Winterskin (2018) - full transcript

[electronic sounds]

[dark electronic music]

[clattering]

[suspenseful music]

[thuds]

- Who's out there?

We don't want no trouble now.

[thud]

George, bring me my ax.

[thud]
Hurry!

[thuds]
[wood clunks]



Get the boys down in the hatch.

[thuds]
Quickly, go on!

- [Wife] Quickly, get inside!

- Mommy, I'm scared.
- Hey, hey, hey, shh.

Don't be scared, okay
look, you gotta get inside.

You gotta be quiet, you
mustn't make a sound.

You gotta promise me
you won't make a sound.

- I promise.
- Okay?

You'll be all right, okay?

- Go and hide, Lillie.

- I'm not leaving you, John.

- Come on, Lillian, go!

- John!

[gun fires]
[John groans]



[yelps]

[gun cocks]

[gun fires]

[clattering]

[suspenseful electronic music]

[John groans]

[John groans]
[blood splatters]

[footsteps clunk and squelch]

[muffled gun cocks]

[gun fires]
[tense music]

[muffled footsteps clack]

[faint snarls]

[red man snarls]

[distant scream]

[dark electronic music]

- Stay close, Billy.

Billy!

Bill!

- Pa!

Pa!

[gun fires]
[groans]

[door squeaks]

[dark atmospheric music]

- Shh, child.

You've had a terrible
fever dream, child.

But you're safe now.

Safe with Agnes.

You look a little
younger now you're awake.

Under all that stubble, child,

you must be no more
than 20 years old.

No, you couldn't do
no harm to no one.

Still, you had old Agnes
dreadful frightened.

Thought you was somethin' else.

- My father.

- Shh, child.

Don't try to speak, there'll
be plenty of time for chatter.

You just gotta
get some rest now.

I've been sittin' here an
hour just tryin' to patch up

that wound in your thigh there.

Tore clean through
your iliotibial band.

Yep, it's gonna hurt bad

tryin' to walk any
distance on that.

You're lucky old Agnes
don't mind the company.

Here.

I've been savin' this
particular bottle.

It's the strong stuff.

[dog whines]

It'll help numb your pain.

[Billy spits]

Sure does get pretty
lonely out here, though.

Sometimes you just gotta do
what you must to pass the time

on a black winter's eve.

Oh, my goodness, child.

Where are my manners?

It's been too long.

My name's Agnes.

You have to understand, child,

when someone creeps up your
front door way out here,

the mind grows awful worried.

Guess I'm thankful
it was only you.

Could've been the bitter
end for old Agnes.

Lucky I keep my
trusty rifle close by.

What were you doing
way out here anyhow?

- Me and Father, we
were hunting deer.

- Oh hell, child, there
ain't no deer this far out.

Now, your father, he's still
out there in that bitter cold?

- Probably looking for me.

- Well, child, he ain't
gonna find you here.

It's already past sundown, see?

I ain't heard any fella come by.

You don't wanna get stuck
out there in the dark.

That cold will freeze
the blood in your veins

once the sun's gone down.

If them things
don't get you first.

- You get the papers out here?

- No, child, I don't
bother with any of that.

What goes on outside this
cabin don't concern me.

- A radio?

- Well, I did have one once.

Guess it broke.

I'm no good at electronics.

Hell, child, the
devil knows I'm not.

- Billy.

Call me Billy.

- Billy.

Sweet name.

Little Billy Goat Gruff.

Your mama read you that one?

I'm sorry, Bill, I'll just
shut up and let you rest.

But not until you've
had some of this.

It'll do you good
to warm your bones.

There, there, Billy.

It'll be all right.

Mama Agnes got ya now.

Come on now, Billy.

There you go.

Come on now, just
a few more steps.

[Billy grunts]

There.

There you go.

[Billy groans]

There you go.

You'll be much more
comfortable here.

Warmest part of the cabin.

- Thank you.

- Oh, don't thank me, child.

I'm the fool who
did this to you.

I'll be downstairs, you just
yell out if you need me.

[dark electronic music]

[hums melodically]

King.

You know, some nights
I've snuggled up with King

and just fallen asleep
in his doggie bed.

Can you imagine if anybody
came by and saw that?

- How long do you think
it'd take for me to heal?

Well enough to get
back into town, I mean.

- Well, as long as it doesn't
get infected, you should

be all right to walk on that
in maybe a couple of weeks.

