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Hallowed Ground (2019)
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- What the hell have you done, savage? - My daughter will see her child with one eye only. Your son will not see his with two. We could not protect our children from violence. We must do better. - Shit. - You have arrived at your destination. - Babe, we're here. Well, it's lucky I've seen it - This looks like your kinda place. - Welcome, Alice, Vera. - Thank you, thank you so much. This place, it's so beautiful. - You're kind. This land has been in my family for generations. It's been a blessing. - And I understand there's a burial mound somewhere nearby? - Yes, you have entered a sacred space. - It's so quiet. - We say, listen to the silence. Let it speak to you. It can bring you peace. - I'm gonna go get our bags. - Then I'll give you the grand tour. We encourage our guests to fish the pond. It's fully stocked. We only ask that you eat what you catch or return it to the pond. These fish are not for mounting. - She said these fish are not for mounting. - My wife, she has the sense of humor of an eight-year-old boy. - Mounting, like sex. Having sex with a fish. Well, taxidermy is such a clinical term. - Mm-hmm. Who's that? - Oh, that's Sandy. He's the custodian of the property. You'll see him around. He's a little eccentric, but he's been with me for some time. He's, well, he's family. - And he lives here? - Yes, it's always good to have someone keeping a watchful eye. I encourage you to explore these woods, but digging is not allowed, even for archeologists. - Of course. - The bones of our dead still mingle with the soil here, and about that fact, we are deadly serious. - Oh. - You got us. - May I? Obsidian, it's a truth enhancer. It's said to bring to the surface the purest incarnation of oneself. It's beautiful. - Thank you. - Well, I'll leave you to enjoy. You have my cell if you need anything. - Thank you. - I'm sorry, I almost forgot, and this is very important. Please be mindful of the property line. Our neighbors are vehemently possessive of their land, as they call it. - I assume the line is clearly marked. - With barbed wire. - None of the reviews mentioned the creep factor around here. Well, she wasn't that weird on the phone. And what was all that, the bones of our dead are still mingling with the soil crap? I mean, come on. - Well, it is her belief system, so I don't know why you have to be so judge-y about it. - You mean, observant. - No, no, I mean judgmental. I mean, I study these people for a living, and you're judging them. - She had a weird energy. Okay, that's what I'm trying to say, but that's all I'm trying to say. You don't have to go all PC police on me, okay? Hey, I don't want to fight about stupid shit. It's not why we're here. - No, it's not. - To not fighting about stupid shit. And to some more of that. - I hope so. - What time is it? - Late-ish? - Hey, do you know what time it is? - Ally. - Hey! - Ally! - What? - The man works here, give him a break. - Well, I'm just trying to listen to silence, V. - I'm not disturbing you pretty ladies, am I? - A little bit, yeah. - Well, I am so sorry. See, I got a lotta property I gotta work on. Much cooler at night, you know? Man my age gotta be mindful of his health in this thick heat. That heat'll wear you out. Yes, ma'am. Oh, I shoulda been mindful of y'all's privacy too. Dang me to hell. - It's okay. - So, y'all girlfriends, huh? I mean, uh, you know, you're uh, y'all are romantically entwined. - That's really none of your business. - Um, we're married. - No, I ain't got no problem with it, nope. I'm a, what'd they call it? Progressive. I have smoked marijuana, I enjoyed it. I believe folks love who they love. Y'all born with it, I believe that. Yeah, I believe that. Well, I reckon I'll go put the tractor back up under the shed and mosey on over to my old trailer there. Yes, ma'am. Y'all holler if you need anything. I just wanted to say hidee-doo. All right, then. - Thank you. - Yes, ma'am, my pleasure. Nighty, night. - Breathe, breathe, just breathe. - Yeah, one big creeptastic breath. - Shh. You could be on the next cover. Take this off. I told you, you weren't getting rid of me. We are not fucking done. - Stop it, stop it, stop it. - Oh, I am so bad at this. - No, you're not. - Yeah, you know I am. - Let go, just let go. - Trying. - Try harder. You love me and feel me The whole night, yeah I wanna kiss you - Just be with me tonight. - I, I, I'm sorry, I, I just don't think I'm ready, Ally. Look, maybe soon, okay, I hope, but just, let's just talk tonight. - But we can talk while we're dancing. We don't have to be 10 feet apart to talk. We can be touching and talking. - Ally, come on, you know what I mean. You're, you're trying to have