Communion (1989) - full transcript

COMMUNION

Someone is here.

Mm...

Darling...
Come.

Knock-knock.

She says... he says...

I like this. OK.

Really, because, you know, I like
a "knock-knock" joking.

You can do...

I can do "knock-knock" jokes.

Based on the true experiences
of one American family.



New York, 1985.

Download.

Get up!

I'm cookin', I'm cookin'...

I'm on the roll.

What's the matter with you?

Boom!

Where is dad?

I don't know, office maybe...

- Whitley!
- Oh, now I have you.

I got you! Got you, baby!

What's the problem, the computer or you?

Today it was everything, I tell you.
It was full scale revolution, total war.

Give me your jacket.



Terrible day.
What a day, what a day, what a schmear.

Hey hey, what's the matter?
Give me a kiss!

There is something wrong with you?

I had such a terrible day.

First the computer turns off,

then the wolf painting jumps off the wall.

It attacks me without provocation.

Then your mother calls, the toilet explodes.

The duck I'm cooking tries to tell me
how to live my life.

The computer completely erased itself
when it turned off.

No wonder that I can't write my great
American novel.

Does this mean you're too tired
to go to the country?

No, it doesn't mean that.

What did you lose?

I lost... you know, I lost another day,

what I lost was gold,
golden notions erased, smoked dreams,

phantoms...
What I crave is... you know

...consolation.

Oh, brother...

You know, it could be the computer
turned off for a reason.

Why would that be?

It could be...

I felt that the book I'm...

working on is no good.

What? Why you do that to yourself?

It was a rotten accident.

- Once the duck...
- We'll get to go down the fire escape?

Not again...
This one is bad.

- Give me something.
- Here, here.

- Just give me something.
- You're gonna need some water.

Give me... something to put on it.

I need to turn it off.

What the code is?
664... 6664...?

- It's 18-57
- Don't... don't... don't...! Please!

The year we were married.

Don't... The red light is on!
Oh no...

Remember what happened last time.

Oh God... will you get the door?

I'm sorry, we get...
we get the little...

- ...small catastrophe.
- Geez. Are you ok?

Honey...

What's the matter?

What isn't the matter,
will you look at this?

Open the window.

Give me that.

Get some air in here.

Could you save me? I married this.

Open the window over there, please!

- Put it over your face.
- Thank you.

Breath shallowly.

We are not going to the country,
right?

No, we're going to the country. No problem.
This is all part of the plan...

I know, the last time...

- That's it, heh?
- That's it.

Hi, Al.

- That's the fire?
- It's just food. Food.

The duck.

Really?

That worked to burn the duck.

891 Feetstreet...

- It shouldn't happen...
- ...23, repeat, is a 23.

- You've been warned before.
- I know. I'm sorry.

You'll receive your summons
in the mail.

- This stuff is so sensitive...
- 200 dollars.

No, stop!

New policy.

It just goes off, I don't know what happened...
Thank you.

- Back to the station!
- Thank you!

Let your wife cook.

Dad, turn this thing off!

Turn it off, Dad.

3-9-27-81,
I know what it is.

It's a geometric, not arithmetical.

- It's your birthday? You just repress it.
- It also does not work.

You've never had that alarm here before.

Ah, you see? You see?
Anne knows how to make it work.

Just read the instruction.

Dad...?

Dad?

Dad!

Dad!

- What's up?
- Spider!

What?!

Aaah!

Go on, kill it!

Kill it!

- Oh, that is a big one.
- Here it is, here it is.

Now it's in your pants!

Alex, do something!

Now it's on you!

Just a peaceful night in the country.

There it going to sleep now, with you.

Will sing to you.

If you leave the room and you come
right back in, usually it's gone.

I'm glad...

that this is not my room.

Have a nice night.

You know...

...it might not have been...
a spider I saw.

Say something dirty.

- Socks.
- Come on...

Say... say erect...
Can you say: erection?

I'll never say it!

What do you think he's doing?
Alex?

What do you mean
what I think he's doing?

I know what he's doing.

He's doing the old Romanian turn on,
he's saying:

I see ghosts of wolves.

I see ghosts of wolves that "huuum".
You know I see the dark beautiful forests...

And she's like this...
She's like this.

And at night there would be
only silence.

And I shall hear the wolves.

But there are no wolves here.

I wonder if there are ghosts.

The house is new.

No, I mean the ghosts of the wolves.

The ones that have been killed.

Stop it.

No, quiet, quiet...

So, you wanna fool around?

- You look good.
- Thanks.

It's been an ice age,
I've missed you...

...you old ball and chain.

Is that someone there?

Hey, hey, wow...

What's the matter, boss?
What's the matter?

- There was something here!
- Shake it up, come on.

Something very bad!

Wow, it was the nightmare.
What are you talking about?

No, no dad.

