Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King (2006): Season 1, Episode 2 - Crouch End - full transcript

Careful, m'am.
It's bloody hot.

You were saying?

My...

husband is...

- lost. Missing.
- Here in Crouch End?

Oh, Mr. Freeman.

- Mrs. Freeman.
- Hi.

Now, shall I call a porter
to help you with those bags?

- No, thank you.
- Ok. I do have a message
for you, sir.

The caller did insist that I give it to you
as soon as you returned.

- Here.
- Oh, why, thank you.
- Thank you.



- Have a wonderful day.
- You, too. - Good-bye.

Oh.

Hello.

Pardon us.

- What floor?
- 9. But I'll do it.

Not a problem.

No! Don't push...

it.

My wife grew up on
a dairy farm in Wisconsin.

Elevators are still
a mystery to her.

I'm superstitious about pushing
the elevator button twice.

They say
that it's bad luck.

Never hurts to be careful,
does it, dearie?

I cannot believe
I did that.



It was so embarrassing.

No. No, it's fine.

I hear that the British love
Americans coming over here

and scaring their old people
into an early grave.

You did this.

All lawyers are romantic
cripples, you know.

They're beautiful.

Mmm.

So are you.

Thank you.

My mother told me
to marry Anita Fenburg.

But I couldn't get my head around
spending the rest of my life

trapped with someone
whose last name translates
into "swamp city".

Well, look at you now,

Mr. Free-Man.

You got caught.

No.
I surrendered.

We keep doing this,

we're never gonna get to
the Victoria and Albert museum.

I'm devastated.

Please don't.
It'll just be business.

Oh, you're right.
It's the office.

Oh, I should get it.

Mm-Mmm.

Hello. Hey.

Your ambition can wait.

Now, what you
should take is me.

You big thief.

Weren't you supposed
to give this to me?

I forgot all about that.

"Dear lonnie, now that
you're finally here in London,

"you must come to the house
for dinner tomorrow at 6:30
if that's convenient.

Regards, John Squales."

Who's John Squales?

He's our solicitor,
lawyer, here in London.

We worked together
on the betton steel merger.

He said that I was
uncommonly bright.

He actually used
the word "uncommonly"?

I may have added
that last bit,

but he did say
that I was smart.

Rumor has it
that he's the next head
of the executive committee.

You ok about having dinner
with him tomorrow?

It'd be tonight.
He sent that yesterday.

Oh, crap.

Oh. Battery low.
I just charged you, you sucker.

- What are you gonna tell him?
- We're coming.

It's our honeymoon.
Can't we be alone?

Please, there's not a chance
he's still expecting us.

Hey, John.
Lonnie Freeman.

You're not gonna believe this.
I just got your note.

Listen. About dinner tonight.

You saved us a spot.

Great. Sure. Fire away.

Right. Right.
A cab to Crouch End.

No, no, no.
It sounds really simple.

I'll see you at 6:30.

Talk to you, too.

You're gonna love him.

Crouch End?
That's an ugly name.

You owe me.

- Big time.
- Yeah.

- Thanks.
- You're welcome.

I need the ladies room.

- They call it the "loo" here.
- Oh!

It's over there.

Ok.

You know what
I was thinking?

At the rate we're spending money,
I'm gonna have to work until I'm 90?

No. No. I was thinking
that if you thought we had time,

maybe we could go back
to the hotel and renew
our wedding vows.

Which vows?

You know, the ones that go
"I do you, you do me
till death do us part."

- Oh, those vows.
- Uh-huh.

I love those vows.

Yo!

- Excuse me.
- What can I do for you, man?

My wife and I are trying
to figure out how long it'll
take us to get somewhere.

Where is it you wanna go?

Grand hotel.

This time a day,
with traffic, 30 minutes.

Ok. And how long will it take us
to get from the hotel to Crouch End?

I'm sure I can't help.
It's a place for strangers not to go.

No. I got a friend that
lives on the outskirts.

Hear what I say, man.
Don't go to Crouch End.

What happened?

I don't know.

I mentioned Crouch End
and he got all weird on me.

- What did he say?
- Something about strangers
don't go there.

Between the Jamaican accent
and the reggae, I missed something.

What do you wanna do?

Besides that.

We still got time.
It's only a little before 5:00.

I'll get a cab. You relax.

We waited over
30 minutes for a cab.
Isn't that a little odd?

A pinch unusual, sir.

Unusual? I say it's close
to unheard of, my friend.

Yes, sir. Where to then?

Crouch End, please.

- Crouch End you say.
- Right.

Heigh-ho for Crouch End.

Cut it out.
That feels too good.

