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The Outer Wild (2018)
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WOMAN: I'd like to be by the sea By the sea Under the red star Where we should be LAURA: Nobody knows why the red star appeared in the sky, nor why the human race is now nearly extinct. No one knows what happened to us, only that it did. The women were the first to go. They simply disappeared, vanishing into thin air, as if they don't belong in this world anymore. Some say they went to a better place, like the red star. But others are still here, lingering like spirits, unable to move on. Men had a different fate. They mutated, turning into horrible creatures filled with hunger and rage. [roars] They became a new kind of beast. And the world was now theirs. It was as if nature had turned its back on us and decided to start over. For us survivors, a colony was built to keep us protected from the world outside. But that didn't make things safer. The women were still disappearing. I can't see you. I should see you. Now my sister is showing signs of changing. They say there's something in my blood that can save her. I can cure all of us. It's time. It's better. But there is no cure. There is no humanity left to save. Under the red star Where we should be Shh... - Cindy? - Laura, run. Cindy? CINDY: Fight. Cindy! - [stab] - [man groans] [whispers] Come to the red star. [yelps] [gasps] I knew they'd send men after me. But my sister was gone. And she killed that man, so I could be free. Free from this world and all the men in it. [electric buzzing] - [beep] - [powers down] [gasps] I will make it to the red star. Where I should be. [panting] Come on, now. Nowhere to go. - [yells] - [distant growl] [growls] Run! [growling continues] Get in the truck! [gunshot] [distant growling] - [gunshot] - [screeching] [gunshot] [howling] [howling continues] [engine starts] I got you. What? What are you doing? Looking. At what? There ain't shit out here to see. That's the idea. Can't find what you can't see. What? You just stay here. [door closes] We're good out here. I'm not going in there. Well, you're not going out there. I chased you once. I'll just shoot you next time, okay? Let's go. [footsteps departing] Want some water? It's safe in here. There we go. [door closes] Know who I am? Yeah, you're the one I've been trying to get away from. Others would've found you. You're lucky it's me. Why, do I get a prize? We're not so different, you know. Of course we're different. You're a man. You hungry? Three weeks. A hundred miles out. That's longer than anybody else made it. That's a lifetime out here. So how come I'm not dead yet? Is that what you want? [clatter] [sighs] [doorknob rattles] [rattling continues] [rattling continues] [scraping] [gunshot] [groans] I can't let you in. [groans] Please! Please! Let me in! Just let me rest! I just want to rest! [screams] [screaming, groaning] - [growling] - [flesh tears, bones crunch] [grunting, growling] [groaning] You drugged me. You would've run away while I was asleep, get yourself killed. Or killed you. Just be grateful. You don't know what you missed last night. Why would I drink that? Because your mouth feels like a cotton ball, and you're beginning to trust me. [splashes] I'm gonna pack up. [panting] [electric buzzing] [thud] [Laura yells] What the fuck?! Looks like you took a spill, huh? What the fuck?! I put in a spinal tracer last night. You can't run. Your nerves will lock up as soon as you get too far away from me. Nobody knows you found me. You can just let me go, say you never saw me. It's not gonna work like that. [groans] [spits] You done? I doubt it. Ugh! Oh! LAURA: Was that a person? COLE: Used to be. And you think I'm the threat. Do you know what you're taking me back to? Where you should be. We have different ideas of what that is. I can't stop them from turning, no matter what they think. They don't know. Their science is just guessing. They thought you could save your sister. Laura... I didn't. They think you could save us. I won't. I was with her. I was holding her hand... then I wasn't. I saw her... and then I didn't. She told me to meet her at the red star. Are you sure you saw her? You know your mind can play tricks you, make you see what you wanna see. Yeah. It can also tell you to do the right thing, asshole. That place you're looking for, under