- It was the nightmare.
- They had me, dad.

Nightmares do that.
You know, sometimes, I mean...

If it didn't do that, that wouldn't be
a nightmare... You know what I mean?

Daddies... daddies get the boys back, right?

Yeah...

Do you know any songs?

Do you know any Indian hunting songs?

Do you know the old buffalo hunting song?

...and cocktails for two.

That's a good boy.
Go to sleep.

He was yelling, you didn't hear him,
he was yelling.

- You were yelling? Where was I?
- He had some bad dream, I tell you.

I had a bad dream too.

I was so sound asleep...
I... I was asleep.

You were out. Like a log.

He said something was after him, some spider, huh?
Like a spider from last night?

It was real, dad.

Worst dream you ever had.

It wasn't a dream.

I'm not surprised about you, Whit.

You ate your way through this...
table last night.

I didn't think he could get up the stairs.

That's a good thing it was nothing.
No wonder...

I pay fortune for this equipment.
Some animal must have set it off.

How did you sleep?

Well...

We saw lots of lights last night.

Whitley has that machine finely tuned.

A mosquito could set it off.

No, really there were lots of lights,
it was very hard to sleep.

A chipmunk couldn't set that thing off.

It's been the light from the bathroom.

No, it was light there came in
from outside.

I can't believe you didn't see it,
it was like day.

I thought there was a fire outside,
in fact.

I came downstairs, you know...
there was light... it was this light.

But then... it must...

The flood lights went on, I don't know...
it was the moon maybe.

We were all dreaming,
you know, and the moon...

we all got involved in the same dream.

It wasn't the moon.

So it was a dream.

This whole place was flooded
with light from above.

It wasn't a dream.

So it was the moon.

No, it wasn't the moon.

And it wasn't a dream.
I'm telling you what we saw.

Well...

So, why don't you have your usual huge
portion of... banana cakes?

Aromatic compounds...

- Don't do this to me.
- Aromatic compounds of perfumes.

- No, no, no!
- 1,2,3,4,5,6.

OK. I want to go home.

I'm sorry, I'm not angry.
I can't explain.

Whitley, I want you to take us back today.

Come on, Alex.
Give me a break.

I know I did not see the moon.

I want to go home.

Alex, what's the four letter word,
for an odour...

Take us home, Whitley!

Please, forgive me.

It's cool.

Would you... clean up, then we'll go.

We had a really rough night.

- Are you kidding?
- What's going on?

I don't know why we're doing this.
Why...

It's crazy. You know.

Thank you for taking us home.

It's fine.

We could have taken the bus, Whitley.
Really.

There is no bus.

There is not even a bus station.

This is gonna be so terrible.

Another day down the toilet.

What are you doing, Whitley?

Is your video on?

Are you wasting time again, you devil?

Anybody seen Andy?

What's going on?

Had a good time?

It was okay.

Did someone say something to you?

No.

Get you into a fight?

No.

Is that Andy in there?

Oh yeah.

Thought I was talking to a pirate.

Everyone like your teeth?

I don't like the space ship anymore.

It's ugly.

There were wolves in the closet, wolves
in the basement, wolves all over the place.

They work in advertising, they sell
junk food and beer.

They eat gigantic hamburgers,
and they drink cold beers,

for the baseball games on the TV,
and the bags of the potato chips,

which are big enough to feed a horse.

They have a lot of fun.

There go the baseball games.
They have a hack of

Get dressed!

I don't feel like it, go with someone else.

I'm old. I'll probably get hurt.

Come on, come on! We've got ten minutes
to be over at Greenberg's. Andy's waiting.

Crack the whip.
Drive the slaves off to another cocktail party.

Make them babble about Glasnost.
I've lost another day here.

He needs you.
He's over sensitive today.

He's in a funny mood.

What's the matter?

I don't know. He...

He overreacted this morning at school.
He won't talk to me, I'm a girl.

Here, put this on...

take this off...

You're going as an elephant.
You promised him.

Is this the front...?

-... or the rear?
- I don't know.

Will you put your grey turtleneck on.
Elephants are grey.

- Put your pants on, come on, let's go.
- It's me!

Come on.

OK, OK, it's just about that time.

The queen is speaking...

OK! Remember! Only treats, no tricks.

Yeah!

Get your bags to the door!
God help the rest of the building.

Come on, Dad. You can come with me.

- Bye bye!
- Bye!

Don't let anybody step on you.

- Thanks a lot, Jake. Sorry about the mess.
- You're welcome.

You can take off the nose.

What's the matter, you don't like my nose?
How come I can't have any fun?

The other dads have noses.

- Put this on ice.
- OK.

You can use this, it's clean.

Take care, guys...

- See you later.
- All right.

Come on! Let's go to work!

- You're sure you've not blown this?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bye guys, see you later!

