The Tent (2018) - full transcript

Here we go. It should be alright.

Got it mounted.

Okay.

Well, this is going to be
my last how-to video.

Detroit's local radio station.
Thank you for joining us.

I'm Tim Baker and I'm here
with local hero Gabriel Knox,

who many have come to know
as the Guardian Angel.

Gabriel, thank
you for joining us.

Yeah, Tim. Thanks...
thanks for having me.

- So, tell me about this name that guards...
- What the heck!

Well...



Before I get started,
I want to confess again

that you know I'm kind of a control
freak, it kind of goes without being said.

With that in mind,
I'm running out of time.

...saw me
saving some kids.

You saved six children, right?
When they were drowning.

Yeah, they were.

I don't believe, Tim, that I did
anything anybody else wouldn't do.

So I want to do a wilder... a video
on how to survive in the wilderness.

And there's three main rules.

I think you're a hero.

I think that's why the community
has given you a name such as that.

Don't you appreciate that?

Uh, you know, quite frankly,

I don't really appreciate much
of what the community thinks.



It wasn't three or four years
ago that the community...

I can't protect you
or prepare you for everything.

...thought that I was an addict,

thought that I was just some throwaway
kid living out on the streets.

And then it took one person that
wasn't even a part of this community

to come alongside of me
and help me through that.

So, I don't know...

Well, I just want you to know
how to survive in the wilderness.

There's three things;
three main things,

and that's what I want kind
of you to get a handle on.

He's going to kill you.
He's going to... he's...

This is hopeless.

Don't be afraid.

This might hurt a little.

Move quickly.

Here, have a seat, let's
take a look at that leg.

- No, it's too late.
- At least let me help you wrap your leg.

You don't come into the tent.
Are we clear?

You leave in the morning.

What if I don't?

We need to stick together.

Broadcasting program.

Crisis has begun.

What's real?

You still around?

Yeah. Where else
am I supposed to go?

Okay.

Listen very carefully.

You can come
into this tent but...

Anything you say.

Been living here a while, I see.

Do you want shelter or not?

I'm sorry, I'm nervous.

Well, sarcasm is an overrated
defense mechanism.

It's called a conversation.

It's what people do with their
mouths, they talk, they share things.

You should try it.

I didn't invite you in here
for conversation.

You're going to help me pull
this thing out of my ankle.

Oh, I can't help you with that.

What?

I'm sorry. You just reminded
me of someone for a moment.

You remind me of someone too.

Really?

Yeah, an old man
that's about to bleed out.

Give me the tweezers.

Come on.

We're running out of time.

Alright.

No, the tweezers.
First the tweezers.

There's metal
stuck in my leg.

I was just thinking that maybe if we get
someone just a little bit better suited

to handle this sort of thing
like maybe a nurse or a doctor.

A doctor.

This isn't the world... just give me
the damn tweezers, I'll do it myself.

I'm sorry, I wasn't
trying to upset you.

The gauze.

- Gauze.
- In your hand.

Here, you're going to have
to put it under the wound

and you're going to wrap
it as soon as I pull this out.

It's going to bleed quickly.

Wrap the damn leg already.

A countdown would have helped.
I wasn't prepared.

Prepared? Just act.

If those things sense we are
injured in any way, I can't help us.

What is it?

All of my food's outside.

- I'm sure it'll be fine.
- They take my stuff every chance they get.

Food, wood, my tools.

Do you...

Do you remember where you were
when the crisis happened?

What does it matter?

You don't want
to let me in, do you?

You're in this tent, aren't you?

Yes, I'm in the tent, but you're
treating me like an intruder.

I'm in a situation where I have
to protect myself

but I didn't invite you here.

You chose to be.

So now you have to understand that
we're both equally susceptible to them.

Then maybe I'm here
for a reason.

I learned to cope.

I suggest
you learn to do the same.

But you don't have
to do it alone.

I didn't have a choice.

You always have a choice.

Don't pretend you know
what I went through.

I went through
the same thing, David.

We all went through
the same thing when the crisis...

Well, the situation
was out of my control,

so I took what little control I had
left and found a way to make it work.

Shh!

How many of them are there?

Sounds like a few.

I've never
heard them like this though.

Something's wrong.

I'm sorry.

You got a plan now?

You got some worldly wisdom to share?
Because now would be the time.

