- No, Daddy!
I just wanted to play with the dolls,
No, Daddy, no!
- Mommy!
- Did you have a nightmare?
- Saw a strange man,
Can you sleep with me?
- What did we say about sleeping with mom and dad, hm?
- Only in thunderstorms,
- That's right, because you're a big boy now,
Okay?
- Hey, Mommy, will you check under the bed for monsters?
- Yes,
- I think there's somebody in my bed,
- Oh, hey,
You aren't the owner by chance, are you?
- Oh, no, no, no,
My name's Johannes or Johann,
Friends call me Joe,
I fix things around here, the whole neighborhood,
- Hello, Johann,
- Hi, Joe,
- Is the real estate agent still inside?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, go right inside, take a look around,
This is a very special place,
But don't forget, you buy the house, you buy me too,
Because I'll be around,
I'm always here,
- Okay,
See you around,
Alright,
- I love this old, old look,
- Yeah? - Yeah,
- Hi,
You must be Carrie, right?
I hope it's okay, Johann outside told us to come on in,
- Oh, Johann, he's a fixture around here,
You guys must be the Burrows,
And you're late, I was just about to lock up,
- Oh, yeah, sorry about that, the plane was delayed,
- There's still some time,
I can show you around the house if you'd like,
- Yes, we would love that,
What do you think?
Do you want to see the rest of the house, Johnny?
- Uh huh,
- Okay, let's do it,
- Alright, come on up,
- Really, really sorry we're late,
- That's okay, happens all the time,
- No, I feel terrible,
It was pretty hectic,
- And if you'll follow me this way,
- Aha,
- This is our main parlor room,
This room, actually this house was built in the late 1700s,
- Wow, pretty old,
- Yeah, it contains all of its original wood flooring,
You can see there's vaulted ceilings and,,,
- Beautiful,
- Yeah, and--
- Fireplace in here,
- Yeah, and this organ, is it a functioning organ?
- It's actually, it comes with the house,
It's a 200 year old organ,
It's actually been featured in shows
of Phantom of the Opera, you might actually remember that,
- We could learn to play the piano together,
- That would be fun,
- Do any of you guys play, you play at all?
- No, - No,
We've been talking about taking lessons,
- For a long, long time,
- Oh, well, now's your opportunity,
What about your son?
Does your son have any sports or--
- It would be the perfect age for him to learn as well,
- Absolutely,
Now exactly how old is he again?
- Eight years old,
- Oh, he's eight years old,
Yeah, that's a really, really good time
to start getting your kids into the arts,
- Yeah, it'd be the perfect timing,
he's like a little sponge,
- Yeah,
- Look at this room,
- Aha, here you are,
Where have you been?
- This would be perfect for my work,
- Actually, this room was used as a home office before,
What did you say you do, Mr, Burrows?
- Oh, I'm a writer,
But my beautiful wife here is a neurophysicist,
she's practically a brain surgeon,
- No, no, he always gives me too much credit,
I don't have a MD, just a PhD,
No brain surgeries for me,
- Oh, wow!
Wow, honey?
- Yeah?
Wow,
- Jen, this is a sign,
- This, it's clearly a sign,
- Right, alright?
Wow, this is so cool, - It's a sign,
- Johnny, buddy, look at this,
This is an old, old, old typewriter, huh?
- So Stanley just got a new writing assignment
and that's sort of the reason
we left the New York City rat race
and opted for something a little bit more traditional,
- Oh, well, this place is perfect for your family,
Your son is gonna love it,
- I think we are all gonna love it,
What's in here?
- That cabinet was left here
by the original tenants,
It's a very old antique with quite a history,
- It's creepy,
And creepy dolls, huh?
Cool,
Wicked,
- Oh boy,
- Also left by the last tenant,
- Well, you know what, you can go ahead and leave it here,
I could always use a little inspiration for my work,
- Stanley writes horror,
- Oh,
- Hi there, buddy,
- Well, guys, I guess this is where I just say it,
The law requires that I inform you
if the house is psychologically impacted,
- I'm sorry, do you mean haunted?
- Well, the legal term is emotionally defect,
- Uh huh,
- So what happened here?
- A very long time ago, a young girl died here,
The official story is that her father went insane
and just left her to starve to death inside of a toy box,
Her name was Alison Sullivan,
- Inside a toy box?
- Her father was a single parent, an alcoholic,
I guess he just got abusive and neglectful
and just left her to starve to death,
The authorities found her inside of the toy box,
having eaten her dolls to stay alive,
- Oh my god,
- I don't mean to frighten you,
Well, it's getting late
and I really do have to lock up here,
I am sorry about the spooky story
but the law requires that I inform you,
- I love it,
- We love it,
We love it, - We love it,
- It is hard to sell a place like this
with that kind of a story,
Second thoughts are common with such a history,
- No second thoughts here
and I know there's none for Jen,
Most importantly, after that story,
imagine we're getting a pretty good deal,
- Right, right, absolutely,
- Mrs, Burrows, where would you like this?
