St. Osmund's (2013) - full transcript
A film crew putting together a documentary on an abandoned insane asylum finally get permission to enter the building. Once they get there, they find themselves trapped, plagued by visions of the patients who were once treated there by a religious zealot with archaic methods of therapy.
(growling)
(screaming)
(growling)
(audio distorts)
(roars)
- [Ben] Mental illness
is misunderstanding.
It's happiness one moment,
and rage the next.
It's standing at a river
and seeing the ocean.
It's the person you love most
and they're gone.
Mental illness is a disease.
Centuries ago, people afflicted with it
had only their families to count on.
If their families couldn't care for them,
they were kept in the
basements of medical hospitals.
The treatment of the
mentally ill in America
began in 1773 with the opening of
the Eastern State Hospital
in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Like most new endeavors,
it was a rocky start.
While it was acknowledged
that the mentally ill
were in need of specialized care,
it often came in the
form of extended periods
of isolation or religious therapy.
Over the course of the 19th century,
more asylums were built.
Methods of care were refined.
Thousands of patients
were institutionalized.
At the turn of the century,
the New Hampshire Health and
Human Services Department
decided to open its own hospital,
employing some of the
best psychiatric doctors
in the country.
St. Osmund's State Psychiatric Hospital
was opened on May 5th, 1903.
It boasted state-of-the-art facilities,
revolutionary treatment plans,
and an internationally-renowned
team of psychiatrists
lead by Dr. Jonas Callahan,
an alumnus of Danvers State Hospital
in Danvers, Massachusets.
At the peak of its operation,
St. Osmund's housed over 2,000 patients
with everything from mood disorders
to severe dissociative psychopathy.
For decades, the hospital was regarded as
one of the best mental health
treatment facilities in America.
In December of 1963, that changed.
On December 14th, 1963,
the State of New Hampshire
approved a motion
to seal all records of persons
either employed by, or being
treated at St. Osmund's.
As of today, there is no evidence
of any other further federal inquiries
having been made into
the hospital's closing.
It remains unknown who authorized
the closure of St. Osmund's.
It remains unknown why the state
chose to keep this decision a secret.
It remains unknown what happened
to the 2,412 patients still being treated
at what was once considered one of
the best mental hospitals
in American history.
That's it.
- Bad day.
- We need to get a copy of that contract.
Eli's calling in two hours.
I think it's in the office.
- [Neil] Why are you cleaning?
- For the interview.
- [Neil] Do we have anyone
scheduled for today?
- Me.
- [Neil] (laughs) You're kidding, right?
- No, of course I'm not kidding.
We're over 25 minutes short.
Now you know I don't like
the talking head thing, but.
Would you mind putting the
camera down and helping?
- [Neil] You told me you wanted
everything behind the scenes documented.
- I never said that.
- [Neil] You said you'd say that,
and then you said to keep rolling.
- Would you move?
- [Neil] All right,
let's see where we're at.
(sighs) I don't know
if you guys know this,
but a doc running on TV should be
a little more than 15 minutes.
Whelp, we're fucked.
All right, let's see what Ben's up to.
Hey, so, what do you wanna
talk about in the interview?
- Well maybe we can, uh, talk
about why we're doing this.
You know, go for a more personal angle.
- [Neil] Personal angle?
- Well yeah, I mean.
Everyone knows somebody that
suffers from mental illness,
I mean, to varying degrees,
but if we could find a
way to get the audience
to connect through the interview
by talking maybe from
personal stories, and.
- [Neil] So, something that hits like,
a little closer to home?
- Yeah.
- [Neil] When did you first
hear about St. Osmund's?
- Uh, well, I was looking
at the disciplinary actions
taken against mental hospitals
where malpractice was
proven to have occurred,
and St. Osmund's was on that list.
Most of the other hospitals, they had
detailed records of the results
of these malpractice investigations,
but not St. Osmund's.
And, uh, all that my investigation
of St. Osmund's turned up is that
it closed down shortly after
one of these claims
was given to the state.
- [Neil] Before now, your films
have mainly dealt with
international cultures.
What is it that spurred
your sudden interest
in mental health care?
- I wouldn't say it's a sudden interest,
it's just uh, it's one I
hadn't acted on before.
It comes from my father, Walter.
He uh, he had his own
construction business,
he had a great relationship with my mom,
he loved her, and uh,
for all intents and purposes,
he had a great, a great life.
But about six years ago, he uh,
he woke up at four in the morning, and um,
he told my mother that
he was going on a drive.
We didn't see or hear
from him for six days.
Finally, a state trooper found him
and brought him home.
And when he got home, he
asked where he had been,
and all he said to us is that
he had been on a journey.
And that's all he said.
I mean, I couldn't even
tell you where he had been,
there were no credit card charges,
there were no phone calls,
I mean, there was nothing.
And the weird thing about
it, is when he got home,
he just acted like, like
nothing had happened,
like nothing was wrong.
Like everything was just
normal and the same,
and uh, that was really, that
was really tough on my mom.
I mean she'd probably been
through stuff like this
with him before, I don't know if she had.
I mean, if she had, I
was too young to remember
or to understand.
But my mom,
she dealt with it a long time,
and she couldn't deal with it anymore.
I found my mother hanging in her bedroom.
- [Neil] What?
Why don't we take a few minutes?
- That's fine.
It's fine, yeah.
- [Neil] You're sure?
- Keep going, it's fine.
Whatever latent psychosis that my father
had lived with his whole life
came to the surface
after my mother's death.
And uh, I told him he needed help,
and he just refused.
I mean, I pressed him.
I pressed him, and he just,
he denied that he was even sick.
I never knew this before,
but he was raised Catholic,
and uh, he, whenever I suggested
that he needed help, he would say that
if he ever lost his way,
the Lord would show him the light.
And he believed it!
I got to a point where I just,
I couldn't wait for him to come around.
So I had him committed.
- [Neil] Why didn't you ever tell me that?
- Well there's not exactly a good way
to segue into that conversation, is there?
- [Neil] I mean, we're friends,
we could've talked about it.
So that only happened a
few years before we met?
- Yeah.
- [Neil] Where's your dad now?
- He's gone.
- [Neil] What do you mean?
- Did you find a copy of the contract?
- [Neil] No.
- Go check the office.
- [Neil] (sighs) All right.
(clock chiming)
(phone buzzing)
- Hello?
Oh, hi.
Hi Eli, how are you?
Mm-hm.
Yeah.
- [Neil] Speaker!
- No, no, I understand that.
- [Neil] Speaker!
Speaker!
- [Eli] A 15-minute
documentary is not marketable!
It's also not what we
agreed on in your contract.
- Well, I have the contract right here,
and it says we have eight
months to finish the film,
and it's only been three.
- [Eli] You've produced no footage!
- We have, we're just ironing it out.
- [Eli] What, your 15 minutes?
Come on, what do you
expect me to do with that?
- Well nothing yet.
We are going to have a
feature-length documentary
for you in five months,
just like we agreed.
- [Eli] You agreed to give me
a 40-minute rough cut by next week.
You're proposal says you should be able
to get your hands on documents
which explain why this nuthouse shut down.
Do you have them yet?
- Health and Human Services
is giving us the runaround,
but we are working on it.
- [Eli] I have serious doubts
that this project is going anywhere.
I'm not gonna keep feeding money into it.
If you can get your
hands on the documents,
then we can talk.
If you can't, I'm cutting my losses.
You have one week.
- It's not as easy as that, Eli.
Maybe they're playing coy
because they're trying to
hide something from us,
I think if we got legal on them--
- [Eli] No way in hell
am I wasting my money
or legal's time hunting
that shit down for you.
You want it done, do it yourself.
One week!
(disconnection beeps)
- [Neil] Well that went well.
(sighs) All right, realistically,
how much screen time can we squeeze out
of the footage we already have?
- Six, seven minutes max.
Be an ugly six or seven minutes.
There's only one way
to get this movie done,
and it's locked inside a state archive.
We're sunk.
- [Neil] Ben.
I'm sorry.
Look on the bright side, if this movie
doesn't work out, we can move to Alaska
and start a dogsled team!
You know, just you, me, and the huskies!
Hey, this happened last time, too.
We never thought we'd get it done.
I mean, come on, New Zealand customs
almost took all of our footage
on the way out of the country.
But they didn't, did they?
Big man upstairs doesn't forget about
nice guys like you and me.
We'll get it done.
- At least we had footage then.
- [Neil] I'm sure you'll
come up with something.
You know, I don't know what
you're complaining about.
As far as jobs go, we've
got it pretty good.
It could be a lot worse.
All right, check this guy out.
- I would love that job.
- Mr. Winters?
Hi, I'm Sophie Donahue, it's
nice to finally meet you.
- Nice to meet you too!
Uh, please, have a seat.
- Actually, I need to run to the restroom.
- [Ben] It's right back there.
- You didn't already beat me
to the internship, did you?
- [Neil] (laughs) No, I'm
Neil, Ben's camera operator.
And editor, and errand boy.
Basically I just do whatever he says.
- Well it's nice to meet you.
Be back in a minute.
- [Ben] Yeah.
- Yeah, usually you try to get
your senior internships
done, well, your senior year,
but, I wanna go abroad next semester,
so I got special permission to apply
for internships this year instead.
- Where do you wanna go?
- New Zealand.
- Neil and I spent a lot of
time there a couple years ago.
Actually shot a lot of
our last film there.
Good times, right Neil?
- [Neil] You could say that.
- That was for Avalon, Arise, right?
- You've seen it?
- Yeah, of course!
I thought the camera work was gorgeous.
- That was mostly--
- That was mostly me.
- Hey, listen, I've
heard everything I need,
if you want the internship, it's yours.
- Really?
Thank you so much, I am
really looking forward
to working with you, with both of you.
- Neil, can you do me a favor,
just grab a pen from
the guy at the counter?
I just want her to fill
out some of the forms
before we go.
- [Neil] See what I mean, Sophie?
Errand boy.
- [Ben] Now to be honest with you,
there's not a whole lot that
needs to be done right now.
- [Neil] Errand boy, nice line, jackass.
Hey, how's it going?
- Hey.
What can I get for ya?
- [Neil] I just need a pen.
Oh, oh, one here.
Excuse me, I found one.
All right, never mind, bye.
- So why is the state
withholding the information?
- Well the only thing
that makes sense to me
is that the state's hiding something.
- Like what, malpractice?
- Well, the malpractice records
is one of the only
places where there's any
official mention of St.
Osmund's closing down, so.
So yeah, I think that has
something to do with it.
- They won't even let you in the building?
- Well now it's out of the state's hands.
After the hospital closed down,
the state sold the property,
and the real estate company that owns it
has basically vanished.
I mean, they have a website,
but there's no email,
there's no phone number to go off of.
- What's the link?
Here, put it in my phone,
I wanna check it out.
- [Neil] What, are you gonna
pull some Nancy Drew shit?
- We'll see.
- It's a dead-end.
I think our best bet is to get a lawyer
to break through the wall
that the state's putting up.
Actually, we have an interview scheduled
with a historian on Tuesday at my place.
Do you think you could come by then?
- Sure.
- Okay, great.
Also, I'd like you to shoot
some behind-the-scenes footage
because we'll be using Neil's
camera for the interview.
And uh, frankly, if he continues
to follow me around with
that camera any longer,
I'm going to nail him to the wall.
- [Neil] Oh ha ha ha ha.
As you can see, Sophie,
Ben is a great boss.
- Um, in the meantime, is there anything
I can do to help out with
health department stuff?
- Jesus, proactive.
- I try.
- No, not that I can think of.
Anything comes up, I'll let you know.
I'm just gonna grab a refill,
I will be right back.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I'm fine, I just get a
little light-headed sometimes
when I sit too long.
- [Neil] No, he was taking shots of Nyquil
before you came in.
He's a drug fiend!
Just look at him.
- I'll give that another try.
- He seems really great.
- [Neil] Yeah, he's a good guy.
He's not really a drug
fiend, that was joke.
- (laughs) Yeah, I figured.
You like working for him?
- [Neil] Well, it's definitely work.
Especially lately.
We're having a rough time right now.
But yeah, he's great.
When the chips are down, he always manages
to come up with a way to deal with things.
Me and you will help out when we can,
but we're just cogs in the machine.
- Fine by me.
As long as I'm doing my part.
