CAYOM YEAR 4 - PART I - MOVIE SUBMISSION

[Blankments]

@Xillix I'll push Frosted up a week so that way there's at least a narrative film releasing on February 21 (it was only on the 28th to fill a spot)

[Ezen Baklattan]

A Month at Belmond Lane

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Director: Wes Anderson

Writers: Noah Baumbach & Greta Gerwig

Cast: Algee Smith (John Jones), Daisy Ridley (Elizabeth Silvette), Bill Murray (Mr. Silvette), Emma Thompson (Mrs. Silvette), Jack Whitehall (Louis), Jason Schwartzman (Doorman Peter), Henry Goulding (Albert Brownes), Eric Chase Anderson (The Waiter), Hugh Laurie (Mr. Brownes), Joan Chen (Mrs. Brownes)

Composer: Alexandre Desplat

Date: May 29th
Theaters: 4 (5/29), 35 (6/5), 172 (6/12), 745 (6/19), 1,934 (6/26)

Budget: $25 million
Rating: PG-13 for language and sexual content
Runtime: 96min (1hr, 36min)

Plot: A tale of many people, rich and poor, elegant and foolish, but all eccentric.

 

Spoiler

PART 1: THE NECESSARY EXPOSITION

 

Every story, be it in a book or a movie, begins with an exposition of the characters and settings that are critical to the story, and we will do the same. This is the story of a girl named Elizabeth Silvette. A gifted child from the day of birth (Her first world was “ridiculous”) , her parents, who happen to own a large tea company, had only given her the best, thanks to the fact that her parents are very rich, yet good natured. They enrolled her in the finest private schools from pre-school to college. With these schools, we see her writing formal papers at age seven and experimenting with dangerous chemicals at age 11. By the time she is 19 years old, she had already graduated from college. Currently, she lives at an apartment building at Belmond Lane, and she works as the manager of the town’s local movie theater and part time manager of the local librarian. She is still waiting to find her true direction in life, however, hence why she decided to begin her adult life in a small town with two simple job (considering what she is capable of). It is also the story of John Jones. Born to a scientific father and a book-loving mother, John had also gone on to become an intellect, although he was rather mischievous with his great knowledge, pulling elaborate practical jokes on his friends. Now, he was 20, and he is struggling in life, due to his dream of selling bizarre antiques isn’t going so well. He works with Louis, a clever man, but a foolish drunk. He meanwhile lives at the same apartment building as Elizabeth does, though the two have never met until now. This is where our story begins.

PART 2: THE RISING ACTION: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

At the apartment building, we see the doorman, Peter, sitting behind the main desk. He is clearly bored, trying to kill time by reading a sci-fi novel. We see Elizabeth soon coming into the apartment, as she asks Peter about any current news. He talks about the interesting gossip of the town, although he is still generally uninterested in what he is saying. This leads to Elizabeth and Peter having an amusing tangent about how gossip is generally uninteresting in comparison to the exciting developments that people are learning about each day. She goes up to her apartment, where there are several bookshelves with films, books, and music records, and she writes in her journal about her daily work at the theater, where a matinee of a children’ animated film (The Adventures Of The Woodland Friends) was being shown. She was happy to see the children enjoy the movie, although she did not care for it herself. Meanwhile, John is at his antique shop in the outside of town, where Louis soon comes in. John can tell that Louis has had a lot to drink, so his voice is a little messy. John, on a whim, is seeking to publish a novel. It seems to be about everything, dabbling in all genres known. Of course, he has the 400 pages written, but can't do much without a publisher. Louis tells him that there is a girl that could help John in his next door apartment - Elizabeth. John realizes that she was the daughter of a wealthy couple, but Louis insists that its actually because she is very smart, just like him. Louis tells him more about Elizabeth as they drive back to his apartment. Louis insists on driving in the first shot, all though John insists that it’s not a good idea. Louis will vow that even in his state, he has a high level of intellect. Before he finishes his sentence, we see a shot of him riding as a passenger to John, where he begins to say that it was intelligent not to let himself drive. As the two arrive at John’s apartment, they decide to come up with a plan to catch Elizabeth’s attention.

John is going to simply knock on her apartment door and say hi, but Louis thinks that the event should be memorable, and John’s original attempt would be rather uninteresting. Louis puts a giant drum on the table in the apartment, and he begins to bang on it. His thought is that Elizabeth will come to the apartment and ask him to be quieter, and this will give him the opportunity to talk to her. Indeed, Elizabeth comes into his apartment, asking him to keep quieter with the drums. John says OK, also apologizing. Elizabeth forgives him, and she goes back to her own apartment, complementing the drumiing. “Wait a minute, that wasn’t supposed to happen.” He tells Louis to start banging on the drums again, and Elizabeth soon comes back, this time feeling more frustrated. John accidentally tells her that he’s trying to get her attention in a unique way, and he could use some company. Elizabeth looks at Louis, who is just tapping on the drum now. “The other kind of company,” John says. Elizabeth understands what John is going at, and the two decide to talk. The two sit down and have a basic conversation. John also shows her a collection of tiny figurines that he has, depicting a variety of odd characters. Sometimes, he makes stop motion silent films using these figurines, proceeding to show one to Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Louis is leaving back for his own home, while Doorman Peter decides that it’s probably best for him not to drive. Louis gets into a comical moment of frustration as to how the world thinks that he is incapable of driving to an address so simple as his home. Soon after, we see Peter driving Louis to his apartment. Later that night, Elizabeth calls her parents on her telephone, telling them about John. The parents are currently both receiving spa treatments, and they are too laid back to care about the friendship that is blooming between their daughter and a....bohemian. As John leaves for the night and returns home, he realizes that he forgot to ask about the novel. "Shit!"

The next day, Elizabeth writes in her journal about John, giving him a description in clear Wes Anderson style and noting that her feelings toward him are not that of love. Rather, it is something simpler, much like a strong sense of concord. It’s hard to describe, since she had never felt this way about another person before. Even in her school years, she was picked on for being oddly smart, even at her very prestigious school. Perhaps it was this social exclusion that drove her to being who she is today. Of course, she would have been hesitant to have lived her life in another way. Her mind was always one of her finest assets, and she enjoys being as smart as she was. She'd even use her wits to secretly funnel her parents money into projects for social good. Thankfully, it was pocket change at a time. They didn't notice a thing. However, it is also comforting to find someone else in this world, especially one that lived next door, who actually shared some common bond. With her busy schedule, the comraderie was very refreshing. All the meanwhile, John is writing in his own journal, describing Elizabeth and sharing the same sentiments about their eccentricity bringing them closer together. This feeling was mutual in its apparent lack of feeling definite love, but companionship. John, moreover, plans to ask about the novel.

The next day, we see Elizabeth and John sitting on a park bench. The two are continuing to talk about their unique views on all kinds of things, while John admittedly tells her about the novel. She promises to read it tonight, but remarks that their closest connection with a publisher was a drunken make-out session with the writer of a bestselling mystery. Thankfully, he was only one year older than Elizabeth, so she promises no awkward feelings.

 

In a few moments, we cut to a montage. Algree narrates the contents of the book as she sneaks reading it into her daily work. Moreover, they meet repeatedly day after day, going to museums and exploring their city. Eventually, Elizabeth finishes the book, which is a gigantic, trippy space adventure titled, "I Saw The Light of Mathilda."

 

The montage cumulates into them sitting at a rooftop patio at a fine restaurant, where piano music kicks in. “You know,” John says, “If they made a movie about us, this past week would have likely had to have been a montage. But enough of the pseudo-intellectual talk. I am anxious as hell about the review.” Elizabeth nods, remarking that the amibition is laudible, but it comes off as mildly pretentious in places. Either way, it has great promise, and she enjoyed it very much. She may know a real person who can help him. We later see a waiter come up to their table, who thinks that they are in love with each other. John simply tells them that it’s not the case, but the waiter understands that they are just shy. Elizabeth then chimes in, that they are actually not dating. They are just friends. Later on the patio, where other romantic couples are sitting, (hence the confusion that the waiter has) there is an extravagant fireworks display, and while the other couples kiss at this scene, John and Elizabeth simply shake hands. John remarks, "Is now a bad time to say that I am aromantic?" Elizabeth smiles, saying no.

PART 3: THE RISING ACTION: THE BELATED INTRODUCTION OF CENTRAL CONFLICT

Elizabeth is in her bed, and the telephone rings. She picks it up, not removing the mask over her eyes. It’s her parents. They tell her that they have struck a deal with another company, and the two have now combined. To make peace between the two families, the Silvettes have arranged for Elizabeth to marry Albert, the son of the other family. Elizabeth is shocked. She is not in love with John Jones, but that does not mean that she wants to get married to a man that she didn’t even meet before. However, Elizabeth does ask if she works in publishing. "They're theater producers," Mrs. Silvette replied. "Damnit, wrong kind of art," Elizabeth mutters to herself. Mr. Silvette insists that Albert will be perfect for her, referring to how she had met him at a party a few years ago. However, this meeting was merely Elizabeth and Albert saying “Hi” to each other. Elizabeth is still frustrated, but her parents have already told her that Albert is a very nice person, and they share a lot of the same interests. They soon hang up, realizing that they had paid to go on a luxurious yacht for the day. Elizabeth takes off her mask, looking at the audience. She had no idea what to say. We see her still looking at the screen as she goes through her daily activities, from picking up groceries to working at the theater. She finally returns to her apartment, where John, Peter, and Louis have a surprise party planned for her. They are happy for her marriage, although Elizabeth tells her that she’s unhappy about it. “Well, in that case...” Louis takes the cake and drops it on the floor. John then tells Elizabeth that it won’t be that bad. Even if she has to marry someone she isn’t sure that she loves, she can still stay here, maybe relocating the family company here as well. Immediately after this is said, the phone rings. It’s Elizabeth’s parents again. They tell her that they forgot to mention that she’ll be living with them again after the marriage, and that she’ll have to leave her apartment building. They’ll be going to pick her up in three days, and the wedding will be in a month. After a pause of silence, Louis also takes down the “Congratulations!” banner.

Two days later, Elizabeth and John are back on the bench where they had talked earlier. Elizabeth feels upset about the fact that it will be hard for the two to be together again. Elizabeth notes that John seems rather poor, and his store is about to close for good, due to a lack of business. The novel could have really saved him, but Elizabeth remarks that she'll try to find a way to help him. Amidst this sad conversation, Elizabeth realizes that this is becoming too melancholy. They need to talk about something interesting, like puppies or coffee. Later, we see that Elizabeth is packing the last of her goods, ready to leave with her family in the morning. The next day, a cab pulls up to the apartment, and Mr. and Mrs. Silvette come out, in exquisite formal wear. Upon seeing Elizabeth, they hug her, and they tell her that they must return to the road immediately. They have big plans for this wedding. Elizabeth bids farewell to Peter and Louis, and she glances at John one more time. The two shake hands just before she gets into the car. Elizabeth looks out the window of the car as it heads towards an airport. We then see her look out the window of her airplane. Soon, Elizabeth meets Albert again in the New England coastal town where they are to get married. In their conversation, she realizes that Albert doesn’t want to marry her either, and he just wants to be an wander this world as he wishes and learn all there is to learn. The two are still forced into a position where they must passively try on suits and dresses and participate in wedding planning, simply because both of their parents want this to be the case. They even take a picture where neither the bride nor the groom looks happy, and this is the invitation. Meanwhile, we cut to the two kissing passionately in a bedroom upstairs.

Back at the city, things aren’t going so well. John’s store has been closed down, and he hasn't heard from Elizabeth at all with any updates. She has been trying, but is constantly bogged down for the wedding. Louis has been arrested for getting into a drunken fight after a debate on the 90s cartoon SWAT KATZ went horribly awry. Peter is forced to deal with a an excessively loud rock band who had moved into Elizabeth’s old apartment. John, in an ironic twist, is now annoyed by the loud music that is coming from the other apartment. He retrieves his journal, remembering his close friendship with Elizabeth. Now, she’s going to get married in two days to a man she doesn’t even know, let alone love. (Remember, John knows little of their first encounter.) Elizabeth calls him again, asking if he got the invitation to the wedding. We see the invitation again, and that John probably can’t make it. Elizabeth tells him that while she does not want the marriage to happen, Albert seems like a decent person, and he’s equally opposed to the wedding. Thus, it wouldn’t have been a very exciting wedding anyways. Elizabeth lets slip that Albert is a perfect match for her, but doesn't want to give her parents the satisfaction of her submission to an arranged marriage, so she has a clear conflict of interest. She hopes that he is doing well, and she will call him again soon. Later on, John pays a visit to Louis in the local jail. Louis actually has great news. If he leaves tonight, John can actually make the wedding. Louis knows an engineering secret that causes a car to go extremely fast. Unfortunately, this means that he will have to break him out of jail. John grudgingly agrees, hesitant about what may come that night. He asks why he can't just tell him now, but Louis shrugs. He leaves his apartment in a black ski-mask, telling Peter that he’s going to be an accomplice in a prison break and then proceed to go to a wedding. “Have fun,” Peter says.

We then see a prison break sequence, done in Anderson style of course, where John disguises as a guard and carries out Louis. The sirens soon go on full effect, and Louis and John escape to the car. Louis doesn’t actually know an engineering secret. He just wanted to give moral support to John - and to get out of jail. John is furious, but that’s not the most important thing. They soon step on it, and the police chase him out of town. We later see the car drive up to the wedding. It’s time to rescue Elizabeth - or is it?

