Swamp Freak (2017) - full transcript

I'm Professor Grace O'Leary, biology
professor at Lazarus University.

Today's class will be a continuation of the
discussion Professor Peters began yesterday regarding

"pseudo-science" ”, or, to put it in terms that
relate directly to this class, cryptozoology.

I'll be joined today by my colleagues Professor
Belinda Southworth and Professor Magda

Jenkins, both heading up research into
"fortean phenomenon" ”. Specifically, we'll be

concentrating on the local legend of the "Reed's Cove
Swamp Freak"”. I advise that you all take notes or record

this lecture for later study. This
is all going to be on the mid-terms.

Like most subjects of cryptozoology, the
Reed's Cove Swamp Freak can trace its origins

back to either actual facts or a fictional word-of-mouth
story that later became accepted as fact. For example,

the well-known "Jersey Devil" ” myth actually began as a story
spread by none other than Ben Franklin, as a satirical jab

at a political rival.



As with most myths, it soon
took on a life of its own.

Such is the case with the
Reed's Cove Swamp Freak.

The myth's origins can be traced back to Nineteen
Sixty-Seven, when the Cully family settled in the Reed's

Cove area. At the time, the land
was considered worthless, and

the area was completely
uninhabited.

The matriarch of the Cully clan, Lila, allegedly gave birth
to her first child, whom they called "Moss" ”. Moss was

supposedly homebirthed in the Cullys' house in Reed's
Cove. The few locals who were present during this birth

claimed that the child was horribly deformed, and didn't
live long after he was born. These deformities are most

likely where

the myth got started. There are conflicting stories here, but
many of them suggest that the Cully family buried Moss's

body in the swamp.

There's no records of the family ever having other
children, but a few locals claimed they had at least one

other child around Nineteen Ninety-Two. "Isaac" ”. That
would have been right around the time the entire Cully

family mysteriously vanished.



It's time, brother...

Hey Morton, it's Charles.

Where the hell are you, man?

We were supposed to meet here
at the same time.

Yeah, I'm at Reed's cove.

The swamp.

Yeah, that swamp.

Listen man, I don't care how much you overslept
this morning, I'm not combing the swamp by myself.

Yeah.

The others will be here, too.

But I'm still in this area by myself
until you get here. Understand?

Well, how hard can it be?

He's some old guy camping out
in the woods.

So listen, I'm going to be waiting
here on the road until you get here.

About... 6 miles in. Okay?

Real funny, Moron. I mean,
“Morton“.

Anyway, if you don't show up here in the
next hour, I'm heading back to town.

I don't care if they ever find
the professor again.

Hello?

Hey, Morton. You in Reed's
Cove yet?

Great, I just got to the old
Cully place now.

Yeah, it's probably a long shot, but it'll
make a decent campsite if nothing else.

It's the only place around for
miles.

Right, so it's you, me, Charles,
Wallace, Harry and Foster.

That's all I could get on
short notice!

Listen, if you or Charles or anybody sees anything,
I mean, an old campfire, fresh footprints,

anything... call me...

Professor Peters!

Worth a shot.

Hello?

Yes, this is Leila Stewart. Right, I'm the one who
called about filing a missing person's report.

No, I know it hasn't been
seventy-two hours yet, but...

No, I'm a student of his at
the college.

I don't even know if he has
any close relatives.

Well, me and a bunch of other students
are out here in Reed's Cove...

...yes, that Reed's Cove.

We're covering the are by
ourselves.

Why?

Because you're not doing
anything!

He could be hurt, he could be
dead!

Well, if we need your help I guess we're
up the creek without a paddle, aren't we?

Thanks for nothing.

You couldn't have gotten lost in
downtown Las Vegas or something?

Yeah, Leila's already waiting
for us at the old Cully place.

I'm supposed to be meeting Charles
and we're gonna sweep the northern

end of the swamp.

Look, Foster, give me a break!

This is my first search party,
okay?

Well I like Peter's class and everything, but there ain't
no amount of passing grades that's gonna make me want to

find him face-down in the mud
somewhere.