Actually I do, but...

I need your pants.

Excuse me?

Hear me out. You said that these
things are drawn to the injured, right?

I'm not taking off
my pants in front of you.

David, please.

I'm trying
to come with a solution.

I need your help.

And taking off my pants
is going to help you fix this?

Please, I'm asking you to sacrifice
your pants, not your life.

Give an inch, take a mile.

David, please.

Fine, fine.

Thank you.

What do you think you're doing?

We need to get rid of anything
that's human scent.

I told you I have no meat
in here. It's all outside.

Okay, so if the meat is outside,
then that's where we need to go.

I'm not going outside.

You don't have to.
My problem, my solution, right?

No it's... it's our problem.

Not the time.

Sorry.

Here.

Please.

Don't lose this.

It's old.

I've only lost one thing
in my life.

But I think my luck
is starting to turn around.

Come on. You can do this.

This is the first rule.

This is
the most important rule.

So I want you to really listen
carefully to this.

It's all about the knife.

That's right.

I know you're going
to think it's crazy,

but that little knife is going
to be your ticket to salvation.

It's what provides for you.

It's what sustains you.

That knife is more important than
your canned food, than your shelter,

it's what you need to survive.

Don't forget it,
it all starts with a knife.

Rub this on you.

- What the hell?
- All over you. It'll help mask the scent.

- You have no...
- Do it, David, please. Solutions. Solving problems.

Alright, alright. I got it.

What just happened out there?

Your life, it helped.

Well, it was pretty stupid.

Well, the meat and your bloody
pants are buried so...

When we get injured in any degree,
our body gives off stress hormones.

Those things can smell them
up to a mile away.

I'm sorry, what?

They feed off our stress,

our injuries, like a giant piece
of metal sticking out of my leg,

an example of something
causing stress.

You can try to bury everything, but just
know that doesn't solve the problem.

Yeah.

Well, we can handle it,
considering you're holding Excalibur there.

This isn't a game,
and this is not a toy.

Duly noted.

Small mysterious
pocket knife is off-limits.

How did you know they will be drawn
to blood or stress or whatever?

I've...

I've been studying
them for some time now.

But covering up the scent
should do something, right?

Maybe buy us some time,
it's hard to say.

Time for what?

For us to figure out a way
to get you out of here safely.

Are you serious?

- I told you from the beginning.
- Are you even listening to yourself?

Do you think of anybody other
than yourself at any moment?

Can you think of anyone other than yourself
just for a second, just for a change?

Having you here has put me
in danger of them,

and quite frankly,
it's put you in more danger too.

Now they have the both of us
in their crosshairs.

So you're trying to protect me?

Nice try.

The first part I believe,
the second part not so much.

Don't try to sound
sacrificial right now.

Don't you tell me
about sacrifice.

You think you've got me
all figured out, don't you?

Whatever soapbox you think
you have to stand up on,

get off of it, because it
doesn't look good on you.

I know who I am, David,
more than you know.

I bet you think you do until we find
ourselves a situation like this,

that's when we discover
who we truly are.

I've dealt with stubborn
people before.

Not like me.

Pretty close.

I told you to get rid of this.

Yeah.

Been a while, eh?

Two days.

Even then, it was
only a sliver of meat.

You ate meat? What was it?

Yeah, it was
a squirrel or something.

Probably too small
for the bigger animals

to see it
or even want to eat it.

I don't know, it was
already dead.

Already dead and there was
still meat left on the bone.

Where did you learn
your survival skills?

I picked it up
along the ways through life.

What, reading manuals
and nature books?

Yeah, something like that.

Who taught you to hunt?

Um...

Learned a little along the way.

Um...

I'm mainly though, what you
would call, a scavenger.

A scavenger. So you live
off other people.

Sure, if that's how you
want to look at it.

How long you've been
out on your own?

I know how to survive, if that's
what you're asking.

I picked up
some stuff here and there

and it would be nice to pick up
some stuff from you too.

I'm not a teacher
and I'm not a mentor.

If we make it out of this night in
one piece, my rule still stands.

You're out of here first thing
in the morning.

Don't you get lonely?

No.

That's a lie.

I don't need someone
to feel content.

People need people though.
That's how we're designed.

Based off of how
someone was raised

or how their parents
parented them.