sex with me, and you don't really wanna just talk while we're dancing. I mean, come on. - So, is that what this trip is about? I don't wanna hate you - Talk? All over - Well, it's about communication, yes. Don't want you to hate me - Well, I'm of the opinion that you don't have to talk to communicate. I wanna fuck you. That is communication. I want to embrace you - In, in a way, yes, you're-- - V, get out of your head! Please, just be the emotionally dialed in woman that I fell in love with and leave the neurotic analytical intellectual at the university. - But that's me too. Don't you get that? And, and emotional? I don't know what's more emotional than betrayal. And with a man. Do you know how fucked up that is for-- - For what, for a lesbian? But I'm not, I have always been bi, every day since the day you met me, when, by the way, I was dating a man. I am bi, whether your community chooses to accept such things or not. - It is not about that. - It's fucking part of it, and you know it. - Look, after, after, I became a ghost, emotionally. - You were a ghost for a long time before that, V. - I thought I didn't have to pretend with you, to be some kind of cookie cutter version of a romantic. I thought we were beyond this, Ally. You now, I had my tenure, I had my-- - Oh, here we fucking go, tenure. Do we have to - Yeah! - keep talking - Yeah, me too. - about the university? - Just shut up To feel alone by myself - Just shut up. You know what, just, I wish for like just a minute that I could make you understand what it was like to grow up gay in the Bible Belt. You wanna talk about bi-antagonism, try homophobia in the South. You know, to be made to feel like you've got some sort of disease, like, like your cells are twisted up on the inside and that's what makes me like girls instead of boys. You know, I never, ever got over that, just this nagging feeling that something was wrong with me physically, that, that my body was sick in some way, and you know, every time I actually allowed myself to be with a woman, I felt dirty, deep down, I felt dirty. But then I met you. And the connection was more than physical, and for the first time, I fell in love with a woman for more than just her body. I fell in love with her mind. And it wasn't dirty anymore. And then that beautiful, brilliant woman chose a man over me. - Because he studied, he craved my body, and I think, I know that you used to do that because I felt it. I'm a carnal person, V, that's who I am. And no amount of talking can change that. - You gonna answer that? - Why me? - 'Cause I'm a photographer, and you are incredibly photogenic. - That's not an answer. - Sure it is. I could ask you the same thing. Why are you doing this? - It's something different. My wife won't have sex with me, and you will. - Where'd you go? Ally? - Fuck, no where, I'm, I'm right here. - You wanna talk now? - I'm-- - I know, I am too. Let's go for a walk. - Here, fishy, fishy, fishy. Here, fishy, fishy, fishy. Mornin'! Feedin' the fish. How was y'all's evenin' last night? - Not quite what we'd hoped. - It was great, this is a lovely place. - Yup. Y'all headed out to the mound? - Yes. - I've always been intuitive. - Uh-huh. - Now, be mindful of that property line now. - Will do. Come on. - Mm-hmm, all right then. Here, fishy, fishy, fishy. - Oh, wow. Hey baby, what are all these painted rocks? - Oh, well, this is still a very active shrine. - How many people are buried out here, do you think? - Could be hundreds. - Really? - Mm-hmm. See, when a member of the tribe died, they would place them up on an elevated platform above the mound, and then family and friends would leave food, clothing, sometimes kill a dog or something-- - What? - Oh, um, the deceased's dog, if the deceased had a companion or a pet, anything that they believed would help usher them on their journey to the spirit world. And then, the body would literally lay above the mound until the flesh began to rot. - Gross. - Yeah. Well, it gets better. So, the Choctaw had what they called , bone pickers. See, they would grow the fingernails really long because it was their job to scrape and clean the decomposing flesh from the bones, and then burn it while friends and family sang songs of celebration. - Celebration? - Well, yes. You see, with the flesh destroyed, the deceased's last remaining tether to the material world would be broken, and the spirit could truly be free. - Hmm. - So then, they would take the bones, and they would place them inside the mound and have a great feast with the bone picker presiding. - I hope he washed his hands first. - Yeah. - Oh. You know, I just don't understand why anyone would celebrate death. I mean, someone is dead, what's to celebrate? - Well, I guess that depends on what you think death is. You know, if you