The Empty Man (2020) - full transcript

Subtitles by explosiveskull

What are you guys
waiting for? Come on.

Come on!

Oh, come on! It's fine.

I think.

Yeah. It's definitely
up to code.

Oh, God!

Oh, my God.

Okay, okay.

You okay? Yeah?

Looks like a
nor'wester coming in.



Think we should
head down?

Yeah.

I wouldn't wanna
get caught...

Where are you going?

What'd you hear?

I don't know.

There it is again.

I don't hear
anything, man.

What is that?

Paul?

Paul!

Paul! Paul!

Paul! Paul!

You okay
down there, buddy?



Oh, shit.

Okay.

Paul!

Don't worry.
I'm gonna go down there,

and I'm gonna
get him, okay?

Paul!

I'm gonna get him, all right?
He's gonna be okay.

Okay, good!

All right,
be ready to pull him up.

Paul.

What are you doing, man?
Why didn't you answer me?

Paul.

What the fuck is this?

What...

What the fuck are you?

You all right?

Can you stand up?

If you touch me,
you'll die.

What?

If you touch me,
you'll die.

What do you mean,
if I touch you?

Come on.

Come on, man.
Come on.

Paul?

What is it, man?

Stop, stop, stop. Hey.

Hey, come on.

What's going on,
buddy?

Greg?

- What's going on?
- Hold on a minute!

Hey.

Paul, stop fucking around.

Come on, let's go.

Get up. Get up.

Come on. Come on,

I'm gonna get you outta here.
I'm getting you out.

Come on. Stand up.

I got him!

- Just give me a minute.
- Okay.

- Just give me a minute.
- Okay.

There's a house!

Hello!

Hello!

Hello? Hello?

Nobody's here!

Open the door!

Okay, okay.
I got him.

I got him.
I got him.

- Easy.
- I got him.

- Are you in any pain?
- I'm fine. No.

I'll be right back.

Okay.

Let's get his clothes off him

and check him
for insect bites.

Come on, Paul,
can't you say something?

Come on.

What's wrong with him?

I don't know.

There's nothing, um...

I think he's in shock.

Come on, Paul,
give us a sign, huh?

Just make sure
and yelp for me

if I hit any tender
spots, all right? Hmm?

How's he been lately?

Fine. He's been fine!

- Okay, okay. Calm down.
- He's been fine.

Here.

Some kind of
gas pocket, maybe?

I was breathing
the same air he was.

No sign of
a head injury at all?

No.

We need a scan
to be sure but...

What?

If it's not his head,
it's in his head.

We need to get him
to a hospital.

- How?
- I don't know.

There's gotta be somebody.
We can carry him.

We hiked in here,
Ruthie.

Listen to me.
We hiked in here, okay?

We are 5 miles
from the nearest road,

and I can't
carry him anymore.

Not in this weather.

Hey.

He's not physically injured.

Hey, he's not.

Let's keep an eye on him.

And if he doesn't
improve overnight,

then I will hike out

and I will find transport
to Jakar myself, okay?

I'm sure he'll be
fine in the morning.

Ruthie,

you gotta
eat something.

Come on.

We'll be
right back, okay?

Hello, can you help us?

Can you hear me?
We need help!

Go away! Go away!

Ruthie, open up!
It's us!

Greg?

Ruthie,
open the goddamn door!

Ruthie, open!

We can't
get through the pass.

Not in this storm.

Did you see
someone out there?

- No. Just you.
- What?

What were you
doing out there?

There... There...
There was someone out there.

He chased me.

- I wanna get outta here.
- Come on, calm down.

Do not tell me to calm down!
We need to leave!

Paul?

Paul?

Where are you?

Where is he?

He's gotta be
here somewhere.

Hey, Paul.

His jacket's gone.

For fuck's sake, Paul,
what are you doing?

What are you doing?

I am sick

of your "I'm so special"
bullshit, you know that?

That's not helping.

What's going on,
sweetheart?

- You can tell me.
- Oh, don't encourage him!

Just back off, Greg.

- Calm down.
- No, don't tell me to back off!

Do you want him
to get better or not?

