♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
Your father's been missing for about two weeks.
He wrote me. I have a secret legacy, a birthright.
The place he wants me to go, it's in Lovecraft Country.
♪ (INTENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
Well, I've heard a few tales about travelers being attacked
in the surrounding woods.
They don't like outsiders at all.
MAN: Come on. Come on.
You're a long way from home.
This is just a misunderstanding.
(GROWLING)
What was that?
OFFICER: Keep your guns on 'em.
(MONSTER GROWLS) (WOMAN SCREAMS)
(PIERCING WHISTLE)
MAN: We've been expecting you, Mr. Freeman.
♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪
(TV STATIC DRONES)
(BRIGHT TONE)
♪ Well, we're movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To a deluxe apartment in the sky ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ We finally got a piece ♪
♪ Of the pie ♪
♪ Fish don't fry in the kitchen ♪
♪ Beans don't burn on the grill ♪
♪ Took a whole lotta tryin' ♪ (CACKLING)
♪ Just to get up that hill ♪
♪ Now we're up in the big leagues ♪
♪ Gettin' our turn at bat ♪
♪ As long as we live, it's you and me, baby ♪
♪ There ain't nothin' wrong with that ♪
♪ Well, we're movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To a deluxe apartment in the sky ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ We finally got a piece ♪
♪ Of the pie ♪
(MONSTER CHITTERING)
(EERIE MUSIC)
♪♪
(MENACING MUSIC)
♪♪
(BELL RINGING)
(DOOR LATCH CLICKS)
Is that an alarm?
Nobody seems alarmed.
You got your own library, too?
They got Blackwood, Hodgson, Clark Ashton Smith.
I could stay in there reading all day.
I wonder if that's the point.
(DOOR LATCH CLICKS)
Good Lord, Letitia.
You like?
Found it and a lot more in the wardrobe.
Tried on a few before settling on this.
And they all fit?
Like a glove.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Mr. Freeman, the elder Mr. Freeman,
and Miss Lewis,
I'm glad you all were able to freshen up
before the chime of the lunch bell.
Nothing to be alarmed about.
If you'll allow me to escort you to the veranda.
(UNEASY MUSIC)
♪♪
William, is it?
That is correct, Mr. Freeman.
I wasn't sure that you would remember.
You were a little... out of sorts
when you arrived this morning.
When's my father expected to return from Boston?
I am afraid that I have already told you everything
that I have been made privy to.
He left to see the lawyer with Miss Braithwhite
two nights ago.
She gave no instructions on when they would return.
But we were expected?
She made it very clear that I was to look out for you,
treat you like family while you wait.
♪♪
What hotel are they at in Boston?
I want to call and check in.
Unfortunately, that's going to be impossible.
Upon inheriting the land, Samuel Braithwhite
decided to use it for his summer home,
and never installed telephone lines
so as not to be disturbed by the business
that hounds him most of the year.
And what business does he have with my father?
I don't know,
and it wouldn't be my place to say.
Is that the Samuel Braithwhite
you've been speaking of?
That is a distant cousin of Samuel's,
Ardham's founder,
and the original owner of the lodge,
- Titus Braithwhite. - Hmm.
He built this retreat so that he and his fellow lodge members
could dine in private.
He was quite an extraordinary man.
He must've been to build such an impressive home.
How did he come about his fortune?
- Shipping. - That's code for slaves.
Titus was known to be notoriously kind
to those who worked for him.
Hmm.
Many mourned after the great fire.
There was a fire?
What we are standing in is a replica
of the original lodge, which burned down
during the autumnal equinox, 1833.
It was an unfortunate accident that killed Titus
and everyone else inside.
Well, almost everyone.
(EERIE MUSIC)
♪♪
Mr. Braithwhite has called a gathering of lodge members
who are expected to arrive for a celebratory dinner.
Until then, you have the run of the lodge.
After lunch, we'd like to take a walk
around the village.
That won't be a problem, will it?
No, as long as you return in time for dinner.
Now, if you need anything else,
anything at all, just ring the bell,
and the butler will come running.
I thought you were the butler.
No.
No, I'm just a close personal friend
to Christina Braithwhite.
Does that silver Bentley out front
belong to Miss Braithwhite?
Yes.