Don't be afraid.
I'm starting to get scared.

I'm starting to get scared now...

Which way in there?

I think we're expected to go down there.

Zoom...

Trick or treat...?

Get away!

What... what you... what you...!

Stay away from me!

No more!

- Are you crazy?
- What's going on?

What's that suppose to mean?

It's the Halloween show.

What's the matter with you?
A grown man getting hysterical

over a thirteen year old
girl in a Halloween costume.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

Please, leave us alone.

Am I in the dog house or what?

Andy, say good night to a father.

I'm gonna put our son to bed
and then we're going to talk.

- Oh, wonderful.
- No, it won't be wonderful.

But it's needed.

That guy went crazy.

Not my fault.

Here we go.

How old are you?

I overreacted.

What's going on Whitley?
What's happening?

- What's happen to you...
- I got scared.

What do you take me for?

What do you think,
I don't know what you do?

You're having problems with your writing?

So fine,
you terrified our son tonight.

I scared myself too.

You were frightened
by a Halloween mask.

Mhm. Yes.

A Halloween mask frightened you.

Is there an echo?

Yes.

What am I supposed to say to that?
What am I...

I don't know.

Why would you be frightened
of a rubber mask?

It's like I'd seen it.

Alive... real.

Whitley don't do this to me.

Peng, zoom.

I've got one child.
I don't need another.

You're right.

You don't say anything more about it,
I won't.

This time something was here.
I'm sure.

We're alone.

- What you're doing?
- Same old thing.

Been working?

I got no ideas.

God, but this place is a mess.
How could you work here.

- I will clean it.
- Leave it that way. I like it that way.

I like my work place... crossed.

I told you, don't touch my stuff!

You know, you used to be funny.

I used to get employed.

I used to be able to write.

I used to be able to do a lot of things.

Oh my God.

Whit, what are you doing?

Hm?

I used to be fine.

I used to be able to focus.

I... I can't do anything.

It's like I can't see anything
but the inside of my own head.

You're not gonna... do anything?

Anything I can do?

Welcome to the Saint Mark's Church School
second grade rumble.

Dance, dance, wherever you may be

For I am the Lord of the Dance said he

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be

And I'll lead you all in the Dance said He.

Dance, dance, wherever you may be

For I am the Lord of the Dance said he

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be

And I'll lead you all in the Dance said He.

Andrew, that was wonderful.

- Thanks a lot, guy.
- That was really wonderful.

That's why I call dishing out
some Christmas spirit.

Why are we sad?

Andy, what a thing to say.

We are.

We just had a great time.

But... dad's sad.

I'm having a tough time, you know,
with my writing...

I wanna have fun.
Santa's coming in just a few days?

That's right, Santa is coming and,
you know, it's gonna be great.

Not too fast!
Don't try to do...

- All right?
- Yeah, I think so.

I asked Santa for professional model,
he sure gave me a professional model all right.

Santa knows.

I think Santa knows just
about everything, don't you, dad?

Place one on a tower.

- Put one post on...
- Don't lose it, dad.

Slide cargo mover...

all the way toward...

Who writes this?

Take off your clothes.

Let's go on to another room and do it.

You know, I think I got
a new dad for Christmas.

I'm the same old, you know,
doodad.

I mean like you were
before you got sad.

Pretty great Christmas, Santa.

You did everything.

You bought the bike.

Yes, Santa.
You bought the bike.

Is that someone there?

Hey, honey.

Was there an owl in here last night?

- An owl?
- I thought I saw an owl...

Where?

Coming the window.

They were closed.

It'd still be here,
I guess.

Aren't you cold?

Must have been a dream.

Heck of a dream.

Let me tell you some one more thing
about grizzly bears...

That not only do they get as big
as Volkswagens...

but they also...

...they can run 30 miles an hour.

And they get also chase you up a tree.

The tracks end.

There's a big foot...

- Look at that.
- What?

I don't feel good.

What?

- Come on dad, let's go.
- I just don't... I don't feel good.

- Dad, let's go!
- My head hurts... behind.

Daddy you're OK. Now let's go.

What's the matter?

You've got a little mark there, a little...

Dad, let's go.

Bite or something. Spider bite.

Daddy, come on...

- Does it hurt when I press it?
- Yes!

Oh, I'm sorry.

- You're all right?
- Dad...

Go here...

I'll go home.

Hey, wait for... wait a second.

A cloud passed over the moon.

What cloud?

There's no cloud. It's a clear night.
What are you talking about?

Nobody gets scared when
a cloud passes over the moon.

What's the matter with you?

Are you through?

You're scared?
You really are?

I'm not scared.

What are you?

Well, I'll check out the house,
something's wrong...

Oh, you're gonna check out the house?
Why don't you stay right here.

- Why it got dark like that?
- Put your butt over here in bed.

What's the matter with you?

