a donkey, donkey.
Old MacDonald had
a farm, E-I-E-I-O.
Whew.
Woods are a-bloom.
The wide world awakens.
Happy the mansions,
the meadows most fair.
And where are ye
going, Glenn Randall, my son?
Where are ye going,
my handsome young man?
I've been to the
woods with father.
I've been to the
woods with father.
But make my bed soon, for I'm
sick at the heart and fain
would lie down.
What do they mean, Daddy?
The words.
The words are magic words.
They're beautiful words, Glenn.
They're like fossils in a rock.
They preserve the
hopes and dreams
of those who came before us.
We say their words
and sing their songs
so we don't forget them.
You understand?
Ah, you will someday
soon, I promise.
You want some more fish?
Soup?
No.
Marshmallow?
Yeah.
Yeah..
OK.
Where's your stick?
Put it on there.
So what do you think, tomorrow
night we cook fish again,
or we go to McDonald's?
We go to McDonald's.
I agree.
Where have you
gone, Glenn Randall?
Oh, now you've angered
the grim demon.
You've made him angry
and eager to kill.
Daddy, what happened?
Help me, Glenn.
Come here, son.
Everything's going
to be all right.
Come here.
Don't be afraid.
Don't be.
Everything going to be all
right if we just keep our heads.
Somebody will come
looking for us soon.
But you must do exactly as
I say-- exactly as I say.
Do you understand?
There's food and provisions
back at the campsite.
Do you remember
how to get there?
OK, go.
Three days.
Where are they?
Why don't they come?
Wild land, lonely land,
land of wolf places.
They're going to kill us.
They're leaving
us to die, Glenn.
Murderers!
God punishes the sin of
murder, banishes monsters
and trolls and goblins
from the fields of men.
Maggots eat my body,
sin eats my soul.
In the darkness, a
demon-- a demon grim.
Cursed, cast out, a
damned exile, angry.
Angry and eager to kill.
Daddy?
Glenn?
Oh, Glenn.
Do as I say.
You must do as I say.
Yes, Daddy.
A grim demon, cursed, cast out.
A savage demon.
No hope to halt the savage
assault. Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
God protect us from
goblins and ghosties
and long-legged
beasties, and things
that go bump in the night.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Are we there yet?
Not yet, sweetheart.
She started asking
that question when
we were still in the driveway.
I have to go potty, Mommy.
We'll be there soon, Cara.
It's number two.
Anybody with kids
ought to have a Portosan
built into the backseat.
Don't take your bad mood
out on the baby, John.
It's not her fault.
I know.
You forgive grumpy
old daddy-bear, honey?
Will you buy me a Barbie doll?
Barbie is not a doll.
Barbie is an addiction.
Do you know what
Barbie leads to?
Barbie hats, Barbie
dresses, Barbie houses.
Who knows, Barbie Kotex.
Once Barbie gets
you, you're gone.
She can't help wanting things.
She takes after her father.
Come on, Julie.
I'm just trying to
make an honest living.
Honest?
That's a laugh.
The column you used to
write for "The Times
Book Review," that was honest.
How could a man who had
the sensitivity and insight
to write beautifully about
new novels and modern poetry
write that trash
for trivial minds?
Books, mostly
paperbacks, with lurid
covers about flying saucers
and ghosts and witches?
John, how could you?
Listen, my books are
honest, and they seek
answers to honest questions.
Then why do they
need those covers?
Girls with cleavages,
front and back,
being pursued by all
manner of ghastly creature?
Garish colors and
cheap graphics.
I don't paint
the covers, Julie.
The publishers think
they help sell the books.
How oft the apparel
doth proclaim the man.
How oft the cover
proclaims the book.
You're a snob, Julie.
Lots of good writers
have their books packaged
in ways they don't
necessarily like,
but they still pick
up the royalty checks.
Money.
Always money.
You don't seem to mind
the creature comforts
that money provides
or the security
we can give Cara because of it.
The college simply
doesn't pay enough.
I like teaching English.
I like eating.
I like to go potty.
OK, honey.
We'll be at Uncle
Ross's any minute now.
Can I play with Mary Rose?
Sure can.
And Amy too?
Amy's gone away
for a while, honey.
Oh, John.
Poor Ross and Cleo.
Have they gotten over it yet?
It's not an easy
thing to forget.
Are you sure we should
be visiting them?
It's been three years now.
Ross thinks we can
help Cleo, kind
of coax her back into society.
She's been very withdrawn
since the incident.
Well, it looks like he
could use some help.
Are we there yet?
You don't need to stop for a
stranger with Cara in the car.
John!
Kid!
Kid!
Mommy, it hurts.
Stay in the car, sweetheart.
Don't get out.
Just stay in the car.
Mighty good of you, neighbor.
Mighty good.
You know, you don't see too many
good Samaritans around anymore,
not even here below the
buckle of the New Jersey
Bible Belt. Didn't
mean to frighten
your little one like that.
Ordinarily I'm very
good with children.
