[THUNDER ROLLING]
[TYPEWRITER CLICKING]
[FLAME BLAZING]
[LIGHT WIND]
ANNE: We can do this for him.
RICH: But, what's best for him?
ANNE: To show him you keep going?
Even when things seem too hard?
RICH: Yeah I would do that in a heartbeat if I knew we could get
to a good place.
I don't know if we are.
It's not fair to him or us.
I can't keep doing this.
ANNE: So you think your plan is fair?
RICH: I think...
we can be better for him if we're not together.
ANNE: Rich, I get what you're saying but this can still-
RICH: All I want is for you and Eric to be happy.
It's hard to keep believing in something
that doesn't exist anymore.
ANNE: What if it never existed the way that you thought that it did.
Okay.
But we can still make it work.
ANNE: You sure about this camping trip, huh?
ERIC: You act like I've never done it before.
Well you were always with us.
[PANTING]
ANNE: Do the other boys' moms know where you're going?
Yes.
And they're okay with you going alone?
[SIGHS]
ERIC: Dad told me he did this all the time when he was my age.
ANNE: Where did you get that new pack?
Dad.
Did he put you up to this?
No. It was my idea.
Why do you have to say things like that?
You're right. I'm sorry.
Eric.
I'm sorry things have been hard.
[STEADY DRUM BEAT AND PANTING]
ANNE: Hey.
I wanted to give you this.
That's Dad's?
Yeah, I found it in his drawer.
Don't give up on him, okay?
Hey.
You be safe, okay?
Okay.
[GRUNTS]
[DRONE DARKENS]
ANNE: I know I can still make something of it.
RICH: I want to believe you, Anne, I do.
We need to stop chasing ghosts.
♪MYSTERIOUS VIOLIN
[DRONE BEGINS TO FADE]
[PHONES RINGING]
RICH: I can't believe what I'm hearing right now.
SHERIFF: Sorry, Rich, but we've searched everywhere.
Volunteers have all gone home and...
I don't have the resources to keep it up.
Look, I promise you we've done everything we could.
And we'll keep on the best we can, but we cannot keep-
Maybe you missed something.
SHERIFF: Rich...
What if we're right there? What if we're close?
I know what you're going through is hell.
And I'm damn sorry that you or any parent has to go through it.
I've known you and Anne for a while now.
And I consider you guys friends.
But we can't ignore the facts.
The fact is Eric is still out there
and you've stopped looking.
I don't think he's on that mountain.
In three weeks of search and we haven't turned up anything.
No tracks, no campsite, no blood...
which, believe it or not that might be a good thing.
You tell me you've got a missing
17 year old boy with trouble at home.
In my experience, that sounds like a boy who wants to be lost.
What are you saying?
After everything, it still seems more likely that he took off
somewhere considering the divorce and everything
So this is our fault?
SHERIFF: I didn't say that.
RICH: No. No, Eric wouldn't do that.
The divorce has been hard, yes.
But Eric would not do that to his mother.
What about the other side of the mountain?
The reservation site. Nobody's searched up there yet.
Tribal law enforcement work that area.
Well maybe they missed something.
Not likely. They know their land better than anybody
and they take this stuff seriously.
Look. If Eric is lost up there, he's hiding out.
They would have found him right off.
And there'd be a whole new mess on my plate.
Promise me that mountain got searched.
You're not listening to me. We have looked everywhere.
There's nowhere left to search.
ANNE: I know he's up in the mountain.
He wanted to be alone to think. He's up there.
Look Anne.
You said that Eric lied to you
about going away with his friends.
Who's to say he didn't lie to you about going to the mountain?
[POLICE STATION SOUNDS]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[UNCLEAR FOOTSTEPS]
ANNE: [ECHOES] Eric.
[FOOTSTEPS CONTINUE]
ANNE: [ECHOES] I'm sorry things have been hard.
[MONSTROUS HISS]
[DRONE SWELLS]
[DRONE FADES]
ANNE: Can you tell me what a dream means?
[WHIMPERS]
Do you think they could have any real meaning?
PRIEST: You're asking if I think God speaks to us through dreams?
ANNE: Yes.
Joesph's. Daniel, yeah.
