DR. WHATLEY: Carter?
Do you remember how we begin?
100 backwards by 7.
100, 93...
...86...
...79...
...72...
...66 --
66...
[ Exhales sharply ]
Wait, what was the question?
Carter, can you tell me
how you're feeling?
I'm fine.
My professional assessment?
He looks like shit.
Yeah, I don't like it.
But his vitals are normal.
He's exceeding
our projected variances.
No, something's not right.
Look at that guy.
He looks all kinds of fucked up.
DR. WHATLEY:
Do you know where you are?
Yes.
Do you know my name?
Carter.
My name is Carter.
Carter, have you
fallen asleep yet?
The sooner you answer,
the sooner we can finish.
No.
I haven't.
Okay.
Take off your jacket, please.
We'll wrap this up.
All right.
Off you go.
Whoa, whoa.
What was that?
He just yawned.
FRANCINE:
No, he took something.
-Like a pill or something.
-What, seriously?
Can you rewind it?
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Mm!
Hey.
Hey.
Hey, man. Hey.
Right here.
Hey. My headphones.
Where are they?
Or just fucking ignore me.
Fine, dude.
Look, you were the last to have
them, and I need them back.
[ Speaking indistinctly ]
[ Soft growling]
Hey, are you okay?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Carter, what are you...?
[ Panting ]
[ Pills rattling ]
[ Growling, snarling]
-[ Thud ]
-Aaah!
Aah!
You know what?
I'll just go ask him.
No, no.
What if he lies?
I don't know.
We can't search the guy.
I swear to Christ,
if he fucked this up...
HOLLY: Okay, it's probably
just an aspirin.
Irrelevant.
Everything has to be cleared.
It's Carter!
There's something wrong!
CARTER: [ Screaming ]
Carter.
Having a little meltdown?
I get it, buddy.
It's one of those days.
Open up.
We'll talk about it, okay?
DR. WHATLEY: Carter?
Carter, can you hear me?
I need you to unlock
this door, please.
-[ Door thudding ]
-Get the keys.
-[ Screaming ]
-Get the keys.
Aah!
[ Gasping ]
Carter. It's okay, man.
Open the door.
Where are the bloody keys?!
[ Keys jingling ]
[ Door unlocks ]
-[ Woman screams ]
-Oh, fuck me!
[ Mid-tempo electronic music
plays ]
Head contusions,
multiple lacerations,
including a fatal wound
to the jugular vein,
and he gouged out
his own eyes
with a piece of a coffee mug.
Mr. Slater,
can you tell me a bit
about Mr. Carter's behavior
these last few weeks?
Erratic.
Typical systems
of prolonged sleeplessness.
Yes.
But can you elaborate on that?
His behavior is...
It's well documented.
There were no red flags,
absolutely no indication
he was a danger to himself.
Go on.
Limited visual
and auditory hallucinations,
irritability,
general confusion,
uh, degradation
of hand-to-eye coordination.
A high concentration of
adenosine in his blood work.
Yes, Francine, we have
all of that in our notes.
But how was he behaving?
Uh...
[ Chuckles nervously ]
Did he mention suicide
at any point, Mr. Gillman?
Any recurring darker thoughts?
He was an undergrad
at a high-pressure
psychology program.
Of course
he talked about suicide.
So he mentioned suicide?
Well, fuck if I know.
I never talked to him.
I have my own shit
to worry about.
Is there anything else
that you can tell us?
He signed the release form.
We never said
it would be easy, Your Honor.
This isn't a courtroom,
Mr. Gillman.
Then why do I feel like
I'm on trial?
He was a sweet kid.
I-I tried to talk to him.
I tried to talk to all of them,
but, you know, there's --
there's only so much time.
I-I tried to make sure
that everyone was taken care of
and safe
and happy and all that, but --
But you personally
didn't have any indication
that this was gonna happen?
No, not at all.
Anything like that,
we're obligated
to document it immediately.
Look, I'm really sorry
he's dead.
But I don't know if there's
much more I can add, really.
Let me get this straight,
Dr. Whatley.
You're -- You're treating sleep
like an illness?
Without bothering you
with the science,
the military has been
developing wakefulness drugs
beyond your normal amphetamines
for decades now.
Our solution --
Your drug, this, uh, "Cognifin"?
Cogniphan.
Rather than
addressing the symptoms,
acts directly on the cerebral
cortex and reticular formation.
I'm sorry, you're what?
We're trying to cure sleep.
And how did Carter's physiology
reflect his reaction
to your drug?
It didn't.
Come again?
Carter never reacted
to the Cogniphan.
He was the control.
He never took the drug.
How's your mum?
Questions about my mom?
Really?
Thanks, Freud.
Idiopathic hypersomnia.
Of course, it's not like
anything they've ever seen.
That's the diagnosis they pulled
out of their ass today.
I'm sorry.
So...
I heard you told the board
Carter was the control.
I did.
All right.
Look, I'm fine with that,
you know?
I'm just putting that out there.
Lying to the board,
I'm totally okay --
You know
they wouldn't have understood.
Hey, I'm agreeing
with you, Ella.
They were looking
to throw me to the wolves.
