The Cremators (1973) - full transcript
An alien life form that is a huge ball of living matter invades earth, and replenishes itself by absorbing people.
(eerie psychedelic music)
(blasting)
(daunting music)
- [Narrator] There were only two
who saw the meteor fall
into the lake long ago.
One was an Indian brave hunting for food.
He saw the fire streak
out down over the water,
and was afraid.
Because it was an omen of ill favor
when the stars left heaven
and drowned themselves
in the water.
(chaotic orchestral music)
The other witness was a fish
who snapped greedily at
the meteors that fell.
Quite reduced in size now.
The fish swam away and presently, he died.
That was 300 years ago.
(chaotic music)
(howling)
(valiant trumpet music)
The water hasn't changed much.
The shoreline was altered
by the erosion of time.
The sand dunes like
vast, creeping monsters
kept traveling around,
sweeping over the forests.
Civilization moved in,
polluting the waters
and spoiling the land.
The word ecology became a warning note
as it left dead, lifeless
things in its wake.
Some, like Iane Thorne,
sought the loneliness of the lake country
and the last chance to help turn the tide
against the creeping death.
- Wave action in lake diminishing.
Winds, light variable.
An absence of driftwood
specimen in the pool.
Algae intense.
(daunting orchestral music)
Each new day brings
more fascinating change.
Insects, sunning themselves
on the thermometer.
Something I just found in my pool.
Rock crystal.
(laughs) You name it.
Could be someone's drowned jewelry.
This is the second droplet.
(daunting music)
(moves into light psychedelic music)
(water bubbling)
(engine purring)
(chaotic crashing music)
(moves into light orchestral music)
# Oh, you bet I'm dancing, baby #
- Come on, now, you two.
Get on outta here.
Get out!
Come on.
# Just dance #
# Everything will be all right #
# Just do it #
# Turn one more time #
- Hello, Bill.
- Hi, Mr. Thorne.
- Hi, Doc.
- Hi, Phil.
Hello, Milly.
Raced all the way to get here on time.
- Just about ready to leave, too.
Ah, see.
Got your stamps on.
Mr. Willy Zeppo, Ann Harbor, Michigan.
Special delivery, huh?
Okay, I'll mail this for you.
- Got anything for me, too?
- Yeah!
New bug magazine's come for you.
Here it is.
- [Mart] Now you ain't
gonna run all the way over
to Port Grand with them
few pieces of mail,
now, are ya Phil?
- One thing for sure, Mart.
You ain't never gonna run out of gas
the way your mouth keeps
going all the time.
(laughing)
- The boy's right, Phil.
Nothing important never leaves the door.
- Mail's gotta go through.
- [Mart] Why is that?
- Why?
It's the United States Postal Regulation.
That's why!
(laughing)
(car engine hums)
(dog whimpering)
You say something, Milly?
Don't blame you.
Them fellas upset anyone.
(daunting music)
Did you see that, Milly?
What do you suppose?
(daunting music)
(dog barking)
(Phil yelling)
(winds howling)
(eerie music)
- You didn't move anything
after you found this,
did you, Merv?
- Not me.
Went right over to my place an phoned you.
- What happened to his dog, Milly?
- Was no dog when I came out.
- Oh, she must've gotten out somehow.
- Maybe Phil got out.
- Not from the looks of that.
- How are you setting
it down, Dr. Branick?
- Cremation, it seems like.
- Boys were kidding him about
driving into town last night.
- Oh, that's how it goes.
Guess I better get this mail
over to Main Post Office.
- Most of it's singed.
Except for your package, Mr. Thorne.
Anything valuable in it?
- No, just some mineral specimens.
- Well, must be plenty
more where they came from.
Phil never did have good eyes.
- He should've listened to us.
- Kiddin' or no kiddin'.
(apprehensive music)
(classical music)
(motor sputtering)
- Hey, Mack!
- Iane, brought you a visitor this time.
Real company.
Here's a gent in a striped shirt,
writes books about bugs,
and means to keep us all
from poisoning ourselves.
Ian Thorne.
Ian, this is my niece, Jeanne.
- You haven't changed much.
Even back in high school,
he'd choose to chase
butterflies than play ball.
- You knew me then?
- I was nine, just beginning to wise up.
- Obviously I wasn't too smart.
That's why I went away to college.
This is my first trip back.
- Yeah, you're both back
and I brought something
to celebrate with too.
Grades of sirloin.
Jeanne'll do 'em up for us.
I've tasted your cooking.
- Well, what are we waiting for?
- [Jeanne] You can see
out there for miles.
- [Iane] You sure have grown up.
- [Jeanne] Must get lonely out here.
- I have all my insects
to keep my company.
It's busier than Main Street in Muskegon.
- Uncle Mack says you're a hermit.
- Well, there is something
primitive about it all,
as if it were the beginning of things.
(rock beeping)
- Well, thanks for
showing me your station.
- Think nothing of it.
If you're ever in a jam,
just howl for WA Dogshed Victor.
I'm 10 meters.
- What's this?
- I don't know.
It's something I found in my lake pool.
- It's pretty.
Like a piece of glass.
- Keep it if you'd like.
I'm mailing another one
off to a friend of mine
for analysis.
(daunting music)
(knocking)
You hurt?
- No man, it's my cat.
(water bubbling)
(apprehensive music)
- Where'd you find him?
- Under a pile of driftwood.
I was kicking around the lake,
when I saw it was Old Short Arm.
Hell, looked like he was dead.
Then I felt a muscle twitch in his legs
so I scooped him up in my beach towel.
As good as dead, huh, Doc?
- I'm afraid so.
- [Cat Owner] What did it?
- That's what I'm trying to find out now.
I can't do anymore tonight.
Wanna wait 'til I wash up?
I'll give you a ride back.
- I'll make it.
Thanks.
Hey, Doc, you dig reincarnation?
Coming back again.
- I don't know.
I take it you do.
- Maybe I was a cat once.
Maybe next time, Old Short Arm On will do
the running on two legs.
Well, if I get him out
of here and bury him.
- I'll do that for you if you don't mind.
- Old Short Arm will sure
appreciate that, Doc.