But she has many cars.
When have you ever showed up to a white man's house
uninvited and he didn't try to get you out in 2.5 seconds?
They want to keep us here.
I don't want to find out why.
I know Pops is around here somewhere.
He's definitely not in Boston.
(BELL RINGING)
What? I need salt.
You know white folks don't be seasoning their food.
What's wrong with you? (DOOR LATCH CLICKS)
First, you parading around here
- like you on the... - Tic. Tic.
Thank you.
How can you even eat after what happened last night?
Because I...
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
I...
don't remember what happened.
♪♪
You serious?
Hey, Leti, we were attacked.
- By the sheriff? - By monsters.
- What monsters? - Eight-foot-tall beasts
with razor-sharp teeth that can bite a man's head off.
Uncle George?
Last thing I remember is cleaning up
in the lodge this morning.
No, you... you got knocked out in the fight,
but you gotta remember
the monsters attacking the cabin.
- What cabin? - The cabin in the woods.
Uncle George, they had us surrounded.
Then there was that high-pitched whistle that called them off.
Like a dog whistle?
No, Leti, it wasn't a dog whistle.
These weren't dogs.
Remember, you crashed Woody
into the cabin right after I shot the sheriff.
- You shot the sheriff? - I had to shoot the sheriff.
Yeah! He got bit by one of those things.
They're like vampires.
Uncle George, remember, you quoted Dracula.
You remember that?
We're being watched.
♪♪
Sit down.
(FOREBODING STRING MUSIC)
♪♪
We need to find Pop and get the hell out of here.
Take Leti and search the lodge.
I'ma check down in the village.
Mm-mm. We are not splitting up.
She's right.
We stay together and be discreet.
They've been treating us real nice right now,
and we don't want to give them a reason to do otherwise.
(DISTRESSED MUSIC)
♪♪
You said the car was crashed.
It was.
This can't be Woody.
Well, my camera's in the front seat.
And the back window's busted out.
(CLEARS THROAT) (DRAMATIC MUSICAL STING)
The elder Mr. Freeman, your keys.
How'd this get here?
I found it parked on the other side
of the bridge leading into the village.
That's impossible.
It was crashed.
I assure you, I drove it up just like I found it.
What?
What aren't you telling us?
There was quite a bit of blood in the front seats,
but I had the butler wash it out.
I assume that was the trouble
that you ran into on the road last night.
Let's go.
(FOREBODING MUSIC)
♪♪
(SHUTTER SNAPS)
What are you doing? Come on.
Can I ask you something?
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
Did Atticus kill a lot of people in the war?
Anything he did was for the service of his country.
I know, but Woody wasn't crashed like he said it was.
It was covered in blood.
None of this makes any sense.
Why can't either of us remember anything that happened?
I'm trying.
This monster business?
A lot of soldiers came back from the war with shell shock.
What if whatever...
This isn't shell shock.
I know what I saw last night. I know.
Hold on, hold on. We're just concerned about you.
That's all.
What you said happened doesn't make any sense.
You know what else doesn't?
A bookshelf full of your favorite books, hmm?
A wardrobe full of clothes in Leti's exact size.
Can you ex... (HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLE TRILLS)
That's the whistle that called off the monsters.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
(HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLE TRILLS)
Hey!
You! Were you in the woods last night?
Who the hell are you?
(DOGS BARKING)
- What's that whistle for? - Tic, stop!
- Not the dogs. - Tic!
Answer the question! What's that whistle really for?
I'm sorry, ma'am.
- Stop. - Please call them dogs off.
My dogs aren't the ones that need to be on a leash.
We're guests of Mr. Braithwhite.
(DOGS PANTING PASSIVELY)
You don't look like the type to be Braithwhite's guests.
- Are you the sheriff? - What makes you think that?
That's the jail, right?
I mean, it's the only stone building
I've seen in the entire village.
(LAUGHS) (DOGS BARKING)
(BARKING STOPS)
(UNEASY MUSIC)
We get animals coming in the village.
They break into the cottages...
but not in here.
(DOGS LAPPING HUNGRILY)
I heard about your grizzlies in the surrounding area.
No, no grizzlies,
just black bears.
But the blacks are bad enough. They're smart.
They're not smart smart.