If they could pin his death
on the Cogniphan,
then that's all they would need.
Sure, but you don't think
it was the Cogniphan?
No.
It was whatever else he was
taking with the Cogniphan.
I watched the tapes.
He was tak--
-Trazodone.
-What?
I searched his room before EMS
and the police arrived.
He had a prescription for it.
Lied about his on his
application to the study.
Oh, Jesus.
How long till
the board gets back to you?
I don't know.
Could be tomorrow,
could be before
the fall semester begins.
So it's just indefinite?
That's the exact phrase.
"Indefinite suspension."
Great.
You didn't tell them
about us, did you?
What? No.
Thank you.
You don't have to thank me.
I like you.
So, what now?
Now I have two weeks
to clean out my office,
and that's it.
You have two weeks.
Until June 14th.
And the building will be
completely empty then, won't it?
Yeah. Why?
Okay, call the team, everyone.
Tell them to meet in
the classroom tomorrow morning.
Thank you.
What are you seeing?
What are you looking at?
[ Shutter clicks ]
[ Telephone rings ]
Hello?
Look, I-I know.
I know you wanted to get rich.
You know, so did I.
Yay, money.
But don't they see that
we could really help people?
I mean, we could
really do some good.
I don't want to be mean,
but aren't they just --
Old fuckers
with sticks up their asses?
Yes, they are.
Well, I was
gonna say shortsighted,
but that works too.
I guess I could teach.
Getting my certification
wouldn't be too hard.
Throwing myself off a cliff
wouldn't be too hard either.
Yeah. No shit.
Fuck that. Teaching? Hell no!
Publish or perish!
Look, if --
if we don't finish this thing,
I go back to working
at RadioShack.
And fuck that.
My student loans are maxed.
I'm tapped.
It's not like I can just start
a new dissertation.
I mean, I have
a bachelor's in psychology.
What am I supposed to do
with that?
What if they bring us up
on criminal charges?
Oh, yeah.
Jail?
Is that where we're at?
Oh, God.
We are so fucked.
-No one's going to jail.
-Oh!
Okay, good, good, good!
'Cause if that's a possibility,
then I'm...
-I'm -- I'm going to Mexico.
-HOLLY: I could do Mexico.
I could go to a beach,
margaritas, all that.
Yeah.
Okay.
Um, I'll go pack a bag.
We can leave in like 20 minutes
if you want to.
JOE: No one's going to jail.
We're gonna fix this.
We're close.
We're too close
to just abandon this.
School just let out
for the summer.
Everyone's gone home,
even the janitors for two weeks.
We have the research,
we're all here.
And we have the key to the lab.
Oh.
Oh, wow.
A clandestine experiment?
Okay, but then what?
Well, we don't even know if
it was working properly, right?
Look at the numbers.
At 96 hours without sleep,
we start to see upticks
in brain wave activity,
both in cognitive tests
and in vitals,
all of it
statistically significant.
Based on these projections,
and this is just an estimate,
we will hit the lucidity point
in 8.3 days --
that's roughly 200 hours --
once the Cogniphan's
administered.
That's the threshold
we need to hit.
That's when we break through.
And the need for sleep
is just gone.
I'm sorry,
but shouldn't we go back
to testing in the second phase?
I mean, I really don't want
to shoot up those monkeys,
but after what happened
to Carter...
DR. WHATLEY:
You saw the research.
The results from
the simian studies were sound.
-I hate to be callous, but --
-Sure you do.
I hate to be callous, but Carter
was manically depressed
and had you have vetted him
properly, we would've seen that.
Guys, guys, guys, guys.
We're right there.
This is going to work.
[ Sighs ]
I don't know, you guys.
I -- I think we should get
another opinion.
All right.
We could take this
and get some grants, go private.
But I don't think any of you
want to hand this over
to a corporation, am I right?
I mean, we worked
too hard on this.
There's no reason to wait
for a big pharmaceutical
to discover this.
Maybe we could wait
and see what the board says,
if they'll let us continue,
but I think we all know
that isn't going to happen.
This isn't about
finishing our degrees, guys.
And, Ella, I'm sorry, but this
isn't even about your job.
This is bigger.
I mean, guys,
we joked about this, right?
About changing the world!
That is exactly what this is.
A world without sleep, right?
Just think about it.
It wouldn't just increase
workforce productivity
and make for a better soldier.
It would give
our best and brightest
a third of their lives back.
Time spent developing new fuels
or curing disease,
eliminating poverty.
Guys, if we're right --
and I think that we are --
we could change the course
of human history.
Okay, no.
No, no.
There -- There's no way we can
get undergrad volunteers now.
You're right.
That's why we're the subjects.
Ella --
Dr. Whatley -- will monitor.
Because one success
is all we need.
Shit, guys, are you serious?
I mean, you saw that kid, right?
You saw his -- his face?
Yeah, okay, I'd rather not
claw my own eyes out.
Pass.
Look, Carter was on trazodone,
250 milligrams per day.
That's a big dose.
He's right.
In the rhesus monkey trials,
there were zero instances of
self-harm or dangerous behavior.
Guys, you've seen the research.
You've got it.
You know it works.
Okay.
I'm in.
[ Chuckles ]
Me too.