just close your eyes and breathe, you can really feel something in this place, something beyond all this stuff. Try. - Oh. - What's funny? - Oh, come-- - What's funny? - Oh, come on, V, like you can really feel something in this place. - All right, yeah, okay, well, please don't be disrespectful, but-- - I'm not being disrespectful. - Okay, are we done? Okay, come one. Ah, you're hopeless. - Can I have one of the rocks? - No. - The dreaded property line. Wonder who lives on the other side of this. Probably some redneck asshole. All this beauty grinding to a screeching halt with a barbed wire fence and a cheap Keep Out sign. - Hey. - What? - Kiss me. Oh my god. Shit. - What the fuck? - You came onto our property, and your friend's hurt. - Baby, that looks bad. - Yeah, it's probably fine, but I guess I need a tetanus shot or something. - Didn't you see the signs? - Is that a cat? - Mm-hmm, came onto our property, killed one of our chickens. - Lonny Barham, where you at? Lonny Barham! - At the property line. We got trespassers. - Lonny Barham, what did you do? - I ain't done nothin', Daddy. - You cut yourself? - Um, just on the fence, yeah. - On the fence, on this fence? - Yeah, that fence. Do you, your kid killed a cat. - That the one that ate our Dominicker hen? - Mm-hmm. - That's my boy. That cat's been wreaking havoc like a son of a bitch on our property killin' all our chickens. You know, you might wanna wrap that up. - I'll be fine. - You mighty confident. You best go ahead and wrap it up, there you go. Come on, now. Don't want it to get infected. My name's Bill Barham, this is Lonny. Pleased to meet y'all. Y'all be safe now. Come on, kiddo. - I think we should go. This place is off. - Is it any more off than anywhere else? Just please remember why we came here in the first place. - I mean, yeah, okay, it's fucked up everywhere, but at least at home, we know the score. - Right. I guess call blocking doesn't work on your phone. - Did you cross the property line? - Nita, I-- - Alice, I thought you might like to see the results of our latest shoot. - I'm calling 9-1-1. - Wait, just give me a minute, okay? I just wanted to talk about what happened. I feel we had a misunderstanding. - You've gotta be kidding. - I was just stopping by to see how your stay was going, and I found him here. - Thatcher, what the fuck are you doing? - I called, quite a few times. I don't know why I had the tracker put on the car. I'm troubled, obviously. - Look, I don't know what this is, but whatever it is, it's not worth you destroying your life over, which is what you're going to do here. - You must be Vera, the cold fish professor. I have long waited to meet you. - Did you hear what I said? - I think so. Why would I be destroying my life? I'm, I'm here to make amends with the woman I love. That is a noble thing. Isn't that what you're doing? Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had sex with a camera? Answer the question. Have you ever fucked a camera? See, you can take all the pictures in the world, people, places, and capture emotion, a perspective, a mood, bottle it up into celluloid, or nowadays, into thousands and thousands of digital pixels and put 'em in this little device called a camera. And be celebrated and paid handsomely for your work. Some might even call you the Great Thatcher Vance, which of course is empowering. But the device itself, the instrument of your success, it doesn't love you. It's cold to the touch. It doesn't satisfy your basic biological needs. Of course, you'd know something about that, wouldn't you? 'Cause you sure weren't satisfying Ally's. - Damn you, Thatcher. - I am really tired of being beat up by women. Now, I'd like us to just sit down and converse while Alice tells me what she thinks of our latest shoot. - You're insane. - You're still wearing the necklace I gave you. - You said you got that at an artisan's market. - Mm, really, Ally. These are better than the first time. You remember the first time. - I remember the last time. - What are you doing? I said, I love you. - Don't you ever put your hands on me again. - You crazy bitch. It's gonna take more than that to get rid of me though. So do I. - What is going on here? - Bill. - Now, Nita, don't go overreacting. We're simply responding to a complaint. - We just saw you. - Did ya? We're here in a formal capacity, just so everyone's clear, you were caught trespassing on Barham property, and you were seen by a child doing some unsavory things, which, perhaps ought best be left behind closed doors, if done at all. - You mean the psycho kid with the dead cat. - Alice. - You got spirit. I like that. But if you wanna get off with a warning, your better keep your mouth shut. - A warning for what? - Sir, we would like to report an unwanted person. - An unwanted