Lovecraft Country (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - Episode #1.2 - full transcript
Your father's been missing
for about two weeks.
He wrote me. I have
a secret legacy, a birthright.
The place he wants me to go,
it's in Lovecraft Country.
Well, I've heard a few tales
about travelers being attacked
in the surrounding woods.
They don't like outsiders
at all.
Come on. Come on.
You're a long way from home.
This is just a misunderstanding.
What was that?
Keep your guns on 'em.
We've been expecting you,
Mr. Freeman.
- Is that an alarm?
- Nobody seems alarmed.
- You got your own library, too?
They got Blackwood,
Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith.
I could stay in there
reading all day.
- I wonder if that's the point.
- Good Lord, Letitia.
- You like?
Found it and a lot more
in the wardrobe.
Tried on a few
before settling on this.
- And they all fit?
- Like a glove.
Mr. Freeman,
the elder Mr. Freeman,
and Miss Lewis,
I'm glad you all
were able to freshen up
before the chime
of the lunch bell.
Nothing to be alarmed about.
If you'll allow me
to escort you to the veranda.
- William, is it?
- That is correct, Mr. Freeman.
I wasn't sure
that you would remember.
You were a little...
out of sorts
when you arrived this morning.
- When's my father
expected to return from Boston?
- I am afraid that I have
already told you everything
that I have been made privy to.
He left to see the lawyer
with Miss Braithwhite
two nights ago.
She gave no instructions
on when they would return.
- But we were expected?
- She made it very clear
that I was to look out for you,
treat you like family
while you wait.
- What hotel
are they at in Boston?
I want to call and check in.
- Unfortunately,
that's going to be impossible.
Upon inheriting the land,
Samuel Braithwhite
decided to use it
for his summer home,
and never installed
telephone lines
so as not to be disturbed
by the business
that hounds him
most of the year.
- And what business
does he have with my father?
- I don't know,
and it wouldn't be
my place to say.
- Is that the Samuel Braithwhite
you've been speaking of?
- That is a distant cousin
of Samuel's,
Ardham's founder,
and the original owner
of the lodge,
Titus Braithwhite. - Hmm.
- He built this retreat so that
he and his fellow lodge members
could dine in private.
He was quite
an extraordinary man.
- He must've been to build
such an impressive home.
How did he come
about his fortune?
- Shipping.
- That's code for slaves.
- Titus was known
to be notoriously kind
to those who worked for him.
- Hmm.
- Many mourned
after the great fire.
- There was a fire?
- What we are standing in
is a replica
of the original lodge,
which burned down
during the autumnal equinox,
1833.
It was an unfortunate accident
that killed Titus
and everyone else inside.
Well, almost everyone.
Mr. Braithwhite has called
a gathering of lodge members
who are expected to arrive
for a celebratory dinner.
Until then,
you have the run of the lodge.
- After lunch,
we'd like to take a walk
around the village.
That won't be a problem,
will it?
- No, as long as you return
in time for dinner.
Now, if you need anything else,
anything at all,
just ring the bell,
and the butler
will come running.
- I thought you were the butler.
- No.
No, I'm just
a close personal friend
to Christina Braithwhite.
- Does that silver Bentley
out front
belong to Miss Braithwhite?
- Yes.
But she has many cars.
- When have you ever showed up
to a white man's house
uninvited and he didn't try
to get you out in 2.5 seconds?
- They want to keep us here.
- I don't want to find out why.
I know Pops
is around here somewhere.
- He's definitely not in Boston.
- What? I need salt.
You know white folks
don't be seasoning their food.
- What's wrong with you?
First, you parading around here
like you on the... - Tic. Tic.
- Thank you.
- How can you even eat
after what happened last night?
- Because I...
I...
don't remember what happened.
- You serious?
Hey, Leti, we were attacked.
- By the sheriff?
- By monsters.
- What monsters?
- Eight-foot-tall beasts
with razor-sharp teeth
that can bite a man's head off.
Uncle George?
- Last thing I remember
is cleaning up
in the lodge this morning.
- No, you... you got knocked
out in the fight,
but you gotta remember
the monsters
attacking the cabin.
- What cabin?
- The cabin in the woods.
Uncle George,
they had us surrounded.
Then there was that high-pitched
whistle that called them off.
- Like a dog whistle?
- No, Leti,
it wasn't a dog whistle.
These weren't dogs.
Remember, you crashed Woody
into the cabin
right after I shot the sheriff.
- You shot the sheriff?
- I had to shoot the sheriff.
Yeah! He got bit
by one of those things.
They're like vampires.
Uncle George, remember,
you quoted Dracula.
You remember that?
- We're being watched.
Sit down.
- We need to find Pop
and get the hell out of here.
Take Leti and search the lodge.
I'ma check down in the village.
- Mm-mm.
We are not splitting up.
- She's right.
We stay together
and be discreet.
They've been treating us
real nice right now,
and we don't want to give them
a reason to do otherwise.
You said the car was crashed.
- It was.
This can't be Woody.
- Well,
my camera's in the front seat.
- And the back window's
busted out.
The elder Mr. Freeman,
your keys.
- How'd this get here?
- I found it
parked on the other side
of the bridge
leading into the village.
- That's impossible.
It was crashed.
- I assure you, I drove it up
just like I found it.
- What?
What aren't you telling us?
- There was quite a bit
of blood in the front seats,
but I had the butler
wash it out.
I assume that was the trouble
that you ran into
on the road last night.
- Let's go.
- What are you doing? Come on.
- Can I ask you something?
Did Atticus kill
a lot of people in the war?
- Anything he did was
for the service of his country.
- I know, but Woody wasn't
crashed like he said it was.