PART 4: THE CLIMACTIC SCENE, FOLLOWED BY DENOUEMENT

The wedding on the beach goes off to a rather uninteresting start. The parents of Albert and Elizabeth are far more excited about this ordeal than any of the children are. Eventually, we arrive to the point where it is essentially the question of, “does anyone object to this marriage?” Elizabeth speaks up, entering a monologue about her true feelings, which she was hiding this whole time, acknowledging how repeatedly the contradict Her dad tells her to stand down, as she’s ruining the moment. She continues speaking, making no eye contact but shooting a middle finger in his direction. However, her mom believes that she could be onto something memorable. She reveals to everyone that she doesn’t love Peter. While she has a strong foundation of friendship recently developed towards him, this does not associate with the fact that the two must get married. This is 2018, and this is a time where family agreements do not have to involve the marriage of children. Meanwhile, Albert nods in agreement with most of what she says. She also reveals her life with John, one of the most wonderful minds that she had ever met, and how she just wants to be with him for this moment in her life, rather than lose it all so soon. She has to insist that John is a friend, due to the fact that some thought that she implied love in her speech. “Thank you, and have a nice day.” She walks back down the aisle and onto the coastal streets. Albert claps wildly, but stops sheepishly as no one else does. However, people begin to murmur things like, "She's got a point" and "This is an incredibly irrational act!" This causes Elizabeth to turn around, looking at everyone in surprise. Mr. and Mrs. Silvette realize that this marriage was unnecessary, and they apologizes for forcing this on her.

 

Soon, a giant car comes into the beach, and people look in confusion. Elizabeth is ecstatic to see that the man in the car is John. Louis realizes that they had come in a rather odd fashion, but he coaxes John to talk to her even though it looks like their work is done. The two are pleased to see each other again, and John offers Elizabeth to ride along the beach in the car. Elizabeth invites Albert to come with him, and he does. Everyone at the wedding watches as the four take off in the car. Elizabeth asks why Louis is here, if John told her that he was in jail. John tells her about the breakout. Elizabeth says that that probably explains the police cars that are pursuing them. Everyone is calm for a moment, but they soon come to their senses in terror. We later see all four of them in a prison cell. Elizabeth says, “Well, this did not go as I would have liked it to.”

We soon find out that the parents had paid for the bail of all four, and things begin to change for the better. John is able to get the shop running again after a generous loan from the Silvettes and the Brownes, also connecting them with a publisher. Elizabeth is allowed to live in the same town, and John and Elizabeth continue to be friends to this very date. In an ironic twist, Elizabeth and Albert decide to get married in a second attempt at a wedding, and no one gets arrested this time. Moreover, the Silvettes abandon much of their wealth into public works projects and social welfare, deciding that living a wealthy life isn't all its cracked up to be. Half of the funds are sent to John's novel. It does only okay in sales, but gains a devoted cult following. We then see a party at Elizabeth’s apartment, and all of the film’s characters are present. We then go up to the stars in the sky, where the end credits come on in Futura font, of course.

THE END

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

Stories From Eden

Genre: Drama/Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi

Director: David MacKenzie

Cast: Bill Skarsgard (NM), McKenna Grace (Lunetta), Oscar Isaac (Hammer), Lana Condor (Mira), Sam Rockwell (Stark), Chadwick Boseman (Thaddeus)

Date: February 28th

Theaters: 3,281

Rating: R for some bloody violence including disturbing images and language

Runtime: 117min (1hr, 57min)

Budget: $50 million

Composer: Marco Beltrami

 

Plot: The story of the people in a village, long after most of civilization was wiped out, and a 19-year old who longs to find a way to save the people in his town.

 

Spoiler

The world’s changed a lot ever since the Reckonin’. It was a time when storms were ‘a brewin’, people were ‘a panickin’, and mother Earth let her prized creation collapse. I lost my family to the reckonin’ when I was younger.

 

During these narrations, we see a 19-year old by the name of NM, cooking something in his trailer’s kitchen. The shots in this scene are close ups of the man’s action in the kitchen. He’s been living on his own for 8 years, ever since The Reckonin’, a nearly apocalyptic event, struck the earth, wiping out the majority of the world’s population. The only companion he has is Bloodfang, a wolf-like animal that NM has kept as a companion ever since. He is very loyal, and he travels with NM on his journeys. NM lives in the village of Eden. This town combines elements of western cities and shanty towns, infused with a hint of futuristic technology. There are less than 200 populations of the area, all desperate to survive in this dire situation. We then see a wide shot of a child run down the street and yell, “Bandits! Da bandits are comin’!” Everyone in the city streets soon hides back in their homes, fearing desperately for what was about to happen.

 

The bandits were the nastiest people in this stretch of the world. They get by in this world by murderin’ innocents and takin’ their belonins. They attacked every town in this area, and it just happened to be our turn today. I too, was scared of them.

 

The bandits rode into the center of the town on their motorcycles, taking off their masks to examine the setting. Once they realize that there is no one out, they attempt to break into a local bank. Most people are too afraid to movie, including NM. The people inside the bank become mortified as the bandits attempt to rob it. The teller nervously hands over some cash, but he is still brutally shot by the bandits’ leader. They ride out of town with the cash. NM looks out the window of his trailer, relieved that everything is okay. The next day, NM and Bloodfang walk around the city, and we see the regular lives of the people in the town. Children play hopscotch, adults talk on the porch, and some poor people scavenge for food in the garbage. He visits the town’s machinist, who had been repairing his Atlas. His name is Thaddeus. He gives him the Atlas, acting friendly to one of his best clients.

 

The Atlas belonged to my father before he died. It was all the information one needed to survive, which became critical in this day n’ age. The machinist, Looker, was a trustworthy man, and I could count on him to help me when I needed.

 

As he steps out, he boots up his atlas. The screens of the atlas pan out in a hologram, revealing several screens on information of the area. NM puts it away, glad that it appears to be in working condition. We see another person come up to NM as he is walking down the street. She is a young girl in a pretty blue dress, by the name of Lunetta. She lives with her family, but she trusts NM more than her abusive parents. NM decides to take her out to a lakeside cliff, so that she can see the view. Lunetta has always pestered him to take her to this spot. We see NM get a pick up truck, and we see Lunetta and Bloodfang driving across the wide, desert-like expanse to the cliff. The two arrive right at sunset, and the cliff’s overlook is simply beautiful. “We don’t get much beauty in this world, least not like this,” Lunetta says. Lunetta also reveals that she had packed a picnic for the two of them (but Bloodfang can have a little bit, too.) The food isn’t exactly up to the standards of modern cuisine (these were lunch kits and bottled sodas) but these kinds of foodstuffs were very rare after the Reckonin’. NM and Lunetta enjoy the picnic, and both home they can find a way to make things better than they are.

 

The night went by like a blur. The next mornin’, Everyone was gathered ‘round Eden’s main screen. When everyone gathered ‘round the screen, it meant that something big was comin’, be it good, or bad.

 

We see the townsfolk gathered around the city’s screen. It’s a gigantic TV monitor centered at the town square. Important news headlines come on occasionally, and it’s a big deal when that does happen. NM and Lunetta stand together near the screen, as the announcement comes on. We see a man report that something terrible is going to happen. A gigantic dust storm is expected to approach the town in an estimated 9 days, and people need to evacuate Eden immediately. In order to prove that he’s telling the truth, the man displays his scientific data on the screen, causing most people to become scared. He finishes by saying that squads from Omega City, a far away metropolis, will come pick them up in 6 days, relocating them to a special center for recovery. “It’s best to start packing your things, and we will see you in four days.”

 

That’s when the panic struck. Everyone ran around like headless chickens, fearing for the worst. It’s not that they would die, but they were losing the home they had for their whole lives. Eden’s not exactly a haven, but Omega City ain’t too kind to newcomers, especially the poor ones.

 

The next day, we see NM researching data about dust storms using his Atlas device. The graphics on the device truly are incredible. He also finds out that there is a special force field, made up of a fictional element called E-ONE. The E-ONE could create a barrier around the town (which is rather small, fortunately) and prevent it from being hit by the dust storm. Unfortunately, there was no E-ONE supply anywhere in Eden. However, there is supposedly mines of E-ONE in a somewhat faraway cave. To make matters difficult, this cave was part of The Bad Place, a region rampant with crime and bandits. To find the E-ONE, he’ll have to just get to the mines alive. The people in this area aren’t exactly known to be kind to strangers. NM tells Thaddeus and Lunetta about his plans to leave town that night. They are not convinced that he is going to suceeded, but they truly hope that he can find the source. If the people have already left the town, he could still protect it so that everyone could return to Eden. After hugging Lunetta goodbye, NM and Bloodfang get into NM’s pick-up truck, mapping their way to the nearest city, Petrion. NM gets his rifle and a sword that his father once had. His journey was about to begin.

 

Petrion was even smaller than Eden, and the bandits came at an even higher rate. I didn’t wanna stay there, but it was the only town that would put me in the right direction, and there was a pretty decent bed ‘n breakfast ran by a kind ol’ woman. So Petrion, here I come.

 

Petrion was, indeed, a run-down town. Imagine a sci-fi/western version of Camden, NJ, albeit on a smaller scale, and you’re pretty much there. We see a wide shot of NM and Esca driving into the city streets in the morning, pulling up into a nearby alley. A man comes out into the alley, pointing a gun at NM. He is prepared to shoot him, worried that NM may very well be a bandit. NM proves that he’s not bad by preventing Bloodfang from attacking the man. NM tells him that he’s just trying to find a big supply of E-ONE to protect his town from the coming dust storm. The man, who introduces himself as Captain, tells him that the few citizens of Petrion, are simply just leaving the town, trying to get as far away as possible. Captain soon hears a shrill siren come on, and he begins to panic. “The bandits!” he yells. He runs down the alley & goes around the corner, and a gunshot is soon sounded. NM and Bloodfang go incognito in their car, trying to avoid being seen. NM soon comes out, armed with his rifle, and he sees that Captain had been brutally shot by one of the bandits. They already left this spot, and were heading to the opposite side of town, towards the bank.

 

Being the only person in this hell-hole who had both a lethal weapon and a reasonable moral compass, I realized that it was my turn to play here. I’ve always wanted to imitate those cowboys on the screen.

 

We see a group of three bandits overtake Petrion’s local bank. The scene is very tense, and it’s shot as it was near the opening of the film. After the teller refused to hand over any money, the bandit is about to pull the trigger, but he gets shot from behind before he is able to. Everyone turns to see NM, holding a heated rifle. He had just shot and killed a man, for the first time in his life. NM doesn’t hesitate to think about it for now, and he jumps behind a table as the other two bandits open fire at him. He is able to shoot another one in the chest, and Bloodfang enters the bank and mauls the third bandit. We see NM get up and walk towards the center of the bank, near the three dead bodies. He is currently speechless, given that he just became a hero by killing feared bandits.

 

I’ve never killed a human before now. My gun was mainly just for hunting animals for food. It sent shivers down my body, but at the same time, I felt good. These were some of the nastiest men in the region, and thanks to me, they’re gone.

 

We see people begin to cheer for NM and Bloodfang at the bank, revealing that they’re not shaken at all by the shootout that just happened. Later that night, a few locals throw a party for NM at a local bar. One of them is a rusty scientist, Hammer. NM asks the people what the best way to reach the E-ONE mines are, based on his mission. People begin to feel concerned, as they understand that the road to the mines are even more dangerous, and it would take a few days to reach them, even if by car. Hammer then says that he can apply a mod to his car that will cause it to travel at a much greater speed, as well as have a built in radar for the E-ONE mines. The people in Petrion see little use for the E-ONE barrier, as the minority of those in the town were happy being here. The road would still be long, but it would help in this race against time. As the next narration occurs, we see NM and Bloodfang ride off into the vast expanse once more, trying to find what he has been looking for.

 

The next mornin’, I said goodbye to Petrion and continued my journey. There should be ‘bout 6 days until the storm. I just hope that the folk in the town are doing okay.

 

Things have changed in Eden since Petrion left. The crime rate grew due the growing panic and fear of the villagers, and many people already left the town, trying to find their own relief from the storm. Most villagers still trust the helicopters that are coming in four days, while a few people, including Thaddeus and Lunetta, still believe that NM will succeed and prevent their town from destruction. However, this is the small minority of people. Many people have already started packing their bags, examining the screen to see another announcement from the people in Omega City. Lunetta had written a letter to NM, telling him about the situation in the town. NM receives the letter that night, as he is staying in another small town. It is generally a calm evening, and NM and Bloodfang simply spend the night by a fire pit. They estimate that they will arrive in Theseus, a city known to be near a huge supply of E-ONE, tomorrow. The city was ran, however, by a band of tyrannical criminals, led by Stark, a ruthless man with one red eye.

 

The only people I’ve ever killed were the three ol’ bandits that I met yesterday. Multiply that by a pretty large number, and that’s who I’ll be facin’ in Theseus. However, the mines of E-ONE are here, so I have no choice.

 

Theseus was a large city, relative to Eden and Petrion, but Stark’s cruelty made it even worse than Eden and Petrion. However, there is also a large resistance movement within the city,

trying to take back the city. Like most other cities, there a few left, due to exoduses and shuttle flights out of town. The few people left are those passionate about their city, wanting to win this war or die for their cause. There was a group project to build the E-ONE shields for the city, but people still left because they were not certain that it was guaranteed to work. NM hopes that the shields work, because it could save many lives, in nearly every town for the dust storm. Even Omega City is putting up a gigantic shield. Anyways, NM and Bloodfang arrive during a brutal fight in the streets between Stark’s men and a group of rebels. Stark soon comes in, looking like a truly evil and smug man. He shoots one of the rebels in the head, and he proceeds to stab another right in the heart, using a knife built into his synthetic hand.

 

Stark truly looked like an evil sunuva bitch, truly. The red eye on his face, the weapon-loaded arm, and the cruel smile on his face. No one could imagine that this guy wasn’t feared.