person? Is that like a trespasser? Like what y'all are? - Sir, look, this is my ex-girlfriend-- - You have got a lot of fucking nerve. - I'm here just trying to figure some things out. - You are not wanted here. - I didn't ask you. - Hey! - Did you fucking grab me? - I'll do whatever the hell I want. I'm gonna do a hell of a lot worse if you don't calm your ass down. You understand me? - Yes, sir. - Now, I don't know what kinda weird ungodly sexual proclivities your degenerates have goin' on here, but I'm gonna tell you this-- - Bill! - Uncle Sandy. - I got a bone to pick with you. - That right? - What you say we walk over here and have us a little talky talk. Jerry. What the hell's goin' on here? - You know they crossed the property line, you know what that gives me the right to do. - You gon' leave these girls alone. - I'm gonna do what I'm want to do. - Well, that's real nice of you, Bill, Jerry. - Y'all have a nice one. - What was that about? - Nita, you all right? - What did you tell him? - Well, I told him the truth, that he's an asshole. Ladies. Pfft. - We're leaving. - I'm afraid that's not possible. For any of you. At least not for now. We made deals with devils, heinous men. - The Barhams? - They'd encroached on our land. Our little sliver of the world seemed to recede further each season. We had survived the Trail of Tears, but my people had no delusions about their security. The mounds themselves were threatened, the very soul of our people. After the war, their Dark Dragon cult grew, fueled by fear and blood. Fear that they would lose the choke hold they had on power. - The war? - Between the States. - There's a cult? - My great-great-grandmother, Coahoma Anoche, was walking with her dog in the woods one night when she stumbled onto their land, or so they claimed. The line was muddy then. One of them saw her, used some slur. She didn't back down. She was a very powerful woman. Coahoma means red panther in our language, and she was worthy of that name, so strong, but her strength cost her dearly that night. Three of them, sons of Curtwell Barham, beat her horribly. She lost an eye. One of them raped her, impregnated her. They left her for dead at the foot of the mound, killed her dog, hung him from a tree by his tail. - That's awful. - Her father, my great-great-great-grandfather, was a bone picker, Nashoba Nawa, the walking wolf. He was a deeply spiritual man, but he lost his mind at what they did to his daughter. He took his revenge on Coahoma's attackers. With his great long fingernails he ripped their throats from their bodies so they couldn't scream as he peeled their flesh from their bones and burned it in the field behind their barn. But a baby with Barham blood was to be born, the only thing preventing immediate retaliation. When the child was born, Old Man Curtwell Barham approached Nashoba with a proposition. If Nashoba would offer his life freely to the Barhams, they would make no claim on the child and do no violence to any other members of our family or tribe. The slate would be wiped clean, provided no Choctaw or guest thereof ever trespassed on Barham property again, for to him, that most innocent act of Coahoma resulted in the deaths of three sons. Nashoba agreed. They hung him on a cross, set fire to it, and a pact was forged in blood. - Why have we never heard any of this before? - The slate was indeed wiped clean, just as Curtwell Barham, then Judge Curtwell Barham, had promised. The story exists now only in memory. - And we can't leave because? - The Barhams have a claim on you now. You and your guest. According to the rules of the pact, they have 48 hours to decide whether or not assert it. But if you leave our land, I assure you, they will. - What the actual fuck are we talking about right now? - We're talkin' about the spillin' of your blood, possibly in a particularly painful way, but I mighta warded off that possibility if you stay where ya are and don't trouble the waters any further. - Okay, I'm outta here. Look, get outta my way, old man. - Name's Sandy, but you right, I am old, even got a little bit of sense for all my years. - So, you're saying we can't leave for at least 48 hours, but we may not even be safe here? - That's correct. But I believe this place will protect you. It has protected others. There are many powerful spirits here. - I'll take my chances on the road. - Thatcher, let's just have drink and think this over. - You have done well, my son. To spill the blood to still the heart of this invader, this murderer who has trespassed our land and taken what was ours. We protect our sacred soil and every living thing that inhabits it. Those who defile our land become an offering in blood. Give me your hand. Life is suffering, life is pain, but there is also glory on the other side of