- [Neil] Yeah, for sure!
Um, so, Sophie.
- All right Neil, you ready?
- What do you like to
do for
- Here you go.
- fun?
- Oh, thanks.
- It was really great meeting you,
I look forward to working together.
- It's great meeting you, too.
I'll uh, let you know about Tuesday
and directions to my place,
and uh, I'll see you then.
- See you Tuesday.
- [Neil] Bye, Sophie.
- Later!
Hey!
- Sh!
Here, take this.
Keep rolling, though, he
just got on the phone.
- [Sophie] With who?
- I don't know, some guy named Phil.
- Yeah, fantastic, Phil.
But I'm confused, you said
you're returning my call?
- [Phil] Someone called me saying
they represented Ben Winters
and that you had some questions about
the St. Osmund's property.
- Uh, yeah, I was wondering
if your company still owns it.
- [Phil] Horizon?
I ran it until 1999.
We sold off most of the
properties after that.
- Does that include St. Osmund's?
- Nope, still got it.
There aren't a lot of
folks looking to buying
a decaying building in
the middle of nowhere
if you can believe it.
You in the market?
- No, not exactly.
I'm a filmmaker.
I'm making a documentary about it.
- [Phil] Oh.
- How much do you know about the place?
- [Phil] Not much.
Just that it closed down a long time ago.
Not sure why.
- I'm not sure why, either,
but I'm dying to find out.
I think our only chance
of doing that, though,
would be by visiting the building.
- [Phil] I'm afraid
it'd be a waste of time.
There's not much left in there.
- Well if there's anything at all,
it'd be a lot more than what
we have to go on right now.
Is there any way I could convince you
to let us take a look around?
- [Phil] Tell you what, I'm taking a trip
down to Louisiana to visit some friends.
As soon as I'm back, I'd be happy
to meet you guys up there.
- Could I ask you when you're coming back?
- [Phil] Should be about, oh, two weeks.
- I hate to push this, but is there
any way you could meet us before you go?
- [Phil] Well I'm leaving in two days.
- How 'bout tomorrow?
- [Phil] Tomorrow?
That's a little short notice.
I've got a lot to do before I leave.
- Look, Phil, all the records
on St. Osmund's are sealed.
Getting in there in
the next couple of days
is our last chance at
keeping this project alive.
- [Phil] How long do you need?
- However long you can give us.
- [Phil] I can give ya a couple of hours.
It'd have to be tomorrow night, though.
- That's fine, we're on your schedule.
- [Phil] All right.
They diverted the main road
away from the hospital years ago,
so you'll have to drive through
the sticks to get out here.
- That's fine, what time?
- [Phil] 7:00 p.m. sharp.
- Okay, 7:00 p.m. sharp it is.
- [Phil] All right,
I'll meet you out there.
- Okay, great.
Thank you, Phil, take care.
- [Phil] Yeah, you too.
So long.
- We're back in the game!
And you, what did you do?
- [Sophie] A friend
told me about a service
that lets you plug a domain name in
and if it's public, it returns
any contact information
that's on file.
I hope I didn't overstep my bounds.
- Overstep your?
Thank you.
You better look out, Neil,
if she keeps this up,
you're gonna be out of a job.
- Yeah.
- Come on man, I'm just screwing with you.
Are you mad because I said
she was gonna put you out of a job?
- [Neil] No.
She just seems like
kind of an ass--
- Genius.
- [Neil] I was gonna say asskisser.
I don't know.
To be honest, I just think it's shitty
that you'd even joke about that.
- I'm sorry.
I was just joking.
And I'm sorry if it
didn't come out that way.
Come on, you know I need you.
Who else is gonna believe
that I can actually
get this film finished?
Thanks.
- [Neil] For what?
- Just for being here
through all this stuff.
Thank you.
- [Neil] No problem.
But you're still a tool,
just so we're on the same page.
- Know something?
- [Neil] What?
- This is the first time in a long time
I've actually had a good
feeling about things.
- [Neil] There is a panda
at the zoo, the Bronx Zoo.
- Is this a joke?
- [Neil] No, it's serious, I'm serious.
And it is a bisexual panda,
it's the world's first bisexual panda.
- Great.
I'm glad to know that.
- That's not interesting?
- No, that's very interesting.
- That is like literally
the most interesting thing I have heard
in my entire life.
- Stop.
Rope it in, stop.
- [Neil] I think she would be interested
to hear about this.
- And I'm sure she would not.
- It's extremely--
- No.
- [Neil] Let's find out.
- Hello!
- [Neil] Hey, Sophie, do you like pandas?
- Um.
- Welcome aboard.
Next stop, St. Osmund's.
♪ Red witch ♪
- And Sophie, I got you this.
So you can hold that, and--
- [Sophie] All right,
so, where exactly is it?
- Well we still got a while to go yet.
- [Sophie] Do you know how
to work that technology?
- Well the GPS sucks up here,
so this is kinda all we got.
Oh, check this out.
We're here, and we're on this
road for like, two hours.
- [Sophie] It's gonna be dark
by the time we get there.
How are we gonna shoot?
- Well we've got some camera lights,
but unless they've got
power or a generator,
that's a really good question.
- Hey, as long as we get
something tonight, I'm happy.
- (sighs) We're gonna cut it close.
- [Ben] Let me know, when's the next turn?
- I do not know.
What is the last road
we just turned off of?
- [Ben] I don't know, none
of the roads are marked.
- Awesome.
- [Ben] Hold on, there's a guy up there,
we'll ask him.
- Oh, jeez.
Ask him how much of his
family died of dysentery.
Oh, hello, hi.
- [Ben] Hi, how are you?
- Not bad.
- We're actually, we're a bit lost.
Could you tell us where Tillerman Road is?
- You don't wanna go there.
- Sorry?
- Uh-uh, you guys are all alike,
it's a mess up there, it's scary.
You don't wanna go there.
- [Ben] What do you know about the place?
If you don't mind me asking.
- Mostly it's the kids.
They rent the place for the weekend,
bring a little beer, a little
weed, get a little nookie.
Man, I've seen the expressions
on some of their faces
coming back from there
on Monday, though, and,
you don't get that look out
of your eyes in a hurry.
What's with the camera?
- [Ben] We're making a
documentary about St. Osmund's.
- St. Osmund, St. Osmund's?
I thought you were talking about the cabin
at the end of the road.
- No, no we're looking for the hospital.
- No, no, my bad, I'm sorry.
I shouldn't've been so presumptive.
- No, that's fine.
What's up with the cabin?
Why is it such a mess?
- (chuckles) The plumbing.
It's like you flush it
and you get Old Faithful.
Only it's brown.
I wouldn't go up there
for a million bucks.
But you are in the right direction.
You'll find Tillerman on the
left about three miles down.
The hospital's about a mile and a half in.
The driveway's kind a bad shape though.
- Well, thank you for your help.
- No problem.
- What's your name?
- Wesley.
- [Neil] Nice, thank you
Wesley, nice to meet you.
- Good day.
- You too thanks.
- [Neil] I tried four times,
we're not getting a call through.
Look, he's not just gonna leave.
- [Ben] What do you
mean, of course he will.
(revving)
- [Sophie] I don't think you're
getting the car up there.
- All right, why don't we
just grab the camera for now.
I'm sure Phil has a truck
or something he can help
pick us up the stuff later.
- You want to walk?
- Why not?
Can't be that far, I'm sure
we'll be up there before dark.
Come on.
(door clicks)
- [Ben] You okay?
- [Neil] How long we're gonna be walking?
(crunching)
- [Sophie] I thought
they had just forgotten
about this place.
- Hopefully soon we'll get a better idea.
- [Neil] Where's Phil?
- [Ben] He must be inside.
- I think this is the entrance.
- [Ben] Phil?
- Ben!
Nice to meet you.
- I didn't hear you guys pull up.
- Uh yeah, the driveway was a bit rough
so we had to walk up.
Thank you so much for meeting us up here.
- Not a problem.
- Let me introduce you to
Neil Hudson, my cameraman.
- Hi.
- How are ya?
- Good thanks.
- And this is Sophie Donahue,
she's interning with me
right now doing some
behind the scenes stuff.
- Nice to meet you.
- I'm so happy to be here.
I've been wanting to come a long time.
It's a gorgeous building.
- Yeah, she's all right.
Still needs a lot of work though.
Yeah, but then again, we're
not expecting patients
any time soon.
- So how big is the place exactly?
- Oh, 100,000 square feet.
- Oh really wow.
Yeah, they needed the space.
2,000 patients is a lot
to put up in one building.
So Phil, I have a general
idea of the layout.
Four wings right?
- Correct.
- But none of my research
really shows exactly what
each wing was for.
- Ah, well I'm afraid I
can't help you much there.
I can tell you that the south wing,
that's pretty much dormitory style.
The east and north wings, well,
they look pretty much like a prison.
But don't ask me which
patients were treated where.
I'm afraid you guys
will probably know that
more than I would.
Well, should we get going?
- Yeah.
Oh, you locking us in?
- What?
Oh, no, no!
This is a security system.
You see the door to the south wing?
That won't unlock unless this
one is completely locked.
I think it's a safety
precaution to keep the loonies
from getting out.
Other than the loading dock,
this is the only way in or out.
- [Sophie] What did they use these for?
- If I had to guess,
I'd say decontamination.
- [Phil] That's the generator again.
Ah nothing to worry about folks.
It happens lot.
Sorry folks.
- It's okay.
- Oh!
And these are my second set of keys.
That key there, that's
for the door that leads
to the south wing.
While I'm gone, you
might want to think about
what you want to film
that way when I get back
and the lights come on.
Well, you'll be ready to go.
- [Ben] All right.
We've got the portable
light, why don't we just that
until Phil gets the generator back on.
(grunts)
- [Neil] It's slave to
the camera battery so
do you want me to just
keep the camera rolling
while we got the light turned on?
- [Ben] May as well.
- [Neil] Cool.
- Jesus!
Try not to put that in my eyes.
- [Neil] Yeah, sorry.
- Oh, you guys might want
to get as much as you can
I really can't afford to be here all night
and once the generator's working,
well the working lights
strung throughout the hospital
should come on and there's
one in almost every room.
I'm gonna be locking you guys in okay?
- [Ben] All right, see you soon.
- Yeah, see ya.
- And that was the last they
ever heard of Ben Winters,
Neil Hudson, and Sophie Donahue.
- [Ben] Neil can I have the light?
- Ben, I'm busy being clever.
Okay fine here.
(clanking)
- All right, you ready?
- [Neil] Age before beauty.
(eerie sounds)
- I think this place is
gonna be worth the wait.
How does it look on camera?
- [Sophie] Neil's light is
doing a pretty good job for you.
- [Neil] Man, it is colder
than a witch's tit in here.
- Just keep moving, you'll be warm.
- [Neil] You know, I don't
think that's the thing,
because people always say to
me like oh just keep moving
you'll be warm but then I
keep moving and I'm not warm,
so I'm warm and tired.
- Well I'm not warm I'm cold.
(steps clattering)
Neil, you gotta check this out.
- [Neil] Looks like the Titanic in here.
Present day not...
- [Ben] Anything interesting?
- [Sophie] Let's see, we've
got a couple textbooks,
variances in mood of mood in psychosis.
Bible for good measure
and most of the rest
are just falling apart.
- [Neil] Kind of like
the rest of the building.
- We're lucky they
haven't torn it down yet.
Danvers is gone, Tona's gone and Norwich.
All these old places are disappearing.
- Look at it, probably cheaper
to build a new hospital
than to repair one of these.
I've seen some of the
rooms in those places,
I'd rather be in one of
those than my apartment.
- [Ben] I doubt that.
- You haven't seen my apartment.
- [Neil] This part's a lot less homey.
- Well these places were
divided according to how
severe the patients illnesses were.
So this was probably for patients
with more pronounced conditions.
- Pronounced how?
- Dissociative disorders,
manic depressives,
personality disorders.
Anything that needed to
be monitored carefully.
- [Neil] Like what you dad has?
- Yeah.
- Your dad has?
Sorry.
- I'm not really in the mood
to go into my life story
right now if you could believe it.
- His dad went missing.
He doesn't like talking about it Sophie.
- [Sophie] Ben do you want
some shots of this room?
- Sophie I want shots of every room.
This place is amazing.