God's children have always received communication
through dreams.
You okay?
Hey, I've been praying for Eric from the start.
and also for you and Rich.
I know that after everything your family's been through
this is more than anyone should have to bear.
This is just..
It doesn't even feel like another person is missing.
You know. It feel like a part of me.
And I try to have faith. And I pray. And I...
I tell myself that God loves Eric
and he'll bring him home, but...
I don't want to cling to false hope.
Lately, when I do manage to sleep, I...
I see Eric.
He's by a lake in the mountains.
And he's calling out for me.
And I call out to him, but he can't hear me.
And so I go closer and closer, and by the time
I'm close enough that he can hear me...
He turns and I see his face, but it's not Eric.
Haven't you told the authorities
of the place you've seen in your dream?
They've stopped searching the mountain.
They think he ran away, but I know Eric wouldn't do that.
I mean do you think this dream means something?
Am I being tested?
Faith only has power when it is tested.
But God's not cruel.
My husband says if there is a God then how can we say
he's not responsible for things like this?
Even Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness.
Our God doesn't always shield us
from tragedy and evil in the world.
But I know...
But if we have faith...
his love can help us overcome anything.
And your faith is strong.
No matter what you think.
I need to go look for him.
Yes.
[SNIFFLES]
Uh thanks.
Anne.
Yeah?
I may have someone who can help you.
So, what'd you want to talk about?
Um...
We need to go back and...
search the mountains.
What?
Why now?
I keep having this dream.
Rich, I can see where he is.
What do you think it means?
I don't know.
I don't know, for sure. But I...
I can't ignore it any longer.
Anne, we searched everywhere.
The police searched.
What if the divorce was to much?
What if he really did run away?
So you've given up, then?
No. No. I...
I've told you a hundred times it's not that I believe he...
But you've stopped looking.
I haven't stopped anything.
Except believing.
Look I just want you to be prepared for any outcome.
Be ready for any possibility.
We need to figure how to go on
even if we never find any answers.
Look I know that you think that I've changed
or that I've turned my back.
I haven't.
If he's dead, then I die too.
For me, there is no getting past that.
And I'm telling you, if I don't do something about these
these dreams and these feelings that I'm having.
I am never going to forgive myself.
[COFFEE HOUSE CHATTER]
John So you go to Tom's church.
Sometimes.
ANNE: He said you can help us?
What makes you think he's up there?
What about the sheriff?
They stopped looking.
We need someone who knows the area.
I haven't been up there in a long time.
Can you help us?
No.
Please. We can pay you.
You don't know what you're asking.
Alright.
Lets go.
No, Rich!
RICH: Come on.
You never answered my question.
What makes you so sure he's up there?
♪SOFT FOLKSY GUITAR
[CAR BRAKE SQUEAKS]
[ENGINE TURNS OFF]
NATIVE: Too much sorrow for one place.
What are you doing up here?
Uh, I'm looking for one of them.
Who?
My son.
And these other men?
Um, my husband and our friend.
So you're going on that mountain then?
Yeah.
My dreams told me you would come.
[DEEP BASS]
[INDIGENOUS CHANTING]
Hey!
JOHN: Hey!
[CHANTING STOPS]
Watch out for the girl.
[SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
It's not your place.
RICH: Everything alright, John?
Everything's fine.
RICH: Why was he yelling at you?
He doesn't want me helping you.
I thought you said we wouldn't have any trouble up here?
We won't.
Well then what was that?
He gave her a blessing.
[ENGINE STARTS]
♪SINGING IN INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE
[SINGING AND SLOW BEAT CONTINUES]
[LOW DRONE INCREASES]
[SONG AND DRONE FADE]
Leave the tent. We need to keep a low profile.
I gave yours to Eric.
JOHN: The trail starts over there.
Yours has more color.
I suppose. It's not that different.
Why do you wear it?
Peace. Protection.
Same as yours.
What about forgiveness?
Lets go.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
♪SOFT AND MYSTERIOUS PIANO
Hey John, where are we going exactly?
There.
RICH: That is far.
I don't know if Eric could've made it up there.
Well you'd be surprised.
When we were younger, we'd come up here also.
When we were about your boys age.