I think
that's the point.

Stop it.
What about the driver?

I tip him well,
he sees nothing.

Lonnie, anybody can see in.

Ok. All right.

But remember if I happen
to keel over in the middle
of dinner...

- Don't say that. Take it back.
- What?

You don't joke about something
like dying. Take it back.

- Fine. I take it back.
- Good.

Pardon me, sir.
Do you have an address?

Yeah.
Somewhere.

Lonnie, did you see that?

What?

It said "sixty lost
in underground horror".

Isn't that what they
call the subway here?

Yeah. That or the tube.
Was it a crash?

I don't know.

Sir, was there
a subway crash here recently?

A collision, mam?
None that I know of.

Weird.

I don't know where I put it.
Did I give it to you?

What?

The napkin I wrote
the address on.

No.

What's bothering you?

That headline.
"Sixty lost in underground horror".

It's like sailors
drowned at sea.

Ooh! Gooseflesh.
My grandma always said

that someone was walking over
what's going to be your grave.

Honey, grandma's a whacko.

Don't be mean.

She may be
a little eccentric,

- but she's sweet.
- Think about it.

The woman will only plant her
vegetable garden

at midnight
when the moon is full.

Sweet or not, she is not
from our dimension.

She is a little
weird, isn't she?

Pardon me, sir.
Did you say "dimension"?

Where you're going...
Crouch end...

It's a place
where there's a thin spot
is what they say.

What the hell's
a "thin spot"?

A thin spot between
what we see as our world

and the other.

Uh-huh.

"Other"?

What the gentleman said.

Dimensions.

The only thin thing
around here is his grip on reality.

Perfect. Besides a low battery,
I have no signal.

All right. When
we get to Crouch End,

I'll call again
and get Squales' address,
tell him you lost it.

- I lost it?
- Yeah. A good lawyer
never accepts blame.

Then, baby, you're
gonna be a great one.

Finally.

What is it?

Nothing.
Nothing, I guess.

Guv.

You're here. Crouch End.

Sir.

It's archibald, mam,
but everyone calls me archie.

Archie, is Crouch End
a nice place to live?

Well, they've tried, mam.
They've tried to make it nice.

Had its own tube station once.

EH and L railway,
they built bridges and roads
and storage areas.

But then they...

well, let's just say
they moved on.

When was that?

Well, they stopped using it
in the late 1930s.

Oh. Why?

Well, they claim
it was the second war,

but that's not the real reason.
No, no, it wasn't.

It was when they
were making some repairs
to the station platform and...

well, the story I heard was
they found a mass grave.

Well, you see, London is laid out
like no other city.

More like it hatched
and meandered a street pattern
than it planned one.

It's because the streets
were paved over barriers.

Barriers between what
is rational and what is not.

Crouch End was built
on top of a towen.

- A town?
- No, mam. A towen.

Towen. It's a druid word.
Means a place of ritual sacrifice.

Said that Crouch End rests
on top of the druid towen of slaughter.

So is that what they found
when they were building
the subway station?

A druid burial ground?

No, no, mam. The bodies
they found were fresh,
not centuries old.

You're making this up.

As the lord is my witness,
I'm telling you what I know to be true.

It happened right here
in slaughter towen.

You're just being silly.

M'am.

You asked me if Crouch End's
a nice place to live.

To you it looks
nice and normal.

But it's not what it seems.

Now, what I
told you before is true.

This world is like being
inside a huge leather ball.

And outside the ball
are other dimensions.

And there are scuffs,
nicks in the leather

that make the thin spots.

And every once in a while,
the leather rips

right through the thin part.

It's then the other
dimension pours in

and breathes and lusts...

right here in Crouch End.

You and your husband
shouldn't be here.

Yeah, pot roast sounds fine.
I like pot roast.

I don't see any reason
we shouldn't be there
by 6:30.

Yeah, I mean, I've got...

Ecch.

Ugh. Ecch.

Ok. Got Squales' address.

- Where's the cab?
- I don't know.

Aw, man. It's 10
after 6:00 already.

- What did he do,
just up and leave?
- Did you pay him?

No. There was still
12.50 on the meter.

Hey, kids!

Hel-lo.

Hey, I'm talking
to you two.

You American, sir?

Yeah.

There was a cab over here.
Did you see where it went?

Bugger off, Joe!

Sir! Sir! Sir!

I guess some of the kids in Crouch End
aren't too crazy about Americans.

Rude little brats.

Did you see that
little boy's hand, though.
Poor thing.

Hon, looks like we hike.

I'm not sure I want to.

What if those kids went
to get their big brothers?

