Path of Blood (2018)

We need to purge this movement
of darkness, of Steve.
How?
We tell everyone.
The end is gonna be in Bali.
Who told you about Bali?
I saw it.
What if you came
to work for me?
I want you on the team
when I run for Governor.
I'm getting you out of here.
Come on.
Look, II can't.
What is wrong with you?
Don't
We have to cut off ties
and end the trip to Bali.
You won't get better
unless you leave this place.
If you don't get better,
I can't love you.
Eddie, I believe in you.
I believe in this movement.
I would destroy everything
I worked so fucking hard
to put behind me!
Steve needs to be
written out of Revelation.
The Movement won't survive.
They are not here for Steve.
They are here for me.
No, I can't let you do that.
I won't let you do that.
I have lived without you,
Light, for so long,
without your love,
without your warmth,
but I beg you now
come back to me.
Come back to me. Give me strength.
Give me conviction.
Light that was
taken from me...
Or left me to suffer alone...
That has given me hope...
And reason.
Come back to me now.
Come back to me.
Let me do right by you now.
Thank you for everything.
We've been preparing
for so long.
I can't believe
it's finally almost here.
Well, you've done amazing.
Are you going to Bali with him?
I'd come just to
Bali is no longer happening.
Yeah, um...
we're no longer gonna
open a center there.
The trip has been canceled.
Did I just hear you say that
Eddie won't be going to Bali?
But isn't that where your
mother had the vision?
I thought that that's
why we were here,
to celebrate and plan.
We just heard that
Bali isn't happening?
The Movement's
upcoming trip...
has been temporarily...
canceled.
But that's where
you saw it happen.
Tell us what this means.
Does this mean
we have to keep waiting?
You said it would
happen in our lifetime. We're the ones
to build the new world.
Lilith...
assure them,
as you always assure me.
The Movement will grow.
The son will die.
And the cleanse...
the cleanse will come.
How is he?
He misses you.
I put his Sophie
in here, diapers.
He ate about an hour ago,
so he should be good
till 11:00.
Hey!
You got something
at the compound tonight?
Revelation.
What's that?
Uh, actually, you know what?
Uh, don't tell me.
Um, just put him in day care
when you have to go,
and I'll pick him up
after work.
Okay. How's the job?
Good.
Good.
How are you?
Hanging in.
You know I didn't
want to leave you, but...
No
II can't just keep going...
No, no, no, no
And going and never getting
No, II get it.
II get it. I know.
I know.
Hey, look, ccome on
the merrygoround with us.
I'm late for work.
Come on. Just one ride.
It'll be fun.
Fun?
Yeah.
Nothing in my life
is fun right now. I live in a Holiday Inn.
My heart is broken.
And I actually like my job,
and I'm going to be late,
and I
I don't want to get
reeled back into you.
I promise, you won't.
I want you to be happy, Mary.
I reallyI really do.
Look, come on.
Come on, come on, come on.
Hello, sir.
Uh, three
three tickets, please.
Thank you.
Here, oh, let me take your bag.
Oh, my God,
this thing weighs a ton.
Come on, come on.
Okay.
Look, look, look, look.
Yeah.
I'm going to tell
the membership at Revelation...
everything.
People will have
a lot of questions.
You're the only one who can say
what happened on Huayna Picchu,
whether Steve saw a Ladder...
or not.
Are you kidding me?
This is bullshit.
This is utter and total crap.
It's not, Mom.
Steve was one
of my closest friends.
More than a friend
he was family.
You know, I didn't want it
to be true either.
I'm going.
Let's go, let's go.
Who have you become?
This is why you put me in France...
No, Felicia.
So you could put together
this story.
This isn't a story.
I saw him climb The Ladder.
I tried to climb after.
Yeah, that's what
you've told us.
I will not let you be abused
like this, Felicia. Let's go.
I know what happened,
and I'm the only one left
who can defend
against these lies,
and I will do that.
Your word is the only one
that doesn't fit.
This is for you.
This is selfserving.
I started this.
I found Lilith. I discovered
The Hypoxian Cleanse
And that. Allegations
that Steve abused Cal?
Steve was the only father
that boy ever had.
No, we are not naming names.