 

Stark soon catches a glimpse of NM, giving him a seemingly friendly welcome to Theseus, even though NM clearly saw what he did to the rebels. NM is hostile, saying that he saw that he just killed a group of young people. Stark thinks about this, and his falsely pleasant expression, disappears. He orders his guards to kill him, and the rebels fight back in order to let NM escape. While NM is running from the pursuit of rigged androids and evil guards, he meets up with a known rebel, Mira. She too, had lost her family in the Reckonin’, and she had to keep fighting just to survive. Mira tells NM to stay with her, and she’ll help him stay away from the guards in the city. It’s pretty difficult, but she promises that she can help her. Meanwhile, it’s time for the pick-up day for the people in Eden. this happens as we see NM trying to lay low in the city. People back in become concerned as the day approaches night, and the helicopters still haven’t shown up.

 

Mira gave me a stronger weapon, one that made a hit with my rifle seem like a slap to the arm. She wanted to help me get to the E-ONE, but she also thought that I could help bring about Stark’s downfall.

 

In the city, NM and Mira become closer together, and they team up to win fights against the bandit authority in the city. There a few people left on the opposing side, but Stark is a dangerously powerful man. The small band of rebels soon comes up to confront the main building where Stark is controlling the city. They arrive at a warehouse within the building, and they are shocked to find what appears to be a set for a “screen show.” NM soon realizes that this set looks nearly identical to the videos he saw of the announcement of the helicopters. We see a screen come on in the warehouse, and everyone hides. NM hides behind a corner, where he can hear what Stark is saying in front of the camera. He soon reveals a shocking truth. There are no helicopters coming to pick up the townsfolk. They’re all going to die in this storm, unless they pay a huge sum of money for one of Stark’s “famous E-ONE barriers.” NM realizes the truth. Stark set up the promise of helicopters to profit from selling E-ONE shields. It seemed to be with every town in the nearby area, not just Eden.

 

My anger seemed to completely take over my body. Stark was a lyin’ bastard, valuing personal gain over everyone’s well being in this messed up world. He had to pay for all the nasty things he’s did.

 

NM comes up to Stark in a huge state of rage, prepared to charge with his gun. Stark deflects the bullets using a barrier around him, deflecting them back to another rebel. With this, an epic fight begins in the warehouse, and the rebels are teaming up to fight Stark and his few remaining men. The scene is very intense, yet the general tone of the scene is subtle and upsetting, due to its melancholy background music and the noise of the people. Eventually, NM uses a grenade to take down Stark, and NM goes up to confront him one more time. “You accuse me of being selfish...” Stark says as he begins to become weaker, “...but just look at yourself. You’ve killed many people just to save your own town. You probably had no intent of savin’ anyone else, now did you? Well, that’s okay. You win. Just don’t go pretending that you’re high ‘n’ might in comparison to yours truly.” As NM feels concerned about what Stark has said, he takes advantage of NM’s distraction and stabs him.

 

I shoulda known the bastard would trick me light that. The pain was mighty and strong, and it felt like I was about to say goodbye from this fine little planet. It was truly distressin’. I’m gonna say my goodbyes now. I won’t make it.

 

Mira finds the limp bodies of NM and Stark, the latter having succumed to his wounds. NM tells Mira, “get the shields to each town. The dust storm was going to strike in a day. Bloodfang also comes up, whimpering in agony as his lifelong companion lay wounded on the ground. We soon see NM die on the ground of the factory, as we see of shields being set up by the former revolutionaries, and it protects nearly everyone from the dust storm. Mira tells Lunetta and Thaddeus about what had happened, and they become sad. Lunetta begins to cry, and she hugs Thaddeus in her sadness. After the storm, Mira, Hammer, Thaddeus, and Lunetta, as well as many other people, hold a funeral for NM at the cliff where he and Lunetta had the picnic at the beginning of the movie. As the night goes by, we see Mira crying on the edge of the cliff, and the narration shifts to her.

 

NM became a true hero in this time. He sacrificed his life so that the lives of hundreds could continue, including mine. I owe my life to him, and I just wish that I could have stayed with him as long as I could have. He may be gone, but in this desert, his story will live on.

 

THE END

[Blankments]

The Mole

 

In Association with EssGeeKay Studios

Writer/Director: Rawson Thurber Marshall

Genre: Action/Comedy

Release Date: January 17

Major Cast:

Mark Strong as Greg

Ben Mendelsohn as Cindy

Luke Evans as Peter

Gwendoline Christie as Marcia

Djimon Hounsou as Bobby

Ed Skrein as Jan

Ben Stiller as the mob doctor

Linda Cardellini as Greg's wife

Michael C. Hall as Oliver

With Alan Tudyk as the voice of Alice

And Dwayne Johnson as Tiger

 

Theater Count:  3,684

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of action and violence throughout and language and a scene of drug use.

Format: IMAX

Runtime: 92 min

Production Budget: $75 million

 

Plot Summary: A group of career criminals face off against each other after one of their own betrays them.

 

Plot: 

 

The film opens with Jan running furiously through the back streets of London as the credits roll. He occasionally glances behind him as he’s being chased. He seemingly reaches a dead end in an alleyway as Tiger approaches him with his gun drawn. Jan leaps up onto the fire escape and runs into the abandoned apartment building attached. Tiger pursues him. The two end up in a derelict bedroom. Jan taunts Tiger, laughing about their same routine and reminding him that he always gets away. “Not this time,” Tiger tells Jan, and points his gun at him. Jan puts his hands up and offers back the blueprints he stole. Tiger shoots Jan dead.

 

In Paris, Greg observes a couple at a cafe across from him. The couple winds down their meal. Greg leaves his money on the table for the waiter and gets up, grabbing his coat. He walks in the direction of the couple and starts to put on his coat, “accidentally” bumping into the man with his arm. He apologizes in French, and the couple tells him they don’t speak it. In English, Greg strikes up a conversation with the two, who tell him it’s their anniversary. Greg pats the man on the back and kisses the woman’s hand before walking away. On his phone, he observes that the couple is being tracked. Suddenly the GPS image is replaced by an incoming call. Annoyed, Greg answers. We hear Alice tell Greg that something happened: “It’s Jan.”

In an undisclosed location, Cindy sits in front of a bloody tied up man. Cindy briefly monologues about his favorite way to kill with his bare hands. The man spits a bloody wad in his face. Cindy gets in the man’s face, demanding to know who his boss is. When the man refuses Cindy smacks him in the face. Cindy exits and comes back with a car battery on a wheeling cart. He touches the cables together and they crackle with electricity. He asks the man again. The man starts to cuss him out when Cindy gets a call. He answers. It’s Alice.

In Houston, Texas, Bobby tours a house from real estate agent Ted. Ted’s clearly uncomfortable with Bobby on the property and is passive aggressive towards him. Bobby asks a question about the neighborhood and the agent tells him that safety is important. When Bobby asks him to elaborate, the agent tells him Bobby is not welcome in the neighborhood. In a flash, Bobby turns around and digs a knife in the agent’s stomach, telling him, “That’s too bad, I was going to make an offer. By the way, Gio says hello.” The agent’s eyes go wide and he falls to the ground. Later, Bobby washes his bloody hands at the sink. His phone buzzes and the display shows it’s Alice. 

In Bangkok, Thailand, Marcia shares tea with an old monk. In Thai, they discuss the opiates the monk wants Marcia to push for him. They negotiate the price, and Marcia demands a higher payment when the monk offers her less than they agreed to. She quietly threatens him with extreme violence. He agrees to her terms. She finishes her tea and bows to him and then leaves. On the streets of Thailand, she makes a call in English, telling the person on the other end, “it’s done.” She pulls her phone away, noticing she’s getting another call. She hangs up on the other end and picks up Alice’s call. 

In New York, Peter enters a nondescript apartment building. He walks back the empty front desk and walks to the back office. He then walks to the back of the empty office and opens an inconspicuous door, He walks down some stairs. Waiting for him sitting at a large table are Bobby, Marcia, Cindy, and Greg. Peter sits at an empty spot and is greeted by the others. At the end of the table is a speakerphone. Alice speaks to the group through the speakerphone, telling them that he’s sorry to bring them together under these circumstances. He explains that Jan was working in London to collect blueprints for an upcoming heist. It should have been a simple in and out mission, but as he was leaving the location, he was ambushed by Tiger, a bounty hunter with a longtime rivalry with Jan. Marcia points out that the bunch of them are the only ones who know whatever the others’ next moves. An uncomfortable silence falls over the bunch as the realization hits that one of them must have ratted Jan out to Tiger. Suddenly each criminal pulls out their guns and form a pentagon standoff. Over the phone, Alice mediates, telling the group that there’s one other person who could be the mole: Oliver.

Later, the group sits on a flight en route to Venice to see Oliver. Things are tense, particularly between Greg and Cindy. Greg remarks that Cindy never liked Jan and was never able to work with him professionally. Cindy points out that Jan was the youngest and most careless and therefore the most viable to get killed. Bobby cuts in and says that Peter was the last person to communicate in person with Jan, and things didn’t seem to go well. The three silently observe an asleep Peter. Cindy slips off to the back of the plane, charming the flight attendants to distract them, then pulls out a small vial of liquid when they’re gone. He opens the vial and pours it into four of five champagne flutes. As he finishes, he is startled by Marcia, who is suspicious but seemingly didn’t seen anything. When everyone is back at their seats, Cindy carefully chooses the flute that he didn’t touch. The rest drink the laced champagne, though Peter doesn’t finish his, which raises more suspicion in Bobby.

When the flight lands, the group communicates with Alice, asking him where Oliver’s last known location in Venice was. Alice tells them Oliver cut off communications with him 2 days ago, right after Jan was killed, but CCTV has him in the city just a few hours earlier. The group decides to split up to find him, but no one can go off alone. Bobby quickly chooses Peter to go with him. Marcia wants to go with Cindy but Cindy pointedly tells Greg he wants to go with Bobby and Peter, so Greg and Marcia pair up. The two groups separate.

In a seedy neighborhood, Greg and Marcia make some awkward small talk, until Greg openly asks Marcia how she’s holding up with Jan dying. When she says she’s fine, Greg implies Marcia and Jan may have been romantically involved, which she angrily denies. The two continue on. Greg asks Marcia when the last time she saw Oliver was. She tells him she doesn’t associate with Oliver anymore since he became a loose cannon. Greg agrees, saying the last time he saw Oliver was when he disobeyed Alice’s direct orders, resulting in a failed heist for the group. He explains that Cindy wanted to dispose of Oliver but Greg was able to convince Alice that he was also partially to blame. Oliver wasn’t punished but became alienated by the group. Marcia replies that Cindy seems the most violent and volatile out of the group. Greg agrees.

Elsewhere, Bobby, Peter and Cindy explore a different part of the city. Peter and Cindy bicker about Peter’s seemingly suspicious behavior. Cindy accuses Peter of hiding something, and Peter defends himself. Bobby cuts them off when he sees a figure who looks like Oliver. They approach and the mysterious man takes off. They pursue him.

The three men manage to corner the figure to an abandoned warehouse. Inside, they split up. Peter manages to corner the individual and is surprised to see that it’s actually Tiger. They stand off, then an unseen third individual cuts in.

Outside of the warehouse, Marcia and Greg hear 2 gunshots. They cautiously enter, and run into Bobby. They silently meet up with Cindy and follow the direction of the gunshots.

When they approach they see Oliver standing over Tiger and Peter’s dead bodies. Oliver holds a gun. Cindy pulls his gun at Oliver. Oliver hastily explains that Tiger shot Peter so he shot Tiger. Cindy manically questions Oliver, accusing him of killing Jan and Peter, and then Tiger to cover his tracks. Greg and Marcia try to diffuse the situation. Oliver becomes belligerent, accusing Cindy of being the killer. Cindy lets off a shot, striking Oliver in the chest. Oliver wildly fires back, hitting Cindy in the side, then dies. Bobby starts to approach the injured Cindy, but he brandishes his gun at the others. He tells them he didn’t kill Jan, but whoever did will die. He explains that he poisoned the champagne on the flight, and that in the next 48 hours they’ll die. Marcia confirms her suspicions of him after seeing him on the plane. Greg tries to reason with Cindy, telling him that if he kills the others he’s no better than the mole, and that if Oliver was the culprit it’s over now. Cindy angrily rejects Greg’s pleas, saying he can’t trust anyone now, and that he’d rather the rest of the group just die instead of him having to live in fear that someone will kill him. Bobby calmly points out that it’s three against one, and that if they’re going to die anyway they can just gang up on Cindy now and kill him. Cindy frantically waves his gun between the other three, unsure of what to do. Marcia tells him they have to get him medical attention, but they’ll be no use to him while they’re poisoned. Cindy lets his gun fall, telling them he’ll give them the antidote after he’s stitched up, but only if each can prove they’re not the mole. Marcia and Greg agree, with Bobby saying that Cindy must also prove to them that he’s not the mole. He agrees and says he knows a guy who can fix him up,  and tensely herds them out of the warehouse.

The group finds themselves at a mob doctor’s that Cindy knows (a cameo by Ben Stiller). He painfully digs the bullet out of Cindy’s side, who refuses a sedative. For the pain, he offers Cindy a shot of Aperol. Cindy accepts it on the condition that the other three drink as well. They reluctantly agree. The four cheers and down their shots while the doctor gleefully looks on. 

The shots are clearly laced, and we get a series of POV shots from the criminals, whose collective vision becomes blurry and psychedelic. The mob doctor’s smiling face is the last thing we see before a hard cut to black. 

Marcia comes to in an alleyway in the middle of the night. She’s groggy and unsteady as she stands up. She’s alone. She stumbles out of the alley.
 
Elsewhere, Greg wakes up alongside Bobby, who is still passed out. He tries to wake him but he doesn’t stir...then suddenly Bobby reaches out and grabs Greg by the throat. Greg struggles, then jabs Bobby in the side, causing Bobby to release him. Greg feels for his piece at his side and finds it missing. Bobby snaps out of it and has no idea what’s going on. Greg asks him if he still has his weapons. He doesn’t. Bobby also notices the other two aren’t around. They hear footsteps and stealthily plan to ambush whoever is coming near them, but it turns out to be Marcia, who easily shakes them off. They ask if she knows where Cindy is; she doesn’t.

