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Superbeast (1972)
There's your village.
Go home. Calling Dr. Sanchez. Calling Dr. Sanchez. You are wanted in surgery. I'm sick. Can you please wait out there? Please. I told you to wait over there. We have so many patients. - Please. Doc? Yes? Please. Please. Will you please wait outside? I'm still attending a patient. Will you? Over there. Your attention please. Flight 216 for Guam, Honolulu, and San Francisco will be boarding at gate number four in 15 minutes. Your attention, please. Flight 216, flight to Guam, Honolulu, and San Francisco will be boarding at gate number four in 15 minutes. Flight 906 from Manila, calling Guam. Flight 906 requesting emergency landing. Emergency landing. This is Guam, flight 906. Emergency landing clear for runway three. This is flight 906, request emergency standby. Deranged passenger aboard! Wow. Now I'm gonna take one of those. Thank you, honey. Going to be in Manila long? I don't really know. Oh. What's there? Work. Me too. Maybe a little pleasure, huh? What kind of work do you do? I'm a doctor. Oh. What kind of doctor? - Pathologist. - What? A pathologist. Ah. Is there money in it? There could be. Doctor Pardee? - Yes. - I'm Phil Baitson, from the American Embassy. - Hello. Phil? - Yes. - Hi. - Come on, I've got everything expedited. Well, we were able to find out his name was Cleaver, Ray Cleaver. He was pretty freaky, huh? Quite freaky, yes. Got any idea what may have caused it? No. That is why I'm here. Think it might be infectious? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What were you saying? I said, do you think it might be infectious? Well, it's very difficult to tell until we get the micros and cultures back from the lab. Well, I'll tell what we were able to find out about him. He was discharged from the Navy about a year ago. And then he was arrested in Pangan. Pangan? That's where I'm going, isn't it? That's right. What was he busted For? Smuggling hash. Did he get off? Well, he escaped about a month ago, and then there was no sign of him until he stole a pickup truck and an airline ticket. Do you have his medical records from the Navy? Oh, right here. Oh, thank you. Yeah, that's helpful. Where are we going now? Well, my instructions say to take her to pier 13, and get her on the coastal steamer to Pangan. Our apologies for the mode of transportation, but Pangan is in a pretty remote spot, and this is the easiest way. I think it'll be a trip. Don't forget these. Thank you. Your ticket is inside, and also an introduction to Dr Raul Rojas of Nivey Research Institute- - Good. - And he'll be in Pangan to meet you. Thank you. What are you doing here? Going to Pangan. Oh, well, glad to have you aboard. See you in the dining room. Are you enjoying the trip, Madame? Very much indeed, yes, thank you. Fine. Tell me, where is Mr. Victor? Mr. Victor? The American businessman who's onboard. We don't have an American passenger except you. Is Mr. Victor here? You know, the American? I'm sorry. Ah, lady, lady, I'll help you. You let me take your bag? I take your bag, lady. I take your bag. Dr. Pardee? Dr. Rojas? - How was your trip? - It was fine. Thank you. - Is anything wrong? - No. I was just looking for someone, but it isn't important. Is this your only luggage? Tell me, where does the ship go when it leaves here? On to Davao. I read the journal. Your report, apart from being undeniably valid, was most interestingly revealing. - Oh. - I admire your work, Dr. Pardee. - Thank you. - It is most self-sacrificing. I don't know about that. What brings you to the waterfront, Dr. Rojas? The young lady, perhaps? Dr. Pardee, Mondo Diaz. Mr. Diaz is our local constable. He likes to check up on all foreign visitors who come to this remote region. That is unfair, Dr. Rojas. I am not a tough officer of the law. What is that expression, that animal name, the young use in the States? Pig? Pig, yeah, yeah, pig. I am no pig. We must be going. Adios, Mr. Diaz. Adios, Dr. Rojas. Welcome to Pangan, Dr. Pardee. Hey, Diaz, over here. I should tell you this, that no one in this area, not even Mr. Diaz himself, has been informed of the Cleaver matter. Oh? I was afraid that this revelation might cause panic among some of the more superstitious natives. Until the Cleaver case, this was the only such find. I've been working in secrecy to discover its pathogenesis, and now, realizing it is not an isolated case, I fear something, something on a larger scale may be happening. A new virus? No, I don't think so. Have you the micros? So far, the cultures are negative. I suggest we go over my data, and in the morning, drive inland to where Mongo, that's what I call the subject, was found. You got cigarettes, lady? No, I'm sorry, I don't smoke. Better for you, huh? Yeah, that's what they say, huh? You Americano or English? I'm a little of both, why? Just making talk. Why just making talk? Why not? Why not? Listen, I told you that I haven't got any cigarettes. Now why are you hassling me, huh? I don't know. If you were a man, I take