I just hope he's in on this,
because if you're using him
for your smear
You know what?
That's enough.
This is painful for all of us.
It's why I couldn't see
Summer in the play.
It is why I left The Movement.
And none of us wants
to believe that this is true,
but it is,
and the sooner
that we accept it, we can move forward
as a community.
The community
will see through this.
Look, I promised...
a Ladder to Enlightenment
that is illuminated...
Let's go.
By Transparency.
And that is what
I intend to give.
This will backfire.
You'll lose everyone.
All right...
buses are gonna
be here at 4:00
to pick us up,
take us to the compound.
What's this
Revelation thing about?
I am as in the dark
as you guys.
All I know is my dad said
it's important.
He wants us all to be there,
and he's gonna
tell us something.
Uh, I have plans tonight.
Cancel them.
It's probably
about the rumors.
Everybody saw Cal
in that TV show. He killed it.
That doesn't mean that people
don't believe that article.
Do you think
we're shutting down?
Of course not.
Because I heard
Eddie disappeared again.
Okay, guys, here's the deal
my dad is The Guardian
of The Light.
He says to be somewhere, we go.
Unless any of you happen to
commune directly with The Light?
Jeremy?
Cassie?
You guys need...
Revelation
more than anybody else.
If you guys
aren't there tonight,
don't bother coming
back here tomorrow.
See you on the bus.
Yes? Who is it?
Hey.
Uh, you got a minute?
Not really.
So, um...
Gede, he decided to pull
out of setting us up in Bali.
You wouldn't know anything
about that, would you?
I killed it.
Why?
Because of your mother?
Eddie, I'm really mad at you,
but I also don't want you dead.
You still believe in her.
I don't know
what I believe in,
but I just know that I didn't
want to take any chances.
Um...
look, Vera, I'm...
I'm sorry...
about what happened with us.
Yeah.
Meme too.
Are you still a Meyerist?
I'm thankful
to The Meyerist Movement
for helping me get
out of a very dangerous cult
that is my mother.
Why don't you come back
to work with us...
as a Meyerist
or as a secular person?
Why would I do that?
Because I am sure you're trying to figure out
what you are going to do next,
and you liked working with us.
Plus, The Movement
is going to need you.
Why? Whywhy would
The Movement need me?
I am planning to reveal
everything that I've learned
about your mother
and Steve
about who he was,
what he stole,
how he abused,
and then I am going
to start over.
You want my...
last piece
of professional advice?
Don't do it.
Well, it's... going to happen,
tonight at Revelation.
Why can't Revelation
be about acknowledging
how far everyone's come,
optimism and future?
Just let the past
stay in the past.
Because Steve
needs to be purged.
Steve chose you, Eddie.
No, he chose me to erase him.
This is not
going to erase him.
This is all anyone
will ever talk about.
Then why don't you
help me make sure that
that is not the case?
Vera...
help me rebuild.
Thank you
for meeting me here.
Of course. What is it?
Andand why here? I know you're afraid, Lilith.
I'm not.
You are.
And I wanted to offer myself.
Offer yourself?
When my wife was killed,
there seemed little to live for
but the hope you gave me
of a better world.
You've been so good to me.
Everything I've seen
over the years
has come to be true.
II don't understand
what it means
when someone alters the future
like Vera has.
I
I don'tI don't know
what happens next.
Maybe it wasn't Bali.
Maybe Bali doesn't matter.
In your vision, could you see
who it was that shot him?
No.
Why not me, then?
Do you even know
how to use a gun?
You aren't the one to do it.
Your cancer's
not getting better.
The last MRI shows it's now
in your liver and lungs.
There are so many ways to
fight it, and we will do that,
but we can't lose you
before the end.
We can't do it without you.

I'm supposed to speak
at this EcoFaith Initiative
tomorrow.
It's a faithbased
environmental group. I don't know how those two
things aren't contradictory.
But if we can get
the wackos on board
with some of the science around
climate change, I'm for it.
I'm sorry, did I offend you
with the, uh, "wackos" thing?
No, you didn't.
So I'm boring you. Great.
Can't even keep your attention.
How am I gonna
win over this group
of treehugging Christians
who probably already think
I'm an unrepentant sinner?