- That should go up in the master bedroom,
Thank you,
Yes, I'm calling about a, hi baby,
- Mommy, can I go play outside?
- Yes, you may, just stay nearby, please, okay?
I'm calling about a new account,
I'd like to set up a new account?
New resident, mm-hm,
- Johnny boy!
Hey buddy, I'm gonna go for a little jog real quick
and when I get back, you and I are going exploring,
Sound good?
Alright,
I'll be right back, - Bye,
- Yes, yes, I have had a chance to look at it
and no, I actually don't think he'd be a good candidate,
I would recommend elimination of the nerve supply
to the pineal gland,
I think that would be curative
in this specific schizophrenic incident,
- So you really think he needs medication?
- No, no, no,
Stanley's not losing his mind,
I know he thinks he's seeing things
but I can assure you he isn't,
Stanley is not schizophrenic, Stanley is just stressed out,
Thanks for asking,
- I'll talk to him, bye bye,
- Okay,
- Mrs, Burrows, I know you have a lot of stress,
so iced tea with some fresh mint,
- That is so nice, thank you, thank you,
Hi there,
I'm back,
Yes,
No, no, we're actually already in the house,
Yeah,
- See that?
Got our own little pond,
Pretty cool, huh?
- Yeah,
- Let's go sit down,
- Dad?
- Yeah,
- What is that house?
- That house is what they call a spring house,
So the water would come run down off the hill,
- That hill?
- Yep, just right down that little hill,
You can see where like the stream would come down,
it'd run down into this bottom part of this house,
it would also fill up this pond,
and when the water was in there,
it would keep all of their food,
vegetables and meat and stuff, refrigerated,
So it was pretty much the first refrigerator,
- So, how was everyone's first day?
- Great,
- Yeah, we had a great day, didn't we, buddy?
Hell of a thing being out here now we're in it,
Fresh air, the trees, the animals,
Killing bad guys and taking over the world, huh?
- Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew!
- Say, I hate to be a , but I feel different,
- You do,
- Yeah,
Must be all the freedom and the open space,
- That's good,
- Yeah,
- Mm,
Honey, mm,
Oh my god,
- That good?
- Mm-hm, this is amazing,
Are you gonna eat that?
No?
Are you sure?
You sure, I can have it?
Honey buns,
- I'm coming,
- Love of my life,
Hurry up,
Come to bed,
- I just needed to brush my teeth,
- Okay,
- And put on my sweatpants, you know?
- I know,
I got something for ya,
Oh my goodness,
- Hi,
Hi,
Baby?
- Like it?
- Do I like it?
Oh my god, I don't think we can afford--
- Yeah, don't worry about it,
Don't worry about it, don't worry,
I'm getting the advance in a few weeks,
- I love it,
I love it, love it, love it,
I love it,
Can you put it on me?
- Of course I can,
- Okay,
- Like that,
- It looks beautiful,
- Boom, Huh?
- Uh huh,
- There we go,
- Mm-hm,
And thank you for today,
- What'd I do now?
- You were just amazing with Johnny,
it really shows through,
And he needs you,
- Well, he's not the only one with needs,
- Oh, who else has needs?
- Possibly this guy,
♪ One, two, three, play with me ♪
♪ Four, five, six, let's hide and seek ♪
♪ Seven, eight, nine, your soul is mine ♪
♪ 10, 11, 12, I'll break your spine ♪
- Hello?
- Hello, Johnny,
I'm coming for you,
- Oh, Johnny!
Johnny,
You feeling a little better, honey?
Good,
How's your tummy?
Yeah, does it feel better when I rub it?
Okay, good,
Let's try to remember a really fun time
before we go to sleep,
How about that vacation in Hawaii?
Did you like that one?
And the water was all sparkly and light blue
and you stood up on the surfboard?
- I fell about four times,
- Oh, I don't remember four times,
I remember maybe two, tops,
And then what'd we do when we got on the beach?
- Dad threw the Frisbee at your eye,
- He did,
He did, he hit me smack dab in the eye
and you were laughing your little face off,
And I was not laughing,
Well, certain species of crows top the avian IQ scales,
Avian means bird, we learned that last week, right?
- Uh huh,
- So they can count, they have really good memories,
and some of them even partake in activities
that closely resemble sports,
- Wow,
- I know, wow is right,
Stan?
Stan, would you come down?
- Perfect,
- Yes, I'll be paying with credit card, thank you,
Oh, no, no,,
Just one second,
Oh!