But you just need to rest till
then, your father can wait.

- Don't you have a
radio or somethin'?

Just, most people do when
they're this far out.

- Well, I'd have
radioed for help,

if I did have one
now, wouldn't I?

- Right.

- You just need to rest
your sweet head, child,

and let Agnes take care
of every little thing.

Nighty night, child.

- Goodnight, Agnes.

[dark electronic music]

[pants]

[screams]
[ominous tones]

[muffled footsteps clack]

[gun cocks]

What are you doing?

- Oh, Billy.

You should get back into bed,
you need to get some rest.

- You're expecting
unwanted company?

- I guess I have something
to tell you, Billy.

This'll all make
a lot more sense.

Now, I didn't
wanna say at first.

Hell, child, you were
frightened enough, I'm sure.

But I need to tell you
why you're really here.

That is to say, why I
fired my rifle at you.

See them doors,
front and back there?

See how I got them
beams up against 'em?

That's to keep something
from getting in here.

- Bears?

- Oh, Billy.

I don't mean animals.

I don't mean people.

Hell, you'll probably think
me a lame-brain old cook,

but you'd be wrong.

It was about, let's
see, 12 or so days ago.

On most mornings since, there's
been a strange happening.

I wake up, come to the door,

and let King out to take
a leak or whatever else,

and I fill these old lungs
with that cold, icy air.

Except, on this day,
I opened the door,

and there it is, the big
long trail of footprints,

right up to the doormat,
over to the window,

and then back out
again into the forest.

It sure ain't often
I get visitors,

so I thought it mighty curious

that someone would walk up
to my cabin and then just go.

- I thought this place was
abandoned, it looked like

it hadn't been touched in
50 years from the outside.

- Well, footprints
don't stay long, Billy.

They were lost in the
snow that afternoon.

Next day, though, I
go to let King out

and can you guess what?

- More footprints.
- Same thing.

Nobody knocks,
nobody leaves a note.

Just takes a look in at me.

Hell, I'm on my own out here!

Could be anybody fixing
to do something to me.

That's why I always keep my
rifle close by since then.

I haven't had it loaded since
I shot down a snowshoe hare

the size of a wolf last spring.

And there's something I still
haven't told you, Billy,

about them footprints.
- Oh?

- They're blood-red.

Every one of them.

Red like the devil with a fever.

- Agnes, nothing on this
earth makes a red footprint.

- Who said it was of this earth?

- Just what is it that
you think you've seen?

- Six days after these
mysterious tracks, I'm out

in the snow, cuttin' wood
for the fire, and I see it.

It chills me to the bone,
the sheer memory of it.

Tall as a man,
shaped like a man.

Had hands, feet, arms,
legs, except it was naked.

Totally blood-red, not a
single patch of skin on it.

Just sticky-red muscle
and bone underneath.

- A man without skin?

- The red man is what
me and King calls it.

It looked at me
for a short moment

with its milky-white eyes.

I couldn't believe
what I was lookin' at.

Yet, I couldn't
take my eyes off it.

Then it staggered off
between the trees.

I can still see those
terrible eyes lookin' at me.

The terror won't leave my body.

I can just imagine the
thing in the room with us

here right now, comin'
on up behind you, child.

Comin' to take you off to
whatever hell it crawled out of!

[screams]
[intense music]

[pants]

King knows.

Don't you, King?
[King whines]

I dare not let the
poor thing outside.

- And so you thought
I was that creature,

comin' by your window.
- Oh, you bet I did.

I thought I heard
my traps goin' off.

- That's your story?

- You just think I'm more
cuckoo than a clock factory.

Don't you, child?

- There has to be a logical
explanation, surely to God.

- All I know is, you sure
stumbled into the wrong cabin.

[suspenseful atmospheric music]

[distant scratches on wood]

[distant scratches on wood]

[King whines]
[scratches on wood]

- King.

Damn dog.

[King whines]

You wanna get outta
here too, huh, boy?

[Agnes snores gently]

Come on, let's go.

[Agnes snores gently]

[dark atmospheric music]

[King whines]

Come on, boy.

Let's get outta here.

King, King.

Sorry, Agnes.

Looks like you ain't gettin' me.

King, King!

[grunts]

[grunts]

[wood creaks]
[Agnes snores gently]

[pants]

[somber music]
- God, King, no!

What did they do to you?

No!