the red star? Well, it doesn't exist. It's just a song to make people feel good. Words from men. Fuck you, I'm breathing. Oh, what, I get under your skin? Stay in the truck. Get down now. Cole? [laughs] Shit. Ramson! Lookie here. You're on the wrong trail, buddy. Oh, yeah? Yeah, it looks like you're following my tracks. Trail's cold anyway. I'm headed back to the crossroads, see if I can pick it up. [light thunder] The weather's fucked up these days, huh? Ain't it, Lard? It's been a long time. Here you are. Here I am. I was looking for you, actually. Everyone went up north, looking for that girl, thinking she could only survive in the Outliers. But I didn't see you, so I thought maybe you knew something different. I went south. Bingo. No. I just took a flier, you know? Bad instincts, that's all. No, you don't have bad instincts, man, no. I like you for that. I love you for that, actually. The feeling is mutual. You know that. What feeling's that? The sarcastic one. What do you know? - What I know? - Mm. Here we are. Here we are. Son of a bitch. [horn honks] What the fuck, Lard? Wait up. What's going on, man? Hey, Cole, come here. Lard wanna ask you something. Why doesn't he get out himself? He's having a day. It's Lard, man. Come on. Hello, Lard. It's Laird, like a cake. He's got throat issues. - Really? - Yeah. We know you got the girl. Come on. Take a seat. Let's talk about it. Let's find a solution, hmm? - Like friends. - Friends. Aw, fuck. Fuck! Hey! - Stop! - [gunshot] Just make it easy for me. [electric buzzing] [electricity crackling] Huh. That's interesting. [gunshot] This is nice. [crackling continues] Come here. Let's have some fun. [screams] Ah, shit! Fuck! [screaming] Get in the car now! Fuck you. - [stomp] - [screams] Now! [engine starts] Let's go back and finish him. You're worried about him? He a buddy of yours? Listen. You kill him, he dies. You let him live, he will turn. He will suffer. Everything that makes him a man will go away. He will never find the red star. I thought you said there was no red star. Come on, get some rest. I know a place. You're welcome. Don't look at me. LAURA: Not everyone believes in the red star, that it's a better place or that men can even go there at all. They don't think the star means anything because in this world, nothing does. Why don't we just drive there? 'Cause I don't wanna get shot. Truck ain't going nowhere. I could give less a fuck about the truck. It really pisses me off I have to rely on you. LAURA: Hey, you hear me? Hey, you hear me? [distant growl] - [distant snarl] - [bird chirps] [low panting] [birds chirping] They only attack when scared or hungry. We're safer here. They don't go in the water. So is this safer? [sighs] This is nice. How'd you find this place? Sure it's safe? Not everything's dead out here. They know you from the colony? Before. Why don't they live there now? Not everyone's meant to be with other people. They choose to live out here and take their chances on their own? I suppose. - They chose that. - That's what I said. So they had a choice. We've been lied to our entire lives. We can survive out here. They can. You? I'd give you about three weeks. It's been three weeks. Guess you're due then, aren't you? [distant singing] Under the red star Elsie? One more move and I'll shoot! Is that you? Uncle Cole? Goddamn it, it is you! [laughs] Oh, God! Where the heck you been? Look at you! All grown like a weed. - Yeah, shit happens. - [Cole laughs] Daddy said you died. Well, your daddy says a lot of stuff, doesn't he? Elsie, this is Laura. You're gonna have plenty of time to get to know her, all right? How's your old man? Still old. Come on, let's say hi. [giggling] [distant giggle] Oh, shit. I thought you'd be dead or eaten by now. Like my dog. Well, you had a dumb-ass dog, Hank. Nice work, little brother. Laura, this is Hank. They'll, uh... They'll be hosting us for a bit, right? Well, shit yeah, man. You know there's a room in there with your name on it. Elsie, show your new little friend here inside. My new friend. Hmm! Go ahead. Just get settled in. You're safe here. Well, fucking all right, then. This is it. LAURA: So this is their better place. Feel free to sit, stand, sleep. Do whatever. You hungry? Dinner will be in an hour. LAURA: Somehow they're living the way life used to be, in a place they shouldn't be. In a home. You can