Always had a little space
in my heart for the tykes,
as you might say.
Well, then watch your own son
and keep him out of the road.
He might
have been killed.
Well, hold on, hold on.
Don't get your
bowels in an uproar.
Besides, it wasn't
any kid of mine
you seen running out there--
leastwise not that I know of.
You know, I'm a
salesman, you know.
I'm on the road all the time.
Franklin Ludwig's the
name, salvation's the game.
Say, you wouldn't happen
to have some spare water
for the radiator, would you?
I'm afraid I can't help
you there, Mr. Ludwig.
God damn it, then it'll
have to cool off by itself.
What a hunk of tin.
If there was a
hell for cars, it'd
be right comfortable there.
What are you selling
there, Mr. Ludwig?
Goddamn best little
book you ever saw.
Beebs Bibles-- the
word made cheap.
That's what they want out
here in the boondoggles,
cut-rate salvation.
Hell, these farmers can't
afford to patch up their asses.
But you mention the good news,
and they'll always manage
to cough up a couple of bucks.
The price is right.
How about it?
Sorry.
We're not really religious.
Well, I knew that soon
as you got out of the car.
Oh, by the way, if I was you, I
wouldn't go around volunteering
that information around here.
You know, New England wasn't
the only place where they burned
witches and other folks
whose viewpoints differed
from that of the local files.
Is that so?
Oh, hell yeah.
This place was teeming
with federal marshals
right after World
War I. Seems as
though a couple of the
locals took it into the minds
that some of the city slickers
were possessed by demons,
and they exorcised them
the best way they knew how.
What was that?
Put goddamn bullets through
their wiped out all families--
kids, dogs, cats, goldfish.
As the good book says,
they left not one to piss
against the wall.
Left not one to piss
against the wall?
The Bible says that?
Book of Kings, John.
You're right, ma'am.
Hey, I thought you said
you wasn't religious.
I'm not.
I teach English literature.
That includes the King James
translation of the Bible.
Your quotation
from King's refers
to the instruction
given to Hebrew warriors
before they attacked the enemy.
Right again, ma'am.
Here they take
that kind of stuff
literal like, standard operating
procedures for fighting
the enemies of Jehovah.
What was the name of the group?
Are any of them still around?
If you want to believe it,
their names were Brownies.
Not the little girls with
beanies on their heads.
Nah, this group was more
like the Ku Klux Klan,
except maybe not quite
so friendly or tolerant.
Their leader was a man
named Preacher Brown.
He and his family disappeared
when the marshals came
in to clean out their flock.
Nobody's heard or seen
of him since then.
Most of the people
around these parts
are descendants
of those brownies.
Personally I think
they've gone underground.
What makes you say that?
You'll see.
You're in the pine
barrens of New Jersey.
These people are mean
and suspicious folks.
Anybody beyond a second
or a third grade education
is called Doctor around here.
And then of course there are
the missing people, mostly kids.
Well, we know Sheriff Carr, and
we know about his daughter Amy.
Have there been others?
Oh, hell yeah, maybe 12
kids, four or five adults
over the last couple of years.
You close to the sheriff?
He kin?
-No.
Ross and I were in
the Marines together.
We keep in touch.
Your buddy's in a heap
of trouble, Mister.
I'll tell you, if his
daughter hadn't disappeared
too a couple of years
ago, they probably
would have strong him up.
They don't trust him, you know.
He was raised in the big city.
What the hell do you think
I talk like this for?
I'm an NYU graduate.
Thanks for the information,
Mr. Ludwig, and the advice.
Good luck with your sales.
Luck?
You don't need any god damn
luck with these yokels.
You just say it's the word
of God and open sesame.
Their flyblown pocketbooks
spread their cheek,
and the long green pops
out like pus from a pimple.
You're sure you're not
interested in one of these?
Makes for good protective power.
Those god damned heathens.
God damn it, I'm
beginning to spook myself.
Ross, you son of a bitch.
You haven't changed much.
It's good to see you.
Thanks for coming.
Julie, honey!
You're looking smart
and pretty as ever.
Hi, Ross.
And hello to you,
Princess Cara.
Did you come to play
with Mary Rose, huh?
Uh-huh.
And Amy too when she comes home.
Oh, Ross, I'm sorry.
Are you sure Cleo is really
up to having house guests?
Yeah, Dr. Fish was
just checking her out.
She-- she'll be fine.
Oh, Julie, honey, I'm sorry.
This is county medical
examiner, Dr. Robert T. Fish.
-Nice to meet you.
-John.
Nice to meet you.
-Dr. Fish.
Pleasure to meet
you, Mr. DeWolfe.
I'm a great fan of yours.
Although I have to
admit, I'm forced to rip
the covers off your paperbacks.
All those cleavages, you know.
Mrs. Fish doesn't approve.
Do tell.
Yes, I was very interested
in your last book--
the one about the couple
who claimed they were
kidnapped by a flying saucer.
"Unexpected Detour"?
They didn't claim they
were abducted, Doctor.
