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Tall Men (2016)
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Terrence? Is that you? -Oh, hello dear. -Hello. We have a math test we need to study for. Okay. Well, supper will be in an hour. Will you be staying, angel? No, I don't think so, ma'am. Oh, well, so be it. Off you go, you two. Terrence? Terrence? Terrence! What have you done? What have you done? -Mr. mackleby? -Yes? Sorry to keep you waiting. This way, please. Did you bring everything we need today, Mr. mackleby? Yes. Somebody's been a pretty busy boy. Seven credit cards, maxed out I assume. Yes. Is this all of them? Yes. Uh-huh. Two consolidation loans, one health club membership. I show you as $82,000 in debt, Mr. mackleby. Tell me, how does one find themselves so far in debt? With all due respect, sir, I don't appreciate the derogatory remarks. I'm paying you good money to help me here. And this has been an embarrassing enough experience for me as it is, sir. Thank you. These are the documents terminating your debt and loans. And all you need to do is sign at the bottom. You should also notice that your late grandmother's house is off the record. I added an inheritance clause. You still have a place to live. But since the house is paid off, I was able to work some angles. And please don't forget to sign your social security number. Without that, we won't be able to do what needs to be done. Congratulations, Mr. Terrence mackleby. In two weeks, you will be officially bankrupt. You got your eggs? Yes, mama. You got your pills? Yes, mama. What time you gonna be home? Same as always, mama. Don't you get sassy with me, Lucy. I'll knock you good. My ride's here, mama. -I gotta go. -Lucy? -I gotta go, mama. -Hey! Don't you run away from me! Punch it, Terrence. Hey! Here we go, people. Come on, roll it up. Roll it up. Pep in the step. Pep in the step, come on. Look alive. Let's get some work done. Let's get some work done, people. Come on, come on. Look alive, let's go. Come on, come on. Is that everyone? 34-- That's right, people, that means lunchtime in ten minutes. Ten minutes. Come on, let's go, people. 34... A new subscription came in the mail from "conspired" magazine. They had a new leaked article. It was fricken' amazing. Have you heard of the babylonian brotherhood? The brotherhood is said to be descendants of reptilians from the constellation Draco. They walk on two legs and appear human and live in tunnels inside the earth. Years ago, they came to earth for precious metals for food. After ingesting these metals, these creatures can process vast amounts of information, speed up transdimensional travel, and shape-shift from reptilian to human form. They use human fear, guilt, and aggression as energy. Hi, Lee. Anyway, this is where the serious shit comes in. The article said they've crossbred with human beings, the bloodlines chosen for political reasons. They mated with human women in the biblical apocrypha. Do you know what the biblical apocrypha is, Terrence? In Greek, "apocrypha" means hidden things. They're the hidden books of the Bible. Anyway, their first reptilian human hybrid, possibly Adam, was created 30,000 years ago. The babylonian brotherhood have spread the reptilian bloodlines. It extends to 43 American presidents-- even Bob hope. That's not the worst of it. Their hybrid DNA allows them to shapeshift when they consume human blood. No shit. It's classified. Lunchtime has expired. There's a new show playing at the cinema in town tonight. -Yeah? -Yeah. I can't remember the name. I was wondering if you'd like to see it with me. Uh... Uh, okay. It's a romance. Hey. -Give me a ride? -Sure. What're you two lovebirds talking about? Excuse me, Lee, but we're not lovebirds. Hi, Lee. We're taking Edith home, too. Here you go, Edith. Thanks, Terrence. Would you like to come up to my apartment, Lee? I'd like to show you my "conspired" magazine that just came in the mail. No, I have to work on my bus. Next weekend maybe? I got the cribbage championship. It's at the library. -Can I come? -No. It's members only. Bye, Lee. Bye, Terrence. Bye, Lucy. What was that about? She is super creepy. She likes you. Let's just say I made a little mistake. Can we go now, please? I'll call you later about the movie? Sure. That'd be swell, Lucy. Okay. I'll see you later tonight. I'll wait for you to call. - Bye. - Bye, Terrence. Of course I'm used to all that by now, so. You want a soda pop? Sure. That would be fabulous. Gauntlet green, blueberry blue? Green. Hello, Lucy, you look very