Ohhh. Shit.
All right.
Okay. I'm in.
But wait, um,
we need a control, right?
Okay, I don't mean to sound
like a pussy, but that's me.
I'm the control.
Yeah, man, cool.
Are you sure about this?
Yes.
But we need to start right away.
JOE: Yeah.
And it's not gonna be easy.
200 hours without sleep.
We all know that.
We have to be in.
All the way in.
That's what she said.
[ People chuckling ]
[ Bananarama's "Cruel Summer"
plays ]
FRANCINE: Camera.
Check.
-EEG.
-DALE: Yep.
-FRANCINE: BP.
-Check.
[ Drawer opens ]
And is our control ready?
What's in that?
You know how we've had
some trouble with the control
staying involved
and awake, right?
-Yeah.
-Well, this is the answer.
It's an assortment of vitamins,
glucose,
and a dash
of concentrated caffeine.
It's all natural
and should help you keep pace
whenever you're feeling tired.
-Everyone ready?
-Yeah.
Here we go.
This heat has got
right out of hand
It's a cruel,
cruel, cruel summer
Leaving me here on my own
So I just have to sit here?
You know how this works.
You've got 45 more minutes.
This will provide us real-time
measurements of all your vitals.
Great.
Wait.
Why do we have a defibrillator?
Can I play with it?
I'd rather you not.
Now, you --
Chimpanzee games.
Yes.
Can you do better than a monkey?
An -- An ape.
Of the genus Pan.
Pan troglodyte.
You really need to work
on your taxonomy.
Sorry, I'm nervous.
When I say go.
Go.
Cruel, cruel summer
So far I've just
started to see smoke.
You know, it's common.
I get that.
Cruel, cruel summer
Everything's so loud.
It's like I'm...
...wading through wet cement.
100, 93,
86, 82...
That's -- That's not right,
is it?
Like the volume's turned
all the way up.
Doors closing
sound like gunshots.
[ Inhales slowly ]
I forgot what I was saying.
Hey...
All right,
give me the fucking shot.
Give me the shot.
Okay!
There's the party, right there!
Okay.
[ Sniffs ]
Ow.
[ Chuckles ]
We're over 50 hours in, and I'm
on my third dose of Cogniphan.
I'm feeling the effects
of going without sleep,
but the edge is taken off.
In between the -- the shaking
and the general unsteadiness,
I'm experiencing...
...moments of clarity.
That's it.
That's the drug.
There's an immediate effect once
the Cogniphan's administered.
But it also builds up
over time...
...based on metabolism
and -- and diet
and that sort of thing.
If my projections are correct,
these moments of clarity will
continue up until 200 hours.
Then the shaking,
the hallucinations,
the paranoia will all go away,
cognitive functions
will be fully restored,
and we change
the fucking world.
The lucidity point.
You okay?
Uh, oh, yeah.
Uh, yeah, I'm fine.
Just sore.
Old cheerleading injury.
You were a cheerleader?
[ Chuckles ]
-Yeah.
-[ Chuckles ]
-Don't laugh.
-I'm not.
Yes, you are.
Well, it's just,
you know, you don't really
look like a cheerleader.
Like, in a good way.
It's a good thing.
Thanks.
Not to brag, but, um,
while the jocks were out there
butting heads
and, you know,
jerking each other off,
I learned how to give
one hell of a back rub.
-On who?
-Just mostly my mom.
-Um...
-Do you want to touch me?
[ Duran Duran's
"Hungry Like the Wolf" plays ]
Okay.
Dark in the city,
night is a wire
Steam in the subway,
earth is afire
Do do do do
do do do do-do do-do-do do-do
It's not too late for Mexico,
you know?
Slow down there, gringo.
Still have a few more days
to go.
Oh, I know.
No, I'm just
throwing it out there.
Like, underhanded.
Nice and slow.
Hoping you might want to,
uh, take a swing.
I'm on the hunt,
I'm after you
Smell like I sound,
I'm lost in a crowd
[ Laughter echoing]
Do you hear that?
Hear what?
YOUNG WOMAN: Holly, you're such
a fricking weirdo!
I mean, look at you!
You're so gross!
Are you okay?
Pathetic!
[ Laughs]
You are such a loser!
[ Laughter continues]
[ High-pitched tone]
[ Growling]
You okay?
You're really starting
to freak me out.
[ Knock on door ]
Frannie?
You wanted to see me?
-Yeah.
-What's going on?
Tell me what you see.
I don't know,
it's Carter and that one kid
what's-his-name, uh, Aaron.
Look closer.
Right here.
I don't know.
What is it?
Just describe it to me.
I need to know that
we're seeing the same thing.
It looks like a...
Kind of looks like
a visual artifact.
But something.
Right there.
I guess. I mean, I could kind of
see something, maybe.
Here. What about here?
The same, Frannie.
It's just a blur. It's nothing.
What are you getting at?
Here it is blown up.
Okay, so?
So it's everywhere.
It's all around.
17 different instances.
Frannie, it's just a blur, okay?
I mean, please don't tell me
you think it's a ghost.
But you see it too.
After you told me
to look for it.
It's like hearing
"Paul is dead."