you to Nuki's and she'll give me a peso. I'll tell you what. I'll give you a peso if you don't take me to Nuki's, huh? Nice, I'll see you later. They just left, boss. You know, I was concerned about you last night. Pangan can be very dangerous at night. So can New York. Did I understand you to say that you've been to the Philippines before? Very briefly, on my way from Pago Pago to Bangladesh. I see that your work has taken you all over the world. Yeah, and I love it. You went to Yale Medical, didn't you? Yeah, class of '31. Seems something strange is happening in their village, an evil spirit or something, and this evil spirit, or whatever it is has attacked one of their villagers. Have they seen it? She says some of them have seen it fleetingly. She says it's horrible. I guess fear is a universal thing. We should go to the spot on the river where the villager was attacked. It is not far from the place where Mongo was found. The doctor will give us a dugout. There's no road. I hope you know how to paddle. This is where Mongo was found, and from what the doctor said, his villager was attacked just inland from here. Tell me, why do you call him Mongo? Well, when we found him, he had no identification on him, so we just made up the name. If he'd had a family, I mean, even out here in the boondocks, most probably, you would have found out about it, right? Well, most probably. Well, you know that the files on Cleaver show that he had no living relatives, either. You are thinking there's a connection? Yes, I'm thinking there might be. Hm. Well, I'm just as fond of Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chan as you must be, but I don't think our pathological mystery can be solved by such elementary thinking. It is, I'm afraid, the only thought that I've had. Well, it's been a long day. We might as well make camp and start searching the area in the morning. Sounds fine to me. Hey, where am I? Hi, how you feeling? I'm Doctor Bill Fleming. Doctor? You've been through quite a lot, so I gave you a sedative. Hey, what can I call you? I'm Alix Pardee. Alix. Where did you find me? You were washed ashore. I assume you came over the falls. You're lucky to be alive. There was someone with me. I wasn't alone. Dr. Rojas, the Nivey Institute. Did you find him? No, I'm sorry, you were alone. Maybe he's still alive. I'll check, huh? What is this place? It's an old plantation. What do you plant here? You eat and rest. We'll talk later. Morning. How are you feeling? Apart from the fact that I seem to have no voice, fine, thank you. But I'll feel even better when I know where I am and what in God's name is going on here. Oh, what would you like to know? Who is that man? A friend. What's his name? Victor, Stewart Victor. I understand you two have met before. Oh, yes. Twice, as a matter of fact. After which, he disappeared. Disappeared? On the coast steamer, between Manila and Pangan. That's strange. You're damn right it's strange, and it is not all that is strange. I find myself waking up in this Boris Karloff hideaway with some creature from out of a horror film, no tongue, sliding in and out of my room. I hear screams in the night, and on top of everything else, I finally meet, once again, my old friend, and yours, Stewart Victor. Well... as for this hideaway of mine, well, I dig it. And Lupe, my servant, she does have a tongue. It just doesn't know English. Now, the screams in the night, well, the shriek of a pig late at night can be frightening. You still haven't explained the mystery man. Stewart Victor's a friend of mine, like I said, but more than that, he's my benefactor. More than that, he is weird! Well, he's rich, he's eccentric, secretive. That's all. And you haven't told me what it is that you plant here. Let me show you something. Now, this entire island was once a plantation, but then, finally, because of its remoteness, it was turned into a colony for the terminally ill. Of course, then, the Japanese took it over. And now? Now it's my laboratory and compound. That's Benny, and that's Marie. That's Vigo. Who are they? They're convicts, remanded to my custody by local authorities. Diaz? Well, I met him in Pangan, and I saw him here this morning. That's another one of the mysteries. There's no mystery. He brought Victor. Come on. Go right ahead. This way. This way. A couple of years ago, back in the States, I was considered an authority on penology. Did some very progressive things with it, with sedatives and hallucinogens, and other drugs. Then the AMA, and the prison psychologists, and sociologists who had first backed my techniques copped out. So I came here. To continue your work. That's right, because I know I can rehabilitate even the most hardened criminal. I've been working on it for a while, and this vial may hold the answer. You have electricity. A generator, I turn it off at night. Oh, damn! They have relapses. Hey look, if you feel up to it, why don't you take a walk around? Oh, fine. Might I inquire how and when I get back to Pangan? Diaz'll be back in a few days. And until then? Well, until