pretty tonight. I'm very happy to be your escort to the cinema. Good job. Good job. Sal? Emily, I don't feel too good. I don't think this is a romance. What happened to you? Get the baby. I couldn't find the baby. Get the baby. Four percent interest. Thank you for calling "the card". My name is Beth. How may I be at your service? Uh, yes, hello. I just received your card in the mail and I would like to activate it please. It's wonderful to hear that, sir. You'll notice in the center of the card there is a number. Will you read it to me, please? Uh, yes. It is 1-5-2. If you can hold for just one moment until I set up your account. Uh, sure. Okay, Mr. mackleby, it looks like everything is in order. Do you have any questions? Uh, no. None that i can think of right now. Well, then Mr. mackleby, congratulations. You are now a proud new member of "the card" family. You are now customer 152. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call our customer service hotline. It's the same number you called to activate your card. Okay. Thank you. And once again, congratulations. -Have a nice day. -Thank you. You, too. I just got you fixed. Engine trouble? What do you know? What's wrong with it? You should know! You worked on cars before, haven't you? Get with the program, son! It's 11:45. Time to have pimento cheese on rye. It's a wonderful day. I'll take it. Do you accept these? Heh. Haven't seen one of these before. I'll check it out. Hey, kid. We're in business. Hah-hah! Okay, people. Just because I'm a little bit late does not give you the right to break in, Lee. Terrence, I need to see you in my office, stat. Okay, Dan. Ah! Come in. Have a seat. Good morning, Terrence. Good morning, Dan. What happened to your face? Not important. Got some bad news for you. We're gonna have to let you go. What? I'm gonna have to let you go. It's not that we're dissatisfied with your work or any particular reason. It's... I just bought a car. I'm sorry. What am I gonna do? I don't know. What you can do is call up your program director and they'll take care of you. They got you this job and we're gonna hire you back on as soon as the economy picks up, i promise. How long do you think that'll be? I don't know. I don't know. I'm sorry. What're you gonna do, right? Yeah, it's done. I'm so sorry, Terrence. I'll look around. I'm sure somebody's hiring. I'll find you something. I appreciate that. Tell you what, how 'bout Lucy and I come by on Saturday. I'll even bring my cribbage board. Sure. That will be swell, guys. Holy mother of Mary. Thank you for calling the card. - How can I help you? - Yes, yes, hello. I have a little problem with the bill you've sent me. Sorry to hear that, sir. Can I have your customer number? Yes, you can. I am customer 1-5-2. One moment please. Hello, customer 1-5-2. I understand you're having a billing problem. I'm the billing director. How may I help you? Yes. I hope you can. As I was telling the lady before, the bill you guys have sent me is incorrect. Oh? And how is that, sir? You see, it says that I owe you $30,000 here. $30,358.51 to be exact. Yes, yes, but that's not the problem. The problem is that I don't owe you that much money. And how is that, sir? You see, i did purchase a vehicle at $6,000, but that is the only thing that I've purchased so far. Yes. Okay, I've done the math on this and according to my calculations at $6,000 with a 4% interest rate, I owe you $6,020. That's equal out to a monthly balance of $120.40. Hello? Hello? Oh, customer 152, i am so sorry. I know what the problem is now. As a matter of fact, we've had similar problems with other customers on this matter. Thank you. That is a relief. Would you guys want to go ahead and send me a new bill? That is the correct bill, sir. $30,358.51. You just told me that you see the problem. The problem is, sir, that you failed to understand the 4% is a daily rate compounded daily, not a monthly rate. Plus there's a transaction fee of 50% of each total purchase. What? Yes, sir. But that's crazy. You guys can't do that. It was explained in full detail in your welcome letter that came with your card. You didn't read the welcome letter, did you, sir? Another thing that was explained in the letter is that there are no minimum payments. All payments are made in full at the end of each month. But that's Saturday. You don't expect me to pay that all at once. You have 48 hours to comply. Thanks for calling the card. Have a nice day. Yes, hello. I'd like to report an intruder. An intruder. Terrence mackleby? Yes. I'm detective