Thanks.
Hey, Doc.
Ciao.
(daunting music)
(cat whimpering)
- Hey, Milly.
What happened to you?
(chaotic orchestral music)
Easy now.
Easy now.
There you go.
(unsteady music)
(water bubbling)
I don't know what they are, Mack,
but until I'm sure they're
not dangerous to human tissue,
I want you to take the
one I gave to Jeanne
and get rid of it!
- Are you sure you haven't been
living alone too long, Iane?
Milly could've cut herself
on something, couldn't she?
Over?
- [Iane] She didn't cut herself, Mack.
They burned through her stomach.
- Well, I'm sure that Jeanne isn't gonna
eat the one that you gave her, Over.
- Just the same, Mack.
Take it away from her and get rid of it.
Good night, Mack.
WADBZ out and clear.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- You see me like I'm
some kinda bug, right?
- Ladybug.
Ladybug, fly away home.
- [Jeanne] Your pad's
seems far in Gilbert.
- [Iane] More or less.
- How come you're so into bugs?
- It's what I want.
- That's not the way I heard it.
- I came back here because I wanted
to be haunted by my personal memories.
- What was she like?
Your amnesty?
- Like a dream, mostly.
Like something you make up.
I was buried in it up to my neck.
- I know,
and sometimes getting up at night
to stare into darkness
and you curse at the
pillowcase that's wet.
And you beat it out.
Trying to go back to sleep again.
- There's an old Biblical
saying, this too shall pass.
- [Man On Radio] We now offer you
the miniature piano couture
to a tidal lighthouse.
(slow piano music playing)
(apprehensive music)
(waves crashing)
(fast-paced orchestral music)
(tires screeching)
- What was that?
Iane, the light.
- Yeah.
- What was it?
It looked like it was out there
sitting on the windshield.
- Eve lightning, maybe.
(daunting music)
Stay in the truck.
- It was lightning.
Anything important?
- [Iane] Come on.
# As the acres in the morning #
# That's what I saw of you #
# The eyes upon the rigged roads #
# And the cold winds swiftly blew #
# And while Miles the antelope #
# Line the shores of Michigan #
(eerie music)
(moves into dramatic orchestral music)
(yelling)
(daunting music)
(moves into playful orchestral music)
(beeping)
(beeping)
(dramatic music)
(beeping)
- Member of Seaman's International Union.
Name of Zan Burgen George.
- What time was it when
you found this, Doc?
- Little after midnight.
I just came back from dropping
Kurt McGenis' niece off.
- Nothing else worth mentionin'?
- No, just the way you see it.
- Funny both of them accidents
happened right around here.
- Yes, it is funny.
- Judging from the heat
he has here of this stone,
I'd say it'd sear any human
flesh right to the bone.
- I need a copy of your
report to the corner.
- First thing in the morning.
- And I've seen men
hit with flame throwers
and what was under them
didn't look this wicked.
- It's pretty hot stuff.
It could boil the soles
right off of a man's shoes
without even scratchin' it
or it can generate enough
heat to melt metal.
- How do you know it was lightning?
- Well, what else could it be?
If it had been a shot
of something like that,
I'd start wonderin',
but Phil's car turned inside out
and melded together like butter.
And this poor guy, well,
he was hit by lightning.
- You got any other ideas, Mr. Thorne?
- No, I can't say I have.
It seems strange to me that his sea bag
was found so far from where
the road was scorched.
- What of it?
He could've been thrown when he was hit.
- Yeah.
Could've been runnin' too.
- Runnin'?
From what?
His money and things are all here.
- What'd I ever wanna be
County Medical Examiner for?
- Same reason I wanted to be Sheriff.
Folks respect you.
- [Iane] They generate
heat as you probably know.
I found out the hard way.
- You sure you didn't try
to do your own cooking?
- Where did you find those little marbles?
- The two I sent you
came out of a dog stump.
- Observe my findings
and you're almost right when
you said it generates heat.
It gives off long infrared,
mostly stacked up around 200,000 extras.
But its energy is way out of proportion
to what you'd expect of the equation.
Also, it's an individualist.
Sometimes, a slight nudge
will set it off like a rocket
and then again, you can
hit it with a sledgehammer
and it won't perform at all, even sulks.
- You mean that piece of
whatever it is can think?
(beeping)
(sad orchestral music)
You were right about this place, Iane.
A person can feel sure
starting all over again.
- Happy birthday, Jeanne.
(apprehensive music)
- [Willy] Are you saying this
is what killed that sea man?
- That's the container that a mailed
those two droplets to you in.
Only when I found this, the
two droplets were missing.
Anything that can do
that to a piece of metal
can do a pretty good job on a human body,
wouldn't you say so?
- Iane, I am a physicist.
And you're a biologist.
We both deal in scientific things.
No two are the same.
- But Willy, two men were burned to death.
Why?
- Well, it could be what
the medical examiner thinks,
the car overturned or lightning.
- You're not really that
skeptical, are you, Willy?
- No.
I'm just baffled.
Well, let's hit the sack.
I'm beat.
We can worry about that
some more tomorrow.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- Maybe we should pack
it in a pail of ice.
- What for?
If it decided to radiate,
it'd probably melt the pail
before it melted the ice.
Besides, it never radiates
unless it's disturbed.
(apprehensive orchestral music)
(moves into dramatic orchestral music)
(rocks beeping)
(daunting music)
- Those stones.
They burned their way through that drawer.
- I know.
I can see what they did.
Not only can it radiate well.
It can focus its own radiation
and limit its energy output.
- Those men, Willy.
They didn't die by
lightning or an accident.
(chaotic orchestral music)
Sheriff, you remember those stories
you used to heart told in these parts
when you were a kid?
Those sand dunes?
- Yeah.
Some of 'em, I guess.
Why?
- Remember the one about there being
a dune roller larger than a schooner,
lived in a cave in the bottom of the lake?
- Yeah, I recollect I do.
My grandmother favored that one.
- Was it something about,
it came out every 100 years or so
and rolled through the dune forest,
leaving a strip of bare sand behind it
where it'd eaten the vegetation?
Is that right?
- For one.