No, I don't really give a shit.
This is his fucking fault.

It's not helping, what
you're doing. Just stop it.

I've been dealing
with this selfish bullshit

for 20 years!

He has us lost on a mountain
because he's having a bad day?

Would you fucking
say something?

I told you...

What?

Where were you?

Where were you?

Where were you?

Just this, please.

Yeah, you don't
want that one.

Well, it says
that one has more sprays

than the other ones.

Yes, that's right.

But it uses a formula

where you have to shake it
before you use it.

Oh.

Not something you're gonna
want in an emergency.

I'll show you
what you need.

It's actually cheaper,
anyway.

St. Louis. Todd 3-for-31

to open this year.

He really got into that ball.

It's 2-0.

Former Home Run Derby champ
Todd Frazier

trying to knock another one

outta the park
and up into the stands.

So it's three balls,
no strikes.

Hi. Don't go anywhere.

- This.
- Oh.

You might wanna
check it, see if it's expired.

Oh, of course.

And this is for you.

- I'll be right back.
- Thank you.

Well, I don't need
any change. It's fine.

♪ Happy birthday to you

♪ Happy birthday to you

♪ Happy birthday,
dear customer

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

- Hip, hip.
- Hooray.

- Hip, hip.
- Hooray.

Hello, Amanda.

Your mom know
you're here?

How's she doing?

I came here to find out
how you're doing.

I mean, it's been
almost a year.

I was concerned
about you.

Thank you.

Maybe you think
that's silly.

No.

Ever since
my father died,

and so soon after
when Allison and Henry...

It's okay.
It's fine.

I mean...

It was more than
any of us could bear.

Yeah.

Any of us.
I myself felt like

I was gonna burst
into a million pieces.

But I...
I came to tell you

that I found something
so wonderful

and so freeing.

And it's helped me to realize
that nothing can hurt you,

because nothing is real.

Amanda,

a lot of things are real.

Are they?

Yeah.

How could you know?

I've learned it
the hard way.

What's real starts here,

and it ends up out here.

What we think
about with focus

and intention and repetition,
we manifest.

It's the power
of positive thinking,

the power of negative
thinking. Right?

Right.

But what if
there's a secret truth?

What if our thoughts

actually begin
somewhere else?

And they travel
through us

like a signal
traveling down a wire.

Thoughts that are old
and hidden and singular.

I have no idea
what you're talking about.

Yes, you do.
Of course you do.

Duty calls.

Okay.

Can I tell her
that I saw you?

Yeah, of course.

Bye.

Thanks for checking on me.

Where were you?

Where were you?

Where were you?

Where were you?

Where were you?

Amanda, want any eggs?

We don't have any eggs.

Amanda?

Mandy, you up?

Amanda.

Hey.

It's okay.
Come on. Come on.

You already
called the police?

Uh-huh.
A few minutes, they said.

I'll be outside.

- Who are you?
- I'm James Lasombra.

Neighbor.
Family friend.

Didn't you used
to be a cop?

- Yes, I did. St. Louis.
- Undercover, right?

Yeah. I remember
hearing about you.

She came to
see you yesterday?

Amanda. Yes.

She say anything

to make you think
she was going somewhere?

No, not at all.

How about her father?
Where's he?

He died two years ago.
Heart attack.

Ma'am.

They were close?

She deal with any
depression after that?

- Any more than the usual?
- Just the usual.

- Nothing too... No.
- No?

How are things for your
daughter at school?

Any trouble?

Not at all.

She had, I mean,
a panic attack the other day,

but it was nothing serious.

She had
a panic attack?

I got a call
from the school.

- She'd been crying in class.
- Crying?

It was...
It was nothing.

She had a bad day,
that's all.

She has a lot of
schoolwork, you know?

Which is a lot of pressure.

Anything like
that happen before?

Um...

Would you say
you two were close?

Yeah, Amanda and I are great.
We're perfect.

Okay.

Listen, Mrs. Quail,

your daughter's
18 years old.

- She's a legal adult.
- She's in high school.

You say her suitcase
is missing,

and she appears to have deliberately
packed. She is free to...