towner. This is detective knotts. Did you report a 4-15 here this morning? A 4-15? Uh, yes, I think so. -Can we come in? - Oh, oh, yes, please. So the intruder was standing at the foot of the bed? Yes. Can you describe him for us? He was tall. Uh, how tall? I couldn't really tell you exactly, because I was lying down. I can tell you that he almost touched the ceiling. He was very tall. Did he say anything to you? No, he didn't say a thing. He just turned around and walked away. -How did he leave the house? -The front door. Did you see him leave through the front door? No, but I think I heard him. How do you know he left through the front door if you didn't see him leave through the front door? I think he left through the front door. I'm gonna go look around outside. I call her Wanda. I painted her about two years ago. I was having a couple of problems. I know she's kind of morbid, but I keep her up there to-- to remind me to take my medication. Knotts, come in. Yeah. I think I found something. Roger. What do you think, dick? Size 16? Probably 18. Based on the density of the soil and depth of the print, I'd say he's seven feet tall, maybe 320. Probably 340. That's a big fella. Well... Mr. mackleby, we checked the whole house and there are no signs of forced entry. Are you sure you locked all the doors last night before going to bed? A hundred percent. You don't have any friends who may have a key, maybe thought it'd be funny to give you some sort of scare? No, no. I only have one key. I can't even imagine anybody I know wanting to do that to me. People do strange things, Mr. mackleby. Did you hear that? Hear what, Mr. mackleby? You didn't hear that? I didn't hear anything. You hear anything, dick? Nope. In the meantime, keep all your doors and windows locked. This is my personal number. Feel free to call me if anything comes up. I will, believe you me. Good day, Mr. mackleby. No refunds! No refunds. Hah-haha! It's just that there's this one-- unh-uh! No refunds. Is it a lemon? Well, no, it's-- no refunds. It's just that-- sorry. I can't hear you. - Just-- - bye. Hello? Hello, customer 152. How are you this morning? Mother's milk! Now really isn't a good time. I have to call the police. My car's just been stolen. Oh, no, customer 152. It hasn't been stolen. Your car has been repossessed. What? You took my car? -Yes, sir. -You can't do that. Of course we can. If you purchased an item with your card, sir, and do not pay your debt, we're entitled to full possession of the item or items. That is according to the agreement in column two, line five in the application you signed. Of course, you probably didn't read that either, did you, customer 152? That's ridiculous. How do you expect people to pay with that kind of interest? You have until 6:30 P.M. tonight to make your payment, sir. I don't owe you a thing. You took my car. We're square. Oh, on the contrary, customer 152. You still owe us the interest and transaction fee. That would be $24,358.51. I can't pay that. Even if I could, how would you expect me to get that kind of money to you by 6:30? Well, one of the many benefits of being a lucky member of the card is that we provide collectors to come to your home to receive payment. What're you guys? - A bunch of loan sharks? - No, sir. We're just hardworking Republicans trying to make a difference. Thank you, customer 152, and have a nice day. Hi, Terrence. Did you have a nice nap? I brought you a monkey lamp. What's with the 1-5-2? That's my customer number. What're you going to do? I don't know. I know I can't pay it. Just claim bankruptcy again. If you claim bankruptcy, you have to wait another seven years before you can claim it again. Did you bring your cribbage board? No. Funny thing about that is Princess over here comes by the bus in a tizzle says we gotta get to the store before it's closed. Wants to get you a monkey lamp. - That's why I forgot it. - I told you, Lee, that we needed to get to the store because it was important that we get something nice for Terrence. I wanted to get something nice for you to cheer you up, Terrence. Losing a job can be devastating. I like monkeys. I like monkeys, too. We can just play cribbage another time. It's not a big deal. I think I want a pb&j. -Want one? -No thanks. I'll have one. Thanks. I'd like to go do something tonight. I really don't want to be here if one of those bill collectors shows up. I really don't wanna deal with that. It's three o'clock. Three. Hey, Terrence, i was thinking, why don't you come stay at the bus for a couple nights? You