- What would you say, Sheriff,
if I told you there was more
to that than just legend?
And old Phil Masters and that sea man
didn't meet with any accident?
That they were burned to
death by a dune roller?
- Well, I'd say that sure as hell
beat the one my granny favored (laughs).
- That's what I was afraid of.
- Let me assure you, Sheriff,
that this is no joke.
Those tracks down there
were made by this thing,
whatever you call it.
- Those tracks right there.
They came down out of the
house and into the lake.
- The highway patrol called to report
that some jokers set fire to the asphalt
at the highway intersection,
and then just before I come up there,
Mrs. Lacey and them lights.
- [Iane] What lights were those?
- The ones you saw all night from her shop
running in and out of the woods.
And then you and your damn dune roller.
- Iane, I'd like to
talk to this Mrs. Lacey.
- Look, Doc, I'm a patient man.
When you plant yourself
a bug garden out here,
I'd go along with ya.
But when you start talkin' foolishness,
then I gotta call you on it.
- We're scientists, Sheriff.
With some standing in our profession.
And doesn't it sound reasonable to you
that we might know what the
hell we're talking about?
- All right, let's go talk to
Ms. Lacey about them lights.
- Don't go tellin' me that I've got facts
in my belt predictin'.
I know what I see and I see what I know.
They were up there all night long.
- Who was, Mrs. Lacey?
- Summer vacationers, come for a picnic.
Some of those long-haired hippies
who planned to put up an art bazaar.
- You see 'em, Maggie?
- No, just the lights.
- Well, is that all you saw, Mrs. Lacey?
Just the lights?
- Well, that's enough, isn't it?
Someone had to be carrying them.
- But you didn't actually see
anyone, did you, Mrs. Lacey?
(daunting music)
- Why would it kill?
- How do we know that it's even
got the same intelligence as ours?
It may be as indifferent to us
as we are, say, to insects.
Some things we can accept, right?
There's life under the sea.
- Yeah.
- And there are things growing on at least
one planet in outer space.
- [Sheriff] Fact is, we're
indifferent to each other
right here on earth.
(eerie music)
- Radioactive.
Well, your dune roller may
have taken to the lake.
The chances are he fell from
outer space, admittedly.
- Wrong sex, Willy.
- I really wasn't aware
of its having any sex.
- The reaction of this creature
would seem to be those of
a mother for her children.
A long time ago, Willy,
whatever it is came smashing to earth,
and since that time, the core of it
has been going around and
collecting a drop of itself here,
and drop of itself there
in barnyards and road
beds and in sand dunes.
And it's been responding with
the only defense it knew.
- Then your theory makes it
vulnerable to some force.
- Question is, why has it
been so inactive for so long?
- Well, some fault in the Earth maybe.
Recent earthquakes could've
caused some shifting
of rocks and pieces up to the surface.
- Maybe.
And as you guessed,
it has no pattern for the way it thinks.
It's an individualist.
Sometimes it forgives, just threatens.
Other times (mouth pops) goes all the way.
Try and keep it from getting away
and it finds its own means of escape.
Hit it, gets mad or sulks,
depending upon its mood.
- Obviously then, they have
a way of communicating.
- The more pressing fact
is that the possession
of any fragment is an invitation
for our dune roller to come
and retrieve it eventually.
- When in time have we
started your beach boo?
(playful music)
(rocks beeping)
(apprehensive music)
- [Iane Voiceover] I'm gonna
need a colleague of mine
from Ann Harbor, Mack.
The name of Willy Seth McGregor.
He's a biophysicist.
(rock beeping)
And makes that the drops are
a great scientific discovery.
- Really?
What do they do?
- [Man On Radio] They give off a hot light
when they're disturbed.
- You don't say.
Them little things?
- [Iane Voiceover] The larger they are,
the more energy they grind up.
We have reason to believe
that there's some bigger drops around.
Much, much larger.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- [Mack] Sonny and I got a
new pan adapter for the rig.
- [Iane] You finally get it after all, eh?
But how'd you get the
miss to dress for itself?
Incidentally, how's that
cute niece of yours?
I'd like to say hello to her.
- [Mack] Took the phone and four grand
to buy herself a new dress or something.
Surprise for you.
She's gotta be back any time now.
Beats me why she'd want a brand new dress
with all those she brought up here.
- Oh, Mack, you're not
gonna deny her a new dress
after you just got
yourself a new pan adapter,
now are you?
Everybody to his own.
And let me know if you need
any help with that pan adapter.
You might wanna rig it up
as a frequency monitor.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Jeanne screaming)
(rock beeping)
Of course, if she's too much
for you to handle, Mack,
I'd be glad to take her off your hands
at a bargain price, of course.
(chaotic orchestral music)
(Jeanne screaming)
- Iane!
Iane!
- [Mack] What's a VFO?
- In Mack's case, Very
Frequently Off-band.
(dramatic music)
- Iane, can you hear me?
Iane, help me!
- [Iane] Is that you?
- Iane, that thing is chasing me!
Talk to me, talk to me!
- Jeanne, Jeanne, what's wrong?
- Jeanne, listen to me.
That droplet I gave you for
a souvenir the other day,
did you get rid of it?
- [Jeanne] I gave it to Uncle Mack!
- Mack, what did you do with it?
- [Mack] I can't remember.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- Quick, Mack.
What did you do with it?
(Jeanne screaming)
- [Mack] I took it away
from her like you said.
- [Iane] What did you do with it?
- [Mack] I left it on the boat.
- [Iane] Man, where?
- [Mack] It's in the box.
It's behind the radio.
It's in a pail.
- Jeanne, listen to me.
You must do exactly as I say.
Do you hear me?
- Yes, I can hear you.
Hurry up, Iane, hurry up.
It's after me.
This thing is chasing me.
Quickly, Iane, it's almost here!
- That little amber
drop that's in the boat,
get it.
(beeping)
(daunting music)
- I can't find it!
- [Iane] It's in the boat.
Throw it overboard.
- [Jeanne] Here it is.
- [Iane] Throw it overboard!
Quickly!
(intense electronic music)
- [Woman] Dr. Thompson.
