Oh, man.
I sure could use
a Rocket Pop right about now.
REGGIE:
110 degrees, no food...
A few drops of water
if I'm lucky enough to find it,
but it still feels good
to be back home...
if this even is home.
I can't tell
what's real any more
because of him.
He's a shape-shifter
with super-human strength.
- He enslaves the dead...
- [creature roars]
uses them to create terror.
He has the power
to channel time,
dimensions, even dreams.
He was a scientist
in a past life
who crossed the threshold
to a red world
and came back changed.
His sentinels,
the brain's sucking spheres,
have blocked every path I've had
at finding my lost friend Mike.
The bastards are toying with me.
I know they're here now,
somewhere, clocking me.
This Tall Man,
he's taken everything from me:
my job, my best friend Jody,
and now his little brother Mike
who I swore to protect.
They're gone...
- and I'm alone.
- (gun ratchets)
It's just me now.
My name is Reggie.
But it's good to be back home,
even if I am on foot
now that some fuck-wad
jacked my Plymouth 'Couda
that I left hidden
in the desert.
So I wander,
following the Tall Man's
path of destruction,
salvaging what I can
from the remains
he's left behind.
[wind rustling]
[wood creaks]
[toy squeaks]
[grunting]
- [gargled choking]
- [liquid draining]
[crunching]
[metal clinks]
[engine revs]
[revs]
[honking]
[revving, honking]
MAN: Hey, you!
Get out of the road!
Asshole!
Yeah, you!
[engine stalls]
[engine cranking]
[engine cranks]
Can I help you?
Give a guy a ride?
Where're you heading?
Down the road a piece.
You got any money?
I got money.
Fifty dollars.
You got it.
[engine cranking]
Hey, the fifty.
Oh, yeah.
[chuckles]
[paper rustling]
Nice jacket.
Nice car.
You don't see
too many '71 'Couda's
driving around any more.
Heh, funny thing.
- I had one just like it.
- [car revs]
I had to park it...
on a desert road
while I took care
of some business.
Of course, mine had
a chrome-plated 9mm
loaded with steel-jacketed
wadcutters
in the center console.
Oh, that's right...
[gun cocks]
it was in the glove box.
[heavy breathing]
Get the fuck out of my car!
- [engine revs]
- [tires screech]
Thanks a lot, asshole!
[machines whir and clink]
[wet thud]
- [drilling]
- [glugging]
[gun clicks]
[shots banging]
[clanks]
[grunts]
[groans]
[tires screech]
[mutters]
[heavy breathing]
[drilling]
[drilling continues]
[gun shots]
[orb whines]
[orb fizzles, stops]
[gun shots]
[shots continue]
[thuds]
Fuck.
[gasps]
Mike, what the hell?
What's... What's...
What's...
[sighs]
Where the hell am I?
- You're safe.
- Yeah, I'm safe?
Oh, that's... good.
I'm safe.
Where am I safe?
Where... where is this place?
Reggie...
Reggie, you've been my rock.
When Jody died, you were the
guy that took care of me,
and... I will owe you
forever for that.
But... But why am I here?
They found you
wandering in the desert...
like Moses.
[chuckles]
Mike.
[chuckles]
Buddy, I've been looking
for you for so long...
- and now you're here!
- Yes.
You're right here.
[Mike chuckles]
But this is not right.
- [sighs]
- Not here, this is not right.
It's complicated.
Okay, I'm listening.
Come on, spit it out, Mike!
Yeah, um...
There's been a diagnosis
and you... have... dementia.
Dementia?
Early on-set.
- [laughing]
- MIKE: But there's therapies
and there are treatments...
and there's
this beautiful place.
REGGIE: Yeah, yeah,
yeah, come on, Mike.
- And we're together.
- Come on!
You don't believe
that crap, do you?
- MIKE: 'Cause you're not alone...
- Nah, this is one of...
This is just another
one of his tricks.
- [groans]
- [Reggie laughs]
- REGGIE: Yeah, I see it all now.
- Right.
Okay, listen, the doctor said
I'm supposed
to keep you engaged,
keep your mind active.
So... tell me the story
from the beginning...
again.
REGGIE: The story's
always the same, Mike.
I'm tracking you.
It starts with me coming back
through one of his portals
from God knows where.
I find myself
deep in the desert.
I get my car back,
and I'm feeling pretty good
when I'm driving
American muscle again.
I keep to the back roads,
small towns,
those overlooked places
that nobody would expect...
one eye out for those spheres,
and the other for him.
And like all good stories,
it starts with a girl.
Okay, Reg.
Boy, am I glad to see you.
Oh! I'm sorry.