Baby, I need the card,
I need your card,
- Of course your do,
- Hand it over,
Uh huh,
Mm-hm,
Thank you,
Yes,
It is eight nine zero zero--
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, careful, careful, careful,
These are my prized possessions,
You a bourbon drinker?
It's the only thing worth a damn,
- Language,
- This is the good shit,
- Babe, Stanley Victor,
- Sorry, mother,
- Okay, thank you so much,
4:00 p,m, is great,
Okay, I'm not sure how
but I think I just got the gas turned on today,
- Honey, you are amazing,
One woman wonder,
- You know, it would go a whole lot faster
if you would keep out around here,
- Hey, I gotta get to work ASAP,
Gotta pay those bills, you know?
- Okay, well, we moved out here
to spend time together as a family, try not to forget that,
- Yes, ma'am,
And to write,
- Uh huh, - Uh huh,
Not in front of the workers,
- Yeah, sorry,
- Yeah,
- Mr, Burrows,
You like bourbon?
- I do,
- The workers and I would like to present you
with this special local bourbon,
sort of as a housewarming gift,
- Oh, that's lovely, Johann, thank you,
- Thank you, Johann,
- These local herbs enhance the flavor of the bourbon,
I think you're really going to like it,
I'm gonna need a check to pay the workers,
- Alright, follow me,
- Yeah,
- Oh, oh, oh, this is the green paint,
Yeah, make sure that only goes in the living room,
We switched what we want in the dining room,
- Jennifer!
- Benjamin,
- Oh my god, look at you!
- Well, hello, what a long journey,
- Did you get younger and more beautiful?
What happened, what happened?
- You really think flattery
will get you everywhere,
- Boy, do you feel good in my arms,
- You brought champagne,
- The truth is I came to see you and not the husband,
but I'll go see him as long as he's here,
- He's upstairs in the study, always working,
- And you're coming back?
- Yeah, I'm just going to the grocery store,
I'll be back soon,
- We're gonna wait,
- Alright, see you soon,
- Stanley!
Stanley!
Stanley, it's Benny, your favorite agent,
- Yeah, first door on the right,
- Did you forget about me?
- Oh, come on, never,
- Come here, I've missed you,
How long ago?
It's been too long,
It's beautiful, beautiful,
And look at your beautiful place,
It's crazy,
- Thank you so much,
- This is a gorgeous, gorgeous place,
- Thank you so much,
- But you're happy here, you're feeling good?
- Oh, it is fantastic out here, Ben,
I gotta say, I think it's gonna be great for the wifey,
She's getting real sick of that New York life,
- I think it's gonna be good for you, for the writing,
I think for the two of you,
for the marriage, for everything,
And Johnny, gonna be great for everybody,
- Absolutely,
And you know, I wish we had come out here
when it was done up a little nicer,
It's not a lot to look at right now,
- It's kind of like a first draft,
Or second draft,
It's like a polish,
It's like a polish, I get it,
- Always the witty one, huh?
Come on, let's step outside,
- The humorous agent from Hollywood,
They call me the humorous agent from Hollywood,
- Brilliant,
- Oh my god, I love this view,
- It's beautiful, isn't it?
- Crazy,
Look at this thing,
Wow,
- Yeah, do you hear that, huh?
No horns, no sirens,
- I'm not used to this,
Silence, you hear nothing?
Here, but how you doing, how you settling in?
- Well, you know Jen,
It's a hurricane but I gotta tell ya,
pretty excited about starting this new writing assignment,
Speaking of which, how'd the meeting go?
- So I got great news for you,
They love you,
It went great,
I'm telling ya, I think we're gonna make a great deal,
- Yes!
Good, good, good,
So what are they putting up?
- What do you mean what are they putting up?
- Advance?
What are they paying me, Ben?
- Stanley, you're talking about the old days,
Nobody puts up advances anymore,
That's a different time period,
You actually have to write the screenplay,
we have to show it to them,
- What are you talking about?
You got me a six figure advance on my last screenplay,
- Six years ago,
- Then find a studio that'll pay upfront,
I'm not gonna write this thing
with the hopes that they're gonna buy it,
- See, how do I say this nicely to you?
Your last movie was a disaster,
They don't want slasher movies anymore,
Stanley,
- Ben, that was the director, not me,
It wasn't supposed to be a slasher film,
it was supposed to be a psychological thriller,
You read the script, you know that,
- Yeah, yeah, I know it, you know it,
but they don't know it, the executives don't know it,
That's what we have to show them,
I'm telling you, you just have to write a screenplay,
I'll hand deliver it myself,
- Ben, I moved into this new house
based on a writing assignment you said I had,
Now you're telling me there's no money?
- No, no, no, I'm not saying there's no money,
I'm saying there is money,
I'm saying you have to write the screenplay,
I deliver it to them, and I get them to buy it,
- Okay, in the meantime, how am I supposed to pay
for this house and all the crap that's going on?
