Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)

- I sit here, and I can't
believe that it happened.
And yet I have to believe it.
Dreams or nightmares.
Madness or sanity,
I don't know which is which.
- I'll just take a minute!
- Don't worry, the
farm'll be great for her.
Apartment was beginning
to scare me, too.
- For the first
time in months, I'm free.
Forget the doctors.
Forget that place.
I'm okay now.
We'll start over.
Ah!
- Hey, Jess!
Come on, we gotta get moving!
- Don't tell them, act normal.
- Find anything good?
It's great!
What's it say?
- "Frail as the leaves
that shiver on a spray.
"Like them we flourish,
"like them, decay."
- See?
You're less frightened already.
- Cast off!
What have you got in the case?
- My mother-in-law.
- I wished it was mine.
Where you folks going?
- Other side of Brookfield.
It's a farm on Cove Road
called the Old Bishop Place.
Do you know it?
- Yes, I do.
Well, we'll be on the
other side very soon.
- This is your
new hometown, Jessica.
- Was that it?
Wait, wait!
Can we go around again?
- Okay. Waltz
us around again, Woody.
Don't blink or you're gonna miss it.
- Look what they're driving.
- Damn hippies!
- Creeps!
- Some welcoming committee.
- I think maybe
it's our mode of transportation.
- Look at those bandages.
I think these guys are left
over from the Civil War.
- It's cheaper than a station wagon.
- Good riddance.
- Oh God, it's fantastic!
The , I'm so excited.
The stuff for supper is on top
and the bedding and the sheets like that
are all in the very front.
- Woman's work is never done.
- Jessica,
why have you come here?
- Get it open?
You okay?
- Don't tell them.
They won't believe you.
- Yes.
- Well, let's go in.
Do you like it?
What's wrong?
It's okay, Jess, I saw it, too.
- Oh, I thought--
- What's the matter?
- Someone's upstairs.
- No kidding?
That's great, eh!
- Stay here.
- I really did see something.
- I believe you.
We know you're in here, now come out.
That's a girl!
- Hold it!
What are you doing here?
I mean, I'm sorry if we frightened you
but you just scared the hell out of us.
- Oh, that's all right.
Who are you?
This place belongs to me now.
Oh, I just found this place,
and I thought it was abandoned,
so I just sort of moved in.
Then I saw this hearse
coming up the drive.
- We must've scared you
as much as you scared us.
- Well, I'll get my things.
- And let's get the rest
of the stuff, Woody.
Woody?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Is this your room?
- Yes.
I mean no!
- Where will you go?
Town?
- Sounds good enough for me.
- You don't care where you go?
- Mm-mm.
Do you?
- Well...
Yes , I think I do now.
Have you any transportation?
- Mm-mm.
- Well, how will you get to town?
It's a couple of miles, isn't it?
Look, why don't you stay
and have dinner with us
and spend the night?
- Oh, thanks, I guess I'll keep moving.
- Please do.
We have plenty and we can drive you
into town in the morning.
Please.
Please.
Stay.
- Well, why not?
- Good.
I'm Jessica.
- Hi, I'm Emily.
- That's far enough.
- It better be.
- That's great.
- You go to school?
- I went and then I dropped.
Then I went again.
And if I like it around
here, I plan to drop again.
I probably should go back to school,
but I don't know why.
What do I need a degree for?
- But don't you live somewhere?
- Oh yeah, sure, but.
I haven't been there for a long time,
and I'm not sure I'm ready to go back yet.
- Nice.
- Do you play?
- No!
I can't even carry a tune.
Stay forever
My love
We're together
My love
Leave the world
You know about
And stay with me
My love
Stay forever
My love
We're together
My love
- He likes her.
Leave the world
You know about
- It's
blood, Jessica, it's blood.
And stay with me
- It's blood, blood.
Blood.
My love
- Bravo!
- Wow!
He's terrific!
I mean, really.
- He's an important man.
He was with the philharmonic.
- Are you gonna
play somewhere around here?
- Mm, no, he's gonna farm, raise apples,
have a garden, get back to nature.
He's a nut.
- I'm the nut.
Coffee is being served in our living room.
Great to have a fire.
- Didn't you have
a fireplace in New York?
- In New York?
Have you ever been to New York?
- No.
Oh, I've always wanted to go there.
- Oh?
- Yeah.
- It's a mad city.
- Gosh, it's
- How long have you been here?
- Ages.