They're beasts,
but they're clever enough to cause mischief.
♪♪
And they're persistent,
always sticking their noses where they don't belong.
Mm-hmm.
I suggest you all head back on up to the lodge
before the sun goes down.
You don't want to miss dinner.
Thank you, ma'am.
The inside of that silo's got a stone foundation,
which means a dungeon-like basement.
And all that barking, you wouldn't be able
to hear someone if they were screaming for help.
That's where they're keeping Pop.
♪♪
When we get back to the lodge,
we gonna have to make a quick getaway.
- Mm-hmm. - Be gone before they start
burning crosses.
Need something faster than Woody.
You gonna have to steal it.
I can handle that.
Something told me you could.
Uncle George?
What is it?
A recollection, something your mother
told me years ago about her ancestors.
She never told me or Pop anything about her people...
but she told you?
I think she was just ashamed of it.
She told me her great-ancestor was a slave named Hanna
and that she escaped her master's house after a fire.
(UNEASY MUSIC)
The secret birthright Pop wrote about.
Titus Braithwhite
was known to be notoriously "kind"
to his slaves.
Hanna ran through these woods pregnant.
She was a brave woman.
(RUSTLING SOUND)
What the hell is that?
(EARTH RUMBLING)
(SCREAMING)
(MONSTERS SNARLING)
(INTENSE MUSIC)
♪♪
(HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLE TRILLS)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(WHISTLE BLOWING) (MONSTERS CHITTERING)
Escort the younger Mr. Freeman to my father's lab,
and make sure our other guests stay in their rooms.
Why are we c-covered in dirt?
I... I don't know.
It happened again, didn't it?
Shut it! Let's move!
(MYSTERIOUS MUSIC)
♪♪
(MAN SCREAMING)
♪♪
(HOLLERING)
(EERIE MUSIC)
♪♪
We were walking in the woods.
I remember...
If Tic's related, then Montrose was just bait.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
(MECHANISM CLACKS)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
♪♪
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
"Order of the Ancient Dawn."
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
♪♪
(EERIE MUSIC)
♪♪
He's darker than I expected.
(GROANS)
- Let me help you. - I'm fine.
(GROANS)
This here is one of my favorite paintings.
The artist, Josef Tannhauser, entitled it "Genesis 2:19."
Are either of you familiar with the verse?
♪♪
"And out of the ground, the Lord God"
"formed every beast of the field"
"and every fowl of the air"
"and brought them unto Adam"
"to see what he would call them,"
"and whatsoever Adam called every living creature,"
"that was the name thereof."
In Tannhauser's conception,
this act of naming is more than a simple picking of labels.
Adam is sharing in creation,
assigning each creature its final form
and its station in the hierarchy of nature.
What does that mean, Christina?
What did Adam do?
He put everything in its place.
At the dawn of time, just for a moment,
everything was where
and as it should be...
from God to man to woman,
down to the lowliest wriggling creature.
It was Nirvana.
Then that stupid, meddlesome, troublemaking bitch Eve
brought entropy and death.
What was an elegant hierarchy
became a mess of tribes and nations.
Of course, it didn't really happen that way.
Biblical literalism is for the simple.
But I'm sure everyone in this room is aware of that.
It's still a useful parable for both of you.
I'm guessing you're God
in this useful parable.
I'm Adam.
And I've worked a very long time
to return to paradise.
♪♪
My daughter seems to believe you can help in my aims,
but as you can see, there's little we agree on.
Then why don't you just tell me where I can find my father?
All right, and I'll leave you and the rest of...
I don't want to see him again until the ceremony at dawn.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
♪♪
You must have so many questions.
Why bother?
None of the other ones I asked have been answered,
not by your father, or... what's the other guy?
He your boyfriend?
William.
And yes, he is a boy and a friend sometimes.
My father may have looked feeble upstairs,
but he, along with the rest of the lodge members arriving,
can be very dangerous enemies to have.
You should think about making some friends.
Not all us white folks are out to get you.
I have enough friends.
Are you sure about that?
Your uncle and Leti seem to think
you lost your marbles in the war.
That's because you did something to make them forget.
Did something? How vague.
It's a spell.
It seems the KKK isn't just
calling themselves "grand wizards" anymore.
My father and his associates would never fraternize
with the Klan.