This is one of my traps.

I use this kind of trap for your smaller
animals, your squirrel and raccoon.

Okay, so we're doing this now.

Well, if you're going to survive,
I think you maybe know a few things.

Yeah. Right. Okay.

The trick, you see...

you're going to have your larger
animals come snooping around

trying to steal
from the smaller animals.

But don't the smaller animals die
anyway when they eat the bait?

Yeah.

And isn't that like stealing?

- Taking what is not meant for you is stealing, period.
- Okay.

Okay, so what do you
use for bait?

Berries, acorns,
whatever I can find.

Again, this tramp specifically
traps the smaller animals,

and then I use those animals
to trap the much larger animals.

And where are the traps you use
to catch the larger animals?

Oh, you know
where those traps are.

We had quite the encounter with
one of them in the woods today.

You have all those traps set
out there to catch food?

Yeah.

Have you ever accidentally
caught one of them?

No, never.

They're smarter than that.

It's safe to assume
that the fire keeps them at bay.

I'll do it.

Do what?

- Get the fire going.
- No.

You're injured, and someone
has to do it.

Are you sure?

I wouldn't be giving it
to you if I wasn't.

What the hell?

What are you doing?

You're safe, David. I saved you.

Why would you save me?

Save yourself.

Believe it or not, David,

sometimes saving yourself starts
with saving somebody else.

Let me leave.

David, calm down.

Damn it. Calm down.

It's not safe
out here. It's begun.

I know it's not
safe out here, David.

You just have to calm down.

Relax.

You dropped it
while you're out there.

You don't remember me, do you?

You don't strike me as the type of
person that would forget a client.

Of course, I look
a little different now.

Gabriel.

You survived?

David, I need you to see
something, please.

What?

It's one of my socks.

Who's this?

Is this you?

Oh God!

Okay. Just sit down. It's okay.
Okay. It's okay. Sit down.

Relax, David.

I'll watch your back
and you'll watch mine.

So why be out here?

Why be so nonchalant about being out of
the only place that has made me feel safe?

The safety was what?

Living in a tent?

Pissing in a bucket?

I get that you've been forced
to live like this,

but every now and then you have to get
out, you have to live.

I mean, you have
to want to be alive.

Other than that,
what's the purpose?

What's the purpose to fight?
To survive?

You don't get it, do you?

If living in that tent all alone
makes me feel safe,

then I will.

It's not deep.

It's not rocket science.

It's a simple solution.
That's all.

Look, I won't argue with you,
the tent has kept you safe from them.

But when was the last time
you felt something?

Felt loss, felt pain?

You know, it's okay to feel
something every now and then.

Before the crisis,

I helped people.

I helped them through tough times,
through moments of weakness.

I enabled them.

I sat and listened

and allowed
that behavior to continue

because it
was all a part of the healing.

Now it's more apparent than ever

that we need to embrace the bad,
sometimes more than the good.

The good comforts us,
the bad grows us.

Without the bad,

without these monsters;

we live in a world that would
cease to grow.

It's called balance.

So where was I
when the crisis began,

when things truly
got out of control?

I was living
in a world of comfort,

in a long and stilted season
of zero growth, zero balance.

Now I survive.

What if there is another way,
a better way?

What if you didn't
have to learn alone?

Sometimes we just
don't have a choice.

The sooner you learn that,
the longer you'll survive.

Rule number two.

Surviving in the wilderness
is brutal, that's right.

I hate to say it, but it's
going to be a tough one.

You're going to have troubles
with your shelter.

You're going to have
difficulties trying to figure out

the pattern of finding food,
finding water.

Then you're going
to be hit with the elements,

a lot of surprises out there.

You're going to feel...

Like you're
the loneliest person on Earth.

And then you're going
to get some luck.

Don't take that for granted.

Always remember, your knife is
your source that will sustain you.

Do not test nature.

I'm going to say it one
more time. Do not test nature.

Yeah.

I think it's safe out here.

Oh yeah? Don't get
your hopes up.

No, I'm serious.
I don't hear them anymore.

And I need you
to know something.

I know we're
in a situation tonight,

but I'm glad
we're here together.

We're going to make it
through this and you could trust me.

No matter what happens,

I'll always be right here...

Do not respond to anyone for anything...

No matter how you would take that.

I see the way
that you look at me.

