Grimcutty (2022) - full transcript

Well, when you take a look
at the number of boys

who were hospitalized every year

because they deliberately
harmed themselves,

you'll notice that the numbers
stay relatively the same

until the last decade or so

when there was a sudden,
sharp increase.

And it's getting even worse.

So, what's causing this?

There's no way of knowing for sure,

but it happens to coincide
with the rise of social media

and an increase in screen time
among young people.



So, technology will certainly be...

Out of your child's bedroom

for at least an hour
before their bedtime.

There's no reason a child should have
a tablet or a laptop,

or any other thing
for that matter,

in their bedroom
after a certain time.

Baby, put the knife down.

Put the knife down, Brandon.

You don't wanna do this, baby.

You don't, you don't wanna
hurt yourself again. Come on.

Just put the knife down.

Sometimes it doesn't seem fair.

The world is such a beautiful place.

But we're so filled with stress
and anxiety most of the time,



we don't even get to enjoy it.

But I figured out a way

to take the things
that give you stress

and turn them
into something beautiful.

That's what I wanted
to show you guys.

First, make a list
of all the things

that give you stress,

and then for each item,

find an object
that represents that,

something you don't need anymore.

If you're feeling pressure,

like,

maybe you're feeling pressure
to succeed or whatever,

you can find something
that represents that.

Maybe you feel like
no one listens to you.

For that, I've just got
these old headphones

that don't work anymore.

One you have all your items,

we can take them,

and use them to create relaxing sounds

and images, like so.

Asha, we're leaving in five!

Okay, one more, but no faces.

Alright. Okay.

Alright, one, two, three.

Aww, that's so sweet.

Hey, I'm proud of you, kiddo.

Ah-ha! There she is.

Alright,

phones on the table, everyone.

Let's go.

Wait, we're seriously
still doing this?

Well, we have one
phone-free outing per week.

We haven't had one
this week, so...

dad, I swear we're
the only family that does this.

- Oh, really?
- You know who else does it?

The people that invented
the technology and the apps

that we're all so addicted to.

But I'm not addicted.

Well, then this shouldn't be
a problem for you.

Let's just... honey, let's just
get it over with, okay?

Come on, let's go, out the door.

Let's go.
Thank you very much.

Your phones will be here
waiting for you when you return.

- He's really good.
- I know.

Other guys look like they're
in high school, though.

- They are. Yeah, yeah.
- Whoa.

They wanted to play with him
after he won that competition.

I mean, kamran might
as well be in high school.

His scores are high enough.

He's a great kid.

- Good for him.
- Mm-hm.

Oh.

There they go.

Don't stress about it, Leah.

Our daughters'
attention spans are shot.

We just have to accept that.

- Are you mad at me?
- What?

No, why would I be mad?

I sent you, like, five texts
and didn't hear back.

Sorry, I'm on
a "phone-free outing."

God, not again.

Well, whatever.
At least I've got mine. Come on.

Ever since I quit,

they've been doubling down
on the anti-phone thing.

It's, like, all I did was
quit the track team,

but the way they're reacting,

it's like I, I shaved my head
and joined a cult or something.

Well, at least then you'd be doing
an extracurricular activity.

- I'm sorry. Sorry.
- It's fine.

I'm addicted to this
local news app thing.

There's something going around, man.

These two kids in town
cut themselves apparently

because of some Internet challenge.

Cut themselves?

Yeah, it's like this, um,
scary character that pops up

and tells you to do stuff
like cut yourself,

kill yourself,
or hurt other people.

It even made this kid
stab his own mother.

- What?
- Yeah.

Why would they just do
whatever the thing tells them to?

I don't know, I mean,

if it's trendy, Amir,
kids will do just about anything.

- Boys!
- Sorry.

Sorry.

Thirteen views.

I'm up one view, but that's still
10 down from my last video.

Let me see.

I don't know,

maybe I'm just not
influencer material.

Don't give up.

First of all, you need
a way better thumbnail.

This one does not make me
wanna click on it at all.

Oh, hey, you got a comment.

"Wow." who's Cassidy johns ton?

Oh no, this is not good.

Wait, d-do you know her?

I know that she's, like, evil.

What do you mean "evil"?

You know, creepy.

Like, you don't want
to get on her bad side.

But she liked it. She said, "wow."

Asha, nobody says "wow"
in a good way anymore.

People only say "wow" if it's like,

"wow, really?"

There must've been something
in the video that offended her.

- What? No!
- I don't even know her.

What? I don't even know her!

- Hey, Mr. Chaudhry.
- Hi, em.

Uh, we were just headed back inside.

See you in there.

It's another phone-free outing
down the drain, I guess.

We were just looking
at my video.

She's helping me get
more traffic to my channel.

Is that all it was?

Yeah.

Look, asha, I, um, I know, okay?

I know this all seems really silly,

all the phone-free outings,
whatever, it's just,

these are supposed to be some
of the best years of your life, okay?

And I... just don't wanna
see you waste it is all.

I don't feel like I'm wasting it.

Running in circles for hours
every day after class

until I'm too exhausted
to do anything else,

that's wasting it.

