Blood Shack (1971) - full transcript
A young woman inherits a ranch that is supposedly haunted by a murderous beast called "The Chooper."
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- [Carol] There is a
legend about this valley.
A tale carried across
the winds of time.
A legend strange and sinister.
The legend of the Chooper.
(rattling)
- That's it.
That's where we're
gonna stay the night.
- [Man In Hat] I donno.
- [Man in Orange
Shirt] Me neither.
- [Man In Hat] I hear it's
supposed to be haunted.
- [Connie] There's
a legend behind it.
- What kind of ghost would
haunt a place like this?
It's a dump.
- [Man In Orange Shirt] I donno.
- It's an old Indian
ghost, it's gonna
come out at night and
it's gonna get you.
- Kills people?
- Eats 'em alive.
- [Man In Orange Shirt]
And you want us to stay
here tonight?
- Sure.
- And get ate up, and killed?
- Sure.
- Nah, forget it.
- Hey wait, it's a challenge.
It comes out to get
us and we get it.
Come on.
- Nope, not me.
- But you drove all the
way up here to see it,
you wanna stay here
tonight, you said.
- [Man In Orange
Shirt] No, not me.
- [Connie] You guys are
nothing but chickens.
(clucking)
- We just got more
sense, that's all.
- [Man In Hat] Here's
your sleeping bag, honey.
Have a lot of fun.
- [Man In Orange Shirt]
See you later, man.
- You chickens!
Chickens!
- [Daniel] Hey, what
are you doing here?
This is private
property, now get out.
- Hey man, I'm gonna
spend the night here.
- That's what you think.
- That's right, mister.
I heard about your ghost
and how it kills people.
Well I ain't a chicken,
not like my friends.
I dare it to come get me.
- Well maybe they're smart.
Maybe you just better
get out of here too.
- No way, baby.
Look, I got money, okay?
- [Daniel] I can't
take your money, I'm a
foreman here.
This is private property
and I got a responsibility
to the Craigs.
- Old Man Craig's been
dead for over a year.
How much?
- [Daniel] I can't
take that money,
besides, Mr. Craig's
niece is coming out here
to take over tomorrow.
- That's tomorrow, baby,
what about tonight?
- [Daniel] You're dead set
on staying, aren't you?
- That's right.
- [Daniel] Even if that
thing does get you.
- That's right.
- Well go ahead, stay,
but if the Chooper comes
to get you, well,
you just deserve it.
But I warn you, the
Chooper will get you.
And I know it.
- Well, we'll see, okay?
Chooper ghosts.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
Chooper.
Nobody's gonna stay here
with me, I'll stay myself.
(slow jazz music)
(thump)
(thump)
Daniel?
Daniel, are you
trying to scare me?
Daniel?
(thump)
Who's there?
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(shout)
(shrieking)
(intense orchestral music)
(screaming)
(screams)
(intense orchestral music)
(shouting)
(birds singing)
- [Daniel] Hey, where are you?
No, I warned you, I
told you the Chooper
would get you.
But you wouldn't listen, no!
(pensive orchestral music)
I sure am glad the
Chooper couldn't use
this money, cuz I sure can.
And don't look like
you're gonna be able to
use it either.
But I warned you.
I told you that
Chooper would get you.
This is exactly
what you deserve.
(upbeat orchestral music)
(pensive orchestral music)
(upbeat orchestral music)
- [Children] Daniel,
Daniel, we wanna play.
- [Margie] Hi Daniel.
- [Barbra] Hi Daniel.
- Hi kids, what's up?
- Can we play here today?
- You know you can play anywhere
you want to around here.
- Except that old house.
- [Margie] How come you
never let us play in
that old house, Daniel?
- I told you kids
before, stay away from
that old house.
Bad things happen in there.
So y'all stay away, hear?
- What kind of bad things?
- People get hurt.
Get hurt real bad.
So y'all stay away
from there, or
I can't let you play
around here any more.
Promise?
- We promise.
- We promise.
- Okay.
- [Margie] Come on Barbra,
let's go play over there.
- [Barbra] I think we
should play musical chairs.
- We can't, you
need three people.
- [Barbra] Well we can
just hum and sit down.
- [Margie] It won't work.
- [Barbra] How about sit
down in the chair and
with go wham, and go over
and sit in the chair.
- [Margie] How do
you play that game?
- [Barbra] Well all you do
is just go around the chair
and sit down.
And first one to sit down wins.
- [Margie] I sat down, I won.
- [Barbra] No, you have
to go around and hum.
(both humming)
(laughing)
- [Barbra] That's
no first, Margie!
(telephone rings)
- [Barbra] I think this
is where Daniel washes
his clothes in.
- [Margie] I doubt it.
- I told you kids to stay
away from this house.
Now that was your mother
on the phone and she wants
you at home now.