- Well,
Stanley, I would lend you the money myself if I could
but honestly, things are a little tough,
You think you're the only writer I'm having problems with?
I've got a stable of writers like this,
They're not giving advances anymore,
But I'm telling you, I feel it in my kishkes,
Write the screenplay, I'll make a deal,
the two of us'll have so much money,
I'll buy a house right next to you,
Let's make a toast,
We need a drink,
A toast to you, the family, and the future project,
- Okay, Ben,
- Sit down,
- Hey, Johnny,
You can hear them too, right?
- Yes,
- They frighten you?
- No,
They're my friends,
I play with them,
- Can your mom and dad see them?
- No,
- Listen,
Don't play with things only you can see,
It can be very dangerous,
- But they protect me,
- From what?
- Ali,
- Who's Ali?
- Ali's the doll eater,
- Is that Ali?
- This is Karen,
She's a friend,
Ali's the bad one,
She's behind you,
- Listen, don't fool around with these things, okay?
They may be your friends now
but only until bad things start to happen,
Okay?
So stay away from it,
I may not see things as much as you do
but I can sense them and I can hear them,
Here, take this,
This will ward off evil spirits,
So whenever you're frightened, okay?
And then stare at what scares you
and focus with all your heart at what's in front of you,
And then you count to 13,
Okay?
- Okay,
- Let's go ahead and try it,
- One,
Two,
Three,
- Yes,
- Four,
- That's good,
- Five,
- Thank you,
Jennifer Burrows,
- Jen, it's Benny,
- Ben, I said try calling first,
- Well, I want to see my son,
- He's not your son, we've been over this,
Stanley is the father,
- I don't believe it, I'm sorry,
I just don't believe it,
- Because you were a mistake, Ben,
And I'm sorry to have to say this,
but Stanley and I have been picking up
the pieces ever since,
- Why do you even say this?
Why am I a mistake?
- He's not your biological son,
Stanley is Johnny's father,
Let it go, Ben,
- We've never done a DNA test,
We've never done it,
That's all I'm saying,
We've never done it,
- Well, that's all really great to hear
but I don't have time to get into this right now
so I'll give you a call back when I do,
- But--
- Take care of yourself,
- No, hold on--
- Johnny,
Johnny,
Come play with us, Johnny, before Ali comes back,
Don't you want to play with us?
Don't let Ali get you,
She will hurt you,
And take your soul,
And then she'll turn you into a doll,
Like us,
- Who are you?
- Don't let Ali get you,
- One, two, three, four--
- She will hurt you,
- Five,
- Don't let Ali get you,
- Six, seven, eight,
- She will hurt you,
- Nine, 10,
- And she'll take your soul, like us,
- 11, 12,
13,
- And then she'll turn you into a doll just like us,
- Johnny?
What are you doing in here?
- I, I,,,
- You know, Johnny, you shouldn't be going in the cabinet,
Things are in there,
Wouldn't want you to lose anything,
- I didn't,
- Been going through my stuff?
- Yes,
- It's okay, Johnny,
I did tell you not to touch anything without my permission,
Remember?
- Yes,
- This is where I work,
This is how I make money,
You mess anything up,
we won't have any money to pay for food, this house,
I just need you to understand that,
- Yes sir,
- Okay, so you won't do it again,
Right?
- Yes sir,
- Okay,
Good,
- Stanley,
- Hey, honey,
What's going on?
- Hi, Mom,
Dad said not to disturb him, he's working,
- Oh, well, that's probably because he's excited
about his new writing assignment,
Want to help me put away some groceries?
Put some bagels in the pantry,
Come on, up and at 'em,
- Mom, when we're finished,
can I go play with the other children?
- What other children, Johnny?
What do you mean?
- Just the children of the house, Mom,
They're mostly nice,
- Are you seeing these children, Johnny?
- No ma'am, I'm just hearing them,
- Uh huh, okay,
I have an idea,
Why don't we go take a walk around this house
and see what's behind these voices?
What do you say?
- Okay,
You lead the way,
Alright,
Show me what these voices are about,
I think I've got an answer,
- Alright,
Exterior, day,
A pleasant family walks towards a house in the countryside,
This house is special,
Something about it draws the man near it,
A man paints the doorway just as they approach,
- Alright, so this is an old home
and with old homes, you get unusual sounds,
It's part of their charm,
And here we have the attic,
I don't know where the light switch is,
- It's a little dark,
- I got a plan,
Aha,
This should work,
Okay,
Aha,
See this?
Okay, so this right here is a furnace,
It's also an air conditioning unit,
And the air conditioning unit pulls water out of the air
in the form of condensation,
And sometimes these things have a gurgling sound,
Let's see if we can hear it,
Uh huh, do you hear that?
- Uh huh,
- Kinda sounds like when Mom's gargling with mouthwash?