Our elders used to forbid us.
That only made us want to explore it even more.
Why would your elders forbid you?
Well people have gone missing in these woods,
long before your son.
Were any of them found?
Oh we're gonna find him.
ANNE: We're gonna find him, Rich. That's why we're here.
Have some faith.
Yeah, that's what you keep saying.
Oh my God.
RICH: Anne!
♪SOFT AND MYSTERIOUS PIANO RETURNS♪
[ACOUSTIC AND DRUM JOINS]
[MENACING DRONE RISES]
[DRONE SCREECHES]
ANNE?
[MUSIC FADES]
You okay?
Yeah.
ANNE: You see it?
ERIC: No.
Over there. See those are the handle...
And then those four stars in a big square...
those are the ladle.
I see it! I see it now!
Good.
ANNE: And those two at at the end...
if you follow them, they point to that really bright one...
ANNE: Yeah?
ERIC: Yeah.
So that's the North Star... and it never moves.
So if you ever get lost, you can
use it to help you find your way.
ERIC: Can you show me another one?
Yeah, um...
I know... Actually I don't know if I know any others.
It's okay, mom. I'll learn the rest, and then I can teach you.
Okay.
RICH: Hey what are you guys doing out here?
ERIC: Camping.
RICH: Nice.
Let me get in there.
[LAUGHS AND GROANS]
♪PLEASANT PIANO
What are we looking at?
We're looking at the North Star. It's bright, isn't it?
RICH: Is it that one?
ERIC: Yeah, yeah right there.
RICH: Hm, that's cool.
ERIC: It never moves.
RICH: Really?
ERIC: Yeah, like if you were the hulk you could still can't move it.
[FIREWOOD DROPS]
RICH: It's beautiful.
ANNE: He loved the outdoors ever since he was a baby.
At night we'd lay on the grass.
I'd put a sleeping bag down, you remember?
Yeah.
ANNE: He loved looking at the stars.
RICH: Uh, listen, John.
Just wanted to say thank you.
It really means a lot. You helping us out
when no one else would.
I had a kid once.
RICH: A boy or girl?
A daughter.
Do you mind if I asked what happened?
This car accident.
Took her and her mother.
Wow.
I'm sorry, John.
My people believe...
the connection from parent to child...
may change after death.
They always watch over us.
[CRACKLING]
[INHALES]
For our journey.
You been this far up before, John?
Close. I've never been quite this far before.
So tomorrow we'll search the area.
If we don't find anything, we'll come back,
get our bags, and we'll go further.
RICH: Okay.
Do you miss it up here?
I miss the quiet.
Too quiet for some.
Everyone in town seems scared to come up here.
Well people have a lot of beliefs
about things that go on up here in the mountains.
Most would rather keep them as stories
than verify the truth.
RICH: You talking about tribal stories?
Indian folklore?
My people have lived in these mountains
for thousands of years.
The things have been passed on to us
make your beliefs seem like folklore.
The tribes believe, that he who tells the stories...
rules the world.
So you believe the stories?
I don't discount them.
Stories don't have to be true to have value.
But to become a slave to them through fear,
is just as dangerous.
[HOWLING IN THE DISTANCE]
[GROWLING AND HOWLS GET CLOSER]
[LOW DRONE]
Coyotes out there.
RICH: For real?
ANNE: Yeah, didn't you hear them?
No.
You mean you didn't hear them howling just now?
RICH: You see anything, John?
No.
RICH: Hm.
ANNE: I'm not making it up.
RICH: Okay.
Coyotes haven't been known to attack people, right?
Why would you say that right now?
RICH: I'm just...
[SIGHS]
Maybe some questions are better left unanswered.
[DRONE THICKENS]
[DRONE FADES]
[LEAVES CRUNCHING]
[TWIG SNAPS]
[BRANCHES BUSTLE]
Hey you guys hear this?
[DARK DRONE]
[OMINOUS DRUM]
Rich!
[HARD THUD]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
[SIGHS]
Did you catch it?
You okay?
Yeah.
[GRUNTS]
What do you think it was?
I don't know?
I was on the trail of something.
Mhm.
[CRACKLING IN THE DISTANCE]
Lets keep moving.