Greg dials a payphone in the street. Alice picks up. He fills Alice in on the situation, telling him Cindy may be responsible for them being drugged, since he’s poisoned them before. Alice tells the group that they’ve been gone for one day, and the group realizes that they’ve been passed out for an entire 24 hours. They now have less than 24 hours to get the antidote. Alice tells them Cindy is likely to go to his hideout in Chicago. When Greg questions how Alice would know that, Alice explains that he keeps tabs on all of their hideouts just in case of situations like this one. Greg seems uneasy, but Alice assures him that he’s only looking out for them. The group decide to go to Chicago as soon as possible.

Without IDs, money, or travel documents, Alice has arranged for the group to steal a small transport plane. At the airfield, the three covertly dispatch the surrounding security and make their way onto the plane. Bobby acts as the pilot while Marcia and Greg sit back. 

While they’re in the air, Greg quietly asks Marcia if she’s afraid of dying. Marcia tells him it’s not ideal, but she knew what she was getting into when she got into their profession. He asks her if she has any family. She reminds him that it’s not protocol to talk about these things. Greg gives in, but not before telling her his real name is Arthur and that he has two daughters in Amsterdam. Marcia doesn’t respond. 

A few hours later, the group has landed in Chicago. Marcia calls Alice but he doesn’t respond; they’re on their own in finding Cindy. Bobby says he might have a lead. They go to an upscale neighborhood and Bobby points out an extravagant but well protected house. When questioned how Bobby would know where Cindy lives, he initially evades the question, but then admits that at one point he used the house as his own hideout before offering it to Cindy. Greg remarks that it seems the members of their group know more about each other than any of them are letting on. Marcia asks him what he knows, but he doesn’t respond, instead focusing his attention on getting into Cindy’s house. The group splits up once again to stake out the property, but things become complicated when a neighbor calls the police on Bobby after spying on him casing the house. Bobby grows aggravated with the cop when questioned but explains that he’s meeting up with a friend there who must have fallen asleep inside. The cop doesn’t buy it. Before Bobby can do anything, Greg and Marcia approach from within the gates, posing as a married couple. Greg apologizes for keeping Bobby waiting, and they enter the house. 

Inside the house, there’s almost no sign of Cindy, until Marcia discovers blood stains on the bed in one of the bedrooms. She determines the blood to only be a few hours old, and that he can’t have gone far. Alone, she calls Alice, who picks up. She explains that Cindy must have known somehow that they were coming. Alice warns her that someone must have tipped him off. Marcia cautiously watches Greg and Bobby. She hangs up and says that they need a new plan. They only have about 12 hours left. Bobby proposes they split up to cover more ground, but Marcia disagrees without disclosing why. Greg votes in favor of Bobby, and they split up. Marcia reluctantly agrees.

Downtown, Greg contacts Alice and tells him Marcia is suspicious of the other two. Alice admits Marcia called him privately back at the house. Greg accuses Alice of purposely withholding information from the group for the purpose of controlling them. Alice tells him that’s part of his job, then hangs up. A frustrated Greg ends up in front of an upscale restaurant. He looks in, then pulls out his phone then dials. A woman picks up: his wife. He tells her he loves her and misses the girls and her cooking. She playfully flirts with him, but he tells her he has to get back to work when something inside the restaurant catches his eye. Greg enters the restaurant and works his way to the back despite the protests of the maitre d’. In the kitchen, he sees Cindy, who takes off. Greg chases him out the building into a back alleyway, then through the city. Eventually Cindy doubles over in pain. Greg stomps on Cindy’s hand, breaking it. He shoves Cindy against the wall and demands an explanation. Cindy surprises him by laughing. Suddenly Greg is knocked out from behind by an unseen figure. 

Later, Greg wakes up chained in an abandoned meat packing plant. Cindy is beside him. When Greg asks who attacked them, Cindy replies, “the mole.” More lights flicker on and Bobby appears. Greg insults him and asks why he would betray the group. Bobby stumbles and falls forward, a knife planted in his back. Cindy panics, crying that he doesn’t want to die. Greg lashes out at him, saying that he doesn’t care it anyone else dies since he poisoned them. Greg admits that he did poison them, but only with a powder that would react to the mob doctor’s aperol shots, which acted as a hallucinogenic, but was never actually deadly. Greg asks why Cindy would be so paranoid, and Cindy tells him he’s worried he’s been a target for the group ever since he threatened to kill Oliver after his failed mission. Greg assures him that it’s each of their jobs to look after each other. Then, Oliver comes in and mock-praises Greg and Cindy’s friendship talk. Greg questions how Oliver is still alive, and he says that he faked his death in Venice to cover his tracks after killing Jan and Peter. Cindy exclaims that he did his part, so now Oliver should let him go. He explains to a confused Greg that Cindy was in on his plan after he threatened to kill Cindy for nearly betraying him. When Cindy fled out of guilt, Oliver realized he had to deal with that loose end as well, and came to Chicago to finish the job. Greg calls Cindy scum for helping Oliver betray Jan, but Cindy swears he had nothing to do with that, and only helped Oliver fake his death. Cindy tearfully begs for his life but Oliver shoots him dead. Greg asks him why he would betray Jan and kill the others. Oliver tells him he’s been treated as an inferior since the day he joined the team. Greg assures him that’s not true, but Oliver points out that his code name is the worst character from the Brady Bunch. He points the gun at Greg, ready to shoot, when Bobby suddenly gets up and stabs him in the chest. Oliver dies. Bobby weakly helps  Greg escape, then they both question where Marcia is.

 

Outside, Greg calls Alice. He’s surprised to here Marcia pick up. He asks where Alice is, and she explains that she tracked him down after figuring out that he tipped Cindy off and was the one who clued Tiger in on where Jan was. She says that Alice wasn’t there when she arrived and must have known she was coming, so she plans to find him and kill him. She asks Greg and Bobby if they’re in. They share a look and Bobby nods. Hard cut to credits.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Blankments

[YM!]

@Xillix move Johnny Test to the 10th and move Hoops to July 3rd. 

 

@Blankments can have IMAX as well 

[Xillix]

@Blankments @YourMother the Edgelord Did we ever get confirmation Solitary is for sure not happening?

Edited October 1, 2018 by Xillix

[Blankments]

Just now, Xillix said:

@Blankments Technically Solitary has IMAX reserved on the 17th, and while that's 99% not happening, @YourMother the Edgelord recently moved Johnny Test there and wants IMAX for that.

i'm aware of Johnny Test, trying to make a deal with @YourMother the Edgelord since while I'm sure he'd like Johnny Test to do well, I think my film is more of a serious effort to be a good blockbuster lol

 

I'll back off if he still really wants it, but I'd hope he understands and gives it to me for The Mole lol

[YM!]

Just now, Xillix said:

@Blankments Technically Solitary has IMAX reserved on the 17th, and while that's 99% not happening, @YourMother the Edgelord recently moved Johnny Test there and wants IMAX for that.

He can have IMAX, I’m okay with removing. Actually sorry for the constant moves today but Johnny Test will open on January 3rd and Haunting Hour opens on the 10th.

[YM!]

8 minutes ago, Xillix said:

@Blankments @YourMother the Edgelord Did we ever get confirmation Solitary is for sure not happening?

Ethan confirmed it a while ago.

[Xillix]

Son of Rosemary

Release Date: February 14th, Y4

Studio: Red Crescent Pictures

Genre: Thriller/Horror

Director: Alejandro Amenábar

Theater Count: 3,166

Shooting Format: 35mm film

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Image Release Formats: 2K DCP, 4K DCP

Audio Release Formats: 5.1, 7.1

Production Budget: $38 million

MPAA Rating: R for horror, violence, language, and thematic content

Running Time: 116 minutes

Major Cast: Mia Farrow (Rosemary), Mark Ruffalo (Andy), Nicole Kidman (Judy), Billy Bob Thornton (Mike Van Buren), Woody Harrelson (Rob Patterson), Christopher Plummer (Joe)

 

Plot Summary: An adaptation of the novel by Ira Levin, which was a sequel to their earlier book Rosemary's Baby, and in turn this film is a sequel to the 1968 film adaptation of the first book, ignoring the events of the prior 1976 television movie sequel Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby. Got all that?

 

Spoiler

 

The film opens as an 89-year-old doctor in Manhattan is out for a walk, quite happy with himself until, suddenly, a speeding taxi runs him over and kills him. At that very instant, an old woman wakes with a start in her bed in a New Jersey nursing home. The woman is Rosemary Reilly (Mia Farrow), who has been in a coma since 1973. In 1968 her (now-ex) husband Guy Woodhouse had pulled her into a conspiracy involving a Satanic coven led by an old married couple, Minnie and Roman Castavet, in the Bramford Apartments building in New York city. The result had been the birth of a son, Andy, who she came to discover was not Guy's - but the spawn of the devil himself.

 

For the next five years she and Andy lived with the coven, but she always planned to escape and attempt to raise her son to be a good man. However, just before she could flee New York, she was placed under a spell which put her into a coma. The members of the coven paid to have her kept alive in the nursing home, under a false name, for decades. She has only awoken because the doctor who's just died was the coven's last surviving member.

 

Rosemary is, naturally, shocked to find she has been unconscious for nearly 50 years. Still, her main concern is for her son. As far as she knows, he never did escape the influence of the coven. In fact, considering the circumstances of his birth, she's surprised that the world has not ended in the decades since. Ironically, her doctors and nurses think of her reawakening as a miracle.

 

While still in the nursing home, she learns via TV - one of the few technologies she still mostly recognizes - that Andy has grown up to become one of the world's most famous people. He runs Earth's largest charitable organization, Golden Candle, which has advocated for racial and religious tolerance, been instrumental in nearly eliminating global poverty, and helped to eradicate numerous diseases such as malaria, ebola, and even AIDS. Although his "real" name has been changed - it is recorded as Adrian Steven Castavet - he still prefers to be called Andy, the name she gave him. She hopes that, at least, is a good sign. His eyes - oddly beautiful but clearly inhuman ever since he was born - now looked normal; perhaps some sign. Also good, she thinks, is the fact that Guy Woodhouse is dead, and despite his pact with the coven, never did become a famous actor as he was promised.

 

Rosemary, though, quickly does become famous by virtue of surviving her record-shattering coma. After two weeks of recovery and physical therapy, she appears as the featured guest on a live national talk show. During the broadcast, she makes her claim to the world that "Adrian Steven Castavet" is in fact her son, Andrew John Woodhouse. Of course, she leaves out everything about witchcraft and the devil, saying only that her neighbors the Castavets must have adopted him after she entered her coma. Though the hosts - and audience - are obviously skeptical, the grown-up Andy (Mark Ruffalo) is watching. After the airing, he calls the studio and asks to speak with Rosemary. He asks her a question about his childhood only she would know, and when she answers correctly, realizes her claim must be true. The pair have a brief but joyous reunion over the telephone and agree to meet in person that night.

 

The two meet in a suite at the Waldorf hotel, Andy sneaking in disguised as a room service waiter to avoid too much attention. After the expected hugs and tears and compliments, they get down to the elephant in the room. Andy readily admits to his mother that the coven are responsible for founding Golden Candle and installing him as its figurehead - and that the plan was to use the organization to bring about the apocalypse by gaining enough influence to trigger a catastrophic world war. He was told by the coven that his mother had died. Still, he claims, after the Castavets died, the coven's power over him began to weaken, and he began to rebel, eventually taking over Golden Candle completely and turning it into an actual charity in honor of Rosemary. He also explains that his true father, Satan, can contact him but not control him.

 

"As long as I'm alive, up here," Andy insists, "He can't do anything to stop me."

 

Rosemary is still cautious, but wants desperately to believe him. He arranges to have her moved into a different hotel, one on the lower floors of Golden Candle's New York City headquarters, where he sometimes lives himself. The next day she and Andy hold a media-circus press conference, which inevitably leads to questions about Andy's father. Guy Woodhouse, it seems, didn't simply die - he dropped off the face of the Earth; there's no record of him at all after their divorce. In fact, there's no official record of him ever even dying. Andy helps her dodge the questions.

 

After the conference she's introduced to the upper echelon of Golden Candle executives, whom he insists are all handpicked and on-the-level - press coordinator Diane, director of television production Craig, and financial director Jay - and Joe (Christopher Plummer), Andy's chauffeur. Joe is about Rosemary's age, and she takes an instant liking to him. The next day they're off to a big dinner party with Mike Van Buren (Billy Bob Thornton), the host of a major political commentary show on cable who's now running as a third-part candidate for President. Also attending, awkwardly enough, is a famed Christian televangelist, Rob Patterson (Woody Harrelson). For the most part things go fine, but at one point Patterson tries to talk to Rosemary about something involving candles - not just the organization Golden Candle, but literal candles. Something about conspiracy theorists or protestors "ruining it," whatever "it" is. When he realizes she has no idea what he means, he drops the subject.

 

That night, Andy takes Rosemary up to his penthouse on the top floor of the organization's headquarters. She asks what Patterson meant about the candles, and Andy explains that Golden Circle is sponsoring an organizing a "worldwide day of peace," a symbolic protest against ongoing wars in the Middle East. The idea is to distribute candles all over the world and have millions, even billions of people light them at once in a sort of ceremony. "The idea is to show the people still affected by intolerance and war and strife that there are more people who love them than hate them. A bit corny, maybe, but I thought it sounded like a good idea," he says. Rosemary agrees - even if it doesn't solve anything, the sentiment is a good one.