take a bath and shit. I'll leave you alone. It's a little close to home, don't you think? They're getting closer in, getting more aggressive. It's like they finally figured out they belong here, and we don't. Yeah, well, maybe they got a point. They ain't got no fucking point. They don't make points. They're animals now. I feed them, they eat. That's it. And they go away happy. If they don't... Step back. [electric buzzing] COLE: You got it working. Drains the genny, but it works like a fucker. Keeps 'em out. Well, keeps you in. Looks like you got your own colony now, Hank. - You want some? - No. You sure? Good eats. Skunk. I got rabbit. Stop it. Is this squirrel? - We got chicken! - Stop it! Hey! I'm fucking with you, man. Elsie's making dinner. You don't need to lock the door. The lock don't work nohow. You look tense. Had a long day? Had a long life. You don't look so old. That's not what I meant. I'm really glad you're here. We never get any company around here. Daddy means well. Tries to satisfy my needs. But he's limited. HANK: You know they got a market now? Ever since the raids stopped, all the illegals and the outlaws came out of hiding. Trade shit back and forth in a parking lot about 30 miles from here. Shit they don't need, shit they already got. And they scamper back in their little holes, just happy to kinda remember what life used to be like. [laughs] Shit. I take it you don't go. Fuck no. Well, once. Elsie's idea. Big mistake. Only good people do is remind you they're no good in the first place. Fuck 'em. [distant yelp] Shit. If I can see it, I can kill it. HANK: It won't do nothing. Just wants us to know it's here. I think it's 'cause you're here. It wants to see you. [thunder rumbling] That's about right. That is nature telling us to fuck off. [thunder continues] She's gone. Where you fucking been, man? How do you like your food, Uncle Cole? Oh, it's great. Thank you, Duckie. You haven't touched it. Yeah, well, my stomach ain't used to such good cooking. Daddy says I cook just like Mama did. That I'm her spitting image. - Yeah, you are. - I don't see it. Oh, oh, he's right. [Elsie chuckles] She was just a baby when the air turned. She don't remember her mama. Mama didn't go like the rest. Died of natural causes. Head split open like a watermelon. [chuckles] I think she's in a good place, though. You remember your mama? And my father. We lived by a beach. I remember that. Did you see your daddy turn? It's crazy how men change. One day they're normal, then suddenly, they just want to eat human flesh! - Come on, Elsie. Jesus. - It's just science, Daddy. I'm eating. ELSIE: You won't go like that, though. HANK: Hell, no. Radical self-reliance. - Radical self-reliance! - Self-determination! Yeah, well, I'll determine to be outside. Thank you, Elsie. [door slides open] HANK: Eighteen years. Eighteen years he's been a slave to the colonies. That's as long as I've been against them. Now suddenly, he's helping you escape from it. He ain't been here in, what, how long, Else? - Five, six years? - Six. Why the fuck you looking at me for? [chuckles] You're spunky. Come on, Laura. You want to know why he's helping me? - Yeah. - I don't know. You want to know why I left? There's a question I can answer. You know, they tell all these stories back in the colony about the first runaways. They called themselves "pioneers." We were told they died out here. We were told everyone dies out here, but look at you two. You're here. I'm here. Fuck! [laughs] - They lied to us. - Mm! These pioneers, they told us they would send us a sign when it was safe, and we would all come to be free, where we should be, just like that song says. A few months after they go, that star in the sky turned red, like a lighthouse. The kind we heard about, but ain't seen nothing like it. And that is where we go when we go. Dead and alive. That's where we all go. That's where I'm going. I'm a pioneer. That beer ain't drinking itself, Cole. Elsie made that. You haven't told her. What's there to tell her? That her mama ain't up in heaven looking down on us? That she's stuck here, cursed like the rest of us? Not allowed the dignity of a dying day? Is that what I should tell her? That Maria never wanted to change? How much do you see her? Not enough. I don't know what's worse. Wondering where we go or knowing exactly. I feed 'em. I don't know why