Okay. I mean, like,

I feel like there's
a whole world out there.

I know, and that's...

I mean, that is what I've been
trying to get you to see.

I...

Okay.

Look, we should, um, we should
get back inside, come on.

I'm at 30 health right now,

getting full shield would be ideal.

Contact northwest.

Uh, popping minis.

Uh, yeah.

I'd like that a lot.

I see his teammate.

Engaging.

Finish. Alright.

Hello?

Asha?

Could you come upstairs for a second?

We need to talk to you guys
about something.

He looks like this.

Wait, what is it called again?

Grimcutty. You sure
you haven't seen it before?

What is it?

It's, um, some kind
of sick online challenge

that tells you to do stuff like,

I don't know, cut yourself,
choke yourself,

even kill yourself.

Tells us to do stuff how?

We're not sure exactly.

You know, it could pop up
in the middle of a video,

or be a link that you click on,
or even personal messages.

The point is
is that it's working, okay?

Couple of local kids already
cut themselves because of it.

It even made one kid stab his mom.

Maybe it's like subliminal messages
that flash so fast

you don't even know you saw 'em,
like mk ultra!

Kamran, we're being serious
right now, honey.

- Yeah.
- I don't get it.

Why would anyone do that, though?

- On a dare, maybe.
- You know, or to get attention.

You think we're gonna
cut ourselves for attention?

Well, you wouldn't think
that somebody would lick

an armrest on an airplane

or climb a tower of milk crates
to get attention,

but they did that.

Okay, well, we didn't.

- We know that.
- Yeah.

I'm... look, all we're saying is that

we just want you guys
to be aware of it, okay?

We know that you like
to look at stuff online.

We're gonna respect your privacy.

Just... please don't do
anything stupid, okay?

Dad, I think you can relax.

We're not gonna stab you.

If someone has a link
to the grimcutty challenge

will you please post it?

I will pay money.

We're just overreacting, right, honey?

I mean, she's...
Asha's into weird stuff,

but she's not crazy enough
to do something like that, right?

Sure.

What the fuck?

What is it?

Linda said Karen and Phil just caught
Madison in the hallway cutting herself.

Because of grimcutty?

Didn't say.

- Okay, I don't... I mean, this just...
- It can't, it can't be, uh...

This just...

You know,
we should do more research.

- Yeah.
- Yeah, let's...

Just, uh...

But they're very, very soft.

- Jesus.
- Dad!

- What?
- Dad!

There's, there's someone in the house!
There's someone in the house!

We... are you alright?

It was right there.

He was tall.

Like, really, really tall.
And, um,

he was wearing black, like,
I, I wanna say leather.

But, um... his hands were, like, huge.

And... his face,
he had, like, big red eyes.

Kinda like this?

Yeah. Like, like that.

Thought so.

We've been getting calls
about it all night.

Okay, then somebody
dressed up as grimcutty

is playing a prank on me.

Is that possible?

If that's the case,
it'd have to be a group of people.

One guy couldn't move around that fast.

What did I see, then?

I mean, you're the cop.

Asha.

You remember what you were
doing right before you saw it?

I was making toast

and watching a video on my phone.

Do you mind if I talk
to your parents for a minute?

I'm having a really hard time buying

that there's some person out there

making these kids...

- but why?
- Why, why would they lie?

Why would they make this up?

Maybe it's telling them to lie.

Like, as part of the challenge.

There's still a lot
we don't know about it.

Well, thank you.

Okay, I'll show you out.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.

What?

You better let me
hold on to that for now.

- What for?
- Dad, what are you doing?

Just a precaution until we figure out
what the heck is going on.

Dad, stop it!

You don't seriously think
I'm making this up

because of some online challenge?

- Asha, let go.
- Dad, that's...

You're gonna get it back tomorrow.

We just need to sleep.

Okay? You should try
to get some sleep, too.

11, 12. I was...

Everything last night was just

a lot.

- Here she is.
- Why don't you come join us?

- You wanna start?
- Uh, uh, yes, sure.

Um, so, we've been doing these
phone-free outings for a while now, okay,

and you guys have been great.

But we just thought that, you know,
with everything that's been happening,

now might be a really great time

for us to up our game a little bit, okay?

So, we've got this new detox box...

I'm s... the what?

So, we take all of our devices,

we put 'em in there, we lock it up.

And then, in a week,
we see how we're feeling,

and we decide if we even
wanna keep going.

- I have so many questions.
- That's what we're here for.

Shoot uh huh.

Okay, how 'bout why?

Well, because, um,

clearly, these devices
are affecting you guys

in ways that we don't
entirely understand yet,

so really, we're just...

it's an experiment.

- Exactly.
- Mm-hm. Yeah.

I mean, it may not
make a difference at all,

but we won't know unless we try.

Can I go first, dad?

Yes, of course.

- Great job.
- Thanks, dad. Thanks, mom.

Alright, thank you.

Okay.

Please tell me this isn't
because of grimcutty.

Do you even know what
the grimcutty challenge is?

Or did you just see that photo
and hear a bunch of rumors about it?