That's not what happened.

I know my daughter.

Christ,
don't you think I'd rather

that was the case
than what I'm afraid of?

I understand
your concern.

We'll see
what we can find.

In the meantime,
if you hear anything, let me know.

Do you have any pets?

No, why?

No reason.

Have a good day, Mrs.
Quail. We'll be in touch.

Talk to you
outside?

Their theory is
Amanda is distressed

and she's acting out
to hurt you.

They're not gonna
do anything, are they?

No. Probably not.

Why did
they ask about pets?

I'm assuming they figure

the blood on the mirror
is not human.

God,
what am I supposed to do?

"He is here, he is there.
He is every-fucking-where."

Who's "he"?

- Probably Peter.
- Yeah?

Yeah, I don't know.

Why don't you make me a list
of Amanda's friends?

Thank you.

Excuse me, Davara.
Davara Walsh?

Hi, I'm James Lasombra.
I'm a friend of Amanda's.

- Yeah. I know who you are.
- You know who I am.

Uh, well, do you know
where Amanda is?

- No.
- No?

You know why
she might run off?

Can I have one?

You know smoking's
bad for you?

All right.
Get in the car.

Okay.

So Amanda's mom told me

she was crying in class
the other day.

She wasn't crying.

She was screaming.

All right, um...

The police, they, um...

They came to gym class today.

They asked us about Amanda.

What'd you tell them?

What didn't
you tell them?

You tell them
about the Empty Man?

That's just some
stupid kid's thing.

What is it?

I don't know.

Some story started
going around

that if you went
to a bridge after dark

and you found
an empty bottle,

and if you blew into it,
and you thought about him,

something would happen.

What happens?

You try it?

When?

Two nights ago,

a few of us were down on
the old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

You know where that is?

Yeah. Yeah, I know.

When I was little,
I had this theory

that I could prevent
anything bad from happening

by thinking
about it beforehand.

What do you mean?

It's like every time
I got into a car,

I'd think about
all the different ways

we could get
into a car accident.

Mm-hmm.

Because what are the odds
of getting hit by a bus

when you just thought about
getting hit by a bus?

Kids are fucking stupid.

Yeah.

He said,
proving his own point.

Dude, what the fuck?

Come on, let's bounce.

You missed some.

Who was there?

Lisa, Duncan,
Meyer, Brandon, and Amanda.

And Julianne was there too.

Bitch.

So,
do you still wanna go?

I don't know.

Not like before,

but sometimes I still feel
like I could just disappear

and no one would
even notice.

I get that.

Have you ever thought
about suicide?

Plenty of times.

I even tried it once.

Psych.

It's where I fell
through some French doors

rollerblading
in my house.

If I ever slit my wrist,
it'll be long and vertical.

Hey, wait.

We gotta try it.

Please don't be dumb.

Try what?

Calling the Empty Man.

Who's the Empty Man?

Well, supposedly

if you're on a bridge
and you find a bottle,

you blow into it

and you think
about the Empty Man.

Then after a little while,

you're supposed to hear him
coming for you.

Tell him the rest.

Well, so on
the first night, you hear him.

Then you can't stop
thinking about him.

And then
on the second night,

you see him.

Following you.

And on the third night?

Well, on the third night,
he finds you.

Oh, come on, Mandy.
How old are you?

Yeah, please, let's go home.
I've got swim at 6:00.

Nah, Amanda,
let's do it.

Brandon wants to
find out what happens.

Don't you, Brandon?

Not particularly. No.

Your turn, scrub.

Nailed it.

This is bullshit.

If it's bullshit,
why won't you do it?

You don't want everyone
thinking you don't blow,

right, Davara?

Fuck all you guys.

The Empty Man.

The Empty Man. The Empty Man.

- What?
- Shh!

Hey, who's out there?

Whoever's out there,
stop fucking around.

Yeah, that's really gonna
handle it. Thanks, Meyer.

Shut up.

It's just an asshole.
Some drunk or a bum or something.

Let's go, please.
Please.

It's probably
just some dorks

messing with us, right?

Was that the last time
you saw Amanda?