King! [sobs wildly]

They got him!

I don't know how,

but they broke in here
and took him from us!

- Oh, Jesus Christ.

I'm sorry, Agnes.

I woke up in the night,
he was scratching.

I just let him out for a moment.

- You let him out?
- He wanted to go.

- I told you, Billy!

I told you about
those red devils.

You dog-killer!

He's dead because
of you! [screams]

[grunts]

You dog...

- [groans] I can exp--
- Killer, Billy!

Killer, Billy, dog!

- I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

[Agnes grunts]
[Billy groans]

- I'm sorry, Billy, that I
ever let you into my home.

[sobs]

Oh, King.

King.

Oh, King, shh.

Oh, King.

You're sleepin' in
a better place now.

My little angel.
[eerie chime music]

You'll be waitin', waitin'
with the rest of them.

Waitin' on up in heaven
for mama to come on home.

Oh, King.

You were the only one that
ever listened to Mama Agnes.

You were only one who ever
kept old Mama Agnes' secrets.

You reminded me of mine
and Daddy's little angel.

Before Mama came and
took her from me.

And just look what
happened to Mama.

[pants]

I'm goin' out for
some fresh air.

You better get a new bandage
on that, or it'll get infected.

[dark atmospheric music]

[dark electronic music]

- Billy!

Bill!

Answer me, son.

Please, Billy.

Just answer.
[radio static crackles]

- [Man Over Radio] Any
sign of the kid, over.

- [Father] Nothin'
out here, Ruth.

Not a sign of him.

- [Ruth] We won't stop
lookin' till we find your boy,

Mr. Cavanagh, you have my word.

- Where are you, Bill?

- Oh, Billy.
[somber music]

Billy, child, why don't
you come downstairs?

I've been callin' ya.

- I heard you, Agnes.

- Oh, Billy, I'm sorry.

I overreacted, I
understand that now.

You weren't to know, child.

It's just that King
was everything I had.

He was my only friend out here.

Now I've had time
to calm myself down,

I know it was an accident.

- What the hell did
that to him, Agnes?

- You believe me?

You believe this terrible
thing's out there?

- I believe you.

- Oh, Billy, we've
gotta stick together.

We've gotta keep
each other safe.

Come on, Billy.

Come downstairs now, see what
Mama Agnes has made for ya.

Tell me what it's
like back home, child.

Tell me somethin'
about your family.

- Father's a big part of
the community back in town.

Likes to help people out,
knows everything and everyone.

He's always chomping
on a fat, old cigar.

Smells like him, too.

- Is that right?
- He fixes up snow mobiles.

Mountain slides,
that kind of thing.

- Uh-huh?
- I do the same.

Well, I help out.

We don't have much
money, you see, so,

I just do what extra I can.
- He sounds like a fine daddy.

When I was little,
we just had dogs.

I don't know how to
use all that machinery.

I can fire a gun.

- Yeah, I know.

- That's about it.

Even for huntin', I'm
more likely to use

those little traps
my daddy taught me.

You should've seen the
size of some of them

double-swing steels.

They went all rusted and
broke, eventually, but they

were strong enough to snap
the bone in the beast's leg.

That is, if it didn't
chew it off first.

I used to collect
the abandoned limbs

that I found caught
in the teeth.

My daddy, he used them into
little furry necklaces for me.

- And your mother let
him show you all that?

- Mama wasn't around
much after she left.

- Oh.

Mine, neither.

Actually, I don't
know my mother at all.

And Father doesn't
talk about it.

- That's sad to hear, child.
- Makes no difference to me.

Father's everything
I've ever needed.

- I just can't imagine how a
mother could turn their back

on a boy like you, Billy.

- He said the cold made
her crazy, so she moved on.

- Oh, now you've Mama
Agnes to take care of you.

Show you that motherly love
and tender care you never had.

- And you, Agnes?

How did you end up out
here all by yourself?

You must have a
family someplace.

- Sure.

I had that.

And two little girls of my own,
little Susie and Sally-Ann.

I guess they never
liked the cold, neither.

To me, this white hell
has always been my home.

- So, you don't see
them at all now?

- Oh, I see them.

Oh, I see them.

But they don't need
old Agnes no more.

Hell! [chuckles]

That was some appetite you had.

- I haven't eaten
since yesterday.

- Mama Agnes sure
cooks a tidy stew.

- It's delicious.

- Well, I'm glad we
put King to good use.