Come on.
Get going.
If you wanna play around
here any more, stay away
from this house.
- [Barbra] I think Daniel's mad.
(upbeat orchestral music)
- Daniel.
Daniel.
Hey, Daniel.
Daniel.
Danny boy.
(wind blowing)
Hey, Daniel.
Daniel?
- Hey Tim, what's done?
- Who's that?
- Oh, that's old Tim Foster.
He's been around
here a long time.
Got a place up near
the mountains here.
- Hey Tim, fixin' to go
to the rodeo tomorrow?
- [Tim] You're Old Man
Craig's niece, aren't you?
- Yeah, this is Carol.
Tim Foster.
- I want to buy your ranch.
- I just got here.
I don't intend to sell it,
it's been in the family
for a long time.
- Got a lot of good
property out here.
I can use it.
I wanna buy your ranch.
- Didn't you hear her?
She said she didn't
wanna sell it.
- That's right, Tim.
I'm sorry.
- [Tim] I wanna
fix up this place.
Fix up the ranch house, tear
down that old water tower.
It's about to fall down
on somebody anyway.
Get rid of that old house.
- [Daniel] That's a
historical monument.
It's been there
for over 150 years.
- You know the only
history that place has got
is about 150 years'
history of death in it.
You know that.
- The Chooper legend?
The one my uncle
mentioned a few times?
I don't know very much about it.
- [Tim] You don't know
that people have been dying
in that place for 150 years?
From then to today?
You don't know that they're
still getting knocked off
in there?
People in this area
gonna be a lot better off
once we get rid of that house.
I want to buy your ranch.
- I don't intend to sell.
Thank you for stopping by.
- Well, this isn't your
final decision, right?
I mean, you can't have made
up your mind so soon, right?
Right?
I mean, you just came back
from wherever you come from,
wanna get a little
lay of the land here,
right, we'll talk
about it, okay?
- If you want to stop
by sometime, stop by.
- Tough luck, old buddy.
Hey Tim, when you come,
I'll make you some of
Texas-sized biscuits
you like so much.
- Right, I love it.
Okay, we'll do that later.
(car starting)
- This here's the
guest room, Miss Carol.
I reckon you won't
be staying in here.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- Hey, where you going?
- [Daniel] I'm gonna take
the trash down here a ways.
Be back in a minute.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(wind blowing)
(crunch)
(intense orchestral music)
- Hi, where's Daniel?
- He'll be back
in a little while.
Who are you?
- I'm Margie, she's Barbra.
Daniel lets us play here.
- Can we play here today?
- Sure, go ahead.
- Can we play in the old house?
- Why not?
- Daniel says bad
things happen in it.
- Go ahead, it's
just an old house.
- It's creepy in here.
- Do you think the
Chooper would get us?
- No.
- Well, do you think
we should go in?
- Yup.
- Well, remember the
story that Daniel told me,
he said the Chooper's
ate a little girl
and little boy, and then
he was trying to find
more kids, and he found two
kids in the creepy house
and he ate them all up.
And he said, if we go
in here, the Chooper
would eat us all up,
so we better be careful
in there.
- You're silly, come
on, let's go in.
- Oh, it's spooky in here.
Hey, let's go in that room.
I think this is where
the Chooper sleeps.
(shout)
(girls screaming)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- [Margie] Chooper, Chooper!
- [Daniel] I told you kids,
don't play around here!
Next time the
Chooper will get ya!
- [Carol] After I unpacked
my things, I showered.
Then Daniel took me for
a walk around the ranch.
Daniel told me the
reason Tim Foster wanted
the ranch so badly,
was that he thought it
belonged to him.
You see, back over 100
years ago, this property
was split up.
About half of it was owned by
my great grandfather Silas.
The other half belonged to Tim's
great grandfather Jebediah.
One night they both
got into a poker game
and put up the
ranches as stakes.
Well, my grandfather
won, but Jebediah claimed
Silas cheated him, so that
called for a showdown.
The next day, there they were,
out in the streets of town
having a standoff.
At noontime they faced each
other, and a moment later
Jebediah was dead.
My great grandfather
Silas always had been
a better shot, particularly
at close distances.
The shootout was fair
enough, but ever since
Daniel can remember, he said
Tim Foster had a grudge.
Tim believed the deck
of cards had been
stacked against Jebediah,
and that all this property
rightfully belonged to the
Fosters, not the Craigs.
Daniel said there had
been bad blood between
the Craigs and the
Fosters for a long time.
I couldn't sleep that night.
I tossed and turned,
and even tried
reading a book, but
all to no avail.
I felt strange.
I didn't feel like
myself at all.
I felt as if somehow,
the old house
and the grounds was
beckoning to me.
Whispering to me, across
the darkling hours
of the evening.
Luring me towards it.
Luring me into the unknown.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- Carol, what are
you doing here?