I thought you were
someone I knew.
You mean, you know somebody else
that drives around these parts
in a black '71 Barracuda?
[chuckles] Far out.
I'm really sorry I stopped you.
I thought you were
a friend of mine.
Well, you look like
you could use some help.
Um, it just kinda
stopped working.
Do you know anything about cars?
- Do you think you...
- Oh, no, no.
I don't think so.
I don't think I can
help you with that...
but I can give you a lift
up to the next town if you want.
[sighs]
I'm not really in the habit
of getting into cars
with strangers.
Well, hi, I'm Reggie.
- I'm Dawn.
- Hi, Dawn.
See, now we're not
strangers any more.
[chuckles]
Let me just get my bag.
[Reggie chuckles]
- Let's hit it.
- [car revs]
Well, this is it.
Home sweet home.
Beautiful.
- Do you live here alone?
- No.
Actually, I have
a farmhand... Demeter.
Demeter, huh?
My parents were Bulgarian,
and when they passed away,
he just stayed on with the farm.
Got it.
[guitar playing]
DAWN: So...
I'm still trying to make sense
of this story of yours.
Well, it... it is complicated.
So... there's these
friends of yours,
and then this big dude?
- The Tall Man.
- Yeah.
And you guy's have been
fighting him for years?
Yup.
Hmm.
Well, it really is
an amazing story.
Epic, actually.
I think I'm gonna
go hit the sack.
Hey, uh, you know there's, uh...
There's something
I've been wanting to ask you.
Yeah, what?
Well, uh...
it gets hard on the road
and I just want to...
Reggie, I think I see
where this is going,
and now I'm starting to think
that maybe you should bunk
- outside with the horses.
- No, no, no.
Yeah, don't get me wrong, okay.
I, uh...
and, um, well, I...
I wanted to let you know
that in fact
I'm going to write you
a song tonight.
Oh, that's really sweet, Reggie.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Now you get some rest.
Oh, and, Reggie...
I really hope you find
what you're looking for...
or it finds you.
[sighs]
Wow, man.
I sure hope not.
[deep exhale]
[guitar playing]
In the warmth of
your mountain cabin
In the glow
of a new-born song
REGGIE: Put my lovin'
arms around you, baby
And I whisper your name
I... I whisper your name
[moans]
Hey, wow.
Fuck, what did she say
her name was?
REGGIE:
As I whisper your name
Hey, Reggie?
I was thinking...
[snoring]
[frustrated sigh]
Sweet dreams.
[orb whirs]
[distant ticking]
You!
I didn't notice you there.
Do I know you?
Name's Jebediah...
been here such a long time.
And what is your name, kind sir?
[frightened stutter]
Reggie.
What brings you to this...
God-forsaken place, Reggie?
[frightened breathing]
Well, I'm searching
for my friend and his brother.
Oh, I've lost so many friends.
And I'm afraid this body of mine
is almost finished.
You know, Reggie,
I'm sorry to be
the bearer of bad tidings,
but I believe
they bring us here... to die.
They? What?
You'll never be safe.
JEBEDIAH:
I'm always watching you.
[gasps]
[sighs]
Wow, it's really early.
It's like the crack of d...
[laughs]
Dawn, Dawn.
Her name is Dawn.
Hey, Dawn!
How would you feel about me
hanging around here
a couple of days?
Sure is beautiful here.
- [sighs]
- [distant rummaging]
[creaking]
Hmm.
Dawn!
Hey, are you awake yet?
[creaking]
Dawn?
[object shatters]
[metal whirring]
Dawn?
[whirring continues]
[choking coughs]
[drilling]
No!
[pants]
[garbled whir]
[shots clank]
[chuckles].
Hey.
[speaking Bulgarian]
[questioning tone]
Shh, shh, shh, you need
to shut the hell up, Dude.
- [speaks in Bulgarian]
- Shh, shh!
- [shouts]
- Settle down.
- [shouts louder]
- No, no, no, look, look.
See, eh?
See?
Wait, wait, wait, you...
Wait, you're... you're...
You're Dawn's farmhand, right?
[stutters]
Demeter!
You're Demeter, right?
- [hesitant tone]
- I'm Reggie.
[shouts]
[shushes, whispers]
Seriously!
[continues shouting]
[horse neighs]
[frantic neighs]
[horse screams]
[orb drilling]
[screams]
[silence]
Dude, bad news about your horse.
[orb whirs]
[wood creaks]
[whirring intensifies]
[creaking]
[silence]
[drilling]
[clattering]
[metal scrapes]
[orb whirs]
[Speaks Bulgarian]
Will you shut
the fuck up, please?!