Nobody is scared of a cloud that
passed over the moon. There was a cloud.

It's a clear night.
What are you talking about, what cloud?

There is no cloud,
what are you talking about!

What cloud!

- Who gets scared if a cloud passes over the moon?
- Why it got dark like that?!

- Nobody...
- I'm so sick of this.

- Shit.
- You're indulging yourself in some weird dream.

- What do you mean?
- You're scared of shadows.

- Don't look a mean like that!
- Cut it out, Whitley!

- I mean it, this isn't funny anymore.
- You are wrong!

- You got a child downstairs!
- You wanna see...

Cut it out, Whit!
You come back to me!

I'm so tired of this!
What is wrong with you?!

Nobody gets scared like that!

I'm a right woman, I'm a good woman,
and you have a beautiful child downstairs,

you have a good life.

What the hell do you think you're doing?
So stupid, fucking bunch of bullshit.

- Go to hell.
- You're so self-indulgent.

What's going on out here?

- What are you shooting at, dad?
- Come on.

I... I think that I'll call Sam Freeman
in the morning.

I didn't know it was you.
That's all.

I didn't know.

What about this, here?

- Is this where you had the injury?
- Yeah.

It's a little red.

Two days ago. Hurt so bad I thought
my head was gonna split.

It's fine now.

You can dress.

It seems to me they
came into the house and they...

they dragged me out
in the middle of the night.

The other thing.

The rectal thing, right.
The other thing.

The rectal thing, right.

It happens, you know.

Even to men.

I've been goin' on the notion that
it was some kind of hallucination, you know.

Nightmare.

I speak of it, you know.
I gotta say it feels... real.

I agree.

It seems like something really
happened to you.

They had big eyes.

Fish.

Were they wearing dark glasses?

No, eyes. Big dark eyes.

Like a...

No, more like an insect.

Long face, thin...

Not human.

I don't recall them being human.

So, what's it all about?

Midlife... crisis?

No, I don't think it's a midlife crisis.

Were these grown men?

Were they kids?

Four or five feet, like...

big... thick kids.

They took me.

Out of my own house.

Where did they take you?

I was in this...
you know, smelly small...

round room, and they're all looking at me.

Is that where it happened?

Well, that's a blank, mostly.

There was this needle, you know.

They stuck me
on the back of the head. With the needle.

That's the mark that
I've tried to show you.

And there is a mark there.

You told Anne about all this?

What am I suppose to tell her?

What's to say,
I have to know what happened to me...

before I could say something.
I can't say I'm...

I'm losing my marble suddenly
out of the clear blue sky...

There is no reason for this.

I think the psychiatrist could help you.

- Hi.
- Hello.

Where have you been?

I took a walk.

What did Sam say?

Sam's fine, he sends his love.

- Want some of this?
- No, thank you.

He's... he's sending me to a shrinker.

Good.

It's a woman who specializes in...
would you believe, rape cases.

- You want something to drink?
- No.

- Rape cases?
- Remember that mark I have in there?

Yeah.

Well, I feel certain that
I was given a shot.

You were... a...

When you... a... I...

Wait a minute. Hold it.

Sam gave you a shot.

No.

That night, after Christmas.

The night that I...
OK, here goes.

When I saw them.

When you saw who?

Someone came for me that night.

Who came for you?

Somebody came into the house.

Wait a minute, what did you say?

Somebody came into the house
and took me, and...

and...

they gave me a shot
in the back of my skull...

and...

This is ridiculous... they were...

small, bluish skin and...

...there were others.

Long thin faces and big eyes...

and...

this is the tough part...

they did not appear to be...

human.

I'm sorry. What?

Sam... you know, he...

I don't know what he thinks...

but I think I'm hallucinating.

Major, maybe psychotic... hallucinations.

So, that's it...

what I...

have been trying to say...

in a nutshell.

You know what?
You do this regularly to me. You...

If it isn't the crystal in the sky,
then you're flying around the room.

But, this is...

This is such bad material.
That uh...

Little people...

with big eyes.

Some of them are blue.

It's magazine writing.

So who's been uh...

working on your stuff?

You're taking drugs?

Come on.

So, what is it?
A girl?

Hm?

You've come to a certain age,
and blah blah blah?

Cause you know what I think?

I think you're lying to my face.

You guys went out and left me
a little while ago...

We just went out for a second.

We just had to get some air.

You were having an argument
and you forgot me.

I would never forget you.

That sure is good news.

And now, you jelly bean,
go to sleep.

Mommy, is God real?

I think so.

I hope so.

But nobody knows for sure?

No.

Actually they don't. Nobody knows.

So we're all alone,
except for the little blue doctors?

Who are the little blue doctors?

They come to the cabin.
They have big black eyes.

They're really scary.

They said "We won't hurt you",
but I'd pray for them to go away.