- What?

- It's hard enough to come
by good meat out here.

Couldn't let him go to waste.

- You cooked the dog?

- Hell, he's as good as any
other creature out there

that I'd have had to
shoot down to feed us!

You're the one who killed him!

Old Agnes ain't stupid.

I don't see good meat go
to waste, the devil I--

- You oughta told me first.

- I was afraid you
wouldn't eat it.

You need your strength.

Hell, I can't manage it
all by myself, Billy.

- I would've preferred
to know, that's all.

- Oh.

No.

You're right.

I could've told you,
I just didn't think.

Stupid.

Stupid, stupid.

Stupid, stupid.

Stupid!

Stupid.

Silly, stupid, very
stupid, bad Agnes!

Bad, stupid Agnes.

Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad!

Listen to your father!
- Calm down, stop!

[Agnes pants]

It was fine.

It tasted fine.

It was just surprising.

[vomits]

[vomits]

[muffled vomiting]

[dark atmospheric music]

[eerie tones]

[wood creaks]

[suspenseful music]

- Oh, butter fingers.

[eerie chime music]

[sighs]

- I stayed up all night
watching you, Agnes.

Did you know that?

Obviously you don't.

Anyone sitting guard with
a loaded gun in their hands

fearing for their lives
does not sleep that easy.

Is the gun even loaded?

- What are you
talkin' about, child?

- I just wanna know
if your gun is loaded.

- You wanna know if it's loaded?

You think it isn't, Billy?

You think I dreamed up this
whole nightmare-fantasy?

- Maybe I'm going a little
stir-crazy here, Agnes,

but I can't decide whether
you're playing games with me,

or whether you're simply not
playing with a full deck.

- I knew it.

I just knew you'd
think I was crazy.

When all I'm tryin' to
do is look after you,

and care for you.

Hell, you're just like the
rest of them, ain't ya?

Always pickin' on old Agnes.

Well, I didn't
stand for it then,

and I ain't gonna
stand for it now.

- Agnes, I just wanna talk.

[gun cocks]
- Too late, Billy boy!

- Whoa, Agnes, stop, stop!

[gun clicks]

[Agnes laughs]

Course the gun ain't loaded!

But you knew that, didn't ya?

I ain't gonna blow my
brains out while I sleep.

Got the bullets right
here if I need 'em.

Agnes ain't stupid, you know.

You might think I
am, but you're wrong.

[ominous organ music]

- Sweet Jesus Christ
on a flaming cross.

Get your barf bags, boys.

This is by far
the worst one yet.

- Is it Billy?

- Don't think so.

- It's old man Clark's place.

Look at the pictures.

- Hmm, little Sally-Ann.

Sweet angel.

[glass smashes]
[somber music]

What in the Lord's name have
they done to deserve this?

- I think I'm gonna be sick.

- Fellas, it's a bonafide
massacre in this hell-hole,

but it ain't young Billy
and it ain't Rus Cavanagh.

Gonna have to call
in another one, Pete!

[retching]

Get someone out here
to search this place

from tippy-top to bloody-bottom.

And see what we can find.

Ain't gonna be more
than half a town left,

unless we end this
manhunt A-S-A-P.

Chuck, open this hatch, will ya?

My crooked old back
can't take the weight.

- What do you think's down
there, old friend Ruth?

- There's a lot of blood here.

But no bodies.

Open her up.

[flies buzz]
[Chuck groans]

- What's happened to them?

- Some twisted son of a
bitch has taken their skin.

[ominous tones]

Taken their skin and gifted
the rest to the maggots.

[ominous tones]

Fuck it, I've seen enough.

[dark electronic music]

[pot clangs]

- Dinner's almost
ready, Billy boy.

- [Ruth] Rus, you out there?

You've gotta get back on
the code I have you on.

Come on, answer, damn it.

[screeches]

[muffled screeches]

[tense music]

[Billy moans and pants]

- Billy!
- Agnes!

- What're you doing
out of bed, child?

- Agnes, it's right there!

- Red hell, it must've followed
me back here, take my gun!

[thuds]
- [moans] What does it want?

- I told you, child,
it's after us.

But no, you never
listened to old Agnes.

- Is that door gonna hold?

- Do you believe me now?
- Yes, Agnes, I believe you.

Fuck, where are the bullets?
[thuds]

- Oh, now you need bullets, now
there's somethin' out there!