- Did you ever get lonely?
- Oh, sure. Sure.
But sometimes it's not lonely.
Sometimes,
I hear things.
Like, you know, when I'm alone
and it's very quiet, like now.
You can let your imagination go
and listen to the stillness
and watch it get dark,
and the shadows come to life.
You know what I mean?
Have you ever had anything
like that happen to you?
- Well.
Yes.
- Like, like what?
- Like,
once, I was going to your concert,
and I was afraid I was gonna be late,
and I was very exhausted around that time
because my father had just passed away.
And,
I woke up,
and suddenly I saw my father.
And I heard his voice.
He was calling to me.
"Jessica."
- It was probably me begging
for her to be on time.
- For a change!
- Let's have a seance!
- Why not?
Don't you believe in spirits?
Nothing's ever completely dead.
- Right, I even hear the
Twist is coming back.
- I'm calling on the spirits of everyone
who ever died in this house.
If you're present, give us a sign.
Give us a sign.
All the dead, come to us.
- Me?
Oh, I can't.
- Call them.
- I'm calling on all the spirits
of everyone who's ever died in this house.
I'm calling on all the spirits
of everyone who's ever died in this house.
Give us a sign.
Give us a sign.
- I'm here, Jessica.
Jessica, I'm here.
- Come to us.
- A toast to my bride, Abigail,
and to all the Bishops.
Abigail.
My Abigail.
Oh, God, it's sad.
- We gave a
seance and nobody came.
I guess we'll say good night.
- Ah.
We'll see you in the morning.
- Good night, Woody, old pal.
- Good night.
- Good night, kids.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Gee, that really, got to me.
- "Sacred to the memory of
Venture Smith, an African.
"Though the son of a king,
"he was kidnapped and sold as a slave.
"But by his industry,
"he acquired money to
purchase his freedom."
That's our motto, that's like us.
"Died, September 10th, 1805,
"in the 77th year of his life."
Venture, so.
Oh, aren't they beautiful?
In memory of.
Ooh!
Anyway, who's left to remember them?
Angel faces.
They look so merciless.
- Hey, honey, come on.
Jess, come on!
- You really believe
in that kind of stuff?
- I don't know.
- You believe in that kind of stuff?
- Oh, I don't know.
- What's the matter?
- I guess,
it's just been a long time.
And I don't know you yet.
Things like that.
Take me for a walk.
Your friend Jessica seems
unhappy.
- No.
No, no, she's okay.
She was away for six months.
Got back a couple of weeks ago, better.
- Oh.
- What's the matter?
- Ah nothing
- You're very beautiful.
- Thank you.
- I guess we've all moved around,
we're all running from something.
That's why they have this place.
Duncan blew his savings for it.
He's broke now.
We're gonna have to sell some
stuff to get money to live on.
- Are you going to live here, too?
I don't know yet.
They asked me to.
I'll stick around and
help Dunc get started
with the work in the orchard.
And who knows?
I'll probably move on.
We're all kind of wandering
spirits, you know?
- I guess so.
Don't be in such a hurry.
Don't worry,
I won't go away.
- How is it?
- I'm coming to get you!
I'm coming to get you!
- Thank you, thank you, oh!
Give me some soap.
- Okay?
- Yeah.
- Do my back.
- Okay.
There you go, ma'am.
- Mm!
- Mm.
- Great!
- Oh!
- This is great!
- One scrub girl needed immediately.
- This is my ancient Finnish method.
- Oh, good!
Oh, that feels good.
- Okay, let's switch.
Isn't this the life?
- Oh!
- Oh!
Don't you feel happy?
- Mm, oh!
That's nice.
Oh, that feels great.
Okay, I'm finished, whoo-hoo!
- Where to?
- I'll go fix lunch.
- Oh, no, wait, I'll do it.
- No, no, stay, swim.
I have to pack anyway.
- Oh, okay, thanks.
Well, I'm going in for
another little swim.
Wanna come?
Anybody wanna come?
- You swim, we'll watch.
- Mm, lazy.
- Jessica.
Come to me.
Come to me.
- Dunc!
Duncan!
Oh, God!
Oh!
Oh God, oh!
Ah, oh!
- Jess, what's the matter, hmm?
- Out there, in the water.
I was swimming in the cove.
- It's all right, it's all right.
- There was this thing, and it touched me.
- Thing, what thing?
- I don't know, but it was white.