Never can tell when that
old Chooper might be around.
Come on, I think you
better go to bed.
- [Carol] This was the day
the rodeo hit our area.
There would be traveling
pros, local pros
and local amateurs
all appearing in it.
It was to last a week,
moving to different areas
in the county so that
everyone would get a chance
to join in the festivities.
In the meantime, I called
up Mrs. Potts and asked her
if she would show me around.
And then we could take
the kids on a little
shopping spree before
we went to the rodeo.
(horn honking)
- Hi.
Daniel, I'm going to
town to do some shopping
with Mrs. Potts and the kids.
Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- [Charlie] Hey, wait a minute.
Hey.
Hi.
I'm looking for my wife.
- [Daniel] Your wife?
The only woman around
here is miss Carol
and she just went into town.
- My wife Connie came
here the other night
with a couple of friends of
hers to stay at the old house.
- [Daniel] Ain't nobody here.
- I know she's here,
a couple friends
told me so.
- [Daniel] Look, there's
nobody here and I'm
busy, now get.
- I've got to find her.
I know she's here.
We got in a fight.
I'm gonna go look at
the old house anyways.
- You stay away
from that old house.
- I'm gonna go look at
the old house anyways.
- Stay outta there, you hear me?
Stay outta there.
The Chooper'll get ya.
- [Charlie] I gotta
find her, man.
- There ain't nothing but
bad business out there.
So you stay away from there.
- [Charlie] I've gotta find her.
- Stay away, you hear me?
Stay away.
The Chooper'll get ya.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- Connie?
Connie, it's me, Charlie.
Connie?
Connie?
(scream)
(intense orchestral music)
(screaming)
(pensive orchestral music)
- [Daniel] Where are ya?
Oh my god!
I warned you!
I told you the
Chooper would get ya!
Look what, oh my God.
(pensive orchestral music)
I warned you.
Nobody listens to me.
I told you that Chooper would
get you, and sure enough
he did.
- [Carol] We arrived at the
rodeo and guess who was there.
Tim never missed a
chance to try and
talk me into selling.
It seemed more an obsession
than a business deal
he was trying to propose.
Anyway, I told him that
I wished he would try
to forget about the ranch.
And he seemed uptight.
I wondered what really
was ticking in his head
behind those weird sunglasses.
(cheerful orchestral music)
(crowd cheering, clapping)
(bluegrass music)
(pensive orchestral music)
The next day I got a call
from Margie and Barbra
telling me to come
over to their ranch
and spend the day with them.
It seems their father
just bought them a pony.
I thought I'd walk
over rather than wait
for Daniel to return from town.
(car horn honks)
- You miss Brandt?
- [Carol] Yes?
- I'm the local constable.
I'm just on my
way up to see you.
- [Carol] Is there
something wrong?
- Well, I'm checking
most of the ranches
around, looking for
a couple of kids,
Connie and Charlie Forsyth.
Local kids, they turned
up missing and well,
nobody can find them.
- Well, they're not
at my ranch, Sheriff.
The only ones there
are Daniel and myself.
In fact, Daniel says
that except for the
Potts kids, nobody
ever comes over there.
- Uh-huh.
Well, I'll tell you.
It's all the same to you,
miss Brandt, I'd like to
check out that old house.
Lot of strange stories
connected with that old place.
Clear back when I was a kid.
Hell, even before that.
When my dad was a kid.
He used to tell me
all kinds of stories
about that place.
- [Carol] Well, go right ahead.
I'm sure you won't
find anything.
I'll be at the Potts'
house if you need me.
- All righty.
See you.
(unsettling orchestral music)
- [Carol] Seems strange
to have John Law
checking on my ranch.
Two missing kids.
Son of a gun, there was a
boy at the ranch yesterday,
when I left to go shopping.
But then, the constable
did say two kids.
I'll check with him later.
(unsettling orchestral music)
- [Constable] Anybody here?
Charlie?
Connie?
Any kids in here?
(shouts)
(intense orchestral music)
(growling)
- [Carol] Peanuts.
That's what they named the pony.
She was just about
the prettiest thing
you ever saw.
If ever you wanted to
see two happy kids,
this was it.
(cheerful orchestral music)
Sugarplum, their adopted
puppy, seemed to like
her new friend.
Margie took to riding
her immediately.
The kids really knew
how to enjoy life
out here in the desert.
No smog, just fresh air.
Mr. Potts came by to say hello.
He said his daughters
really dug me.
And I dug them.
He told me that I
was welcome anytime,
just to drop by.
- They're never
gonna knock you down.
They'll never knock you down.
That's okay, Chooper.
You keep knockin' 'em off,
I'll keep buryin' 'em.
They're not gonna tear
this old house down.
They gotta find
the bodies first.
And they'll never find the
bodies where I put them.