[SLIGHT BREEZE]
Wait!
ANNE: Oh my God!
Coyotes?
No.
Animals eat their prey.
This one's been skinned and left to rot.
[FLIES BUZZING]
What are you saying?
[DRONE CONTINUES]
[OMINOUS DRUM BEAT]
RICH: What the hell is that?
JOHN: It's deer skin.
RICH: What's the symbol?
[INDIGENOUS WORD]
RICH: What does it mean?
It's for protection.
This was a Holy place.
RICH: Then why cover it with a deer skin?
Sacrilege.
The deer was killed only for its skin.
This was a desecration.
[EXHALES]
[SNIFFS]
It's Eric's.
We need to head back.
No. He's here. We need to keep looking.
This is a warning.
What?
[FOREST BUSTLING]
Lets go!
Just wait!
Okay, listen to me.
We need to be smart about this, alright.
I am not leaving.
JOHN: It'll be dark soon.
We can continue in the morning.
We'll come back first thing in the morning. I promise.
JOHN: Lets go!
[DRONING IN BACKGROUND]
[DRONE DECREASES]
RICH: Damnit.
ANNE: What do you think did this?
JOHN: This could be anything.
ANNE: Yeah.
RICH: Or anyone.
RICH: What else is out here John?
ANNE: What?
Strange noises. Dead deer. Warning on trees.
What the hell is going on?
ANNE: You think someone came all the way up here just to do this?
Look you don't want to keep going. That's fine.
I'll still give you the money.
ANNE: Stop!
You're wrong, Rich.
Well then what the hell is going on?
RICH: Now we're out of food.
We still have a little.
I'm going to look around to see if I can find
anything that didn't get eaten.
ANNE: Sorry.
[SNIFFS]
[DRONE RISES]
Eric, stop!
Please just let me finish.
ERIC: What?
I'm not going anywhere.
But you're still leaving mom.
That shouldn't change things between you and me.
Yes it does! You're only thinking about yourself.
I am sorry! Okay, I am.
I don't know what else to say.
Look. I'm not asking you to understand this all right now.
But...it doesn't have to be this way between you and me.
♪MELANCHOLIC PIANO
I know.
Hey. I'm still your dad.
Eric. Hey.
[SCREECH]
ANNE: Rich?
What?
I heard it too.
Where's John?
Lets go look.
Are you insane?
No. But I am sick of this.
Always doing this. He's gonna wish he hadn't.
Where'd you get that?
I've had it. This one's yours.
I don't want that.
Just take it. Keep it in your pack.
Oh God.
You coming?
Rich?
Shit.
[DRONE INCREASES]
[RUSTLING]
[CLOSER RUSTLING]
[BREATHING RAPIDLY]
Where the hell have you been?
JOHN: Look right there.
What are you guys looking at?
That tree.
There's something behind that tree.
I don't see anything.
There!
[RUSTLING]
[GUNSHOT]
ANNE: Uh, it's me! It's me!
RICH: Should've brought a bigger gun.
ANNE: What are you thinking?
RICH: What?
ANNE: Do you even know what is was that you were shooting at?
RICH: It was attacking us!
ANNE: What if it could've led us to Eric?
RICH: Would you quit questioning everything I'm doing!
Will you two shut up.
What the hell was that thing?
I've never seen an animal like that before.
It's not an animal.
ANNE: What are you saying, John?
If God exists... then so does evil.
[INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE]
RICH: What?
[REPEATS WORD]
You might call it a demon or a witch.
Some tribes call it shape shifter.
We call it the howler.
Starts as a human.
Gets its power by killing a family member.
I don't think we should continue looking for your son.
We're gonna need help.
No, we're not turning back.
Cause that thing is out there. We need to find Eric, now.
I'm sorry, Anne. But there is nothing we can do.
JOHN: We're in its territory now.
I had you wrong, John.
RICH: I thought you didn't believe in that crap.
You know, I've never been one to believe in anything
to much one way or the other.
Especially if I can't see it for myself.
But this time I've seen.
John, maybe that's why we're here.
To find Eric and stop this thing.
No. You can't just stop it.
It's been cursed to walk the Earth forever.