It was covered in blood.
- None of this makes any sense.
Why can't either of us remember
anything that happened?
- I'm trying.
This monster business?
A lot of soldiers came back
from the war with shell shock.
What if whatever...
- This isn't shell shock.
I know what I saw last night.
I know.
- Hold on, hold on.
We're just concerned about you.
That's all.
What you said happened
doesn't make any sense.
- You know what else doesn't?
A bookshelf full
of your favorite books, hmm?
A wardrobe full of clothes
in Leti's exact size.
Can you ex...
That's the whistle
that called off the monsters.
Hey!
You! Were you in the woods
last night?
- Who the hell are you?
- What's that whistle for?
- Tic, stop!
- Not the dogs.
- Tic!
- Answer the question!
What's that whistle really for?
- I'm sorry, ma'am.
- Stop.
- Please call them dogs off.
- My dogs aren't the ones
that need to be on a leash.
- We're guests
of Mr. Braithwhite.
- You don't look like the type
to be Braithwhite's guests.
- Are you the sheriff?
- What makes you think that?
- That's the jail, right?
I mean,
it's the only stone building
I've seen in the entire village.
- We get animals
coming in the village.
They break into the cottages...
but not in here.
- I heard about your grizzlies
in the surrounding area.
- No, no grizzlies,
just black bears.
But the blacks are bad enough.
They're smart.
They're not smart smart.
They're beasts,
but they're clever enough
to cause mischief.
And they're persistent,
always sticking their noses
where they don't belong.
- Mm-hmm.
- I suggest you all
head back on up to the lodge
before the sun goes down.
You don't want to miss dinner.
- Thank you, ma'am.
The inside of that silo's
got a stone foundation,
which means
a dungeon-like basement.
- And all that barking,
you wouldn't be able
to hear someone if they were
screaming for help.
- That's where
they're keeping Pop.
When we get back to the lodge,
we gonna have to make
a quick getaway.
- Mm-hmm.
- Be gone before they start
burning crosses.
- Need something faster
than Woody.
- You gonna have to steal it.
- I can handle that.
- Something told me you could.
Uncle George?
What is it?
- A recollection,
something your mother
told me years ago
about her ancestors.
- She never told me or Pop
anything about her people...
but she told you?
- I think
she was just ashamed of it.
She told me her great-ancestor
was a slave named Hanna
and that she escaped her
master's house after a fire.
- The secret birthright
Pop wrote about.
- Titus Braithwhite
was known to
be notoriously "kind"
to his slaves.
- Hanna ran
through these woods pregnant.
She was a brave woman.
What the hell is that?
- Escort the younger
Mr. Freeman to my father's lab,
and make sure our other guests
stay in their rooms.
- Why are we c-covered in dirt?
- I... I don't know.
It happened again, didn't it?
- Shut it! Let's move!
- We were walking in the woods.
I remember...
If Tic's related,
then Montrose was just bait.
"Order of the Ancient Dawn."
- He's darker than I expected.
- Let me help you.
- I'm fine.
This here is one
of my favorite paintings.
The artist, Josef Tannhauser,
entitled it "Genesis 2:19."
Are either of you
familiar with the verse?
- "And out of the ground,
the Lord God
"formed every beast of the field
"and every fowl of the air
"and brought them unto Adam
"to see what he would call them,
"and whatsoever Adam
called every living creature,
that was the name thereof."
- In Tannhauser's conception,
this act of naming is more than
a simple picking of labels.
Adam is sharing in creation,
assigning each creature
its final form
and its station
in the hierarchy of nature.
What does that mean, Christina?
What did Adam do?
- He put everything
in its place.
- At the dawn of time,
just for a moment,
everything was where
and as it should be...
from God to man to woman,
down to the lowliest
wriggling creature.
It was Nirvana.
- Then that stupid, meddlesome,
troublemaking bitch Eve
brought entropy and death.
What was an elegant hierarchy
became a mess
of tribes and nations.
Of course, it didn't
really happen that way.
Biblical literalism
is for the simple.
But I'm sure everyone
in this room is aware of that.
- It's still a useful parable
for both of you.
- I'm guessing you're God
in this useful parable.
- I'm Adam.
And I've worked a very long time
to return to paradise.
My daughter seems to believe
you can help in my aims,
but as you can see,
there's little we agree on.
- Then why don't you just tell
me where I can find my father?
All right, and I'll leave you
and the rest of...
- I don't want to see him again
until the ceremony at dawn.
- You must have
so many questions.
- Why bother?
None of the other ones
I asked have been answered,
not by your father,
or... what's the other guy?
He your boyfriend?
- William.
And yes, he is a boy
and a friend sometimes.
My father may have looked
feeble upstairs,
but he, along with the rest
of the lodge members arriving,
can be very dangerous enemies
to have.
You should think
about making some friends.
Not all us white folks
are out to get you.
- I have enough friends.
- Are you sure about that?
Your uncle and Leti
seem to think
you lost your marbles
in the war.
- That's because you did
something to make them forget.
- Did something? How vague.
- It's a spell.
It's a spell.
It seems the KKK isn't just
calling themselves
"grand wizards" anymore.
- My father and his associates
would never fraternize
with the Klan.
They're too poor.
And the spell
wasn't specifically
for your companions,
rather, anyone who encounters
our little guard dogs
and lives to tell about it.
- You want to be friends? Fine.
That's gonna take actions,
not just promises.
- And getting you out
of trouble in Simmonsville,
as well as last night,
wasn't enough?
- We're in trouble now.
- I can't take you
to your father.
- Then remove the spell
on Leti and my uncle...
friend.
- Done.
Tic!
- Open this fucking door!
Let me out!
- Tic!