know, avoid those bill collectors guys. So what do you think? What're you doing? Out there. That's that tall man. That's the guy that broke into house. He was right there, right behind the fence, looking at me. He was right there. You don't believe me. Terrence, I don't believe anything you're saying, but you're my pal, and maybe he ducked down behind the fence when I walked in the kitchen and that's why i don't see him. He's out there, Lee. He's here to collect. Do you have anything I can swing? What're you gonna do? I'm gonna kick his ass. Okay. -I'm scared. -Don't say that. I'm your friend. I'm going to protect you. Is everything okay? Yes. We're just going to go outside for a minute. Okay. I'm feeling much better now. I will protect you. You know, pal, you got some nerve trying to scare my friend like this. If you ask me, I'd say you're kinda creepy. I'll tell you what. Why don't you practice falling down? 'Cause I'm gonna ponder something. Should I crack you in the skull? The knee caps? The shoulder? Lucy? Lucy! -Detective knotts. -Yes, detective, this is Terrence, Terrence mackleby. Yes. You were here with your partner a few days ago. I had an intruder, do you remember? Oh, yes. Mr. mackleby. He's back. The tall man is back. He hurt my friend Lee, and I can't find Lucy. Are these your friends? Yes, yes. He did something to them. Well, I don't know about Lucy. She's disappeared. Hello? Listen to me closely, Mr. mackleby, do not leave your house. The safest place is inside. Detective towner and i are on our way. We're calling for backup, so some officers may show up before us. Is that clear? We'll be there as soon as we can, Mr. mackleby. Okay. It's us, Mr. mackleby. Hand me the knife. He's in the kitchen. It's detective towner. Dick? No officers showed? No. You're the only ones. Sorry about that, Mr. mackleby. Believe it or not, we had a flat. I'm gonna take a look around out back. Roger that. I locked all the doors before you got here. It wasn't locked. I am a hundred percent certain that I locked all the doors just like you told me. -Dick? -Go ahead, over. -What's your 20? -Still in the back. I'm checking the alley. Over. Let me know if you find anything outside. Detective? Is that them? I thought there was only one. You're in big trouble, Mr. mackleby. You know who they are? I know exactly who they are. -Dick? -Go ahead. Over. We have visitors in the front yard. Dick? Dick. I see something. Dick, acknowledge. Dick, acknowledge. Detective? Did you open both of those curtains? 6:27. Right on time. They're gone. Detective? Detective? Detective knotts? What do you guys want? Good evening, customer 152. My name is Jeremy, and I will be your collection agent. Please allow me to introduce my colleagues, if you will. The man sitting directly in front of you is tic. The man standing to your left is tac. And last, but by no means least, the gentleman standing behind you is toe. This isn't right. This is illegal, you know. I don't know what you've done with the detectives, but they said more police are coming. We've taken care of the police, customer 152. Now the reason we are here, as you may well know, is that you owe us a considerable amount of money, and we are here to collect it. The amount we are asking for is $24,358... And 51 cents. Do you have the amount due, customer 152? I've been telling your company from the beginning that I don't have that kind of money. Oh, that is a problem. Now, customer 152, I would like you to do something for me. Will you place your hands out in front of you, please? Why? Customer 152, we need you to cooperate with us. You see, tic is short of Patience. You must understand having a lamp knocked over one's head can make a person quite ornery. Again, will you please put your hands out in front of you? I will ask you again, customer 1-5-2, do you have the amount due? I don't. Oh, that sounds quite painful. I will ask you again. Do you have the amount due? I can get it. Just give me some time. It's either yes or no, customer 152. Now we're going to try something new. Mr. tic, I will be back in one hour. You boys know what to do. Listen, fellas. This is really hard for me. I'm in a lot of pain here, and I think I'm going into shock. Aah! Hello, customer 152. How are we feeling? I understand all of this must be confusing to you, maybe even a little overwhelming. What you guys are doing is against the law. It's sneaky and conniving. No one forced you to sign on the dotted line, customer 152. It's funny how you mention breaking the law, because I have in front of me a