- Agnes, I'm not screwin'
around here, come on now!

- Oh, you can't shoot down
somethin' which is just

in Mama Agnes' crazy old head.

- Oh, Jesus, what does it want?

- I told you, child.

It's the red man.

He's finally come
for the pair of us.

- Pass the damn bullets!

- Should've listened, Billy boy.

- I'm sorry, I'm
sorry, you were right!

I should've listened to you.

You were right the whole
damn time, you're not crazy!

- Good child.

[thuds]

Better hurry, Billy boy.

[thuds]
[muffled shrieks]

He's gettin' in!

[thuds]

[gun cocks]

[Billy screams]
[intense music]

[gun fires]
[Agnes shrieks]

[water hisses]

[Agnes groans]

[Billy grunts]

[flesh squelches]

Get that thing, Billy!

[flesh squelches]

[gun fires]

[Billy moans]

[red man whines]

[red man snarls]
[flesh squelches]

[Billy grunts and whines]

Kill it, Billy, kill it!

[gun fires]
[red man screeches]

[Billy pants]
[suspenseful music]

[flesh squelches]

[intense music]

[red man shrieks]

[gun fires]

[flesh squelches]

Go back to hell, you red devil!

[flesh squelches]
[moans]

Kill it, Billy!

Kill it, Billy!

[flesh squelches]

- Billy!

[gun fires]
[Agnes screams]

[Agnes laughs maniacally]

[dark atmospheric music]
[hammering thuds]

- Agnes?
- Nothin' gets out.

Nothin' gets in.

- Agnes, we can't stay here.

- You seen what's out there,
Billy, you seen that red devil.

- Agnes, it's dead.

- But there'll be
more of those things!

- How do you know that?
- 'Cause Agnes knows.

- I've gotta get
outta this cabin.

- Oh, you're not leavin'
me alone with those things.

God damn it, we almost
got ourselves killed!

- Agnes, it's over!

We have to get outta here.
- Oh, no, you're staying put.

You're staying
right here with me!

I'm keepin' you safe!
- You're keepin' me prisoner!

- Go to bed, Billy.

You are upset and confused.

- I don't know if
that thing really is

the monster out here, Agnes.

- You don't do as I say, then
you might find out it isn't.

[bullet clacks]

[suspenseful electronic music]

You'd kill old
Agnes in cold blood,

after all I've done for you?

- I'm gonna die in
this cabin, Agnes.

I know that now.

I'm gonna die alone in
this white wilderness.

And seein' as I don't know
how much longer I have left,

I better do what my father
dragged me out here to do.

[gun cocks]

There are no deer in
these woods, you were
right about that.

But I wasn't hunting deer.

- No, Billy, you're
not like them, child.

- No.

But maybe I wish I was.

And maybe if I hadn't suffered
this bullet wound to the leg,

you'd be long dead already.

Or maybe I would've
starved to death by now.

Or frozen out there in the cold.

- It's not what
you think, Billy.

- Stop it.

Let me tell you a story, Agnes.

Let me explain how I
came to find you here.

Back in town, about two
weeks ago, maybe longer,

we started to notice
somethin' strange.

You see, Big Johnnie Carver
who lives on the edge of town,

not as far out as the
forest, but far out,

in one of those beat-up
old shack houses,

he lives there with
his family, a wife,

and two boys, I think it was.

Now, we don't see much them.

Except for, Big
John comes into town

like clockwork every
week to pick up his beer,

his paper and a copy
of Cheeks Magazine.

Get those in special,
just for him.

Guess it gets pretty lonely
out there in the snow, huh?

Even for a married man.

- Sure does, Billy.

- So, one day I go
in and I see there's

two copies of Cheeks Magazine.

You see, I would always notice
'em there since I was little,

and I say to shopkeeper Willard,
"I see John Carver hasn't

"come by to pick up his
jazz mags this past month,"

and Willard says, "Nope."

In fact, he says he
hasn't seen John Carver

in near over a month.

So, they head out
to Big John's shack.

Chimney's been smokin',
so he's gotta be home.

And well, you wouldn't
wanna know what they found.

Wouldn't even tell me, actually.

But they were real shook up.

I knew they'd seen something
they couldn't unsee

and wish they never saw.

Even my pa, and
nothin' gets him.

- Is that right, child?

- All I know is
John Carver's dead.

Had been since the month
before, probably as long

as that dirty magazine
arrived on that shelf.