That information was revealed
under hypnotic regression
by a fully certified
psychiatrist.
I invite my readers to
draw their own conclusions.
Yes, but don't you
tend to lead them a bit?
I mean, your books
wouldn't sell nearly
as well as if they were
about some emotionally
disturbed couple.
And that picture
I had to rip off,
it did feature a rather
abundantly proportioned
young lady who was
having her clothes ripped
off by some sort of goblin.
And that title,
"Unexpected Detour,"
doesn't that infer
that they were
actually led off the highway
by some mysterious power?
Maybe they had a daughter
who needed a potty stop.
Speaking of which, we'd
better get the munchkin
here to the nearest facility.
With sirens and red lights.
This way, folks.
God damn piece of shit.
I don't get any water soon,
I'll never get home before 9:00.
Hey, Braun.
Braun!
Braun, wait a minute, will ya?
Braun!
Braun!
Come on, Braun.
How about a little
water for my car,
just a little water for
a poor parishioner who's
trying to spread
the world of God?
If you gentlemen would
just serve yourselves,
Julie and I will get the
children ready for bed.
Thanks.
Ross, what's going on?
Amy isn't the only child
who disappeared, John.
In the past three
years, our community
has lost 12 children, all
gone without a trace or clue.
Amy was the first.
We've lost some adults too,
but the kids-- the kids
seem to vanish in sequence,
one every two months.
Ludwig mentioned the
disappearing kids,
but he didn't say
anything about a pattern.
Ludwig, the salesman?
Where'd you run into him?
Out on the highway.
His car was having some trouble.
Don't you have any leads at all?
None.
It's one of the reasons you're
here, even though I should warn
you that Dr. Fish disapproves.
Good night, Mommy.
No fuss, young lady.
You and Mary Rose have
a busy day tomorrow.
I want you to go nighty-nights
as soon as possible.
Cross my heart, Mommy.
OK.
Good night, Aunt Julie.
Good night.
Good night, Aunt Cleo.
Good night.
No more chit-chat.
Good night, Mary Rose.
Good night, Cara.
We've tried everything, John.
Followed every lead,
exhausted every possibility.
Police and detective
methods just don't
seem to work in this case.
That's where you come in.
In one of your books--
damn, this is tough for me.
In one of your books, you
talked about a medium,
mind reader, something, who
helped police cracked cases.
I gotta know, is she for real?
Or did you pad your stories
to make it seem real?
Mind readers?
What are you talking
about, Ross Carr?
Your daughter is missing.
Why aren't you out
there looking for her?
What kind of a father
are you anyway?
Here's Freddie.
You scared me!
This is my friend, Freddie.
He's one of my dollies.
My daddy's gonna
buy me a Barbie.
Mommy says I'm not old
enough for a Barbie.
I wanted to play with Amy's,
but Mommy won't let me.
It's the woodies.
What?
The woodies,
things in the woods.
You know.
No such things.
Who says?
Mommy.
So does my mommy.
Mommies don't know much.
There are two woodies.
Are not.
Are too.
Are not.
I know, because Amy's a woodie.
Damn it, I shouldn't have
said anything in front of her.
It's bad enough as it is.
I gave her a shot.
She'll rest some now.
Actually, I have read all
of your books, Mr. DeWolfe,
especially since Ross mentioned
that he was considering
asking you down here.
I must admit, I find
your subject matter
provocative and intriguing.
But the problems in this case
are no longer academic for me.
My interests are more
than a mere guessing game.
That's why my questions
must be blunt.
Shoot.
How well did you
do your research?
And do you honestly
believe in what you write?
And is this mind
reader thing genuine?
You see, I have to be
convinced that there
are other possibilities
such as people being
kidnapped by flying saucers.
Sheriff Carr is my friend.
I know-- I know he's
a friend of yours.
That's why I must
know the truth.
If your books are phony, I
won't reveal it to the public.
Dr. Fish, I can assure--
I want my daughter
back, damn it.
I want her back.
Just received word, Sheriff.
Pete Gordon's eight-year-old,
gone like the rest.
Some of the boys
are out there now.
Any comment on the latest
disappearance, Sheriff?
I mean, do you
consider the number
13 to be unlucky or anything?
Should I just jot
down the usual?
No clues, no leads, no
hits, no runs, no errors?
Just 13 kids left on base,
except you don't even
know where the ballpark is.
Sheriff I think you and Mr.
DeWolfe better get on inside.
I'll handle this.
Mr. DeWolfe?
Not the Mr. DeWolfe, the
sheriff's famous friend?
John DeWolfe-- author,
lecturer, and get
this, folks, ghost hunter.
Isn't that right, Mr. DeWolfe?
You better step
aside, Miss Hawthorne.
We'll keep you and
the rest of the press
informed of our progress, Dale.
So far there hasn't been
a thimbleful of progress
to be informed about.
Excuse me.
John DeWolfe.
My, my.
Mr. DeWolfe.
Hello, Doctor.
Well, it isn't
everybody that gets
a welcoming committee
like that when
they come to work every day.