You're nothing of the sort.
You're just a flawed human
being like the rest of us,
seeking redemption.
We all are.
Hmm.
You okay?
I don't want to talk
about my personal life.
Okay.
But I didn't ask.
I will help you talk
to the Green Christians.
I'm all over it.
You know, I'm just going
through, um...
My life is, uh, changing
Fuck. You know what? It is
it's so stuffy in here.
Could we get some air?
Yeah, sorry, they sealed
those off a while ago.
I think they thought
I was gonna jump.
Or maybe someone from my staff. Hey, you know what?
I got an idea.
Come with me.
Here, take your coat.
Wow.
Right?
Not bad as far as
fresh air goes.
I mean...
it's not a remote island
in the Caribbean,
but it's an island...
slightly more populated.
I didn't take you for a guy
that went up on the roof.
Little "head in the clouds,"
don't you think?
Hey, I have my moments of
contemplation and perspective.
And I come up here
to daydrink.
Away from prying eyes.
I left himCal
or I don't know,
we're separated.
It's all very confusing.
But, um... at least
I'll have more time,
I guess, to focus.
I'm sorry.
Oh...
Um, I want
Can I...
I'll take a hug.
I consent to a hug.
Uh, you'll be okay.
Can I do something
truly awful?
I think so.
I haven't smoked
in two years,
and I bought a cigarette off
a homeless person this morning,
and I really want to smoke it.
Well, smoke!
Environment be damned!
What's that?
Is everything okay?
III have to go... Back to the compound.
Okay.
Can I help in any way?
I need a car.
Okay.
She's been sitting
like that for hours,
just staring out the window.
Did anything happen
after I left this morning?
After you destroyed us?
No.
She's been like that
since we came home.
Felicia?
Should I call a doctor?
Just give me a minute.
She's gone into
some kind of shock.
Is there something...
Whatever it is,
we will get through it,
I promise you,
but you need to tell me.
What are you doing, Sarah?
We need to finish this.
We were doing 7R.
Yes.
Reflective.
Everything is revealed.
115...
Concentrate.
You must be able to recite it
backwards and forwards.
115...
94, 76,
54, 32, 12,
15... 7.
Forward.
Free yourself of delusions.
7, 15,
12, 32, 54,
76, 94, 115.
115, 94, 76, 54, 32...
He told us
that he struggled...
That he was ill.
He said he had
unnatural thoughts
that haunted him.
Thoughts about children? Thoughts about Cal?
I didn't know
about Cal specifically.
Oh, God.
We tried to reconcile,
to make sense of why The Light
would choose someone
so laden with Transgress
to be our messenger.
Silas was there?
Silas knew, too.
Then we understood.
The Light was testing us.
It was testing our faith.
We worked with him.
We wouldn't give up
until we had cured him.
You didn't cure him.
We didn't know
what we know now
about that sort of thing.
We thought
we could make him well.
We thought The Light
would make him well.
We thought it had.
I didn't know
that he had acted on it.
I didn't know.
Hello?
Is Cal there at Revelation?
Can you see him?
Uh, no, II haven't gone yet.
He's gonna kill himself,
and Eddie's not answering
his phone.
Why would you say that?
He wrote a fucking note
"In a place where
they won't find the body,
and it will seem like
I've disappeared."
He doesn't want me to deal
oror Forest.
III need you to help me, please.
Please help me.
Hey. Glad you made it.
I hear he's gonna say
something epic tonight.
Let'slet's hope so.
We're gonna be forced
to face ourselves,
really face ourselves.
That's what
Eddie Lane gives us.
Hey.
Hey.
It's almost time.
Yeah.
We would have been
in Bali tonight.
It might have been
your last night on Earth.
We'll never know.
Don't do this.
Vera...
I know.
I know you think I am crazy
for believing my mother,
but I do.
She is a force
of anger and revenge,
and that is real
and very powerful.
But you, Eddie,
you'reyou're hope,
and the world needs hope
right now.
Please don't destroy this.
Hey, thank you.
You know, I want to
I want to thank everyone
for coming out tonight.
For those of you who've been
with us a long time,
I'm sure you're wondering
what Revelation is
and where it came from.
Well, that's the nature
of a Revelation.