I saw her at the mall

the next day
talking to Brandon.

But I didn't talk to her.

You okay?

No, I have to go.

Well, wait a second. Hey.

Could you give me
an address for Brandon?

- Here.
- Thank you.

- Hi.
- Yes?

Does Brandon Maibaum
live here?

Have you seen him?

He's not home?

No. He's not here.

Okay, uh, my name is
James Lasombra.

I'm a friend of
Nora Quail's, who's...

Hello? Lisa?

Mrs. Schwartz?

Anybody home?

Why didn't
you run, you fool?

You were nearly killed.

Quiet.
The god is coming.

What's he talking about?

He said the god is coming.

Hello?

Which god?

His god. Aten.

- Aten?
- Look!

Lisa?

Hello?

Hey, Nora, it's me.

Listen, how well do you know
Amanda's friends?

Do any of them
seem kinda off to you?

Off how?

Into weird stuff.

What kind of weird stuff?

I don't know.
I'm just grasping, Nora.

I mean,
I don't wanna worry you,

but I tried to find, uh,

all of Amanda's friends
who were last seen with her,

and I just can't
seem to locate them.

None of them?

Aside from
Davara Walsh, no.

You ever heard
of the Pontifex Institute?

She ever mention that before?

- No. No. What is that?
- I don't know.

It might not have anything
to do with anything.

Listen, I got
a few more stops to make.

So, why don't we
talk about this later tonight?

Everything's gonna
be fine, Nora.

All right, bye.

Leave me alone!

What is your problem?

Why would she do that?

She knew Amanda Quail.

Is that why
you were talking to her?

Yeah, that's right.
They're friends.

I was hoping
maybe she'd seen her.

And had she?

Not since yesterday
at school. No.

How well did you know
the Walsh girl?

Hardly at all.

What do you mean "did"?

Davara Walsh
died tonight.

Her body was found in a
spa earlier this evening.

Stabbed multiple times.
We don't know how many. A lot.

Oh, crap.

She was stabbed
in the face.

You have a suspect?

By all appearances,
it was a suicide.

People don't...

People just don't do that
to themselves.

My point exactly.

You know this town.
One, two murders a year.

Three if we're frisky.
Now this?

It poisons the atmosphere.

Sure as sewage
would the water supply.

It's communicable.

It changes people.

Three weeks ago,
in a house in Maryville,

a mother fed
her newborn infant

to a pack
of stray dogs.

She said the baby
had been whispering to her.

In the kitchen,

she wrote "The Empty Man"
on the linoleum floor.

We found
the same thing tonight

near the body
of the Walsh girl.

I've come
to the conclusion

that there is no solving
crimes like these.

Sure, we can put
that mother in prison.

We can even put her
in the gas chamber.

But that's not solving it.

It's inexplicable.

It's too big. It's...

We can't indict the cosmos.

You tell
them about the Empty Man?

That's just
some stupid kid's thing.

What is it?

It started
a while ago. I don't know.

Some story started
going around

that if you went to a bridge
after dark

and you found
an empty bottle,

and if you blew into it,
and you thought about him,

something would happen.

What happens?

On the first night,
you'd hear him.

And then the second night,
you'd see him.

On the third night...

you'd feel him.

- Hello.
- Are you all right?

Yeah, fine.

You don't sound fine.

It's just a bloody nose.

Oh, okay.

Um... I'm outside.

Hi.

I'm guessing
you forgot to eat.

No, I didn't forget.
It just never occurred to me.

Come inside.

- Plates?
- Next one on your right.

I just got you some, um,

egg rolls
and Szechuan beef,

a little egg drop soup.

There's a big vigil
in Slattery Park.

You know,
everyone's there.

I made some flyers,

I was gonna
put up around town...

Hey.

- I'm sorry.
- It's okay.

- I'm sorry.
- No, no, no.

- None of this is your problem.
- Don't be sorry.

Don't be sorry.
You have nothing...

You have nothing
to apologize for. Okay?

All right?

Yes. Yes, I do.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry
it's been so long.

And I'm sorry about why.

Do you think she's okay?