Morning, Bob.
Dr. Fish.
Luke.
Well, I'm still waiting for
those answers, Mr. DeWolfe.
Call me cynical,
but I don't think
you're going to add
anything of significance
to this investigation.
None of your methods have
done anything so far, Doctor.
Maybe it's time we started
thinking of this case
in different terms,
with new eyes.
In any event, it won't hurt.
The worst that can
happen is we'll
be right back where we are now.
Well, I can't argue
with you there,
except to say just
one thing-- we've got
to set a time limit on this.
Now, if we don't get any
results with your methods,
we're going to have to go
back to the sure and safe way.
Agreed.
Good.
Where do we start?
Says here's that this Isaac
Braun was interviewed again
by detectives two months
after his son's disappearance
and claimed to have seen
the boys subsequently.
The detectives couldn't get
him to explain what he meant,
though, so they dropped it.
That's because they
know Isaac Braun.
He's a crazy backwoods farmer
and a religious fanatic.
A brownie?
No.
There's no brownies
around here anymore.
Why told you about the brownies?
The salesman, Ludwig.
Outsiders are always fascinated
by stories about the brownies.
You sure they're gone?
Ludwig said they had
just gone underground.
Some of these sects
are pretty weird, Ross.
This-- this could
be your tie-in.
I doubt it, John.
There haven't been
any brownies around
here since before I was born.
Hell, I've lived
here all my life.
I mean, except for
school and Vietnam,
I've been here all that time.
You don't think I would
have heard something?
Not necessarily.
Consider your position and
these brownies' history.
Well, I wasn't the
sheriff when I was a kid,
and kids hear everything.
Don't forget that one, John.
That's a dead end.
Our friend Isaac Braun
is just your garden
variety religious nut.
He probably thought he saw his
son in some kind of a vision.
OK.
I'll file the brownies
away for a while.
Let's go talk to this Mr. Braun
and get us some salvation.
Morning, Mr. Braun.
Morning, Sheriff.
This is John DeWolfe.
Mr. DeWolfe.
Mr. Braun, in your last
interview with detectives,
you claimed you
saw your son again.
Did you see him or didn't you?
I'm through with
fooling with you, Braun.
Now, where did you see Jamie?
There.
Did you go to him
or did you call him?
No.
Why not.
Because that boy
was not my Jamie.
What do you mean?
You just said he was.
Goblins and giants
who battle with God.
Come again?
Goblins and giants
who battle with God.
What is that, a line from
the Bible or something?
No, not the good book.
Mr. Braun, I don't
know what's going on--
Sheriff, you got a warrant?
No, but I don't think that's--
Then get off
my land, or I'll--
Or what?
Or I'll call the police.
Ross, let's get back.
I'll talk to you later, Braun.
What was that up there?
Ross, does Braun strike
you as the hospitable type?
I mean, the sort who'd invite
in strangers off the road?
Are you kidding?
You saw the way he acted.
Besides, this whole
area is posted.
Take a look around.
Right, then
we're agreed he isn't
the kind of guy who'd
invite in a traveling
salesman off the road.
Not a chance.
What are you getting at, John?
Ross, when we get
back to town, I
think you'd better give
Ludwig's home office a call
and see if he's checked in.
What's the name of that outfit?
Beebs Bibles, the
word made cheap.
Why?
Because I saw Ludwig's
car behind the barn.
There's no mistaking that heap.
I can't believe
Braun would invite
Ludwig in for an overnight.
Those two would
make the Odd Couple
look like identical twins.
He's giving me weird
vibrations, Ross.
Yes, Pete?
I thought you just
wrote about that stuff.
Some of the people I've talked
to tell you that everybody has
is, a sort of a sixth sense.
Check it out for me, Ross.
It might not be anything,
but I don't know.
OK.
What did the sheriff want, Pa?
Same as always.
They just don't understand.
Well, I don't
understand either.
How could you see our Jamie
and not go to fetch him?
Ain't no words to
some things, Mother.
I'm scared, Pa.
That car by the barn and
that blood in the fields.
Something's very wrong here,
and you know what it is.
You've got to tell me.
The Lord works in
mysterious ways.
I'm waiting for divine guidance.
The Lord will tell us
in his own good time.
Jamie?
Is that you?
I get so worried.
Even though Ross put
that fence up after Amy,
I still get frightened
when she's out there.
You can't keep her
inside all day, Cleo.
Why are you Julie?
Why is John?
And all those terrible books--
flying saucers, ghosts,
witches.
What do they have to
do with my little girl?
Nothing, Cleo.
Nothing.
Ross only asked John down
here because-- because they're
old friends.
He thought maybe John
would think of something.
Oh, honey, the
books don't matter.
They're not real.
John only wrote those stories
to make extra money for us.
They're horrible.
They hurt people and
they frightened them.
Why does John want
to frighten people?
What kind of person is he?
Cara, honey, what's the matter?
Mommy's busy.
I have no one to play with me.