they don't they eat it. [distant zapping] Ah! Possum. [laughs] Why don't you tell me what you gotta tell me? Doesn't matter. Does to me. How do you know? I haven't even said it yet. Well, 'cause we're brothers, Cole. That still means something to me. Animals are brothers. They don't seem to care. - But we're not animals. - It doesn't matter. Shit. We had our second chance. We're no better than the first go-round. We are what we are. It's what we become we don't know. Or worse, maybe we do. - Else! - Yeah, Daddy? One more, if you please. That was nice, Duckie. Thanks, Uncle Cole. Should I put on the makeup? Ooh! - Yeah! - [Elsie giggles] Yeah, that's a good idea. Make it nice and red. Go on. Hang on, Else. I'm gonna come with you. You still think you need to live for something, Cole? Hmm? Be a man. Do what you do. Ain't no judge no more. [Elsie giggles] - Night, Uncle Cole. - Good night, Uncle Cole. Take your shirt off. I'm sorry for my family. They ain't you. They're a part of me. Sorry. [gasps] Ah! I said sorry, asshole! You okay? That's it. You're no longer being traced. [whispers] Come to the red star. [gasps] Rise and shine, porcupine! I want to show you something. Come on! We have to hurry while Daddy's out checking the traps! Where's Cole? He's out getting the truck. He'll be back soon too. Come! - [sniffs] - Don't mind the smell. I collect them. Their parts. Things I find when I go walking, which Daddy don't like me to do, but I do anyway. He has no idea how far I go, though. The things I see. The nests of those things. ELSIE: They were all us once. Well, they were all men anyway. ELSIE: The women, they're different. They just disappear. Well, some of them do. It's like some can't bring themselves to go. I see them in the forest sometimes, watching, waiting, for when they're ready to go. When I go, I hope I stay pretty. [distant growl] [moaning] Maria? [moaning] Maria? Maria, I'm sorry. [gunshot] Just Daddy fucking around. You know, no two are the same. They all change and grow different. As different as you and I are in, um, DNA, they are in... whatever they call it for them. DNA. The same thing? Huh! Okay. You know, some of them even look like us. ELSIE: They ain't all monsters. Some are even nice. They all gotta eat, though. Why are you showing me all this? You don't like it? No, it's... No, I don't. Wait. I'll be right back. Elsie, please don't. No, stay. Stay. Open it. What is this? Ta-da! My friend Abner gave it to me to keep. I can't bring myself to use it, though. These are for what? It's a sign! It's a sign of the flock, like hens. You said it last night, the pioneers, you said it. It's how they find people. It's a sign. It's for people like us, people who need it. It's a ticket in. You're not gonna get me in trouble, are you? Why would I do that? Saying things I shouldn't. This flock. These hens. You mean women? Are they real? So they say. They who, Elsie? Who are they? Me. Hey, okay, look. Who gave this to you? Who's your friend? Is this real? - Can this, is this... - It's a sign. They don't talk about it because it's dangerous. They never know who's asking. So this is how they talk. This is how they find people. For the flock. HANK: Elsie, where are you? If you're going, take me with you. Coming, Daddy! Elsie! Elsie! What you doing? I thought you was shooting guns. - No, not doing that. - What were you doing in there? Showing her some things. What things, your little collection? I thought I told you to get rid of that, Elsie. Leave it alone. Ain't gonna leave it alone, Elsie. Hey, hey, hey! Elsie, come on, when I'm talking to you! Hey, Elsie! Elsie, goddamn it! What the hell is wrong with you? HANK: Goddamn it! Ow! Shit! Ow! Little girl, you wanna play? - It's on now. - Daddy, leave her alone! You okay? We gotta go. We gotta go! Elsie, wait! Wait! Wait! Elsie! Elsie! Elsie. Oh, God, Elsie, it's not like I know where I'm going. Yeah. I know. I'm sorry. I thought I... I thought that I could. I can't. Sure you can, Elsie. I did it. Shit, you lived out here. You could do it more than I could. Who's gonna love him when I'm gone, huh? He's my daddy. He's the only... He's all I got. [sobbing] Hey, look at me, look at me. You don't need him. You stay here. - He'll help. - No, no, no, Elsie... He'll come! My friend, he'll come. He'll help. - What? I can't... - Yes. Thank you. LAURA: Then she was gone. She