You're seeing patterns
where there are none.
No, you described it
before I planted the suggestion.
Look, Frannie, maybe the lab
screwed these up, okay?
Those cameras are outdated.
Those tapes have been
recorded over dozens of times.
You're getting worked up
over seeing Jesus in a tortilla.
You don't want this
in your head,
but I have to show you.
JOE:
[ Exhales sharply ]
Whoa, whoa.
What the fuck is that, Frannie?
Joe, it wasn't there
the other day
when I watched it
the first time.
That's -- That's not possible.
What, are you fucking with me?
No, no.
You know I'm not.
It's like it's
coming into focus.
No. No, Frannie, this is...
This isn't a thing.
It can't be.
There is no thing there.
Then what is it?
What's the common denominator?
-The Cogniphan.
-The Cogniphan.
But there's nothing
in the formula
that would
kick-start hallucinations.
Maybe it's just insomnia.
Better than the alternative.
-Which is what?
-That this is real.
[ Suspenseful music playing]
Mm. Uh-oh.
Mm-hmm.
-[ Screaming]
-[ Shrieking]
[ Slashing]
There it is.
Hmm.
Too bad.
No, don't stab her
in the boob.
No.
[ Shrieking]
Ba-caw!
Ba-caw!
[ Shrieking]
WOMAN:
[ Whispering ] Joseph.
Joseph.
[ Growling]
[ Shrieks]
Jesus.
[ Breathing heavily ]
Are you seeing it too?
What's all this about?
JOE: We all agree we've been
seeing things, right?
-FRANCINE: Yeah.
-Uh, sure.
JOE: Okay.
Well, draw it.
-Draw what?
-You know what.
[ Mid-tempo electronic music
plays ]
Don't show anyone, don't talk
about it, just draw it.
Then fold it over.
I don't want to see it.
Okay.
Show us what you've got.
All right, look,
I don't want to be an ass here,
really, but, um,
this doesn't prove anything.
We are not blind participants.
Look, we have been
living with each other.
Look, it's the best we can do.
All right.
I'm not going first.
The day my dog died,
there was a thunderstorm.
And he got scared and ran.
And he got hit by a truck.
When it's quiet...
...I can hear him screaming.
It was the worst day
of my life.
Oh, no.
Joe, your mom.
Are you seeing
something like this?
-Kind of.
-Kind of?
What's different?
Show me.
Oh. Flip it.
Is that a...
Dick with arms,
drinking a martini.
Yeah.
Really?
Goddamn it, Dale!
Why is he drinking a martini?
Well, he had a really tough day
at the office, and, uh...
Seriously? You haven't seen
anything like this?
No.
-Sweetheart --
-Let her finish.
Ella, with the monkey trials,
did you see anything like this?
They didn't draw any monkey
pricks, if that's what you mean.
When you were working with them,
administering the Cogniphan,
did anything like this happen?
The rhesus monkeys were fine.
They were agitated for a while,
but nothing you wouldn't expect
out of sleep deprivation.
Are we in danger?
I'm finished.
She doesn't see it.
I've shown Ella all the footage,
Frannie's photos, everything.
She just doesn't see it.
I still don't even know
if Ihave.
I've heard it.
I think I understand
what it's trying to say,
because when it speaks,
it's, like, inside my brain.
It's, like, there sometimes,
um, moving things around
inside my head.
Makes it hard to think.
It's like it's looking
for something.
I think it wants me to sleep.
I'd like that.
To sleep.
And to not see it anymore.
I know it's there.
See, it's just infrasound, man.
When the human ear
picks up frequencies
between 7 and 19 kilohertz,
it's theorized that it
can cause hallucinations.
So maybe there was
a stray sound in the air
or the rattling of
an air conditioner vent
or the imperceptible
hum of machinery.
But, uh...
...it makes us feel like we're
being haunted or some shit.
It's just bad vibes.
FRANCINE:
It's watching us.
I can feel it.
I keep telling myself,
it's like --
it's like when you think about
spiders all over your body,
and then all of a sudden
you start itching, but I'm...
Um...
[ Paper rustling ]
See?
Here.
See? See? Right there.
It keeps getting clearer.
Every day that we're awake,
it keeps getting clearer,
and it keeps getting closer.
You probably can't even see it.
I don't even know
why I'm showing it to you.
[ Yawning ]
All right, buddy,
you've got about 30 minutes.
I'm gonna get
some fresh air, okay?
[ The Pet Shop Boys'
"Two Divided by Zero" plays ]
Divided by zero, zero, two
Divided by zero, zero, zero
Let's not go home
We'll catch the late train
I've got enough money
to pay all the way
When the postman calls,
he'll deliver the letter
I've explained everything
It's better that way
Divided by, divided by
I think they heard a rumor
Divided by, divided by
Or someone tipped them off
Divided by, divided by
It's better to go sooner
Divided by, divided by
Than call it all off
We'll catch a plane
to New York
And a cab going down
Cross the bridges
and tunnels
Straight into town
Tomorrow morning...
[ Whooshing]
WOMAN:
[ Whispering ] Joseph!
[ Door slams ]
[ Gasps ]
[ Grunts ]
[ Groaning softly ]
Eye of the tiger.