It gets louder sometimes, like at night,
and downstairs that's gonna sound like a human being,
But it's just the water swirling around up in this thing,
- Okay,
- Okay?
See what else we can find,
Need to find a light, that's for sure,
Okay, see what we have over here,
Looks like another room,
- I'm so sorry,
- Johann, hi,
- Didn't mean to scare you, hi,
- No, no, it's okay,
- I was just fixing some of these faulty wires,
I'm almost done, give me one second,
- Can you see?
- Ah, there we go,
- There we go, that's beautiful,
So much better,
Thank you,
- You're welcome,
- We're just taking a little tour of the house
to figure out where all these sounds are coming from,
- You bet, go right ahead,
- Thank you,
- Oh, and if you need anything, I'll be around,
- Okay,
Thank you,
- Thank you,
- Okay, Johnny, you see this pipe?
This house is over 150 years old,
That's pretty old, right?
- That's older than you,
- Oh, alright, you're a funny guy today, huh?
Well, 150 years ago, we didn't have air conditioning
or indoor plumbing, so these pipes and the ducts
are struggling to deal with the air pressure
and it makes sort of a whistle sound,
Or maybe sometimes a whispering sound?
- Mom,
- Yes?
- It really sounds like it,
It really sounds like voices,
- I know, but they're not,
It's just,
That's all it is, I promise you,
Okay?
- Okay,
- And look at here, there's all this wood,
This house is made of wood,
which is a material that absorbs and shrinks with moisture,
And when it expands and shrinks,
it makes these creaking and groaning sounds,
So in the morning when the sun comes up,
all the water goes out of the wood and the house shrinks,
And then at night time,,,
What do you got there?
- Look what I found,
- Oh,
Let's check it out,
At night time, when it cools down,
that same wood brings in the moisture
and it expands again,
- Mom,
- Yeah?
- The bad girl's here,
- Who?
- Ali, the doll eater,
- Oh,
Well, that doesn't make any sense, because she's not real,
Do you remember what I told you about ghosts
and spirits and things like that?
- They're just figments of my imagination,
- That's right, and you have a pretty amazing imagination,
which is part of why I love you,
but it's all make believe,
Carrie just told us a scary story but it's not real, okay?
- Okay,
- Promise you understand?
- Yes ma'am,
- Okay,
I think that's probably the gas man,
Want to come with me to let him in?
Come on,
- Johnny,
Don't play with my dolls,
- Don't hurt my friends,
- The truth is I'm here to see you,
not the husband,
You, not the husband,
Come here, you,
Stop running away from me,
Come here,
- Come on,
- I'll chase you around the world,
♪ One, two, three, come play with me ♪
- Just calm down,
♪ Four, five, six
- Ben, I don't know what we did,
I don't know anything,
- Relax,
Stanley doesn't know anything, relax,
- I gotta pull it together,
I gotta pull it together,
- Keep it together,
Breath,
Just know that I love you,
- I'm telling you, calm down,
Just calm down,
Forget about him, alright?
- Johnny,
Johnny,
Over here,
Look in the box,
Johnny,
Look in the box,
Johnny, look in the box,
Look in the box, Johnny,
- Hey, Johnny,
Whatcha looking at?
Ah, it's this Ali stuff, huh?
You know that this happened a really, really long time ago?
Good,
And this Ali girl, she had a really, really bad father,
- Yes, Mom,
Yes,
- Okay, good,
- Hello, Johnny,
- Hello,
- Johnny, who are you talking to?
- It's just my friends,
- Baby, are you seeing things?
- I don't see them,
- Then why are you saying hello?
- I hear them, Mommy,
- What do you hear?
- The voices, they're talking to me,
- Okay, baby,
I know you're probably so lonely out here, right?
But you know what, when school starts,
you're gonna have so many new friends,
And I want you to know something,
You are not hearing voices, okay?
- Okay,
- Alright,
- Let's be friends forever,
- It's okay, Mommy, they won't do anything,
I don't like Dad's dolls,
- Yeah, they're pretty creepy, huh?
- It's not that,
They hurt,
- They hurt?
- My friends,
They told me Ali keeps them there,
imprisons them in those dolls,
All they do is want to play but Ali--
- Ali, no more talk about this Ali girl, alright?
Okay, this stuff that you hear,
I know you hear a lot of things,
you hear a lot of things that adults talk about,
It is not real, okay?
- Okay,
- They're just dolls,
- Yes ma'am,
- Inanimate objects,
And here's the other funny thing,
Sometimes when something terrible happens,
if you talk about it too much, you start to believe it,
You understand?
- Yes ma'am,
- Good,
Alright, let's just relax a little bit and watch some TV,
Okay?
- Look at that,
- Yeah,
Snug as a bug in a rug,
I think we're all set,
Good night, honey, bedtime,
Good night, honey,
- Mom?