So you just kill all
you want, and I'll
keep buryin' 'em.
But they'll never knock
this old house down.
- [Carol] As the days
wore on and I became
more accustomed to
life at the ranch,
I couldn't help feeling
there was something
troubling Daniel.
But then again,
maybe it was only
the same thing that
was bothering me.
Tim Foster.
Tim kept coming around,
but unfortunately,
not the way I might
have preferred it.
All he ever seemed
to have on his mind
when he came to see
me was the ranch.
And if anything, he
seemed only to be getting
more adamant about
it all the time.
The ranch, the ranch.
"The ranch, I want
your ranch, Carol."
It's all I heard from him.
It's all we ever talked
about, time and time again.
If it weren't for Margie
and Barbra being around
I don't know what I'd have done.
They helped lessen the
pressure I was under.
Tim Foster was right
though, when he said
I owned a lot of good property.
For one thing, it was the
biggest spread around.
Daniel said I had over
10,000 acres that were
situated directly over
an underground lake.
Drill down a couple hundred feet
and there was enough
water to irrigate not only
all of my own property
but about half the rest
of the state as well.
Beside that, it was
artesian water, filtered
through limestone.
So I not only owned
very good property
and excellent artesian
water, but Daniel said
I also had the water
rights to the whole area.
And out here, that means
just about everything.
- Let me shovel a while, Barbra.
- Gimme a second while I try to
move this dirt out.
Okay, here you go, Margie.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
And do it like I promised.
- Look, Carol, there's
nothing but wind
and desert out here.
You own 10,000 miles
of wind and desert.
Who in their right mind
wants to hold nothing but
10,000 miles of wind and desert?
Desert, girl,
that's all you got.
- Desert my foot.
Daniel told me about the
lake that's under here,
and the water rights
that I own to it.
- [Tim] He did?
- [Carol] Yes, he did.
- [Tim] Well, wait a minute,
we can forget about that
for a second.
There must be 10,000 other
reasons that you don't
want this ranch.
Look at that corral.
Look at the corral.
There ain't a horse
in the corral.
And even if you did put
horses in the corral
they'd just die out
there, you know that.
It's too hot.
You can't keep horses out there.
- I'm not gonna sell the ranch.
- Look, that water
tower, you're gonna walk
under it someday and it's
just gonna fall down on you.
Hit you on the head,
splatter you all over,
you're gonna die.
You want that to happen?
Sell me the ranch.
I want the ranch, Carol.
- Is that a threat
about the water tower?
- It's no threat, I just
wanna buy the ranch.
Now come on, I'm serious.
- Forget it.
- Stop.
(intense orchestral music)
- [Carol] Oh come
on and stop it.
- [Tim] Don't think
you got this, buddy.
- Come on, break it up.
- Margie, we don't wanna
get sand on your sneakers
so move a little bit.
- [Carol] Stop that.
Daniel.
Daniel, come on, stop it.
Come on, please.
- You!
(intense orchestral music)
- [Carol] Stop it!
Come on now.
- Get out of it, buddy.
Get out there!
- [Carol] Daniel, stop.
That's enough.
(intense orchestral music)
I said stop it,
and I mean stop it.
Now get.
Just get out of here.
Go on, get out of
here, damn it, get out!
- My hat.
Carol, come here!
- Just get off the ranch.
- [Tim] You're gonna sell.
You're gonna sell, baby.
- I don't wanna see you
again, just get away.
(crying)
(upbeat bluegrass music)
- [Carol] The next
day, in order to forget
the terrible scene with
Tim Foster, I took the kids
down to the county line
to see the rodeo again.
All I wanted to do was
to forget Mr. Foster.
Somehow that man
didn't seem to belong
with everyone else
that had come to me.
(crowd clapping, cheering)
As we were leaving
the rodeo, Tim came by
with a halfhearted
attempt to apologize.
I just said the whole
scene was too heavy
and I just wanted to pass.
(whistling "Swanee River")
(intense orchestral music)
(crashing)
- Daniel?
Daniel?
(gasps)
Daniel?
(suspenseful orchestral music)
Daniel?
(wind blowing)
Daniel?
(shouting)
(intense orchestral music)
(growling, roaring)
- [Daniel] I know
he's not the Chooper.
- No!
- That's not the Chooper.
He's not 150 years old.
That's Tim Foster.
He's just trying to
scare you off your ranch.
Don't let anybody ever
tell you different.
Don't ever go in
that old house or
the Chooper will get you.
- [Carol] Tim is dead.
Daniel's dead.
I don't know what
I'm going to do.
I think I'll just worry
about it tomorrow.
If tomorrow ever comes.
(unsettling orchestral music)
* You better look out world,
there's a menace on the loose
* Women better run and hide
* Men prepare to defend
yourself, from a terror
* From the other side
* Well here I am
* Baby I'm the Chooper man
- [Carol] There is a
legend about this valley.