You think you can take
advantage of me, that I'm weak.

I would never.

For the longest time I wondered
why I was running out of food,

why my tools of all things were
being taken by those things.

I thought I was going crazy.

Then one night,

I get caught in one
of my own traps.

Ironic, right?

And out of nowhere
comes a stranger to help me.

One thing leads to another,
and finally, alone in my tent,

I find something
that I'm missing,

a blue screwdriver
with my name on it.

- I can explain.
- If you saw me in my trap, you knew I was going to die.

Why not go back to my camp,

steal everything and be off
wherever you came from?

I've been watching your routine.

I'm going to tell you something,
David.

You may not want to hear it,

- but I need you to be calm.
- I am calm.

Tonight, when we first met,

it's not the first time.

When you were traveling
to this very location,

you were distraught.

It was written
all over your face.

You didn't want
to live in that tent,

but you know you needed to.

I think it's time to leave.

I watched you from a distance
after that.

I watched you continuously, how you
survived, how you kept it together.

You were stronger than me.

And I admired you,

and I still do,

but something
began changing...

- Stop.
- You started skipping your routines.

It happened more and more.

You would catch less
and less food.

But luckily, I learned how
to hunt from watching you

and I would hunt myself.

I would put the food
and the traps for you

but then

you began to forget
where you put the traps.

You think I'm stupid, kid?

You know how this is
going to play out.

And then today, the dog.

I knew
it will give us both some meat,

and I trapped it, but when I
went to kill it, it got loose.

You found it first.

- You killed it on your way out this...
- No, I saw that dog.

- I didn't kill it.
- You're getting worse, David.

No.

No. You're wrong.

Let me help you.

Go. Go!

I think you've done
enough here.

I knew I couldn't trust you.

Don't make me tell you again.

Go on. Leave!

Fine.

If you don't leave, you're
going to die alone.

David, please don't be
stubborn. Let me help.

Don't pretend to know me.

You don't know me.

We don't know
each other, we never have.

You are weak.

You're not a survivor.

You have no business
being out here.

It's hopeless, you're hopeless.

Do you understand?

You need to leave!

No. No, no. Please.

No! No! No!

No, please! No, no!

No! No!

David!
David, help me, please!

David, I'm sorry!
Please help me!

No! No!

Help me, David!

- Help me!
- She is gonna die.

Get away from me.

I left you high
and dry, didn't I?

Everything happens
for a reason.

Those are your words,
not mine.

I'm not that ignorant anymore.

Yeah. Well.

I could use a little
bit of that ignorance right now

considering I'm staring at a guy
I haven't seen in 10 years.

How did you survive?

What's survival to you, David?

Staying alive.

You sure have changed
since the last time I saw you.

They took it all away from me.

Not all of it.

You're a good man, David.

Don't let what happened
to you, what happened to me,

what's happening to all of us
determine who you are as a person.

Let's get going.

This is our problem now.

We're in this together.

Whether you like it or not.

No, no!

David!

David, help me!
David! Help me!

You are not enough.
They're better than you.

You'll never be.

You'll never be. Ever.

No, no! No!

Hey.

Hey.

Please.

Please.

Can you hear me?

Come on. We got
to get out of here.

Whispers.

They want you
in that tent, David.

Can you walk?

Come on. Come on. Get up.

It's not safe out here.

They're never gonna
stop hunting us.

We need to hide.

Ah! My leg.

Take the torch.

Don't move.

They can't see us
if we don't move.

You came back for me.

- I want you to get inside.
- No.

- What?
- The whispers.

They want you
to rot in that tent, David.

They want both of us
to rot in that tent.

You hit your head. They don't whisper.
You don't know what you're talking about.

David, I can get help.

I can't help you.

Don't you get it?

No one can.

I let you get taken.

I let that happen.

It was never about not
wanting you around.

It was about me.

Call it selfish, I don't care.

But I can't help you
and I never could,

and I don't want you around
to remind me of that.

I can't do this alone, David.

I'm tired
of pretending that I can.

I can't.

And just because you're...

Doesn't mean
you can't help me.

Like the people
you used to help.

I need you.

I need your strength.

I'm not who I used to be,
alright?

- Is that what you want to hear?
- No.

No, I want to hear that...

that maybe in this one moment

during the hardest time of my
life, that you're here, for me.