that pain. May your blood co-mingle with this offering, may it become an offering in and of itself acceptable to our Master, our Lord, the Great Dragon whose blood has given us life. Before the staff of our enemy say what must be said. - Amen. - Say it like you mean it. - Amen. - Take this vile creature and hang it by its tail from a tree so that every passerby will know, so that every passerby will understand. Gentlemen, tonight we have the opportunity for sacrifice far greater than a cat, and we shall not allow some Injun burial mound to stand in the way of that. - Can I smoke in here? - No. - Who's gonna fuckin' know or care? - I care. It stinks and it's offensive. You cheated on me with a smoker? - I used to smoke, did you know that? - No. - Maybe you don't know me as well as you think you. Many a wild smile That made us lost - So, what's the plan here, ladies? Maybe a hot threesome before we die? - Oh, fuck off. - Look, I want to leave, I really do, but I'm just so fucking intrigued to see how this turns out. - My romantic getaway. - Why are you lyin' to yourself, Ally? You're a city girl. What are you doin' out here in bumblefuck? I found a path to our salvation - Don't call her that May be blind, but you're still - What? The blush found in your eyes The candle on the wind - Stop calling her that. Recognize - What? - Ally, you can't call her that. In the space between It's too far to go - I can do whatever I damn well please. And now, I'm gonna have a cigarette. That I bring forth Oh oh Oh oh - I, seriously, I mean, really, what did you see in that guy? - You don't wanna know. Oh oh - Look, if you still have feelings for him, just tell me. Just be honest with me. - I don't, V, he's not what I thought he was. I, I don't know what I thought he was, but he is not that thing, that person. He isn't anything to me. - Then why do you still wear his necklace? - It's not his necklace, it's mine. When something is given to you, it's yours. It's mine, and I like it. And like Nita was saying, it makes me feel, I don't know, something. - So, suddenly you found you inner spirituality? Oh oh Oh oh oh - Leave with me, right now. I mean, most of this stuff has to be bullshit anyway, so let's just go right now. - What about Thatcher? - What about him? I mean, he can do whatever he damn well pleases, right? And he doesn't mean anything to you. That's what you said, isn't it? Look, you want me to be spontaneous. This is me being spontaneous, so let's go. What? Alice, what are you doing? Ally. - Get in the car, now! Fuck. - What? - I forgot my phone. - Well, you can get another phone. - What the fuck? - Oh my god. - The Dragon desires blood! Oh. - They're not gonna let us leave, and they took Thatcher, V, they fucking took him. - Oh, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna call somebody. - V. - I don't have my phone either. - What the fuck, Alice? Come on, take this thing off. What is this? - This is the beginning of your purification, my friend, so that you may become a living sacrifice acceptable to our mighty Dragon Lord whose death gives life to his chosen. - You can't, you can't do this. You, you can't, somebody, somebody'll find out. - Everyone who matters in this place stands at my side, and the rest cower in fear. - Why me, though? - As opposed to your dyke friends, you mean? Well, the short answer is, they're better people than you are. You are and always have been a self-serving manipulative lascivious prick bent and driven only by your own lusts, by your insatiable carnal predilections. I am right about that, am I not? - You don't know me. - I know many things, but don't worry. Your girlfriend and her wife are not out of the woods just yet. - What do you mean by that? - You did get those bitches' phones, did you not, Jerry? - Mm-hmm. - Good deal. Good deal. - Ooh, whoa, ooh, okay. Okay, ooh. - Do you like my saber? It's a family heirloom. My great-great-great-granddaddy, Judson Barham wore and wielded this sword in the War of Northern Aggression as lieutenant in Perrin's Regiment, 11th cavalry. And with this sword, he spilled the blood of vile Yankee trespassers and usurpers, and now, all these years later, it will spill yours. Isn't that glorious? Shall we get started? - Can we talk about this? You are blessed, my child. For blood is life and blood must have blood. Tonight, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. X marks the spot. - Glorious night. - Yeah. - Husband. - Wife. - I brought your wine. - Two glasses? - I, I thought I might have a little, that we might celebrate together what is to come tonight. - That's mighty presumptuous of you. - Then the shame is mine. - But tonight our son will see his first human sacrifice, and that indeed is worthy of celebration, so by all means, pour two glasses. To