A tale carried across
the winds of time.
A legend strange and sinister.
The legend of the Chooper.
(rattling)
- That's it.
That's where we're
gonna stay the night.
- [Man In Hat] I donno.
- [Man in Orange
Shirt] Me neither.
- [Man In Hat] I hear it's
supposed to be haunted.
- [Connie] There's
a legend behind it.
- What kind of ghost would
haunt a place like this?
It's a dump.
- [Man In Orange Shirt] I donno.
- It's an old Indian
ghost, it's gonna
come out at night and
it's gonna get you.
- Kills people?
- Eats 'em alive.
- [Man In Orange Shirt]
And you want us to stay
here tonight?
- Sure.
- And get ate up, and killed?
- Sure.
- Nah, forget it.
- Hey wait, it's a challenge.
It comes out to get
us and we get it.
Come on.
- Nope, not me.
- But you drove all the
way up here to see it,
you wanna stay here
tonight, you said.
- [Man In Orange
Shirt] No, not me.
- [Connie] You guys are
nothing but chickens.
(clucking)
- We just got more
sense, that's all.
- [Man In Hat] Here's
your sleeping bag, honey.
Have a lot of fun.
- [Man In Orange Shirt]
See you later, man.
- You chickens!
Chickens!
- [Daniel] Hey, what
are you doing here?
This is private
property, now get out.
- Hey man, I'm gonna
spend the night here.
- That's what you think.
- That's right, mister.
I heard about your ghost
and how it kills people.
Well I ain't a chicken,
not like my friends.
I dare it to come get me.
- Well maybe they're smart.
Maybe you just better
get out of here too.
- No way, baby.
Look, I got money, okay?
- [Daniel] I can't
take your money, I'm a
foreman here.
This is private property
and I got a responsibility
to the Craigs.
- Old Man Craig's been
dead for over a year.
How much?
- [Daniel] I can't
take that money,
besides, Mr. Craig's
niece is coming out here
to take over tomorrow.
- That's tomorrow, baby,
what about tonight?
- [Daniel] You're dead set
on staying, aren't you?
- That's right.
- [Daniel] Even if that
thing does get you.
- That's right.
- Well go ahead, stay,
but if the Chooper comes
to get you, well,
you just deserve it.
But I warn you, the
Chooper will get you.
And I know it.
- Well, we'll see, okay?
Chooper ghosts.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
Chooper.
Nobody's gonna stay here
with me, I'll stay myself.
(slow jazz music)
(thump)
(thump)
Daniel?
Daniel, are you
trying to scare me?
Daniel?
(thump)
Who's there?
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(shout)
(shrieking)
(intense orchestral music)
(screaming)
(screams)
(intense orchestral music)
(shouting)
(birds singing)
- [Daniel] Hey, where are you?
No, I warned you, I
told you the Chooper
would get you.
But you wouldn't listen, no!
(pensive orchestral music)
I sure am glad the
Chooper couldn't use
this money, cuz I sure can.
And don't look like
you're gonna be able to
use it either.
But I warned you.
I told you that
Chooper would get you.
This is exactly
what you deserve.
(upbeat orchestral music)
(pensive orchestral music)
(upbeat orchestral music)
- [Children] Daniel,
Daniel, we wanna play.
- [Margie] Hi Daniel.
- [Barbra] Hi Daniel.
- Hi kids, what's up?
- Can we play here today?
- You know you can play anywhere
you want to around here.
- Except that old house.
- [Margie] How come you
never let us play in
that old house, Daniel?
- I told you kids
before, stay away from
that old house.
Bad things happen in there.
So y'all stay away, hear?
- What kind of bad things?
- People get hurt.
Get hurt real bad.
So y'all stay away
from there, or
I can't let you play
around here any more.
Promise?
- We promise.
- We promise.
- Okay.
- [Margie] Come on Barbra,
let's go play over there.
- [Barbra] I think we
should play musical chairs.
- We can't, you
need three people.
- [Barbra] Well we can
just hum and sit down.
- [Margie] It won't work.
- [Barbra] How about sit
down in the chair and
with go wham, and go over
and sit in the chair.
- [Margie] How do
you play that game?
- [Barbra] Well all you do
is just go around the chair
and sit down.
And first one to sit down wins.
- [Margie] I sat down, I won.
- [Barbra] No, you have
to go around and hum.
(both humming)
(laughing)
- [Barbra] That's
no first, Margie!
(telephone rings)
- [Barbra] I think this
is where Daniel washes
his clothes in.
- [Margie] I doubt it.
- I told you kids to stay
away from this house.
Now that was your mother
on the phone and she wants
you at home now.
Come on.
Get going.
If you wanna play around
here any more, stay away
from this house.