- [Neil] It's amazing,
but it's pretty dark.
Didn't Phil say something
about work lights being set up
in like almost every room?
- Probably still fixing the generator.
- [Neil] No, I mean, he said
that they would be set up.
I haven't seen any.
- Let's just wander around a while.
Look for some good places
to shoot until he gets back.
- [Neil] All right, while I'm back here,
anyone want an omelet?
No one, okay.
I wonder if they have bacon.
Ah I could go for bacon.
(steps clattering)
Ben!
- [Ben] What was that?
Neil?
- [Sophie] Where is he?
- [Ben] Neil!
You all right?
(banging)
- [Neil] Ben, let me
out, this isn't funny!
(thuds)
- [Ben] Neil?
What are you doing?
- [Neil] What do you mean what am I doing?
Check this out, you locked me in.
Would you let me out please.
Real funny, pass one over on Neil.
That's hilarious guys!
- We don't have time
for this stuff, come on.
(clanking)
- [Sophie] What?
- Listen, let's go check it out.
(steps clattering)
- [Neil] The wind must've
blown a door shut.
- Which one, there's like 10 of em.
(wind whistles)
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] Neil!
- What?
- I thought...
- [Man] I told you, I
don't want to be here.
- [Ben] Who's in here?
- [Man] I want to go home
and I want to see my mother!
Dr. Callahan told me, told
me that once I was better
I could go home!
You're not supposed to be here.
You know that.
(eerie sounds)
- [Neil] Ben!
(steps clattering)
- [Ben] Neil hurry!
(eerie sounds)
(clanking)
- [Sophie] Oh my God!
Ben...
- [Ben] Jesus!
Sophie come on, hurry!
- [Neil] Go!
(tinkles)
- It's not possible.
What do we do?
- I saw something back this
way, it might be a way out.
All right let's look for a door.
(dripping)
- [Sophie] Someone's been
taking care of these.
- I don't see a door Neil.
Phil said there's only two ways out.
- [Neil] Well, we'll find another way.
- [Ben] Find a...
Does it work?
- [Neil] Phil's never
gonna sell this place.
I don't think he'll mind
if we break one window.
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] What was that?
- [Ben] It was the glass.
- [Neil] Yeah, how?
- [Man] Shouldn't come here.
I'll see you soon Bam Bam.
(eerie sounds)
- [Neil] It's coming from over here.
- [Man] You shouldn't have come here.
- [Ben] Who's in here?
- [Man] I'll see you soon Bam Bam.
- What did he just say?
- [Neil] Ben, what's that?
- My dad's nickname for me.
(bangs)
I want to know how he knew that?
My called me that when I was like five.
Do you think my family's--
- I'm to sure how they
knew that but I'm sure
your family's fine.
Let's just worry about
getting out of here for now.
Neil, you okay?
- [Neil] Yeah, yeah,
I'm just kinda spooked.
So what do you want to do?
- I don't know, just keep going I guess.
Maybe we could make our
way to that loading dock.
- Do we even know how to get there?
- [Ben] Your guess is as good as mine.
- [Neil] Guys, over there.
- [Ben] What is that a floor plan?
- [Neil] Is there another exit on it?
- Just the loading dock,
unless this dotted line is another exit.
Let's give it a shot.
(banging)
- [Man] Why can't they just hurry up!
All they have to do is put
pills in a little bottle.
I could do that!
- [Neil] There's people.
- More?
- Yeah.
- [Man] Let's go!
I don't have all day!
- I don't think they know we're here.
- Excuse me?
- Come on Neil, let's go!
She's still back here.
- [Sophie] You got those keys right?
- Yeah, yeah, just a second.
- I just don't want you to leave me.
I don't want you to go.
I don't want to be alone, not now.
Don't.
Please.
Why are you leaving me?
Where are you?
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me!
Don't please don't!
Dr. Callahan why are they leaving me?
Don't go!
- [Ben] Go, go, go, go, let's go!
- [Woman] I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! (cries)
- [Neil] Who do you think they were?
- People.
- People that have been here
for 50 years and haven't aged?
- Who's saying they
been here for 50 years?
- [Neil] Well, I mean they were talking
about Jonas Callahan.
Can you think of another
reason they would know
who the Chief of Psychiatry was?
- I could think of 100
reasons that make more sense
than them having been here for 50 years.
They could be drifters.
They could have found
those clothes and as far as
the knowing who Jonas Callahan was,
the only thing that tells
me is that there's probably
records here that the
state didn't know about.
- That's a bit of a
reach, don't you think?
- What would you rather me say?
That there's ghostly mental
patients wandering the halls?
Come on you two, really?
- [Neil] All right, what do we do?
- The north wing still
seems like the best bet.
Actually, can I see the floor plan?
- [Neil] Ben's got it, Ben's got it.
What was that?
- [Sophie] What?
- My camera just glitched, look.
- [Sophie] Is there
something else on the card?
Can't keep recording...
(bang)
- [Neil] Ben?
- [Sophie] Ben!
- Mom!
Mom you here?
Mom!
(knocking)
(slow piano music)
Mom!
Don't leave me.
- [Neil] Easy, easy.
How ya feeling?
Check your head.
- I'm okay.
- [Sophie] A head rush maybe?
- Yeah, could be.
- [Sophie] Ben, can I see the floor plan,
I want to check something.
I think there's a shortcut
in the north wing.
- [Neil] Where?
I didn't see one.
- [Sophie] The loading
dock is close to where
the north wing meets up with the east wing
at this junction here.
If we stay in this hallway
we have to go all the way
through the east wing to get there.
If we cut through this courtyard,
we can join up with the
hallway again at the end
through this door here.
- You're right, good eyes.
- [Sophie] Thanks.
- Hey, we don't know what's out there.
- [Sophie] We don't know
what's in here either.
- [Neil] Whoa Ben.
- [Ben] Yeah?
- [Neil] Come check this out.
- So?
- Well, I'm religious
and this is weird to me.
- [Sophie] No, I can't.
- Hey Neil, check this out.
It says something.
Can I have a little more light over here?
Romans, one two eight.
- [Neil] Romans chapter one verse 28.
That's a messed up book.
- Well let's see what it says.
Do you think you could flip to it?
I have no idea where it is.
- [Neil] Here.
- Ah thanks.
Since they did not think it worth while
to retain the knowledge of God,
he gave them over to a
depraved mind who did,
what ought not be done.
They have become filled with
every kind of wickedness,
evil and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit and malice.
They are senseless, faithless,
heartless, ruthless.
Their minds are clouded
by the heresy in which
they wallow and must be cleansed.
Interesting passage to like so much
when there's a cross
bolted above every bed.
Hey Neil, do you think you could find out
who this passage is about?
- [Neil] Yeah, give here.
Must've been his.
- It wasn't.
- [Neil] How do you know that?
Ben, how do you know that?
- [Sophie] What is it?
Osmund of Sais.
- That's my dad's.
My mother gave it to him before she died.
- [Neil] You think he's here?
(clanking)
- [Sophie] What are you looking for?
- Records.
- [Neil] They sealed them all.
- New records.
- [Sophie] Do you think
that's why those patients
are still here?
- What if someone's trying
to reopen the hospital?
Jonas Callahan maybe.
- [Neil] Ben, he'd be like 100.
What if those people
aren't even really here?
- Come on.
- I mean, there's a lot of
freaky stuff going on here.
- Yeah.
- Okay, how do you explain
coming through one door
coming out the same one?
- Will you just help me look?
- [Neil] Not until you admit
that something very fucking
strange is going on here.
- We're trapped inside and insane asylum.
Yes, something weird is happening.
- You know what I mean!
What about the people hanging
from the fucking ceilings, huh Ben?
You think someone's
treating the mentally ill
by hanging them?
Would you just come over
here and look at this Ben?
- [Ben] Not now Neil.
- No, I'm serious because you--
Wait.
I never put this camera down.
- [Ben] What?
- The whole time we've
been here I didn't put
this camera down, so can
someone please explain to me
how this to on here?
- How could that have
gotten on the camera?
- [Sophie] Who was it?
- My mom.
- I can see why you thought
your dad would be here.
- He has to be here, there's no other way
to explain the necklace.
- Someone left the necklace,
someone knew my nickname.
I think this place is
messing with our heads.
It knows us.
- Well, I mean, what about me?
Nothing like that's happened to me.
- I wouldn't count on that
being the case for long.
(steps clattering)
- Here we are.
- Feels so good to be outside.
- [Patients] Our father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
- [Neil] Ben where are the keys?
- [Ben] Fuck, I don't have them!
I left them in the room with the body.
- [Patients] Give us
this day our daily bread.
- [Ben] We have to go back.
- [Patients] As we forgive
those who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Our father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
They kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our--
- Come on Neil!
(mumbles)
I'll go get the keys!
(thuds)
- [Man] Where the fuck are they?
No.
Arthur!
(whispering)
- [Ben] Neil go!
Keys!
- [Patients] Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come--
- This is where the datamine starts.
- [Sophie] Hurry Ben!
- [Patients] On earth as it is in heaven.
- Don't listen to them.
Let's go!
Sophie how far to the
north wing from here?
- [Sophie] I don't know, the
dotted line's pretty long.
- Neil?
- [Sophie] What is this?
- Looks like a maintenance tunnel.
Access to electric,
sewer, heat, everything.
(eerie sounds)
Neil, come on, you all right?
(Neil mumbles)
- [Neil] It could not have been me.
It could not have been me!
(suspenseful sounds)
- [Ben] Neil, what are you doing?
- [Neil] Do you know who I am?
Answer me!
- [Man] I want to talk to you.
I want to talk to Bam Bam!
- Neil what does that mean?
- [Ben] No no!
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] Where is he?
- [Ben] Sophie, that must have
been who took your camera.
- [Sophie] What makes you say that?
- He called you Bam Bam.
- [Sophie] Yeah, Bam Bam,
what was he talking about?
- Wasn't that your dad's nickname for you?
- [Sophie] What do you mean?
- It is, you--
I remember you said it is!
- [Sophie] Go!
(eerie sounds)
- Dad.
Dad!
Dad!
Dad, wait!
- [Sophie] It's weird that
neither of us can remember
that happening.
Ben sounded so short.
- I told you what I saw.
There's only so many
ways of explaining it.
I just don't know why
he won't admit that--
- [Sophie] All right, it's all right.
You came back.
- What happened?
- [Sophie] The guy in the
straight jacket knocked you out
and kept running.
We haven't heard from him since.
- [Neil] We didn't want to move you.
Are you all right?
- Yeah, I'm fine, let's just go.
(steps clattering)
Where are we?
- [Sophie] I think it's
the end of the line.
(whoosh)
(saloon piano music)
What the f--
You gotta be kidding me.
(Sophie mumbles)
Oh hey.
- Hi, I'm here to see Dr. Callahan.
- Of course sir, he's expecting you.
He's just wrapping something up.
If you'll just have a seat
he'll be right with you.
- Thanks.
- Conrad, so nice to see you.
- Doctor.
- I was just overseeing
the prep for a procedure.
Would you care to join me?
- Sure.
- Please inform the
surgical team I'll be with
Mr. Garrity for a little while.
- Of course doctor.
- How's your daughter Conrad?
- Fine.
- Wonderful.
Lauren's about the same
age as my boy, isn't she?
- Yes, I think so.
If it's all the same
to you doc, do you mind
if we dispense with the pleasantries?
- Very well.
I have to admit I'm a
little confused as to why
your department's been giving
me so much guff lately.
There've been no changes to
any of the hospital practices.
- That's shit.
- Pardon me?
- I've seen the crosses.
I've seen the prayer groups.
You're supposed to be
running a mental institution
not a fucking Bible camp.
- When I was hired I was told I'd be given
full freedom to treat
my patients in the ways
which I saw fit.
- This isn't what we meant.
This hospital was built with
the intent to administer
the highest, most cutting
edge treatment available
to the mentally ill.
What you have been doing is
not in keeping with that.
- It's not how I see it.
- Oh really?
- I have no problems seeing
how you think that your
cutting edge treatments are the best way
to go about helping these people.
But I spend all day, every day here.
I know what they need.
- [Ben] Come on Sophie.
Come on Sophie!
- [Sophie] Guys, you
need to come see this.
(eerie sounds)
- Look, there are methods
of care which you are
completely disregarding.