Come here.

It's okay.

It's okay.
Everything's okay.

May I stay?

God.

Boundaries.

You want a drink?

Mm-hmm.

Where were you?

Where were you?

On the first night,

you hear him.

Hey, sleepyhead.

Hello?

...self-inflicted.

Any reason
the group of friends

might have committed suicide
remain unclear at this hour.

Another member of the group,

Amanda Quail,
is still missing.

Welcome.

Go ahead and have a seat.
You're just in time.

Well, that's good news.

Can I ask you
a question?

How long you guys been
in business here?

We were established
in 2013.

But what we can offer you
is as old as time.

Okay.

Hi.

What is this?

That is your first step
on a journey

to discovering
your deepest self.

Oh, yeah.
No, I get all that.

I grew up
in San Francisco.

What is this?

Welcome, everyone.

Please just have a seat.
I'll be with you in a moment.

Hey. Hey.
So I'm looking for someone.

Just make
yourself comfortable.

I'm sure you'll find the
answers you're looking for.

Follow me.

Sound check. One, two, three.

Check. One, two, three.

Each one of you
here today

is looking for something.

Why else would you be here?

We go looking for things
we have lost.

Yes? Well, I'm here
to tell you,

there is nothing
you have lost.

More than that, there is
no such thing as loss.

From our earliest days,

meeting in garages,

living rooms,
church basements,

to this very moment,

our message
has always remained

"you are complete
in yourself."

There is no struggle.

Struggling has failed.

Struggling is what
wakes you up every day,

wondering how much more
you can acquire,

how much more you can use,

how much more space
can you take up in the world.

When the question we really
need to ask ourselves is,

how much less can you use?

How much less space
can you occupy?

There is no struggle

because there are
no distinctions.

To say that you are wrong,

or I am right,
is to divide us.

Therefore we deny
there is such a thing

as right or wrong.

These are
exclusionary constructs

designed to foster
the illusion of separateness.

There is no such thing
as disunity.

There is only
the great, binding

nothingness of things.

At one time we were one.

We will all be one again.

This message comes to you
directly from

the Empty Man.

He beckons you

to discover the true face
of the world.

Can I ask you
to sign these?

Thank you.

Thank you for coming.

For a second there,

I thought you were
about to say "namaste."

I can if you like.

No, no, no.
Please, please, please.

- I grew up in San Francisco.
- Ah.

But towards the end
you did say...

"The Empty Man."

That's right.

That's an interesting phrase.

You could say
he called out to you.

- Or not.
- Hmm.

What does it mean?

The Empty Man is

a meditation.

A focal point for
the targeted manifestation

of hidden energies.

Right. And already
you're starting to lose me.

Just as man feeds
and is fed

by the biosphere
and the atmosphere,

so it is our thoughts feed
and are fed by the noosphere.

The noosphere?

The sum
of all conscious thought,

transmission from which
can be stimulated

through the application
of certain vectors,

very much like a virus.

You can't see it.

Well, what is it?

The veil between
form and flesh,

and the means by which
it can be pierced

and the two allowed
to commingle.

We're each of us blind
in our way.

Distractions
rob us of focus.

Technology robs us
of memory.

Repetition robs us
of comprehension.

You know
the child's game,

if you say your name
enough times,

it becomes gibberish?

That holds true
for whole concepts,

even entire bodies
of thought.

For example,
take Nietzsche's old line,

"If you stare into an abyss,
it also stares into you."

Right? Well...

That has been
rendered meaningless

through repetition.

It's a refrigerator magnet.

It's cliche.
It's harmless.

But when was the last time
you really thought about that?

What is an abyss?

And if you
stare into it, why?

What about it calls to you?

And if it stares into you,

it stands to reason
something in you

must also be
calling to it.

And that, my friend,
is anything but harmless,

if you really
reflect on it.

So the question becomes,

if profound meaning
can be robbed of something

by so simple a task
as repetition,

which is more fundamental?
Which is more true?

Your name

or the gibberish?

That is the Empty Man.

I'm so glad
you came back.

Hope you stay longer
this time.

I've never been here before.