But they just kept shining their lights on me.
God didn't make them go away.

Can I dream dad's dreams?

- I'm Janet Duffy.
- Hi, Anne Strieber.

Hello.

Whitley.

Yes.

Sit down.

Sam and I've already talked.

You're comfortable being here together?

Sure.

Yes.

Good.
A healthy sign.

So...

So, Sam told you that I'm seeing
a small people coming into my house...

and taking me away, and this kind of thing...
and...

- Do you drink?
- Yeah, sure. But that's not it.

Drugs?

When I was a kid, you know,
the usual thing, but that's...

I'm way too old for that.

Hallucinations? Flights of imagination?

Just the occasional delusion of grandeur.

Tell me what happened to you?

What can I say? These little blue midgets
come into my house.

They... it's ridiculous...

They took me out of the house,
and they stuck a needle in my head, and...

I had some kind of rectal probe.

This happened when?

Day after Christmas.

Right? It was on 26th.

Any disturbances at all prior to this?

No!

He does worry about prowlers.

Place is isolated.

But there haven't been any actual prowlers?

No. Sounds and thing like that,
you know, nothing that you could...

No. Nothing that you could identify.

There was one weekend in October.

We had friends up, Alex and Sara.

They saw something that scared them
so much, that they left.

They saw lights. You saw them too.

There was light all over the place.

They got so scared,
that they left the next day. And...

But I... I have all this
very sensitive equipment.

Lights and...

burglar on top of things...

So you discussed it, you investigated?

We didn't... investigate?
There was nothing to investigate.

So what scared them? What happened?

I'm talking about it and I have no idea.

I have no idea. I have no idea why I'm here,
I don't know what I'm doing.

You know, talking about this.

I saw something... they saw something...

There was a lot of light.

That's all I remember.

It seems to me, that the overall vagueness
of your memory suggests

that we might clarify them
a little bit by hypnosis.

Would you be agreeable to that?

Hypnosis?

It's a simple process.

It's sometimes very helpful in cases
of psychological trauma,

when people have difficulty remembering
what happened to them.

Well, you think about that, and...

If you decide to do it
you can give me a call.

Thank you.

I'd stick pins in my eyeballs before I'd let
that...

that wacko woman fool with me.

This woman is a pro.

Sam sent you to her,
her evidence is accepted in court.

Did you listen to her?

What do you mean I did listen to her?

Why should I pay someone to talk to me?

Because you fired God damned gun
at me last week!

I'm all right with seeing her!

She should pay me!
I'm all right with seeing her!

She should pay me!

Selfish prick.
Sit up and talk to me!

I'd rather be dead.

I'm gonna tell you something:

You gonna go back in that woman's office,
we gonna find out what's wrong with you...

or we're not gonna have any marriage left.

I'm sitting up! I'm sitting.

My shoes hurt.

I'm sitting. So, you know, lighten up.

Crazy women...

So, what do I do?

What should I do?
Where would you like me to go?

It's best he'd be alone
his first time.

Alright.

So?

It's not exactly the electric chair.

Listen to me Whitley.
Look up at my finger.

That's it. Keep looking at my finger.

I'm going to count to ten,
as you're falling asleep.

And when I'm finished, you'll be
deeply, deeply asleep.

One... falling asleep,

two... falling asleep,

thee... falling asleep,

four... falling asleep,

five... falling asleep,

Whitley?

Whitley, let's go back to that first time,
the night of October 4th.

Last October 4th

What do you see?

October 4th...

Busy day. Writing, cooking,
mess in the kitchen and...

Alex and Sara came. Going to the country.

Yes?

So we're in a car, we're talking, and there's
a lot of traffic, and it's getting dark...

We get up there and I can't get
the security system to work. It's...

just every time I touch it, it goes crazy.

Anne fixes it, we go in the house...

build a fire.
First fire in the season.

And we went to bed.

What happens after you go to bed?

I wake up, middle of the night.

That's...
I don't... I don't...

Something went past my window.

- Something went past the window?
- A light.

Big, like a light.

But...

I don't want to think about that, so...

I go back to sleep.

Is that someone there?

You know...

I see you.

I'm seeing some...

I'm seeing someone there...

I don't think I like this.

- It's going fine.
- Get out!

It's going fine...

Away!

Get away!
Out! Get out!

Get away!

Why me? What have I done?

This is no god. I can't do this.

Whitley, tell me what you see.

It's almost as if this figure is...

It's covered in something,
it's sticking something into my mind.

Images exploding...

The world is blowing up...

My boy is dead.

Why I have to die, dad?
Why?

I'm not hypnotized now?
Am I?

I think you just came out of it.

I can't do this.

What did I see?

I don't know.

I want to go home now.
I can't do this.

I don't need this. Bad dreams.

Whitley?

It was a bad state.

But it's over.