They're too poor.
And the spell wasn't specifically
for your companions,
rather, anyone who encounters our little guard dogs
and lives to tell about it.
You want to be friends? Fine.
That's gonna take actions, not just promises.
And getting you out of trouble in Simmonsville,
as well as last night, wasn't enough?
We're in trouble now.
I can't take you to your father.
Then remove the spell on Leti and my uncle...
friend.
(TENSE MUSIC)
♪♪
Done.
(SCREAMS) Tic!
(MYSTERIOUS WHOOSH) (GRUNTS)
(SCREAMING AND BANGING ON DOORS)
Open this fucking door!
Let me out!
Tic!
(SCREAMS)
Miss Braithwhite, it's time.
(DOORS RATTLING)
Let me out! Let me out!
(COW LOWING)
(DRIVING STRING MUSIC)
You wanted us to tell you when there was a breach.
Yes, thank you.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
(COW GROANS)
(GROANING)
Pull harder!
(COW GROANING)
(CREATURE CHITTERING)
(GENTLE MUSIC)
♪♪
Miss Braithwhite, you done this before?
(QUIETLY) No.
It's my first time.
(MONSTERS CHITTERING)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(DOOR RATTLES)
(LATCH CLICKING)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
(YELLS)
Leti.
Oh, Tic, Tic, I'm so sorry. I remember now.
- I know, I know. - I should've believed you.
- Let's sit down for a second. - No, we gotta get out of here.
Leti, Leti, they got us trapped, okay?
But I'm gonna figure a way out. I promise.
- Okay. - Come sit with me.
The Bible is full of demons
and monsters.
They're just stories.
They have to be because...
"Even though I walk through the darkest valley,"
"I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
I said that last night.
Just before doing the bravest thing
I've ever seen to save us.
I can't believe I even remember that verse.
Last time I said it, I was a kid, and...
And what?
Terrified.
My mom would leave me by myself all the time.
Say she was going to church.
But even then, I knew that was a lie.
She always came home,
usually with some new man hanging on her arm.
Till one day, she didn't,
and a week went by.
I was so scared that she wasn't gonna come back.
And I was little.
I... I didn't... I didn't know how to take care of myself.
I sat...
in the window of that boarding house
every day...
And said that verse like a prayer for her to come back.
The one I could remember from Sunday school.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
I'm never going to abandon you.
(TENDER MUSIC)
♪♪
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
♪♪
(LIGHT TAPPING)
(FAINT NOISES)
(GUN COCKS, GUNSHOTS)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(YELLS)
Ji-ah, stop!
I don't want to hurt you!
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
(SOFT R&B MUSIC)
♪♪
Dora?
♪ At the end of a rainbow ♪
This isn't real. You're dead.
♪ At the end of a story ♪
Dance with me anyway.
♪ But our love has a treasure ♪
♪ Our hearts can always spend ♪
♪ And it has a story without any end ♪
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(GROANS)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(SHOUTING LANGUAGE OF ADAM)
What are you thinking about?
"The House on the Borderland."
(LAUGHS)
You do love your stories.
What's this one about?
A man who finds a mysterious home
in the Plain of Silence,
where he fights humanoid pig-like creatures
before he goes to the Sea of Sleep,
where he reunites with his long-lost love.
Mm.
Do the lovers stay together forever?
Yes...
but only because the house collapses upon them.
(GROWLS)
I'm not gonna...
(GROANS)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
♪ At the end of a highway ♪
(YELLS)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
I was thinking about you.
Mm.
And Montrose.
Tulsa.
(LAUGHS)
How we used to drink soda pop on your porch
and play that "what if" game.
What if you could go anywhere in the world?
What if you could only eat one thing
for the rest of your life?
What if... magic were real?
Montrose wanted super strength.
(LAUGHS)
And you wanted to fly.
♪ And you are only mine ♪
That could all be possible now.
You could actually fly with your children.
(UNEASY MUSIC)
♪♪
You're not real.
Uh, uh, Tic, wait.
Wait, no, no. Stop.
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(SNAKE HISSES)
(YELLING)
(BONE SNAPS)
(EERIE MUSIC)
♪♪
(MURMURS AND LAUGHTER)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
What's Braithwhite's daughter doing here?