His whole family, too.

They found the youngest boy.

Jesus.

He couldn't have been any
more than 10 years old.

They found him out in the
snow, frozen stiff as a brick.

Poor little thing.

Now, what could make a
boy run from his family,

and keep on runnin' till
his legs froze solid

and he couldn't run no more?

- Child.

I wouldn't know.

- Oh, I think you might, Agnes.

Strange thing is, when
they found John's family

massacred in that shack,
Willard recalled seeing smoke

coming from the
chimney all month long.

Somebody was home.

Somebody didn't mind stayin'
around with just them corpses

for company for damn
near an entire month.

Until not a crumb of food was
left, or a twig of firewood.

- Well, it gets mighty
lonely in the woods.

- This ain't even your
cabin, is it, Agnes?

We came looking, a
whole bunch of us.

Still are lookin', 'cause
someone butchered that family

and they're still out here.

- And little boy Billy
thinks he's found his killer.

You think it's me,
don't you, child?

- Bitch.

I know it's you.

[gun clicks]

[thud]
[groans]

Agnes, no!

[gun clicks]
[Agnes laughs]

[ominous tones]

- You dumb boy.

You think Mama Agnes is
some old fool, don't ya?

I seen those bullets
under my mattress.

Just how long you been
fixin' to shoot me dead,

I don't wanna know.

- Oh, just fuckin' kill me
if that's what you want.

- Oh, I ain't gonna
kill you, boy.

I just ain't one
to refuse company.

But I am gonna have
to take precautions,

because bad boys do have to
be punished by their mama.

- Stop calling yourself
mother, you crazy bitch!

- Crazy or not, you're
stuck here with me!

And I will teach you to be
a good boy to your mama.

- No!

[thud]

[moody electronic music]
[fire crackles]

- Just smell that fur.

That's a fine smell.

You did say your daddy's
cigars had a fine smell.

You were right
about that, child.

Smells of home.

Bet you can't
smell a damn thing.

Think I just about
busted your nose.

But a boy must be
punished if he misbehaves.

And I call fixing to shoot
me dead in my slumber,

a misbehavior.

You only get as good
as you give, child.

I calls it tough love,
that's all it is.

- Tough love?
- That's right, child.

- You better keep a close
eye on that rifle, Agnes,

'cause I'm gonna find it
tough not to love seeing your

fucking skull blasted right
open the second you put it down.

- Is that right, Billy boy?

I wouldn't go makin'
promises you can't keep now.

You ain't gonna be in no
fit state to fire a gun

when Mama Agnes is done
with her punishment.

Did I divulge I ain't
smoked in about 10 years?

It's a little treat
for Mama Agnes.

Just imagine all the
things you can find

in the pockets of old coats.

Enough to tell you half
the story of a man's life.

And look what I found.

My granddaddy had
one just like it.

You recognize it,
don't you, child?

Had you been able
to smell the fur,

you'd have sooner
recognized my new coat, too.

Ain't that right?

- Where did you get that?
- Daddy would know.

But mama forgot to ask him.

- Where is he?
[Agnes laughs]

What the hell have you done?

- What have I done
to your daddy?

Well, Billy child,
if you do recall,

you're the one who
shot him in the head.

- Billy!

[gun fires]
[Agnes screams]

- That's right, child.

He came all the way out
here to find his little boy,

and what did he find?

Just old Mama Agnes
out choppin' firewood

to keep young Billy
boy warm and cozy.

- [sobs] No, no, no.

- Well, your daddy asked
me if I'd seen his boy.

"Oh, I seen him," I said.

"I got him all looked
after back up in my cabin."

- No, [sobs] no.
- So I led him on up here.

- And when his back was
turned, I smacked him!

One good hard one across
the back of the head.

Now, I strip him down first,

so your daddy was out
there in the cold,

hung up by the arms from
that tall tree out back.

I tell ya, his skin
had turned icy-blue

by the time I got
to work on him.

His little pecker had
shriveled right up

to the size of a walnut.

A little white walnut, and
I did worry he'd be so numb

that he wouldn't feel the final
job old Agnes had in store.

But I tell you, child,
he felt my blade on him.

The screams comin'
out of that man

were some of the
finest I ever heard.

Made the hairs on the back
of my neck stand tall.

Pretty sure that's
what woke you up.