- And here.
- Hmm.

There must be
something about you.

Sir,
just one more signature.

Hey, man.

You, uh...

You seen this girl here?
She hang out here?

No?

Liar.

- Thank you so much.
- Give us a minute.

Hmm. Thank you for coming.
Thank you.

Here.

Nothing exists.

Even if something exists,
nothing can be known about it.

Even if something
can be known about it,

knowledge about it can't be
communicated to others.

Even if it can
be communicated,

it cannot be understood.

Nothing exists.

Even if something exists,
nothing can be known about it.

Even if something
can be known about it,

knowledge about it can't be
communicated to others.

Even if it
can be communicated,

it cannot be understood.

...from his thoughts.

From his thoughts
come the dreams.

From the dreams
comes the power.

From the power
comes the bridge.

From the bridge comes the man.

From the man
comes his thoughts.

From his thoughts
come the dreams.

From the dreams
comes the power.

From the power
comes the bridge.

From the bridge comes the...

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Is there someone here now?

If you're here now,
show yourself.

Make yourself
known to us.

We hear you.

We're listening.

Welcome.

Show yourself.

Show yourself.

Would you
come with us, sir?

Huh.

How you doing?

Exit's that way.

You'll never get
anywhere like that, man.

Not with these cats.

Cats?

Man, these cats,

they're on another plane,
man. You know?

Like, far out
on the outer rim.

Aren't you a little young
for the Neal Cassady routine?

Who's that, man?

You got a smoke?

She's been here.

But she's not here now.

Got big plans for her.
They're moving her up.

Where is she?

Elsewhere.

Downstate.

Pontifex camp,
where they go to get PR'd.

What is that?

Pre-Released.

It's the First Threshold
to achieving Singularity.

Christ, this jargon.

They have bullshit names
for everything, man.

Comes to them in dreams,
they say.

His whispers.

Whose whispers?

I don't know.

But they do.

These aren't just flakes
and outcasts.

They don't have 5-year plans,
they have 500-year plans.

You have no idea how dangerous
these people are, man.

Where's the camp?

In the forest.
Off Route 32.

Near the Meramec River Bridge.

Yeah, okay.

That's funny.

You guys are funny.

The Pontifex Society.

We transmit. You receive.

Testing.

From his
thoughts comes the dream.

From the dream
comes the power.

From the power
comes the bridge.

From the bridge
comes the man.

We should turn it off.

Did you see that?

What?

Come give me
a hand with this.

What the hell is he doing?

Fuck.

Nasty.

This is only getting worse.

Yeah, no.

Come on.

Come on!

What the fuck was that?

What the fuck was that?

Will you be able to
identify any of them?

No. Way too dark, man.

Uh-huh.

And they attacked you
after you took these files?

Yeah, but that had...

There was two cabins.

I took the files
from the first cabin.

But they wouldn't know that.
They couldn't see it.

Were these
cabins locked?

No, they were not locked.

Was the road
into the camp blocked?

What are you trying to say?

You're saying
that I was trespassing?

I am trying to determine

if you have irretrievably
fucked this investigation.

You can check out
the Pontifex Institute.

Major Cases
is already on it.

This is bad news.
This is weird occult shit.

And you are
not a cop anymore.

Come on, Lasombra.

Just write a statement.

Everything that happened.

I'll be right back.

Nora!

Hi.

- Are you alone?
- Yes.

- Has anyone come by?
- No.

- Contacted by anybody?
- Like who?

What are you doing?
James?

Do you have a place
you can go for a few days?

What?

I don't want
to scare you...

Well, you are.
You are scaring me.

James.

Maybe I want to scare
you a little bit.

Do you remember
the Pontifex Institute?

I told you about them.

- Yes.
- I checked them out.

On the surface,
it looks like some sort of

self-empowerment "oneness"
hippy bullshit.

But they're dangerous.

Are you saying that
Amanda has joined a...

- A cult?
- Maybe.

They're not connected
to any sort of

fucking church
I've ever heard of.

Oh, my God.

And whoever they are,
they seem to believe

that they can channel
some sort of entity.