- [Barbra] I think Daniel's mad.
(upbeat orchestral music)
- Daniel.
Daniel.
Hey, Daniel.
Daniel.
Danny boy.
(wind blowing)
Hey, Daniel.
Daniel?
- Hey Tim, what's done?
- Who's that?
- Oh, that's old Tim Foster.
He's been around
here a long time.
Got a place up near
the mountains here.
- Hey Tim, fixin' to go
to the rodeo tomorrow?
- [Tim] You're Old Man
Craig's niece, aren't you?
- Yeah, this is Carol.
Tim Foster.
- I want to buy your ranch.
- I just got here.
I don't intend to sell it,
it's been in the family
for a long time.
- Got a lot of good
property out here.
I can use it.
I wanna buy your ranch.
- Didn't you hear her?
She said she didn't
wanna sell it.
- That's right, Tim.
I'm sorry.
- [Tim] I wanna
fix up this place.
Fix up the ranch house, tear
down that old water tower.
It's about to fall down
on somebody anyway.
Get rid of that old house.
- [Daniel] That's a
historical monument.
It's been there
for over 150 years.
- You know the only
history that place has got
is about 150 years'
history of death in it.
You know that.
- The Chooper legend?
The one my uncle
mentioned a few times?
I don't know very much about it.
- [Tim] You don't know
that people have been dying
in that place for 150 years?
From then to today?
You don't know that they're
still getting knocked off
in there?
People in this area
gonna be a lot better off
once we get rid of that house.
I want to buy your ranch.
- I don't intend to sell.
Thank you for stopping by.
- Well, this isn't your
final decision, right?
I mean, you can't have made
up your mind so soon, right?
Right?
I mean, you just came back
from wherever you come from,
wanna get a little
lay of the land here,
right, we'll talk
about it, okay?
- If you want to stop
by sometime, stop by.
- Tough luck, old buddy.
Hey Tim, when you come,
I'll make you some of
Texas-sized biscuits
you like so much.
- Right, I love it.
Okay, we'll do that later.
(car starting)
- This here's the
guest room, Miss Carol.
I reckon you won't
be staying in here.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- Hey, where you going?
- [Daniel] I'm gonna take
the trash down here a ways.
Be back in a minute.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
(wind blowing)
(crunch)
(intense orchestral music)
- Hi, where's Daniel?
- He'll be back
in a little while.
Who are you?
- I'm Margie, she's Barbra.
Daniel lets us play here.
- Can we play here today?
- Sure, go ahead.
- Can we play in the old house?
- Why not?
- Daniel says bad
things happen in it.
- Go ahead, it's
just an old house.
- It's creepy in here.
- Do you think the
Chooper would get us?
- No.
- Well, do you think
we should go in?
- Yup.
- Well, remember the
story that Daniel told me,
he said the Chooper's
ate a little girl
and little boy, and then
he was trying to find
more kids, and he found two
kids in the creepy house
and he ate them all up.
And he said, if we go
in here, the Chooper
would eat us all up,
so we better be careful
in there.
- You're silly, come
on, let's go in.
- Oh, it's spooky in here.
Hey, let's go in that room.
I think this is where
the Chooper sleeps.
(shout)
(girls screaming)
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- [Margie] Chooper, Chooper!
- [Daniel] I told you kids,
don't play around here!
Next time the
Chooper will get ya!
- [Carol] After I unpacked
my things, I showered.
Then Daniel took me for
a walk around the ranch.
Daniel told me the
reason Tim Foster wanted
the ranch so badly,
was that he thought it
belonged to him.
You see, back over 100
years ago, this property
was split up.
About half of it was owned by
my great grandfather Silas.
The other half belonged to Tim's
great grandfather Jebediah.
One night they both
got into a poker game
and put up the
ranches as stakes.
Well, my grandfather
won, but Jebediah claimed
Silas cheated him, so that
called for a showdown.
The next day, there they were,
out in the streets of town
having a standoff.
At noontime they faced each
other, and a moment later
Jebediah was dead.
My great grandfather
Silas always had been
a better shot, particularly
at close distances.
The shootout was fair
enough, but ever since
Daniel can remember, he said
Tim Foster had a grudge.
Tim believed the deck
of cards had been
stacked against Jebediah,
and that all this property
rightfully belonged to the
Fosters, not the Craigs.
Daniel said there had
been bad blood between
the Craigs and the
Fosters for a long time.
I couldn't sleep that night.
I tossed and turned,
and even tried
reading a book, but
all to no avail.
I felt strange.
I didn't feel like
myself at all.
I felt as if somehow,
the old house
and the grounds was
beckoning to me.
Whispering to me, across
the darkling hours
of the evening.
Luring me towards it.
Luring me into the unknown.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- Carol, what are
you doing here?
Never can tell when that
old Chooper might be around.