- Miss Braithwhite, it's time.
- Let me out! Let me out!
- You wanted us to tell you
when there was a breach.
- Yes, thank you.
- Pull harder!
- Miss Braithwhite,
you done this before?
- No.
It's my first time.
- Leti.
- Oh, Tic, Tic, I'm so sorry.
I remember now.
- I know, I know.
- I should've believed you.
- Let's sit down for a second.
- No, we gotta get out of here.
- Leti, Leti,
they got us trapped, okay?
But I'm gonna figure a way out.
I promise.
- Okay.
- Come sit with me.
- The Bible is full of demons
and monsters.
They're just stories.
They have to be because...
- "Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me."
- I said that last night.
- Just before doing
the bravest thing
I've ever seen to save us.
- I can't believe
I even remember that verse.
Last time I said it,
I was a kid, and...
- And what?
- Terrified.
My mom would leave me
by myself all the time.
Say she was going to church.
But even then,
I knew that was a lie.
She always came home,
usually with some new man
hanging on her arm.
Till one day, she didn't,
and a week went by.
I was so scared that
she wasn't gonna come back.
And I was little.
I... I didn't... I didn't know
how to take care of myself.
I sat...
in the window
of that boarding house
every day...
And said that verse like
a prayer for her to come back.
The one I could remember
from Sunday school.
- I'm never going
to abandon you.
Ji-ah, stop!
I don't want to hurt you!
- Dora?
- This isn't real. You're dead.
- Dance with me anyway.
- What are you thinking about?
- "The House on the Borderland."
You do love your stories.
What's this one about?
- A man who finds
a mysterious home
in the Plain of Silence,
where he fights
humanoid pig-like creatures
before he goes
to the Sea of Sleep,
where he reunites
with his long-lost love.
- Mm.
Do the lovers
stay together forever?
- Yes...
but only because the house
collapses upon them.
- I'm not gonna...
- I was thinking about you.
- Mm.
- And Montrose.
Tulsa.
How we used to drink
soda pop on your porch
and play that "what if" game.
What if you could go
anywhere in the world?
What if you could only eat
one thing
for the rest of your life?
What if... magic were real?
- Montrose wanted
super strength.
And you wanted to fly.
- That could all
be possible now.
You could actually fly
with your children.
- You're not real.
- Uh, uh, Tic, wait.
Wait, no, no. Stop.
- What's Braithwhite's
daughter doing here?
- He's out of the Michigan
chapter, isn't he?
- I heard Samuel has something
very special planned for dinner.
- I hope
you all had a nice rest.
Dinner will be served
in 15 minutes.
The attire is black tie only,
and unfortunately, Miss Lewis,
it is also men only.
However, it is a beautiful night
to dine on the veranda.
I will return shortly
to provide escort.
- You okay?
- Who'd they make you see?
- Doesn't matter.
They're just trying
to get inside our heads.
- Something happened in the war.
Something bad.
- Don't.
You know who you are.
You... were a good boy.
And you're even a better man.
Don't you ever let them
make you question yourself.
That's how they win.
They want to make us crazy,
terrorize us,
make us scared.
But Letitia fucking Lewis
don't get scared,
do she?
- No, sir.
- No, that's right.
Now, I come across something
that just might
get us out of here.
- Don't mind the others.
Just because
they don't want you here
doesn't mean
you're not supposed to be.
- We all know
the true meaning of sacrifice.
Every man in this room
has made an offering
to push the world forward,
a wayward world
we have dedicated
our lives to righting.
Our founder, Titus Braithwhite,
was a son of a son,
and we follow in his image,
just as he followed
in the first son's.
As Adam gave of his rib
to create Eve,
so did Titus give of himself
to empower the founding members
of the Order.
Tonight, on the precipice
of great progress,
I honor him by giving of myself.
- Don't eat that.
- Tomorrow will truly be
the dawn of a new era.
Thank you all
for coming to witness...
- No need to thank us.
We didn't want to be here.
I understand
y'all belong to a club
called the Order
of Ancient Dawn.
I happened across your bylaws
earlier this evening.
Now, I got some experience
with fraternal societies,
being a part of
Prince Hall Freemasons myself.
Anybody know
who Prince Hall was?
He was an abolitionist
who joined
the Massachusetts militia
to fight for independence,
and he wanted to join
the local Freemasons,
but, Tic, remind me
why he wasn't allowed in.
- Because he was a colored man.
- I was not surprised
to learn from your bylaws
that your order wouldn't have
admitted Prince Hall, either,
but then I kept reading,
and I found there's a loophole.
Men who are direct descendants
of Titus
are automatically members.
In fact, they're not just
any old members.
They're what's called
sons among sons,
and as you all know,
they can give orders to other,
regular old members.
And seeing
as I believe my nephew
might just be
the last blood heir
of Titus Braithwhite...
- I want everybody except Samuel
to get up...
and get the fuck out.
Gentlemen...
that's an order.
I order you
to return my father to me.
- I am not a zealot,
Mr. Freeman.
The limits of my belief
in tradition and ceremony
stop at the fact that
the others believe it.
Titus used the Book of Names
to spell his body
to be more powerful,
and you're a reservoir
of that power,
diluted, no doubt,
and also tainted somewhat,
but still useful
for the work I have to do.
Do not mistake useful
with indispensable.
- Pop!
- This is his.
- Just like I thought.
Bunch of dumb animals
don't know enough
to stop fighting
once they're already snared.
Hmm? My dogs will get
a nice treat tonight.
- I got the car.
Where's Montrose?
- "Count of Monte Cristo."
- Pop's favorite book?
Help me.
- Hey, Montrose.
- What the hell
y'all doing here?