document. It's called a credit report. Your credit report. I am sure it's something that fell through the cracks, because I can assure you we wouldn't have accepted you as a card member. It says here that you claimed bankruptcy. What do you call borrowing money, not paying them back, and then finding an easy way out? I'd say that's quite irresponsible, don't you think? Now you listen here. I didn't-- I am talking, customer 152. I do not particularly like to lose my train of thought. Now, oh, yes. In most good debt payer's eyes, I would say you are seen as an irresponsible thief, and we are just collecting what is owed to us. Now I'm going to ask you one more time. Do you have the amount due? I don't have it. Oh, I was afraid of that. I apologize for the monotony, customer 152. Due to the lack of time and my Patience, we must speed things up a bit. Right about this time, you should feel quite inebriated. It's numbed you a little, am I right? The pain in your fingers, less intense? Yeah. That will help with the pain, because unfortunately, we will need to proceed to break the rest of your fingers. We will of course spare the thumbs. I hope a lesson has been learned, customer 152. Good night. Have you heard of the babylonian brotherhood? They use human fear, guilt, and aggression as energy. No shit. It's classified. Aah! Hey. Hey! Aah! Lee? Aah! Be right there. Get up. You have visitors. How you doing, Terrence? How are those hands? They throb. They've been itching a lot. Pretty uncomfortable, actually. Well, that's good. That's a good sign. That means they're healing. Hey, Terrence, I want to introduce to you Mr. uh-- vermeiren. Werner vermeiren. He's a psychologist. How are you doing, Terrence? Psychologist? Yeah, Terrence, we need to talk about your case. I've spent a lot of time reviewing your case, Terrence, and to be honest with you, at this point, it's just not looking good. The evidence is stacked against you. What? Let me just tell you what the court's gonna see. They're gonna see your friend Lee levine dead on the floor, they're gonna see a prostitute, Wilma sherman, also dead, and Lucy Marx beaten to death, all in your house. I didn't kill them. I could never do something like that. Hear me out. I'm going to tell you what the scene looks like. Saturday, the night of the murders-- I didn't murder anybody. This is what it looks like. Saturday, you picked up this prostitute in your car. You drove her back to your place for a party. I like Lucy. Well, I'm sure you did, Terrence. Now what it looks like, the four of you had way too much to drink. Things got outta control. There was an altercation which escalated into a fight. I didn't do it. Terry, your friend Lee? His skull was crushed. And to top things off, your fingerprints were found all over the bat used to kill him. There was a prostitute with a broken neck on your living room floor. And Lucy Marx, your girlfriend, she was beaten beyond recognition. Look at your hands, Terrence. Almost every bone in both of your hands is broken. Her face was pummeled by your bare hands. They had to identify her by a tattoo. I could never do something like that. That's what the prosecution is going by. Then what, what about, what about those detectives, the ones who were helping me? Well, now see, that's another thing that conflicts with your story. I called police records twice. I spoke with two record supervisors in the process. They checked their directory. There's no record of a, uh, detective knotts or towner that work for the police department. They don't exist. Like I told you, Terrence, things just aren't looking good for you. The courts have it stacked against you. The prosecution is the story they're believing right now. What about-- I could've-- I could've never picked up that lady of the night. My car, it was-- it was repossessed by the credit card company. The prosecution has a witness. They say the girl was seen getting into your car. They say that the witness saw you pull up to the prostitute, some words were exchanged, she gets in, and you drive off. Well, did they see the driver? -No, just the car. -Well, there you go. They didn't see the driver. Is that your car? The police shot that photo the day you were arrested. It was in your driveway. It wasn't repossessed. I went to the dealership, Terrence, and there's no record of you purchasing that vehicle there. The car did come from that lot, but it was stolen, not purchased. I purchased the car at that dealership. I bought the car from that salesman. They-- they-- they did it. It's a