[ Chuckles ]
[ Growling]
[ Whooshes]
Ella!
[ Growls]
[ Banging on door ]
Ella! Ella!
Ella!
[ Banging continues ]
Ella!
Fuck.
DR. WHATLEY: Joe?
Joe?!
Joe?
What in heavens are you doing?
Joe, you're upsetting me.
There's got to be
something in here.
A hammer, a tire iron.
Something.
DR. WHATLEY:
Explain it to me.
-Please.
-You saw our drawings, right?
Yes.
Then you understand
that I might want something.
A tire iron, a golf club,
or something
so I'm not completely
fucking naked
when that thing comes back.
What thing?
Joe, I need you to pause
for a moment
and realize how erratic
you're behaving right now.
No. No weapons.
No weapons? No weapons?
Fuck you, Ella!
I'm not gonna be
completely unarmed
when that thing comes back!
-I am not!
-There is no thing, Joe.
And there's no boogeyman.
And you're in no condition
to be handling firearms
or knives or --
or even casual conversation,
for Pete's sake!
You're right.
Why don't we just smile
at the thing
and ask it to sit down and talk?
I can craft
some effective weapons
out of things we'd find
around the kitchen.
No!
I can
turn the defibrillator
into a stun gun.
Or I can put together
a potato gun.
Absolutely not, Dale.
Joe, you're getting everyone
worked up.
What did the monkeys do?
What monkeys?
"What monkeys"?
The rhesus monkeys.
The fucking primate trials.
You saw the results.
Are we really
getting into this again?
Okay.
Please, please don't judge me.
But I can't do this anymore.
It's just not worth it.
And you guys can keep going.
I really hope you do.
And I promise I won't tell
the university or anything,
but I need to go home.
It's okay, Frannie.
It's okay.
DALE: No way.
What?
No.
No, fuck no!
Dale. Calm down.
No, you calm the fuck down!
She can't leave!
If she leaves, we are done.
It's over.
It's not like
we can just rewind this thing.
This is it, man!
It's not over.
It won't be sound.
But the proof is, at 200 hours,
we'll get there --
the lucidity point,
the top of the fucking mountain.
They can't argue with that,
no matter how sloppy
our method is.
This is our only research.
The only option is forward.
With or without Frannie.
You are not leaving, Frannie.
You are not!
I didn't even want to do
this shit.
But you fuckers,
you talked me into it!
I'm sorry, Dale.
Oh, fuck your apology, Frannie!
Come on!
[ Crying ] Come on.
We can do this.
You know we can fucking do this.
Goddamn it.
If I leave right now,
I can still catch the bus.
DALE: [ Sniffles ]
You want to keep going?
I want to keep going.
We're gonna keep going.
The end results might be flawed,
but we're gonna finish this.
Imperfect results are better
than fucking nothing!
How do I look?
It's weird.
Weird how?
I don't know.
I can't really interpret it.
It's just not the brain activity
of a normal, alert person.
It's more like
the brain activity of a...
I don't know,
someone who's dreaming.
Hmm.
I don't know.
I mean, maybe I could try
some electroconvulsive therapy
to get you right, you know?
I'll happily administer it.
Shock therapy?
Thanks, man, I'm good.
So, Whatley...
Bet you're doing her.
Are you doing her?
I bet she's a dom.
Is she a dom?
You're awfully perky for a
fucking asshole, you know that?
What the fuck is this?
It's the vitamins
Whatley gave me.
I know they just gave me one.
I needed a little bit more.
Man, I'm tired.
No, Dale. The control serum
was in the second drawer.
This is the first drawer.
It's the Cogniphan!
-Shit.
-Fuck, man!
God, first we lose Frannie,
now we've got no control?
Fucking done.
We're done!
No. No, we can't stop now.
I need to keep going.
Goddamn it! We need to know
if there's a lucidity point.
This is our only shot.
Hey, man, you got to
keep this between us, okay?
Yeah, okay, I'm sorry.
I'm really sorry.
-I didn't even know that...
-[ Soft growling]
Joe, what's that?
Is that...?
That's someone fucking
with us, right?
-Right?
-Shut up. Shut up.
Joe?
It's trying to communicate.
No. No.
No, it's looking for us.
It knows we're here.
JOE:
Yeah, but can't see us.
Get the camera.
-What?
-Get the camera.
DALE: [ Gasps ]
Where is it?
I don't know.
Where is it?
I just saw...
JOE:
I can't see it.
Where is it?
Where is it?!
I just saw it!
HOLLY: [ Screaming ]
Come on!
Holly?
Holly?
[ Crying softly ]
Come on, Holly.
Just relax, okay?
It touched me.
It was so cold.
Okay.
S-Show me.
-DALE: Holly...
-Go get Whatley.
[ Screaming ]
I just want to sleep.
I just want to sleep, I want to
sleep, I want to sleep.
I want to sleep,
I want to sleep.
I've just given you a sedative.
You're gonna be all right.
Okay?
Good girl.
Good girl.
-Are you sure?
-I'm sure.
And I'd appreciate it
if you didn't ask me that again.
I'm sorry.
It's just quite a lot
for me to process.