you, Mother. - They must have been inside the house. They were inside the house with us. - What are they gonna do to him? What have they done? So much for this place protecting us, right? I mean, isn't that what she said? - I said this place would protect you, not him. The ancestors know the character of souls. Tonight, your friend will die. Their thirst for blood will be satiated. This will be over, and you'll be safe. It is what has to be now. - We can't let that happen. I don't care who he is or was to you, he's still a human being. - Do you know where they took him? - I feared you might respond this way. Come. - What is this? - This is your only hope. - Y'all ever shot a gun before? - Yeah. - These are the shells here. I can tell y'all where you goin' and what to do, but I can't help you once you get there. - So, if he's one of them, why would he help us? - Sandy's only one of them by blood, and that tie is strong, impenetrable at times, but his heart is good. - They kill people and he allows that to happen. How do you call that good? - You don't know what Bill Barham is capable of. His father, Sandy's brother, died a relatively young man. Bill inherited his position at 18 and was drunk on power and blood from the beginning. These last years would have been far worse without Sandy to mitigate the damage. He's more capable of doing that from the inside. This is as far as I go. I'll pray the ancestors watch over you. - Come with us, don't you want this to end? - Of course, I do, but my birthright was an oath, sealed with blood, and I cannot betray that. If you get the chance to kill Bill Barham, whatever the cost, you must take it. He does not know the meaning of mercy. Do you understand? - Yeah. Holy shit. - Behold, my husband, my priest, my lord. - No, no, no, no. - You are blessed, you are a living sacrifice. Your blood is food for the Dragon, the dying and rising Lord of all. Come, my son. - Don't come after me. - What are you gonna do? - I did this, do not come after me. I love you. - It's okay. Try again. - Let him go, take me instead. - And here I was gonna let you off scot-free. - Do whatever you want to me, just let him go, and let my wife go. - Whatever I want? That's tempting, it truly is, but you are standing on my land, and for that reason alone, I can do whatever the hell I want to you regardless. You're not a killer. A moral reprobate maybe, a doer of unnatural deeds, but not a killer, I know. You wanna take his place, I can accept that. Give me the gun, or you can shoot me and ensure that you, he, and your pretty girlfriend end up strung up on a cross! Jerry! Saved by a woman, disgusting. Untie him. Get off my land. Friends, we have new blood, take her. I hope you fully appreciate what you've done. If not, you will soon. - No! - No, damn it, Vera! Run, run! - You missed! Go get her. - No, no, that wasn't the deal, please, leave her, no. Vera! - Wait. - Damn it. God. - We'll just take this hero here. Take her to the stall. - Come on, get up. Okay. Okay. Okay, let's just. Shh. You're too heavy, I don't know if I. - She, she never loved me. She never stopped lovin' you and that got to me. - Why me? - Because I'm a photographer, and you're incredibly photogenic. - That's not an answer. - Sure it is. I could ask you the same thing, why me? You're not even into dudes. - I used to be into guys, but I needed something different. My wife won't have sex with me, but that doesn't mean I don't love her. She's the only person I could ever really see myself loving in that way. But this is about one thing. - Okay, we gotta go. We gotta go, come on. Come on. - It's a big deal to postpone the ritual, but for you, I'm making an exception. But how to purify for the glorious death that is to come? With a blade? A whip? A cane. There are so many options. Jerry. Go see about my wife and child. You too, Winslow. Now that I think about it, there is another option. Hell, it might even fix you, purge you of your aberrant desire for the same sex. You have, of course, been with men, but you have never been with one like me. - You have a wife, a child. - King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. You, of course, would fall into the latter category, if I were to let you live, if I were to let her live. What would you say if I offered you such a proposition? - If you let her live. - Deal. - Untie me. - I am man, superior in every way to woman. Inside me lives a dragon, and now, I shall show you the meaning of suffering. Get up. - Nita, Nita! Whoa. He's lost a lot of blood, he needs a doctor. - He's lost too much blood, I'm afraid. - Do something, damn it! How are you gonna just let these monsters do this to people? - Let me make a call. - I'm sorry. - It doesn't take much of a man to torture a helpless victim. - Oh, you're helpless