Well, there isn't
much else we can do.

The street's not exactly
overflowing with taxis, is it?

That was so odd
that he just left.

He seemed nice.
A little creepy, but nice.

The cabbie was weird
was what he was.

- Oh.
- Dimensions. Thin spots. Honestly.

Did I say it was a left
on Petrie or a right?

Geez, Lonnie,
I don't remember.

Why don't you just call Squales
and have him meet us?

No. Him thinking
I can't follow simple directions
will not help my career.

What is it
with guys and directions
that they can never ask?

- What's that about?
- First of all,

I'd ask for directions
if I was lost. But I'm not.

I'm just trying
to figure things out.

Secondly, I grew up in a city.
I'm hard-wired for direction.

What?

Anyone born and raised
in a city has a built-in sort of
guidance system

which always leads them
to promised land.

But, baby, you grew up
in Madison, Wisconsin,

not Manhattan.
And that is hardly a city.

A city is a city, Doris,

and we're not lost.

Um, baby,

would you just go
into that police station

and ask them directions
to Brass Butt Lane?

Please. For me.

Ok.

And it's Brass End,
not Brass Butt.

- Ok.
- Wait here.

Hello.

Hello?

Anybody here?

Don't do that.
You scared me.

Doris, relax.
There's no one here, ok?

You're making me jumpy.

Did you get directions?

Yeah. I messed up
on Hillfield.

It was a right,
not a left, on Petrie.

- No, we made a right on Petrie.
- No, I don't think so.

Yeah, Lonnie, we made...

Honey. Let's not
be late for dinner.

Nice area. I love
this style of architecture.

Yeah.
Reminds me of Alaska.

Can't you just see the sled dogs
frolicking in the snow,

little ice balls
clinging to their fur?

- What?
- Oh, you're back. I missed you.

Lonnie, this isn't funny.

All that stuff from the cabbie,
does it really bother you?

Yeah, it does.
Everything around here is creepy.

- Creepy.
- Yeah. - I see.

Doris, there's something
that you should know.

In all fairness, it's something
that I should have told you
before we were married.

I'm not just a lawyer.

I have another job.

It's a really important one.

It's actually more
like another life altogether.

In the vast world of darkness,

I am better known as...

Lonnie, the creep slayer.

- You are such a jerk.
- Perhaps, but it was you
who summoned me.

Now, where are these
creeps who menace you?

I am walking next
to the biggest one.

Ah. Obviously
the creeps' leader.

Formidable, evil,

but undeniably handsome
and uncommonly bright.

- You are uncommonly something.
- Yes.

I think he lives
somewhere near here.

- Did you hear that?
- Mm-Hmm.

No. Lonnie, don't.

What do you mean don't?
Someone could be hurt.

Let's just see
if they need help.

- That's strange.
- What is that?

Must have been
a crash or something.

No. Lonnie, please don't.

If someone's hurt,
I should take a look.

Remember what I read
and what I saw?

About "Sixty lost
in underground horror"?

Maybe we were being
warned about this.

- That was about a subway.
- No, it wasn't.

- Archie said...
- Archie?

- Who the hell is Archie?
- The cabdriver.

What if that
is a thin spot?

He said that they
have them in Crouch End.

An underground place where
things rupture and cross over.

"Rupture and cross over"?

Oh, honey. He just got
your imagination going.

No, he didn't.

I'll just be a minute.

Lonnie, please.

Please come back.

Ah, there's another trail.

This thing goes off
around the side of the house.

Damn. Whatever this
stuff is, it's sticky.

There's another hole.

Be careful.

Yeah.

There's something
down there.

Help!

Lonnie!

Lonnie, I'm coming!
Hold on!

Doris!

Lonnie!

Doris, help!

Lonnie.

Lonnie!

Doris, run.

Ahh!

Run.

Run!

Come on.

Stop, stop, stop, stop.
I can't keep up.

You have to stick
with me, Doris.

I am.
Where are we?

Crouch Lane and Norris Road.

Wherever the hell that is.

Idiots can't even spell "town".

No. That's a druid word.

I don't recognize anything.

Lost my jacket, too.
That's a hell of a note.

No, you took it off.

Lonnie, it was covered in goo.
You didn't lose it.

I didn't take it off.
I lost it. That's all.

Lonnie, what happened?
What was on the other
side of the hedge?

Nothing. I don't
wanna talk about it.

- Lonnie, talk to me.
- Nothing. I don't remember.
It's all a blank.

We were there.
We heard a sound.

And I was running.
That's all I remember.

Why would I throw my jacket away?
I liked that one.

After all, it did
match my pants.

Ok, we have
to get out of here.