What do you mean, baby?
Where's Mary Rose?
She went away with the woodies.
Can I have a cookie?
We couldn't cover this
forest in 1,000 years,
not even with the
National Guard.
John, I can't wait any longer.
Can you get that mind
reader down here now?
John?
John?
Hm?
Are you really bringing
that psychic down here?
Mm-hmm.
How can you carry
this farce so far?
How can you turn this
tragedy into a circus?
I don't understand why Ross
believes that trash you write.
I've had enough, Julie.
I wrote the truth in my books
as best I could perceive it.
While you were
lecturing politely
on Anglo-Saxon literature,
I was scraping up
every bit of information
I could find, pro and con,
for my case studies.
Believe me, my master's
thesis wasn't as thorough.
I don't understand you, Julie.
You-- you teach poetry, and yet
you lack the faculty of wonder.
It's almost as if
you were afraid
that-- that the
real facts of life
would somehow threaten
the popular opinions
of Short Hills, New Jersey.
Grow up, John.
Please grow up.
Stop muddling in this
psychic nonsense.
You and Ross should
be out looking
for some kind of a pervert,
not a flying saucer or a ghost.
You're just a big kid who's
read too much science fiction,
and now you're pretending
that it's real.
For God's sakes, grow
up before it's too late.
Oh, my.
Yes.
Yes, indeed.
Anything, Mrs. Allegari?
Alice, dearie.
Just Alice.
You have to be patient
with these things.
Alice just got here
after a long trip, Ross.
She needs to be rested first.
John, I have to know.
You will, dearie.
You will.
But Johnny is right.
I'll do much better
after I catch a few Z's.
What?
Sleep, dearie.
A short snooze.
But can't you tell me anything?
I mean, any little--
Your little girl is
still alive, dearie, if that's
what you want to know.
Only she's changed somehow.
How?
I don't know yet.
Let me take the dollie to my
cabin, and I'll sleep on it.
Too bad it's not one
of those GI Joes, huh?
Don't worry, dearie.
I'll pick up the
vibrations, like a plant--
you know os-moozis.
That's osmosis, Mrs. Allegari.
Right, dearie.
Hold onto him, John.
He's a smart one.
Is the new calf gonna
be all right, Pa?
Fine.
I'll fetch you something
to eat right away.
Jamie?
Jamie?
Don't go outside, Mary.
Why not?
Mind me.
Jamie?
Jamie?
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside
the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
Afternoon, gentlemen.
I got that report on
Mr. Ludwig, Sheriff.
Good.
Let's have it.
Seems Ludwig was due to check
in with the folks at Beebs
Bibles yesterday, but they
haven't heard hide nor hare
from him.
Is it usual for Mr. Ludwig
to go AWOL from his company?
No, sir.
He's their best salesman
and regular like clockwork.
He hasn't miss a
check-in in 12 years.
There's something there, Ross.
I know there is-- some tie-in.
We have to be cautious, John.
We don't know that for sure.
Well, one thing's for certain.
We're going to pay our
friend Mr. Braun a visit.
But first, I want to get Mrs.
Allegari back in the office.
I have to know about Mary Rose.
Give her a call.
See if she's up yet.
Hello, Mabel?
This is Sheriff Carr.
Would you ring Mrs.
Allegari's cabin for me?
I think it's number 12.
Hello?
Thank you, dearie.
I had a very good rest.
15 minutes will be fine.
I'll be ready, dearie.
Bye-bye.
What are you trying
to tell me, dearie?
Dearie?
Where are you off to, dearie?
I want to talk to you.
Slow down.
I can't keep up with you.
Dearie?
Dearie, please.
Slow down.
Not so fast, dearie.
I can't keep up.
No more.
My legs ain't what they used to
be when I was a child your age.
You want to come
home with me, dearie?
Your mommy and daddy
miss you, Mary Rose.
Hello, dearies.
Are these your
friends, Mary Rose?
Hold it right there.
I don't want to hurt you.
Don't come any closer.
What do you want?
Why won't you speak?
Ow.
Come on, come on.
Put those things down.
Put those down.
Put them down.
Put those things down.
Go, go.
Ow, ow, ow!
Come on.
Put that down.
I'm a nice little lady.
Don't do that.
No, your mom and dad would
be very angry at you.
Oh, my baby.
Did you hear something?
No.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bone.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite--
What was that?
Nothing.
Try some.
It's good.
OK.
It was definitely
a woman screaming.
Wait.
Where are you going?
Oh, my god!
Doctor, I've seen a lot,
but nothing like this.
Go tell the sheriff we're
bringing the body out now.
And this woman was
just lying on the ground
with all this blood.
And then they started
this horrible chanting.
Oh, god.
It was so awful.
Chanting?
What do you mean?
You know, like reciting
something together.
What'd they say?
Hard to remember it all.
Something like, tear up, bite
her bones, swallow her blood.
No, not swallow.
It was more like-- like, gulp.
Gulp her blood.
Yeah, and gobble her flesh.
Oh, god.