can never leave. She can only dream of it. Call it the devil you know. She can't see life without her man. She can't see what a man can be. Hank. You wanna give me a fucking minute? COLE: Hank? ELSIE: Daddy! Where you been, Else? Daddy, we need to talk. Say something. Say anything. Please, Daddy, say something. You don't say anything! What the fuck is there to say? Our baby died, Daddy. - We buried it. - You buried it! I kept it. And you pretended like nothing ever happened. Say something! Just say anything, Daddy! Just say something! - Just say... - Hank! Where's Laura? [screeching] [distant snarling] - [bird squawking] - Laura! - [panting] - [bird squawking] [squawking continues] Laura! Laura! Laura! I... - Elsie, go get your gun. - Yes, Daddy. [gunshot] Daddy! Oh! She's mine. [buzzing] [gunshot] Ah, goddamn it. So they're here. They were here. Women. Been fucking men since the beginning of time. Now it's a new time, women are still fucking men. [sighs] Maybe we deserve it. You know, men fuck women too. No matter what time it is. [electric buzzing] This shit's not gonna last. [buzzing stops] Where they headed? Huh? Where could they be? [sighs] You're safe. You're on my ground. Where is she? She's fine. - [groans] - Wet. Probably getting cold. She knows that I can't go to her, and she's not gonna come to you. But she followed us here. Does she know? Do you know? We don't kill our own kind. I don't know if you know that yet. You understand I'm trying to protect her. Why protect her? Because she is destined for something more, and she is in the wrong place. Unlike you. Your body will heal a lot faster than you think. Your body will become much more resilient the more you turn. You almost killed me. And I am thankful that I didn't. It's been a real challenge for me. She's waiting. For you. Get in the water. You should've run, Laura. Oh, what, you think I can survive out here alone? You said yourself I wouldn't last. That still pisses me off. I can't get into the water. Pussy! I can't. He won't hurt you. Neither will I. He's got a fire. The sun is going down. [grunting] [grunts] For this feast, we give thanks. Amen. What the hell was that? Was that a religious thing? She doesn't get how to be grateful. I know how to be fucking grateful... for your not eating me. Maybe you have something to give thanks to now. How long you been like this? That's a story for another time. I wasn't talking to you. You owe me that. Do I? Do I owe you anything? I don't know how long. [groans] I've been feeling it more, the urge. Maybe the air has finally gotten to me. It's not the air. It's our nature. We've become the animals that the world's meant us to be. How come you ain't so far gone? You're like halfway. He said he doesn't want to talk about it. Don't be a dick. It's got a name. He. What's your name? Abner. Abner? [distant growling] I passed him about a mile back. He's nesting, getting ready. - For what? - For nothing. For what? Maybe... she should see it. She doesn't need to see that. Maybe she should see it so she can be grateful. [distant snarling] [growling] ABNER: He's found his final resting place. This is how it ends. [roaring] [growling] [grunting, roaring] [wailing] [wailing continues] Amen. ABNER: We'll sleep on my grounds tonight. Tomorrow is tomorrow. - Cindy. - Laura... Cindy! [whispers] It's time. That's usually where I sleep. You'll be all right here. You been away for a while. From your people. They're not my people. They're people. Seeing your future really affected you. How could it not? Oh... you're so tired. I'm not. Sorry. You don't have to apologize. I just thought that I haven't been around any people. I'll just... I'll leave you be. [wails softly] [low wailing] [loud wailing] [distant howling] You were helping Elsie. Now me. Why? Do you feel safe with him? With Cole? Yeah. Has he been violent towards you? No. Has he been untoward towards you in any way? Untoward? Do you trust him? Should I trust you? Taking things that don't belong to you? You don't have to worry about that man anymore. I'm not worried about that man. He'll turn on you. All men do. We're of a different breed. Then why trust you? Because you want to. You trust him because you have to. Trust isn't the choice you think it is, Laura. It's an instinct. We can control our instincts. Can we? I've been like this since the beginning. The flock