- Yes?
- Before you leave, can you check under my bed for monsters?
- Yes, I can check under the bed for monsters,
Do you think I'm gonna find one?
Here we go,
Guess what?
Absolutely nothing, you silly man,
There's nothing under there,
You need to go to sleep
and I'll be right down the hall if you need anything, okay?
- Okay,
- Johnny,
Come play with me,
- Mom and Joe say we shouldn't play together,
- Why, Johnny?
Come on, Johnny,
I thought we were friends,
- One, two, three, four,
- Johnny,
Play with me!
- Five, six, seven, eight,
- Johnny boy,
What'd we talk about?
I'd rather you didn't lie to me,
Okay if you did,
Not gonna be mad,
- But it's the truth,
- Tell me how this got in your room,
Did your mom put it here?
- No,
- Then why is it in here?
- Stanley?
Hey,
What's going on in here?
- Johnny and I are just having a little father son talk,
- Okay, remember he's only eight years old,
- Jennifer, darling,
I'm just trying to make you both understand
that when I'm working, it takes a lot of concentration,
Concentration that's easily broken,
I don't decide when my mind wants to work,
so when it does,
it's important that I'm left alone,
- I love you,
- Love you too, Mom,
- Get some sleep,
- Okay,
- Hey, guys,
It's 10 in the morning, what's going on?
- Mr, Burrows said no more work,
- No, what do you mean no more work?
We still need this house to be painted,
- He said you're on a very tight budget so we're packing up,
- Our budget's fine,
I'll talk to him,
- To be honest, Mrs, Burrows,
the workers themselves aren't too upset,
- Why aren't they upset?
- Something about the house,
Superstitions,
- Ah, superstitions,
You mean old wives tales,
- No, something about bad memories and demons,
I wouldn't give it too much credit,
- I certainly don't, Johann, and I'd be surprised
if a grown man like you actually believes
in children's fairy tales,
- I don't, but people ae funny,
- Respectfully, Johann, I'm a neurophysicist
and as you can imagine,
these types of stories, and they are stories,
they don't sit very well with me,
I live here and I can assure you there are no ghosts
in this house,
- Mrs, Burrows,
You have a really nice family,
So if you ever need my help, please call,
- Hey, Joe, whatcha doing?
- I'm just packing up like you told us to, sir,
- Well, looks like you're all packed up, so thank you,
Bye, Joe,
- I'll see you soon, Johann,
- Yeah,
- Really?
- So you think he fancies you?
- I don't know, Stanley,
I'd like to think I'm still attractive,
Hey!
- Was he being inappropriate?
- No, of course he wasn't,
I love you,
Stop this,
What was all that about, Stanley?
- You know how I feel about guys getting too close to you,
- He wasn't doing anything,
- Alright, well, I've heard that before,
I'm sorry, okay?
It's just, it's hard,
- I know,
It was a long time ago,
- You talk to him recently?
Yeah,
- Stanley, you have nothing to worry about, okay?
I told you I'd stay with you an entire lifetime
to work this out and I meant it,
I know how long something like this can take to heal,
If it takes another 10 years, it's fine because I love you,
I love you so much and only you,
Can you just please try to remember it's not Johnny's fault?
- I know,
Look, I just, the stress is getting to me
and just bringing up old memories, alright?
- I know,
And I know how much writing takes it out of you too,
I get it,
- We don't have the money,
- What do you mean we don't have the money?
You mean the money's coming in late?
- No, Jen, we're not getting the advance,
The studio screwed us over,
- What?
- They want me to write it fist
and then maybe they'll buy it,
- No, no, you gotta talk to Ben, you gotta get--
- Ben doesn't give a shit,
If I don't finish this script,
I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do,
- It's okay, I've got quite a bit of money saved up actually
so I can just float us in the interim,
Cut a couple corners, we'll be fine,
- Don't, don't,
- Stop stressing out,
- Don't want you paying for everything,
- I don't mind,
We're not going back,
We're staying here together as a family,
Gonna stick it out through thick and through thin,
- I appreciate that, Jen,
The only way is for me to finish this script,
- Look at the car he drives,
Stanley, it's Benny,
Your favorite agent,
- He gets a car, shit house,
- And look at your beautiful place,
- Yes then,
What's that guy gonna do?
- They love it,
It went great,
I'm telling ya, I could really do anything,
- A beautiful thriller, slasher?
- This is a very special customer,
- Don't forget, if you buy the house,
you buy me too,
I'll be around,
I'm always here,
- Well, the legal term is emotionally defect,
- Stanley, you're talking about the old days,
Nobody puts up advances anymore,
It's a different time period,
You actually have to write the screenplay,
We have to show it to them,
- What, so,
Jennifer's not lying to me,
He is my son,
Boy, do you feel good in my hands,
- The truth is I came to see you,
not the husband,
- The worst slasher,
best slasher thriller they've ever seen,
I'm the best,
Want to get excited about something?