'Cause, you know,
I'd really like to know.

Sweetie, all we know is that
ever since you quit track,

you have become more
and more withdrawn, okay?

And it's common
for depressed people to have...

but, but I'm not depressed!

Look, we have no idea
how these devices are affecting you,

but that is the whole point of this.

So, that you can reclaim your focus game.

And cut your screen time
in the meantime.

Yeah.

Okay, what did you guys smoke
while I was asleep?

- Look, we're all doing this, okay?
- Put your phone in the box.

No!

I'm not letting you guys blame this
on phones or anxiety or whatever.

I know what I saw.

It wasn't a hallucination.
It wasn't some guy in a costume.

It was a real thing.
It was huge and terrifying.

I need you guys to help me
figure out what it was!

- Enough, asha!
- Put your phone in the box!

Now!

- Asha, hey! Let go, asha.
- I just wanna call Emily.

- Asha, let go.
- Let go, asha.

- No, I'll give it back after, I promise!
- I just...

Shh.

I wanna use the laptop.

What laptop?

"Can I go first, dad?"

The golden boy act
doesn't work on me.

I know you have a backup.

Now give it to me.
Unless you want me to tell dad.

What are you gonna do with it?

I already spent hours looking.
You're not gonna find it.

- Like, what about message boards?
- Nobody posted a link to it?

No, there's a lot of people
freaking out about it,

but nobody knows
what it actually is.

What are you doing?

Where is everybody?

I already tried to Skype Zach.

They probably got
their stuff taken away, too.

Wait, what the hell?

Did you change the WiFi password?

I disconnected it.

- Do you think they know we're...
- Shh!

What are you gonna do?

Ashmsauce229.

- Hi.
- Saw your message.

I was worried I was the only one left
that still had a phone.

- No, I just, I just got mine back.
- How do you still have yours?

My parents aren't on
the grimcutty freakout train yet.

But I'm not gonna give up my phone.

They can't just take our phones away.
That's fascist.

We'll go to the police if we have to.

No, um, I don't think that's gonna work.

They didn't believe me
any more than my parents did.

Wh-what do you mean?

You saw the grimcutty?

I think so.

- Well, what is it?
- Wait, can you send me the link?

You're the first person I've found
that's actually seen it.

No, I mean, like, I saw it,
or something like it,

like, in, in real life, in my house.

Okay, that's new.

What?

I thought I heard something.

What are you doing?

I can't really talk right now.

Well, whatever. Just stay on the line.

I think I might've found someone else.

Gonna try to add them.

Hold on.

Did you guys hear about Nathan?

Who?

Nathan childers cut himself,
apparently 'cause of grimcutty.

And Hannah's little brother
cut himself, too.

It's no joke.
It's really making people do stuff.

Well, asha here has seen it.

You did? Can you send me the link?

No, she saw, like, a ghost or something.

I don't know what I saw, okay?

The point is it's not online.

My parents keep saying
some online challenge,

but all I've seen is that stupid picture.

Well, the hysteria about it
sure spread fast.

Heard some parents are even
pulling their kids out of school.

Hold on a second, you guys.

Sorry, didn't mean
to interrupt your reading.

Oh, it's okay. What's up?

We wanna talk to you
about something.

Can you come downstairs
for a minute?

I'll be right down.

I gotta go. I think I'm about
to get the grimcutty talk.

I have to go, too.

Alright.

Listen, no matter what,

don't let your parents keep you home
from school tomorrow.

Tell them that you have a test.

Tell them that you love
learning, whatever. Just...

We'll meet up there.

Okay.

Hey, did you find her?

- No, did you?
- No.

- Let me go! Let me go!
- Asha, asha, asha!

It's okay.

Is she gonna need stitches?

I don't think so.

I didn't do this to myself.

We should probably
get it looked at, though.

I can bring her in the morning.

Eh, what about school?

Don't worry about it.

But I, I wanna go.

I have a test.

No, not until we get this figured out.

D-Do you even care
about my side of the story?

This was an accident.

I used the knife to pry open
the box to get my phone,

and then, I got really spooked
when I heard you guys coming

because of what happened last night.

And so, I ran downstairs,
and then I slammed the door

and then I accidentally cut myself.

That's it.

That's all. I didn't,
I didn't do it on purpose.

I didn't do it
'cause grimcutty told me to.

Okay, look, I don't, I don't know
what I saw last night.

But I just really want things
to go back to normal.

And I feel like going back to school
would really make me feel normal.

Please, I just...
I feel like school's the right...

Is the right place for me.

Maybe she should go.

No, it's out of the question.

Okay, well, then do you wanna stay home
from work and watch her all day?

I can't...

She wants to go to school,
let her go to school.

She has supervision there.

Okay, well, then this is on you, alright?

- Can I talk to you upstairs for just...
- Why?

What did I do this time?

Good morning, everyone.

As you can see,

some of you have chosen
to stay home today

given what's been happening.

Some of you have already talked
to your parents about it,

the rest of you probably will later.

But since we're here,
we want you to know

that this is a place where
you can be completely open

about... social media,

bullying,

fomo,

these online challenges that are becoming
more and more dangerous...

this is bullshit!