tried to help me. They slowed it, but they couldn't control it. My instincts betrayed me and them. They all went into hiding because of me. The others. Man. Because we do what we always do, whether we mean to do it or not. Women carry the torch of life. And men just let it burn. So you're helping the flock. So they'll trust you? Forgive you? So they'll cure you? There's no forgiveness. No cure. Yeah, well, there's no flock either. So they say. Go west to the seas where you should be. They will appear. Where is he? I don't know. [sniffing] [yelling] Surprise! [laughs] [shouts] [shouting] [birds squawking] [howling] [howling continues] This is not your world, not with me still in it. You are extinct. [shouts] [howls] [gunshot] You stay here. Fuck. There you are. Come on, man. You couldn't just let us stay out? Us? [laughs] Wow. You're a team now. And you want out? Well, there's no out. We're all that's left. Where's your pants? Uh... Fucking pain in the pisser. It's got to breathe. The bitch around? Why'd you do it, man? She's not yours. She's ours. She ain't no one's. She stabbed me in my dick. Where's the dumb-ass? Lard is dead. I'm sorry. She was going to cure us. Now you want her to cure you. I get it. It was very easy to find you. Almost like you wanted to be found. Everyone knows about your secret family. But it's okay. We'll let it fly. Until now? Your brother, I like him. And the girl, she says hi. Hey, I ain't got no dick, remember? So you want revenge. Oh, yeah. That, I do. From every single one of those cock-tease whores. And that bitch will lead me to them. I see. You're making her lead you there. You get there, take them down, bye-bye, flock. No more runaways 'cause they have nowhere to run to, and you come out like a king! Fucking genius! - Really? - Yeah. [laughs] What, you get tired of talking? Hey, leave this alone. Should I? You're a crime against humanity. Aren't we all? Where is she? She's right behind you. You could've just shot him. - You got him pretty good. - You could've just shot him. Is that your plan? Is that it? Laura! [gunshot] [groans] Ohh... They say there's a cure. You... You can cure me. For what I am. LAURA: We found Hank and Elsie lying where they were killed, and a grave without them in it. Cole says it's the last of his family. The world was now done with them. We buried them all together: Hank and Maria, Elsie, and their son. And we left to find our better place, as if the world wanted us to, as if we knew what the world wants. This is where Abner said? LAURA: If the flock exists, the world will bring us to them. Or it won't. That is out of our hands. All we can do is take what the world gives us, for we are part of it and at its mercy. But we still fight that because that is what we are, forever convinced we control our own fate, never seeing it's not our own fate that matters. Hey! What the hell? WOMAN: Come here, my love. Away from him. LAURA: No. Go. Hey, wait! Wait. Do you seek help? Yes. Normally we are notified of an arrival. Well, I didn't know the fucking protocol. We'll not tolerate that kind of language. I'm sorry. Sorry. Who gave that to you? - A man named Abner. - I know Abner. Who's that man? Does he seek harm or help? Help. You want to believe so. Yeah. LAURA: I'm looking for my sister. You're doubtful. You don't believe what you want to believe to be true. You don't trust me. Yet you want to trust me. You want to trust all of us. It's something you may never recover from. I'll bring you to my flock, and I'll take you as my own. And him? He is an animal. He's incompatible with our needs. He saved my life. I'm saving your life. If you believe otherwise, stay with him. Wait. Hey! Hey, wait! They're not gonna take you. I'm not gonna leave you here like this. I have to repay you. Sit down. Why? Shut up, asshole. She said it's a cure. I don't know if it'll work. But if it does, it'll be in your blood. Maybe you can go back. Maybe you can take it back to the colony. You'll have a chance. Everyone will have a chance. And you don't think we deserve that chance. Do we? This will either kill you or save you. Or there might not be a cure at all. There has to be. So they say. Do you trust them? Do we trust anyone? I trust you. [gunshot] Please... [gunshot] [screams] [sobs] [screams] It's time to go. It's time to move on. |
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