So you're saying it can't be killed?
Some say it can be.
But only by it's own bloodline.
No, if this thing is so powerful,
why does it seem to be avoiding us?
They start with dreams.
And spells.
It lures you into its territory.
And then...
You kill enough, it becomes less and less about the kill.
It thrives on the hunt.
The more kills, the less human it becomes.
So all those people that went missing up here.
They didn't stand a chance.
Some claimed to escape it.
With the help of their spirits.
Alright, what do we do now?
Sleep, if you can.
I'll stand watch. But we're leaving in the morning.
John.
Anne.
You need the help of someone
whose known these stories longer than I have.
[WIND RUSTLING]
[LEAVES RUSTLING]
[TWIGS SNAPPING]
[OMINOUS SOUND MIXED WITH RUSTLING]
[DRUM BEATS STEADILY]
[DRUM FADES]
[SCREECH]
[THICK DRONE]
[EERIE SILENCE]
ANNE: John!
He left us.
What, without his gear?
Where the hell is he then?
I'm going to search up this way. Can you look over there?
Yeah.
Anne! Don't go too far.
Okay.
ANNE: John!
ANNE: Rich!
What is it?
It's a symbol. It's the same one from the tree.
We should head back down.
Not yet.
What?
We need to keep looking.
Anne, we need to get out of here.
I will not give up on Eric.
I will die up here before I do that.
I'm just trying to keep us safe,
so that we can keep looking for Eric.
We'll go a little further.
[OMINOUS FLUTE WHISTLE]
RICH: It's all starting to look the same.
Where the hell are we?
Up there.
It's getting late.
Anne!
Please listen to me.
We gotta get back down to camp and get settled.
We're no good to John or Eric if we freeze to death.
[LIGHT WIND]
What I wouldn't give for a burger right now.
Look Anne...
I know you want to keep looking, but without John it just...
Eric's gone.
He's still alive.
Anne.
That connection I felt with him since the moment he was born.
I don't know how else to describe it.
It's what's kept me going since he went missing
and I still feel it.
When Eric was born...
it was the best day of my life.
Everyone telling us we were too young, but...
I was so happy you decided to keep him.
That we decided to keep him.
Yeah.
But ever since he went missing...
I've only felt empty inside.
You think about him. You tell me you can't feel anything?
No.
Rich, we didn't give up on him when he was born
and we cannot give up on him now.
[RUSTLING]
Hang on.
[PANTING]
What is there? What do you see?
Rich!
[LOUD THUD]
[OMINOUS DRONE]
[GUNSHOT]
[CRUNCHING AND GROWLING]
ANNE: What are you doing-
RICH: I told you to stay!
ANNE: I was worried about you. Did you hit it?
I don't know.
Was it the same thing?
I have no idea.
[THEIR BREATHING, PANTING IS HEARD]
[MELANCHOLY STRINGS]
[FORESTRY SILENCE]
[LEAVES RUSTLE]
Anne, get up.
Get up.
[SLUGGISH] Uh, what is it?
I heard something.
[GASPS]
ANNE: Rich.
Are you okay?
ANNE: What's that little girl doing here.
I have no idea.
RICH: What's your name?
Are you lost?
Do you need help?
[FIRE CRACKLING]
[SIGHS]
Where's your family?
ANNE: Rich?
Rich, I think she wants us to follow her.
Anne, we're not just going to follow her.
ANNE: That's John's.
Alright, lets go.
[LEAVES CRUNCHING]
♪ORCHESTRAL STRINGS SWELL
♪OMINOUS FLUTE
[GRUNTS]
ANNE: Further?
RICH: Ugh.
[STRINGS CONTINUE]
RICH: Where are we going?
Where are we?
[YELLING] Where are we going?
Oh, Rich.
Come on. She knows something.
She's taking us somewhere.
She wouldn't be alive up here
if she didn't know where we were going. Okay?
No, you're just convincing yourself of that.
[SIGHS]
Anne, we're lost. We have no idea where we are.
Where'd she go?
Rich, lets go!
[PANTING]
♪SOMBER PIANO
ANNE: Rich, it's the lake from my dreams.
[GRUNTS]
ANNE: There she is.