 

Andy has to go on a trip to Europe for a series of political conferences, which Rosemary chooses not to attend. She stays behind and continues forming a bond with Joe. She also meets Judy (Nicole Kidman), one of Andy's many assistants, a woman about his age, and becomes friendly with her. Soon Judy confides in Rosemary that she and Andy are involved in a sexual relationship - but now she believes he is seeing someone else while he's away in Europe. Rosemary tries to reassure Judy that he wouldn't do that, though she's not sure herself - especially since Andy hadn't mentioned anything about Judy to her. Still, they spend an evening together playing games and having Judy help Rosemary catch up on current events and modern technology. Judy is especially fond of word games, and challenges Rosemary with an anagram she herself claims to have only just figured out.

 

"Roast mules," she says. "R-O-A-S-T, M-U-L-E-S. You can rearrange the letters into a single word, in English. A simple one, too. A five-year-old would recognize it. I felt like such an idiot when I figured it out!" Rosemary makes a few guesses, but isn't horribly dedicated in her efforts. She content just to help Judy feel better by providing her with some company.

 

Rosemary confronts Andy when he returns the following day, and he admits he's no longer interested in Judy romantically. At his mother's urging, he agrees to at least call her and try to let her down easy. Meanwhile, Rosemary decides - with her newfound basic understanding of the internet, courtesy of Judy - to try and research the conspiracy theorists she's heard so much about who are opposing the candle-lighting ceremony. There are a few different groups - far-right nationalists, anarchists, radical libertarians. And then the more fringe ones. Some people think Andy is an alien. Others, a robot. Still others believe him to be the antichrist. Well. A broken clock is still right twice a day, isn't it?

 

To Rosemary's surprise, the following day Judy tells her that she and Andy have resumed their relationship. He never even told her he had considered breaking up. This coincides with Rosemary, defiant of her body's age, decides to begin dating Joe. The two decide that they would like to spend the night of the candle-lighting ceremony together. Andy, and the entire Golden Candle brass, meanwhile, are hard at work on a series of infomercials and billboards and public service announcements instructing people on when to light their candles in each time zone for the big event. It wouldn't be nearly as impressive if it didn't happen in sync, after all.

 

After a few more political functions, Judy again seeks out Rosemary's company to discuss Andy. They've broken up - officially, this time - but she seems concerned that he will somehow lure her back in. And more than that - she has something else she needs to tell Rosemary about him, something very important, very sensitive. She is planning to leave Golden Candle, and New York, but arranges a meeting with Rosemary for just before she does. However, on the night they've arranged to meet, forces seem to conspire to keep Rosemary away from Judy's apartment - a fire in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood and a broken water main both diverting and backing up traffic, and a bomb threat called into a building near Judy's that results in the whole block being closed to traffic, forcing Rosemary - and Joe, who is driving her - to find a place to park and walk all the way back, which is quite a task at her age. When she finally arrives, it is only after the police and ambulance. Judy has been murdered.

 

The news drives Andy first into despair, then into a rage. As Rosemary tries to comfort him, he briefly loses control. His voice turns deep, distorted. He smashes priceless works of art in his penthouse. Most terrifying of all are his eyes. They shift back to their true form, the inhuman, demonic eyes she had been so shocked to see when he was first born. His father's eyes. It takes all her efforts to soothe him and return him to normal, to put his human side back in control.

 

Over the next few days, with the candle ceremony fast-approaching, Golden Candle and its vast network of contacts go to work suppressing the story. The three other disasters in the same night make their job a bit easier, but still - if it was known to the public that Judy was an employee, Andy and the other executives fear it could cast a shadow over the day of peace. Their lawyers manage to keep things tied up so that her identity isn't released to the media, and won't be until well after the ceremony. While Rosemary has dealt better with Judy's death than her son, she does find herself now obsessing over the anagram that she had challenged her with. "Roast mules." She had forgotten about it entirely before, but now she is determined to solve it. Joe, for his part, thinks it could be her mind's way of trying to keep some sort of connection with the deceased. His presence is a great comfort to her.

 

Gradually, though, details of Judy's murder come out, even if her name does not. Rosemary begins piecing the information together. Judy was found stabbed to death in her apartment with a knife. Other silverware was found arranged in a pattern around her corpse. 29 other utensils in total, plus the murder weapon. And all 30 were luxury items, made of real silver. 30 pieces of silver. The price for which Judas had betrayed Jesus in the Bible. And Judy was a nickname. It was really Judith - which sounded an awful lot like Judas. A coincidence, probably. But one that had inspired her killer. She had been killed just before she planned to divulge something about Andy to Rosemary, something unknown but terribly important.

 

Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver for betraying the son of God. For betraying the son of Satan, Judy was killed with them instead.

 

She doesn't want to believe it could be true, that Andy would be capable of it. But their relationship had been troubled, she knew. And the devil was still within him. His demon-eyes still haunted her. But - that pure, raw, angry, unholy reaction seemed the most genuine thing she'd ever seen. He wasn't just devastated, he was SURPRISED. He couldn't have known about it, she decides. Couldn't have been involved. That leaves on possibility - someone did it in his name. Someone close to him, close enough to know about his relationship with Judy, close enough to know about the information she planned to divulge. Someone within Golden Candle who was still working towards the organization's original, evil purpose.

 

By the time she tries to tell Andy, he's already aware. He'd been in a meeting with the medical examiner; dental records had revealed that Judy was not in fact who she said she was. Her real name was Alice Rosenbaum, and she was a member of one of the extremist anti-Golden Candle groups. The one which, correctly, believed Andy to be the son of the devil. The theory the police are running with is that she was killed by the group because she had betrayed THEM in favor of Andy and Golden Candle. But Rosemary isn't sure that makes sense. Why, then, had Judy said she had something important to tell her about ANDY? Wouldn't it have been about herself? Still, though, Andy is adamant that he absolutely trusts everyone working for him. He assures his mother her idea of a remaining Satanic agent within Golden Candle is simply paranoia.

 

That night, despite Andy's reassurances, Rosemary cannot sleep. She still has the sense something is terribly wrong, something more than a violent group of protestors and conspiracy theorists. She occupies herself with Judy's anagram, and for the first time, arranges ROAST MULES into something she recognizes, something she can read. It does not fit Judy's rules - it's more than one word - but it still sends a chill down her spine. SOUL MASTER.

 

Joe ends up being called out of the city. He has a niece who has apparently been in some sort of horrible accident, and the doctors aren't sure if she'll recover. His brother has summoned him to be with the rest of the family. Rosemary, wearing huge sunglasses and a large hat to disguise herself despite the conspicuousness of such an outfit, goes to church to pray for Joe's niece at his request. It is the first time she's set foot in a church since moving in next to the coven decades ago. Predictably, it does not go well. As she prays, a young woman in the pew in front of her suffers a sudden, violent seizure. Rosemary is certain it is a sign - of what, exactly, she doesn't know. She leaves abruptly as 911 is called.

 

Rosemary begins to wonder who exactly is funding Golden Candle. She knows the coven set it up, but that was decades ago. They'd also been paying for her stay in the nursing home for the entire time she was out. Almost 50 years. And why would they have done that? Why not kill her, or at least let her die? It wasn't for leverage over Andy. He'd been told she was dead. What was the point of keeping her hidden but alive? And those bills must have been significant, but they were NOTHING compared to Golden Candle's operations. Sure, there were donations from average citizens, but that couldn't have been enough. The politician and the televangelist - Mike Van Buren and Rob Patterson - were major donors, she'd been told. But they had not struck her as ultra-rich. The candle-lighting ceremony alone was costing BILLIONS of dollars. No government funded Golden Candle, or at least none would admit to it.

 

So where was the money coming from? If it was a small group of multi-billionaires, then why didn't she know about them? Why hadn't they wanted to meet her, to be seen with her? Golden Candle is one of the most beloved institutions in the world - why hide their association? Though she tries to fight the line of thinking, tries to come up with some other explanation, she simply cannot come to any conclusion other than the obvious. Some malevolent force, Satan's agents on Earth, are keeping the organization funded.

 

Two days after the incident in the church, Rosemary receives a call from Joe. His niece has died of her injuries, and he is returning to the city. She gives her condolences but asks to meet with him in private as soon as he gets back into New York, and he agrees. She asks him if he has any idea where the money for Golden Candle comes from, which takes him by surprise. After all, how should he know? He's just a chauffeur. She explains, though, that he doesn't trust any of the executives, and doesn't want to get Andy involved.

 

"Involved in what?" Joe asks.

 

Rosemary doesn't believe Judy - sorry, Alice - was killed by her own people, or at least that it's not the whole story. And she's beginning to worry about what it could be she was trying to tell her before she died. She's now worried that someone - be them a conspiracy theorist, a protestor, or somebody within Golden Candle - is planning to ruin the candle lighting ceremony with more than just scandals and bad publicity. What if the candles themselves have been tampered with? Made somehow... dangerous? She doesn't want to say cursed. But Joe believes she means something else - poison.

 

"We've been making these candles for months and months in advance. That woman was just a secretary. She'd have nothing to do with it."

 

"But what if it's someone else inside the company? If they got her in, what if there are more?"

 

Joe thinks this all sounds a bit silly. But he loves her, and he understands how deathly serious she is about all of this. And even he has to admit the details of Judy/Alice's murder don't quite add up. He already has his own candle for the ceremony, and he knows a chemist - a professor at some prestigious university who he used to drive around before becoming employed by Andy. A friend. He says he'll try to get him to examine the candle to assuage Rosemary's fears.

 

By the next day Joe has made contact with his old friend, and had gotten him to agree to test the candle - and his own - in case of a "manufacturing error" by claiming Andy and Rosemary didn't want the tests to be public unless a problem was actually found. After all, the ceremony is in just a few days. It wouldn't do to cause unwarranted public concern so late in the game. To their delight, when the results come back, the tests are clean. There's no sort of chemical agent in them, not even any perfume for scent. Just ordinary wax and coloring to give it a golden hue. Joe, of course, admits that two candles is hardly the best sample size, and that there's still a possibility, however completely remote, that SOME candles could theoretically be poisoned. But Rosemary isn't terribly concerned with that. Her main concern is the very real possibility that there's a problem with the candles that is supernatural - something no scientific test could catch.

 

She works up the courage to confront Andy about her suspicions. He seems somewhat insulted. He reiterates that he is completely sure all of the company executives are innocent, well-meaning. That no one in charge of anything at Golden Candle would ever do such a thing. But what about the factories where the candles were made, she asks. He can't possibly know every floor worker, everyone who works in shipping. But he insists that the candles went through regular safety checks, a sample from every batch tested and cleared for any sort of chemical contamination. As to the idea of a curse - the entire coven is dead, he reminds her. He and her are its last remnants. Who would have been able to do such a thing?

 

Despite her sense of foreboding, Rosemary capitulates. She doesn't have an explanation, any way her fears could reasonably be true - unless Andy himself were in on it. And she isn't willing to confront that possibility. Andy suggests she stay with him in his penthouse during the ceremony. From his enormous portrait windows they can see the glow of the candles from Central Park, and they can watch live worldwide coverage on television. She can even bring Joe. Anything she needs to feel secure. She agrees.

 

Come the evening of the ceremony, however, Andy seems to have disappeared. With just an hour to go before the candle lighting, neither she nor any of the Golden Candle executives nor his many business and political contacts can get a hold of him. Frightened, Rosemary heads up to his penthouse to look for him. She finds him in his living room, stuck to the wall in a mock-crucifixion, nails through his palms, unconscious but alive. He's transformed - shifted into a form that makes his half-human nature obvious. His true eyes are back, small horns peek out from under his hair, and his fingers have grown into long, sharp claws. As she pulls out the nails, freeing him, he stirs. He can only choke out one word - "F-father..."

 

She does her best to treat his wounds and rouse him. Andy wakes back up with only a few minutes left before the worldwide lighting. He finally manages to choke out his full warning. His father, Satan is here. Not just on Earth. Here in this building. And the candles are not safe. Inside the wax is not a chemical, not a poison, not even a curse. A virus. The deadliest virus ever, a laboratory creation, genetically reverse-engineered from samples Golden Candle had gathered in its humanitarian efforts. Ebola, malaria, HIV, and all manner of others. Their deadliest traits combined into a ready-made biological apocalypse. As the wax melts, the virus is released. Airborne. Rapidly-spreading. Fatal almost immediately.

 

Rosemary needs to know. Demands her son's honesty. Did he do it? Was it him? Had he been stringing her along this whole time. He swears no, no, no. His father had just told him, when he came and did... this. He'd vetted all of his executives, anyone with a fancy enough title to influence things, cleared them all. But Satan doesn't need a fancy title. So he'd slithered his way in as-

 

The elevator door opens. It's Joe. His eyes are soul-searing yellow orbs of malice. "Dearest Rosemary," he says. "Sorry I'm late. I thought I'd prepare this body for you properly. You always did seem to like it."

 

"Always? What do you-"

 

"It's aged that poorly, has it? Not fit for the silver screen. Not like he wanted."

 

Joe, she realizes, is none other than the long-missing Guy Woodhouse, her ex husband. At least, his body. Instead of granting him fame and fortune, Satan had taken possession of his body. And he had been here, on Earth, walking among us, for half a century. Gradually he established a fake life, a background, connections, trust. Then he worked his way into Golden Candle, into direct contact with his son, as a lowly chauffeur - one that was pulling the strings behind the curtain. Joe, or Guy, or Satan - whichever name you want - claims he directed Rosemary be kept alive because he wants her to be his bride. He demands she dance with him, court him, love him as the world comes to an end. She refuses. She would rather die. But - what about their dear sweet son?

 

The threat convinces her. She cannot bear to see Andy in any more pain. She surrenders. The pair slow dance to Fred Astaire as the countdown to the start of the ceremony begins. "Heaven," Astaire sings in the background, "I'm in Heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak..."