then, we can talk. You can tell me what's going on out there. Terrific. Later on. Peace. Hi. Do you want some wine? Please. I've stopped trying to figure Victor out. Well, I'm disappointed. This is the second time he's stood me up for dinner, so to speak. It's, uh, I wouldn't let it throw you. It's typical. Oh, it won't. Mm. California. Imported. Alright, what is it that you want to know? Hm? About the outside world. Oh, everything. Absolutely everything! Tell me, when was the last time you left here and went into Manila? Oh, uh, over a year ago, I guess. Oh, this is ridiculous. Well, where shall I start? Hm? What do you want to know about? Painting, films, music, riots? Uh, pass on the riots and wars. Tell me about the films, music. There was a whole new sound coming in when I left. Tell me all about it. The art shows, all that. Are you starving for Rosa Precht? Right. Anything interesting? Oh, just a little something I mixed up in the lab. Hey, tell me about it. I mean, what do you do in the Philippines? What is the plan? I'm a pathologist. That's great. Are you still offering the same thing? Oh, yeah, a little more, a little extra added protection. The day I saw you added a. It's a test. He's responding positively. Is he ready? Yeah. Help me. Oh, just get it over with. When? Days. As always. Hey, now, about Dr. Pardee, she's a pathologist. Yeah, you heard shots. Sit down. Now, my formula works for a week to 10 days, pacifying even the most antisocial subject. But then something happens, and they go through this whole physical and sociological metamorphosis. They revert to the primitive. It's as if they've taken an evolutionary step backwards. Now, curiously, I've found that their minds seem to stay intact, creating hybrid mutants who are as savage as the wildest beasts, but yet, yet, they're able to think like the men they were. I've managed to isolate that part of the serum which generates the retrogression, and I'd hoped that Vigo, the subject who had to be restrained yesterday would be my first success, but... Well, I guess not, huh? Wow. What happens, I mean, in the end, what happens to them? Well... well, unless they're, unless they escape, which only two have, they're disposed of. How? What have you told her? Well, it really doesn't matter, does it, Doc? You see, my dear lady, when you were washed up on that shore, you were washed up. She's a pathologist, man! She can be helpful to me and my work! She could also be helpful to the law in putting us behind bars. There's only one solution, and you know it. And I don't want a needles argument to spoil the beauty of this morning. I wanna talk about the hunt! What a stalk! The best hunt, ever, Doc. And oh, he was a worthy prey. He was cunning, he was smart, and a very agile adversary. Tell me, Doc, what did he do in life, before jail and your drugs got to him? Well, what's the matter, honey? This is unbelievable! Why, honey, it's the oldest sport in the world. - But... - But what? This is different? Oh, ho, ho. There's nothing different, is there, Doc? These are wild animals, dangerous creatures, worthless forms of life. But it is killing. You are perverted! Oh, Bambi, Bambi, Bambi, you live in a dream world. It's a fantasy. Why, you think every animal's a goddamn Bambi. Well, let me tell you something: if you'd been with me this morning and saw what I tracked down in that hut, you would've cheered me. You would have! He didn't even belong on God's earth. Wasn't like you, or me, or Doc; like a prehistoric beast. Doc? When are you gonna have another one ready, Doc? Well? A couple of days. That's good. That's good. I'll stick around. Marie killed a man in Macau. She was a prostitute, but they never caught her. Why was she arrested in the Philippines? Something smacked of salience. And you think she's rehabilitated? I know she is, as long as she's in the primary state. Same thing with Benny. He was a pimp, a thief, a hatchet-man, but he wouldn't hurt anyone now. Well, you could cross him and he'd, well, he just wouldn't give a damn. But what about their feelings? What about their emotions? All intact. They're reoriented. Watch. Do you like Marie, Benny? Yes. Do you like Benny, Marie? Yes, very much. Do you both like me? Yes. Do you like Dr. Pardee? Yes. Yes, if you say so. You like everybody now, don't you, Benny? I don't hate anymore. I so feel happy. Good. Now, I want you both to think about the word love. I want you to think about what that word means to you. I couldn't help noticing how suggestible they are. That's the positive and guaranteed reaction of the first state, and that's exactly what's given me the determination to continue my experiments. You know, I can dig what you're trying to do. I don't condone the experiments, because of the negative end results. I can see that you're a dedicated man, and that you believe that the ends will justify the means. What I can't accept is how can you let that gun freak hunt down and make sport of the mutations. I don't understand that. My relationship with Stewart Victor is one I find