He's out of the Michigan chapter, isn't he?
(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
I heard Samuel has something
very special planned for dinner.
(BELL RINGING)
I hope you all had a nice rest.
Dinner will be served in 15 minutes.
The attire is black tie only,
and unfortunately, Miss Lewis,
it is also men only.
However, it is a beautiful night
to dine on the veranda.
I will return shortly to provide escort.
You okay?
Who'd they make you see?
Doesn't matter.
They're just trying to get inside our heads.
Something happened in the war.
Something bad.
Don't.
You know who you are.
You... were a good boy.
And you're even a better man.
Don't you ever let them make you question yourself.
That's how they win.
They want to make us crazy,
terrorize us,
make us scared.
But Letitia fucking Lewis don't get scared,
do she?
- No, sir. - No, that's right.
Now, I come across something
that just might
get us out of here.
(CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
♪♪
Don't mind the others.
Just because they don't want you here
doesn't mean you're not supposed to be.
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
♪♪
We all know the true meaning of sacrifice.
Every man in this room
has made an offering to push the world forward,
a wayward world we have dedicated
our lives to righting.
Our founder, Titus Braithwhite, was a son of a son,
and we follow in his image,
just as he followed in the first son's.
As Adam gave of his rib to create Eve,
so did Titus give of himself
to empower the founding members of the Order.
Tonight, on the precipice of great progress,
I honor him by giving of myself.
(DISQUIETING MUSIC)
♪♪
Don't eat that.
Tomorrow will truly be the dawn of a new era.
Thank you all for coming to witness...
No need to thank us.
We didn't want to be here.
I understand y'all belong to a club
called the Order of Ancient Dawn.
I happened across your bylaws earlier this evening.
(CROWD MURMURING)
Now, I got some experience with fraternal societies,
being a part of Prince Hall Freemasons myself.
Anybody know who Prince Hall was?
He was an abolitionist who joined
the Massachusetts militia to fight for independence,
and he wanted to join the local Freemasons,
but, Tic, remind me why he wasn't allowed in.
Because he was a colored man.
I was not surprised to learn from your bylaws
that your order wouldn't have admitted Prince Hall, either,
but then I kept reading,
and I found there's a loophole.
Men who are direct descendants of Titus
are automatically members.
In fact, they're not just any old members.
They're what's called sons among sons,
and as you all know,
they can give orders to other,
regular old members.
And seeing as I believe my nephew
might just be the last blood heir
of Titus Braithwhite...
(SHOCKED MURMURING)
I want everybody except Samuel
to get up...
and get the fuck out.
Gentlemen...
that's an order.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
I order you to return my father to me.
(SIGHS)
(DISQUIETING MUSIC)
♪♪
I am not a zealot, Mr. Freeman.
The limits of my belief in tradition and ceremony
stop at the fact that the others believe it.
Titus used the Book of Names to spell his body
to be more powerful,
and you're a reservoir of that power,
diluted, no doubt,
and also tainted somewhat,
but still useful for the work I have to do.
Do not mistake useful
with indispensable.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Pop!
This is his.
(GUN COCKS)
Just like I thought.
Bunch of dumb animals
don't know enough to stop fighting
once they're already snared.
Hmm? My dogs will get a nice treat tonight.
(GRUNTS) (GASPS)
(DELL GRUNTING)
I got the car. Where's Montrose?
"Count of Monte Cristo."
Pop's favorite book?
(MELANCHOLY SOUL MUSIC)
♪♪
Help me. ♪ You ain't ever gonna fly ♪
♪ No place big enough for holding ♪
♪♪
♪ All the tears you're gonna cry ♪
♪ 'Cause your mama's name was lonely ♪
♪♪
♪ And he called you little sorrow ♪
♪ 'Cause you'll never love again ♪
♪ So why you wanna fly, Blackbird? ♪
♪♪
♪ You ain't ever gonna fly ♪
(PANTING)
Hey, Montrose.
What the hell y'all doing here?
We're here to save you.
I saved my damn self.
I ain't need y'all coming for me.
You wrote for me to come.
Boy, we ain't spoken over five damn years,
and you fight me on everything.
Obviously, I didn't think you were stupid enough
to show up 'cause I wrote a letter under duress.