It was my daddy who
taught me how to skin,

and ever since I was a little
girl, I've always loved how

the skin would just peel
away like a sticky glove,

slippin' off to reveal the
beautiful red meat underneath.

You know, everybody looks
different without their skin.

With nothing to hide behind.

No lies, no deception,
just their true selves.

You start with the neck,
a good clean slice.

Loosens things up a little.

Then you get your
hands in there.

Then you hook your nails in.
[Billy grunts]

And when you've had
practice, like Mama Agnes,

you can pull it wide
open in just two pieces.

It's a little rusty,

but you just ain't to be
trusted with a firearm present.

That's why these ten
little digits gotta go.

- God, Agnes, no, please,
whatever idea you've got

in that crazy head,
you keep it in there!

- We're gonna see to it that
you don't have the physical

capability to shoot your
Mama Agnes in her sleep.

- Please!

- And to do that, we gotta
make some alterations,

to your body.
- Oh, my God, Agnes, please!

Please stop, please, please!
- Oh, hold still!

Come on, mama's got you now.
- Please, no!

[sobs]
- Hold still, Billy.

Hold still, hold still.

[bone cracks]
[Billy screams]

Stop wrigglin' now, will ya?
- Please!

- Hold still now, son!
- Please, I'm begging you!

- It's all right, mama's got ya.
- No, no!

- Mama's got you.
[Billy screams]

Oh, there we go.
- No!

- Oh, come on now,
it's not hurtin'!

[Billy screams]

Hold still now, son!

Rise and shine,
little sleepy head.

Oh, I know we haven't
seen eye-to-eye

over the last couple of days,

but Agnes is gonna change that,
I'm gonna make it up to you.

You'll see.

- Fuck you.
- Oh, Billy.

That's no way to
speak to your mama.

I bandaged you up
real nice, see?

[intense music]
[Billy screams]

- Oh, Jesus!

What have you done?

What have you done to my hands?

You stupid bitch!

- You will learn to
say nice things to me!

Oh, it might take a little
while, and it might cause you

a lot of pain and suffering,
but we'll get there.

Either you take
it fast and easy,

or we take it slow, hard
and very painfully, child.

You choose.
[Billy sobs]

Oh, Billy, you're just
one big blubberin' baby.

I've seen men climb
out of their own skins

before I've had time to finish
cutting it from their bodies,

because they were
savage and determined.

- You want savage,
you just wait.

- You don't scare
me, Billy, you goose!

You're here because I
want you here with me.

People who scare old Agnes
end up skinned alive!

[Billy screams]
[glass smashes]

[screams]
[intense music]

[grunts]

[laughs]

[laughs maniacally]

I just dare you to
kill me, child, go on!

And we'll see who's gonna feed
you and tend to your wounds.

You'll never make it back to
town without freezing to death!

[laughs] You little sissy!

[laughs]

[Billy screams]

[clunk]

[Billy pants]

- Shut the fuck up.

[suspenseful electronic music]

[grunts]

[grunts]

Okay.

[grunts]

[radio static crackles]

Please, God.

Please, God, help me now.

Hello?

Is anybody receiving me, over.

Can anybody hear me?

My name is Billy Cavanagh.

I'm stuck out in an old cabin.

I'm being held hostage.

It's the killer, the one
everyone's been looking for.

She's here.

- [Ruth] Billy, it's Ruth.

We're receiving you, but
it's a weak signal, over.

- Oh, God, Ruth.

Jesus Christ, am I glad
to hear your voice.

- Now, you just calm down, son,

and tell where you are
and tell me what happened.

- You've gotta come
and save me, Ruth.

I'm hurt, I'm hurt real bad.

Just head out way past
Johnnie Carver's place.

About two miles dead-north,
it's hard to find

'cause it's deep in the
forest, but it's there.

It's an old cabin, it
looks empty, but it's not.

- Slow down, we've got guys
out now looking for your pa,

and some others that
have gone missing.

- They're dead, Ruth,
they're all dead!

She's killed them all!

- You're tellin' me it's a
woman been doin' all this?

- I have her here right now.

- [Ruth] You just
hang on in there, son.

- She's unconscious, but
I don't know for how long.

[ominous tones]
- Hello, Billy?

Everything all right, son?

We're heading out
right now, Billy.

You're gonna be all right,
just hold on tight.

[ominous tones]

- Poor little Bill.

Skinned against his will.

Watch his red blood spill.