It strikes without warning.
It breaks the way we see the world entirely.
Well, that's what
we are going to do tonight.
We as a community
who seek Truth,
we are going to
acknowledge the past
and cleanse the wrongs.
Some things
have come to light
about Dr. Steven Meyer,
things that will be
difficult to reconcile.
But at the end of all this,
I ask you to trust
that I was chosen for a reason.
Even though the man
who chose me...
may have failed you,
I will not.
Together,
we'll face our demons
and reconcile the past.
What are you doing here?
Mary called me.
She said you wanted
to kill yourself
in a place that
no one would find you,
and this is the first place
that I thought of.
She's very upset, Cal.
It'd be better for her
in the long run, and Forest.
Why?
Sarah...
You have to talk to me.
I'm not talking to you
about this. You need to go.
Why would it be better
for Mary to lose you?
I should be
in the ground.
I killed someone, and I could
do it again, believe me. I thought about, uh,
killing you and Eddie.
But you didn't...
God, just
And you wouldn't.
Get out of here, Sarah.
No, Forest, he needs you.
II'm asking you to go.
No, Cal.
Let me do this
the way I want.
That's all I ask.
Your son needs his father.
I'm not
a fucking father, Sarah!
Yes, you are.
I've seen you.
Whatwhat,
carrying him around?
Feeding him?
Anyone can do that.
No, that's not true.
God, you have no idea!
No idea!
I don't. I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to
I know you suffer,
but I also know
how good you are.
Iuh, I'm sick.
Uh, alcoholic salesman...
No.
And it'll catch to them.
It already has.
No, I don't believe you.
I have known you
since I was a child.
You didn't know me.
I was already ruined.
No, I didn't know what was
happening, that's true,
but II knew you.
Just go, Sarah.
I wanted to be around you.
II loved you.
Yeah, and look
what I did to you.
Anything that I did, I did to myself.
Plpleaseplease stop this.
I need this.
I called you
earlier this year.
I was in...
a ton of pain,
and you were the only one
I could ask for help.
Yeah, because I was
the only one
fucked up enough to understand.
Maybe.
What's so bad about that, huh?
What's so bad about having
the capacity to understand
someone else who is
so steeped in selfloathing?
I don't know...
what it is for someone
to take my innocence,
to destroy every sense...
of normalcy,
of how you get over that,
of how you have any sense
of how to make a life.
But I do know that the ugliness
that you feel inside of you,
it's not you.
It is me, Sarah.
It's them.
Your mom...
your dad, Steve...
It is me.
It is not you.
I justI just
want to get over it.
I just want
I want to be over it.
I need to be over it.
- This isn't the way, okay?
-
This isn't the way.
Not this way.
I just need to be over it.
Not this way. We have uncovered...
some early diaries
of Steve's...
Diaries that were written
long before his climb
on Huayna Picchu.
Now, these journals,
they had another writer.
This writer
was the first person
to have the vision
of The Ladder.
Does this mean the
Jackson Neill article is real?
No, the Jackson Neill article
was filled with halftruths
with the intent to harm, okay?
What I am telling you now
is everything you need to know
to be the strongest,
most powerful version
of The Light.
The first vision of The Ladder
was had by Lilith Assan
back in 1973.
That was a year
before Steve made his climb.
Now, that led me down a path
of investigation
into Dr. Meyer's life.
Does this mean
this Lilith woman
is the true prophet
of The Light?
No. No.
I am the prophet...
The son.
I am...
the one.
Mom?
Cal.
No! Hey!
Cal!
Gaby...
I still believe there's
a reason for all this.
I do. I have no choice.
There has to be,
even for Steve. Of course there's a reason.
Why'd she do it?
She was a very ill woman...
Who had a lot of damage
through her life.
Did she want her to die?
No.
She wanted Daddy to die?
Yes.
Vera saved your life?
Yes.
She saved my life.
Will other people
try and shoot at us?
Hey...
I'm going to do
everything in my power
to make sure that nobody
ever shoots at us again.
Okay?
Because of the contracts
we had your people sign,
you are safe
from most of these lawsuits,
but I will take you
through them
so you understand
what's on the table.
Lawsuits...
We were just shot at
a week ago.