- We're here to save you.
- I saved my damn self.
I ain't need
y'all coming for me.
- You wrote for me to come.
- Boy, we ain't spoken
over five damn years,
and you fight me on everything.
Obviously, I didn't think
you were stupid enough
to show up 'cause I wrote
a letter under duress.
- You don't need to talk
to him like that.
- I'll talk to my son
however the hell I want to.
- Can we get the fuck
out of here, please?
- They have lodges
all over the country.
This one's called
the Sons of Adam,
founded by Titus Braithwhite
after he discovered what
they call the Book of Names.
- Yeah, the Necronomicon.
- No,
that's the book of dead names.
This is the book of life,
transformation, genesis.
They're obsessed with figuring
out the spell for immortality.
A failed attempt is what
burned the original lodge,
killing everyone inside...
- Leti!
- Leti, I got you. I got you.
- Help me.
- Let me see, let me see.
You're okay. You're okay.
I got you. -
- I got you.
Uncle George! Uncle George!
- Christina!
Christina, help us, please!
Please, please.
- Tic.
- Leti? Leti, stay awake.
Stay awake, okay? Stay awake.
Leti, stay awake. Stay awake!
Stay awake, please.
Please, please.
- Since you are
a son among sons,
I will give you a choice
of who else survives
your error in judgment.
- Wait!
- So what's gonna happen
in the ceremony?
- My father intends to open
a door to the Garden of Eden,
to a time when man was immortal.
He believes he'll step
through it into eternal life.
- Those ambitions didn't go
too well for Titus, did they?
- Challenging entropy
is perilous work,
and the Language of Adam
is a tricky thing to get right.
Many men have suffered greatly
trying to wield it.
But the spelled blood of the man
who wielded it best might
just give my father's spell
the advantage it needs.
- So that's why
you brought me here.
To help a father
who clearly doesn't give
two shits about you.
After all, it's not called
the Daughters of Adam, is it?
- The things they've done...
it's unforgivable.
We still come running
when they need help.
It's pathetic.
And we call it family
to make it seem okay?
- You didn't
have to drag them into it.
- I didn't bring two of them.
For what it's worth, my father
is a gentleman of his word,
and he will heal
your uncle as well.
- Once I've willingly
participated in the ceremony.
I got it.
Let's get on with it.
- I could never earn
one of these,
no matter how hard I tried,
and you get one
for doing nothing
other than being born a man.
- Not even a white man at that.
- What I know is, our destinies
are not decided
by our fathers or grandfathers
or, in your case,
great-great-great-great
grandfather.
The smallest,
most inconsequential thing
can take you on a new course.
You just have to see it...
and seize it.
- You should try
breaking that window.
- We're not leaving here
without you, George.
- At least try to get
the girl out of here.
She doesn't seem like
the type to tell what to do.
Reminds me of Dee.
- How come you never drew
with her?
You used to draw all the time.
- No, I didn't.
You getting senile
in your old age.
- Every summer,
you used to draw this colorful
welcome sign,
go down to the bus station,
and cheer on
all the Negro league players
as they rode in
for training camp.
Why'd you stop?
- 'Cause of Daddy's right hook.
Caught me down at that station
the summer before high school.
Beat the black off my ass.
- I didn't know that.
You were brimming
with love as a boy,
despite being afforded
so little.
If I ever made you feel...
There's nothing wrong
with loving that much.
- You need to shut up and rest.
- That's the problem.
I've been shutting up
for far too long,
and hurt those I love.
You, Hippolyta, Tic.
I want you to show him
more of that love
I know is in you before...
it's... too late.
- How many times
I gotta tell you?
I don't need your advice
when it comes
to raising my son.
- He might not be yours.
- I don't care if you got
a bullet in your gut.
We settled that a long time ago.
You shut your fucking mouth.
- I know, I know.
We agreed
we wouldn't speak of it,
but I have to now.
You might be all Tic has left.
- We have a poem here.
It's called
"Whitey on the Moon."
And, uh, it was inspired...
It was inspired by
some whiteys on the Moon,
so I want to give credit
where credit is due.
All right.
Let's see.
- A rat done bit my sister
Nell with whitey on the Moon.
Her face and arms
began to swell,
and whitey's on the Moon.
I can't pay no doctor bills,
but whitey's on the Moon.
Ten years from now,
I'll be paying still,
while whitey's on the Moon.
You know, the man just upped
my rent last night,
'cause whitey's on the Moon.
No hot water,
no toilets, no lights,
but whitey's on the Moon.
I wonder why he's upping me.
'Cause whitey's on the Moon?
Why, I was already
giving him 50 a week,
and now whitey's on the Moon.
Taxes taking
my whole damn check,
the junkies
make me a nervous wreck,
the price of food is going up,
and as if all that crap
wasn't enough,
a rat done bit my sister Nell,
with whitey on the Moon.
Her face and arms
began to swell,
and whitey's on the Moon.
Was all that money
I made last year
for whitey on the Moon?
How come I ain't
got no money here?
Hmm, whitey's on the Moon.
You know, I just about had
my fill of whitey on the Moon.
I think I'll send
these doctor bills,
air mail special...
To whitey on the Moon.
- It's open! Come on, come on!
- If we move him,
he could bleed out!
- Gotta get away!
- Go!
- Tic!
- Pop.
- I'm sorry.
- I'm sorry, Uncle George.
I'm sorry, Uncle George.
♪ Sinnerman,
where you gonna run to?
- It's your turn.
- Who are we talking to?
How would you like to
never pay rent again?
Where'd you get the money
to buy yourself a house?
Moved to the North Side?
It's nice.
If history is any indication,
you won't last very long.
What you told me happened
to my husband...