[emotional speech]
- [shouts]
- No, no, no!
Now you fuckin' did it.
[screams]
[drilling]
[gargled coughs]
[screaming]
[gagging]
No, no, no.
[gargled breaths]
MIKE:
Reggie.
Hey, Reggie.
You still with me?
Where'd you go?
Some place else.
It's all starting
to run together.
Hey, you got
to listen to me, Mike.
There's this threat.
Have you seen it?
[sighs]
Seems like I'm the only one
that wants to stop it.
Well, you told me about it
several times.
You know
the grave-robbing guy
from another dimension.
He does seem like
a pretty potent adversary.
You should know more
than anyone else.
I've been thinking a lot
about what you've been saying
over the last few weeks.
Seriously, you know,
there are...
There are some
schools of thought out there,
some philosophies, religions,
some quantum physics even,
that suggest the possibility
that one can be
in two places at once,
along some kind
of shifting time stream...
Parallel universes,
you know stuff like that.
There's this one theory
called membrane theory.
It's the idea that
thousands of universes
are all sort of spherically
stacked against one another,
and ours is just one of them.
At the places where
these universes touch...
Uh, I'll just send you the book.
Mike, you're not
listening to me.
Books, I don't need!
A fucking four-barrel shotgun
is more like it!
Man, you are not
listening to me!
Wake up!
That son-of-a-bitch
put me here!
He put you here too!
- Wake up, man!
- Don't get agitated.
Okay?
Please, just relax.
All right?
It's probably time
I should bring you back.
Everything's all right.
MICHAEL: [voice echoes]
Everything is all right.
[deep pitch, garbled]
Everything's all right.
[rattling]
[owl hoots]
[mutters]
MAN:
[voice echoes] Reggie.
[loud creaking]
[orb whirs]
[sighs]
[heavy breathing]
I don't know, Mike.
Do I want to die here...
a crazy old man in some bed...
my body eventually...
thrown in a box
and stuffed in
a wall somewhere...
[heavy breathing]
rotting away to nothing?
Or do I want to
go out on my feet...
shoving four barrels
of fucking hell
down their goddamn throats?
[chuckles]
Our paths cross again.
You've got me in some kind
of trap here, don't you?
Where the hell is this?
Not where, when.
The year is 1979.
The funeral home
where first we met.
You called it Morningside.
In three days, your younger self
will attend a funeral here,
and events will
be set in motion.
Right, yeah.
[chuckles]
You've tried to thrust yourself
in my way for years now,
but what has it got you?
You loved ones, all gone.
[angry breathing]
You slaughtered my family.
[huffing] You...
They're all dead!
None of you ever listen.
When the time comes,
they don't die.
They come to me.
And your point?
You want to see
your family again?
I'll give them to you.
Your wife, your daughter...
I could return them
to you alive, healthy
if I were so inclined.
Where are they?
But I would require
something from you
in exchange.
And that is?
I have plans
to make things better
for everyone.
Just stay out of my way.
[voice echoes, garbled]
Let the plan complete itself.
I want my friend Mike back,
and his brother too.
[echoes] No.
You stay away from him.
He is mine...
always.
Perhaps you need time
to think this over...
but be quick.
There's little time left.
[voice echoes]
[sighs]
[whispers]
Great.
[gasping]
[footsteps echo]
[creature roars]
[gun cocks]
[creature trots]
[creature huffs]
[whirring]
[metal scraping]
[loud banging]
[glass clinking]
[metal scrapes]
[scraping]
[high-pitch scream]
[thuds]
[distant rattling]
[creature roars]
[cocks gun]
[creature grunts]
[footsteps patter]
[machine gun firing]
[groans]
- [creature moaning]
- [infrastructure groans]
Have you considered my offer?
Yeah.
Go back to hell.
Yours or mine?
One might say
we're in it together.
[gunfire]
Your playthings don't work here.
You could leave
this rat race if you chose,
and be with your family again,
but my generosity is fleeting.
You'll have no more chances
beyond this moment.
Do you think I want
your reanimated zombies?
[harsh breathing]
But I will take back my friend
Mike and his brother Jody.
If you free them,
I'll step out of your way.
Why?
Why are you so obsessed
with these two friends?
You could never understand.
It's called loyalty.
Those frail human
emotions again.
Do you not understand?
Your kind are simply
skin sacks of water and meat.
And when a few
random electrons fire off
in that puny brain of yours,
you're ready
to annihilate yourself
for this... this feeble
sensation you call loyalty.
Like I said...
Well, I guess it's time
for me to be going.
You brought this on yourself.
You're an unwanted pawn
in the game.