I think I'm going
to be sick again.
- Can I go?
- Sure.
I mean to talk to you later.
Did you catch all that?
I think so.
I'll double check
with them when they're
feeling a little less queasy.
What do you make of it,
some kind of voodoo thing?
It's not like any voodoo
ritual I've ever heard of.
And believe me, in my business,
I've heard of a lot of them.
A whole group of kids chanting
and acting like savages.
Do you think my
kids are with them?
I don't know, Ross.
Alice said that Mary
Rose was somehow changed.
I liked her, John.
I believe she would
have helped us.
I'm sorry.
Me too.
Sheriff, the body's
coming out now.
Uh, I looked everywhere.
There's no sign of it.
What?
Mary Rose's doll.
Well, Mr. DeWolfe,
looks like the makings
for another bestseller here.
That lady was my
friend, Miss Hawthorne.
So who says bestsellers
can't be about friends,
especially mystical friends?
We don't need all this
hocus-pocus, Sheriff.
Damn it, our wives and
kids are getting scared
to walk the dog to the corner.
Come to think of it, I'd rather
let him go on the rug myself.
Stay calm, Josiah.
Sheriff Carr has
everything under control.
Before the next two
or three kids vanish,
I'm sure his author friend will
have discovered a spaceship
from Saturn that's
been playing the Pied
Piper for the past three years.
Isn't that right, Mr. DeWolfe?
That's your story,
Miss Hawthorne.
Why don't you put it in a
hopper and let it rotate?
And he's rude too.
How about that, folks?
When are you going to
do something, Sheriff?
Yeah, we voted you in.
We can vote you out.
You voted for him.
I didn't.
We don't care about
all this crap, Sheriff.
We want our families to be safe.
Whose kids are next, Sheriff?
Yeah!
And if you can't handle it,
we'll see to it ourselves.
How nice to incite a riot.
Ta-ta.
Sheriff, Mr. DeWolfe.
Oh, and remember, the
medium is the message.
Mr. Braun?
Mr. Braun?
Please, Mr. Braun.
I'll only take a few minutes.
I know the sheriff was out
here yesterday, Mr. Braun.
Why?
What did he hope to
find after a full year?
Mr. Braun?
Mr. Braun?
Mrs. Braun, hello!
Mrs. Braun?
Mrs. Braun?
Mrs. Braun?
Mrs. Braun?
Now.
We still have to drive
over to Braun's farm
and check on Ludwig's car.
John, what that young
couple heard, don't you
have any idea what it means?
No.
They kept repeating
four main words--
tear, bite, gulp, and gobble.
Like some kind of savage ritual.
Sounds like "Beowulf."
What?
Sounds like "Beowulf."
You remember, John--
the Anglo-Saxon epic.
Angle what?
Anglo-Saxon.
Anglo-Saxon was the language
that preceded English.
"Beowulf" was the
story of a Viking hero
who roamed the country
conquering monsters.
When John said gulp and
gobble, it reminded me
of Anglo-Saxon
alliteration-- successions
of the same initial sound.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Julie may have
something there, Ross.
What was it that
farmer Braun said?
Here.
Giants and goblins
who battle with God.
See?
That succession of G
sounds-- goblins, god, gulp,
gobble-- typical
Anglo-Saxon poetry.
But that doesn't make sense.
Why would children run
around eating people and then
quoting angel-axon poetry?
Where would they have hear it?
Anglo-Saxon.
And that sounds like "Beowulf."
I think you'll find
those lines in a story
about a monster named Grendel.
But why Grendel?
Grendel was a cannibal.
Let's get to the office.
Maybe the files.
I'll call Dr. Fish and have
him meet us over there.
Oh, Julie.
Lock the door afterwards.
And don't let in anyone
who speaks in alliteration.
I can't rest.
I can't sleep.
I just need
something to calm me.
Let me make you a cup of tea.
No, sit down.
Let me do it.
I told Cara to be quiet.
Now she's going to get it.
Here it is.
A college professor
named Randall
disappeared about 10 years ago.
What did he teach?
Medieval English,
Old English, and--
Yeah?
Anglo-Saxon.
Is Cara all right?
Julie?
Julie!
Cara!
Can I take two?
No.
You can only take one.
Why don't you take this one?
I want to take Marianne.
Cara!
Look Aunt Cleo, it's Mary Rose.
Get her!
A formidable monster,
there's Grendel.
It seems he felt
himself an outcast
of society, scorned, ridiculed.
So he took his revenge out
on the king and his soldiers.
Now, according to
this book-- here
it is-- he could carry off and
eat a dozen warriors at a time.
Some appetite.
Look at this.
He was also invulnerable.
You see how the swords and
spears are useless against him?
The hero, Beowulf,
literally had to pull
him apart with his bare hands.
And even with one arm
torn away, Grendel
still managed to crawl off into
the woods and die by himself.
-Aunt Cleo!
-Quiet.
You're coming with us.
I hope you're finding
something, gentlemen.