...something doesn't feel right.
Here we go.
for about two weeks.
He wrote me. I have
a secret legacy, a birthright.
The place he wants me to go,
it's in Lovecraft Country.
Well, I've heard a few tales
about travelers being attacked
in the surrounding woods.
They don't like outsiders
at all.
Come on. Come on.
You're a long way from home.
This is just a misunderstanding.
What was that?
Keep your guns on 'em.
We've been expecting you,
Mr. Freeman.
- Is that an alarm?
- Nobody seems alarmed.
- You got your own library, too?
They got Blackwood,
Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith.
I could stay in there
reading all day.
- I wonder if that's the point.
- Good Lord, Letitia.
- You like?
Found it and a lot more
in the wardrobe.
Tried on a few
before settling on this.
- And they all fit?
- Like a glove.
Mr. Freeman,
the elder Mr. Freeman,
and Miss Lewis,
I'm glad you all
were able to freshen up
before the chime
of the lunch bell.
Nothing to be alarmed about.
If you'll allow me
to escort you to the veranda.
- William, is it?
- That is correct, Mr. Freeman.
I wasn't sure
that you would remember.
You were a little...
out of sorts
when you arrived this morning.
- When's my father
expected to return from Boston?
- I am afraid that I have
already told you everything
that I have been made privy to.
He left to see the lawyer
with Miss Braithwhite
two nights ago.
She gave no instructions
on when they would return.
- But we were expected?
- She made it very clear
that I was to look out for you,
treat you like family
while you wait.
- What hotel
are they at in Boston?
I want to call and check in.
- Unfortunately,
that's going to be impossible.
Upon inheriting the land,
Samuel Braithwhite
decided to use it
for his summer home,
and never installed
telephone lines
so as not to be disturbed
by the business
that hounds him
most of the year.
- And what business
does he have with my father?
- I don't know,
and it wouldn't be
my place to say.
- Is that the Samuel Braithwhite
you've been speaking of?
- That is a distant cousin
of Samuel's,
Ardham's founder,
and the original owner
of the lodge,
Titus Braithwhite. - Hmm.
- He built this retreat so that
he and his fellow lodge members
could dine in private.
He was quite
an extraordinary man.
- He must've been to build
such an impressive home.
How did he come
about his fortune?
- Shipping.
- That's code for slaves.
- Titus was known
to be notoriously kind
to those who worked for him.
- Hmm.
- Many mourned
after the great fire.
- There was a fire?
- What we are standing in
is a replica
of the original lodge,
which burned down
during the autumnal equinox,
1833.
It was an unfortunate accident
that killed Titus
and everyone else inside.
Well, almost everyone.
Mr. Braithwhite has called
a gathering of lodge members
who are expected to arrive
for a celebratory dinner.
Until then,
you have the run of the lodge.
- After lunch,
we'd like to take a walk
around the village.
That won't be a problem,
will it?
- No, as long as you return
in time for dinner.
Now, if you need anything else,
anything at all,
just ring the bell,
and the butler
will come running.
- I thought you were the butler.
- No.
No, I'm just
a close personal friend
to Christina Braithwhite.
- Does that silver Bentley
out front
belong to Miss Braithwhite?
- Yes.
But she has many cars.
- When have you ever showed up
to a white man's house
uninvited and he didn't try
to get you out in 2.5 seconds?
- They want to keep us here.
- I don't want to find out why.
I know Pops
is around here somewhere.
- He's definitely not in Boston.
- What? I need salt.
You know white folks
don't be seasoning their food.
- What's wrong with you?
First, you parading around here
like you on the... - Tic. Tic.
- Thank you.
- How can you even eat
after what happened last night?
- Because I...
I...
don't remember what happened.
- You serious?
Hey, Leti, we were attacked.
- By the sheriff?
- By monsters.
- What monsters?
- Eight-foot-tall beasts
with razor-sharp teeth
that can bite a man's head off.
Uncle George?
- Last thing I remember
is cleaning up
in the lodge this morning.
- No, you... you got knocked
out in the fight,
but you gotta remember
the monsters
attacking the cabin.
- What cabin?
- The cabin in the woods.
Uncle George,
they had us surrounded.
Then there was that high-pitched
whistle that called them off.
- Like a dog whistle?
- No, Leti,
it wasn't a dog whistle.
These weren't dogs.
Remember, you crashed Woody
into the cabin
right after I shot the sheriff.
- You shot the sheriff?
- I had to shoot the sheriff.
Yeah! He got bit
by one of those things.
They're like vampires.
Uncle George, remember,
you quoted Dracula.
You remember that?
- We're being watched.
Sit down.
- We need to find Pop
and get the hell out of here.
Take Leti and search the lodge.
I'ma check down in the village.
- Mm-mm.
We are not splitting up.
- She's right.
We stay together
and be discreet.
They've been treating us
real nice right now,
and we don't want to give them
a reason to do otherwise.
You said the car was crashed.
- It was.
This can't be Woody.
- Well,
my camera's in the front seat.
- And the back window's
busted out.
The elder Mr. Freeman,
your keys.
- How'd this get here?
- I found it
parked on the other side
of the bridge
leading into the village.
- That's impossible.
It was crashed.
- I assure you, I drove it up
just like I found it.
- What?
What aren't you telling us?
- There was quite a bit
of blood in the front seats,
but I had the butler
wash it out.
I assume that was the trouble
that you ran into
on the road last night.
- Let's go.
- What are you doing? Come on.
- Can I ask you something?
Did Atticus kill
a lot of people in the war?
- Anything he did was
for the service of his country.
- I know, but Woody wasn't
crashed like he said it was.
It was covered in blood.
- None of this makes any sense.