distasteful, but necessary. About a year ago, Victor was, by the way, that's not his real name. I heard he was stopping off in Manila on his way to safari in Malaysia. Well, I knew him in the States as a wealthy rancher, an oil man, and a member of several boards studying penal reform. My own money had run out, and I came into Manila hoping to tap Victor for enough to continue my research. I finally tracked him down at Rizal Park. At first, he wasn't interested. He kept reminding me of my disenfranchised status at home, but I wouldn't take no for an answer. I just continued to rap at him. And as I went on telling him how closed I'd come, that only the arrestment of the reversion stood in the way of my ultimate success, Victor became intrigued. He started asking me more and more about my subjects. What you're saying is they have the mind of a man, but the nature of beast, right? That's right. That's fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Can I ask you something? What do you do with them in the end? I mean, you know, when you're all through with them? I have an arrangement. It's a financial one. The local official, he brings me my subjects, and then he sees to their dispositions. It's incredible. Bartender! Bring me another drink, will you, please? What about you, Billy boy? Uh, no. Alright, you're fishing on a clear lake. You've dangled the bait, and you see your fish is about ready to bite. How much do you need? 50,000. Alright, you got yourself a deal, on one condition. That you agree to let him dispose of... My mistakes, as he likes to call them. Now we're both in it too deep. To let me go? Diaz, we got a problem. It's up to you to take care of it. Say, Doc! Yeah? I got some good news for ya. Yeah, what's that? Old Diaz here is gonna take care of everything. Go on, tell him. Mr. Victor and I were discussing the problem that washed up on your shore. It will be no problem. And he'll make out all the reporting. Yeah. Dr. Rojas and Dr. Pardee officially drowned in a most unfortunate accident, while working on an undisclosed research project. Her body was never recovered from the water. Her embassy will be notified. And I'm sure they'll be satisfied with Mr. Diaz's findings. I am sure. Diaz, you're a good man. What are you doing? Checking up on your next victim? You know something? I'm worried about the good doctor. I think he has plans to keep the girl alive. What if she is not dead after I have made my report? There will be an investigation, and it would not be pleasant for you or me. There won't be any investigation. You and me, we think alike. As I was saying, cropping is necessary to conserve our wildlife. Gets rid of the old males, the old, barren females, gives the younger animals a chance to reproduce, which makes the herd healthy and strong. What it amounts to is killing. And you can say whatever you like, it is not fun for anything to die. You must have quite the head collect, my friend. Oh, I have: 175. (exclaims in foreign language. Oh, there are multimillionaires and a prince or two that may have a larger collection, but few, if any, compare quality. And honey, that's no bull, that's a fact. 75% of my trophies are record-book class. Let me ask you something. Have you no sense of guilt? Why? Basically, man was a hunter, long before he was anything else. That was then, why now? Oh, I guess man hunts to escape from his concrete jungle, to see, and hear, or feel the wilderness, but not me, honey. No, no, no, not me. I hunt because I want to pit my knowledge, my skill, and my endurance against the wild animals in their own environment. But actually, it's the thrill of the stalk, which has been inherited, men since the beginning of time. What did you do? I put some of the formula in your buco. What formula? I took it from your vial. You said that it may hold the answer. But you... That vial may hold the answer because it contains the the help you need to isolate from the whole serum. You've given me the pure beast extract. I'm gonna bypass the primary and secondary stages. Yes. I can tell by my eyes. I think I'll be going now. I thought if I could get you into the primary, the suggestible state, you could be persuaded to let me go. Hey, Fleming. You got it bad. Lucky for you I'm here to put you out of your misery. Fleming, we're gonna play the game, just you and me. Now, come on. Come on! Oh, how ironic: you, the superbeast. Go on, take a head start. You know the procedure. Go on. Go on! Victor! Victor, I'm going. Are you going to leave with me, now? No, I can't leave 'til I've taken care of everything, everything that might incriminate me. Victor, why, why? I'm your friend! I've done many things for you. You need me! Victor! No, no! Victor! Well, well, well. Hey, Fleming! If you can hear me, very clever, very clever. Doubling back on your own tracks, huh? Look, he's not gonna get away with it now. I'll kill him. He's pretty clever. Fleming? I'll have to destroy you. Fleming! Hey! Chill out! He's a success. Can you understand that? |
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