The librarian's having kittens
about having to come back here
in the middle of the night.
Well, we're learning
more about the monster.
I still can't see what all
this has to do with the kids,
though.
What'd you find out, Ross?
The college chancellor
knew Randall very well.
Said he was a brilliant
and exceptional scholar.
Could quote freely from any
of the literature he taught.
In all other respects,
he was a solid citizen.
The least likely candidate
for the loony bin.
His only hobby was camping.
That's when he vanished,
after a weekend trip
with his eight-year-old
son, Glenn.
Neither one was ever seen again.
What does that tell us?
I don't know yet.
But this has to be a
major breakthrough.
If Julie's right, and all the
evidence indicates that she is,
then Professor
Randall's our only clue.
He has to be involved somehow.
Who else could have taught
the kids those lines?
The boy Glenn?
Glenn Randall.
Grendel.
Glenn Randall.
What's that suggest to you?
Get out!
Get out of here!
Get out!
Get out of here!
Out!
Cara!
All right.
How do we connect
a professor who
vanished 10 years
ago with a bunch
of kids who act like
cannibals and spout poetry?
What do we know
about his home life?
Did he have a happy marriage?
I mean, could he have been
despondent when he walked off
into the woods that last time?
The chancellor said the
marriage was a good one
by all outward appearances.
At any rate, Mrs. Randall
still lives in the area,
and she hasn't remarried.
You can check with
her in the morning.
What do we do in the meantime?
We go back to the
office and check the files.
We have to be
positive about this.
We can't afford to have
overlooked anything
or get trapped into
a wild goose chase.
If there's a possibility
other than Randall,
we better check it out.
I don't want to reopen old
wounds for Mrs. Randall
unless it's
absolutely necessary.
I have sinned.
We all have sinned.
We have committed
the sin of Jonah.
We have denied who
and what we are.
And like Jonah, we haven't
imperiled our community.
Only an act of faith
can save us now.
We must admit our
heritage and throw
ourselves upon the waters.
We must don our
armor once again,
even against those demons in
the shape of our children.
There can be no exceptions.
We must cleanse ourselves.
The wages of sin is death.
There's one positive
lead we can check on right now.
What's
That?
Ludwig's car.
I'm not finished
with Mr. Braun yet.
Let's do it.
But I don't want to.
Don't be such a baby.
Grendel says it's your job.
Mr. Braun?
Mr. Braun?
Looks like nobody's home.
Looks like.
Wonder why he left
the lights on.
Maybe he's coming right back.
Yeah.
Maybe.
Is there anywhere around
here they might have gone?
Neighbors, bar, or something?
No place near.
This areas all fields
and woods and marshes.
In town, they pull the
sidewalks in around 9 o'clock.
That was three hours ago.
Wherever he is, his
wife must be with him.
Is there any reason he
might go out in the field?
I can't imagine why.
Sheriff
Carr, this is Luke.
Do you copy?
I'll check out front.
OK.
Carr, this is Luke.
Do you copy?
Ross, you out there?
This is Carr.
What's going on, Luke?
I think we've
got a problem here, Sheriff.
How big a problem?
I think you
should get back to the office
right away.
OK, Luke.
10-8.
Just got a call from Luke.
There's some kind of
disturbance in town.
Something's wrong
here too, Ross.
I'm going to stay
and wait for Braun.
You come back and
get me when you can.
John, you sure
you'll be OK here?
Fine.
Now, get going.
Stay loose.
Remember you're
deputized now, buddy.
Hey, stop it.
Cut it out.
Stop it.
The outlander must die.
Kill.
Cut it out.
Glenn.
Glenn.
Glenn!
Glenn?
Glenn!
Glenn!
Oh.
Please, Mr. Braun, please.
Please.
What's going on here, everybody?
Come on.
You're acting like a bunch
of children out here.
Here's the sheriff, finally.
What's this all about?
The usual, except
someone's really
stirred them up this time.
If you were doing
your jobs, we wouldn't
have to do it ourselves.
Folks!
Folks, let me have
your attention, please.
Thanks.
We have an important
new lead tonight.
And we're following
up on it right now.
Try to be patient a
little while longer.
What new lead?
I can't tell
you right now.
You can't
tell us nothing.
You never answer nothing.
You don't catch nothing.
You're kind of an
all-around nothing.
You got no call to
do that, Luke Domain.
Remember who you are.
That was before, Mr. Modicah,
before my time and yours.
That don't matter now.
It matters.
It still matters.
You'll see, Luke.
Blood will tell.
What's he mean, Luke?
What blood?
Don't mean nothing, Sheriff.
That was before.
That don't mean nothing now.
You see?
He never answers nothing.
The only time he's
on the spot is
when that smart little
reporter gal comes around.
Where is she now?
How come Miss Hawthorne
isn't here now?
She ask too many questions
for nothing answers?
You get her
transferred, Sheriff?
I don't know where
Miss Hawthorne is.
But I'm sure she'll
turn up soon.
Him also, Lord.
He too is father
to Satan's spawn.