I don't know.

That's just it, nobody knows.

You want to complain to somebody,
complain to Leila. This was her idea...

Hi everybody, I'm Belinda Southworth,

professor of forensic biology
at Chambers University.

Professor O'Leary asked me here today
to share my expertise on cryptozoology,

and, to be more specific, my knowledge of
what the locals around here refer to as the

"Reed's Cove Swamp Freak" ”.

She's already filled you in on the basic back-story,
for those of you who weren't aware of it.

So I'll skip ahead to present day, or at least
five years ago, when the disappearances started.

Good question! And it proves that you're
already smarter than ninety-eight

percent of the people who go,
and have gone,

looking for the Swamp Freak, or Bigfoot, or any other
mythical creature you can rattle off the top of your

head.

But, in all seriousness, as Professor O'Leary stated in her
part of the lecture, most of these myths has become some

basis in fact.

Before I became a teaching professor at Chambers, I was
actually a consultant for the state police department's

C.S.I. division,

and was called in on several cases that the witnesses and
victims believed were the work of this so-called "Reed's Cove

Swamp Freak"”.

And let me tell you, they were some
interesting characters, to say the least.

With that in mind, these people
shared some very interesting details.

Many of the victims claimed to
be attacked in broad daylight.

They all claimed that their attacker was
definitely neither human nor animal.

And they all had defensive wounds that we decided were
either some sort of a knife, or the claws of a large

predatory animal.

All of them were hysterical.
And in shock.

We're not talking about the sort of shock that
accompanies the survival of a near-death experience.

This was something else.

What the hell, dude?

Don't even tell me it's been
an hour yet.

Don't tell me I came all the way out to this muddy
hell hole for you to play some stupid game with me.

Come on, you stupid jag-off,
where are you?

Charles!

Charles!?

Anyone bother showing up yet?!

The number
you have reached is not in service.

Charles?!

I guess
this makes me the third guest speaker today.

I'm Magda Jenkins, professor of
Humanities at Klepper College.

I've been studying the phenomenon
of folklore as explanation for

crimes and disappearances for a
while now, like my colleagues.

I've chosen to focus on the regional impact of
the "Reed's Cove Swamp Freak" ” on its neighbors.

While the area is currently slated for re-development
as both residential and commercial properties,

it's been left virtually untouched
for decades until this point,

despite its potential value.

Why?

Families and businesses have been patently terrified of
this region since the legend of the "Swamp Freak" ” began.

Despite reasonable thinking that says "common
sense" ” should be the rule of thumb here,

the locals still believe that there is
some kind of "swamp monster" ” roaming the

Reed's Cove area.

This has been bolstered by numerous unexplained deaths
and disappearances in the region over the years,

which, in reality, can be attributed to something
as simple as getting lost in the wilderness,

wild animal attacks, or circumstances that
have absolutely nothing to do with the swamp.

It's time to eat, brother.

Foster, where the hell are
you?

Relax, huh? I just got here. I
took the ferry over.

Is anybody else with you?

I thought they were with you.

Well so far I've talked to Charles and
Morton but they're nowhere to be seen,

so that leaves you, me, Harry
and Wallace.

Well where are you?

At the old Cully place.

You think Professor Peters
actually went there?

I don't know what to think.

Also I just talked to the
police.

Did you tell them we're
basically doing their job?

I mean what are we waiting for, his body to
turn up in the middle of the bay or something?

That's not funny!

I'm serious.

They said they weren't going to do anything until
he's officially missing for seventy-two hours.

For all we know he's home by
now.

I left a bunch of messages on his phone, he knows
we're out here. He would have at least called.

I don't think it's a good idea for us to stay overnight,
Leila. I say we just search the swamp a bit and try to

take the last ferry out of
Reed's Cove before dark.

I know he's your favorite
teacher, he's mine too, but-

I tried to talk him out of
this trip!

You know, people get lost out
here in the swamp all the time.

It's not your fault.

I just want to find him.