Why can't either of us remember
anything that happened?
- I'm trying.
This monster business?
A lot of soldiers came back
from the war with shell shock.
What if whatever...
- This isn't shell shock.
I know what I saw last night.
I know.
- Hold on, hold on.
We're just concerned about you.
That's all.
What you said happened
doesn't make any sense.
- You know what else doesn't?
A bookshelf full
of your favorite books, hmm?
A wardrobe full of clothes
in Leti's exact size.
Can you ex...
That's the whistle
that called off the monsters.
Hey!
You! Were you in the woods
last night?
- Who the hell are you?
- What's that whistle for?
- Tic, stop!
- Not the dogs.
- Tic!
- Answer the question!
What's that whistle really for?
- I'm sorry, ma'am.
- Stop.
- Please call them dogs off.
- My dogs aren't the ones
that need to be on a leash.
- We're guests
of Mr. Braithwhite.
- You don't look like the type
to be Braithwhite's guests.
- Are you the sheriff?
- What makes you think that?
- That's the jail, right?
I mean,
it's the only stone building
I've seen in the entire village.
- We get animals
coming in the village.
They break into the cottages...
but not in here.
- I heard about your grizzlies
in the surrounding area.
- No, no grizzlies,
just black bears.
But the blacks are bad enough.
They're smart.
They're not smart smart.
They're beasts,
but they're clever enough
to cause mischief.
And they're persistent,
always sticking their noses
where they don't belong.
- Mm-hmm.
- I suggest you all
head back on up to the lodge
before the sun goes down.
You don't want to miss dinner.
- Thank you, ma'am.
The inside of that silo's
got a stone foundation,
which means
a dungeon-like basement.
- And all that barking,
you wouldn't be able
to hear someone if they were
screaming for help.
- That's where
they're keeping Pop.
When we get back to the lodge,
we gonna have to make
a quick getaway.
- Mm-hmm.
- Be gone before they start
burning crosses.
- Need something faster
than Woody.
- You gonna have to steal it.
- I can handle that.
- Something told me you could.
Uncle George?
What is it?
- A recollection,
something your mother
told me years ago
about her ancestors.
- She never told me or Pop
anything about her people...
but she told you?
- I think
she was just ashamed of it.
She told me her great-ancestor
was a slave named Hanna
and that she escaped her
master's house after a fire.
- The secret birthright
Pop wrote about.
- Titus Braithwhite
was known to
be notoriously "kind"
to his slaves.
- Hanna ran
through these woods pregnant.
She was a brave woman.
What the hell is that?
- Escort the younger
Mr. Freeman to my father's lab,
and make sure our other guests
stay in their rooms.
- Why are we c-covered in dirt?
- I... I don't know.
It happened again, didn't it?
- Shut it! Let's move!
- We were walking in the woods.
I remember...
If Tic's related,
then Montrose was just bait.
"Order of the Ancient Dawn."
- He's darker than I expected.
- Let me help you.
- I'm fine.
This here is one
of my favorite paintings.
The artist, Josef Tannhauser,
entitled it "Genesis 2:19."
Are either of you
familiar with the verse?
- "And out of the ground,
the Lord God
"formed every beast of the field
"and every fowl of the air
"and brought them unto Adam
"to see what he would call them,
"and whatsoever Adam
called every living creature,
that was the name thereof."
- In Tannhauser's conception,
this act of naming is more than
a simple picking of labels.
Adam is sharing in creation,
assigning each creature
its final form
and its station
in the hierarchy of nature.
What does that mean, Christina?
What did Adam do?
- He put everything
in its place.
- At the dawn of time,
just for a moment,
everything was where
and as it should be...
from God to man to woman,
down to the lowliest
wriggling creature.
It was Nirvana.
- Then that stupid, meddlesome,
troublemaking bitch Eve
brought entropy and death.
What was an elegant hierarchy
became a mess
of tribes and nations.
Of course, it didn't
really happen that way.
Biblical literalism
is for the simple.
But I'm sure everyone
in this room is aware of that.
- It's still a useful parable
for both of you.
- I'm guessing you're God
in this useful parable.
- I'm Adam.
And I've worked a very long time
to return to paradise.
My daughter seems to believe
you can help in my aims,
but as you can see,
there's little we agree on.
- Then why don't you just tell
me where I can find my father?
All right, and I'll leave you
and the rest of...
- I don't want to see him again
until the ceremony at dawn.
- You must have
so many questions.
- Why bother?
None of the other ones
I asked have been answered,
not by your father,
or... what's the other guy?
He your boyfriend?
- William.
And yes, he is a boy
and a friend sometimes.
My father may have looked
feeble upstairs,
but he, along with the rest
of the lodge members arriving,
can be very dangerous enemies
to have.
You should think
about making some friends.
Not all us white folks
are out to get you.
- I have enough friends.
- Are you sure about that?
Your uncle and Leti
seem to think
you lost your marbles
in the war.
- That's because you did
something to make them forget.
- Did something? How vague.
- It's a spell.
It's a spell.
It seems the KKK isn't just
calling themselves
"grand wizards" anymore.
- My father and his associates
would never fraternize
with the Klan.
They're too poor.
And the spell
wasn't specifically
for your companions,
rather, anyone who encounters
our little guard dogs
and lives to tell about it.
- You want to be friends? Fine.
That's gonna take actions,
not just promises.
- And getting you out
of trouble in Simmonsville,
as well as last night,
wasn't enough?
- We're in trouble now.
- I can't take you
to your father.
- Then remove the spell
on Leti and my uncle...
friend.
- Done.
Tic!
- Open this fucking door!
Let me out!
- Tic!
- Miss Braithwhite, it's time.