Sluts and consorts of Beelzebub.
Oh, star of the morning,
how thou has fallen.
All-- all agents of hell,
young whores of Beelzebub.
Mister, if you're calling
my little girls whores,
I'm going to cut your tongue
out with a linoleum knife.
Now, what do you know
about this Braun?
Make it quick.
Goblins.
Goblins and giants
who battle with God.
That angel-axon poetry again.
What the hell is going on
at your place anyway, Braun?
How come you left your house
open and the lights on?
I didn't do it.
They did it.
They did it.
Luke, keep them in line.
When the time comes,
you too will join
us in the sacrifice of Abraham.
Amy!
Amy!
Amy!
Amy!
Amy!
Grendel will pay you for this.
He will avenge his
queen, his Wealtheow.
Wealtheow was the
king's bride, Amy.
I am not Amy.
I am Wealtheow.
Grendel has stolen me
from the king's house,
and I am his alone.
Amy, it's me, your Uncle John.
Your mother and father
are heart-sick over you.
I have no mother,
and I have no father.
They did not come from me.
Grendel said they
would not come for me.
I have only Grendel.
Amy!
Your parents tried
to find you, but
this boy who thinks he's Grendel
hid you away deep in the woods.
They did not come.
He is Grendel.
I am Wealtheow.
We are demons, cast
out and cursed.
Damned exiles.
We are angry.
Angry and eager to kill.
Amy, stop.
That's enough.
Amy.
Uncle John, will
you touch me now?
What do you mean, Amy?
The way Grendel touched
mother when he tied her.
What?
I won't mind.
Grendel touched mother.
Why shouldn't you touch me?
My god, Amy.
Where's Cleo?
And where is Aunt Julie?
How could you not--
Uncle John!
You know, I've always liked you,
even when I was a little girl.
That's enough!
Now, stop it.
Where is my wife?
And Cara.
Is Cara--
Cara learns the exile
way, the magic song
of the outcast fiend.
Amy!
Come on.
Ross!
Wait!
Get back in the car.
John?
Ross!
Get in the car!
They're here, all over.
What?
No!
No!
Grendel's children
will die tonight
on the flesh of their enemies.
He was your father, Amy.
A good man who loved you.
I have no father.
Only Grendel.
Come on.
I've got to get
out of here, Amy.
Wealtheow!
And I'm taking you with me.
I've got to get you to the
town and show the people
what's happening here.
He will never let
you take me from him.
We'll see.
Stay there.
Come on.
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
Grendel!
You're going home, Amy.
And we'll get you de-programmed
or whatever they call it.
There's nothing for you there.
The dark death's shadow
holds you no hope.
Then we'll come back
here and you'll show us
where Grendel's camp is.
These people come in here,
telling us what to do.
Stay down.
Don't make a sound.
Mr. DeWolfe,
where's the sheriff?
Dead.
He's dead.
Luke, I need your help.
I know where the children are.
Something happened
out at the house.
Mrs. Carr, your wife,
and daughter are missing.
I found blood on the staircase.
We can find them, Luke.
For Christ's sake,
you've got to help me.
Come on.
These aren't kids.
They are demons.
Luke!
One of those who
would stand in our way.
What?
This man stands in the
face of heaven's will.
He would stay the
hand of Abraham.
Abraham?
What are you talking about?
But just as Abraham was called
upon to sacrifice his son,
so too are we called
upon to sacrifice,
to cleanse ourselves, to purge
our soul of the darkness.
Sacrifice?
Are you talking about
killing your own children?
Are you crazy?
There's no devil here.
It's just your children being
led by a boy who's been lost
in the mountains for 10 years.
Luke, tell them.
No!
Do not fear!
I know where he goes.
He shall not escape our net.
Come to my farm now.
The upper pasture!
Now you too are in
exile, cursed and outcast.
Shut up.
I'm going to save my
wife and daughter.
Where is the camp?
The wild land.
The lonely land.
The land of wolf places.
You must hurry, Uncle John.
The sun is ahead of you.
I will take you there gladly,
for you will never return.
And if you hurry, you may be on
time for the ceremony of dawn.
And you may even see
Cara consume my mother's
living spirit,.
What does that mean?
How could I tell you?
That would spoil the surprise.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bone.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bone.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to the pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Tear it to pieces.
Bite through the bones.
Gulp the blood.
Gobble the flesh.
Cleo.
I am Grendel!
We are the goblins.
Lunatic!
I have your queen.
Come and get her,
Grendel, if you dare.
This is Grendel's kill.
Where's my daughter?
I knew.
I knew all along.
But I waited for divine guidance
to deliver them into our hands.
You Bible-thumping moron.
These are children.
They need help.
There's no danger here anymore.
Put down those damn rifles
before someone gets hurt.
Oh God, give us the strength
to complete this purification.
Let us not falter
in this last hour.
If one child is harmed, one
child, I'll have all of you
up on accessory
to murder charges.
Count on that.
Grendel!
No!
Mama!
No!