Rosemary tries to negotiate, to strike a deal. What will it take, she asks, for him to stop the ceremony. She'll do anything. But no, he responds, it's too late. Not that he would agree to stop it if he could. There is only one deal to be made - surrender herself to him completely. Become his bride. Be granted eternal youth, and bear him more children. Remake the world in his image and reign over it with him. Or refuse, and burn in Hell forever. Die like the rest of the pathetic humans.

 

"Don't give in," Andy chokes out, still lying on the floor, weak, helpless. "He doesn't want you. He needs you, to make the pact. You're only alive because-"

 

His father cuts him off. A glare from those evil yellow eyes and the failed antichrist begins to cough up blood, choking on it. All around the world, as so graphically shown on the TV screen, the same and worse is happening to the participants in the ceremony as the wax of the candles begins to melt.

 

"I don't need you," Satan says. "I've already won. That virus will wipe out 98% of the world's population tonight. The other two won't last much longer. But you and I have something special, don't we? And what better way to spit in the face of you-know-who than to spawn all of my children from one of his precious creations?"

 

For a moment, it seems, she considers it. But she stares at the television screen, at the people all over the world twitching and dying, melting, it looked like. Out the gigantic picture window of the penthouse, down to the glow in central park. It's more than a glow now, more than candles. The park is on fire, trees burning to the ground. And she stares at Andy. Choking, dying. Dying even though he never should have been born.

 

"No," she says, tears in her eyes. "I will form no pact with you. If this is all my fault, then I deserve to burn."

 

Satan becomes visibly enraged. The body of Guy Woodhouse cracks, falls apart, skin sliding off of his true demonic form. "You only waste time," he hisses, a long black tongue flopping out of his jackal-like snout. "How many times can you make the same mistake?"

 

Before she can figure out what he means, the penthouse bursts into flames. Hell itself has come to them. Rosemary screams as the fire surrounds her, inhuman hands bursting through the floor, pulling her down, down...

 

She wakes up screaming (now "played" by a motion-captured CG recreation of her younger self). Someone hugs her, tries to comfort her. Guy. Guy Woodhouse (a similar CG recreation of John Cassavetes circa 1968). Of course. Why wouldn't he? He is her husband. They've just moved into the Bramford Apartments - a beautiful place, if a bit imposing, and, a friend tells her, with a sordid history. It's probably the stress of the move that's gotten to her, Guy says. They've not even finished unpacking. In any case, she can hardly remember her dream. A bit of fresh air will fix her right up, Guy thinks.

 

The two have breakfast in on a bench in Central Park. It's a warm, bright Sunday morning. Nearby, children are playing. Rosemary watches them with a smile. One, a young boy, about five years old, runs forward and crouches down in the grass, planting his hand, flipping upside-down. Winding up right back in the same pose he started in.

 

"Somersault," Rosemary says, as if she's just realized something of grave importance. But she has no idea why. Such a simple word, a simple action. Why would it catch her attention so?

 

Guy tells her that their neighbors, the Castavets, seem very friendly. She agrees politely, and that topic distracts her from whatever it was that was troubling her. The two embrace, looking forward to the beginning of a new chapter in their life together...

 

THE END

 

 

[YM!]

@Xillix remove the limited opening for Can You Imagine? on the 20th but also up it’s theater count to 4,135.

[Xillix]

Spirit Curse

Release Date: March 13th, Y4

Studio: Red Crescent Pictures

Genre: Horror
Director: Kôji Shiraishi

Theater Count: 2,634

Shooting Format: Digital 3.4K (Arri Alexa SXT)

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1

Image Release Format: 2K DCP

Audio Release Formats: 5.1, 7.1

Production Budget: $3 million

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for terror, violence, and language

Running Time: 88 min

Major Cast: Unknowns

 

Plot Summary:

A remake of Shiraishi's own 2004 direct-to-video Japanese film Kuro Ju-Rei ("Black Spirit Curse"), which was itself apparently a feature-length spinoff of some really obscure short film or TV series I can find nothing about.

 

The film is split into eleven numbered suspense sequences, shown in reverse chronological order, tracing the spread of a deadly curse backwards.

 

Spoiler

 

TEN: 

The film opens with this segment, in which a group of teenage girls are hanging out together at a club, dancing and having a good time. One of them, Sally, is talking about how the haircut she was supposed to get for the outing tonight never happened because the salon was closed early when she got there. During the conversation, Sally hears a strange sound like bones cracking and muscles tearing, but no one else notices and she can't find the source. Her friend Helen, though, briefly sees a glimpse of a dark, shadowy figure like a man in a hood standing behind Sally. When she tells the others, they discuss a rumor that's been going around about a dark figure spreading a curse, but everyone tries to dismiss it as nonsense... until, out in the parking lot as they're going to leave, she sees it behind Sally again. Before she can tell the others, ghostly arms shoot up from out of frame and grab her. Sally hears the disgusting noise again, and as she turns, she sees the dark, faceless figure - before the ghost of another teen girl pops into frame and attacks her.

 

NINE:

A girl, Martha, is home alone. Sharp-eyed viewers will note she is the ghost from the end of the prior segment. She's on the phone with her father, but the signal seems to be poor and she can't hear what he's saying. She's just gotten back from her day out, and it's already dark. Her roommate has left her a note - "Martha, I'm going over Rachel's, I'll be back late. XoXo Nina." 

As Martha goes about her nightly routine in the house preparing for bed, she catches a glimpse of the shadowy figure through a cracked-open door, but dismisses it as a trick of the light. She then sees and hears someone - a middle-aged man, perhaps her father - quickly pass behind her and climb the stairs. Though she follows him and calls out, there is no answer. The sounds eventually lead her to the large closet in her bedroom. She thinks she sees her father's shadow inside, but when she turns on the light, no one is there. Suddenly she gets a call on her cell phone from someone named Heather.

 

She answers the phone, but no one is there. The only sound she hears is the cracking bones before the call drops. She tries to call her back, and hears the ringing coming from inside the house. She traces it to its source, and finds Heather lying dead on the floor in the guest bathroom, her ringing phone on the floor beside her. When Martha grabs the phone, Heather's body lurches at her, and she finds herself surrounded by a group of other ghosts who we will see alive later in the film - including her father.

 

EIGHT:

Martha's father, Louis, checks into a hotel for the night while traveling on business the next city over. He gets to his room and hears a knock on the wall from the next room, but it does not repeat and he figures it was an accident. He calls his home phone but no one answers, so he leaves a voicemail and simply explains he needs to stay in the city tonight in case something happens with his business negotiations.

 

There is another bang on the wall. Then another. A series of them, frequent, but irregular, without a pattern, without rhyme or reason. He knocks back, but nothing changes, so he leaves his room and walks the few steps down the hall to knock on the adjacent room's door. No answer, and he can't hear anyone moving around inside. The door is locked. As he turns and walks back to his room, he sees the hooded figure at the end of the hallway. He calls out to them, but they do not react. A bit creeped out, he quickly re-enters his room and locks his door.

 

When Louis calls down to the front desk to file a noise complaint, the receptionist informs him that the room next door is empty. He tries Martha's cell phone number, and this time she picks up. She says she'd just gone to visit her mother, but neither her mother nor her little brother Jacob was home. All the lights were off and the car was gone.

 

Louis is forced to end the call early when the banging on the wall returns. It gets louder and harder, almost as if something is going to break through the wall. He backs away, only to be grabbed by the pale ghosts of a woman his age and a small boy - his wife and his young son Jacob.

 

SEVEN:

Martha's roommate Nina is sitting at her desk doing homework when she gets a call from her friend Rachel. Rachel explains that she's "feeling a little weird," and would like some company, asking Nina to come over her place. She also asks how someone named Heather is doing, but an annoyed Nina says that she just disappeared on her. Rachel doesn't live far away, so Nina agrees to come visit, though when she tries to ask what's wrong exactly, Rachel is evasive. Heading out, Nina writes the note Martha found in Chapter Nine. As Nina rides away from her and Martha's house on her bicycle, she fails to notice the light in an upstairs window turning on. A dark silhouette stands inside, staring out at her.

 

Rachel is waiting alone in her apartment, watching TV. The news is running a story about a double murder - a woman and her child, Michelle and eight-year-old Chelsea, found killed in a nearby movie theater around 6:00 that evening, just a few hours ago. The story is of special interest because Michelle and Chelsea had been missing for over a month after the unsolved murder of Chelsea's father Kyle. This is all too much for Rachel, who turns off the TV and needs to calm herself down - especially when she notices the hooded figure reflected in the black screen of the powered-down television. But no, she must be seeing things. She blinks and it is gone.

 

Thankfully, Nina arrives just then. The two engage in friendly conversation, with Rachel doing her best to hide that anything is wrong until she's startled by the sound of snapping bones. Nina doesn't hear it at all. She spots the ghost of another young woman - someone she recognizes - and becomes hysterical, begging Nina to leave. Nina, confused, agrees. Rachel runs into her bedroom and hides under her blankets like a child. All around her she hears the sounds of bones shattering, muscles tearing, until finally, a pair of hands reach up from beneath her - despite there being no space under her - and grab her.

 

SIX:

Rachel is closing a hair salon down for the night, sweeping up clipping and putting them in a large black trash bag. Her boss Erica thanks her for covering a sick coworker's shift. Just before they lock the door, someone comes in - Sally, from Chapter Ten. They turn her away and lock up. Erica's not much older than Rachel, and the two are friendly, so they discuss how their days have been as they finish cleaning up. Rachel says she went to a movie with her friends Heather and Nina earlier, before she was called in. Heather, she explains, fainted, and Nina took her over her place to rest.

 

Their discussion is interrupted when the locked door to the salon swings itself open. Rachel is visibly quite frightened by this, so Erica decides to send her home - not mentioning the strange hooded man she glimpses standing across the street. She'll finish closing herself. However, as she's going about her work, she is startled by the garbage bag full of hair clippings suddenly flopping over, rolling as if some small animal is inside, running around. When she opens the bag to investigate, the ghost of a little boy - Jacob - emerges from within and attacks her.

 

FIVE:

Jacob, staying late after school, is washing his hands in the restroom when the water turns black. Frightened, he makes his way back into his classroom, where his teacher is waiting. He explains the problem with the faucet but his teacher dismisses it as a broken pipe, saying the school is underfunded and falling apart. Jacob walks over to the large windows on the classroom's outer wall, staring into the parking lot, looking for his mother's car. But all he sees is the hooded man, standing between the rows of vehicles, staring back. A car passes in front of him, and he disappears.

 

Jacob's teacher is very concerned - his mother had given no indication she would be late picking him up, and even the special afterschool program ended over an hour ago. When Jacob tells him about the disappearing man in the parking lot, his teacher - evidently kind of a dick - tells him a spooky ghost story about something that happened at "a school the next town over." The ending of the story happens to coincide with the sound of cracking bones, only audible to Jacob. He's so startled that the teacher apologizes profusely, making him promise not to tell his mother - whenever she finally shows up.

 

Jacob goes back out into the hallway to get a drink from the fountain. He hears footsteps from a nearby stairwell. The light in the stairwell is flickering on and off slowly, in a steady pattern, on or off for about a second at a time. In the intermittent light, Jacob sees his mother standing on the next landing up. She does not respond to him when he tries to greet her. Just as he begins to realize something's wrong, the next flash of light reveals she is gone. He turns to leave - but one more flash shows her suddenly at the bottom of the flight of stairs, standing right behind him, hands grasping his shoulders tightly.

 

FOUR:

In this extremely brief chapter, we see Jacob's mother in the parking lot of a hospital. She is obviously upset about something, holding back tears. She gets in her car, starting the engine. As her headlights come on, they illuminate the hooded man standing right in front of the car. A reversal of the camera angle shows an elderly woman sitting in the car behind her. The sound of cracking bones from the backseat causes her to turn around and scream at the sight of the ghost.

 

THREE:

Just moments earlier, we find Jacob's mother inside the hospital. Her own mother, Jacob and Martha's grandmother - and the elderly ghost from Chapter Four - is badly ill, confined to a hospital bed. She is intubated and cannot speak. Jacob's mother sadly explains to her that she needs to leave to pick Jacob up from school. As she leaves, though, the old woman sees the hooded man standing in the hallway outside her room. She tries to get her daughter's attention but fails, unable to speak. No one else seems to notice him.

 

Soon she hears the bone-snapping sound inside her room. Looking around, she spots the ghost of a young woman, long black hair covering her face, standing in the corner. She buzzes for a nurse, but the ghost is slowly floating towards her. She presses the buzzer over and over with no response as the ghost draws near, until finally it is at the foot of her bed...

 

TWO:

Rachel and Nina return from the restroom at a local movie theater, joking about how they likely missed the ending of their film. They find their friend Heather still in her seat, the end credits rolling onscreen, the rest of the auditorium empty. She is unconscious. Though concerned, they are able to rouse her, and she refuses to go to the hospital. She seems badly frightened, but won't say why. Nina agrees to take her back to her place to rest. As they leave the theater, Heather turns around and sees the hooded man standing in front of the screen, staring at her.

 

Heather ends up resting on Nina's couch, while Nina calls Martha, who says she'll be late coming home because she wants to stop by her parents' house first. While Nina is on the phone in another room, Heather hears the bone-cracking sound coming from the front door. She goes to look and opens the door, only to be grabbed by a woman's ghost and dragged outside. When Nina hangs up the phone, she finds the door open and Heather gone, and assumes Heather has ditched her.

 

ONE:

Heather, Nina, and Rachel sit in the movie theater. Even though the movie is still playing, the auditorium is mostly empty. Not a popular choice, then. Rachel and Nina leave to use the bathroom, despite Heather's insistence that they'll miss the ending. They go anyway, asking her to fill them in on what happens when they get back.

 

As she sits alone in her row, Heather hears a sound from beneath her chair. She looks down to see a pair of hands reaching out from under the seat. As she goes to stand, she is held down by the ghost of an eight-year-old girl, crouching on the back of the seat. Heather falls unconscious.