It was kind of awful,
like a kind of shark.
- Jessica.
- Believe me, please!
- That's nonsense, Jessica.
There is nothing in this cove, look!
- No, no, no.
- Look at him.
Get you dry.
We'll get you dry.
- Jess, look!
Look, there's nothing here!
Now he thinks I'm getting sick again.
But I'm not.
Liar, liar, liar, liar.
- Well, if we hope to find
anything around this place
that we can sell in town, we'd
better start looking for it.
No money, no food.
So let's go.
- Oh, it's you!
- Are you ready?
- Can't we keep this, Duncan?
- Put it in.
- You're going to sell this?
- Yeah.
- We hope so.
- But they're people.
They have history.
You can't just sell them like an old car.
- People sell old cars.
Let's go, Jessica.
- Okay.
- Hop in, Emily.
- I thought you said you wouldn't go away.
- Did you believe me?
- Yes.
Yes, I did.
- Let's ask her to stay.
- You want to?
All right.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
we'd like to ask you to stay.
- Oh!
- I'll unpack your stuff.
- Thank you!
Oh, thank you!
- Glad to have you.
- I won't go away, Jessica.
I'll never go away.
- Do you find her attractive?
- Who, Emily?
- Right.
- Well, yeah.
- Hello?
Can you sell me some eggs?
- Come on down here and get 'em.
- I'm looking for
some place to sell antiques,
like lamps and a table and.
- If there was a place,
I sure wouldn't tell you.
- Do you mind?
Hey, watch it!
- What happened?
- They probably get
back in their cages after dark.
What a bunch of weirdos.
- Duncan, why
are they all bandaged?
You know, the chicken
farmer had something, too.
On his neck.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- Anything special you're looking for?
I'm Sam Dorker.
- Hi.
- Sam.
Hi, Sam, I'm Duncan,
this is my wife, Jessica.
- Glad to see you.
- Hello.
- Are you passing through?
- No, we just moved here.
We're new in town.
- Oh, more refugees from urban blight, eh?
I had a shop up until two years ago
in New York on Second Avenue.
- Where?
- Oh, between 52nd and 53rd.
- We lived on 49th and 3rd.
- Oh, really?
- They tore the building down and--
- Well, I just couldn't take it.
They built a pizza parlor next door to me.
I mean, just couldn't stand the smell.
But I love it up here.
The air is fresh and clean.
- Oh, yeah.
- And the fishing is just great.
The man who owned the shop
before me lived to be 96
so I expect to be here for some time.
Well, what can I show you?
I've got a marvelous old
grandfather clock here,
if you've got room for it.
It's a real steal at $375.
- I'll steal it!
- And at the other end of the scale.
- Oh!
- Oh, you like that.
I was just about to show you that.
That's a male fiori lamp.
Do you understand Italian?
- No.
- Male fiori, that
means flowers of evil.
Or evil flowers.
- Oh!
- And they got it painted right on there.
Now, right up here I've got
some marvelous old things,
real early Americana.
Got a marvelous, old
deacon's bench up here.
It'll seat eight in a pinch.
That's a joke.
- Mr. Dorker, we're really not interested
in buying, we're selling.
- Oh, well, lead on, MacDuncan.
What've you got?
- Well, sir, I've got
a couple of nice jugs,
and a chair and a table
and some bottles, a couple
lamps, real nice silver frame.
Bridle, some other stuff.
- Flowers of evil.
How can anything this pretty be evil?
It's just old, that's all.
When we have money again,
this is the kind of stuff
we're gonna buy for the house.
- That's some very nice stuff.
Some of it.
- What about this?
It's silver.
- Yes, I guess so.
Very nice.
Very nice piece.
But I.
- What?
- The Bishops, there's
no mistaking the Bishops.
- Well, we bought
the old Bishop place.
- Oh, who'd you deal with, old Harold?
- No, Harold's gone to Florida.
It was an agent that
showed me the place, why?
- He tell you the stories
about Abigail Bishop drowning?
1880, and all that?
It's quite a story.
- Sam, how much do you think
this stuff's worth to you?
- Well, I, let's see.
I can give you $150 for it.
And $50 more for this.
- 200?
But even some of the
little jewelry costs more
and you said they were very nice pieces.
- Well, frankly, I feel very
funny about buying them.
I think I'll have some trouble trying
to sell them around here.
- But think what you could get for them
in New York, Mr. Dorker.