Me too.

We'll look for him until sundown, meet
back here at the house and stay the night.

And then?

Just try to find him before
sundown.

I'll try my best.

I'll keep trying to contact the others, and if you find
them before I do, just let them know what's going on.

Will do.

We're not going to find him.

Another one?

Hello!?

Charles!?

Morton?

Foster?

Guys this isn't the time or
place for this crap.

Okay, you know what? Funny.

The footprints? Funny.

But you had your little laugh.

Professor Peters is still out there somewhere
and he could be in serious trouble!

Please tell me somebody else
bothered showing up!

Anyone!?

We're running out of time!

Hello?

It's Happy-Time Harry here to
brighten your day!

We're knee-deep in swamp right
now.

How's it going on your end?

Not so good.

After this we're going to have to set up a search
party just to find Charles, Morton and Foster.

Where's Wallace?

He's with me.

I'm using a stick to find dead
bodies!

What did he say?

He's uh... fishing.

Anyways, what's up with the
other guys?

Totally MIA. I can't seem to
reach them on my cell phone.

Want me to try calling them?

Let me repeat: I can't reach
them on my cell phone.

How are you going to reach
them?

Right.

Uh, I hate to be a buzz-kill but I think
this is a complete waste of time.

We're not even finding old beer cans out here. I
don't think Professor Peters is going to turn up.

We need one of those dogs that
can sniff out old corpses.

Hold on. Shut up, Wallace!

Sorry.

Anyway, you were saying?

You were saying.

You guys have barely even covered the
swamp, how do you know he's not here?

Why aren't you out looking for
him?

I'm at the old Cully place,
waiting for you.

So the one place you know he
isn't.

I thought we were all going to meet
up here and then split up the map.

Apparently you don't know how
Charles, Morton or Foster think.

Oh, I know. They pranked me a
little while ago.

They left some weird
footprints in the house.

Footprints?

Yeah, you know. Like it's supposed
to be the Reed's Cove Swamp Freak.

There were some weird noises in the
woods, and some footprints around...

Right. So they're probably not answering
their phones on purpose. Great.

My guess is they're probably
out getting blitzed somewhere.

Short attention spans. I blame
television.

Let's get serious, okay?

Okay. Right. You're the boss.

What do we do now?

Find Professor Peters.

I'll give these jerks a little
while longer, then I'll join you.

He's not out here, Leila. We've
been looking for three hours.

No sign of a campsite, no
fresh footprints.

No burial sites.

We're not the police. We're
not an organized search party.

We're a bunch of college
students.

Half of us are probably dancing around a
bonfire right now drinking moonshine.

He's alive, okay!

You know, he was my favorite
teacher, too, but-

He could be hurt. He could be
dehydrated!

Well just wait one more day and
then let the cops look for him.

Harry...

Why don't Wallace and I come to the old Cully
house, grab you, and we'll all leave together.

What about the others?

They'll figure it out.

Look, you guys can leave if you want.
Sorry I got you into this.

We're coming by the house. You're not staying
there by yourself. End of discussion.

We're going to the Cully
place. Drop the stick!

I can't bring it with me?

I'm keeping the stick.

Why are you even running!?

That's my knee!

Harry!

Harry! Harry!

The swamp freak is real!

Harry!

It's going to get me!

It's going to get me!

Locking the doors won't keep
us out.

Who are you?

I'm Isaac Cully. I was born in
this house.

You're trespassing on our
property.

Our property?

You've already met my brother,
Moss.

We both live here.

The legends...

...the swamp freak...

All true. We've been guarding
this place for years.

We've lived in peace.

Then the developers came.

They wanted to turn the swamps into
houses, stores and restaurants.

They wanted to murder it, like
they murder everything.

So we murdered them.

That thing out there killed my
teacher!

My friends!

No one had to come here. No
one had to die.

You came here.

You trespassed on our lands.

Don't come any closer!

You don't get it.

I came from the swamp.

No.

Moss came from me.

I'm the swamp freak.

This can't be happening!