Okay,
How about that?
What's in here?
Creepy dolls, huh?
This is a sign,
- This is clearly a sign,
- How much money I deserve?
- Well, looks like,
Hi, Joe,
- No, no, no, Stanley's not losing his mind,
Stanley is not schizophrenic, he's just stressed out,
- What's he doing here anyway?
- Stanley?
- You know how I feel
about guys getting too close to you,
- Stanley,
Stanley,
- Nope, okay,
Look at the stairs,
There we go,
Alright, now why don't you run upstairs
and go take a shower?
I'll fix us some lunch
and when you finish, we'll learn about some Roman numerals,
Oh, and Johnny?
Can you try to use your own bathroom, please,
because your dad doesn't like it
when you leave your stuff all over ours?
- Okay, Mommy,
- Don't take too long,
- Okay, - Okay,
♪ One, two, three, come play with me ♪
♪ Four, five, six, let's hide and seek ♪
♪ Seven, eight, nine, your soul is mine ♪
- I don't wanna play,
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
Have you not taken a shower yet, young man?
- Mommy, they want to play with me,
- Who?
- The children,
- Johnny, we've talked about this before, come here,
There are no children in the house except for you,
- I'm scared,
- This is not gonna get you out of your shower, young man,
- Can you come with me?
Please?
- Okay,
Just because you're so darn cute,
Come on,
We gotta hurry,
- Stanley,
Stanley,
What are you doing?
Listen to them,
They know,
- I know, I know,
- Jennifer, concentration, concentration,
concentration, concentration,
You know I don't like to be bothered when I'm working,
Those are my things,
Where were they?
- Under your son's bed,
Stanley, I know you need to focus on your work
but Johnny needs his father as well,
I am tired of you being so goddamn selfish and irresponsible
with our child,
- Jennifer,
I'm writing something very, very special,
I don't have time to play with an eight year old,
- Okay,
He's not just any eight year old, he's our son,
Stanley, you're talking about our son and he needs you,
- What I need is for you to let me work
so I can finish this goddamn script
to pay for this goddamn house that you got us into,
You know, why don't you go get on the phone
with your little scientist friends and play doctor
so I can focus and make some real money
to keep this family together?
- Don't you dare, Stanley,
- I put food on this table,
I put this roof over our heads,
and I gotta finish this script,
And every time you come in here
and throw your little tantrums, it distracts me!
- Okay, Stanley,
Okay,
You focus on your work,
You finish that script
and know your family's waiting for you when you're done,
And we love you,
Work,
Put a page down,
Hey, honey,
You showered,
- Mom,
Why is Dad so mad all the time?
- Um,,,
He's under a lot, a lot of stress
and he's not handling it so well,
But I know deep down, he's doing what he can for the family,
He's trying his best for us
so we just gotta bear with him, okay?
- Okay,
- Did you hear some of that fight?
It's gonna be okay,
How 'bout we go downstairs and I make you some hot cocoa?
Yeah?
Okay, let's do that,
- I don't care about the,
I did everything I did for my decision,
Who creates my decision?
I do,
Put it on a page,
What I put on the page becomes what I do in real life,
- Soul, soul she can turn into a doll,,,
- Johnny,
- I'm the one who wants to do everything, okay?
With my script,
- Johnny,
Johnny,
Wake up!
- Go away,
Please go away, go away,
Go, go away,
- Johnny,
- Go away,
- Come with me,
I'm gonna make you mine,
- No,
- I'm coming for you,
- Go away, you're not real,
No, go away,
Go away,
You're not real,
- I'm gonna make you mine,
Johnny,
I'm gonna make you mine,
- God, Stanley,
- She's here,
- Who's here?
Stanley, stop this,
Johnny?
Johnny, baby, what's wrong?
What's wrong, baby, you have another nightmare?
Honey?
Baby, what you looking at?
What are you looking at?
Did you have another nightmare?
There's nothing there,
It's okay,
Stanley, come here, Johnny's had another nightmare,
- The boy needs toughening up,
- He's a child, Stanley, what the hell has gotten into you?
- He always will be one if you keep treating him like this,
- Go away,
It's okay, baby, it's okay,
Hey, look at me,
Look at me, give me those eyes,
Let's lie down,
I'm right here,
Not leaving you, okay?
Hey,
Stanley, I am starting to worry about you,
You,,,
You need to sleep,
I think that's what's going on,
Working too hard, you'll feel better in the morning,
- Better?