- Duncan, couldn't we keep this?
- 250 is the best I can do.
- Well, all right.
We'll take it.
- You know the story about the Bishops
is really extraordinary.
- Yeah?
- Abigail never got
to wear that wedding dress.
- Mr. Dorker.
- She drowned in
the cove behind her house.
Your house, I mean.
Never found her body.
The legend is that she's still alive.
Some say she's a vampire
and roams the countryside.
- Mr. Dorker, we're sort of in a hurry.
Could we have the money?
- Of course.
- That was very rude, cutting
him off, don't do it again.
You're making me sick by
worrying about me so much.
- We won't be long.
I'll make dinner.
Hey, Woody!
Oh gosh, it's so beautiful.
Can we really stay?
- We'll try,
Hey, don't touch that, it's poison.
- Oh!
What is it?
- It's a mole.
- It has no eyes?
Duncan, get a container
so we can keep it, please.
- Okay, I'll get a box from the house
and I'll come back for you.
- Okay.
I'll be all right.
Just hurry before it gets away.
- Okay.
- It was the antique dealer!
Dead, right here!
I swear it, I saw it.
Duncan, it's true!
He was lying right here!
And there was blood!
I know what you think of
me, but I swear it's true.
And there was a girl!
I'm scared.
Is it happening again?
Duncan, that's her!
- There, oh, who are you?
Why did you run?
- You see?
Tell him, tell him you led me to the body.
Tell him.
Who are you?
Why have you been following me?
What do you want?
- Don't push her, Jess.
Give her a chance.
- I'm not going to hurt you.
Did you see a body, did you?
Tell me what you want.
Did you see a body?
What?
You can't speak?
- What's that?
- She led me to the body.
- What's the matter with her?
- She knows who killed that man.
- What man?
- I don't know.
- Did you see anybody?
Did you see someone attack somebody?
Attack, attack.
Did you see anybody?
Did you?
- For God's sake,
Jessica, leave her alone.
- You still don't believe me.
You don't believe there's
anything strange going on.
- I think it's...
It's all strange.
- You think I'm crazy?
Admit it.
- Who's that?
- There was this enormous cake
that was terrorizing England.
- Angel's food or devil's food?
- Devil's food cake.
And it would ooze into the
windows and into the doors
and engulf the people.
It'd eat everything in its wake.
It was traveling down
the coast from Scotland.
Whenever it would come
to a town or a village,
it would call out.
"Here comes the cake!
"Here comes the cake!"
BBC sent out.
- He wants her.
- Words, and they
said, lock your doors.
- He'll never believe me again.
No one will.
- Not a green in sight.
- Did it happen?
- So there was
this little old lady.
- Did it happen?
- And she's
got her ear to the BBC.
- Come, Jessica.
Come with me, Jessica.
- "Who's there, who's there?"
And a voice comes back,
"It's not the cake!"
- Duncan's mine now.
You think he loves you?
He's mine now.
I'm just, I'm kind of a little tired.
Think I'll say good night.
Good night, everybody.
- Good night.
- Good night, Jess.
- Aww, the mole's sleepy.
- Well, I'm very tired.
I think I'll go up.
- Good night.
- Take care of your wife, there.
- Good night.
- Good night.
- You sleeping?
- You know the name of that
big tree out in the yard?
- Jessica.
- That's a maple.
I know how to tell a sugar maple.
- How?
- Well, see,
a maple's sort of pointy in its corners.
But a sugar maple has a U.
It's a U for sugar.
That's you, sugar.
- Jess?
I think you should go back
to New York for a while.
You could see your doctor.
If you want.
- Well, yeah, but
where'll we get the money?
- I'll find it.
- Where?
- I'll find it.
- Sure you would.
- I just can't take it anymore, Jess.
- Why don't you leave me then?
- Don't cry.
- I'm not crying.
- Yes, you are, don't cry, don't cry.
- No!
- Don't get excited.
- You think I'm hopeless?
- You be quiet!
- No!
- Be quiet!
- No, leave me!
- Hush, will you be quiet?
- Leave me!
- Will you be quiet?
They'll hear you!
- Leave me!
Who cares?
- What are you doing?
- Oh, I just thought it would be better
to sleep apart tonight.
- I'll go.
I'm not sleepy anyway.
Good night.
- No!
No, no!
- I don't believe you.
- No!
I think that the same creature
or whatever it is that
killed the antique dealer
killed the mole.