- I'm using methods of
care that don't just treat
the symptoms, they purify
the mind, the soul.
- That's great.
Well, as of right now the
New Hampshire Department
of Health and Human
Services is placing you
and your board under suspension.
I'll ask that you finish the
day but until further notice,
you're stripped of
control of this hospital.
- Take a look at that file Mr. Garrity.
- Minor frontal lobotomization, left side.
So what?
- Well, that's one of your
approved methods of care, isn't it?
- Yes it is, but I don't
see much else of that
going on around here.
- Well I'm not blind Mr. Garrity.
I know that patients must be treated on a
case by case basis.
Now this patient in particular,
requires this treatment.
(dramatic sounds)
Ladies, is the patient prepped?
- Yes doctor.
- Thank you.
Mr. Garrity, I know you can hear me.
I doubt you know exactly
what you're cutting edge
methods really consist of.
Allow me to illuminate you.
First, let us pray.
Be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of
God so that you can take
your stand against the devil's schemes.
For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the authorities,
against the power of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realm.
Put on the full armor of
God so that when the day
of evil comes, you may be
able to stand your ground
and after you've done
everything, to stand.
Take off the shield of faith with which
you could extinguish all the
flaming arrows with evil.
Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the spirit
which is the word of God.
Amen.
(tapping)
How we feeling Conrad?
- Fine.
- That's wonderful, I'm
so happy to hear it.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
- Okay.
- [Dr. Callahan] Do
you know where you are?
- St. Osmunds State Psychiatric Hospital.
- [Dr. Callahan] And do you know who I am?
- You're Jonas Callahan,
Chief of Psychiatry.
- [Dr. Callahan] That's good, and you are?
- Conrad Garrity.
- [Dr. Callahan] Do you know what this is?
- Yeah.
- [Dr. Callahan] I need you to sign it.
Bring this to the archives room.
Make a duplicate and
rush it back to Conrad.
- Yes sir.
- Now that we have
state's approval Conrad,
you'll see that things are
run much more smoothly here
at St. Osmunds.
(scratching)
- [Neil] Okay, what the
fuck is going on here?
- Garrity was from Health
and Human Services.
It looks like Callahan
was trying to get him
to agree to something about the hospital.
But the state knew something was up.
That's why they closed down!
They found out what Callahan was doing.
But why would they try to cover it up?
- It's obvious.
One of the best mental
hospitals in the world
being run by a zealot?
Look terrible for them,
there's your answer.
- They mentioned the archives room.
We should check it out.
- Why?
What else do you need to know?
- Wait!
Why are we still here?
Why are the lights still on?
Why is everything still new?
- I don't know, maybe
we're supposed to be here
to find out what really happened.
- We just did!
What happened to getting out?
You really want to stay here?
Why won't you let us go?
- I need to know.
He might be here!
- Your dad can't be here Ben.
- There is no other way
that necklace could have
gotten here.
Whoever left it knows where he is!
If we find out why this
place really shut down,
we could find out who's
trying to reopen it.
- What if someone's trying to trick you?
What if they left the
necklace to keep you thinking
he's still here?
I can't understand you.
How can you be willing to spend
one more second in this place?
I mean, did you see what was
happening in those rooms?
- [Neil] Those people
were just being treated.
- They were not just being treated.
You didn't see.
- [Neil] See what?
- Why didn't you see?
- [Ben] See what Sophie?
- You said that guy in the straight jacket
called me Bam Bam earlier right?
When he took my camera?
- [Ben] What does that
have to do with anything?
- That's what you said, isn't it?
- [Ben] Yeah so?
- [Neil] Sophie what
are you talking about?
- I have never heard
that name before tonight.
Neil, when was passed out,
you told me what you saw
in the room with the cross on the door,
that's why you've been so quiet.
What was it?
- [Neil] The body on the bed.
I thought it was me, but it was Ben.
- This is a waste of time.
Let's go!
- Neil, you realize what
this means, don't you?
- [Neil] Look, it doesn't matter okay.
It's not worth Ben wandering off.
- We have to figure this out.
You know, I'd be really
interested to ask Ben
what his nickname was when he was little.
- [Neil] Listen, it doesn't matter!
- It does matter!
Why is everything in here familiar to him?
- [Neil] Let's go, he's
already out of earshot.
- If we're gonna figure
this out we have to do it
together, and letting Ben
wander around here all night
is not how that's gonna happen.
The longer we stay here
the less he wants to leave!
- [Neil] Hey!
- Where's Sophie?
- [Neil] Don't think she's coming.
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] Ben?
Neil?
Ben!
I can help you!
Come back!
- [Man] Ben's gone.
It's just us now.
- [Sophie] Who is that?
- [Man] The one who will really help Ben.
I'm afraid that despite
what you may think,
you had no part in that.
Your time is up.
(gasps)
- It's gotta be this big one.
Yeah, yeah, this is it.
- [Sophie] You can't do this!
Ben doesn't know what's going on.
He needs Neil and I!
- [Man] Tell me, why help him?
You know he can't rely
and you and his friend.
You had your chance.
Both of you did.
I'm the only one who can help him.
- [Sophie] You won't help him!
I know what you'll do!
- [Neil] Ben?
- What?
- [Neil] Are you sure about this?
- I've come this far, might as well.
- [Sophie] Where are you?
- [Man] As I said, your time is up.
(screaming)
- [Sophie] Let go!
I know it's you Callahan!
(gasping)
(clanking)
- [Neil] Anything?
- Gotta be something.
Come on.
- [Neil] I guess what
Sophie said made sense.
The state probably tried to
cover up what Callahan did
to save face.
- There has to be more to it than that.
There was 2,000 people here.
It doesn't make any sense.
There!
Neil, Neil, light come on!
I knew it, he's here.
He has to be.
West wing maybe, we
haven't been there yet.
Let's see, admission date was April 2007.
I knew it, he has to be here.
- [Man] Of course I'm
here Ben, you put me here.
- Dad!
- [Man] He left me here alone Bam Bam.
- Where are you?
- [Phil] He's safe.
- Phil, where have you been?
- I've been with you the whole time.
I knew this was where you would end up.
You have a chance.
- [Ben] At what?
- Salvation, as in Ecclesiastes.
His days are filled with sorrow.
His work the product of grief.
His heart taketh no rest.
Your grief, your sorrow,
has led you to me.
You have walked in darkness
for far too long my friend.
I am the light.
- Where's my dad?
- You should know that.
You're the reason he's here.
It's devastating to have
a father taken away.
In his case, by the will of God.
I know your pain Ben,
but my pain comes not
from the will of God but
of man, of bureaucrats.
- Your Jonas Callahan's son aren't you?
- If you ever want to see him again,
you can fool yourself no longer.
It is the only way.
- Did I fall asleep?
- Yeah, you were snoring too.
Almost as loud as your mom.
Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
- Oh oh, here's come trouble.
- Good afternoon Mr. Winters, Mr. Winters.
- [Both] Good afternoon.
- [Nurse] We are about ready to begin.
- Begin what?
- Ben, you, you know don't you?
It's gonna be okay.
He'll take care of us.
- Are you ready?
- Yes.
- Yes.
(zapping)
(choir sings)
Where are we?
- [Neil] It's gorgeous isn't it?
- How'd we get here?
- [Neil] He brought us
here, away from St. Osmunds,
deliver us from evil right?
You know I been praying to
get out of there all night
and here we are, safe and sound.
- Safe and sound is right!
Whereby grace are ye saved.
Through faith not of
yourselves, but if any man
enter not by the door, but
climbeth up in some other way,
that man is a thief and a robber.
I am the door.
By me, if any man chooses to
enter, they will be saved.
The choice is yours, it always has been.
Your choice has led you to me
and I am responsible for you.
- [Ben] What choice?
- To wander in the dark
all your remaining days or
to rejoice in the light of the Lord.
- [Ben] What do you mean in the dark Phil?
- You're a twisted man Ben.
The kind of a man my father
worked his entire life to heal.
You do not realize it
and that is the tragedy,
the great tragedy.
I see it, plain as day.
You cannot.
- Twisted?
You wanna talk twisted?
Your father was a lunatic!
He was crazier than most
of the people he was
supposed to be taking care of!
I've seen what's happened to
a man who blindly believes
the Lord will heal him,
and I will spend the
rest of my life in here
before I let you turn me into one of them!
- Ah, a heretic, one who sees
the glory and the light
but will not walk into it.
Ben my heart breaks for you.
Will you not be saved?
- [Neil] I will.
- [Ben] Neil no!
- Ben this is it.
We can be saved!
You just have to accept it.
If God is calling us who
are we to ignore him?
- [Ben] You cannot let
yourself be taken in by this.
This isn't a prophet this is a madman!
You can't seriously
believe that he's gonna--
- What do you know of belief?
Of faith?
A man who abandoned his father
during his time of need?
It would seem to me that faith in anything
is a thing to bark at for you.
- [Ben] I didn't abandon him.
I was trying to help him.
- This man has led you on long enough.
Come, bask in the light of the Lord.
- [Ben] Neil please!
I can't do this alone.
- If you can't see that
this is our way out,
then you are alone.
- [Ben] Neil don't!
(banging)
No, no!
(steps clattering)
Neil, Neil, Neil!
Neil.
- [Phil] You've been
left behind, once again.
- [Ben] I'm never gonna
see my father again, am I?
- [Phil] No.
- [Ben] Well, what are you waiting for?
- [Phil] You think I'd murder you?
I'm sorry you've misunderstood me.
I can't do that, not even if I wanted to.
I've tried to offer
you glory and peace but
you turned me down.
As the saying goes, you reap what you sow.
(eerie sounds)
And the Lord said, let those
tainted by evil and corruption
be judged by the fires they stoke.
For the righteous shall sit at my side
and the wicked will fall
into the flames eternal.
- [Ben] You want me to kill myself?
Let the Lord judge me?
- You know full well that
this is a purging fire,
a freeing fire.
The choice is yours, but I warn you,
this is the only way you will be cleansed
of the darkness in which you wallow.
By day you led them with a pillar of cloud
and by night with a pillar
of fire to give them a life
in the way they were to take.
(eerie sounds)
How are you feeling Mr. Winters?
- [Ben] I feel fine.
- Wonderful, I'm happy to hear that.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
- [Ben] Okay.
- Do you know where you are?
- [Ben] St. Osmunds state
psychiatric hospital.
- And do you know who I am?
- [Ben] You're Dr. Callahan.
- That's right and you are?
- [Ben] I'm...
- You know Walter.
I just need to hear you say it.
- [Ben] I'm...
What did you do to me?
- I'm trying to help you.
You lost your way but
now you can come back.
Back into the light or...
- No, no, no, no!
No, I won't let you do this.
I know who I am and I
won't let you twist that.
- After all this you realize
I'll always be here don't you?
If you leave now, your mind
lost in the darkness forever.
- My mind is clear.
- [Man] Mr. Winters?
- Yes?
- Look, I'm sorry, we're gonna
have to call it for tonight.
It's too dark, we don't
have the man power.
We'll pick it up first
thing in the morning.
- No, no, we're not
stopping, we can't stop.
- I'm sorry we have to.
I'm sure we'll find him tomorrow.
- Sorry, I'm not stopping.
(slow piano music)
- [Man] Mr. Winters!
Mr. Winters!
- [Man] We know you're
out here Mr. Winters!
Mr. Winters!
- [Man] Mr. Winters!
- Dad!
Dad?
- Mr. Winters I'm so
sorry (voice cuts out).
(dramatic music)
- I just want to go home son.
I miss you, I miss your mom.
- I miss her too.
- She coming to see me tonight?
She told me she was gonna
come see me tonight.
I just, I know it's late and everything
but I thought maybe that...
- Maybe tomorrow Dad.
- I'm getting tired Bam Bam.
Thanks for coming to see me okay?
- Okay.
- Okay bye.
- Your dad dropped this
getting out of the car.
- Thank you.
Thanks for tonight.
- Sure.
Pretty frightening isn't it?
- What's that?
- Had an uncle with Alzheimer's.
Right before the end he
didn't remember any of us.
You know what I'm saying?
- Sorry?
- I was just saying, losing
touch with what's going on,
it's a frightening thing.
I mean, you'd have no way of
knowing, if that makes sense.
- Yeah, no, I know what you mean.
I worry about that all the time.