It'll never be over, not now.

Whatever happened is in the past,
and you're fine.

You don't know, you said it.

That's true, but it's all right.

Whitley...

Let him go, let him work this out.

Excuse me, I'm lost.

Can you help me? Do you know if this
bus goes to the end of the line?

You know...

I can't believe this.

It's an ambush.

You, people... you're in...

I'm telling, you're in for one big surprise.
One very big surprise.

- You want anything else, Whit?
- No, thank you.

- They're all looking for you.
- How did you know?

Anne said to look here.

Women know everything.

Let's go home.

They tell you what happened?

A little.

When the doctor hypnotized me, I was
supposed recall prowlers, or something...

but in fact I recall something else...
I sure do.

What?

Little blue fuckers,
about that big.

When I was a boy we knew of these things.

In the mountains
there were many mines.

Strange men were seen.

Little and tough.

They were called gobbles.

The people of the lower depth.

Gobbles?

You're talking about munchkins?

You're talking about trolls?

You're talking about... leprechauns?

What are you talking about?

Whitley, the little men are evil.

They have haunted the world forever.

You're talking about folk... stuff.

I don't know...

Trolls, or something.

I'm talking about something else.

We're back! I found him!

- How are you feeling?
- Good.

I'm sorry that I got so crazy.

Oh, don't worry about it.

- I've been thinking...
- Any calls?

No.

Whitley...

There is a group, that meets that...

you might want to join?

Group?

People who've seen the same
sort of things you have.

No, I don't think so.

Whitley, they are real.

I have a dozen patients who've all
reported seeing the same beings you saw.

No!

All right.

There is one illness,
temporal lobe epilepsy.

It might cause such vivid hallucinations.

Yes, but we all saw the light.
Do we all have epilepsy?

Even I heard some strange noises.

There is a test that you can take
to determine whether you have the disease.

Oh, this is going to be just
a little bit unpleasant.

There's sticking... it sticking...

Don't move.
Stay very still now.

Don't talk.

How long does this take?

Not long, not long.

About 45 minutes.

I would like you to do
some deep breathing exercises for me.

OK, breath in deeply through your mouth.

Close your eyes.

Open your eyes.

Now, that medication I gave you earlier
is gonna make you take a little nap.

What is it, Whit?

Good news!

The test came back negative.

You do not have temporal lobe epilepsy.

Hi, dad.

Dad, I waited and waited for you
to come home.

Help me get to sleep, daddy?

I'm having a very hard time
without you.

Without a sound the white camellia fell,

To sound the darkness of the deep stone well.

That's a lot of pictures for a few words.

Yeah.

It's a kind of a poem called "Haiku".

Dad, I have a very bad problem.

- What's that?
- There's a skull staring at me.

With huge eyes.
I can see it in my head.

Do you have a bad dream?

No.

I saw little blue doctors, dad.

And tall thin ones too.

With big eyes.

Were they real, dad?

I don't know.

What do you think they are?

I don't know. They kind of scare me.

Kind of?

Not totally, they're ugly and...

that's scary, but...

inside...

they are sort of soft and perfect.

Like that poem.

Ten... falling asleep.

Deeply, deeply asleep.

Anne, let's go back in time.

Do you remember Christmas?

All right, let's go back further.

Go back to the night,
that Alex and Sara came to the house.

Do you remember that night?

Well, it wasn't a very peaceful night.

Go on.

The house was full.

It was like a party.

A party?

I don't think Whitley was there
right much of the time.

What about your son.

God!

Oh God, he's screaming.

It's painful to hear.

Oh, it's like something's
happening to him. It's...

Whitley is going, I wanna go.

I've got to go.

You are not suppose to go.

I've got to go!

You are suppose to stay in bed.

I've got to go, my baby is screaming!

Anne, who is talking to you?

I can't say! I'm not suppose to say, I don't know!
I'm not supposed to do this!

Why? What's preventing you?

I'm out of it... I'm out of it, right?
I'm out of it.

Yes, quite suddenly.

I don't know...
there was somebody, there was something...

There was somebody else...

He calls them "little doctors".

I don't like this.

He seems so little.

What should we do?

Should he be hypnotized,
we send him to Janet?

No, he is too young.

I'll go back myself,
see what this is.

Whitley, let's go back now to the night
of December 26th, the day after Christmas.

What are you having for supper?

Goose... and a cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes,
Christmas leftovers.

Now, go forward to later that night.

Go forward.

What happens?

I'm checking out the house.

Why?

In case there might be somebody there...

...hiding.

Who?

Those things people.

- Did you know about those people then?
- Sure.

Did you tell anyone?

Well, I wasn't supposed to.

I have a gun.

Why do you have a gun?

I have that...

the feeling... that

there might...

...be somebody there, hiding.

In the house.

I'm going to take you further forward
in that night.