I know you all think I did it.
I didn't do it, I didn't do it.
I didn't do it.
- Hey, Jess, wait!
- Where are you going?
- To find a telephone.
- Be back for lunch?
- Long before.
- I'm alive.
I'm still alive.
- Abigail never got
to wear that wedding dress.
Drowned in the cove.
- I'm here, I'm here.
- I was just looking at the picture.
It looks so much like you.
- My Lord, it does.
- Uh huh.
- Gee, how weird.
What's the matter?
- Nothing, it's just that
it does, it looks so very much like you.
- It's an old print.
It could look like anybody.
- Nah.
No, it's...
It's the eyes.
- You're so warm.
I'm sorry you're so upset.
Jessica, come, Jessica.
My eyes, look in my eyes.
Come, come with me, come.
Come with me.
It's so stuffy in here.
- Come on, let's go for a swim.
- Yeah.
It's stuffy.
I think you need to swim.
You need some air.
- Yeah, I just,
don't want to get too
near the cove, you know.
Water kind of frightens me.
- Oh, sure.
If you don't want to swim,
we can just lie by the
water and get some sun.
Come on.
Come.
Follow me, Jessica, follow me.
I'll put some lotion on your back.
- Oh.
Mm, that's good.
Oh, that's good, that's...
That's very good, thank you.
Ah!
Leave me alone, please.
Please, leave me alone.
Get away.
- I'm sorry, I
didn't mean to hurt you.
Are you all right?
I was just playing.
- Please, that's all right.
That's all right.
- I'm so sorry.
- Yes, thank you.
- You okay?
- No, that's all right.
- Please, it's all right,
I didn't mean to scare you.
I'm sorry.
- Jessica, Jessica.
Nobody's here.
Nobody's here.
Jessica.
Come to me.
This way, Jessica.
This way.
This way, come.
Here, Jessica, here.
Follow, follow me.
Here, Jessica.
Here.
- No!
- Jessica, Jessica.
Stay.
Stay.
Stay, Jessica, stay.
You're home now.
You're home now.
Jessica.
Jessica, I'm here.
I'm here.
Where's Duncan?
Where is he now?
He said he'd be back, he said
he'd be back before lunch.
I want you, what have you got, I need you.
What have you got to live for?
You want to die, go on, you want to die.
You want to die, why
go on, you want to die.
I'm still here.
I won't go away, Jessica.
I'll never go away.
You'll never get better.
I'm still here.
I'm in your blood.
Jessica, I'm here.
I'm here!
- What's the matter?
- Can you help me?
- Where you going?
- Town.
- Come on, get in.
Close the door.
- Hello?
Emily?
Jessica?
- Hi.
I thought everybody had gone.
- Not everybody.
- Where's Jessica?
- Oh, Jessica left.
- What do you mean?
I said, what do you mean?
- Don't worry.
She just walked to town to find Duncan.
So, we're alone.
- Yeah.
Well?
- Do you like my new dress?
My new, old dress?
- Mm-hm, yes, very much.
- You've been working in the orchard.
- Hm, yeah.
- Where are you going?
- I should really wash this stuff off.
- Should you really?
- Yeah.
- Is something wrong?
- Mm-hm.
You.
I see what you've been
doing with my friend.
- I thought you liked me.
- You know I do.
- Do you like me now?
- Yes.
- Show me.
- Here we are, little lady.
- Thanks.
- Take care of yourself.
- Have you seen the man,
the driver of the hearse?
- No.
- But you must have,
it's parked right here.
- No, I didn't.
- The girl
that led me to the body,
she was warning me.
She was warning me.
- Jessie!
Jessie!
Jessie!
- Oh honey.
- Honey, honey, no, no, no.
It's all right.
You'll be okay now.
- I'm sorry.
- It'll be okay now, Jess.
I'll take you home.
Huh?
Come on.
- Hmm?
What happened?
- Oh, great!
- Hurry up, it's cold.
- Thank you.
It's not real, Jessica.
It's not real.
It's all in your mind.
It's in your mind, he's mine.
Duncan's mine.
You're home now, what
have you got to lose?
You're home, Duncan is mine now.
You're home now, he's mine now.
- No!
Woody, Woody!
Woody!
Woody!
Woody!
- The ferry isn't running for you.
- I sit here and I
can't believe that it happened.
And yet I have to believe it.
Nightmares or dreams.
Madness or sanity,
I don't know which is which.