Dr. Richard Thompson.
- You won't do much good in that shape.
- I keep thinking what might've happened
if she hadn't gotten to it in time.
- But she did.
Look, I'll go see what I can find out.
- [Woman] Dr. Donna Ludwige.
Please call your service.
- [Iane] What are you doing here?
- You ever found out what my cat ate, Doc?
- [Iane] No.
- Think I know what happened.
I had in mind dropping over to your place
but I saw you go in here.
Mind my following ya?
- Yes, get to the point.
- Same thing almost
happened to your chick.
- What you mean by that?
- I've seen those lights on the lake.
Sometimes coming from under the water.
Sometimes by the forest.
And near that pile of driftwood
where I found Old Short Arm.
- You told anybody else about this?
- Well, I thought to
tell the Sheriff about it
the other day, but, well,
he'd probably just tell me
I'm on pills or something.
- What makes you think I
won't tell you the same thing?
- You won't.
(beeping)
That's right, Doc.
It's been that way ever since the night
I found Short Arm and brought him to you.
- [Willy] Right this way, Commander.
- My name is Cunningham,
local group commander.
Are you Dr. Thorne?
- Yes.
- I'll need you to fill in
some details for my report.
(clapping)
(beeping)
At nine this evening, you
reported to the local group office
that a small craft was in
trouble off of the mainland.
- It wasn't me.
It was Kurt McGenis.
- Well, we found the craft
drifting in a grand light.
That young lady was very
lucky when she ran out of gas.
She was headed straight out
into the middle of the lake.
- And there was nothing else near her?
- Why?
Was there something you expected to find?
- Well, we have reason to believe
that a highly unusual occurrence
was responsible for
tonight's unpleasantries.
- You may come in now if
you'd like, Mr. Thorne.
- Thank you.
- Commander, have you ever
read any science fiction?
- All night long, like
something was out there.
Couldn't sleep.
I'm afraid.
- All you have to do is get lots of rest.
I'll see you tomorrow.
- [Willy] What in the devil
are you doing out here, Iane?
You should be asleep.
- Turn the light out, Willy.
Look.
(beeping)
Now you slap your hands together.
- What?
- Go on!
Slap 'em together.
Go on.
(beeping)
See, Willy?
Whatever it is, those droplets rub off
and when you spank 'em, they get mad.
Won't do any good, Willy.
I've tried everything.
- But it's a way for a
mom to trace her babies
and anyone else who touches 'em.
- I've been standing out
here trying everything.
Nothing checks out all the way.
How long before this thing disappears?
Will it disappear?
And if it doesn't, how do I know
that it won't move on Jeanne again?
Don't you see?
I involved her in this
and I involved you in this
and I don't know how far it can go.
I don't know how to protect anyone.
- You're all in, my boy.
You need some sleep.
- I don't need any sleep.
I need answers, Willy.
And I need 'em soon.
- I wonder what our colleagues
would say about all this.
That's just not like him at all.
His whole attitude's changed.
I tried to get some
information out of him,
and he looked at me as
though I were prying,
which I was.
- I thought the reason you
came up was the help him.
- Well, that was before we
knew what we were up against.
- The fact is, you make
sense about everything
but that fireball.
- Well, thanks.
But what do we do about Thorne?
- [Iane] He sees things.
- See does, so do I.
And no doubt about it, he
has something up his sleeve.
When I left him, he was
digging around those marshes
looking for more of those devil eyes.
- And what if he did
see this red hot coal?
What then?
- Well, he can hide and
pretend he didn't see it
or he can try to inform
the proper authorities
and we both know how
the proper authorities
feel about it, don't we?
So, we don't waste his time.
Which leaves only one thing he can do.
He can try to take care
of this thing himself,
which is where you come in.
You can give him adequate protection.
- [Commander] Some job.
My job is to keep from
getting a section eight.
- [Willy] Look, this
is not pure adulation.
We have proof!
- [Commander] What proof?
The girl's statement said
a light was following her.
Maybe it was a beacon.
- He thinks the whole thing
has been one big hoax.
- That's his problem, not mine.
- I'm a coast guardsman,
not a personal body guard.
Anything short of a reported mermaid
or a dune roller on a lake.
Put me on call.
- Thank you, Commander.
- Seven little devil eyes.
- Going into business?
How about a park?
Have a lab coats, we travel.
- Willy, it's time we went home.
Your family's gonna be worried.
- Ah, there's business you're
going into more than me.
You must have some angle for success.
- I'm going to the
hospital to pick up Jeanne.
You want me to give you
a ride to the depot?
- Tomorrow's time around.
- Okay.
But tomorrow.
(apprehensive music)
(rocks beeping)
(daunting music)
(rocks beeping)
(chaotic orchestral music)
(rocks beeping)
(shots blasting)
- I'm sorry about your friend.
- Sure you are.
Close to Sheriff.
All of us.
- There's a riot of volunteers
to call in the woods around the lake.
The man's planning to keep a
48-hour watch around the clock.
Perhaps better stick to your Uncle Kurt
if you wanna get in touch with me.
(sad string music)
Wanna come with us for a meeting
outside Morgan Williams' store?
- It wasn't your fault, Iane.
It wasn't anyone's fault.
What are you going to do?
- What I should have done sooner.
- I'm coming with you.
- No!
No one else!
Look, if you really wanna
help me, you'll trust me.
I've gotta finish what Willy started.
- Please.
- No!
(beeping)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(rock beeping)
- Iane!
Iane!
- Devil eyes.
Come on, devil eyes.
Bring it to me.
Bring her to me.
(chaotic music)
(rocks beeping)
- Iane!
Iane!
- Jeanne!
Why did you do it?
- I was afraid.
I didn't know what you were going to do.
(rocks beeping)
The light, Jeanne, quick!
Over there, go on!
Come on, Jeanne, quickly!
(rocks beeping)
(daunting music)
- Iane!
(chaotic orchestral music)
(explosives blasting)
- [Sheriff] We finished with it, Doc?
- [Iane] I hope so.
- [Kurt] Too bad we couldn't learn from it
than the destroying of things.
- Let's go home, Iane.