- Let me out! Let me out!
- You wanted us to tell you
when there was a breach.
- Yes, thank you.
- Pull harder!
- Miss Braithwhite,
you done this before?
- No.
It's my first time.
- Leti.
- Oh, Tic, Tic, I'm so sorry.
I remember now.
- I know, I know.
- I should've believed you.
- Let's sit down for a second.
- No, we gotta get out of here.
- Leti, Leti,
they got us trapped, okay?
But I'm gonna figure a way out.
I promise.
- Okay.
- Come sit with me.
- The Bible is full of demons
and monsters.
They're just stories.
They have to be because...
- "Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me."
- I said that last night.
- Just before doing
the bravest thing
I've ever seen to save us.
- I can't believe
I even remember that verse.
Last time I said it,
I was a kid, and...
- And what?
- Terrified.
My mom would leave me
by myself all the time.
Say she was going to church.
But even then,
I knew that was a lie.
She always came home,
usually with some new man
hanging on her arm.
Till one day, she didn't,
and a week went by.
I was so scared that
she wasn't gonna come back.
And I was little.
I... I didn't... I didn't know
how to take care of myself.
I sat...
in the window
of that boarding house
every day...
And said that verse like
a prayer for her to come back.
The one I could remember
from Sunday school.
- I'm never going
to abandon you.
Ji-ah, stop!
I don't want to hurt you!
- Dora?
- This isn't real. You're dead.
- Dance with me anyway.
- What are you thinking about?
- "The House on the Borderland."
You do love your stories.
What's this one about?
- A man who finds
a mysterious home
in the Plain of Silence,
where he fights
humanoid pig-like creatures
before he goes
to the Sea of Sleep,
where he reunites
with his long-lost love.
- Mm.
Do the lovers
stay together forever?
- Yes...
but only because the house
collapses upon them.
- I'm not gonna...
- I was thinking about you.
- Mm.
- And Montrose.
Tulsa.
How we used to drink
soda pop on your porch
and play that "what if" game.
What if you could go
anywhere in the world?
What if you could only eat
one thing
for the rest of your life?
What if... magic were real?
- Montrose wanted
super strength.
And you wanted to fly.
- That could all
be possible now.
You could actually fly
with your children.
- You're not real.
- Uh, uh, Tic, wait.
Wait, no, no. Stop.
- What's Braithwhite's
daughter doing here?
- He's out of the Michigan
chapter, isn't he?
- I heard Samuel has something
very special planned for dinner.
- I hope
you all had a nice rest.
Dinner will be served
in 15 minutes.
The attire is black tie only,
and unfortunately, Miss Lewis,
it is also men only.
However, it is a beautiful night
to dine on the veranda.
I will return shortly
to provide escort.
- You okay?
- Who'd they make you see?
- Doesn't matter.
They're just trying
to get inside our heads.
- Something happened in the war.
Something bad.
- Don't.
You know who you are.
You... were a good boy.
And you're even a better man.
Don't you ever let them
make you question yourself.
That's how they win.
They want to make us crazy,
terrorize us,
make us scared.
But Letitia fucking Lewis
don't get scared,
do she?
- No, sir.
- No, that's right.
Now, I come across something
that just might
get us out of here.
- Don't mind the others.
Just because
they don't want you here
doesn't mean
you're not supposed to be.
- We all know
the true meaning of sacrifice.
Every man in this room
has made an offering
to push the world forward,
a wayward world
we have dedicated
our lives to righting.
Our founder, Titus Braithwhite,
was a son of a son,
and we follow in his image,
just as he followed
in the first son's.
As Adam gave of his rib
to create Eve,
so did Titus give of himself
to empower the founding members
of the Order.
Tonight, on the precipice
of great progress,
I honor him by giving of myself.
- Don't eat that.
- Tomorrow will truly be
the dawn of a new era.
Thank you all
for coming to witness...
- No need to thank us.
We didn't want to be here.
I understand
y'all belong to a club
called the Order
of Ancient Dawn.
I happened across your bylaws
earlier this evening.
Now, I got some experience
with fraternal societies,
being a part of
Prince Hall Freemasons myself.
Anybody know
who Prince Hall was?
He was an abolitionist
who joined
the Massachusetts militia
to fight for independence,
and he wanted to join
the local Freemasons,
but, Tic, remind me
why he wasn't allowed in.
- Because he was a colored man.
- I was not surprised
to learn from your bylaws
that your order wouldn't have
admitted Prince Hall, either,
but then I kept reading,
and I found there's a loophole.
Men who are direct descendants
of Titus
are automatically members.
In fact, they're not just
any old members.
They're what's called
sons among sons,
and as you all know,
they can give orders to other,
regular old members.
And seeing
as I believe my nephew
might just be
the last blood heir
of Titus Braithwhite...
- I want everybody except Samuel
to get up...
and get the fuck out.
Gentlemen...
that's an order.
I order you
to return my father to me.
- I am not a zealot,
Mr. Freeman.
The limits of my belief
in tradition and ceremony
stop at the fact that
the others believe it.
Titus used the Book of Names
to spell his body
to be more powerful,
and you're a reservoir
of that power,
diluted, no doubt,
and also tainted somewhat,
but still useful
for the work I have to do.
Do not mistake useful
with indispensable.
- Pop!
- This is his.
- Just like I thought.
Bunch of dumb animals
don't know enough
to stop fighting
once they're already snared.
Hmm? My dogs will get
a nice treat tonight.
- I got the car.
Where's Montrose?
- "Count of Monte Cristo."
- Pop's favorite book?
Help me.
- Hey, Montrose.
- What the hell
y'all doing here?
- We're here to save you.
- I saved my damn self.