(slow piano music)
Dad you dropped--
(slow instrumental music)
(screaming)
(growling)
(audio distorts)
(roars)
- [Ben] Mental illness
is misunderstanding.
It's happiness one moment,
and rage the next.
It's standing at a river
and seeing the ocean.
It's the person you love most
and they're gone.
Mental illness is a disease.
Centuries ago, people afflicted with it
had only their families to count on.
If their families couldn't care for them,
they were kept in the
basements of medical hospitals.
The treatment of the
mentally ill in America
began in 1773 with the opening of
the Eastern State Hospital
in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Like most new endeavors,
it was a rocky start.
While it was acknowledged
that the mentally ill
were in need of specialized care,
it often came in the
form of extended periods
of isolation or religious therapy.
Over the course of the 19th century,
more asylums were built.
Methods of care were refined.
Thousands of patients
were institutionalized.
At the turn of the century,
the New Hampshire Health and
Human Services Department
decided to open its own hospital,
employing some of the
best psychiatric doctors
in the country.
St. Osmund's State Psychiatric Hospital
was opened on May 5th, 1903.
It boasted state-of-the-art facilities,
revolutionary treatment plans,
and an internationally-renowned
team of psychiatrists
lead by Dr. Jonas Callahan,
an alumnus of Danvers State Hospital
in Danvers, Massachusets.
At the peak of its operation,
St. Osmund's housed over 2,000 patients
with everything from mood disorders
to severe dissociative psychopathy.
For decades, the hospital was regarded as
one of the best mental health
treatment facilities in America.
In December of 1963, that changed.
On December 14th, 1963,
the State of New Hampshire
approved a motion
to seal all records of persons
either employed by, or being
treated at St. Osmund's.
As of today, there is no evidence
of any other further federal inquiries
having been made into
the hospital's closing.
It remains unknown who authorized
the closure of St. Osmund's.
It remains unknown why the state
chose to keep this decision a secret.
It remains unknown what happened
to the 2,412 patients still being treated
at what was once considered one of
the best mental hospitals
in American history.
That's it.
- Bad day.
- We need to get a copy of that contract.
Eli's calling in two hours.
I think it's in the office.
- [Neil] Why are you cleaning?
- For the interview.
- [Neil] Do we have anyone
scheduled for today?
- Me.
- [Neil] (laughs) You're kidding, right?
- No, of course I'm not kidding.
We're over 25 minutes short.
Now you know I don't like
the talking head thing, but.
Would you mind putting the
camera down and helping?
- [Neil] You told me you wanted
everything behind the scenes documented.
- I never said that.
- [Neil] You said you'd say that,
and then you said to keep rolling.
- Would you move?
- [Neil] All right,
let's see where we're at.
(sighs) I don't know
if you guys know this,
but a doc running on TV should be
a little more than 15 minutes.
Whelp, we're fucked.
All right, let's see what Ben's up to.
Hey, so, what do you wanna
talk about in the interview?
- Well maybe we can, uh, talk
about why we're doing this.
You know, go for a more personal angle.
- [Neil] Personal angle?
- Well yeah, I mean.
Everyone knows somebody that
suffers from mental illness,
I mean, to varying degrees,
but if we could find a
way to get the audience
to connect through the interview
by talking maybe from
personal stories, and.
- [Neil] So, something that hits like,
a little closer to home?
- Yeah.
- [Neil] When did you first
hear about St. Osmund's?
- Uh, well, I was looking
at the disciplinary actions
taken against mental hospitals
where malpractice was
proven to have occurred,
and St. Osmund's was on that list.
Most of the other hospitals, they had
detailed records of the results
of these malpractice investigations,
but not St. Osmund's.
And, uh, all that my investigation
of St. Osmund's turned up is that
it closed down shortly after
one of these claims
was given to the state.
- [Neil] Before now, your films
have mainly dealt with
international cultures.
What is it that spurred
your sudden interest
in mental health care?
- I wouldn't say it's a sudden interest,
it's just uh, it's one I
hadn't acted on before.
It comes from my father, Walter.
He uh, he had his own
construction business,
he had a great relationship with my mom,
he loved her, and uh,
for all intents and purposes,
he had a great, a great life.
But about six years ago, he uh,
he woke up at four in the morning, and um,
he told my mother that
he was going on a drive.
We didn't see or hear
from him for six days.
Finally, a state trooper found him
and brought him home.
And when he got home, he
asked where he had been,
and all he said to us is that
he had been on a journey.
And that's all he said.
I mean, I couldn't even
tell you where he had been,
there were no credit card charges,
there were no phone calls,
I mean, there was nothing.
And the weird thing about
it, is when he got home,
he just acted like, like
nothing had happened,
like nothing was wrong.
Like everything was just
normal and the same,
and uh, that was really, that
was really tough on my mom.
I mean she'd probably been
through stuff like this
with him before, I don't know if she had.
I mean, if she had, I
was too young to remember
or to understand.
But my mom,
she dealt with it a long time,
and she couldn't deal with it anymore.
I found my mother hanging in her bedroom.
- [Neil] What?
Why don't we take a few minutes?
- That's fine.
It's fine, yeah.
- [Neil] You're sure?
- Keep going, it's fine.
Whatever latent psychosis that my father
had lived with his whole life
came to the surface
after my mother's death.
And uh, I told him he needed help,
and he just refused.
I mean, I pressed him.
I pressed him, and he just,
he denied that he was even sick.
I never knew this before,
but he was raised Catholic,
and uh, he, whenever I suggested
that he needed help, he would say that
if he ever lost his way,
the Lord would show him the light.
And he believed it!
I got to a point where I just,
I couldn't wait for him to come around.
So I had him committed.
- [Neil] Why didn't you ever tell me that?
- Well there's not exactly a good way
to segue into that conversation, is there?
- [Neil] I mean, we're friends,
we could've talked about it.
So that only happened a
few years before we met?
- Yeah.
- [Neil] Where's your dad now?
- He's gone.
- [Neil] What do you mean?
- Did you find a copy of the contract?
- [Neil] No.
- Go check the office.
- [Neil] (sighs) All right.
(clock chiming)
(phone buzzing)
- Hello?
Oh, hi.
Hi Eli, how are you?
Mm-hm.
Yeah.
- [Neil] Speaker!
- No, no, I understand that.
- [Neil] Speaker!
Speaker!
- [Eli] A 15-minute
documentary is not marketable!
It's also not what we
agreed on in your contract.
- Well, I have the contract right here,
and it says we have eight
months to finish the film,
and it's only been three.
- [Eli] You've produced no footage!
- We have, we're just ironing it out.
- [Eli] What, your 15 minutes?
Come on, what do you
expect me to do with that?
- Well nothing yet.
We are going to have a
feature-length documentary
for you in five months,
just like we agreed.
- [Eli] You agreed to give me
a 40-minute rough cut by next week.
You're proposal says you should be able
to get your hands on documents
which explain why this nuthouse shut down.
Do you have them yet?
- Health and Human Services
is giving us the runaround,
but we are working on it.
- [Eli] I have serious doubts
that this project is going anywhere.
I'm not gonna keep feeding money into it.
If you can get your
hands on the documents,
then we can talk.
If you can't, I'm cutting my losses.
You have one week.
- It's not as easy as that, Eli.
Maybe they're playing coy
because they're trying to
hide something from us,
I think if we got legal on them--
- [Eli] No way in hell
am I wasting my money
or legal's time hunting
that shit down for you.
You want it done, do it yourself.
One week!
(disconnection beeps)
- [Neil] Well that went well.
(sighs) All right, realistically,
how much screen time can we squeeze out
of the footage we already have?
- Six, seven minutes max.
Be an ugly six or seven minutes.
There's only one way
to get this movie done,
and it's locked inside a state archive.
We're sunk.
- [Neil] Ben.
I'm sorry.
Look on the bright side, if this movie
doesn't work out, we can move to Alaska
and start a dogsled team!
You know, just you, me, and the huskies!
Hey, this happened last time, too.
We never thought we'd get it done.
I mean, come on, New Zealand customs
almost took all of our footage
on the way out of the country.
But they didn't, did they?
Big man upstairs doesn't forget about
nice guys like you and me.
We'll get it done.
- At least we had footage then.
- [Neil] I'm sure you'll
come up with something.
You know, I don't know what
you're complaining about.
As far as jobs go, we've
got it pretty good.
It could be a lot worse.
All right, check this guy out.
- I would love that job.
- Mr. Winters?
Hi, I'm Sophie Donahue, it's
nice to finally meet you.
- Nice to meet you too!
Uh, please, have a seat.
- Actually, I need to run to the restroom.
- [Ben] It's right back there.
- You didn't already beat me
to the internship, did you?
- [Neil] (laughs) No, I'm
Neil, Ben's camera operator.
And editor, and errand boy.
Basically I just do whatever he says.
- Well it's nice to meet you.
Be back in a minute.
- [Ben] Yeah.
- Yeah, usually you try to get
your senior internships
done, well, your senior year,
but, I wanna go abroad next semester,
so I got special permission to apply
for internships this year instead.
- Where do you wanna go?
- New Zealand.
- Neil and I spent a lot of
time there a couple years ago.
Actually shot a lot of
our last film there.
Good times, right Neil?
- [Neil] You could say that.
- That was for Avalon, Arise, right?
- You've seen it?
- Yeah, of course!
I thought the camera work was gorgeous.
- That was mostly--
- That was mostly me.
- Hey, listen, I've
heard everything I need,
if you want the internship, it's yours.
- Really?
Thank you so much, I am
really looking forward
to working with you, with both of you.
- Neil, can you do me a favor,
just grab a pen from
the guy at the counter?
I just want her to fill
out some of the forms
before we go.
- [Neil] See what I mean, Sophie?
Errand boy.
- [Ben] Now to be honest with you,
there's not a whole lot that
needs to be done right now.
- [Neil] Errand boy, nice line, jackass.
Hey, how's it going?
- Hey.
What can I get for ya?
- [Neil] I just need a pen.
Oh, oh, one here.
Excuse me, I found one.
All right, never mind, bye.
- So why is the state
withholding the information?
- Well the only thing
that makes sense to me
is that the state's hiding something.
- Like what, malpractice?
- Well, the malpractice records
is one of the only
places where there's any
official mention of St.
Osmund's closing down, so.
So yeah, I think that has
something to do with it.
- They won't even let you in the building?
- Well now it's out of the state's hands.
After the hospital closed down,
the state sold the property,
and the real estate company that owns it
has basically vanished.
I mean, they have a website,
but there's no email,
there's no phone number to go off of.
- What's the link?
Here, put it in my phone,
I wanna check it out.
- [Neil] What, are you gonna
pull some Nancy Drew shit?
- We'll see.
- It's a dead-end.
I think our best bet is to get a lawyer
to break through the wall
that the state's putting up.
Actually, we have an interview scheduled
with a historian on Tuesday at my place.
Do you think you could come by then?
- Sure.
- Okay, great.
Also, I'd like you to shoot
some behind-the-scenes footage
because we'll be using Neil's
camera for the interview.
And uh, frankly, if he continues
to follow me around with
that camera any longer,
I'm going to nail him to the wall.
- [Neil] Oh ha ha ha ha.
As you can see, Sophie,
Ben is a great boss.
- Um, in the meantime, is there anything
I can do to help out with
health department stuff?
- Jesus, proactive.
- I try.
- No, not that I can think of.
Anything comes up, I'll let you know.
I'm just gonna grab a refill,
I will be right back.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I'm fine, I just get a
little light-headed sometimes
when I sit too long.
- [Neil] No, he was taking shots of Nyquil
before you came in.
He's a drug fiend!
Just look at him.
- I'll give that another try.
- He seems really great.
- [Neil] Yeah, he's a good guy.
He's not really a drug
fiend, that was joke.
- (laughs) Yeah, I figured.
You like working for him?
- [Neil] Well, it's definitely work.
Especially lately.
We're having a rough time right now.
But yeah, he's great.
When the chips are down, he always manages
to come up with a way to deal with things.
Me and you will help out when we can,
but we're just cogs in the machine.
- Fine by me.
As long as I'm doing my part.
- [Neil] Yeah, for sure!
Um, so, Sophie.
- All right Neil, you ready?
- What do you like to
do for
- Here you go.
- fun?
- Oh, thanks.