[GRUNTS]
RICH: Anne, get over here!
Oh my God. His backpack.
Alright. We're going to search every inch of this place.
This is where she wanted to bring us.
We're going to find him.
Eric!
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
She knows where he is.
Where'd she go?
Where is she?
ANNE: She's going to help us find him. Damnit!
Anne!
What? RICH: Stop!
We need to find a high point.
RICH: It's been pretty clear that she can leave whenever she wanted
Damnit!
She brought us up here for a reason.
We're gonna find her.
Yeah?
What do we do if we find her?
Whatever it takes, Rich.
She knows where he is.
[OMINOUS, DARK MUSIC]
What time is it?
ANNE: Uh, I don't know.
Come get some sleep.
I'll stay up for a while.
Okay.
I had a dream about the night we first met.
Remember? [BOTH LAUGH]
Mm, how could I forget?
ANNE: Six miles on the handlebars.
My ass still hurts. [BOTH LAUGH]
Rich...
I know our life together started sooner than we wanted it to,
I just want to tell you that I think you're a great dad.
And you're a great husband.
And I'm really sorry things haven't worked out.
[EXHALES]
I've been too harsh with you.
No, no.
I've been too hard on you.
Or just been afraid.
Setting myself up for a letdown that I could...
that I can't survive.
But I never should've doubted you.
That doesn't matter.
You're here with me now.
[SNIFFLES]
RICH: I just miss him so much.
I miss him too.
[MYSTERIOUS SPLASHING]
[SUDDEN DRONE]
ANNE: Rich!
[OMINOUS BASS]
Rich!
[GROANS]
Rich!
[JUST THE SOUND OF WIND]
♪SOMBER ORCHESTRAL STRINGS
Rich! [ECHOES]
[STRINGS CONTINUE]
[GRUNTS]
♪MYSTERIOUS FLUTE
[GRUNTS AND SCREAMS]
[THUD]
[FOOTSTEPS]
ANNE: You be safe, okay?
ERIC: Okay.
ANNE: Don't give up on him.
[GROANS]
[HER BREATHS AND SCRATCHING]
[ROCK SOUNDS IN THE DISTANCE]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
[HEAVY BREATHING AND SCREECHES]
[RUSTLING SWELLS]
RICH: Anne.
[EERY SILENCE]
Rich.
[BRISK WIND]
[PANTING]
♪TRIBAL DRUM BEAT
[GRUNTS]
[WATER DRIPPING]
[JACKET UNZIPPING]
[RAGEDY BREATH]
[EERIE SILENCE]
[FIRE CRACKLING]
[EERIE MUSIC, HER PANTING]
[FIRE POPS]
[BREATH QUICKENS]
[RUSTLING]
[EERY DRONE EMERGES]
♪DEEP BASS
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no...
[WHIMPERS]
[GROWLING]
[GROWLS]
[GUNSHOT]
♪SUSPENSEFUL PULSING DRONE
[ANNE GRUNTS]
[PANTS]
♪SUSPENSEFUL STRINGS SWELL
♪OMINOUS BASS
[PANTS AND GROANS]
[HEAVY BREATHING]
[EERIE MUSIC BUILDS]
[SPLASHING]
♪SUDDEN BASS
JOHN: You can't just stop it.
It's cursed to walk the Earth forever.
PRIEST: God doesn't always shield us
from tragedy and evil in the world.
RICH: Anne. Eric's gone.
ANNE: If he's dead, then I die too.
[OMINOUS DRONING]
[GASPS AND COUGHS]
Why?
Why didn't you let me die?
[SOBBING] Why?
[SOBBING]
[INDIGENOUS SINGING]
[IT SOUNDS LIKE A WAIL]
[SINGING CONTINUES]
[SOBBING]
NATIVE: You have a long journey, ahead of you.
[SOBS]
♪SOMBER ORCHESTRA EMERGES
[LEAVES CRUNCHING]
[ORCHESTRA FADES]
[DRONE EMERGES]
♪SOMBER STRINGS
♪SOMBER PIANO
♪MYSTERIOUS FLUTE
♪SUSPENSEFUL TRIBAL DRUM
♪SUSPENSEFUL STRINGS