What was it doing?
I think it was looking for us.
[ Sighs ] Joe.
This sort of group hysteria
is not uncommon,
especially in situations
of extreme stress.
Hysteria didn't attack Holly.
Hysteria didn't put that mark
on her arm.
The tissue looked dead, Ella,
like it just sucked
the life out of her.
In extraordinary conditions,
like the one
you're experiencing now,
you know that the mind
can conjure up
physiological changes
that are inexplicable.
No. No, Ella.
I -- I don't know what I saw.
But I know I saw something.
She's not asleep yet.
How much did you give her?
DR. WHATLEY: Enough.
She should be sleeping
like the dead right now.
[ Dog whines in distance]
[ Whining continues]
[ Growling]
I'm tired, but I'm not.
That's not terribly scientific,
I know,
but it's important
that I document
the effects of the Cogniphan
since I'm the only one left.
I want to go to sleep,
but I don't know
if that's just out of habit.
Everything checks out.
I'm healthy.
200 hours
really isn't all that long.
By the time I get there,
I should be fully awake,
like I've had
a full night's rest.
I think it's working.
Yeah, yeah, I fucked up.
But Joe and I figured
we might as well monitor
what's happening with me.
Could be something useful.
Hey, the greatest discoveries
happen by accident.
Right?
[ Clattering ]
That thing...
...it circles us.
It's like a shark, and it knows
there's blood in the water,
but it can't quite find us.
It's stalking us.
The longer we stay awake,
the closer it gets.
And it's getting aggressive.
Like it's desperate.
Or hungry.
[ Falco's "Der Kommissar"
playing]
Zwei, drei, vier
One, two, three,
it's easy to see
And it's not
that I don't care, so...
'Cause I hear it
all the time
But they never let you know
on the TV and on the radio
She was young
and her heart was pure
And every night
is bright she got
She said sugar is sweet
She got me rocking
to the beat
And I knew that she was hot
She was singing
Don't turn around,
oh-uh-oh
Der Kommissar's in town,
oh-uh-oh
You're in his eye...
Hey. Can you come with me
for a minute?
Is everything okay?
Yeah.
Everything's fine. It's fine.
[ Meter beeping rhythmically ]
JOE:
What the hell is that thing?
DALE:
A gauss meter.
Gauss.
[ Chuckling ] It's a funny word.
You want to tell me
what you're doing with it?
Yeah, looking for
electromagnetic fields.
Yeah, no shit, Dale.
Why?
Well, there's a theory
that ghosts
either emit
electromagnetic energy
or are just disruptions
in the electromagnetic fields.
So you think we're haunted.
Don't you?
These aren't like any ghosts
I've ever seen.
Yeah. That's because
you've never seen a ghost.
Neither have I.
In movies, I mean.
Oh!
Okay, so you're expecting like
a -- like a white sheet, huh?
And some rattling chains.
Because that sure as shit
isn't what I'm seeing.
What are you seeing?
Me.
Joe, I'm seeing me, as a kid.
Seven years old, and I'm crying.
That's what I hear, at first.
And then I think I see it,
kind of,
like moving around
in the shadows.
You know?
And, um, I'm, uh...
[ Exhales slowly ]
It's like trying to find
shapes in clouds, you know?
But instead of a dragon,
it's -- it's me.
And I'm crying.
And I'm scared.
And I'm hiding from my dad.
Because he used to
beat the shit out of me.
But here's the funny thing.
When I look at it,
like, directly, it's gone.
Look!
[ Whimpers ]
-[ Meter beeping rapidly ]
-[ Gasping ]
Shh. Shut up.
Shut up!
-Oh! It's going off like crazy.
-Shut up!
Go.
Open the door, open the door.
Open the door.
[ Door opens ]
[ Gasping ]
[ Whooshing]
No. Wait.
-It's feeding.
-What?
This is what it does.
It feeds on our dreams.
Holy shit.
It's a "somnivore."
-[ Roars]
-[ Gasps]
[ Growls]
Ella!
What? What is it?
-[ High-pitched tone]
-[ Gasping ]
MAN: Dale!
Where are you?!
Little shit!
Get down here!
BOY: No! No!
No!
No!
What are you doing?
Oh, shit!
Holly, stop!
Put the knife down!
Stop! Holly!
Holly, put down the knife!
Aah! Aah!
Aah!
Hungry like the wolf
Straddle the line
in discord and rhyme
I'm on the hunt,
I'm after you
Mouth --
Holly? It's okay.
Holly? Holly?
You're awake.
It's okay.
Yeah, you are.
You're fine.
Dale?
You there?
Wake up.
You're fine.
You're fine.
You're fine.
[ Breathing heavily ]
She needs a doctor.
I'm going to take her to the ER.
It's over, guys.
We are done.
What are you gonna tell them
at the hospital, huh?
"Yes, Doctor.
My friend hasn't been sleeping
and the monster
that I call Somnivore
can't eat her dreams, so it's
draining her fucking soul."
Is that what you're
gonna tell them?
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Fuck you, Joe.
Tell her how
I fucked up everything.
What's he talking about, Joe?
It's over.
We have no controlled variable.
Dale accidentally
took the Cogniphan.