Come on, I think you
better go to bed.
- [Carol] This was the day
the rodeo hit our area.
There would be traveling
pros, local pros
and local amateurs
all appearing in it.
It was to last a week,
moving to different areas
in the county so that
everyone would get a chance
to join in the festivities.
In the meantime, I called
up Mrs. Potts and asked her
if she would show me around.
And then we could take
the kids on a little
shopping spree before
we went to the rodeo.
(horn honking)
- Hi.
Daniel, I'm going to
town to do some shopping
with Mrs. Potts and the kids.
Hi.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- [Charlie] Hey, wait a minute.
Hey.
Hi.
I'm looking for my wife.
- [Daniel] Your wife?
The only woman around
here is miss Carol
and she just went into town.
- My wife Connie came
here the other night
with a couple of friends of
hers to stay at the old house.
- [Daniel] Ain't nobody here.
- I know she's here,
a couple friends
told me so.
- [Daniel] Look, there's
nobody here and I'm
busy, now get.
- I've got to find her.
I know she's here.
We got in a fight.
I'm gonna go look at
the old house anyways.
- You stay away
from that old house.
- I'm gonna go look at
the old house anyways.
- Stay outta there, you hear me?
Stay outta there.
The Chooper'll get ya.
- [Charlie] I gotta
find her, man.
- There ain't nothing but
bad business out there.
So you stay away from there.
- [Charlie] I've gotta find her.
- Stay away, you hear me?
Stay away.
The Chooper'll get ya.
(suspenseful orchestral music)
- Connie?
Connie, it's me, Charlie.
Connie?
Connie?
(scream)
(intense orchestral music)
(screaming)
(pensive orchestral music)
- [Daniel] Where are ya?
Oh my god!
I warned you!
I told you the
Chooper would get ya!
Look what, oh my God.
(pensive orchestral music)
I warned you.
Nobody listens to me.
I told you that Chooper would
get you, and sure enough
he did.
- [Carol] We arrived at the
rodeo and guess who was there.
Tim never missed a
chance to try and
talk me into selling.
It seemed more an obsession
than a business deal
he was trying to propose.
Anyway, I told him that
I wished he would try
to forget about the ranch.
And he seemed uptight.
I wondered what really
was ticking in his head
behind those weird sunglasses.
(cheerful orchestral music)
(crowd cheering, clapping)
(bluegrass music)
(pensive orchestral music)
The next day I got a call
from Margie and Barbra
telling me to come
over to their ranch
and spend the day with them.
It seems their father
just bought them a pony.
I thought I'd walk
over rather than wait
for Daniel to return from town.
(car horn honks)
- You miss Brandt?
- [Carol] Yes?
- I'm the local constable.
I'm just on my
way up to see you.
- [Carol] Is there
something wrong?
- Well, I'm checking
most of the ranches
around, looking for
a couple of kids,
Connie and Charlie Forsyth.
Local kids, they turned
up missing and well,
nobody can find them.
- Well, they're not
at my ranch, Sheriff.
The only ones there
are Daniel and myself.
In fact, Daniel says
that except for the
Potts kids, nobody
ever comes over there.
- Uh-huh.
Well, I'll tell you.
It's all the same to you,
miss Brandt, I'd like to
check out that old house.
Lot of strange stories
connected with that old place.
Clear back when I was a kid.
Hell, even before that.
When my dad was a kid.
He used to tell me
all kinds of stories
about that place.
- [Carol] Well, go right ahead.
I'm sure you won't
find anything.
I'll be at the Potts'
house if you need me.
- All righty.
See you.
(unsettling orchestral music)
- [Carol] Seems strange
to have John Law
checking on my ranch.
Two missing kids.
Son of a gun, there was a
boy at the ranch yesterday,
when I left to go shopping.
But then, the constable
did say two kids.
I'll check with him later.
(unsettling orchestral music)
- [Constable] Anybody here?
Charlie?
Connie?
Any kids in here?
(shouts)
(intense orchestral music)
(growling)
- [Carol] Peanuts.
That's what they named the pony.
She was just about
the prettiest thing
you ever saw.
If ever you wanted to
see two happy kids,
this was it.
(cheerful orchestral music)
Sugarplum, their adopted
puppy, seemed to like
her new friend.
Margie took to riding
her immediately.
The kids really knew
how to enjoy life
out here in the desert.
No smog, just fresh air.
Mr. Potts came by to say hello.
He said his daughters
really dug me.
And I dug them.
He told me that I
was welcome anytime,
just to drop by.
- They're never
gonna knock you down.
They'll never knock you down.
That's okay, Chooper.
You keep knockin' 'em off,
I'll keep buryin' 'em.
They're not gonna tear
this old house down.
They gotta find
the bodies first.
And they'll never find the
bodies where I put them.
So you just kill all
you want, and I'll
keep buryin' 'em.