- It was really great meeting you,
I look forward to working together.
- It's great meeting you, too.
I'll uh, let you know about Tuesday
and directions to my place,
and uh, I'll see you then.
- See you Tuesday.
- [Neil] Bye, Sophie.
- Later!
Hey!
- Sh!
Here, take this.
Keep rolling, though, he
just got on the phone.
- [Sophie] With who?
- I don't know, some guy named Phil.
- Yeah, fantastic, Phil.
But I'm confused, you said
you're returning my call?
- [Phil] Someone called me saying
they represented Ben Winters
and that you had some questions about
the St. Osmund's property.
- Uh, yeah, I was wondering
if your company still owns it.
- [Phil] Horizon?
I ran it until 1999.
We sold off most of the
properties after that.
- Does that include St. Osmund's?
- Nope, still got it.
There aren't a lot of
folks looking to buying
a decaying building in
the middle of nowhere
if you can believe it.
You in the market?
- No, not exactly.
I'm a filmmaker.
I'm making a documentary about it.
- [Phil] Oh.
- How much do you know about the place?
- [Phil] Not much.
Just that it closed down a long time ago.
Not sure why.
- I'm not sure why, either,
but I'm dying to find out.
I think our only chance
of doing that, though,
would be by visiting the building.
- [Phil] I'm afraid
it'd be a waste of time.
There's not much left in there.
- Well if there's anything at all,
it'd be a lot more than what
we have to go on right now.
Is there any way I could convince you
to let us take a look around?
- [Phil] Tell you what, I'm taking a trip
down to Louisiana to visit some friends.
As soon as I'm back, I'd be happy
to meet you guys up there.
- Could I ask you when you're coming back?
- [Phil] Should be about, oh, two weeks.
- I hate to push this, but is there
any way you could meet us before you go?
- [Phil] Well I'm leaving in two days.
- How 'bout tomorrow?
- [Phil] Tomorrow?
That's a little short notice.
I've got a lot to do before I leave.
- Look, Phil, all the records
on St. Osmund's are sealed.
Getting in there in
the next couple of days
is our last chance at
keeping this project alive.
- [Phil] How long do you need?
- However long you can give us.
- [Phil] I can give ya a couple of hours.
It'd have to be tomorrow night, though.
- That's fine, we're on your schedule.
- [Phil] All right.
They diverted the main road
away from the hospital years ago,
so you'll have to drive through
the sticks to get out here.
- That's fine, what time?
- [Phil] 7:00 p.m. sharp.
- Okay, 7:00 p.m. sharp it is.
- [Phil] All right,
I'll meet you out there.
- Okay, great.
Thank you, Phil, take care.
- [Phil] Yeah, you too.
So long.
- We're back in the game!
And you, what did you do?
- [Sophie] A friend
told me about a service
that lets you plug a domain name in
and if it's public, it returns
any contact information
that's on file.
I hope I didn't overstep my bounds.
- Overstep your?
Thank you.
You better look out, Neil,
if she keeps this up,
you're gonna be out of a job.
- Yeah.
- Come on man, I'm just screwing with you.
Are you mad because I said
she was gonna put you out of a job?
- [Neil] No.
She just seems like
kind of an ass--
- Genius.
- [Neil] I was gonna say asskisser.
I don't know.
To be honest, I just think it's shitty
that you'd even joke about that.
- I'm sorry.
I was just joking.
And I'm sorry if it
didn't come out that way.
Come on, you know I need you.
Who else is gonna believe
that I can actually
get this film finished?
Thanks.
- [Neil] For what?
- Just for being here
through all this stuff.
Thank you.
- [Neil] No problem.
But you're still a tool,
just so we're on the same page.
- Know something?
- [Neil] What?
- This is the first time in a long time
I've actually had a good
feeling about things.
- [Neil] There is a panda
at the zoo, the Bronx Zoo.
- Is this a joke?
- [Neil] No, it's serious, I'm serious.
And it is a bisexual panda,
it's the world's first bisexual panda.
- Great.
I'm glad to know that.
- That's not interesting?
- No, that's very interesting.
- That is like literally
the most interesting thing I have heard
in my entire life.
- Stop.
Rope it in, stop.
- [Neil] I think she would be interested
to hear about this.
- And I'm sure she would not.
- It's extremely--
- No.
- [Neil] Let's find out.
- Hello!
- [Neil] Hey, Sophie, do you like pandas?
- Um.
- Welcome aboard.
Next stop, St. Osmund's.
♪ Red witch ♪
- And Sophie, I got you this.
So you can hold that, and--
- [Sophie] All right,
so, where exactly is it?
- Well we still got a while to go yet.
- [Sophie] Do you know how
to work that technology?
- Well the GPS sucks up here,
so this is kinda all we got.
Oh, check this out.
We're here, and we're on this
road for like, two hours.
- [Sophie] It's gonna be dark
by the time we get there.
How are we gonna shoot?
- Well we've got some camera lights,
but unless they've got
power or a generator,
that's a really good question.
- Hey, as long as we get
something tonight, I'm happy.
- (sighs) We're gonna cut it close.
- [Ben] Let me know, when's the next turn?
- I do not know.
What is the last road
we just turned off of?
- [Ben] I don't know, none
of the roads are marked.
- Awesome.
- [Ben] Hold on, there's a guy up there,
we'll ask him.
- Oh, jeez.
Ask him how much of his
family died of dysentery.
Oh, hello, hi.
- [Ben] Hi, how are you?
- Not bad.
- We're actually, we're a bit lost.
Could you tell us where Tillerman Road is?
- You don't wanna go there.
- Sorry?
- Uh-uh, you guys are all alike,
it's a mess up there, it's scary.
You don't wanna go there.
- [Ben] What do you know about the place?
If you don't mind me asking.
- Mostly it's the kids.
They rent the place for the weekend,
bring a little beer, a little
weed, get a little nookie.
Man, I've seen the expressions
on some of their faces
coming back from there
on Monday, though, and,
you don't get that look out
of your eyes in a hurry.
What's with the camera?
- [Ben] We're making a
documentary about St. Osmund's.
- St. Osmund, St. Osmund's?
I thought you were talking about the cabin
at the end of the road.
- No, no we're looking for the hospital.
- No, no, my bad, I'm sorry.
I shouldn't've been so presumptive.
- No, that's fine.
What's up with the cabin?
Why is it such a mess?
- (chuckles) The plumbing.
It's like you flush it
and you get Old Faithful.
Only it's brown.
I wouldn't go up there
for a million bucks.
But you are in the right direction.
You'll find Tillerman on the
left about three miles down.
The hospital's about a mile and a half in.
The driveway's kind a bad shape though.
- Well, thank you for your help.
- No problem.
- What's your name?
- Wesley.
- [Neil] Nice, thank you
Wesley, nice to meet you.
- Good day.
- You too thanks.
- [Neil] I tried four times,
we're not getting a call through.
Look, he's not just gonna leave.
- [Ben] What do you
mean, of course he will.
(revving)
- [Sophie] I don't think you're
getting the car up there.
- All right, why don't we
just grab the camera for now.
I'm sure Phil has a truck
or something he can help
pick us up the stuff later.
- You want to walk?
- Why not?
Can't be that far, I'm sure
we'll be up there before dark.
Come on.
(door clicks)
- [Ben] You okay?
- [Neil] How long we're gonna be walking?
(crunching)
- [Sophie] I thought
they had just forgotten
about this place.
- Hopefully soon we'll get a better idea.
- [Neil] Where's Phil?
- [Ben] He must be inside.
- I think this is the entrance.
- [Ben] Phil?
- Ben!
Nice to meet you.
- I didn't hear you guys pull up.
- Uh yeah, the driveway was a bit rough
so we had to walk up.
Thank you so much for meeting us up here.
- Not a problem.
- Let me introduce you to
Neil Hudson, my cameraman.
- Hi.
- How are ya?
- Good thanks.
- And this is Sophie Donahue,
she's interning with me
right now doing some
behind the scenes stuff.
- Nice to meet you.
- I'm so happy to be here.
I've been wanting to come a long time.
It's a gorgeous building.
- Yeah, she's all right.
Still needs a lot of work though.
Yeah, but then again, we're
not expecting patients
any time soon.
- So how big is the place exactly?
- Oh, 100,000 square feet.
- Oh really wow.
Yeah, they needed the space.
2,000 patients is a lot
to put up in one building.
So Phil, I have a general
idea of the layout.
Four wings right?
- Correct.
- But none of my research
really shows exactly what
each wing was for.
- Ah, well I'm afraid I
can't help you much there.
I can tell you that the south wing,
that's pretty much dormitory style.
The east and north wings, well,
they look pretty much like a prison.
But don't ask me which
patients were treated where.
I'm afraid you guys
will probably know that
more than I would.
Well, should we get going?
- Yeah.
Oh, you locking us in?
- What?
Oh, no, no!
This is a security system.
You see the door to the south wing?
That won't unlock unless this
one is completely locked.
I think it's a safety
precaution to keep the loonies
from getting out.
Other than the loading dock,
this is the only way in or out.
- [Sophie] What did they use these for?
- If I had to guess,
I'd say decontamination.
- [Phil] That's the generator again.
Ah nothing to worry about folks.
It happens lot.
Sorry folks.
- It's okay.
- Oh!
And these are my second set of keys.
That key there, that's
for the door that leads
to the south wing.
While I'm gone, you
might want to think about
what you want to film
that way when I get back
and the lights come on.
Well, you'll be ready to go.
- [Ben] All right.
We've got the portable
light, why don't we just that
until Phil gets the generator back on.
(grunts)
- [Neil] It's slave to
the camera battery so
do you want me to just
keep the camera rolling
while we got the light turned on?
- [Ben] May as well.
- [Neil] Cool.
- Jesus!
Try not to put that in my eyes.
- [Neil] Yeah, sorry.
- Oh, you guys might want
to get as much as you can
I really can't afford to be here all night
and once the generator's working,
well the working lights
strung throughout the hospital
should come on and there's
one in almost every room.
I'm gonna be locking you guys in okay?
- [Ben] All right, see you soon.
- Yeah, see ya.
- And that was the last they
ever heard of Ben Winters,
Neil Hudson, and Sophie Donahue.
- [Ben] Neil can I have the light?
- Ben, I'm busy being clever.
Okay fine here.
(clanking)
- All right, you ready?
- [Neil] Age before beauty.
(eerie sounds)
- I think this place is
gonna be worth the wait.
How does it look on camera?
- [Sophie] Neil's light is
doing a pretty good job for you.
- [Neil] Man, it is colder
than a witch's tit in here.
- Just keep moving, you'll be warm.
- [Neil] You know, I don't
think that's the thing,
because people always say to
me like oh just keep moving
you'll be warm but then I
keep moving and I'm not warm,
so I'm warm and tired.
- Well I'm not warm I'm cold.
(steps clattering)
Neil, you gotta check this out.
- [Neil] Looks like the Titanic in here.
Present day not...
- [Ben] Anything interesting?
- [Sophie] Let's see, we've
got a couple textbooks,
variances in mood of mood in psychosis.
Bible for good measure
and most of the rest
are just falling apart.
- [Neil] Kind of like
the rest of the building.
- We're lucky they
haven't torn it down yet.
Danvers is gone, Tona's gone and Norwich.
All these old places are disappearing.
- Look at it, probably cheaper
to build a new hospital
than to repair one of these.
I've seen some of the
rooms in those places,
I'd rather be in one of
those than my apartment.
- [Ben] I doubt that.
- You haven't seen my apartment.
- [Neil] This part's a lot less homey.
- Well these places were
divided according to how
severe the patients illnesses were.
So this was probably for patients
with more pronounced conditions.
- Pronounced how?
- Dissociative disorders,
manic depressives,
personality disorders.
Anything that needed to
be monitored carefully.
- [Neil] Like what you dad has?
- Yeah.
- Your dad has?
Sorry.
- I'm not really in the mood
to go into my life story
right now if you could believe it.
- His dad went missing.
He doesn't like talking about it Sophie.
- [Sophie] Ben do you want
some shots of this room?
- Sophie I want shots of every room.
This place is amazing.
- [Neil] It's amazing,
but it's pretty dark.
Didn't Phil say something
about work lights being set up
in like almost every room?
- Probably still fixing the generator.
- [Neil] No, I mean, he said
that they would be set up.