It's just a scary picture!
That's all that it is! It's just hype!

It's all bs!
We're not in any danger!

Oh my...

okay, um, obviously
some intense emotions.

Which is why we're here,
to get everything out into the open.

Now, we are gonna take questions later,
but before we get into that,

uh, we have managed to get
a very special guest,

who I think can shed some light,
and some humor,

on this situation,

which I think we could all use.

He travels across the country
talking to teens

about the ups and downs of social media.

Please give a hand
for Dave bagliardi!

Woo! Alright, how we all
doin' this morning?!

Okay, okay. I get it. I get it.

It's early. I know how it is.

You haven't had your Starbucks yet.
I feel you. Boy, do I feel you.

But I think we can do
a little bit better than that.

So, how y'all doin' this morning?

Okay, okay.

Not bad, not bad.
I can work with that.

Good morning, everyone.
It's good to see you.

As your lovely principal mentioned,

my name is Dave bagliardi.

And before we get started here today,

I wanna tell you all a little story.

Wayyy back when
when I was in high school,

things were a lot different.

And I know you're
probably asking yourself,

"what does this old geezer know

about anything that is
going on with me, right?"

Hey, is your friend coming?

Kay didn't make it.

None of my friends did.

- Do you still have your phone?
- No.

My parents got to me
after you hung up.

They made me put it
in a "detox box."

My parents said the same thing.

- They used that exact term?
- Yeah.

They said it was
to "reclaim my focus game

- and cut my screen time in the meantime."
- "Your screen time in the meantime."

Where are they getting this?

It's like they're reading
from the same script.

I don't know. It's weird.

Do I even wanna know?

Unless you've seen it,
I doubt you'll believe me.

Well, I haven't, but

I just wanna know what's
brainwashing my parents.

And I want my phone back.

I can't fall asleep without Bob Ross.

Me neither.

Alright then, as hm sauce.

What do we do first?

If I could just use the Internet
for, like, five seconds.

What about the computers
in the library?

Disconnected. I already checked.

Um.

Alright.

I know someone who will
definitely let us use their computer.

Come on.

I'll drive.

- Whose house is this again?
- This rich kid, Oliver.

Heard he was having a ditch party.

Looks like I was right.

Won't his parents be home?

Fuck no. They work in, like,
international shipping or something,

and they're hardly ever home.

Practically lives by himself.

Were you even invited?

We're girls. I don't think
he'll care how we got here.

Besides, he's a really big fan
of your channel.

What?!

Yeah, he's the one who told me about it.

I'm kidding!

You know, for someone
who makes asmr videos,

you're a little tense.

Hey, Oliver.

- Hey, Cassidy! Hey... you guys.
- Come in. Come in. Come in.

Help yourself to whatever.

Actually, do you have a laptop
that we could use?

Uh, the WiFi password is
on the wall in there.

We...

We don't have phones.

Oh shit! 'Cause of grimcutty?

Wow, that is... fascist.
Uh... yeah, sure.

Come on, you can use mine.

So, your parents got
the grimcutty hysteria, huh?

I feel for you, man,
but we don't care about that here.

I don't suppose you know
what the grimcutty actually is?

What do you mean?

I mean what it is that's
making people cut themselves.

Is it just some asshole sending people
messages on whatsapp?

Look all I know is it's the reason

we don't have to go to school
if we don't want to,

so that is what we're celebrating.

Wait, wait, wait. I have an idea.

Everyone,

take out your knives!

When I hit record,

I want everyone
to start, uh, pretending

like they're brainwashed
by grimcutty, okay?

Three, two, one.

- Gah!
- Grimcutty. Grimcutty.

Grimcutty!

Aren't your parents gonna see that?

- My parents? No.
- They're in Morocco or something.

Just boot it up
for you real quick.

There you go.

Oh! Um...

That wasn't... that's... school, um...

There you go.

Do I even wanna touch this keyboard?

Just... do a search for "detox box,"

see what comes up.

Fran, I ordered a breathing treatment
for the guy that's in room two.

Let go of me, man! Get off me!

This is bullshit!

Another one of those kids
who played that cutting game.

You know, on the Internet
with that scary guy?

Your kids aren't into
that kind of stuff, are they?

Uh, no. Thank god.

All I can say is,
thank god I don't have kids.

- Hey.
- Hey, I just got to the school.

She's not here.

We should never have
let her leave the house.

- Okay, calm down, calm down.
- D... are you sure she didn't go home?

- Well, I'm headed home now.
- Get there when you can.

Oh god.

Wait, click on that.

Looks like a mommy blogger.

"Hi, I'm Melinda.

"Years ago, I began a journey
that would change my life forever.

A journey called motherhood."

Wait, go back to the post.

"Is your child's smart phone
making them grow horns?"

"Is your 5g network to blame?"

- "My son is never bored.
- Here's why that's a problem."

Oh my god, no way.

That bitch!

"Cut your screen time in the meantime."

Anything about grimcutty?

Does it say what it is?

- Oh.
- She took it down.

But whatever. I think it's obvious
she's hiding something.