(chaotic orchestral music)
(rocks beeping)
(blasting)
(daunting music)
- [Narrator] There were only two
who saw the meteor fall
into the lake long ago.
One was an Indian brave hunting for food.
He saw the fire streak
out down over the water,
and was afraid.
Because it was an omen of ill favor
when the stars left heaven
and drowned themselves
in the water.
(chaotic orchestral music)
The other witness was a fish
who snapped greedily at
the meteors that fell.
Quite reduced in size now.
The fish swam away and presently, he died.
That was 300 years ago.
(chaotic music)
(howling)
(valiant trumpet music)
The water hasn't changed much.
The shoreline was altered
by the erosion of time.
The sand dunes like
vast, creeping monsters
kept traveling around,
sweeping over the forests.
Civilization moved in,
polluting the waters
and spoiling the land.
The word ecology became a warning note
as it left dead, lifeless
things in its wake.
Some, like Iane Thorne,
sought the loneliness of the lake country
and the last chance to help turn the tide
against the creeping death.
- Wave action in lake diminishing.
Winds, light variable.
An absence of driftwood
specimen in the pool.
Algae intense.
(daunting orchestral music)
Each new day brings
more fascinating change.
Insects, sunning themselves
on the thermometer.
Something I just found in my pool.
Rock crystal.
(laughs) You name it.
Could be someone's drowned jewelry.
This is the second droplet.
(daunting music)
(moves into light psychedelic music)
(water bubbling)
(engine purring)
(chaotic crashing music)
(moves into light orchestral music)
# Oh, you bet I'm dancing, baby #
- Come on, now, you two.
Get on outta here.
Get out!
Come on.
# Just dance #
# Everything will be all right #
# Just do it #
# Turn one more time #
- Hello, Bill.
- Hi, Mr. Thorne.
- Hi, Doc.
- Hi, Phil.
Hello, Milly.
Raced all the way to get here on time.
- Just about ready to leave, too.
Ah, see.
Got your stamps on.
Mr. Willy Zeppo, Ann Harbor, Michigan.
Special delivery, huh?
Okay, I'll mail this for you.
- Got anything for me, too?
- Yeah!
New bug magazine's come for you.
Here it is.
- [Mart] Now you ain't
gonna run all the way over
to Port Grand with them
few pieces of mail,
now, are ya Phil?
- One thing for sure, Mart.
You ain't never gonna run out of gas
the way your mouth keeps
going all the time.
(laughing)
- The boy's right, Phil.
Nothing important never leaves the door.
- Mail's gotta go through.
- [Mart] Why is that?
- Why?
It's the United States Postal Regulation.
That's why!
(laughing)
(car engine hums)
(dog whimpering)
You say something, Milly?
Don't blame you.
Them fellas upset anyone.
(daunting music)
Did you see that, Milly?
What do you suppose?
(daunting music)
(dog barking)
(Phil yelling)
(winds howling)
(eerie music)
- You didn't move anything
after you found this,
did you, Merv?
- Not me.
Went right over to my place an phoned you.
- What happened to his dog, Milly?
- Was no dog when I came out.
- Oh, she must've gotten out somehow.
- Maybe Phil got out.
- Not from the looks of that.
- How are you setting
it down, Dr. Branick?
- Cremation, it seems like.
- Boys were kidding him about
driving into town last night.
- Oh, that's how it goes.
Guess I better get this mail
over to Main Post Office.
- Most of it's singed.
Except for your package, Mr. Thorne.
Anything valuable in it?
- No, just some mineral specimens.
- Well, must be plenty
more where they came from.
Phil never did have good eyes.
- He should've listened to us.
- Kiddin' or no kiddin'.
(apprehensive music)
(classical music)
(motor sputtering)
- Hey, Mack!
- Iane, brought you a visitor this time.
Real company.
Here's a gent in a striped shirt,
writes books about bugs,
and means to keep us all
from poisoning ourselves.
Ian Thorne.
Ian, this is my niece, Jeanne.
- You haven't changed much.
Even back in high school,
he'd choose to chase
butterflies than play ball.
- You knew me then?
- I was nine, just beginning to wise up.
- Obviously I wasn't too smart.
That's why I went away to college.
This is my first trip back.
- Yeah, you're both back
and I brought something
to celebrate with too.
Grades of sirloin.
Jeanne'll do 'em up for us.
I've tasted your cooking.
- Well, what are we waiting for?
- [Jeanne] You can see
out there for miles.
- [Iane] You sure have grown up.
- [Jeanne] Must get lonely out here.
- I have all my insects
to keep my company.
It's busier than Main Street in Muskegon.
- Uncle Mack says you're a hermit.
- Well, there is something
primitive about it all,
as if it were the beginning of things.
(rock beeping)
- Well, thanks for
showing me your station.
- Think nothing of it.
If you're ever in a jam,
just howl for WA Dogshed Victor.
I'm 10 meters.
- What's this?
- I don't know.
It's something I found in my lake pool.
- It's pretty.
Like a piece of glass.
- Keep it if you'd like.
I'm mailing another one
off to a friend of mine
for analysis.
(daunting music)
(knocking)
You hurt?
- No man, it's my cat.
(water bubbling)
(apprehensive music)
- Where'd you find him?
- Under a pile of driftwood.
I was kicking around the lake,
when I saw it was Old Short Arm.
Hell, looked like he was dead.
Then I felt a muscle twitch in his legs
so I scooped him up in my beach towel.
As good as dead, huh, Doc?
- I'm afraid so.
- [Cat Owner] What did it?
- That's what I'm trying to find out now.
I can't do anymore tonight.
Wanna wait 'til I wash up?
I'll give you a ride back.
- I'll make it.
Thanks.
Hey, Doc, you dig reincarnation?
Coming back again.
- I don't know.
I take it you do.
- Maybe I was a cat once.
Maybe next time, Old Short Arm On will do
the running on two legs.
Well, if I get him out
of here and bury him.
- I'll do that for you if you don't mind.
- Old Short Arm will sure
appreciate that, Doc.
Thanks.
Hey, Doc.
Ciao.
(daunting music)
(cat whimpering)
- Hey, Milly.