You relax, deep sleep.

You're going to remain calm.

What happens?

I am you. You are me,
and...

we are here.

I am the dreamer, you are the dream.

Is that someone there?

Wow!

Wait a minute.

What are you doing?

Please, let me go.

Awful, terrible.

- What's terrible?
- What they did to me.

I had enough, I give up.
I wanna go home.

Be smart.

Are you old?

Please, let me go.

I can't wake up.

Here I am! I'm naked.

I'm naked!
I'm talking to you like you were real.

Go to hell.

Terrible.

Can we talk this over?

It looks like we're
gonna sing White Christmas.

You're probing my mind.

I'll kill you.

How dare you.

I'll kill you.

You've broken my mind.

I can't get out of this.

Mom.

Come on in here!

Oh, he wants a...
he wants his mommy.

Mommy!

I can't get out of this!

One... waking up.

Two... waking up.

I'm seeing things from my whole life.

What is it, Whit?

Wow...

Three... you're awake.

It's been...

Thank you.

Now I know, this thing has been
in my life... my whole life.

I passed it on.

Now it's with my son.

I've seen them before.

In your childhood apparently.

No, no, no. Like I'm seeing you,
like I'm seeing this.

Like I'm seeing everything...
seeing room.

You say, that...

there is a group.

Yes, a special group.

I don't want to be crazy.

I'd like to introduce Anne and Whitley.

Whitley's had some very vivid experiences.

He's a writer...

I'm not sure, I'm comfortable
with the writer being here, Janet.

Yeah, the force will kick me off
if this got out.

Do the rest of you feel threatened
by his profession?

Let's face it, the newspapers laugh of us.
We're more like entertainment.

Not that kind of writer.
I'm make it up. I'm a novelist.

So, what you're gonna write about us?

A comic novel?

Wait a minute,

Whitley isn't here because he is a writer.

He's here for the same reasons you are.

Why don't you tell us something
of what you can remember?

What I remember?

It couldn't be what happened, that
what happened, I don't know, I remember...

monsters.

They came into my house.

The short stocky ones in the coveralls
or the slim willowy ones with the big eyes.

Beg your pardon?

What?

Who was involved with you?

What do you mean?

Oh come on, let's cut the crap.

Which group of the aliens abducted you?

Bob, we are not victims,
we are participants.

Well, I don't know' about you folks,
but I am very definitely a victim.

I didn't want what happened to me.
I didn't ask for this.

Wait a minute. Give the guy chance.
So come on, Whitley,

which group abducted you?

- Did you see a ship?
- Ship?

A Ship.

This happened in the house,
in the country.

Oh, do you have circle or a triangle scar
anywhere in your body?

No.

Because a lot of us have marks. You know,
I want to get back to this participant thing...

I didn't want what they did to me.
I didn't want a rectal probe, Laurie.

It's not funny.
That's why I say victim.

Nobody wants it, nobody asked for it.

We have to make this experience work for us.

Otherwise we'll live the rest
of our lives in fear.

So we get together.

- And we talk about it.
- And laugh.

Sometimes.

Well, we're all space cadets here.
So what the heck.

You have to make the best of it.
You know.

This isn't a joke.
These beings are real.

Even if we don't know what that means.

It may sound like a cliché, but...

these visitors do come in gigantic ships

and they contact a lot of people.

Then of course, we say it's... ee... thunderstorms
or bad dreams, hallucinations, meteors, whatever, but...

the joke's on us.

We are the ones who are hiding.

They came to me one night in 1959.

I was lying in bed, reading a book,

when suddenly a group of little men
in blue uniforms walked in the room.

Short, three or four feet tall.

Very round, their faces were...

Well, I was terrified.

One of them put his hand on my wrist...

- And it was...
- Clammy.

Like the skin of a frog.

And one of them said: don't worry,
it's not you we're interested in.

We are interested in...

the girl child you're carrying.

Did they let you keep her?

My daughter is a wonderful woman.

And now her daughter is involved to.

How old is she?

My granddaughter is six.

Passed it on.

The only thing to do
is to face it.

Because otherwise it's just gonna
tear your life to pieces.

Believe me, I know.

At least you two have each other.

My husband did not have the experience,
and he tried to have me committed.

Now at least he doesn't have me
to worry about anymore.

I wasn't as lucky as Laurie.

She still has her daughter and the granddaughter.

I was 3 months pregnant.

And my husband and I saw this huge light outside.

We just went to sleep.

That next morning I woke up
and I wasn't pregnant anymore.

Whitley...

Won't you tell us little more
about what happened to you.

I think I'd like to go home.

So, it's my wife and I, you know,
we have a family too,

and we have to think about this.

Thank you.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

- Very much.
- Come back.

I wish you'd stay.

I tried hypnosis, I tried this, I tried that,
I tried this, I tried that...