Agnes gets a thrill.

[laughs]

- Who is that?

You let that boy go, damn you.
[Agnes laughs]

We're go a lot easier
on you when we catch ya,

if you leave that boy
alone, do you hear me?

[suspenseful music]
[Agnes laughs]

- You think you can
outsmart old Agnes?

You're just like my mother.

Thought she knew better than me!

But she didn't know what
Agnes and Daddy were up to.

Oh, no. [laughs]

But when she did find
out, I took my gun,

and shot a hole in her head!

[gun fires]
[Billy grunts]

[laughs]

I didn't mean to hurt
our little angel,

but she was just so
small and fragile.

She was born weak, she
had problems, Billy.

Daddy said we shouldn't
have done those things,

and it was all over,
just like that.

[laughs]

[gun fires]
[Billy grunts]

Daddy was so mad.

All Agnes ever tried to
do was make him happy,

but he, he, he beat me!

And he sliced me all over
and said he'd skin me alive

like he skinned his beasts!

[gun fires]

But I got him first, because
nobody can outsmart old Agnes.

Not even you, Billy Cavanagh.

And if you don't do what I say,

I'll take your skin, just
like the rest of them!

[bullet clacks]
[groans]

[Billy grunts]

[gun fires]
[laughs]

Now, them folks are gonna
come by here real soon

and find us here, so you're
gonna climb on in that hole,

and stay real god-damn quiet.

Or else I'm gonna put a
bullet in your brain, child,

and you'll never see the
outside of this cabin again.

[Billy groans]

[Billy screams]

[muffled groans]

[Billy grunts]

Get in.

Get out.

Be god damn quiet, Billy.

You keep god damn quiet or
I'll blow your brains out.

You hear me?

One word!

[suspenseful music]

- It's darker in here
than a bison's asshole.

- It's the wrong place, I
told you it looked abandoned.

- Oh, shut up, Chuck.

- This is the place.

- It ain't even on the map.

- Exactly.

- Nobody's home.

- You're entirely right,
it does look that way.

But you gotta learn to use
your nose, Chuck, 'cause I can

smell somethin' that's tellin'
an entirely different story.

Yep.

Still warm.

Boys, somebody's
been stayin' here,

who don't want us to know.

Sweet heaven almighty.

That's a damn fine stew.

- Well, then all right!

- Don't get too cozy, fellas.

We're here to find Billy and
put an end to this grotesquery.

[Billy pants]

[Chuck slurps]

So, this is where all
the good meat's at.

- [chuckles] I'll say.

- Don't taste a pinch
like Maggie's stew.

My poor wife can't
cook a damn thing.

Never stopped her
tryin', though,

and never stopped me
appreciatin' what a sweetheart

she's been to me all
these cold, long years.

[Chuck coughs and groans]

- Damn!

I don't think that looks
like an animal's tooth.

- Boys, I think it's time
we put the stew aside.

We might just have
found Billy Cavanagh.

God damn it, Pete!

Hand me that radio.

Someone might just
answer on this thing.

Billy, it's Ruth.
- Billy, it's Ruth.

- Can you hear me, over.
- Can you hear me, over.

- Hey, Ruth?

- What?
- What?

[radio interference]
[swelling ominous tones]

- Well, I'll be damned.

It looks like we're in
the right cabin after all.

- Ruth, I'm down here!

[gun fires]
[dramatic music]

[gun fires]
[blood splatters]

[suspenseful percussive music]

[gun fires]
[glass smashes]

[gun fires]
[dramatic music]

[stew hisses]

[Ruth groans]

- Billy, get her gun!

Shoot her, Billy!

Kill this crazy bitch and
get the hell outta here!

- Now, why'd you have to go
and say a thing like that?

[Ruth groans]

[Ruth groans]
[intense music]

[laughs]

- [Ruth] Choke on it,
you fucking bitch!

[Agnes laughs]

[Billy grunts]

Get the fuck off of me!

- [Agnes] Give me that gun!

- You fucking bitch.

[groans]

Let go, you fucking old hag!

[Agnes and Ruth grunt]

Run, Billy, run!

[gun fires]
[Agnes laughs]

- You're everythin'
I have, Billy.

And you're everythin'
Mama Agnes ever--

[gun fires]
[blood splatters]

[Billy pants]

- And all I ever wanted
was to see you dead.

[sobs]

[grunts]

[somber orchestral music]