What happened to you?
(chaotic orchestral music)
Easy now.
Easy now.
There you go.
(unsteady music)
(water bubbling)
I don't know what they are, Mack,
but until I'm sure they're
not dangerous to human tissue,
I want you to take the
one I gave to Jeanne
and get rid of it!
- Are you sure you haven't been
living alone too long, Iane?
Milly could've cut herself
on something, couldn't she?
Over?
- [Iane] She didn't cut herself, Mack.
They burned through her stomach.
- Well, I'm sure that Jeanne isn't gonna
eat the one that you gave her, Over.
- Just the same, Mack.
Take it away from her and get rid of it.
Good night, Mack.
WADBZ out and clear.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- You see me like I'm
some kinda bug, right?
- Ladybug.
Ladybug, fly away home.
- [Jeanne] Your pad's
seems far in Gilbert.
- [Iane] More or less.
- How come you're so into bugs?
- It's what I want.
- That's not the way I heard it.
- I came back here because I wanted
to be haunted by my personal memories.
- What was she like?
Your amnesty?
- Like a dream, mostly.
Like something you make up.
I was buried in it up to my neck.
- I know,
and sometimes getting up at night
to stare into darkness
and you curse at the
pillowcase that's wet.
And you beat it out.
Trying to go back to sleep again.
- There's an old Biblical
saying, this too shall pass.
- [Man On Radio] We now offer you
the miniature piano couture
to a tidal lighthouse.
(slow piano music playing)
(apprehensive music)
(waves crashing)
(fast-paced orchestral music)
(tires screeching)
- What was that?
Iane, the light.
- Yeah.
- What was it?
It looked like it was out there
sitting on the windshield.
- Eve lightning, maybe.
(daunting music)
Stay in the truck.
- It was lightning.
Anything important?
- [Iane] Come on.
# As the acres in the morning #
# That's what I saw of you #
# The eyes upon the rigged roads #
# And the cold winds swiftly blew #
# And while Miles the antelope #
# Line the shores of Michigan #
(eerie music)
(moves into dramatic orchestral music)
(yelling)
(daunting music)
(moves into playful orchestral music)
(beeping)
(beeping)
(dramatic music)
(beeping)
- Member of Seaman's International Union.
Name of Zan Burgen George.
- What time was it when
you found this, Doc?
- Little after midnight.
I just came back from dropping
Kurt McGenis' niece off.
- Nothing else worth mentionin'?
- No, just the way you see it.
- Funny both of them accidents
happened right around here.
- Yes, it is funny.
- Judging from the heat
he has here of this stone,
I'd say it'd sear any human
flesh right to the bone.
- I need a copy of your
report to the corner.
- First thing in the morning.
- And I've seen men
hit with flame throwers
and what was under them
didn't look this wicked.
- It's pretty hot stuff.
It could boil the soles
right off of a man's shoes
without even scratchin' it
or it can generate enough
heat to melt metal.
- How do you know it was lightning?
- Well, what else could it be?
If it had been a shot
of something like that,
I'd start wonderin',
but Phil's car turned inside out
and melded together like butter.
And this poor guy, well,
he was hit by lightning.
- You got any other ideas, Mr. Thorne?
- No, I can't say I have.
It seems strange to me that his sea bag
was found so far from where
the road was scorched.
- What of it?
He could've been thrown when he was hit.
- Yeah.
Could've been runnin' too.
- Runnin'?
From what?
His money and things are all here.
- What'd I ever wanna be
County Medical Examiner for?
- Same reason I wanted to be Sheriff.
Folks respect you.
- [Iane] They generate
heat as you probably know.
I found out the hard way.
- You sure you didn't try
to do your own cooking?
- Where did you find those little marbles?
- The two I sent you
came out of a dog stump.
- Observe my findings
and you're almost right when
you said it generates heat.
It gives off long infrared,
mostly stacked up around 200,000 extras.
But its energy is way out of proportion
to what you'd expect of the equation.
Also, it's an individualist.
Sometimes, a slight nudge
will set it off like a rocket
and then again, you can
hit it with a sledgehammer
and it won't perform at all, even sulks.
- You mean that piece of
whatever it is can think?
(beeping)
(sad orchestral music)
You were right about this place, Iane.
A person can feel sure
starting all over again.
- Happy birthday, Jeanne.
(apprehensive music)
- [Willy] Are you saying this
is what killed that sea man?
- That's the container that a mailed
those two droplets to you in.
Only when I found this, the
two droplets were missing.
Anything that can do
that to a piece of metal
can do a pretty good job on a human body,
wouldn't you say so?
- Iane, I am a physicist.
And you're a biologist.
We both deal in scientific things.
No two are the same.
- But Willy, two men were burned to death.
Why?
- Well, it could be what
the medical examiner thinks,
the car overturned or lightning.
- You're not really that
skeptical, are you, Willy?
- No.
I'm just baffled.
Well, let's hit the sack.
I'm beat.
We can worry about that
some more tomorrow.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- Maybe we should pack
it in a pail of ice.
- What for?
If it decided to radiate,
it'd probably melt the pail
before it melted the ice.
Besides, it never radiates
unless it's disturbed.
(apprehensive orchestral music)
(moves into dramatic orchestral music)
(rocks beeping)
(daunting music)
- Those stones.
They burned their way through that drawer.
- I know.
I can see what they did.
Not only can it radiate well.
It can focus its own radiation
and limit its energy output.
- Those men, Willy.
They didn't die by
lightning or an accident.
(chaotic orchestral music)
Sheriff, you remember those stories
you used to heart told in these parts
when you were a kid?
Those sand dunes?
- Yeah.
Some of 'em, I guess.
Why?
- Remember the one about there being
a dune roller larger than a schooner,
lived in a cave in the bottom of the lake?
- Yeah, I recollect I do.
My grandmother favored that one.
- Was it something about,
it came out every 100 years or so
and rolled through the dune forest,
leaving a strip of bare sand behind it
where it'd eaten the vegetation?
Is that right?
- For one.
- What would you say, Sheriff,
if I told you there was more
to that than just legend?
And old Phil Masters and that sea man
didn't meet with any accident?