I ain't need
y'all coming for me.
- You wrote for me to come.
- Boy, we ain't spoken
over five damn years,
and you fight me on everything.
Obviously, I didn't think
you were stupid enough
to show up 'cause I wrote
a letter under duress.
- You don't need to talk
to him like that.
- I'll talk to my son
however the hell I want to.
- Can we get the fuck
out of here, please?
- They have lodges
all over the country.
This one's called
the Sons of Adam,
founded by Titus Braithwhite
after he discovered what
they call the Book of Names.
- Yeah, the Necronomicon.
- No,
that's the book of dead names.
This is the book of life,
transformation, genesis.
They're obsessed with figuring
out the spell for immortality.
A failed attempt is what
burned the original lodge,
killing everyone inside...
- Leti!
- Leti, I got you. I got you.
- Help me.
- Let me see, let me see.
You're okay. You're okay.
I got you. -
- I got you.
Uncle George! Uncle George!
- Christina!
Christina, help us, please!
Please, please.
- Tic.
- Leti? Leti, stay awake.
Stay awake, okay? Stay awake.
Leti, stay awake. Stay awake!
Stay awake, please.
Please, please.
- Since you are
a son among sons,
I will give you a choice
of who else survives
your error in judgment.
- Wait!
- So what's gonna happen
in the ceremony?
- My father intends to open
a door to the Garden of Eden,
to a time when man was immortal.
He believes he'll step
through it into eternal life.
- Those ambitions didn't go
too well for Titus, did they?
- Challenging entropy
is perilous work,
and the Language of Adam
is a tricky thing to get right.
Many men have suffered greatly
trying to wield it.
But the spelled blood of the man
who wielded it best might
just give my father's spell
the advantage it needs.
- So that's why
you brought me here.
To help a father
who clearly doesn't give
two shits about you.
After all, it's not called
the Daughters of Adam, is it?
- The things they've done...
it's unforgivable.
We still come running
when they need help.
It's pathetic.
And we call it family
to make it seem okay?
- You didn't
have to drag them into it.
- I didn't bring two of them.
For what it's worth, my father
is a gentleman of his word,
and he will heal
your uncle as well.
- Once I've willingly
participated in the ceremony.
I got it.
Let's get on with it.
- I could never earn
one of these,
no matter how hard I tried,
and you get one
for doing nothing
other than being born a man.
- Not even a white man at that.
- What I know is, our destinies
are not decided
by our fathers or grandfathers
or, in your case,
great-great-great-great
grandfather.
The smallest,
most inconsequential thing
can take you on a new course.
You just have to see it...
and seize it.
- You should try
breaking that window.
- We're not leaving here
without you, George.
- At least try to get
the girl out of here.
She doesn't seem like
the type to tell what to do.
Reminds me of Dee.
- How come you never drew
with her?
You used to draw all the time.
- No, I didn't.
You getting senile
in your old age.
- Every summer,
you used to draw this colorful
welcome sign,
go down to the bus station,
and cheer on
all the Negro league players
as they rode in
for training camp.
Why'd you stop?
- 'Cause of Daddy's right hook.
Caught me down at that station
the summer before high school.
Beat the black off my ass.
- I didn't know that.
You were brimming
with love as a boy,
despite being afforded
so little.
If I ever made you feel...
There's nothing wrong
with loving that much.
- You need to shut up and rest.
- That's the problem.
I've been shutting up
for far too long,
and hurt those I love.
You, Hippolyta, Tic.
I want you to show him
more of that love
I know is in you before...
it's... too late.
- How many times
I gotta tell you?
I don't need your advice
when it comes
to raising my son.
- He might not be yours.
- I don't care if you got
a bullet in your gut.
We settled that a long time ago.
You shut your fucking mouth.
- I know, I know.
We agreed
we wouldn't speak of it,
but I have to now.
You might be all Tic has left.
- We have a poem here.
It's called
"Whitey on the Moon."
And, uh, it was inspired...
It was inspired by
some whiteys on the Moon,
so I want to give credit
where credit is due.
All right.
Let's see.
- A rat done bit my sister
Nell with whitey on the Moon.
Her face and arms
began to swell,
and whitey's on the Moon.
I can't pay no doctor bills,
but whitey's on the Moon.
Ten years from now,
I'll be paying still,
while whitey's on the Moon.
You know, the man just upped
my rent last night,
'cause whitey's on the Moon.
No hot water,
no toilets, no lights,
but whitey's on the Moon.
I wonder why he's upping me.
'Cause whitey's on the Moon?
Why, I was already
giving him 50 a week,
and now whitey's on the Moon.
Taxes taking
my whole damn check,
the junkies
make me a nervous wreck,
the price of food is going up,
and as if all that crap
wasn't enough,
a rat done bit my sister Nell,
with whitey on the Moon.
Her face and arms
began to swell,
and whitey's on the Moon.
Was all that money
I made last year
for whitey on the Moon?
How come I ain't
got no money here?
Hmm, whitey's on the Moon.
You know, I just about had
my fill of whitey on the Moon.
I think I'll send
these doctor bills,
air mail special...
To whitey on the Moon.
- It's open! Come on, come on!
- If we move him,
he could bleed out!
- Gotta get away!
- Go!
- Tic!
- Pop.
- I'm sorry.
- I'm sorry, Uncle George.
I'm sorry, Uncle George.
♪ Sinnerman,
where you gonna run to?
- It's your turn.
- Who are we talking to?
How would you like to
never pay rent again?
Where'd you get the money
to buy yourself a house?
Moved to the North Side?
It's nice.
If history is any indication,
you won't last very long.
What you told me happened
to my husband...
...something doesn't feel right.
Here we go.