The Empty Man.Yeah.

Do you have place you can go?

I... I have to work.
I mean, what am I...

Hey, hey, hey.

I think they killed
those kids, Nora.

And they know
where you live.

Get it.

Hello?

Give it to me.

We need to go right now.

Get in your car,
follow me.Okay.

I don't think
we've been followed.

If you see
anything suspicious,

you'll let me know?

Anything at all?

Okay.

She's dead, isn't she?

No, no.

No, she's not dead.

I think the fact that she
wasn't under that bridge

means she's not.
Okay?

Hey.

Does she know?

About what?

About us?

You mean the thing
we never talk about?

No, no, I don't think so.

Why?

You never told her?

Why would I?

Do you think maybe

we've punished ourselves
long enough?

Where were you?

Where were you?

On the second night...

On the second night,

you see him.

Where were you?

All available doctors

to Med Wing 3.

All available doctors
to Med Wing 3.

EKG stat to ER.
EKG stat to ER.

All right,
I'll see you next week.

You got it.

How you doing,
Neal Cassady?

Come here.

Get in the car.
Get in the fucking car!

Give me your hands.

I didn't know what
they were gonna do, man.

- They just told me to tell you about it. That's all.
- That's bullshit!

Who's that guy
in the hospital?

I saw you, freak show.
You and your buddies.

Jesus, this shit
really stings, man.

I don't give a shit.
Who was he?

It's hard to explain.

Why don't you
give it a go, man?

I'm your only friend
right now.

He's like an antenna.

Tuned to frequencies
we only get through him.

He transmits, we receive.

Fuck.

Get the fuck
out of the car.

Get on your knees.
On your knees!

All right. Fuck.

You say something
that makes sense,

or I swear
to fucking God...

Thought is communicable.

That is what
they say, okay?

- What?
- Transmittable.

The noosphere is the sum
of all consciousness.

Not just human.
Other minds are there, too.

- Ancient, and angry.
- You guys are all

- fucking morons!
- You get glimpses

in dreams and fevers,
right?

Deja vu?

Every nightmare
you've ever had

was just
a fucking documentary.

But once in a while,
there's a man.

Sometimes, only one
in 1,000 years.

- The prophet of the other.
- The other? What other?

The between one.

He needs an empty man
to be a bridge

to the rest of the world.

He comes to erase
all boundaries.

The only reality is
there is no reality.

Except for him.

His endless, black chaos.

Ah, things are
gonna slide, man.

It's gonna be a bloodbath.

You're coming down
with him already, aren't you?

You don't even know it.

You've got the itch
in the brain.

I'm so sick
of your fucking shit, man.

I grew up
in San Francisco.

I just wanna know one thing.
Where's Amanda Quail?

She's on the bridge.

Bridge? What bridge?

There is no bridge.

Haven't you been fucking listening?

What is this?

How do you have this?

How do you have any of this?

You're fucking with me.

Where were you?

Where were you?

Coming down with it...

He transmits, we receive.

On the third night...

You've got an itch

in the brain.

He finds you.

On the third night,
he finds you.

You feel...

In the brain.

You feel him.

He transmits,
we receive.

Can I help you?

Yes.

My name is James Lasombra.
I'm a private detective.

Been hired
to find someone,

and I have
reason to believe

they are a patient
in your hospital.

So, maybe you could just
tell me about that guy,

in that room, right there?

I can't divulge
patient information, sir.

Of course,
you can't do that.

Maybe you could just tell
me how long he's been here.

I could cross him
off my list.

He's been here
for some time.

Since before
I started here.

How long ago was that?

Almost a year.

Is he stable?

Well, he's not
on life support,

if that's what you mean.

Oh, but he's
unresponsive?

He fluctuates between
a three and a nine

on the Glasgow
Coma Scale.

Usually, he's a three.

What does that mean?

Unresponsive to stimuli,
non-vocal, eyes closed.

Uh-huh.
Is it common

for someone who's stable to
be in the ICU for that long?

No.

It's not common.

What makes him
so special?

He was admitted to Bellevue
23 years ago.

Five years later,

he was transferred
to Stockham Health.