That they were burned to
death by a dune roller?
- Well, I'd say that sure as hell
beat the one my granny favored (laughs).
- That's what I was afraid of.
- Let me assure you, Sheriff,
that this is no joke.
Those tracks down there
were made by this thing,
whatever you call it.
- Those tracks right there.
They came down out of the
house and into the lake.
- The highway patrol called to report
that some jokers set fire to the asphalt
at the highway intersection,
and then just before I come up there,
Mrs. Lacey and them lights.
- [Iane] What lights were those?
- The ones you saw all night from her shop
running in and out of the woods.
And then you and your damn dune roller.
- Iane, I'd like to
talk to this Mrs. Lacey.
- Look, Doc, I'm a patient man.
When you plant yourself
a bug garden out here,
I'd go along with ya.
But when you start talkin' foolishness,
then I gotta call you on it.
- We're scientists, Sheriff.
With some standing in our profession.
And doesn't it sound reasonable to you
that we might know what the
hell we're talking about?
- All right, let's go talk to
Ms. Lacey about them lights.
- Don't go tellin' me that I've got facts
in my belt predictin'.
I know what I see and I see what I know.
They were up there all night long.
- Who was, Mrs. Lacey?
- Summer vacationers, come for a picnic.
Some of those long-haired hippies
who planned to put up an art bazaar.
- You see 'em, Maggie?
- No, just the lights.
- Well, is that all you saw, Mrs. Lacey?
Just the lights?
- Well, that's enough, isn't it?
Someone had to be carrying them.
- But you didn't actually see
anyone, did you, Mrs. Lacey?
(daunting music)
- Why would it kill?
- How do we know that it's even
got the same intelligence as ours?
It may be as indifferent to us
as we are, say, to insects.
Some things we can accept, right?
There's life under the sea.
- Yeah.
- And there are things growing on at least
one planet in outer space.
- [Sheriff] Fact is, we're
indifferent to each other
right here on earth.
(eerie music)
- Radioactive.
Well, your dune roller may
have taken to the lake.
The chances are he fell from
outer space, admittedly.
- Wrong sex, Willy.
- I really wasn't aware
of its having any sex.
- The reaction of this creature
would seem to be those of
a mother for her children.
A long time ago, Willy,
whatever it is came smashing to earth,
and since that time, the core of it
has been going around and
collecting a drop of itself here,
and drop of itself there
in barnyards and road
beds and in sand dunes.
And it's been responding with
the only defense it knew.
- Then your theory makes it
vulnerable to some force.
- Question is, why has it
been so inactive for so long?
- Well, some fault in the Earth maybe.
Recent earthquakes could've
caused some shifting
of rocks and pieces up to the surface.
- Maybe.
And as you guessed,
it has no pattern for the way it thinks.
It's an individualist.
Sometimes it forgives, just threatens.
Other times (mouth pops) goes all the way.
Try and keep it from getting away
and it finds its own means of escape.
Hit it, gets mad or sulks,
depending upon its mood.
- Obviously then, they have
a way of communicating.
- The more pressing fact
is that the possession
of any fragment is an invitation
for our dune roller to come
and retrieve it eventually.
- When in time have we
started your beach boo?
(playful music)
(rocks beeping)
(apprehensive music)
- [Iane Voiceover] I'm gonna
need a colleague of mine
from Ann Harbor, Mack.
The name of Willy Seth McGregor.
He's a biophysicist.
(rock beeping)
And makes that the drops are
a great scientific discovery.
- Really?
What do they do?
- [Man On Radio] They give off a hot light
when they're disturbed.
- You don't say.
Them little things?
- [Iane Voiceover] The larger they are,
the more energy they grind up.
We have reason to believe
that there's some bigger drops around.
Much, much larger.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- [Mack] Sonny and I got a
new pan adapter for the rig.
- [Iane] You finally get it after all, eh?
But how'd you get the
miss to dress for itself?
Incidentally, how's that
cute niece of yours?
I'd like to say hello to her.
- [Mack] Took the phone and four grand
to buy herself a new dress or something.
Surprise for you.
She's gotta be back any time now.
Beats me why she'd want a brand new dress
with all those she brought up here.
- Oh, Mack, you're not
gonna deny her a new dress
after you just got
yourself a new pan adapter,
now are you?
Everybody to his own.
And let me know if you need
any help with that pan adapter.
You might wanna rig it up
as a frequency monitor.
(dramatic orchestral music)
(Jeanne screaming)
(rock beeping)
Of course, if she's too much
for you to handle, Mack,
I'd be glad to take her off your hands
at a bargain price, of course.
(chaotic orchestral music)
(Jeanne screaming)
- Iane!
Iane!
- [Mack] What's a VFO?
- In Mack's case, Very
Frequently Off-band.
(dramatic music)
- Iane, can you hear me?
Iane, help me!
- [Iane] Is that you?
- Iane, that thing is chasing me!
Talk to me, talk to me!
- Jeanne, Jeanne, what's wrong?
- Jeanne, listen to me.
That droplet I gave you for
a souvenir the other day,
did you get rid of it?
- [Jeanne] I gave it to Uncle Mack!
- Mack, what did you do with it?
- [Mack] I can't remember.
(dramatic orchestral music)
- Quick, Mack.
What did you do with it?
(Jeanne screaming)
- [Mack] I took it away
from her like you said.
- [Iane] What did you do with it?
- [Mack] I left it on the boat.
- [Iane] Man, where?
- [Mack] It's in the box.
It's behind the radio.
It's in a pail.
- Jeanne, listen to me.
You must do exactly as I say.
Do you hear me?
- Yes, I can hear you.
Hurry up, Iane, hurry up.
It's after me.
This thing is chasing me.
Quickly, Iane, it's almost here!
- That little amber
drop that's in the boat,
get it.
(beeping)
(daunting music)
- I can't find it!
- [Iane] It's in the boat.
Throw it overboard.
- [Jeanne] Here it is.
- [Iane] Throw it overboard!
Quickly!
(intense electronic music)
- [Woman] Dr. Thompson.
Dr. Richard Thompson.
- You won't do much good in that shape.