Someone very close
to us just died.
Who the fuck
is filing lawsuits?
Parents of Novices,
Rodrigo and Smith.
All right, they'rethey're
they'rethey're done.
Out, okay?
Fuck them and their parents.
And there are
two active Meyerists
who are suing
for emotional distress,
but both signed the waiver.
Can I sue them back?
Well, you can sue anyone. I mean
I want to take on
the IRS, okay?
I want religious status.
No more fucking cult.
Mr. Lane, you've just been
through a huge trauma.
I would advise any client
who has gone through
what you've gone through
to just take a few weeks to
Few weeks to what?
Grieve.
Right.
What are you, my therapist?
Or are you my fucking lawyer?
As your lawyer, I'm not sure
this is the right time
to take on the IRS.
The Jackson Neill article
is still fresh.
His book will be out
in the spring,
and there was a shooting
at your campus
that is in every paper.
And we are going to double...
triple our membership
by next year.
Threats will rise,
and I have to protect them.
First step is getting
religious recognition.
If you don't want
to go against the IRS,
then I am sure I can find
another lawyer who will.
I'm your lawyer.
And as for Jackson Neill's
forthcoming book...
kill it.
I read Vera's mother
hated the religion. They're threatened by us.
What else was Eddie going to
say at Revelation?
Steve wasn't the first
to climb The Ladder.
A woman climbed it before him.
II don't think
his actual words
at this point are as important.
Why? Of course they are.
My parents think
we're all gonna get killed.
My parents are suing.
Vera just died
for this religion...
because she loved The Light
more than herself,
and that threatened
her mother so much
that she tried to kill my dad.
So it's a little hard for me
to hear you guys talk
about going home and suing.
I've lost a lot this year...
My grandfather,
my...
But this,
this loss...
It makes me want to fight back.
And I think that's what
my dad was talking about
at Revelation...
That we should have the courage
to look into the stories
that our fathers tell us
and not just
take them as fact,
but develop our own ideas,
our own perspectives
and strive for authenticity
andand not just I know a guy that didn't have
the courage to do that...
not at first, at any rate...
'Cause'cause it can be
a terrifying thing to do.
But he's glad he did, 'cause...
if he didn't...
it would've killed him.
Well, there you have it.
If you want to go home...
Go home.
You might be happier there.
But you might find
that it's not...
your home anymore.
But if you're here...
Be here.
Let us honor Vera Stephens
by being as dedicated
to The Movement as she was.
Hey.
Thank you for coming.
Fuck you.
Five minutes.
Uhuh, well, let me, um
You want some tea?
No, you begged me
to come over.
I'm really mad.
Uh, you have every right
You know, you scared
the shit out of me.
I'm so sorry.
And I went there,
and I thought
that you were dead,
but it was Vera,
and I saw her face.
And it was awful.
I'm sosoI'm so sorry.
I'm here for Forest,
so just tell me what
you needed to say in person
and not over the phone.
No, it's well, it's not that I
it couldn't be said
on the phone.
I just, um...
I just wanted you to look
at me while I said it.
I'm looking.
Say it.
I'm sorry...
Mary.
I'm so sorry.
What if you do it again?
Do I have to live in fear?
Yeah
You know, it's the worst
No. No, I won't.
Your word is shit.
I know.
But I'm gonna get help,
real help.
I'm gonna start to do the work.
I'mI'm gonna try to...
deal with the fact that I was
sexually abused for a decade.
But are you gonna stay
with the Meyerists?
For now, yeah.
Why?
Um...
Um
Uhum, hard to explain,
but, um...
I'll try,
because you're asking.
Um...
It's like I
Iphysically,
I can't walk away
Mentally,
you can't walk away.
Yeah, maybe.
But, for whatever reason,
I can't,
not yet, at any rate.
I think about leaving with you,
and I want that, but...
In the picture
I see of myself,
I'm...
II'mI'm this shell
of a person.
It's Florida all over again. I have no purpose.
I...
I...
I work in a coffee shop.
But it's more than that.
It's this place
that ruined me...
But it also saved me...
And... it's home.
And honestly... I love it.
II love...
The people who need me,
who want to be well.
I love...
the message of The Light.