Then a private clinic
in Cedar Rapids,

until two years ago.

Then who brought him here?

I don't know.

Maybe they were
treating him experimentally

and he took a turn.

- Took a turn?
- Took a turn for the worse.

Maybe he took a turn
for the better.

Either way,
they sent him on to us.

I suppose it won't hurt
to tell you.

As far as I know,
he doesn't have a name.

- He's a John Doe?
- Mm.

And who pays John Doe's bills?

I'm sure
I don't know.

But he certainly gets
a lot of visitors.

They come and go all the time.

There's one in there
with him right now.

So, what do you think?

Is he the man
you've been looking for?

I don't know.

May I?

Go right ahead.

Hello, Amanda.

Been looking for you.

Well, you found me.

Who is he?

You know who he is.

No, I don't.

What's his name?

I have no idea.

You can call him
whatever you'd like.

I like to think of him
as a carrier.

Because he's like a disease,
in a way.

But he's also like
a carrier signal, you know?

Modulated by
an input signal.

He transmits, we receive.

And his message is contagious.

I need to call your mom.

- Hello?
- Nora, it's me.

I found Amanda.

I'm sorry, who is this?

It's me, James.

Who are you calling for?

Nora? Yes?

It's me.

Nora, it's me. I'm so sorry.

It's James. My name... I think you have
the wrong number.

I'm James.

What the fuck is going on?

He's weakening now.

There's only so long
a human body can withstand

this kind of power.

We need to find a replacement.

And soon.

Replacement?

Well, there were 500 years

between the last carrier
and this one.

We didn't have
that kind of time.

So we decided to try something
a little bit radical.

An experiment.

What kind of experiment?

We decided to make one.

It's getting hard
to tell what's real

and what's in your head
anymore, isn't it?

Listen to your thoughts.
You can hear him, can't you?

Squirming his way in,

crowding you out.

Did you know that
the brain can itch?

Imagine an overwhelming itch

deep in the base
of your skull.

That's him.

You're fucking crazy.

It's not real.
It's not fucking real.

Of course it's not,
so why fight it?

You must detach
from a false reality

in order to attach
to a new one.

A stronger one.

You're fucking crazy.

I bet you thought
I didn't know about

your little indiscretion
with my mother.

No!

Well, I not only
knew about it,

I made it happen.

I wrote it into your script
when we created you.

What are you talking about?

What high school
did you go to?

Crossroads.

What hospital
were you born in?

Emancipated Heart.

- And what day were you born?
- November 7th.

No, it was three days ago,
remember?

You spent it alone
in a Mexican restaurant

and the waiters all
sang you Happy Birthday.

We made you as a group.

We wrote up a complete
biography for you,

and focused on it intently
for several sessions

to conjure you
into being.

You are our Tulpa.

Our Empty Man.

Thought plus concentration
plus time equals flesh.

Your flesh.

We tried once before
but failed.

The signal can
only penetrate

through the cracks
of sorrow, grief, and guilt.

Fear. That's what
we were missing.

Shut up.

So we built you that way.

Shut up!

What's the worst thing
that's ever happened to you?

Go on. You can say it.

Fuck you!

It was the death of
Allison and Henry, wasn't it?

The death of your wife
and son.

And where were you

when they needed you the most?

Nothing you do
is in your control.

You cannot make
your own choices.

You're not your own man.
You're our man.

But isn't that
a relief, really?

Isn't that what
you want most anyway?

So just let go.

Wouldn't it be easier
to just let go?

From the bridge comes the man.

From the man
comes his thoughts.

From his thoughts
come the dreams.

From the dreams
comes the power.

...thoughts come the dreams.

From the dreams
comes the power.

From the power
comes the bridge.

From the bridge comes the man.

From the man
come his thoughts.

From his thoughts
come the dreams.

From the dreams

comes the power.

Is there someone here?

If you're here now,
show yourself.

Make yourself
known to us.

We hear you.

We're listening.

Show yourself.

Show yourself.

We're listening.

Show yourself.

You transmit. We receive.

You transmit. We receive.

Subtitles by explosiveskull