- I keep thinking what might've happened
if she hadn't gotten to it in time.
- But she did.
Look, I'll go see what I can find out.
- [Woman] Dr. Donna Ludwige.
Please call your service.
- [Iane] What are you doing here?
- You ever found out what my cat ate, Doc?
- [Iane] No.
- Think I know what happened.
I had in mind dropping over to your place
but I saw you go in here.
Mind my following ya?
- Yes, get to the point.
- Same thing almost
happened to your chick.
- What you mean by that?
- I've seen those lights on the lake.
Sometimes coming from under the water.
Sometimes by the forest.
And near that pile of driftwood
where I found Old Short Arm.
- You told anybody else about this?
- Well, I thought to
tell the Sheriff about it
the other day, but, well,
he'd probably just tell me
I'm on pills or something.
- What makes you think I
won't tell you the same thing?
- You won't.
(beeping)
That's right, Doc.
It's been that way ever since the night
I found Short Arm and brought him to you.
- [Willy] Right this way, Commander.
- My name is Cunningham,
local group commander.
Are you Dr. Thorne?
- Yes.
- I'll need you to fill in
some details for my report.
(clapping)
(beeping)
At nine this evening, you
reported to the local group office
that a small craft was in
trouble off of the mainland.
- It wasn't me.
It was Kurt McGenis.
- Well, we found the craft
drifting in a grand light.
That young lady was very
lucky when she ran out of gas.
She was headed straight out
into the middle of the lake.
- And there was nothing else near her?
- Why?
Was there something you expected to find?
- Well, we have reason to believe
that a highly unusual occurrence
was responsible for
tonight's unpleasantries.
- You may come in now if
you'd like, Mr. Thorne.
- Thank you.
- Commander, have you ever
read any science fiction?
- All night long, like
something was out there.
Couldn't sleep.
I'm afraid.
- All you have to do is get lots of rest.
I'll see you tomorrow.
- [Willy] What in the devil
are you doing out here, Iane?
You should be asleep.
- Turn the light out, Willy.
Look.
(beeping)
Now you slap your hands together.
- What?
- Go on!
Slap 'em together.
Go on.
(beeping)
See, Willy?
Whatever it is, those droplets rub off
and when you spank 'em, they get mad.
Won't do any good, Willy.
I've tried everything.
- But it's a way for a
mom to trace her babies
and anyone else who touches 'em.
- I've been standing out
here trying everything.
Nothing checks out all the way.
How long before this thing disappears?
Will it disappear?
And if it doesn't, how do I know
that it won't move on Jeanne again?
Don't you see?
I involved her in this
and I involved you in this
and I don't know how far it can go.
I don't know how to protect anyone.
- You're all in, my boy.
You need some sleep.
- I don't need any sleep.
I need answers, Willy.
And I need 'em soon.
- I wonder what our colleagues
would say about all this.
That's just not like him at all.
His whole attitude's changed.
I tried to get some
information out of him,
and he looked at me as
though I were prying,
which I was.
- I thought the reason you
came up was the help him.
- Well, that was before we
knew what we were up against.
- The fact is, you make
sense about everything
but that fireball.
- Well, thanks.
But what do we do about Thorne?
- [Iane] He sees things.
- See does, so do I.
And no doubt about it, he
has something up his sleeve.
When I left him, he was
digging around those marshes
looking for more of those devil eyes.
- And what if he did
see this red hot coal?
What then?
- Well, he can hide and
pretend he didn't see it
or he can try to inform
the proper authorities
and we both know how
the proper authorities
feel about it, don't we?
So, we don't waste his time.
Which leaves only one thing he can do.
He can try to take care
of this thing himself,
which is where you come in.
You can give him adequate protection.
- [Commander] Some job.
My job is to keep from
getting a section eight.
- [Willy] Look, this
is not pure adulation.
We have proof!
- [Commander] What proof?
The girl's statement said
a light was following her.
Maybe it was a beacon.
- He thinks the whole thing
has been one big hoax.
- That's his problem, not mine.
- I'm a coast guardsman,
not a personal body guard.
Anything short of a reported mermaid
or a dune roller on a lake.
Put me on call.
- Thank you, Commander.
- Seven little devil eyes.
- Going into business?
How about a park?
Have a lab coats, we travel.
- Willy, it's time we went home.
Your family's gonna be worried.
- Ah, there's business you're
going into more than me.
You must have some angle for success.
- I'm going to the
hospital to pick up Jeanne.
You want me to give you
a ride to the depot?
- Tomorrow's time around.
- Okay.
But tomorrow.
(apprehensive music)
(rocks beeping)
(daunting music)
(rocks beeping)
(chaotic orchestral music)
(rocks beeping)
(shots blasting)
- I'm sorry about your friend.
- Sure you are.
Close to Sheriff.
All of us.
- There's a riot of volunteers
to call in the woods around the lake.
The man's planning to keep a
48-hour watch around the clock.
Perhaps better stick to your Uncle Kurt
if you wanna get in touch with me.
(sad string music)
Wanna come with us for a meeting
outside Morgan Williams' store?
- It wasn't your fault, Iane.
It wasn't anyone's fault.
What are you going to do?
- What I should have done sooner.
- I'm coming with you.
- No!
No one else!
Look, if you really wanna
help me, you'll trust me.
I've gotta finish what Willy started.
- Please.
- No!
(beeping)
(dramatic orchestral music)
(rock beeping)
- Iane!
Iane!
- Devil eyes.
Come on, devil eyes.
Bring it to me.
Bring her to me.
(chaotic music)
(rocks beeping)
- Iane!
Iane!
- Jeanne!
Why did you do it?
- I was afraid.
I didn't know what you were going to do.
(rocks beeping)
The light, Jeanne, quick!
Over there, go on!
Come on, Jeanne, quickly!
(rocks beeping)
(daunting music)
- Iane!
(chaotic orchestral music)
(explosives blasting)
- [Sheriff] We finished with it, Doc?
- [Iane] I hope so.
- [Kurt] Too bad we couldn't learn from it
than the destroying of things.
- Let's go home, Iane.
(chaotic orchestral music)
(rocks beeping)