Your tenacity's amused me,
and I've enjoyed your despair,
but my use for you is at an end.
You're not even real.
You're my bad dream.
[electronics crack and fizz]
[footsteps approach]
[filtered breathing]
[heavy filtered breathing]
[groaning]
MAN:
What you looking at, baldy?
I'm not quite sure.
That one...
could have been you.
Dawn?
No, no, it can't be you.
I saw you sliced and diced
[stutters]
in your own bedroom.
I think you got me confused
with somebody else, buddy.
My name's Jane.
Jane?
- [radio static]
- Okay, he is clearly delusional.
JANE:
Exiting sector six now.
- Meet you at seven.
- [radio static]
Wait a minute, Dawn.
Don't you remember?
I stayed at your place.
I wrote you a song.
[chuckles]
Uh...
In the warmth
of your mountain cabin
[sings tune]
In the glow
of a brand-new song
I, uh, wrap my arms
around you
Oh, baby, yeah
And I whisper your name
Dawn. Dawn, you got to
remember that, right?
I'm sorry, I don't.
- [radio static] -Okay, we've
just got one survivor,
and we're gonna bring him back
to the bug-out spot.
- Out.
- MAN: Ten-four.
- [radio static]
- Look...
We're here to help you.
You were in those bars
for a really long time,
and I think you're
a little disoriented.
We're gonna take you back
to a place that's safe,
where we can get you some food
and medical attention.
Hey, hey, wait...
Wait a minute.
Dawn, you're not gonna
leave me with this guy, are you?
Well, baldy,
you can either stay here
with your brain
between those
two chrome things...
or you can bring
your ass with me.
And the name's Chunk!
[door creaks]
Yeah, I had my head
between those two things
for like how long?
Yeah, who knows for how long?
It's like they just suck
everything out of you:
your hopes, your dreams,
your memories.
I was in one of those things
for a while too,
but I got loose
with the help of some friends.
He uses it to extract
the Intel he needs.
He?
They call him the Tall Man.
Ever heard of him?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, I don't know.
I think I'm losing it.
I don't know
what's real any more.
Just suck it up
and deal with it.
Stay put.
[banging echoes]
[sizzling]
- [creature roars]
- [screaming]
- [roars]
- [screaming]
- [slobbering]
- [Reggie whimper]
Ah!
[Reggie grunts]
Hold still, grandpa.
- No!
- [gunshot]
[grunts] I hate these
little mother fuckers.
Yeah, me too.
Quit lagging behind, baldy.
Hey, wait a minute.
Don't you think
I should have a gun?
I don't know if I trust you yet.
Oh, what the hell.
Think you can handle this?
Yeah, I'm good.
Let's rock, babe.
[scoffing chuckle]
What the fuck?
What? Why?
[filtered breathing]
Mike.
Reggie.
Oh, man!
[laughs]
I've been looking for you
for so long, man.
I've been looking for you, man!
Is it really you?
Your guys said I...
I've been asleep for years.
You've been on ice
for a decade...
ever since we blew him up
at the desert.
You remember?
Yeah, yeah.
Everything's different now.
Nothing is the same.
And we have a lot
of catching up to do.
[both laugh]
- Yeah.
- We got...
We got a lot
of catching up to do.
Come on, man!
[laughs]
- Right, man.
- JANE: Hey!
Sorry to interrupt
the love fest,
but, uh, we got
to get out of here.
Let's go.
Come on, Chunk.
[panting]
Mike, I really want
to thank you and the guys
for saving me from that
contraption back there.
Man...
It really feels good
to be back home again.
Well, the thing
about it is, Reggie...
it's really not
our home, anymore.
It's his.
- Sir!
- Oh!
We need to get you
back to your room.
No, no.
- No, get your hands off me.
- Calm down.
- Calm down!
- Get your hands off me!
- Calm down!
- No!
[guttural roars]
[screams]
[gunshot]
What's up with these things?
Sometimes it's one of us.
[pants]
One of our guys goes down,
he reanimates them...
and they get a lot stronger.
Let's go.
Snap out of it, baldy!
Come on!
Yeah.
Hey, hold on.
[Mike whispers]
Reggie?
Reggie!
MIKE:
Bring him in here!
Hey, what are you guys doing?
Hey, what's going on?
- He's still delirious.
- MIKE: Bring him in here.
[Reggie pants]
[chittering]
- Shh!
- [chittering volume increases]
[chittering echoes]
[gunshots]
[drilling]
Down! Get down!
[orb whirs]
[gasping]
Sir?
Are you okay?
Yeah, everything's fine.
Thanks.
You have a visitor.
- Hey.
- Hey, Mike.