Hey, did you hear about that kid in town

- that stabbed his mom?
- Mm-hm.

Well, how much you wanna bet that's her?

How do you know?

- Well, look at the posts.
- I would stab her.

This has to all be connected somehow.

Maybe.

Let me see if I can find her address.

Well, let's just regroup tomorrow
and do it. I gotta get home.

Get home?

Yeah, I just don't wanna freak out
my parents even more.

I spent years training them
to stop worrying about me,

I don't wanna screw it all up now.

Why do they worry about you?

I don't know, they just do.

And I hate it.

Wa... hey, hey, hey, Cassidy?

Are we cool?

Yeah, why wouldn't we be cool?

I couldn't tell from your comment
if you were, like, pissed off, or...

my comment on your video?

I thought I just put "wow."

Well, yeah, but I... I couldn't tell
if you meant like "wow."

You know, in real life,
you are way different

than you are in your channel.

Thought you'd be way more, like, chill.

I am chill.

- Hm.
- I am.

Look, okay, I just hadn't had
any time alone to relax

and process all of this.

That's something I need.

I'm actually a really zen-like person.

Really?

You don't strike me as zen-like at all.

Why not?

Dude, because... a zen-like person
doesn't have to hide in their room

and meditate every time
something goes wrong.

A zen-like person could be
in the middle of the most fucked up,

insane situation ever
and still find inner peace.

It's what zen is.

- That was Sarah.
- They still haven't heard from her.

Well, I think it's time
to call the police.

Yeah.

Kamran, please just
go back downstairs, alright?

Everything's gonna be fine.

Amir?

What?

Oh my god.

- Where is this?
- Oh my god.

Ughhh!

Please be online.
Please be online.

Boy, are you in trouble.

Mom and dad just peeled out
of the driveway at full blast.

What?! Do they know where I am?

Sure seemed like it.

Where are you anyway?

- Never mind.
- Um... is the WiFi back on?

I need your help finding somebody.

Yeah, but dad installed some
kind of monitoring software.

Anything I do could set it off.

Wait, they just left
you there by yourself?

Yeah, so?

I haven't seen the grimcutty.
They don't worry about me.

Yeah, they don't worry about you.

Find who?

I need to find out
where this woman lives.

Can you do it?

There are ways, but...

what?

This might set off dad's thing.

I don't wanna get in trouble.

What the frick is wrong with you?

Kamran, I don't know exactly
what's going on with me,

but I can really use someone
to believe me right now.

Please... I need your help.

Fine, I'll work on it.

Thanks, stupid.

You're welcome, jerk.

- Oh my god.
- What?

She's posting about grimcutty now.

What?!

She's posting about grimcutty, hurry!

Oh, hey, hey, look at that!

- Huh?
- Look at that!

- Look at what?
- That!

How can you not see that?!

Goddamn it.

Help! Help!

Please somebody help me!

Help!

Somebody! Anybody!

Help me!

Help! Anybody!

Asha!

Somebody help me!

Asha!

Asha! Asha!

Drop the knife, asha! Drop it, drop it!

Let me see.

God damn.

Did you see it?

It was right there.
How did you not see it?

We're gonna get you the help
that you need, sweetheart, okay?

I promise.

The hell?

Someone's using the WiFi in our house.

Did you leave your laptop out?

- Me?
- Yeah, you.

Uh, no. It's in the detox box
with everything else.

Well, then who the hell is this?

What did you do?

What did you do?

Asha, tell us the truth,
what did you do?

It's not his fault.

Come on.

I told him to do it.

Mom, dad, just calm down!

Seatbelt! Now!

Gotcha.

Kamran!

Oh my god, kamran.

- He's breathing.
- Oh god.

Hey! Get back!

Can you hear me, baby?

I'm gonna call 911.

Uh, hi. Um, yeah, uh, my son,

we just found him on the floor,
he-he's unconscious.

That's it, careful, careful.

You have to go slow
because the pain meds

knocked you out pretty good.

The doctors are hopeful.

They're outside right now
talking to your dad.

They, they say he could
wake up any minute.

- Oh my god, I'm bleeding again.
- There's blood.

- No, no, no, it's fine.
- Let me see.

Stay put.

You know what, I have to get somebody
to come change your bandages.

And I'm actually gonna get you
some clean sheets

and some blue pads
while I'm at it.

You just stay put, okay?

We made an appointment for you
for later this afternoon.

With a psychiatrist.

It's not my fault.

'Course it's not your fault.

It's what dad thinks.

- You know, he's, uh, he's...
- Your dad's scared.

So, he... he overreacted, that's all.

I'll be right back.

Mom?

You've known me my whole life.

I've never hurt myself before this.

Just think about it,
it doesn't make any sense.

- We saw you cutting yourself!
- You were cutting yourself, asha.

What am I supposed to do with that?
You tell me.

Let's let the psych handle it.

I think that he's gonna help you
make sense of this, okay?

I'll be right back.

I'm sorry, kamran.

Sasha beady, 4152. Sasha beady, 4152.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnston?

Come with me, please.