No. No, we're going to John Squales'
for dinner. I promised.

Baby, we don't even
know where he lives.

Why don't we just go back to the hotel
And we can call him from there.

Break a promise?
I don't think so.

Fine. Then call him.
Tell him to come and get us.

I don't remember
his number. It was 5...

It'll be in your cell phone.

Now, there's a good idea.

Oh! I never did get
this thing charged.

Got it.

He's got to be there.
He's saving a place for us.

John, thank god.
It's Lonnie.

Yes.

That's just it, John.

I'm having a bit
of trouble finding you.

John?

John?

Why would he
put me on hold?

- Is the phone dead?
- Dead?

It's dead.
The phone's dead.

It can't be.

- Where are you going?
- John's place. For dinner.

Forget John.
This is wrong.

Everything
about this is wrong.

I just wanna get
in a cab and go now.

How can we do that, Doris?

How can we go back
to the hotel
when we are lost?

Or maybe...

maybe it's more
like we're trapped.

Crouch End was east...

to the hotel.
So if we go west...

we'll go back to the hotel.

That means that
we have to go back...

that means we have to go
back the way we came.

No, it'll be all right.

Baby, we're gonna
be all right.

Come on.

Come on.

- Are you all right?
- I'm a little tired is all.

Me, too. We need
to keep walking.

What do we tell them
back at the hotel about
what happened?

Don't say anything.

Well, honey, look at us.
They're going to ask.

You can't say anything
about what happened.
It'd only make it worse.

Ok.

Promise me you won't
tell what happened.

I promise.
I promise.

I won't go this way.

Lonnie, it's the shortest
way back to the hotel.

No.

Lonnie.

I won't go this way!

We'll try this street.

We'll see if this
takes us back.

Come on. Let's
try this way.

I was thinking...

And that's all
I'm doing is thinking.

If the cabdriver
was right

about these rips in the thin spots
which allows things to happen,

then they'd have
to go away, too.

They couldn't
be permanent,

or weird things
would be happening
all the time, right?

So, maybe...

they've come and gone.

Maybe everything's
normal now.

Where are all
the people, Doris?

The clock tower.
I saw that.

In the cab
on the way in.

Lonnie?

Aah!

We have to go. You promised.

Lonnie, let me go!

Lonnie, let me go!!!

Stop it. What are you doing?
Let me go.

We have to stay together
like we promised.
It's the only way.

Why did you slap me?

God, I'm so sorry, Doris.

I don't know
what's happening to me.

I'm scared, Lonnie.

Me, too.

Did you hear that?
The cars?

We must be near traffic.

Let's go.

Lonnie, did you see that?

Did you see the cab
right up ahead?

Lonnie.

Lonnie, come back!

Lonnie, please,
come back!

Lonnie!

Lonnie!

Lonnie, come back!

I know the way out of here!
Please, I wanna go.

No, Doris.

It's this way.
I've seen the other side.

You're wrong.
It's the other way.

You promised
not to leave me.

You promised me.

You said you loved me.

Doris.

Give us a cigarette, love.

Lonnie!

Lonnie, answer me.

Cthulu Kryon.

Yogsoggoth.

R'yeleh.

Nrtesn nyarlahotep.

Lonnie!

- It's the American woman.
- She's lost.

- Lost her husband.
- Lost her way.

- Found the darker way.
- The road that leads
into the funnel.

- Lost her hope.
- Found the whistler
from the stars.

- Eater of dimensions.
- The blind piper.

Where's my husband?

He's gone beneath.

Gone to the goat
with a thousand young.

What have you done with him?

He couldn't well not go,
could he?

The mark was on him.
You'll go too.

Dor-is!

You made it, baby.
You kept your promise.

Now we'll stay together...

forever.

Aah!

What in the name...

Can you help me?
I need the police.

What happened then, lovey?

You look like you've been put
through a wringer, you do.

Car accident?

The street opened up.

They took my husband.

It's happened again.

The station is down there.

There's globes
hanging in the front.

We don't want you near us,
not if you've been to slaughter towen.

Careful, mam.
It's bloody hot.

You were saying?

My husband is...

lost.

He's missing.

Here in Crouch End?

Yes.

Happened today?

Why do you keep asking me
the same questions?

I've already told you
what happened.

Terribly sorry, m'am.

He's really not so bad.
Are you, Lonnie?

What did you say?

Oh, I was just talking
to the cat, m'am.

Say it again.

I was just saying that
he's really not so bad.

- Who?
- Lonnie.

We named the cat Lonnie.
We found him as a stray.

Just this morning, it was.

--- resync by Rubens ---