I love the whole idea of it.
So I can't...
walk away.
Not yet.
You might never be able to.
I might not.
But I...
I think I can be
the man you love again.
You still are.
No, but...
But really worthy of you.
I want to be.
Thanks for meeting me.
I couldn't bear to face you
earlier at the compound.
There's nothing
you could've done.
I could've listened.
I could've left Lilith
in that fucking hospital!
I'm just as much to blame
as you are, Eddie.
You know, I found Lilith,
and I begged you to see her.
She was already
in our lives.
She was the one
who sent Vera to us,
who I begged to take
her job back, by the way.
She shouldn't have
even been there. She wanted to be there.
She wanted to help you, Eddie.
No, she didn't want me
to dig up shit.
She wanted to move forward,
let the past be the past.
That's not how it works.
The Truth is the only way
to move forward.
Okay, then tell me...
Do you feel anything?
Any Light?
Why are you asking me this?
Because I promised you
that if we did this that
everything would be real again.
Is it?
We're not finished.
I don't know.
You found Cal.
Sarah, you saved his life.
You don't
you don't feel anything?
I don't know.
Is that why you asked me
to meet you?
To find out if I believe again?
No, I asked you to meet me
because...
I need you.
Whatever I do next,
I want you there.
I hounded you.
I doubted you,
and I almost got you killed.
No, you didn't
almost get me killed.
But I don't know
what I would've done...
all right, if I
if I came home and
And I lost you.
Hey, hey, hey...
Then don't.
Don't lose me.
Stand by me. Okay?
Whatever I do next...
Because I know
who I become without you.
She's ready to transition.
Whenever you're ready.
I remembered, uh...
being a child with her.
The summer that
Vera was with us,
it was too complicated
for Steve
to find the time for me.
And, um...
that month, he was
uh, he was like
a real father to me.
I wanted to tell her that.
Shall we begin the prayer?
As the owl protects
The Garden,
we offer these wings to Vera
to carry her home...
to be her guide.
We believe in The Light.
We believe that
Vera Stephens is Light,
for all this was revealed...
To Ste
To Steven Meyer.
For all of this
was revealed...
to me...
When I was struck by The Light.
Therefore, we invite Vera
to leave her earthly form,
for in ending, we begin,
and in sorrow,
we rejoice...
And in darkness...
There is Light.
Lilith?
We're burying your child today.
Goodbye.
Don't be sad.
Our daughter had to die.
She sacrificed herself for The Truth.
I'm sorry that
I stole it from you.
I wanted the end to come
The Cleanse.
We would never have been
able to shed ourselves
of the suffering
and wickedness on our own,
as much as I tried.
I wanted your vision
of the new world,
and I knew we wouldn't grow
the way we needed
with you at the helm.
I won't thank you.
Now it will grow greater
than we ever imagined.
Greater
than we ever imagined.
And the end will come.
And the end will come.
Today we stand
as a community...
bound together
by a painful reality...
that there is darkness
in this world...
a darkness intent
on destroying the forces
of peace, tolerance, and hope.
Why?
Where does this anger
and damage come from?
Is it our fathers?
Our mothers?
I don't know.
But I can promise
to fight it.
I can promise to make sure
nothing like this
ever happens again...
by cleansing our past
and removing the rot.
In light of everything,
I think it's time
that we sever this relationship.
It was real.
I saw it.
I tried to climb
Thank you
for your service, Felicia.
My son.
Yeah?
The Embrace?
That was Steve's thing.
Um, and I'm Forest's father,
and I'm his only father.
And building a fortress
of protection around us.
So that we can meet
each other today...
Fresh...
dedicated to what The Light
wants from us now.
Because even though
today feels bleak...
Even though we are
overwhelmed by grief,
it will lift.
The sky will brighten,
and we will grow
stronger than ever.
The state will recognize us
as a religion,
and our message will be spoken
throughout this world.
And I make a promise to you
to govern against the forces
that threaten this great city.
Today we must declare war
on the forces that are
stealing our children's souls.
We will not let their threats
silence our belief.
Vera died
so that it would be so.
She sacrificed herself...
for us...
for you, for me. She had a dream of a garden
right here.
Help me build it.
Stand next to me tomorrow...