now, are ya? You mean, you're to my equal. Isn't that what you feminists think? That a woman is somehow the same as a man? I would imagine that belief is prevalent among your kind. You're gonna like this better from behind. You know, in certain Asian countries, caning is a punishment reserved for men only. Since you wanna be one so badly, I figured it was a good place to start. - Bill. - What? Can't you see I'm in the middle of somethin'? - I can see that. You need to go see to your son. He's all shook up about what he's seen earlier. I don't think he's ready for it. - You presume to educate me about my own son? He's got a stronger stomach than that. Anyway, Jerry's seein' about him. - He ain't never seen a man's flesh fallin' from his bones. He ain't never been asked to nail a human being to a board before. That's a long way from a 'possum or a cat. He needs his father to help him understand better what it all means. - Can you take over here? Can ya? - Yup. - All right, then. I'm gonna stick around for the first lick just to make sure you're not holding somethin' back. Get on with it, I'm tryin' to go see about my son. Good, carry on. - This is gonna cost me, you know? Nita's my daughter. Her mama died havin' her. I insisted she keep her mama's name, good Choctaw name, so she wouldn't be polluted by the Barham name. Take her away from here. She's got a. - A what? - Well, you best better be goin'. Go on! - Your technique needs a little work. - Bill! - I always wondered what it felt like to wear this thing. - Bill's gonna get his saber back. - Ally! Oh my god, are you, how did you even? Baby, are you okay? - I don't know, no, yes, we don't have much time. Her, she's his daughter. - What? - Sandy, motherfucking Sandy, she's his daughter, V. - Oh, okay, we need to get you inside. - What is going on with this fucked up incestuous family? - Ally, Ally. - What? - This is Nita's family, and um, Thatcher didn't make it. And um, I tried, I'm sorry. - May I tend to your wound? - I don't know. - Minco's a nurse. - Thank you. They're coming. - Get your traitorous ass down. - Oh, goddamn. - Tonight has been unexpected. We have traveled from the verge of glorious sacrifice to the loss of two of our own. For this, I shoulder my share of the blame. But a society that has normalized debauchery, women and men embracing unnatural desires and inclinations, this too must be taken into account. But more importantly, betrayal, deep, disgraceful, and familial has branded our tribe tonight. You. I only kept you close, hell, perhaps even kept you alive out of respect for my father. I see now that was a mistake. But maybe, maybe you might help me achieve my end tonight before you receive your just desserts. Won't be long now, Uncle. - Go to hell, Bill. - Daddy, Daddy! - He, he was goin' crazy, wanted to be with his daddy. - I wanna come with you! I wanna see you purify them. - Thought you was all shook up earlier. - I'm better now. - What you think, Mama? - The decision is yours, my husband and my lord. - You need to learn to control your son. He ain't a man yet. You understand me? - Yes. - You wanna come, boy? See your legacy up close and personal? Come on. You go home, prepare. I truly do not know what is to come of tonight. May the Dragon purify this world with fire and blood and may we be his instruments. Give me that. Get up, get your ass up. - Drive as far and as fast as you can, and don't look back. - What will you do? - Trust the ancestors. - I admire your faith. - What else is there now? - I'm afraid you can't leave. - What? - They're here. - Minco, take our daughter away from here. - I won't leave you. - You must and you will. I'll handle my family, you protect ours. Go out the back. - Get the shotgun and the sword. - You gonna regret this, nephew. - How in the hell you think that's gonna happen? Nita! You send those depraved murderous dykes out here right now with my saber or I'm gonna put a bullet in your daddy's traitorous brain! You hear me? - Don't you worry about me,. Don't you worry about me. - You shut your treacherous mouth! Fox King, bring my pistol. - I'm gonna go talk to him. - You're not the one he wants. I should go. - If you go, I'm going with you. I just got you back, I'm not leaving your side again. - I want you to pay close attention now, Nita. - Son of a bitch. - Please, don't do anything until I've exhausted all options. - What options? - I shall not ask again, Nita. - No. Please. Wait. We can solve this. - I told you how we solve it. - This has to end, Bill. So many of our own have suffered, and for what end? - How can you say that to me after what Nashoba did? To take our precious Barham boys from their own beds on their own sacred soil and to massacre them like hogs to the slaughter. - They were not innocent, and Nashoba gave his