You don't need to talk to him like that.
I'll talk to my son however the hell I want to.
Can we get the fuck out of here, please?
(ENGINE TURNS OVER)
They have lodges all over the country.
This one's called the Sons of Adam,
founded by Titus Braithwhite
after he discovered what they call the Book of Names.
Yeah, the Necronomicon.
No, that's the book of dead names.
This is the book of life, transformation, genesis.
They're obsessed with figuring out the spell for immortality.
A failed attempt is what burned the original lodge,
killing everyone inside...
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
(MARILYN MANSON'S "KILLING STRANGERS")
♪♪
♪ This world doesn't need no opera ♪
♪ We're here for the operation ♪
♪ We don't need a bigger knife ♪
♪ A bigger knife ♪
♪ Cause we got guns ♪
♪ We got guns ♪
♪ You better run ♪
♪ You better run, you better run ♪
(GROANS)
(GUNSHOT) (SCREAMS)
Leti!
(GASPING)
Leti, I got you. I got you.
- Help me. - Let me see, let me see.
You're okay. You're okay.
I got you. (WHIMPERS)
I got you.
Uncle George! Uncle George!
(GUNSHOT)
Christina!
Christina, help us, please!
Please, please.
Tic.
(COUGHS)
Leti? Leti, stay awake.
Stay awake, okay? Stay awake.
Leti, stay awake. Stay awake!
Stay awake, please.
Please, please. (MUTTERS)
(MOURNFUL MUSIC)
♪♪
Since you are a son among sons,
I will give you a choice
of who else survives your error in judgment.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
Wait! (GUNSHOT)
♪ We're killing strangers ♪
♪ So we don't kill ♪
♪ The ones that we love ♪
♪♪
♪ Love! ♪
♪ Love ♪
So what's gonna happen in the ceremony?
My father intends to open a door to the Garden of Eden,
to a time when man was immortal.
He believes he'll step through it into eternal life.
Those ambitions didn't go too well for Titus, did they?
Challenging entropy is perilous work,
and the Language of Adam is a tricky thing to get right.
Many men have suffered greatly trying to wield it.
But the spelled blood of the man
who wielded it best might just give my father's spell
the advantage it needs.
So that's why you brought me here.
To help a father who clearly doesn't give
two shits about you.
After all, it's not called the Daughters of Adam, is it?
The things they've done...
it's unforgivable.
We still come running when they need help.
It's pathetic.
And we call it family to make it seem okay?
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
You didn't have to drag them into it.
I didn't bring two of them.
(LETITIA GASPING)
(WARM MUSIC)
♪♪
For what it's worth, my father is a gentleman of his word,
and he will heal your uncle as well.
Once I've willingly participated in the ceremony.
I got it.
Let's get on with it.
I could never earn one of these,
no matter how hard I tried,
and you get one for doing nothing
other than being born a man.
Not even a white man at that.
What I know is, our destinies are not decided
by our fathers or grandfathers
or, in your case,
great-great-great-great grandfather.
The smallest, most inconsequential thing
can take you on a new course.
You just have to see it...
and seize it.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
♪♪
(PANTING)
(OMINOUS MUSIC)
♪♪
(SOBBING)
(MUFFLED CRYING)
You should try breaking that window.
We're not leaving here without you, George.
At least try to get the girl out of here.
(SCOFFS)
She doesn't seem like the type to tell what to do.
Reminds me of Dee.
How come you never drew with her?
You used to draw all the time.
No, I didn't.
You getting senile in your old age.
Every summer, you used to draw this colorful
welcome sign,
go down to the bus station,
and cheer on all the Negro league players
as they rode in for training camp.
Why'd you stop?
'Cause of Daddy's right hook.
Caught me down at that station the summer before high school.
Beat the black off my ass.
I didn't know that.
You were brimming with love as a boy,
despite being afforded so little.
If I ever made you feel...
There's nothing wrong with loving that much.
You need to shut up and rest.
That's the problem.
I've been shutting up for far too long,
and hurt those I love.
You, Hippolyta, Tic.
I want you to show him more of that love
I know is in you before...
it's... too late.
How many times I gotta tell you?
I don't need your advice when it comes
to raising my son.
He might not be yours.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)
♪♪
I don't care if you got a bullet in your gut.