I can't stop them.

Help?

What kind of help?

The kind that requires us to walk away
from this godforsaken tent, David.

Will you come with me?

This is my home.
I built all of this.

I know, but it's time
to leave it behind now,

because the truth is,
David, it's killing you.

And what if we die out there?

Then we die
the best versions of ourselves.

The versions
before this crisis hit.

Okay.

We move first thing
in the morning.

Okay.

This is rule number three.

Now I want you to listen to me
on this one,

because you're going to think
that I totally lost my mind,

but you got to be willing to give
up everything at the drop of a hat.

That's right.

If you're ever compromised
by the elements or...

But you got to go,
you got to move.

Remember.

Surviving isn't
about just you alone.

It's time.

I made this for you after you
fell asleep last night.

- David.
- No.

My leg's getting worse.

It's not much farther.
I don't think.

You don't think?

It's not much farther.

Hold it.

It's not safe out here.

Even if we got the Sun at our back,
it's going to get dark eventually.

We'll be safe.

What about the food?

We don't have our traps.

It's just stuff, David.

We'll get new stuff.

It's not like you
aren't resourceful.

What do you mean by that?

Oh, you think
I'm supposed to believe

that you just happened to stumble across
all that stuff in your tent back there?

I may do with what I could find.

I might have got a little lucky.

Hmm, so you can trust someone
other than yourself.

Where did you get that knife?

It was my father's.

So it's seen some time, eh?

It's seen more
than a little time.

He was a marine
at the tail end of World War II,

the Battle of Okinawa.

He was also kind
of a religious guy to a fault.

He brought back this knife
and a whole lot of anger.

Anger.

He used to drink
and beat my mom.

He came after me
a couple of times.

We'd always see that look in his eye
and he'd hold this knife up and see,

if we didn't obey him,
we'd burn in hell.

That's when I learned
how to hide.

I figured

he won't hurt me
if he can't find me.

Is that all you remember?

Yeah.

Mainly.

Hey, but it made me
into the man I am today.

I'm still alive in this moment.

Ah, damn it.

David, are you okay?

I'm not going to make it.

Here. You take this now.

Do you think we can go on?

Not much longer.
You got the knife now.

No, no, no. No.
I won't go alone.

Well, you're going
to have to try.

David, I should tell you...
I need to tell you that...

Come on, let's go.

No, no. Stop.

What's wrong? What's wrong?

- What's the matter?
- My leg.

- But David...
- You're not doing me any favors.

- But David...
- Just listen to me, please.

My legs, they're screwed up.

I can't even feel them.

I think
it's an infection or something.

What...

If you don't let me look,
we won't know for sure.

- I know my own body.
- Please, trust me for a change, please.

Okay.

What?

This...

It's not good.

Then go. I can handle myself.

I don't know.

Let me guess.

Is this the part that I'm supposed
to inspire you to face your fears?

It wouldn't hurt.

Don't die.

Yeah, didn't think so.

That night was more than enough
to protect you from those things.

David.

I have to tell you something but
I don't know if you'll understand.

You need to go.

Go ahead.
I'll be okay. Go.

David, I have to tell
you something.

- You need to go. Go, go.
- But...

What made you trust me to handle this?
To take this knife?

I guess I see
a little of myself in you.

I think we're almost there.

Is there going to be food?

Probably.

Is there going
to be people there?

Is it going to be an issue?

Seems like everybody's
a stranger.

Right.

I think this is it.

No.

No!

No!

This isn't happening!

No! No! This is a dream!

This isn't happening!

- David!
- This isn't real!

David, hold on!

No! No, this isn't who I am!

I don't want them
to see me like this! Stop!

This isn't real!

Please.

Please.

You can have everything.

I'll give you whatever you want!

She doesn't deserve this!

I don't want to forget!

Please, I'll give you anything!

You can have everything!

I'll give you whatever you want.
She doesn't deserve this!

Please!

No, please!

Please, let me go!
I don't want to forget!

Please, help me out! Please!

And follow the book
or you will rot in hell.

David. David.

David, please.

- Please.
- Shh! Don't move. Don't move.

No, please...

- Go.
- Listen, listen.

They're gone now.

I don't know where they went.

Maybe they migrated or something
but one of them took you.

Do you know where it went?

Use knife.