life as surety. Cousin, our blood is co-mingled now. We are the same. And the soil, whether here or there, never belonged to either of us anyway. We have the power to lay this to rest. - I have the power! The Dragon gave it to me. Goodbye, Nita. - No! No! You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch. - Shut up. I wanted you to see your daughter bathed in her own blood before you died. How does it feel? You take the Dragon's prize, he takes from you. Now, maybe you understand, actions have consequences. - Wait. You were right. Actions do have consequences. I'm to blame. I manipulated Sandy because I couldn't manipulate you. I'm the one you want. I'm the vile thing that set this all in motion. - Yes, you are, but so what? You belong to me, and so does your pretty wife. - Please. We made a mistake. We never meant you or your family any harm. We didn't even know that we crossed the line. We only came to this place because we just wanted to find some peace and. - There is no peace here, only fire and blood. - I can't breathe. - That's the idea. - Stop! - Bring me my saber. Now. Kneel and place it on the ground. I see now it should have been you from the beginning, but that's all behind us, isn't it, Alice? Know this, your wife will suffer horribly for your sins, and we shall rejoice in her suffering. Watch closely, son, do not avert your eyes. - I am woman, you son of a bitch, and a fuckin' dragon lives inside me too. - Come. I told you about this place. - But they didn't protect you, the ancestors. - Protected you. It is said our , Nanishta gave hearts to women closer to its own than those that it gave to men. I see that in the two of you. - This is over right now. Y'all hear me? I'm next in line, I'm callin' a halt to it. - Traitor, Lonny is the heir! - When he's of age, he is, but he ain't there yet. I'm the only Barham standing here right now, and I'm tellin' you, it's done. I made my decision, I made it. Bill didn't agree, but he ain't around no more. Barham blood must hold the priesthood of the Dragon. Ain't that the way it goes? Y'all gonna leave these ladies alone to go their own way, and y'all gonna help me clean up this god-awful mess. And I know you know a thing or two about cleanin' up messes, Judge. You too, Mayor. Or y'all can try to kill me. You can sure try. But you gonna go ahead and make a decision right now. Go on. - Everyone. - It'll be dawn soon. - Longest night of my life. - Look, let's just get a motel, something so we can sleep, regroup. - Yeah. - Once we're far, far away from here, obviously. You okay? - I'll live. - I love you. - I love you. - We're gonna make this work. Let's go home. - Yeah. I'm sorry about Nita. We slept late. - Guess we were worn out. - Coffee? - Yeah. - Yeah. - I fixed that busted pipe underneath the house. Shouldn't have no more problem with it. I gotta go to the other property. Stella, you know it was the right thing, don't ya? Whatcha drawin' there, Lonny? - You won't be around forever. Here the soil runs thick with memory Of folks long dead and gone Here a wolf howls at a blood red moon And a night bird screams a song There's a glory in recollection And a wound that lingers on And the earth shall hold the story Here and yon Well, we packed our bags and hit road On the trail to the redeemed But blistered feet and hardened hearts Are harder to heal than they seem There's a poverty of forgiveness In a world that's cruel and mean But there's somethin' in the water here That might wash it clean Well, we searched for sanctuary Past trailer parks and power lines But beauty stained with danger here In these woods time left behind Still history spins a tale of A belief that was sublime Of a place where the dead and the living intertwine When the cicadas sing their dusky hymn And the night falls black and long We steel ourselves against the dark We need each other to keep us strong When fire and blood rain down on us We'll hold each other all alone 'Cause love is like a shotgun In a world gone wrong 'Cause love is like a shotgun In a world gone wrong Walkin' wolves howl in this place A warning or a battle cry There are souls harbored in this place Where the good just had to die But here we find our fighting song Hold each other through the night In the morning, the sun will beat down Through a magnum sky Well, we packed our bags and hit the road Back up the trail of the redeemed Knowing blistered feet and hardened hearts Are harder to heal than they seem There's a poverty of forgiveness In a world that's cruel and mean But there's somethin' in the water here That might wash it clean Well, we packed our bags and hit the road Back up the trail of the redeemed With calloused feet and altered hearts Not near as hard as they may seem |
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