New, disturbing reports
of teens gathering together

to try the grimcutty challenge,

watch each other cut themselves,

and even engage in bizarre
group cutting rituals.

For more on this developing story,

we wanna go now
to news channel 8...

okay, I believe you now.

Where did it get you?

I was trying to crawl under the bed,

and... it got me in the legs.

Can't even walk.

You know, when I asked you about the cuts,

you could've just said
that grimcutty's this

real life huge fucking creature,
and it's gonna cut you.

- When'd you see it?
- Last night.

After my parents saw that video,
they, like, freaked out

and sent me to my room.

They were convinced I was suicidal.

What happened to you?

Wait, what are you even doing here?

I got the address.

Of the mommy blogger?

- I was just on my way there.
- I stole my mom's keys.

What, so you're just
gonna knock on her door

and be like, "oh, hi.
I'm a huge fan of your blog.

Just happened to be in the neighborhood.
And by the way, are you totally insane?"

I have a theory.

Tell me.

You just said when your parents saw
the video and freaked out,

that's when it attacked you.

And it di... it didn't attack my brother
until my parents found out

he was using a computer
and freaked out, too.

It's, like, whenever their hysteria
about grimcutty boils over,

that's when it attacks.

- So... what?
- Our parents are controlling it?

Not on purpose.

It's like they don't
know they're doing it.

And they can't see it,
so when I try to tell them what I saw,

it just makes them think I'm more crazy
and just makes them more hysterical.

It's like a vicious cycle.

Okay, so how do we break the cycle?

I don't know.

Well, you need to figure it out soon.

'Cause this psychiatrist
that I met with earlier,

my parents are meeting
with them right now.

So... if our parents freaking out
makes it stronger,

then... I'm dead.

Oh shit.

Shit.

- Find anything on there?
- No.

- Where's asha?
- Um,

The psych's office had an opening,

so they were able
to take her in earlier.

And she was feeling better, so.

I was actually...
I was just waiting for you.

What did the doctor say?

More of the same.

He might wake up today. Might not.

They've had a lot
of grimcutty-related cases, so.

You know, this could all just be
some kind of cyber-attack.

I mean, they've tried it before.

Use our networks to incite violence.

I mean, anybody could
do it from anywhere.

You know, aim it against a particular
community if you wanted, like ours.

Okay, I am, I'm gonna head back down.

I'll, I'll let you know how, how,
how it goes after her appointment.

Damn it, asha.

The hell are you into now?

Hi, can I help you?

Hi.

Sorry to just show up like this,

but I read your blog
and I was wondering

if I could ask you
some questions about it.

It's, it's for a class, and I didn't know
how else to contact you, so...

you could've just emailed me,

but, uh, sure, what, what, what
do you wanna know?

Uh, well, I saw your
post about grimcutty,

- and I was wondering...
- Sorry, I don't know what that is.

Uh, grimcutty. The online challenge
thing you posted about.

I don't remember anything like that.

Oh, it's, uh, it's, like, a, um,
a challenge thing

that's mak... well, supposedly,
making kids cut themselves.

And there... there was, like,
a rumor or something

that, like, it made some kid,
like, stab his mom.

I'm sorry, what, what did you say
your name was, honey?

Asha.

Asha, if I had a nickel for every time
I get asked about this.

Look, the bottom line is that my family
had an accident a while ago

and needless to say,
it's been blown way out of proportion,

but it's fine.

We're fine. Everything is fine. Really.

Okay. Well, are you sure
you haven't heard of grimcutty?

Do your parents know that you're here?

Do you really not know
what's going on?

What do you mean?

Everyone in town is reading your blog
and following what it says.

Like, religiously.

Huh.

Well, I haven't, uh,
updated it in a while,

but I... I'm very glad to hear
that people are connecting with it.

Maybe you should go home.

- But you should email me...
- But...

and if I think of anything,
I will let you know, okay?

Drive safe.

I know, it's for your own good, baby.

No. Drink all of it.

Hello?

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

Hey. What happened to you?

Put me back.

What?

Lock me back in. She'll see you.

But I have to get you out of here.

No. I can't make mom
worry about me.

Stay calm, asha.

Just relax.

Reach back with one hand,
grab your phone, and toss it to me.

I don't have a phone.

A girl your age leaving
your home without a phone?

Think you better tell me the truth.

Detox box, bitch!

Out into the hallway then.

Now!

Come on... oh.

Are you sure you don't have a phone?

- What did you do to him?
- Me?

He did that to himself.
I'm just trying to protect him.

Um, oh, hi.

Are you looking
for your daughter by chance?

- Yes, is sh...
- Mom! Mom! I'm back here!

Just come, come in.

- Please, come in.
- I'm sorry.

She broke in, and I found her
in one of the back rooms

and I had to lock her in real quick.

I'm, I'm really sorry,
I just... I didn't know what to do.

I was about to call the police.

- Oh gosh. Please, no need.
- I-i-I'll take it from here.

- I am so sorry about this.
- No worries.

I'm just gonna unlock her real fast.

- I'm, I'm Melinda, by the way.
- Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

- I know. I read your blog.
- Mom, look out, she's got a gun!