But they'll never knock
this old house down.
- [Carol] As the days
wore on and I became
more accustomed to
life at the ranch,
I couldn't help feeling
there was something
troubling Daniel.
But then again,
maybe it was only
the same thing that
was bothering me.
Tim Foster.
Tim kept coming around,
but unfortunately,
not the way I might
have preferred it.
All he ever seemed
to have on his mind
when he came to see
me was the ranch.
And if anything, he
seemed only to be getting
more adamant about
it all the time.
The ranch, the ranch.
"The ranch, I want
your ranch, Carol."
It's all I heard from him.
It's all we ever talked
about, time and time again.
If it weren't for Margie
and Barbra being around
I don't know what I'd have done.
They helped lessen the
pressure I was under.
Tim Foster was right
though, when he said
I owned a lot of good property.
For one thing, it was the
biggest spread around.
Daniel said I had over
10,000 acres that were
situated directly over
an underground lake.
Drill down a couple hundred feet
and there was enough
water to irrigate not only
all of my own property
but about half the rest
of the state as well.
Beside that, it was
artesian water, filtered
through limestone.
So I not only owned
very good property
and excellent artesian
water, but Daniel said
I also had the water
rights to the whole area.
And out here, that means
just about everything.
- Let me shovel a while, Barbra.
- Gimme a second while I try to
move this dirt out.
Okay, here you go, Margie.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
And do it like I promised.
- Look, Carol, there's
nothing but wind
and desert out here.
You own 10,000 miles
of wind and desert.
Who in their right mind
wants to hold nothing but
10,000 miles of wind and desert?
Desert, girl,
that's all you got.
- Desert my foot.
Daniel told me about the
lake that's under here,
and the water rights
that I own to it.
- [Tim] He did?
- [Carol] Yes, he did.
- [Tim] Well, wait a minute,
we can forget about that
for a second.
There must be 10,000 other
reasons that you don't
want this ranch.
Look at that corral.
Look at the corral.
There ain't a horse
in the corral.
And even if you did put
horses in the corral
they'd just die out
there, you know that.
It's too hot.
You can't keep horses out there.
- I'm not gonna sell the ranch.
- Look, that water
tower, you're gonna walk
under it someday and it's
just gonna fall down on you.
Hit you on the head,
splatter you all over,
you're gonna die.
You want that to happen?
Sell me the ranch.
I want the ranch, Carol.
- Is that a threat
about the water tower?
- It's no threat, I just
wanna buy the ranch.
Now come on, I'm serious.
- Forget it.
- Stop.
(intense orchestral music)
- [Carol] Oh come
on and stop it.
- [Tim] Don't think
you got this, buddy.
- Come on, break it up.
- Margie, we don't wanna
get sand on your sneakers
so move a little bit.
- [Carol] Stop that.
Daniel.
Daniel, come on, stop it.
Come on, please.
- You!
(intense orchestral music)
- [Carol] Stop it!
Come on now.
- Get out of it, buddy.
Get out there!
- [Carol] Daniel, stop.
That's enough.
(intense orchestral music)
I said stop it,
and I mean stop it.
Now get.
Just get out of here.
Go on, get out of
here, damn it, get out!
- My hat.
Carol, come here!
- Just get off the ranch.
- [Tim] You're gonna sell.
You're gonna sell, baby.
- I don't wanna see you
again, just get away.
(crying)
(upbeat bluegrass music)
- [Carol] The next
day, in order to forget
the terrible scene with
Tim Foster, I took the kids
down to the county line
to see the rodeo again.
All I wanted to do was
to forget Mr. Foster.
Somehow that man
didn't seem to belong
with everyone else
that had come to me.
(crowd clapping, cheering)
As we were leaving
the rodeo, Tim came by
with a halfhearted
attempt to apologize.
I just said the whole
scene was too heavy
and I just wanted to pass.
(whistling "Swanee River")
(intense orchestral music)
(crashing)
- Daniel?
Daniel?
(gasps)
Daniel?
(suspenseful orchestral music)
Daniel?
(wind blowing)
Daniel?
(shouting)
(intense orchestral music)
(growling, roaring)
- [Daniel] I know
he's not the Chooper.
- No!
- That's not the Chooper.
He's not 150 years old.
That's Tim Foster.
He's just trying to
scare you off your ranch.
Don't let anybody ever
tell you different.
Don't ever go in
that old house or
the Chooper will get you.
- [Carol] Tim is dead.
Daniel's dead.
I don't know what
I'm going to do.
I think I'll just worry
about it tomorrow.
If tomorrow ever comes.
(unsettling orchestral music)
* You better look out world,
there's a menace on the loose
* Women better run and hide
* Men prepare to defend
yourself, from a terror
* From the other side
* Well here I am
* Baby I'm the Chooper man