- Use the knife?
- Please... Knife...

Use the knife.

You'll never
amount to anything.

He's going to forget you.

This is the place, David.

Something looks familiar.

It's a safe place, David.

I promise.

Go ahead.

Go.

David.

Dad.

I couldn't find you anywhere.

You came home.

Kiddo.

Can I sit with you for a sec?

Sit down.

You heard that, eh?

No, I was just checking on you.

Right.

Well, I'm not doing
so good today, kid.

That's okay. We all have
those kind of days, right?

More often than not lately.

Please.

Don't pity me.

I love you.

I don't pity you.

And I'm here for you.

And who's going
to be here for you?

You are.

Can I ask you a question, kid?

Of course.

Am I going to forget
who you are?

I don't want to forget you.

Mary, I love you.

You're everything to me.

I love you too.

And I'm not going anywhere,
you're not going anywhere either.

And you're
going to get better.

I promise.

- I want to get better.
- You will.

You're going to get better.

Typically those
diagnosed with dementia

have the tendency to become
more hostile and unpredictable

as the disease progresses.

And as you know already, they will
forget who they are and where they are.

How much longer do we have?

This can be a very hard process
to go through.

You both need to be strong.

Depression, anxiety,

most importantly fear.

These are all very real things in
this situation for you and for him.

And it's very important that you
stick together and you stay hopeful.

How am I supposed to stay
hopeful knowing...

knowing that this
is going to kill him?

Treat every day with him
as a gift.

Help him when you can.

Be patient with him
when you can't.

And love him at his worst

just as you did when he was
at his best.

Hey, dad.

Hey.

How are you doing?

You know,

when that doctor
told me I had this,

you know,

how I got through that bad news.

You and I,

we went on that camping trip
up north.

Up there I...

I wasn't a counselor.

I was a dad.

Your dad.

The man that I always
wanted to be.

I wish I could go back
to that moment with you.

This place seems nice, dad.

Oh.

I suppose.

Hey,

I want you to take some
of my stuff back home with you.

You know your mother.

You know how she over-packs.

- Okay.
- She did it again.

Okay.

Mary,

don't worry about me, kiddo.

I'm a survivor.

I know you are.

You always
have been a survivor.

David. David.

David, please. David. David.

What happened?

- Calm down.
- Did he try counseling someone again?

- No.
- I told him he wasn't counseling anymore.

No. His pneumonia
has pushed him too far.

He's not going
to make it through the night.

I am so sorry.

You need to know
he's delirious right now.

He's been delirious for months.

Where have you been?
I can't leave for a week?

This isn't your fault.
You needed the counsel.

He was headed down this path
regardless of who was here with him.

And he doesn't think
that he's alone.

What does that mean?

When someone enters hospice,

a chaplain comes every day to pray with them
and sometimes your dad would talk to him.

- And?
- He...

Your dad believed
he was being hunted.

What?

Depression, anxiety, fear.
These are very real things.

So, in a sense, I guess he
was being hunted.

We all are
in situations like this.

- That sounds...
- Irrational. I know.

But sometimes you need to see
things the way that they do

to better understand.

But either way,

your mom believes and I do too
that he's been waiting for you.

Waiting?

He doesn't have much time,
but he's been holding on.

David. David, please wake up.

Wake up. Please.

I can't do this alone,
please, David.

I need you.

I'm here, dad.

So many things I wish I could
think of to say to you right now.

David. David, please wake up.
Wake up.

Please.

I can't do
this alone, please, David.

You remember our trips?

The best one
was when the tent burned

and we were so scared,

but you protected us.

You told us
everything will be alright.

And you were so... so brave.

Please.

It's me.

I'm your daughter. It's Mary.

I wish I could be brave
for you right now.

But I'm so, so scared.

I don't want to lose you.

David.
David, please wake up.

David!

No, please!

No.

- David!
- No.

Please, David!

I'm not ready.

I'm not ready.

My assistant finally showed up. Come here.

- Hi, dad.
- Hey, how are you doing, Mary?

Ah.

Hey, isn't this fun?

Would you like to say hi
to big Mary?

Say hi.

Hey, big Mary.

Now, Mary,

you're never going to be as innocent
as you are in this moment, right?

Alright. Okay.

Let's say goodbye.

Bye, Mary.

Bye, Mary, right?