I haven't seen any.
- Let's just wander around a while.
Look for some good places
to shoot until he gets back.
- [Neil] All right, while I'm back here,
anyone want an omelet?
No one, okay.
I wonder if they have bacon.
Ah I could go for bacon.
(steps clattering)
Ben!
- [Ben] What was that?
Neil?
- [Sophie] Where is he?
- [Ben] Neil!
You all right?
(banging)
- [Neil] Ben, let me
out, this isn't funny!
(thuds)
- [Ben] Neil?
What are you doing?
- [Neil] What do you mean what am I doing?
Check this out, you locked me in.
Would you let me out please.
Real funny, pass one over on Neil.
That's hilarious guys!
- We don't have time
for this stuff, come on.
(clanking)
- [Sophie] What?
- Listen, let's go check it out.
(steps clattering)
- [Neil] The wind must've
blown a door shut.
- Which one, there's like 10 of em.
(wind whistles)
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] Neil!
- What?
- I thought...
- [Man] I told you, I
don't want to be here.
- [Ben] Who's in here?
- [Man] I want to go home
and I want to see my mother!
Dr. Callahan told me, told
me that once I was better
I could go home!
You're not supposed to be here.
You know that.
(eerie sounds)
- [Neil] Ben!
(steps clattering)
- [Ben] Neil hurry!
(eerie sounds)
(clanking)
- [Sophie] Oh my God!
Ben...
- [Ben] Jesus!
Sophie come on, hurry!
- [Neil] Go!
(tinkles)
- It's not possible.
What do we do?
- I saw something back this
way, it might be a way out.
All right let's look for a door.
(dripping)
- [Sophie] Someone's been
taking care of these.
- I don't see a door Neil.
Phil said there's only two ways out.
- [Neil] Well, we'll find another way.
- [Ben] Find a...
Does it work?
- [Neil] Phil's never
gonna sell this place.
I don't think he'll mind
if we break one window.
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] What was that?
- [Ben] It was the glass.
- [Neil] Yeah, how?
- [Man] Shouldn't come here.
I'll see you soon Bam Bam.
(eerie sounds)
- [Neil] It's coming from over here.
- [Man] You shouldn't have come here.
- [Ben] Who's in here?
- [Man] I'll see you soon Bam Bam.
- What did he just say?
- [Neil] Ben, what's that?
- My dad's nickname for me.
(bangs)
I want to know how he knew that?
My called me that when I was like five.
Do you think my family's--
- I'm to sure how they
knew that but I'm sure
your family's fine.
Let's just worry about
getting out of here for now.
Neil, you okay?
- [Neil] Yeah, yeah,
I'm just kinda spooked.
So what do you want to do?
- I don't know, just keep going I guess.
Maybe we could make our
way to that loading dock.
- Do we even know how to get there?
- [Ben] Your guess is as good as mine.
- [Neil] Guys, over there.
- [Ben] What is that a floor plan?
- [Neil] Is there another exit on it?
- Just the loading dock,
unless this dotted line is another exit.
Let's give it a shot.
(banging)
- [Man] Why can't they just hurry up!
All they have to do is put
pills in a little bottle.
I could do that!
- [Neil] There's people.
- More?
- Yeah.
- [Man] Let's go!
I don't have all day!
- I don't think they know we're here.
- Excuse me?
- Come on Neil, let's go!
She's still back here.
- [Sophie] You got those keys right?
- Yeah, yeah, just a second.
- I just don't want you to leave me.
I don't want you to go.
I don't want to be alone, not now.
Don't.
Please.
Why are you leaving me?
Where are you?
Don't leave me.
Don't leave me!
Don't please don't!
Dr. Callahan why are they leaving me?
Don't go!
- [Ben] Go, go, go, go, let's go!
- [Woman] I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! (cries)
- [Neil] Who do you think they were?
- People.
- People that have been here
for 50 years and haven't aged?
- Who's saying they
been here for 50 years?
- [Neil] Well, I mean they were talking
about Jonas Callahan.
Can you think of another
reason they would know
who the Chief of Psychiatry was?
- I could think of 100
reasons that make more sense
than them having been here for 50 years.
They could be drifters.
They could have found
those clothes and as far as
the knowing who Jonas Callahan was,
the only thing that tells
me is that there's probably
records here that the
state didn't know about.
- That's a bit of a
reach, don't you think?
- What would you rather me say?
That there's ghostly mental
patients wandering the halls?
Come on you two, really?
- [Neil] All right, what do we do?
- The north wing still
seems like the best bet.
Actually, can I see the floor plan?
- [Neil] Ben's got it, Ben's got it.
What was that?
- [Sophie] What?
- My camera just glitched, look.
- [Sophie] Is there
something else on the card?
Can't keep recording...
(bang)
- [Neil] Ben?
- [Sophie] Ben!
- Mom!
Mom you here?
Mom!
(knocking)
(slow piano music)
Mom!
Don't leave me.
- [Neil] Easy, easy.
How ya feeling?
Check your head.
- I'm okay.
- [Sophie] A head rush maybe?
- Yeah, could be.
- [Sophie] Ben, can I see the floor plan,
I want to check something.
I think there's a shortcut
in the north wing.
- [Neil] Where?
I didn't see one.
- [Sophie] The loading
dock is close to where
the north wing meets up with the east wing
at this junction here.
If we stay in this hallway
we have to go all the way
through the east wing to get there.
If we cut through this courtyard,
we can join up with the
hallway again at the end
through this door here.
- You're right, good eyes.
- [Sophie] Thanks.
- Hey, we don't know what's out there.
- [Sophie] We don't know
what's in here either.
- [Neil] Whoa Ben.
- [Ben] Yeah?
- [Neil] Come check this out.
- So?
- Well, I'm religious
and this is weird to me.
- [Sophie] No, I can't.
- Hey Neil, check this out.
It says something.
Can I have a little more light over here?
Romans, one two eight.
- [Neil] Romans chapter one verse 28.
That's a messed up book.
- Well let's see what it says.
Do you think you could flip to it?
I have no idea where it is.
- [Neil] Here.
- Ah thanks.
Since they did not think it worth while
to retain the knowledge of God,
he gave them over to a
depraved mind who did,
what ought not be done.
They have become filled with
every kind of wickedness,
evil and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife,
deceit and malice.
They are senseless, faithless,
heartless, ruthless.
Their minds are clouded
by the heresy in which
they wallow and must be cleansed.
Interesting passage to like so much
when there's a cross
bolted above every bed.
Hey Neil, do you think you could find out
who this passage is about?
- [Neil] Yeah, give here.
Must've been his.
- It wasn't.
- [Neil] How do you know that?
Ben, how do you know that?
- [Sophie] What is it?
Osmund of Sais.
- That's my dad's.
My mother gave it to him before she died.
- [Neil] You think he's here?
(clanking)
- [Sophie] What are you looking for?
- Records.
- [Neil] They sealed them all.
- New records.
- [Sophie] Do you think
that's why those patients
are still here?
- What if someone's trying
to reopen the hospital?
Jonas Callahan maybe.
- [Neil] Ben, he'd be like 100.
What if those people
aren't even really here?
- Come on.
- I mean, there's a lot of
freaky stuff going on here.
- Yeah.
- Okay, how do you explain
coming through one door
coming out the same one?
- Will you just help me look?
- [Neil] Not until you admit
that something very fucking
strange is going on here.
- We're trapped inside and insane asylum.
Yes, something weird is happening.
- You know what I mean!
What about the people hanging
from the fucking ceilings, huh Ben?
You think someone's
treating the mentally ill
by hanging them?
Would you just come over
here and look at this Ben?
- [Ben] Not now Neil.
- No, I'm serious because you--
Wait.
I never put this camera down.
- [Ben] What?
- The whole time we've
been here I didn't put
this camera down, so can
someone please explain to me
how this to on here?
- How could that have
gotten on the camera?
- [Sophie] Who was it?
- My mom.
- I can see why you thought
your dad would be here.
- He has to be here, there's no other way
to explain the necklace.
- Someone left the necklace,
someone knew my nickname.
I think this place is
messing with our heads.
It knows us.
- Well, I mean, what about me?
Nothing like that's happened to me.
- I wouldn't count on that
being the case for long.
(steps clattering)
- Here we are.
- Feels so good to be outside.
- [Patients] Our father,
who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
- [Neil] Ben where are the keys?
- [Ben] Fuck, I don't have them!
I left them in the room with the body.
- [Patients] Give us
this day our daily bread.
- [Ben] We have to go back.
- [Patients] As we forgive
those who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Our father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
They kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our--
- Come on Neil!
(mumbles)
I'll go get the keys!
(thuds)
- [Man] Where the fuck are they?
No.
Arthur!
(whispering)
- [Ben] Neil go!
Keys!
- [Patients] Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come--
- This is where the datamine starts.
- [Sophie] Hurry Ben!
- [Patients] On earth as it is in heaven.
- Don't listen to them.
Let's go!
Sophie how far to the
north wing from here?
- [Sophie] I don't know, the
dotted line's pretty long.
- Neil?
- [Sophie] What is this?
- Looks like a maintenance tunnel.
Access to electric,
sewer, heat, everything.
(eerie sounds)
Neil, come on, you all right?
(Neil mumbles)
- [Neil] It could not have been me.
It could not have been me!
(suspenseful sounds)
- [Ben] Neil, what are you doing?
- [Neil] Do you know who I am?
Answer me!
- [Man] I want to talk to you.
I want to talk to Bam Bam!
- Neil what does that mean?
- [Ben] No no!
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] Where is he?
- [Ben] Sophie, that must have
been who took your camera.
- [Sophie] What makes you say that?
- He called you Bam Bam.
- [Sophie] Yeah, Bam Bam,
what was he talking about?
- Wasn't that your dad's nickname for you?
- [Sophie] What do you mean?
- It is, you--
I remember you said it is!
- [Sophie] Go!
(eerie sounds)
- Dad.
Dad!
Dad!
Dad, wait!
- [Sophie] It's weird that
neither of us can remember
that happening.
Ben sounded so short.
- I told you what I saw.
There's only so many
ways of explaining it.
I just don't know why
he won't admit that--
- [Sophie] All right, it's all right.
You came back.
- What happened?
- [Sophie] The guy in the
straight jacket knocked you out
and kept running.
We haven't heard from him since.
- [Neil] We didn't want to move you.
Are you all right?
- Yeah, I'm fine, let's just go.
(steps clattering)
Where are we?
- [Sophie] I think it's
the end of the line.
(whoosh)
(saloon piano music)
What the f--
You gotta be kidding me.
(Sophie mumbles)
Oh hey.
- Hi, I'm here to see Dr. Callahan.
- Of course sir, he's expecting you.
He's just wrapping something up.
If you'll just have a seat
he'll be right with you.
- Thanks.
- Conrad, so nice to see you.
- Doctor.
- I was just overseeing
the prep for a procedure.
Would you care to join me?
- Sure.
- Please inform the
surgical team I'll be with
Mr. Garrity for a little while.
- Of course doctor.
- How's your daughter Conrad?
- Fine.
- Wonderful.
Lauren's about the same
age as my boy, isn't she?
- Yes, I think so.
If it's all the same
to you doc, do you mind
if we dispense with the pleasantries?
- Very well.
I have to admit I'm a
little confused as to why
your department's been giving
me so much guff lately.
There've been no changes to
any of the hospital practices.
- That's shit.
- Pardon me?
- I've seen the crosses.
I've seen the prayer groups.
You're supposed to be
running a mental institution
not a fucking Bible camp.
- When I was hired I was told I'd be given
full freedom to treat
my patients in the ways
which I saw fit.
- This isn't what we meant.
This hospital was built with
the intent to administer
the highest, most cutting
edge treatment available
to the mentally ill.
What you have been doing is
not in keeping with that.
- It's not how I see it.
- Oh really?
- I have no problems seeing
how you think that your
cutting edge treatments are the best way
to go about helping these people.
But I spend all day, every day here.
I know what they need.
- [Ben] Come on Sophie.
Come on Sophie!
- [Sophie] Guys, you
need to come see this.
(eerie sounds)
- Look, there are methods
of care which you are
completely disregarding.
- I'm using methods of
care that don't just treat
the symptoms, they purify
the mind, the soul.
- That's great.