I need to talk to you.
Do you mind?
[panting] Mike...
I'm... I'm...
I'm having a problem, Mike.
Listen, I had
a dream last night.
[panting]
I can't get oriented.
I'm slipping in and out of time.
One minute I'm in the desert
and then I'm talking to you.
You're telling me how I got
diagnosed and in this place.
Then I'm nuts deep
in a war zone, man.
That's the whole point.
Reggie, I had your dream.
That whole story you
told me about last week...
We even killed
one of those Tall guys.
We blew him up with a hearse.
It was a very
real dream, Reggie.
MIKE:
You went after the Tall Man,
and I found myself
in the desert alone.
Following his path
of destruction.
I went looking for you with a
gaping yellow wound in my head.
Did he actually
put something in there?
Or was it always there?
Here's the thing:
I can still feel
the connection...
to him.
If only I could
find you, Reggie.
The world had changed.
A full-blown invasion
was underway,
an all-out attack
against the world we knew.
Governments collapsed.
Society crumbled.
An alien virus was unleashed.
People were sick,
and eventually,
their heads would swell up
until they popped.
The body count was immense
and there was no cure.
It's bad shit.
We tracked the source
of the Tall Man...
and we've been fighting him
ever since.
But...
You know, I'd never
stop looking for you, Reg.
What a fine use
of our time that was.
You know what,
I cannot tolerate this anymore.
I'm done.
I'm out of here.
I'm done, okay.
Just, I...
[footsteps approach]
[footsteps approach]
Fire in the motherfucking hole.
[gasps, pants]
You have a visitor.
[whispers] We got to go.
We got to leave.
Mike, where're you taking me?
He got Jane.
Chunk went after her,
but he's gonna need our help.
All right.
Here, put this on.
We going where
I think we're going?
Yeah, well, just strap down
anything that's loose.
You know this is a trap.
Well, I...
we got him
just where he wants us.
- [wind rushes]
- [lightening cracks]
Boy!
[thunder rumbles]
TALL MAN: My need for
you is now finished.
[coughing]
Mike!
Okay then, let her go.
TALL MAN:
That loyalty again.
You can use your weapons,
but all you destroy
is this flimsy skin sack.
[gasping]
There are thousands of me,
tens of thousands.
I'm in dimensions
you cannot possibly imagine.
If you're so strong
and powerful,
why haven't you killed us yet?
You were my subject,
and you, well, every Tall Man
deserves an amusement.
[laughing]
[cracks]
BOTH: No!
[groans]
Hey, Tiny, where the fuck
do you think you're going?
Hey, guys...
I got this.
Let's go! Let's go!
[grunts]
My goodness.
[nurses mutter]
Uh, uh?
How the hell
did he get out here?
Well, I wasn't in charge.
She was in charge.
She was watching him.
[indistinct chatter]
MIKE:
Reggie.
Mike?
[guttural groan]
No!
[laughing]
Good to have you back, Reg.
We need more ammo.
- You got some shells?
- I got one.
- Let's go.
- [creature growls]
[gags]
[knife clinks]
[shots fire]
REGGIE:
Jody?
How's it hanging, Reg?
A little to the left, I guess.
- Come on! Get in!
- Okay, okay.
Haul ass!
Where is everybody?
Nobody made it.
JODY: Damn.
It's just not
getting any easier.
It's so good to see you, Jody.
What now?
Where we gonna go?
We're gonna fight harder.
We'll fight smarter.
We're gonna change tactics.
We're gonna go north
where it's cold...
really cold.
The bastard hates the cold.
Yeah.
I'm just so grateful
to see you both.
We did miss you, Reggie.
JODY:
You know... [snickers]
it's a hell of way
to start a trio.
[chuckles]
[beeping]
Hey, bro.
- [rapid beeping]
- [sharp inhales]
[beeping continues]
[slight grunting]
[sustained tone]
[whirring]
[grunts]
[groaning]
[gun cocks]
[panting]
Rocky, thanks for
waiting around for me.
Hey, little man, Mike figured
you'd be back in one piece.
Damn, you left a few
on the other side.
That's the great thing
about a fireball...
amputation and cauterization
all in one.
[chuckles]
Let's get to the rendezvous.
Hey!
Think I can hitch a ride?
- Really?
- What?
Oh, come on, Rock,
don't be like that!
It's just one hand!
Ah, crap!
That'll do.
Thanks.
So, Rock...
You and me...
you know, any chance?
Well, I don't see
any other guys around.
You'll do for right now.
I can live with that.
Our ride's here.
How the hell...
Oh, for the love of god,
baldy, move over.
[rap music plays]