 

ZERO:

Michelle and her husband - a man in a black hooded jacket - are having one of their fights, and their daughter Chelsea is hiding in the closet. As she watches through the crack, Michelle is attacked and kills her husband in self defense. However, when she goes to the closet to retrieve her daughter, the husband's silhouette appears as a ghost behind her and grabs her. The pair barely manage to escape, running out, the man's ghost staring out the window at them...

 

 

Edited October 2, 2018 by Xillix

[YM!]

@Xillix I think Belmont Lane is done.

[Ezen Baklattan]

EXTRASENSORY

Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller/Horror

Date: January 17th

Theaters: 2,904

Director: Reed Morano

Producer: Jason Blum

Cast: Ed Oxenbould (Kyle Slater), Ben Mendelsohn (Dr. Patterson), Kelly McDonald (Lisa Slater), Josh Radnor (Michael Slater), Storm Reid (Molly), Jacob Bertrand (Nicholas)

Composer: Clint Mansell

Rating: R for disturbing violent content & language

Runtime: 96min (1hr, 36min)

Budget: $10 million

 

Spoiler

The first shot of the film is the front of a car driving through a lit up highway and approaching a bridge in the night. We see the driver, wearing a black uniform and a kid leaning against the window of the car. He is a 14-year old boy wearing jeans and a graphic t-shirt. He tells the driver that he doesn’t like where this is going, and that he wants to leave. The driver says, “Listen to me, Kyle, you have no reason to just make a clean getaway what just happened. Besides, this is a relatively nice outcome for anyone else in your situation. “ Kyle tells the driver to stop the car and let him out. The driver resists firmly, telling Kyle to stop thinking that someone with his powers could just waltz out of here, and he was just being silly. Kyle tells him a much more stern voice, “Stop the car. Now.”  The driver becomes cross with him, telling him that he needs to stop acting this way. Kyle asks a third time, but more aggressively.  The driver snaps at him and tells Kyle looks at a car on the side and says, “fair enough.” He uses what appears to be telekinesis on the other car to push the car he is in to the side with a heavy force, all while the other driver is scared of the lack of control he has over the car. The car is pushed off of the side of the bridge in slow motion, and it soon lands into the water. As the car begins to drown, we see the driver frantically moving, trying to escape, while Kyle gives a dark stare at the driver, not even lifting a finger.

 

EXTRASENSORY

 

We now see Kyle, in a change of blue clothes but with wet hair, sitting down at a table in a room with white walls and a small table for two people. A door opens on the side of the room, and a man, probably in his early 40s and a nice suit, sitting at the table, on the opposite side of Kyle.  He introduces himself as Dr. Patterson, explaining how this room is set off to send calming sound waves that only Kyle will be able to experience, and it will “sedate” him to the point where he cannot use his powers. “We’ve been working a long time on this room,” Patterson says, so don’t you try and do anything funny.” Keep in mind that Patterson is not meant to sound threatening while he says all of this. In fact, he speaks in a rather calm and even playful voice. Patterson says that he would like to ask Kyle a few questions pertaining to him. Kyle remains firm to Patterson, trying hard to stay firm even amidst the effects of the sedative.

 

Kyle: “Where’s my mom? Where’s Lisa?!”

Patterson: “She’s safe and sound at her home. She know that you’re at a special facility to discuss recent events. Due to the confidentiality of this matter, she has been declined an invitation to come here.”

Kyle: "Tell me what's happening. I'm scared."

Patterson: “So, Kyle Benjamin Slater, would you like to explain that stunt you pulled off not very long ago? Your actions caused the death of one of our associates.”

Kyle: “I didn't mean to. Maybe I was....I dont even know. Sending a warning?"

Patterson: “Oh, were you? What exactly were you trying to warn us against?”

Kyle: “Against me. You....*snapping* you of all people should know damn well what I’m capable of. I just want to go home and pretend that this never happen. I don't like any of this.”

Patterson: “Please, Kyle, we cannot simply pretend that the death of someone did not ‘ever happen.’ Rather, I’d like to work out a mutually beneficial offer, one that could change the world forever.”

Kyle: “….I’m not unreasonable. I’ll hear you out on this request.”

Patterson: “Thank you very much, Kyle. Before I talk about this, I’d like to ask a few questions about you.”

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

We see a few toy blocks floating at the center of the screen, in what appears to be a different setting. We zoom out and a three-year old is making them float inside in what appears to be some kind of room, similar to that of a hospital bedroom, and he laughs happily as he does this. His mother soon comes into the room, stopping in silence upon seeing what he does with the blocks. “Mommy, look what I can do!” the three-year old says. “That’s amazing, sweetie!” The mother says, backing out of the room slowly. The mother returns to her husband and a special doctor, and she tells him about what she had just seen. This isn’t the first time that the child had displayed psychic abilities. In fact, that’s what brought the husband and wife here in the first place.

 

“Kyle’s genetic code is special. As a result of his original genetic make-up, he has special extrasensory powers, on top of his already high level of intelligence. It’s truly a case of the stars aligning. Lisa, Michael, your child is going to make history.” Lisa (note that she is wearing a beautiful blue bracelet. This subtle detail will be important.) is clearly very nervous about what her child is going through. The doctor soon tells the two parents that he would like to take their son with them, and that Kyle is not a child that can be raised in normal situations. Lisa is shocked upon hearing this, and that she’s just trying to let everything sink in. Her son apparently has psychic powers, and she can’t even be with him. The doctor tries to reason with her, but she still refuses to let her child go. The doctor finally gives up, telling her that Kyle will hopefully end up normal, but that he cannot promise anything in this situation. “Farewell,” the doctor tells the two parents.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Kyle: “You were from the same organization as that doctor, weren't you?”

Patterson: “ *pauses* It’s impressive that you remembered that.”

Kyle: “Please, remember who you’re talking to. I was a bright and attentive mind, even when I couldn’t even ride a tricycle.”

Patterson: “So, after having your chance at living just like any other kid, did you like it? Was fitting in and living like any other child satisfying to you?”

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

First is a brief montage of Kyle growing up, learning about his various powers over time and practicing them within his own home. He found great intelligence at age 4, pyrokinesis at age 9, and most recently, mind reading at age 12. These powers were overseen with some concern, yet perhaps a trace of amazement, by the two parents.

 

We now see a 14-year old Kyle, only a few months before he was here. He is walking through the hallways of his high school (he’s currently a freshman,) and he’s feeling rather uncomfortable in the school. Note that he while he walks, his left hand trembles a little bit, as this image will reoccur throughout the film. This will be important later on. He has just gotten a perfect score on a difficult test in AP Biology, and a few people are talking about it in the hallways. They congratulate him on the test, and he thanks them. As he walks past, he overhears two students talking about what a freak he is, and all that he really did was break the curve on the test. Kyle frowned upon hearing the people gossip about him, but he was pretty much used to this at this point. He wasn't completely unpopular in school, but he tried to be invisible.

 

The day progresses for him as any other day, with Kyle excelling in his classes and trying to hide his true nature. He goes so far as to turn down invitations to a party, making up a humorously bullshit excuse. However, one of the harshest bullies to Kyle and one of the two students earlier, Nicholas, finds him in the hallway and begins to hit him playfully, calling him juvenile names much to Kyle’s annoyment. He tries to ignore it as much as he can, but Nicholas will just never stop tormenting him. Kyle frankly asks what he has to gain from picking on him, but Nicholas claims that just because he's secretive about it, he knows that deep down, Kyle is a freak. This severely unnerves him. The only person whom he sits with at lunch is his best friend, Molly. She thinks that Kyle’s knowledge is very cool, although she does not know about his powers. The two take the bus home from school together, and she really is the only person at school whom he looks forward to seeing each day.

 

Kyle comes home to his house. It’s a two-story home, much like any other house on the block. Lisa comes up to greet him, asking how his day was. Kyle says that it was the same as usual and that there was pretty much nothing of note today. Kyle tells her that sometimes, he wishes he could go postal on Nicholas. Lisa tells her that he knows why he can’t do that, and he grudgingly agrees. “It’s just sad that I can’t use my powers so that I can fit in, yet I don’t use my powers because I want to fit in. I mean, no one hates me, but I don't feel any sense of belonging. Shit. I don't know” Lisa hugs him, telling him that he's doing everything he can and that there will be a day when he can belong and change the world for the better without hiding who he is. Kyle decides to go up to his room.

 

His room consists of a large bookshelf and a laptop computer, as well as the usual dresser and the bed. It has a blue wallpaper, and it is generally a calming environment. He logs onto his computer, and he sees Nicholas badmouthing him on online social network, and others making concurring comments on his post, including people he had friendly encounters with earlier that day. He becomes angry upon looking this, and he lifts up a pencil telekinetically, aiming the sharp end at the wall, and the music gets tense. He soon just snaps it in half, and the music fades. He is breathing heavily as the pieces of the pencil fall to the ground. He had control of his powers, but he sometimes got so angry. He was well to make it this far without having a public outbreak with his powers. He sits alone on his bed, but he sees a vision of a body diagram poster having the bones snap within it. Kyle has experienced many hallucinations such as this, as a result of his powers, his left hand trembling again.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

*Kyle is beginning to cry slightly, probably remembering his hard time fitting in.*

 

Patterson: Kyle…I also had trouble with bullies in school.

Kyle: Please, every adult tries to present a relatable situation in our own times of darkness, and the way I see it, they’re just asking for pity for their own issues.

Patterson: Actually, I just wanted you to feel like you weren’t alone.

Kyle: Look...I'm sorry I'm snapping. I just...I hate this. I just need need to know what's going on.

Patterson: As do I. Now, why don’t you continue your story? It’s getting quite interesting.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Michael is seen driving his son in to school today and the two are talking in the car ride. Kyle seems to be enjoying a lot of what he is learning and Michael is glad that he’s able to find something he likes in school. He tells his son, concerning the bullies at the school, just, “f#ck them.” Kyle says that he curses a lot, but that’s okay, because quite frankly, so does he. He curses in the car, and the two laugh. Kyle soon arrives at school, and he finds the word “FAGGOT” written on his locker, and he uses his psychic powers in secret to smear the ink off. No one would notice it, so it would be okay for him to use his powers. To his surprise, one student says that he told the principal about it, but Kyle doubts that it'll be much help. He appreciates the gesture, but needs to go. He also finds a poster for the upcoming school dance. He didn’t want to go, but his parents thought that it would be good for him to go out and make more friends.

 

At the night of the dance, we see pop music blazing in the school gymnasium, and most of the students having a very good time. Kyle is sitting alone at the wall, but Molly comes up to talk to him. The slow dance is coming up, but she doesn’t have a partner to dance with. Kyle agrees, thanking her for being a close friend after all of this time. The song is, “You’re The Inspiration” by Chicago. The dance scene features many wide shots, focusing mainly on the two children. Kyle admits that while he doesn't feel right in this school, he still tries to see the good in people and wants to make the world a better place. He comes close to admitting his secret, but the song thankfully ends. We cut to a powerpoint featuring memories of the school year. Nicholas looks to his friend and smiles, as humiliating pictures of Kyle are put on the screen. Everyone looks at Kyle and begins laughing. Fearing the worst, he ran away into the bathroom, sobbing as his left hand trembles. He told his father that there was a fire and he needs to evacuate.

 

Kyle’s father is seen driving him home, much in a similar setting to the prologue. He tells his dad that Nicholas always keeps tormenting him, just wanting to feel human all this time. He continues his upset anger, while Michael tells him that they can arrange an appointment with the administration with Nicholas, and that Kyle cannot take matters into his own hands by using his powers against Nicholas. Kyle repeats that he’s been told this repeatedly, but sometimes, he just wants to let loose for once in his life. Michael pleads with him not to be the bad guy in the situation, and they can talk about it later with Lisa. Kyle nods, as the drive home continues.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Patterson: “Oh, my, I’m so sorry about what happened.” (He is a bit more serious and concerned with this line”)

Kyle: “You don’t have to worry, I talked to my parents, and we worked something out.”

Patterson: "I somehow have a hard time buying that."

Kyle: *laughing slightly* "I guess you're not as stupid as I had thought."

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Before Kyle goes to school another day, Lisa tells him that she talked to the school counselor, and she’ll be available to talk to the two after school today. Kyle, however, spends the day in a state of excitied anticipation. He doesn’t care about anything bad, as he has big plans for the afternoon. Even as people apologize for laughing at the party, he's oddly, uncomfortably forgiving. He envisions people walking down the hall as he feels more popular and loved than ever, checking his time and to meet outside the school dumpsters at 3pm. Still, Kyle suspects that Nicholas won’t bother to show up, but he had different plans in store. Molly senses that Kyle is happier than normal at school today and Kyle makes up a lie that a video game he ordered should be arriving in the mail when he gets home. Also, his left hand doesn’t tremble at all.

 

Outside of school the next day, Nicholas is hanging and smoking a cigarette. He is looking at adult magazines and laughing with some buddies. Kyle soon comes up to him, and Nicholas laughs at him, as do some buddies. Nicholas walks up to him, telling him to “I guess I hurt your precious feefees. Well I'm not sorry, so fuck off, you little dweeb.” Kyle, looking around and seeing no one else in sight, taunts Nicholas. An angered Nicholas soon pulls in to punch Kyle, but his fist is unable to hit Kyle. In fact, it doesn’t even move at all, much to Nicholas’s confusion and frustration. He tries to punch him with his other fist, but it also freezes in place at an equal distance from Kyle’s face. He now becomes scared, and he sees Kyle with his hands placed towards each of Nicholas’s fists. His buddies begin to run away slowly, but Kyle trips them by freezing the feet, pushing their heads to the ground and knocking them out. The music takes a turn for the very intense. "And now for you."