We settled that a long time ago.
You shut your fucking mouth.
I know, I know.
We agreed we wouldn't speak of it,
but I have to now.
You might be all Tic has left.
♪♪
We have a poem here.
It's called "Whitey on the Moon."
(LAUGHTER)
And, uh, it was inspired...
It was inspired by some whiteys on the Moon,
so I want to give credit where credit is due.
(LAUGHTER)
All right.
Let's see.
(UPBEAT DRUM MUSIC)
(CHANTING IN LANGUAGE OF ADAM)
♪♪
A rat done bit my sister Nell with whitey on the Moon.
Her face and arms began to swell,
and whitey's on the Moon.
I can't pay no doctor bills, but whitey's on the Moon.
Ten years from now, I'll be paying still,
while whitey's on the Moon.
You know, the man just upped my rent last night,
'cause whitey's on the Moon.
No hot water, no toilets, no lights,
but whitey's on the Moon.
I wonder why he's upping me.
'Cause whitey's on the Moon?
Why, I was already giving him 50 a week,
and now whitey's on the Moon.
Taxes taking my whole damn check,
the junkies make me a nervous wreck,
the price of food is going up,
and as if all that crap wasn't enough,
a rat done bit my sister Nell, with whitey on the Moon.
Her face and arms began to swell,
and whitey's on the Moon.
Was all that money I made last year
for whitey on the Moon?
How come I ain't got no money here?
Hmm, whitey's on the Moon.
You know, I just about had my fill of whitey on the Moon.
I think I'll send these doctor bills,
air mail special...
(DRUM MUSIC)
♪♪
To whitey on the Moon.
(OMINOUS CHANTING)
(WIND HOWLING)
(OMINOUS CHANTING)
(PANTING AND GRUNTING)
It's open! Come on, come on!
If we move him, he could bleed out!
- Gotta get away! - Go!
(INTENSE MUSIC)
♪♪
(OMINOUS CHANTING)
(EERIE CHORAL MUSIC)
♪♪
(CHANTING LOUDLY)
(SCREAMS)
(YELLS)
(GASPS)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
♪♪
(PANTING)
Tic!
(LEON BRIDGES' "RIVER")
♪♪
(CRYING)
♪♪
♪ Been travelling these wide roads ♪
♪ For so long ♪
♪ My heart's been far from you ♪
♪ Ten thousand miles gone ♪
(CRIES)
♪ Oh, I wanna come near and give you ♪
♪ Every part of me ♪
Pop.
♪ But there's blood on my hands ♪
♪ And my lips are unclean ♪
I'm sorry.
♪ In my darkness I remember ♪
♪ Mama's words reoccur to me ♪
♪ Surrender to the good Lord ♪
♪ And He'll wipe your slate clean ♪
I'm sorry, Uncle George.
♪ Take me to your river ♪
(SOBBING) I'm sorry, Uncle George.
♪ I wanna go ♪
(ALICE SMITH'S "SINNERMAN")
♪♪
♪ Oh, Sinnerman, where you gonna run to? ♪
♪ Sinnerman, ♪ where you gonna run to?
♪ Sinnerman, where you gonna run to? ♪
♪ All on that day ♪
♪ Well, I run to the rock, please hide me ♪
♪ I run to the rock, please hide me ♪
♪ All on that day ♪
♪ But the rock cried out, I can't hide you ♪
♪ The rock cried out, I can't hide you ♪
♪ The rock cried out, I ain't gonna hide you ♪
♪ All on that day ♪
♪ I said, Rock ♪
♪ What's the matter with you, Rock? ♪
♪ Can't you see I need you, Rock? ♪
♪ Devil was waiting ♪
♪ All on that day ♪
♪ Power ♪
♪ I cried, "Power!" ♪
♪♪
(BRIGHT TONE)
(CHILDREN LAUGH)
- It's your turn. - Who are we talking to?
(LIGHTS BUZZ)
How would you like to never pay rent again?
Where'd you get the money to buy yourself a house?
Moved to the North Side? It's nice.
If history is any indication, you won't last very long.
♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
What you told me happened to my husband...
...something doesn't feel right.
Here we go.
♪ (MUSIC INTENSIFIES) ♪
(GASPS)
♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