What?
When were you planning
to tell me?!
Afterwards.
I thought if I hit lucidity,
that's all the proof
we would need.
I'm sorry.
[ Telephone rings ]
-Hello?
-Hey.
Did you -- Did you hear it?
-No, not...
-Joe, can hear it right now?
Listen, Frannie,
I need your help.
Joe, I can't quit shaking.
I thought if I came here,
then it would leave me alone,
but it followed me here.
Frannie, please.
Come back.
Holly...
It's bad.
Just come back and help me
figure this out, please?
Okay.
I'll be there as soon as I can.
Oh, a-and, Joe?
Don't trust Whatley.
I'm feeling better now, Dale.
Good.
Good. That's good.
I need you.
Okay.
I need you too.
I need you to cut me.
What?
I can't.
I can't do that.
No, I -- I need you to cut me.
Don't you want me
to feel better?
Don't -- Don't you want me
to feel good?
Don't you care about me?
-Please.
-I can't.
-Please, please cut me, please.
-I can't.
-Please, come on. Please, Dale.
-Please, don't talk like this.
Dale, please, fu--
fucking cut me, please!
Please!
Please. Please.
[ Growling]
Joe! Joe!
Joe, let me in!
I forgot my key!
Hurry! Hurry!
Please! Hurry!
-Joe!
-Come on!
-You okay?
-There's more than one.
Dale and I saw one.
It was feeding on Whatley
while she slept.
That's why they're after us.
They're hungry.
They're hungry, and we're not
feeding them anymore.
We're not dreaming,
so they're coming after
the next-best thing -- us.
We've opened our minds to them.
Yeah.
With the Cogniphan.
Yeah.
It's like
they've always been here,
around us,
around humanity all along.
We didn't find them.
They found us.
Let's say they're feeding
on our dreams.
It's a symbiotic relationship.
Humanity has evolved
along with them,
but now with the Cogniphan,
we're pushing human evolution
past the need for sleep.
It's like we're in
a liminal state right now,
not quite sleeping but not
quite free of it, either.
We're a walking dream to them.
But once we hit 200 hours,
our brains are completely
rewired from the ground up.
Their food source
will be completely gone.
Maybe they won't
be able to find us.
Okay.
That is a lot of maybes.
Why Holly?
What do you mean?
Why have they gotten to her
but not to us?
You remember Rob Paddit
from our biology class?
He needed three hours of sleep,
and he was fine.
Me? I need eight hours
or I can't even dress myself.
Everybody's different.
Some people live closer
to the threshold.
Oh, I almost forgot.
Dr. Becker, the professor
that collaborated with Whatley
during the rhesus monkey trials?
He died three years ago.
There's no way he could've
signed off on that study.
Joe, there's something
she's not telling us.
-YOUNG WOMAN: Oh, my God. Loser.
-[ Laughter]
[ Indistinct talking]
[ Exhales slowly ]
You're so gross!
And pathetic!
Cut me again.
Cut me again, cut me again.
Please, Dale, please.
-I can't.
-It feels good, it feels good.
I can't.
I can't do any more.
I need you to cut me again.
Cut me again.
Undo the strap. I'll help you,
I'll help you, I'll help you.
I'll help you. Please.
I -- I...
I-I need you to cut me again.
Okay. It's okay.
We're gonna go home.
-Okay.
-Okay?
We're going home.
You are so disgusting!
No. No. I don't want...
No. No, no.
We can't go any more.
If we go any deeper, we'll cut
your femoral artery. You'll die.
I don't want to --
I don't want to do this.
I don't want to do this.
-Aah!
-[ High-pitched tone]
-Piece-of-shit loser.
-[ Exhales slowly ]
I'll cut myself too.
Ohh!
No! No.
[ Talking stops]
No.
It's quiet.
I'm going to sleep now.
Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.
Oh, fuck.
Oh, fuck.
[ Sobbing ] God.
Here.
Here it is.
Oh, yeah.
-There it is.
-Yeah.
This is it.
And that's
Dr. Becker's signature.
-After the day he died.
-[ Light switch clicks ]
What are you doing?
-You lied.
-About what?
About the simian tests.
About Dr. Becker.
You forged his signature.
And?
You would've done the same.
Maybe.
It would've been nice
to have a fucking choice.
Going straight
from rats to humans?
You've got to be kidding me.
They shot us down
at every turn.
The primate lab
just wouldn't cooperate.
They wouldn't budge.
So you did it anyway.
You went forward anyway
and showed us falsified results.
Had I confessed before
we started all of this --
which was your idea,
by the way --
no one would've
gone along with it.
Yeah, you're goddamn right
we wouldn't have!
It was our decision to make!
You're putting our lives
at risk here!
You're fucking putting
our lives at risk!
I just knew how much
this meant to all of you --
Don't bullshit me!
Don't play
kindly benefactor now.
Are you done?
Hardly.
Well, I am.
I'm pulling the plug
on all of this.
This is over.
Did she just break up with you,
or did she stop the experiment?
I'm pretty sure
that was both.
[ Thud ]
Dale?
Dale, are you all right?
[ Opens door ]
-Dale?
-[ Sobbing softly ]
Are you okay?