conspiracy. They set me up. They did it all. Who are "they," Terrence? The tall men. -The tall men? -Yes. Ben, you-- I told you about the tall men. You haven't even acknowledged them. You don't believe me, do you, Ben? That's why I am here, Terrence. Ben called me to review your case. Now tell me about the tall men. I'm not crazy. We know you're not crazy, Terrence. Just tell me about the tall men. Okay. There are these tall men in dark suits. They work for the credit card company. They-- they're-- they're like collectors. -Collectors? -Yes, yeah. What they do is they-- they trick you into using the card, and then when you can't pay it, the company sends these really, really big guys. They're enormous. They're-- they-- you can't get away from them. They come and go as they please. They're like shadows. Like phantoms. How many tall men were there, Terrence? There were three. Do these tall men have names? Yes. Tic, tac, and toe. Do these men ever talk to you? No. They never said a word. They had a guy on the phone that would do all the talking. And what did the man on the phone say? He'd ask me questions. He asked if I had the amount due. When I said no, the tall men would break my fingers. And then they made me drink whiskey. I think we may have an explanation for all of this. Let's go back 20 years ago. There was a little girl living next door to you. Her name was, uh, Alicia marriotti. She was about your age. Do you remember her? She was my friend. She used to live next door from me. We would play all the time. We would explore places and pretend we were in a different world far away. She was my best friend. My only friend. Other kids didn't understand me, but she did. She was my best friend. And when the day would end and we'd have to return home, she didn't want to go back home. She had to return to a terrible darkness. Months went by and Alicia was changing. A day came when she asked me to do something very difficult. What she asked me to do was unimaginable. But I knew she wasn't happy. I loved her, and I would've done anything for her. Terrence! What have you done? What have you done? That was a long time ago. Yes, it was, but it all has relevance, Terrence. After the incident, your grandmother had you committed and eventually you were diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Yes. My understanding is that you returned to live with your grandmother after you were released from the hospital. -Is that correct? -Yes. And you lived with your grandmother ever since? Yes. And, uh, your grandmother died and now you live alone, yes? Did your grandmother help you with your medication - for schizophrenia? - Yes, she did. The point I'm getting at is your records show that there were times that you have forgotten, neglected, or even failed to take your medication. That was a couple of years ago. My grandmother died. I had a hard time. But I always remember to take my medication now. I never miss a dose. Well, perhaps the dosage wasn't strong enough anymore. That might be the reason why you are seeing these these tall men, these detectives. It might be the reason why you have no recollections of the murder of your friends. Terrence, listen to what we're saying. Our hands are tied. There's no other explanation. All the wrongs point to you, and if the courts consider your mental history, well, that's it. If we claim insanity, they'll send you to a mental institution, which is much better than prison for you. Terrence, you have a disorder that makes things very difficult for you. I want you to know that everything will be okay. Everything will be okay, Terrence. Come on, buddy. Can we get this going? It's getting close to happy hour. Oh, my god. Let's roll. Thank you. Hey, excuse me. You. Say, do I know you? I don't think so. Yeah, I've seen you before. I just have one of those faces, you know? No. No, we met at a party a coworker of mine was holding. Marty Gomez. Right. That's right. Marty. Uh, he was celebrating his bankruptcy. That was a few months ago. Yeah, you gave me a business card. I sure did, didn't I? How is old Marty? Funny you ask. He's in prison. Drug trafficking. No fooling? Just when you think you know someone. Yeah. Go figure. Just when you know someone. I'm gonna leave you with this gentleman. I can assure you you're in good hands. Yeah, he's a little slow though. Good day. Hey, maybe I'll see you around. Maybe. Oh, and, uh, don't forget to write your social security number. Without that we can't do what needs to be done. |
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