Well, as of right now the
New Hampshire Department
of Health and Human
Services is placing you
and your board under suspension.
I'll ask that you finish the
day but until further notice,
you're stripped of
control of this hospital.
- Take a look at that file Mr. Garrity.
- Minor frontal lobotomization, left side.
So what?
- Well, that's one of your
approved methods of care, isn't it?
- Yes it is, but I don't
see much else of that
going on around here.
- Well I'm not blind Mr. Garrity.
I know that patients must be treated on a
case by case basis.
Now this patient in particular,
requires this treatment.
(dramatic sounds)
Ladies, is the patient prepped?
- Yes doctor.
- Thank you.
Mr. Garrity, I know you can hear me.
I doubt you know exactly
what you're cutting edge
methods really consist of.
Allow me to illuminate you.
First, let us pray.
Be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of
God so that you can take
your stand against the devil's schemes.
For our struggle is not
against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers,
against the authorities,
against the power of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realm.
Put on the full armor of
God so that when the day
of evil comes, you may be
able to stand your ground
and after you've done
everything, to stand.
Take off the shield of faith with which
you could extinguish all the
flaming arrows with evil.
Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the spirit
which is the word of God.
Amen.
(tapping)
How we feeling Conrad?
- Fine.
- That's wonderful, I'm
so happy to hear it.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
- Okay.
- [Dr. Callahan] Do
you know where you are?
- St. Osmunds State Psychiatric Hospital.
- [Dr. Callahan] And do you know who I am?
- You're Jonas Callahan,
Chief of Psychiatry.
- [Dr. Callahan] That's good, and you are?
- Conrad Garrity.
- [Dr. Callahan] Do you know what this is?
- Yeah.
- [Dr. Callahan] I need you to sign it.
Bring this to the archives room.
Make a duplicate and
rush it back to Conrad.
- Yes sir.
- Now that we have
state's approval Conrad,
you'll see that things are
run much more smoothly here
at St. Osmunds.
(scratching)
- [Neil] Okay, what the
fuck is going on here?
- Garrity was from Health
and Human Services.
It looks like Callahan
was trying to get him
to agree to something about the hospital.
But the state knew something was up.
That's why they closed down!
They found out what Callahan was doing.
But why would they try to cover it up?
- It's obvious.
One of the best mental
hospitals in the world
being run by a zealot?
Look terrible for them,
there's your answer.
- They mentioned the archives room.
We should check it out.
- Why?
What else do you need to know?
- Wait!
Why are we still here?
Why are the lights still on?
Why is everything still new?
- I don't know, maybe
we're supposed to be here
to find out what really happened.
- We just did!
What happened to getting out?
You really want to stay here?
Why won't you let us go?
- I need to know.
He might be here!
- Your dad can't be here Ben.
- There is no other way
that necklace could have
gotten here.
Whoever left it knows where he is!
If we find out why this
place really shut down,
we could find out who's
trying to reopen it.
- What if someone's trying to trick you?
What if they left the
necklace to keep you thinking
he's still here?
I can't understand you.
How can you be willing to spend
one more second in this place?
I mean, did you see what was
happening in those rooms?
- [Neil] Those people
were just being treated.
- They were not just being treated.
You didn't see.
- [Neil] See what?
- Why didn't you see?
- [Ben] See what Sophie?
- You said that guy in the straight jacket
called me Bam Bam earlier right?
When he took my camera?
- [Ben] What does that
have to do with anything?
- That's what you said, isn't it?
- [Ben] Yeah so?
- [Neil] Sophie what
are you talking about?
- I have never heard
that name before tonight.
Neil, when was passed out,
you told me what you saw
in the room with the cross on the door,
that's why you've been so quiet.
What was it?
- [Neil] The body on the bed.
I thought it was me, but it was Ben.
- This is a waste of time.
Let's go!
- Neil, you realize what
this means, don't you?
- [Neil] Look, it doesn't matter okay.
It's not worth Ben wandering off.
- We have to figure this out.
You know, I'd be really
interested to ask Ben
what his nickname was when he was little.
- [Neil] Listen, it doesn't matter!
- It does matter!
Why is everything in here familiar to him?
- [Neil] Let's go, he's
already out of earshot.
- If we're gonna figure
this out we have to do it
together, and letting Ben
wander around here all night
is not how that's gonna happen.
The longer we stay here
the less he wants to leave!
- [Neil] Hey!
- Where's Sophie?
- [Neil] Don't think she's coming.
(eerie sounds)
- [Sophie] Ben?
Neil?
Ben!
I can help you!
Come back!
- [Man] Ben's gone.
It's just us now.
- [Sophie] Who is that?
- [Man] The one who will really help Ben.
I'm afraid that despite
what you may think,
you had no part in that.
Your time is up.
(gasps)
- It's gotta be this big one.
Yeah, yeah, this is it.
- [Sophie] You can't do this!
Ben doesn't know what's going on.
He needs Neil and I!
- [Man] Tell me, why help him?
You know he can't rely
and you and his friend.
You had your chance.
Both of you did.
I'm the only one who can help him.
- [Sophie] You won't help him!
I know what you'll do!
- [Neil] Ben?
- What?
- [Neil] Are you sure about this?
- I've come this far, might as well.
- [Sophie] Where are you?
- [Man] As I said, your time is up.
(screaming)
- [Sophie] Let go!
I know it's you Callahan!
(gasping)
(clanking)
- [Neil] Anything?
- Gotta be something.
Come on.
- [Neil] I guess what
Sophie said made sense.
The state probably tried to
cover up what Callahan did
to save face.
- There has to be more to it than that.
There was 2,000 people here.
It doesn't make any sense.
There!
Neil, Neil, light come on!
I knew it, he's here.
He has to be.
West wing maybe, we
haven't been there yet.
Let's see, admission date was April 2007.
I knew it, he has to be here.
- [Man] Of course I'm
here Ben, you put me here.
- Dad!
- [Man] He left me here alone Bam Bam.
- Where are you?
- [Phil] He's safe.
- Phil, where have you been?
- I've been with you the whole time.
I knew this was where you would end up.
You have a chance.
- [Ben] At what?
- Salvation, as in Ecclesiastes.
His days are filled with sorrow.
His work the product of grief.
His heart taketh no rest.
Your grief, your sorrow,
has led you to me.
You have walked in darkness
for far too long my friend.
I am the light.
- Where's my dad?
- You should know that.
You're the reason he's here.
It's devastating to have
a father taken away.
In his case, by the will of God.
I know your pain Ben,
but my pain comes not
from the will of God but
of man, of bureaucrats.
- Your Jonas Callahan's son aren't you?
- If you ever want to see him again,
you can fool yourself no longer.
It is the only way.
- Did I fall asleep?
- Yeah, you were snoring too.
Almost as loud as your mom.
Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
- Oh oh, here's come trouble.
- Good afternoon Mr. Winters, Mr. Winters.
- [Both] Good afternoon.
- [Nurse] We are about ready to begin.
- Begin what?
- Ben, you, you know don't you?
It's gonna be okay.
He'll take care of us.
- Are you ready?
- Yes.
- Yes.
(zapping)
(choir sings)
Where are we?
- [Neil] It's gorgeous isn't it?
- How'd we get here?
- [Neil] He brought us
here, away from St. Osmunds,
deliver us from evil right?
You know I been praying to
get out of there all night
and here we are, safe and sound.
- Safe and sound is right!
Whereby grace are ye saved.
Through faith not of
yourselves, but if any man
enter not by the door, but
climbeth up in some other way,
that man is a thief and a robber.
I am the door.
By me, if any man chooses to
enter, they will be saved.
The choice is yours, it always has been.
Your choice has led you to me
and I am responsible for you.
- [Ben] What choice?
- To wander in the dark
all your remaining days or
to rejoice in the light of the Lord.
- [Ben] What do you mean in the dark Phil?
- You're a twisted man Ben.
The kind of a man my father
worked his entire life to heal.
You do not realize it
and that is the tragedy,
the great tragedy.
I see it, plain as day.
You cannot.
- Twisted?
You wanna talk twisted?
Your father was a lunatic!
He was crazier than most
of the people he was
supposed to be taking care of!
I've seen what's happened to
a man who blindly believes
the Lord will heal him,
and I will spend the
rest of my life in here
before I let you turn me into one of them!
- Ah, a heretic, one who sees
the glory and the light
but will not walk into it.
Ben my heart breaks for you.
Will you not be saved?
- [Neil] I will.
- [Ben] Neil no!
- Ben this is it.
We can be saved!
You just have to accept it.
If God is calling us who
are we to ignore him?
- [Ben] You cannot let
yourself be taken in by this.
This isn't a prophet this is a madman!
You can't seriously
believe that he's gonna--
- What do you know of belief?
Of faith?
A man who abandoned his father
during his time of need?
It would seem to me that faith in anything
is a thing to bark at for you.
- [Ben] I didn't abandon him.
I was trying to help him.
- This man has led you on long enough.
Come, bask in the light of the Lord.
- [Ben] Neil please!
I can't do this alone.
- If you can't see that
this is our way out,
then you are alone.
- [Ben] Neil don't!
(banging)
No, no!
(steps clattering)
Neil, Neil, Neil!
Neil.
- [Phil] You've been
left behind, once again.
- [Ben] I'm never gonna
see my father again, am I?
- [Phil] No.
- [Ben] Well, what are you waiting for?
- [Phil] You think I'd murder you?
I'm sorry you've misunderstood me.
I can't do that, not even if I wanted to.
I've tried to offer
you glory and peace but
you turned me down.
As the saying goes, you reap what you sow.
(eerie sounds)
And the Lord said, let those
tainted by evil and corruption
be judged by the fires they stoke.
For the righteous shall sit at my side
and the wicked will fall
into the flames eternal.
- [Ben] You want me to kill myself?
Let the Lord judge me?
- You know full well that
this is a purging fire,
a freeing fire.
The choice is yours, but I warn you,
this is the only way you will be cleansed
of the darkness in which you wallow.
By day you led them with a pillar of cloud
and by night with a pillar
of fire to give them a life
in the way they were to take.
(eerie sounds)
How are you feeling Mr. Winters?
- [Ben] I feel fine.
- Wonderful, I'm happy to hear that.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
- [Ben] Okay.
- Do you know where you are?
- [Ben] St. Osmunds state
psychiatric hospital.
- And do you know who I am?
- [Ben] You're Dr. Callahan.
- That's right and you are?
- [Ben] I'm...
- You know Walter.
I just need to hear you say it.
- [Ben] I'm...
What did you do to me?
- I'm trying to help you.
You lost your way but
now you can come back.
Back into the light or...
- No, no, no, no!
No, I won't let you do this.
I know who I am and I
won't let you twist that.
- After all this you realize
I'll always be here don't you?
If you leave now, your mind
lost in the darkness forever.
- My mind is clear.
- [Man] Mr. Winters?
- Yes?
- Look, I'm sorry, we're gonna
have to call it for tonight.
It's too dark, we don't
have the man power.
We'll pick it up first
thing in the morning.
- No, no, we're not
stopping, we can't stop.
- I'm sorry we have to.
I'm sure we'll find him tomorrow.
- Sorry, I'm not stopping.
(slow piano music)
- [Man] Mr. Winters!
Mr. Winters!
- [Man] We know you're
out here Mr. Winters!
Mr. Winters!
- [Man] Mr. Winters!
- Dad!
Dad?
- Mr. Winters I'm so
sorry (voice cuts out).
(dramatic music)
- I just want to go home son.
I miss you, I miss your mom.
- I miss her too.
- She coming to see me tonight?
She told me she was gonna
come see me tonight.
I just, I know it's late and everything
but I thought maybe that...
- Maybe tomorrow Dad.
- I'm getting tired Bam Bam.
Thanks for coming to see me okay?
- Okay.
- Okay bye.
- Your dad dropped this
getting out of the car.
- Thank you.
Thanks for tonight.
- Sure.
Pretty frightening isn't it?
- What's that?
- Had an uncle with Alzheimer's.
Right before the end he
didn't remember any of us.
You know what I'm saying?
- Sorry?
- I was just saying, losing
touch with what's going on,
it's a frightening thing.
I mean, you'd have no way of
knowing, if that makes sense.
- Yeah, no, I know what you mean.
I worry about that all the time.
(slow piano music)
Dad you dropped--
(slow instrumental music)