 

Kyle proceeds to twist his palms, causing Nicholas’s arms to go limp and twist. Nicholas screams in pain, cursing and trying to find out what is happening. “You treat me like crap every day. Let’s see how you like it.” In this scene, Kyle uses his extrasensory powers to torment Nicholas, not showing a faint trace of mercy. He screams in pain and has no idea what’s happening, but Kyle doesn’t show any stray. The camera shots in this scene come with an obstructed view behind the dumpster, as we hear the screams and convulsions of Nicholas's bones, and they also show a distorted vision from Nicholas’s point of view.  As the final blow, Kyle uses telekinesis to snap the bones in his right arm, breaking it and causing massive pain for Nicholas. He begs for Kyle to stop the pain.

 

Kyle then kneels down and comes up to a miserable Nicholas’s face and tells him, “You were hit by a car, and your arm broke as a result. You tell anyone otherwise, and I’ll finish the job.” Nicholas nods, trying to hold back tears and noticing blood under his fingernails. He gets up and runs away with his limp arm, but moves slowly and shakenly. As he runs away, Kyle looks back with a dark smile, still seeing everyone passed out.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

*Patterson looks at Kyle in stunned silence. For once, he has no idea what to tell him. He’s not sure if he should be impressed or terrified.*

 

Kyle: Looking back, I don’t regret my actions. He tormented me throughout my entire school career. At least I spared his life. All of them in fact.

Patterson: Well, based on your description, killing him would have been merciful.

Kyle: Maybe, but I wasn't certain if he deserved a merciful punishment. Either way, I was free. But....at least it felt like I did at first. I don't regret it now, but...

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

For the next week, Kyle acts very strangely at school. He is far more introverted than he normally is, due to people talking about the car accident that seriously injured Nicholas. No one knows who the driver that caused the accident was, but Nicholas insists that this is how it happened. Kyle walks through the halls with his trademark trembling left hand. When Kyle sees Molly at lunch, she asks about how he is doing. Kyle tells her that he just wants to sit alone at lunch today. Molly had other friends, so Kyle tells her to sit with them. She declines this request, but Kyle snaps at her, causing her to back off and leave him, showing faint sadness. Kyle looks around, feeling regret for what he had just done. He has another hallucination of Molly in the corner, with a terrified look, telling him that he’s not the person that she was friends with.

 

We see Nicholas in a hospital bed, clearly in a very poor condition. We see a man in a suit come up to him and greet himself as a worker for a very special agency. He asks Nicholas who did this to him, and Nicholas insists that he was hit by a car, worried about what Kyle had told him. The man asks if that really is true, and he takes off his sunglasses and stares deeply into Nicholas’s eyes. “Tell me, Nicholas, who did this to you?” After Nicholas trembles a little bit in his bed, a nurse comes up to the man and tries to stop him, but he places his hand on her chest to stop her. Michael eventually caves and shouts, “Kyle Slater!!!” The man releases his hands, thanking Michael and leaving casually, as the other two in the room just stare at him.

 

That night, Kyle has a dream that the city is on fire, on a state of near destruction, and several bloodied bodies lay on the street. Kyle then walked alone on the street, towards the city hall. He kills everyone in his way using his brutal psychic powers, eventually killing the mayor of the town. It is only then when Kyle has a vision of the terror that he caused, and he can picture in his heads the screams of terror of everyone, and the agony and horror of the atmosphere, as well as several flashes of multiple colors. It causes Kyle to cover is ears and collapse, begging for all of this to stop. The noises and flashing become increasingly intense, until Kyle soon wakes up in a cold sweat with his alarm clock.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Patterson: “So, you felt as though your gift was getting the best of you?”

Kyle: “That’s one way of putting it. At least I didn't feel like Carrie or anything."

Patterson: “Kyle, I’d like you to know that I’ve been in your shoes.”

Kyle: “Have you really? Have you been terrified that you were a monster? Acted out on your monstrous impulses? Alienated the people who cared about you? I just can't believe. I want you to help me, and I believe you can. But you haven't felt the way I have.

Patterson: “I am being completely honest, Kyle. Our resemblances are, below the surface, surprisingly uncanny.”

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

As the days pass, Kyle becomes increasingly agitated and isolated among his peers and his family. He stops coming to class to spend time in a forest, believing that since he was already significantly more intelligent than his peers that he needed to spend time honing his powers. He had also convinced himself to dismiss any feelings of guilt for Nicholas, and that he had deserved the punishment given to him. He is able to get away with this by sneaking into school each morning and using his controlling powers on the faculty to convince them that he was at school. He uses his powers on some of the plants and animals, (all CGI, no animals were harmed) losing his humanity for some intense moments. Once he realizes what he’s doing, he runs away, eventually finding a highway.

 

On the highway, he sees a family with three children in a minivan, and he can see into the immense details of all the cars moving down on the highway. He however chooses to focus on this car. It makes him happy to see such a happy family, one much like any child would deserve to have. However, he notices that there is a car moving at a dangerously fast speed, whom Kyle can detect is drunk. Kyle sees that the car is on track to kill the entire family in a horrific death. He sees this as a premonition, and he is horrified. However, Kyle decides that he will not let this happen. He looks at the fast car, and he lifts the car up from the ground, causing it to fly to the side and proceed to roll on its side.

 

The other drives on the road look at the uncontrollable car in horror, as it continues to turn. The children with the family are also looking at the car, screaming. As the car comes to stop, we see a man impaled on the inside, and it was actually him who had died a brutal death. The family drives away, shaken by what had just happened. Kyle also realizes what he had just done. He had saved the family’s life after killing that man. He soon decides to get home as soon as possible. He soon arrives home, but it is rather late. Lisa is in the living room, and she yells at Kyle, asking where the hell he’s been. Michael is also there, but he is more worried rather than angry.

 

He runs upstairs, but Lisa tries to stop him and demanding an answer. Kyle insists that it doesn’t matter now that he’s home safe and he just wants to be alone. Lisa becomes more tense, but Kyle becomes increasingly angry. Lisa eventually gets even more forceful with him, but Kyle finally snaps. He stomps his foot, causing the objects in the house to shake, and much of the glass to burst. Michael is almost cut by one of the flying pieces of glass, but he only receives a minor cut on his hand. Lisa and Michael become terrified, and Lisa transitions to a state of begging for Kyle to calm down. Kyle soon runs down the stairs to go outside, but he opens the door, two suited men are waiting outside, suited similarly to the uniformed men seen throughout the film.

 

“Kyle Slater, I’d like you to come with us,” one of the men says. Kyle asks what they need him for. “Remember how Nicholas Garretson hasn’t been in school in a while?” Kyle soon pauses cold. “Nicholas?...the kid who was bullying Kyle…” Lisa pauses for a moment, and she has a horrifying realization, “…oh my god! Kyle, what have you done?!”Kyle tells her that he didn’t kill him, all he did was break his arm, soon beginning to sob out of genuine terror. "I didn't mean too, I was angry, I was scared, but I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry!" “But you used your powers outside of home?! Damnit, Kyle, how many times have we tried to prevent you from doing this?!” Kyle soon snaps at his parents, telling them that he’s done trying to be normal, and he create another burst of objects around the house. He knocks Lisa off of her fee, nearly breaking her blue necklace, and he causes a piece of window glass to fly into Michael’s chest, knocking him to the ground with blood dripping out of his mouth. Lisa looks on in horror after what has happened, looking in tears at Kyle. Kyle comes to reality with what he had done, and he tries to fight back tears. He says, "I have to keep you safe," and begins to run frantically outside, away from the house. The two men soon get into their car as Kyle grabs a bicycle to boost his speed.

 

Kyle runs frantically around the town in agony and rage, using his psychic powers to stop anyone who comes in his way. This chase scene is frantically shot, with blaring colors and intense music. Kyle soon crashes the car, and he steps out in great rage, beginning a move of destruction, even more so than he had already caused. His left hand stops shaking, surprisingly. However, the two men have also caused much destruction in trying to find Kyle, so the town that Kyle lives in has already taken much damage. Kyle runs into a building into the downtown area of the city, where the group of men try to find him.  He eventually climbs up to the rooftop, and there are many civilians watching his actions in terror. He soon looks around at the destruction he has caused, and he kneels down in shame. He hears Lisa’s words echo in his mind, “Kyle, what have you done?!” He killed his own father, who did nothing wrong to him. He caused significant damage to the town he grew up in. He was in a messed up shirt with stains of blood on it. He steps off of the roof of the building to kill himself, but the screen goes to black just before he lands.

 

We then see a car pull up to the downtown area, and we see two of the men carrying Kyle’s barely conscious body to the car. Many townspeople looks at him in horror, while others curse at him and call him the spawn of the devil. Also in the crowd, however, is Molly, who looks at him with a sad, desperate look. She didn’t know who he was anymore. She doesn’t know what to say, other than that she doesn’t know who he became. However, Kyle does not show any sadness, and he just looks at her with a blank stare, until he is pulled into the car. We then see the car driving on a bridge, which was pretty much the prologue of the film, although we see a wide shot of the scene, including the car’s plunge into the lake. The drive was about two hours long before this happened, allowing Kyle to regain consciousness as this happened.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Patterson: And now we’re back to where we started.

Kyle: Now that you know who I am, what are you trying to offer me? What do I even deserve?

 

Patterson tells him that he was offering Kyle a chance to turn it all around, by working with a special agency, one that he was the founder of, referred to as The Myraid. This agency uses people with Extrasensory powers to do good for the world. These include devising energy conservation methods, obtaining information from terrorists without torture, and devising cures for scientific diseases. However, the agency has to work in great secret, and almost no one knows that they even exist. (The people at the town assumed that the men were just special police.)

 

Patterson: You have the chance to undo all of this, to make things right. Or, you could just go to an institution, just with a pinch more security.

Kyle: No…no…I can’t do this. I can’t give up my life for this.

Patterson: Please, Kyle, think about what good this would bring, what you could do in this world.

 

Kyle could not be reasoned with, he wanted to leave and just go to a special jail. He was done with his will to live anyways, and he was perfectly fine choosing jail over trying to keep living with his powers. All that he would do is just hurt the people around him. Patterson frowns, telling him, that if that is what he wants, then so be it. Kyle is escorted out of the room, while Patterson stands up alone in this white room standing square in the center of the room in a wide shot, overlooking Kyle taking one last glance at him. As the doors close, falls to the ground, placing his right hand over his head and his left hand trembles a little bit. He then moves to a very sleek, almost sci-fi like, living quarters, where he finds an old woman sitting in a chair.

 

On the large television screen, we see news that a cure for leukemia is currently being finalized, and it will enter the world soon. Patterson says that this was merely one of the brighter days of his company, considering how his company also used psychic powers to torture criminals and develop dangerous weaponry. He then admits that what was worse was what he had done to end up as he was, from the very start, but he feels as though he can finally move on. “We must all fight our inner demons and left go of our past at one point, isn’t that right, Lisa?” He takes the hand of the old woman, who is currently wearing a familiar blue bracelet. The two smile at each other. As they smile, the camera zooms toward a monitor, where extrasensory people of all races, genders, nationalities, abilities, and more are working with The Myriad.

[Ezen Baklattan]

Frindle

 

Genre: Family Comedy

Date: May 15th

Director: Jesse Peretz

Theaters: 2,815 Cast: Alex Hibbert (Nicholas "Nick" Allen), Jessica Lange (Mrs. Granger)

Rating: PG for some language and mild humor

Runtime: 95min (1hr, 35min)

Budget: $25 million

 

At the start of fifth grade, Nicholas "Nick" Allen is unhappy because his English teacher is the much-disliked Mrs. Granger. One day, to stall for time in class, Nick decides to question where each word comes from. After hearing Mrs. Granger's explanation, and having to write an essay about it for homework, he creates a new name for the pen: "frindle." His classmates really liked the idea and soon, every child in school is using the word. It starts to gain national attention at that point. Mrs. Granger dislikes this new word because she thinks it is not respectful to the word "pen", which has a long history. She makes children stay after school and write lines for saying the word "frindle," but this proves to be a problem, as almost every pupil has to stay after school. Parents complain, and the bus drivers that have to work overtime are also unhappy and threatened the school to be on strike. The principal decides to visit Nick's house to end the use of the word, but the situation is out of Nick's hands now, and the word's usage cannot be controlled. At one point, a person puts up a sign in town advertising the word "frindle" and another person, one of his dad's longtime friends makes merchandise with the word "frindle" somewhere on it. The epilogue shows Nick as an adult in his own house. At this point, the word "frindle" became a common part of the language.He becomes very rich from the fund of his dad's longtime friend, a businessman who bought the rights to the word "frindle" when Nick was in fifth grade, and Mrs. Granger sends him a new copy of the Dictionary, recently updated to include new words, including "Frindle". She also includes a letter, where she explains that she intentionally stood against the word in order to make it more popular. He sends back a present, a gold pen with Mrs. Granger's name on it saying, "This object belongs to Lorelei Granger and she may call it any name she chooses to."

[Alpha]

Moving Dead Space to January 10th and Stargazer to October 16th.

[Xillix]

Okay first half is locked. I went like half a minute over on Spirit Curse and the ending's really rushed but eeeeeeeeeeh

[Xillix]

14 minutes ago, Alpha said:

Moving Dead Space to January 10th and Stargazer to October 16th.

Is Stargazer finished?

[Xillix]

btw @Ethan Hunt you forgot a budget for Baseball Boy. If you end up reading this feel free to add one even though that schedule half is locked.

 

Also @Alpha you forgot a running time for Dead Space.

[Xillix]

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd @Reddroast I assume it's PG-13 but you forgot a rating for One Piece.

 

Don't feel too bad because @YourMother the Edgelord forgot a rating for Can You Imagine?

 

And even @Spagheditary forgot a budget for Belmond Lane!

Edited October 2, 2018 by Xillix