Gosh, she just, she really
hasn't been herself lately,

and I was worried she would
do something like this.

I'm... again, I'm really, really sorry...

as long as you're sure that
you can handle her, I won't ask.

Thank you so much.

Mom, don't listen to her,
she just pointed a gun at me!

Take it easy.

I'm serious! She's got her son
locked up in a closet upstairs!

Okay, calm down. We're gonna
talk about it in the car, okay?

No, wait, wait! We can't just
leave him here with her.

- She might kill him!
- Just calm down.

I'm not gonna let her
do that to him, okay?

We have to get him out of here!

She might kill him!
We have to save him!

Asha, stop it!

I am so sorry about this.

Already forgotten.

We're gonna talk about it
when we get back to the hospital.

Mom, the same thing
that was happening to me,

same thing's happening to him, only worse.

What's happening to you, asha?

The grimcutty.

- No. No. No.
- The, the hysteria's feeding it!

No, no, think about it!

It didn't start attacking me
until you and dad saw that photo!

Ugh!

Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom,
chill for a second.

Hey, will you please just calm down?

Calm down?

After everything
that you have put us through,

you want me to calm down?

I didn't mean to put
you through anything.

Of course, you didn't!

Because that would require you
to think for one second

how your behavior affects us!

But you don't care!

As long as we pay your phone bill,
as long as we cook your food,

and buy you the latest
versions of everything,

you could give a flying fuck!

Oh my god.

Oh god.

What the hell am I doing?

Alright, just, um,

take that in case anything happens,

stay in the car,

and I'll be right back.

Wait,

mom, mom, what are you gonna do?

Stay in the car, asha.

Okay.

Car trouble?

No, you know, I just had one more thing,
if you don't mind.

Sure.

See, my daughter, she just said
something kind of crazy.

She said something about
your son being starved

and, and locked in a closet.

So, I'm just trying to figure out
why she, why she would say that.

Your daughter's quite a character.

- She is, I know, believe me I do know.
- She's quite a character.

Never known her to be a liar, though.

Well, I don't mean to presume,

but sometimes people
with mental illness

believe things to be true
even when they're not.

I also think I left my keys inside.

No. Excuse me, excuse me!

This is ridiculous.
You need to leave right now.

You know, she said another thing, too.

She said that this whole
grimcutty thing started with you.

Is that true?

You need to leave my house right now,
or I'm gonna call the police.

Go ahead, call them please, I'll wait.

Maybe they can check on your son,
make sure he's okay.

This big collective freakout
about grimcutty

has put my family through hell,

so I would like to know
where it came from.

- Did you make it up? Just tell me and I will leave.
- My god.

I didn't make it up,
I don't know who made it.

I caught my son looking at it online,

and the next thing I know,
he's cutting himself.

And ever since then,

I've been trying to keep
it out of my house

and away from my child,
so I'd very much appreciate it

if you would just stop talking about it.

Where did he find it?

And what was he doing
when he found it? Do you know?

I, I told you that I don't
wanna talk about it.

- Did he cut himself?
- Stop it!

Stop it! I've cured him from that.

There's nothing wrong with him now!

There's nothing wrong with him!

Oh god, there's nothing wrong with him.

There's nothing wrong with him.

No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

There's nothing wrong with him.

You bitch!

I had it all under control!

But you just couldn't shut up about it!

- Stop!
- No!

- Oh god.
- Mom!

- Go!
- Mom!

Go!

Stop! Stop!

I know what's right for him!

There's castle law in this state,
and I'm legally allowed to defend myself!

I am the one who spread that photo around,

and now I am the one
who has to contain it!

Aah!

Aah!

Asha!

Get the car quick.

Laura!

- This is the kid?
- Over here. Yes, yes, please.

Just be careful,
I could've sworn for a second

he almost stopped breathing, so...

We're gonna need intubation supplies

and rt in room two, stat!

- And I'll be right behind you.
- And page the trauma team!

I'm gonna go with them.

I need you to stay right here.
Don't move, okay?

Okay. Wh-what about dad?

I'm gonna handle it.

You did great.

Dad?

I've been going over
some of your recent activity.

There's a lot of interesting stuff.

Did you really give
your phone number

to someone on the darknet market?

You know how dangerous that is?

I...

you could've put
this whole family at risk.

How long have you had this thing?

Oh, and your search history:

Grimcutty, like, 50 times,

tennis ball bombs, um,

bat sex,

the church of Satan, necrophilia,

Dylan klebold and Eric Harris.

I didn't know what those things were.

My friends were talking about it,
and I didn't know.

I-I was just curious.

Get up. Get dressed.

Kay?

Oh, hey.

- What are you doing here?
- Have you heard from Cassidy?

You don't know.

What?

She tried to kill herself.

Stabbed herself in the neck.

She's not supposed to make it.

- Come on.
- Put your shoes on. Let's go.

- Where are we going?
- Someplace safe.

Hurry up.

Oh, thank god. Oh, thank god.

There's something wrong with dad.

I know.

Leah, Leah, where's asha?

She's downstairs and she's fine.

You left her alone?