No, it's not working.
I have to do something for myself.

You expect things,
you expect answers so quickly.

We don't even know all the questions yet.

All right, of course. But...

if... if... if I was in my right mind,
I would know that too.

There is nothing matter with your mind,
be patient.

Take care.

Look at me.

Am I not gorgeous?

What the hell...

You look like you're dressed for your
First Communion.

Don't wait up for me, baby.

What are you doing?

I shall return.

Where you're going?

Going for pack of cigarettes.

You don't smoke.

I must be awake.

Is that what you mean?

I must be awake.

I'm gonna do a trick.
Look at this.

Empty, right?
Show him.

I should cast a spell.

This has to cook them.

Wanna say a few things.
First I'd like to say season’s greetings,

then I'd like to say, keep your hands
on the table at all the times.

Boo!

I wanna go home. Please, let me go.

Are you old?

You've broken my mind.

I'll kill you.

Can we talk this over?

I can't wake up!

I am the dreamer. You are the dream.

Look.

The only thing that really matters here
is what I'm about to show you.

That's not it.

I didn't come all this way...

for you to tell me
that that's what it is.

Is there something under that?
Because I don't believe that one.

It's like a...

box. A Chinese box.

You open it and there is another one inside,
and there is another one inside...

You're not gonna let me see you, are you?

It is a Chinese box.

And you're not...
gonna be allowed to see.

OK? So, just get that clear.

You're not gonna let us see you.

That's a good idea.

One... two, three, shoot!

Anybody home?

Dad! Dad!

What are you doing up?
Why aren't you in school?

Mom needed me to help her wait for you.

We are playing war.

I'm beating the pants off her.
That for sure.

- I saw them.
- You did?

Something happened.

- How are you?
- Good.

Dad, come here,
I wanna show you something,

I made a computer game on your computer.

What happened?

They danced.

What kind of dance?

The bossa nova, how do I know?

They let me know that I...

was...

chosen...

for something.

And...

they invited me to come with them.

I had the feeling, forever.

Then it was morning.

- They asked you to go away with them?
- Yeah.

I just came home to get my stuff.

You don't have a mark
on the back of your head.

I can give you that one.

You need a theory, you know, it's just
not strange enough, to account for...

for the facts.

If we're talking about
what they know about us,

you'd have to... you would have to consider
that they...

they could be sitting at home tonight
watching "The Honeymooners".

Like Ralph and Alice... like us.

That's why they picked on me.

You know what I think?

I don't think it matters.

Whatever it is,
they know what's the way of television...

and thing like that.

If... if we're talking about light years..

tonight they're watching the first episode
"The Father Knows Best".

It would be narcissistic of us
to feel alone in the universe.

People used to think that the world
was flat, you know, the centre of things.

That excludes the possibility of visitors.

That's really another kind of...
of the same kind thinking.

The world is getting so small, that
it would be nice to meet someone new.

I don't know, I don't know, I don't know...

I don't know what you saw.

What is it matter?
It doesn't matter.

It's just God.

You saw something extraordinary?
There are many faces of God.

Masks of God.

Our history is a response to their presence.

They might be what the face of evolution
looks like on the response to...

a conscious mind.

You know something?

It frightened me.

Because you went so far away...

but you're back...

you're different.

I think they gave you something.

I do. I think they gave you a gift.

You'd better use it.

Look what I've got for you.

Mandarin pressed duck.

A beautiful bottle of Bordeaux.

I'm gonna drop that book,
you know, that I'm writing.

Oh yeah?

What are you gonna do?
Drive a cab?

I'm gonna write about this.

Us.

I'm gonna write about what I know.

I like that look in your eyes.

I'm gonna do it right now.

Watch this.

Watch out!

Whitley is back!

You're sleeping?

Like this:
I gotta know, I gotta know what is...

Look at this, Anne, wake up, wake up.

I got this great.

It's the first chapter, look, look, awake.

OK, OK.

I've got this great first chapter.
I got such an idea. About how to start.

Andy... Andy wake up.

Come on, come on.
Wake up.

I'll show you something.

Whitley...

What's going on?

- What are we doing?
- It was a huge light.

Are we searching for something?

What are we doing?

Mom, what are we doing?

Nothing.

Let's go back to bed.

You think it could have been a plane?
Helicopter?

- So beautiful. You see the moon?
- Let's go back.

Andy, wait, wait... come here.
Come here...

Maybe we do have an afterlife,
but not quite in the way...

tradition suggests.

Maybe you and I are larvae,
and the "visitors"...

are human beings in the mature form.

Certainly, we are consuming
our planet's resources...

But in state, I'm sure in transform...

astronomers of India believed...

Why call a book...

...about you?

The Striebers continue to live in
their cabin in upstate New York.

By October 1989, nineteen other people
had encountered similar unknown beings there.