I need you to talk to me.
Dale?
[ Growling]
[ Both screaming ]
[ Whimpers ]
FRANCINE: Aah!
Jesus.
I'm so sorry!
I'm so sorry.
Jesus! Fuck.
Oh, my God!
You fuck!
You fucker!
No! Stop!
No!
Joe, stop it!
Stop it, stop it!
No!
Stop it! Stop it!
[ Sobbing ]
[ Crying ] I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry!
I thought she was...!
It was all in my head.
It was all in my head!
[ Sobbing ]
[ Grunting ]
What are we gonna do?
I mean, they're dead. I mean,
should we call the cops?
If we call the police,
we're all dead, Frannie.
How long until lucidity?
About two hours for me, maybe.
You missed treatments, so I
don't know how long for you.
Your body's metabolized
a good 60% of it by now.
It's irrelevant.
We need to sleep, Frannie.
Wait. Wait, wait.
That didn't work for Holly.
Why do you think
it would work for us?
I gave Holly a sedative.
This is surgical anesthetic.
Oh.
Oh, okay.
So...
We're just gonna leave them
there, Ella and Holly?
No. No, no,
I'll think of something.
But until then,
they're just gonna lie there.
We need to sleep, Frannie.
Then we'll talk,
we'll figure everything out.
But we need to protect
ourselves first, all right?
-All right?
-Okay.
Hey, I'm gonna count to 10.
No, I mean, I'm gonna count down
from -- from -- from 10 to zero.
I probably shouldn't
even make it to zero.
I mean, this is good stuff.
I'm just gonna fall asleep.
Don't worry about me.
Just don't want to roll my vein.
And, um, don't forgot to do
all the things
that you're supposed to do when
you give someone an injection.
You know,
and don't give me an embolism.
It's a really
horrible way to die.
You're giving me 20 cc's, right?
That's how much
you're giving me,
so I should be able to go
to sleep for a couple days.
You already did it.
Backwards from 10, Frannie.
Okay.
10...
Joe, I'm -- I'm really sorry
about what happened to Ella.
Nine, eight,
seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one.
[ Exhales sharply ]
[ Body thuds ]
[ Grunting ]
I'm...
I'm not afraid of you.
[ Growling]
You can't hurt me.
This is only a dream.
And you can't hurt me.
[ Growling]
It didn't work.
I know.
20 cc's.
No, I gave us 40 each.
What?
You shouldn't have done that.
-You could've stopped my heart.
-Would it have mattered?
[ Growling]
Wait.
Wait, I have an idea.
JOE:
This won't work.
Joe, I need you to believe this,
'cause if you don't,
then I can't --
I just -- I can't.
You're just
hypnotizing yourself?
Yeah, essentially.
I was part of this group
that was doing this
a few semesters ago.
The idea is that when your brain
is in a waking state,
those are beta waves.
When it is in REM sleep,
those are delta.
So I may not be able
to fall asleep,
but maybe I can trick my brain.
And hopefully them.
Any other choice
if this doesn't work?
Electroconvulsive therapy
can alter brain waves.
I am not putting that shit
to your head, Frannie!
-It'll kill you.
-Okay, then do this with me!
I'm close, Frannie.
I haven't missed a dose.
You have.
If I quit now
and this doesn't work...
No, it's going to work!
Hey, I believe you.
If this doesn't, then we can try
a warm glass of milk
and a bedtime story.
Deal.
[ Sighs ]
MAN: Hello,
and welcome to tape one
of the Myers Hypnosis Program.
Let's start by taking
a few deep breaths.
Focus on that breath.
In through your nostrils,
out through your mouth.
In slowly and out slowly.
Let your mind begin to float.
My voice will drift away.
Look deep into the shadows
of your mind...
-[ Speaking indistinctly]
-[ Growling]
...as your consciousness...
Clear your head
and stay focused.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Focus on your breath.
In through your nostrils,
out through your mouth.
-Joe?
-Listen to the voice.
Breathe.
[ Machine whines ]
Holy shit.
Frannie. Frannie, we can
beat this, Frannie.
Frannie, listen to me, please.
-Frannie, don't do this.
-[ Growling]
Frannie.
I'm sorry, Joe.
It wasn't working.
[ Electricity zaps ]
Frannie!
Shit.
-Oh, shit.
-[ Growling]
[ Roars]
[ Doorknob rattling ]
I think it worked.
Frannie? Oh, God.
Oh, God.
[ Roaring]
Aah!
Dale, we've got to go!
We've got to get
the fuck out of here!
[ Growling]
WOMAN:
[ Whispering ] Joseph.
[ High-pitched tone]
Joseph.
Joseph.
[ Whimpering ]
[ Soft thud ]
Okay, Mr. Slater.
I'll be back next week
to see if you need anything.
They're in here.
They're in here right now.
There's nothing here, Joe.
Try and get some rest, okay?
-How is he?
-The same.
He never sleeps.
He just screams all night.
You know, after a lobotomy,
people don't ever fully recover.
Okay.
Thank you.
[ Gasping ]
[ Growling]
JOE: [ Screaming ]
[ Growling]
[ Mid-tempo electronic music
plays ]