That's what I wanted to tell you,

there's nothing wrong
with either of our kids.

- We got this wrong.
- Hey, what the hell is this, huh?

Come on, what is this?

- It's just a...
- It's a little something to help you relax.

What are you doing?

- You need to relax.
- You need to get some sleep.

Uh-uh. Hey, Leah, let me have it.

Just let me give it to you.

Let me have it.

You're gonna feel so much
better afterwards, please.

I understand that you're just trying
to do what's best for the kids.

I know you are.

But I need you to trust me,
just this one time.

- You don't understand...
- Please trust me.

Leah...

ma'am, are you the one
that brought the boy in?

Yes, I can explain.

- You can't just run off like that.
- Okay.

You gotta answer some questions.

Hey, what the hell is going on?

Our kids are not crazy,
we are doing this to them.

I need you to take the shot.

Kamran!

Kamran!

Whoa, whoa! Slow down, kid.

Do your parents know where you are?

Kamran!

Hey, it's okay, it's okay, it's me.

I just saw the grimcutty again.

Dad's going ape shit.

- I know.
- The grimcutty's feeding off him.

It attacks whenever mom and dad freak out.

What? How do you know that?

I found that kid who stabbed his mom.

He was trying to kill her,
so it would stop attacking him.

It worked. I saw it.

So, what do we do?

What are you gonna do with those?

I hurt it once before.

If I can hurt it, maybe I can kill it.

What if you can't?

You're gonna stab dad?

No! I don't know.

It's really killing people now.

If dad's really freaking out,
it could kill us.

What about mom?

Don't worry about mom, she's cool.

What? How did that happen?

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

Asha,

you can't... kill dad.

Just stay here for a minute.

I'll try to get dad's attention.

And if he's focused on me,
it'll only attack me.

You'll be safe.

Good luck, stupid.

Thanks, jerk.

Kamran?!

Hey, buddy, it's dad!

Look, I'm sorry I overreacted, okay?

Everything's gonna be fine!

Everything's...

Everything's gonna be fine.

Kamran?!

Kamran?!

Asha.

Hey, dad!

- What are you doing here?
- Where's your brother?

- He's, he's fine.
- Well, I'm, I'm fine, too. We're both fine.

Everyth... ev-everything's fine.

Okay, that's good, good.

Hey, dad, can we start over?

You know... take a breath, relax,

just have a, a calm, rational discussion
about everything that's been happening?

- Uh, yeah, yeah.
- I'm all about that, honey.

You know, why don't you
help me find your brother,

and then we can just sit down
and all talk it out together.

Dad, I know that a lot of the things

I'm into might not make
a lot of sense to you.

No.

That can be scary for you, I'm sure.

Um, and I...

Well, I-I-I never try
to explain it to you

because I don't think you'll get it.

But I realize now, you can get it.

If we can just have
an honest conversation about it...

whoa, whoa, asha, uh, um,

honey, what is, what is
that in, in your, in your hand?

What is that, asha?
Let me see.

Actually, I took mom's phone,

and I've been watching
grimcutty videos all day long

and I'm afraid of what I might do!

- Can you just give me the scissors?
- Please, honey, give me the scissors.

Give me the scissors, asha!

Asha! Asha!

Alright, you bastard.

Come get some.

Asha.

Asha, honey.

Dad, please stop.

I need you to put
those scissors down, okay?

I don't wanna have to hurt you.

Asha, please.

No, no, no!

Oh no, dad?

Dad?

Asha... I am so sorry.

What? No, I'm sorry.

No, no, you have nothing
to be sorry for.

I stabbed you.

I know, it's okay.

I deserve it.

No, you don't. You don't deserve it.

It's okay.

Honey, don't cry, it's okay.

Dad, dad, I love you. I love you.

Hey, everyone.

Gonna do something
a little bit different today.

A lot of people have been
asking me about grimcutty,

I guess because of what happened
to me and my parents.

So, I'm gonna try to answer
a few of those questions now.

First question:

Did you kill your dad?

No, I didn't kill my dad.

He's not dead. He's fine.

We're all fine.

I mean, yeah,
it's pretty messed up

what we went through as a family.

Hey.

But for everyone out there
who had to deal with grimcutty,

I think you get it.

Which is most of you.

Next question:

What if the grimcutty comes back?

Well, it could happen, I guess.

We still don't know where it came from,

but if some crazy, controlling parent

like Melinda jaynes got wind
of it for the first time,

yeah, it could flare up
all over again.

But we'll be better prepared
to deal with it

the next time around.

It's okay to talk to me.

Last question:

My parents still worry
about grimcutty.

Do you have any advice?

I would say

if you want your parents to listen,

you're gonna have to listen, too.

And you have to be honest.

Otherwise, how are they gonna know?

And if you're a parent,

I would say, it's okay
to not understand

everything that's going on with us.

It doesn't mean
you screwed up somewhere.

It just means you're human.

And being human
is scary sometimes.

You might be afraid
of what's gonna happen next.

That's okay.

You're doing really well.

Just give some
of my techniques a try.

And most importantly,
don't forget to breathe.