St. Osmund's (2013) - full transcript

(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)