Things have never been better,
For once, I've hit on something so powerful, so beautiful,
it'll last for eternity,
- Okay,
Honey, I'm excited about your writing
but you're starting to act not right,
Sleep deprivation alone can cause hallucinations, okay,
and you've been drinking so much on top of it,
I just really need you to rest,
- Honey, my script is perfect,
It's perfect,
We can all be together forever,
- Stanley,
- She's come,
She's come to take us with all the rest,
- Okay, baby,
- The best part is, we'll never have to worry ever again,
- Okay, baby,
Please just go get some rest,
Johnny?
Stanley, Stanley,
Stanley,
Where is Johnny?
- He's gone,
- What do you mean he's gone?
Johnny!
He's not in here,
Where is Johnny?
- He's here, in the house,
Forever,
- Stanley,
I need you to snap out of this right now,
We are talking about our son,
- He is not my son,
- Johnny is your son!
Johnny?
Oh my god, where's Johnny?
Where's Johnny?
Johnny!
Yes, I need to report a missing child,
- No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, please,
- Stanley, I do not like this behavior,
- I told you, the house has taken him, just like I wrote,
- This is the alcohol talking or whatever you're taking,
This isn't you, Stanley,
- No, this is very real,
You can see it happening,
- Did you do something to our son?
Did you do something to Johnny?
- I know what happened to him
and even the children in the house couldn't save him,
Ali's got him,
- Ali is dead, Stanley,
- Ali, no, no, no, Ali is very much alive,
Brought back to life with these hands,
- You did not do that,
You did not bring Ali back to life,
Johnny's very much alive too,
he's part of this house now,
Just like the rest of us,
- Look at me,
I need you to tell me why you're doing this,
- Love,
You see, I realized that I have the power
to keep us together for eternity,
- Tell me where Johnny is,
- Quit worrying about that brat!
Do you realize what I've done to keep this family together?
Johnny, Johnny is in a better place now,
Alright, you, my love, are next,
- No,
Stanley, tell me where my son is,
- So the truth comes out, huh?
Your son,
- My son,
My son,
- Your son,
Your son,
- I got you now,
- I still have no idea where Johnny is
and what happened to him,
- Do me a favor,
Put this on for me, please,
Please?
Jennifer, since I was last here,
the energies in this house have grown stronger,
Where once there was something amiss,
clearly there's a big problem now,
- None of this makes any sense to me,
- I know you've been through a lot
but you have to try and understand me now,
There are many spirits in here
and I strongly believe
that the bad spirit I felt is a demon,
- A demon,
- I know it sounds silly but I do know about these things,
Spirits are entities that at one point were alive
and had a physical body,
Some can be good, some can be bad,
Demons, on the other hand, never had a physical body,
They come here straight from hell,
- You're saying that a demon took my son,
I don't believe that,
I think that Stanley is delusional
and I think that Johnny is somewhere in this house
and that we need to find him,
- I know this may sound very strange to you
but some of us grew up being taught these kind of things,
Religion and practices gave us the means
to talk to the dead,
Trust me, I learned a lot watching my grandmother work,
We can try and communicate with them if you like,
- Let's try,
- Okay,
This is it,
This is the source,
- You mean where Ali died,
- That's her,
She's the demonic spirit I sensed,
And she has your son,
- Where is he?
- Impossible to tell,
Too many energies in this house,
- Okay, so what do we do?
- We have to communicate with the spirits,
But whatever we do, we cannot engage the demon,
They're devious and insidious master manipulators,
- I don't know how we do this,
- Think of something that only you and your son know,
- We played a game,
We made up a spelling game only him and I know about,
- Okay,
- Would that work?
- Sure,
Let's give it a try,
- This ball,
Okay, just help me clear a little bit of space,
Just have to draw a diagram,
And then,,,
- It's an R,
- An R, okay,
- A U,
- R-U,
R-U?
- Uh huh,
An N,
- R-U-N,
Oh my god, it's telling us to run,
Oh my god,
- It wants us to be afraid,
- He's telling me to run?
- It cannot consume us until we give into absolute fear,
- Okay,
Okay, what does Johnny have to do with any of this?
Why do they want my son?
- Sometimes we're just victims of the actions of others,
Sins of our fathers, perhaps,
- I just want my son back,
Please, please, please,
- So this is what you do when I'm away, huh?
This piece of shit,
- No, Stanley,
you're just not understanding things right now,
- All I ever wanted was for us to be a family,
And yet you've gone and done it again,
- What are you talking about?
- I guess once a cheater, always a cheater, huh?
- Stanley,
It's not like that,
It is not like that right now,
- But you know what?
I guess we're here to work things out, huh?
Oh, Jennifer,
Jennifer, Jennifer,
Don't you understand, huh?
You wanted to be with Johnny, now you can be with him,
- Please let go of me, Stanley,
Stanley, let go of me,
- She's here in the house,
You know that, don't you?
- You can't take my fear if I have none,
- She promised me eternal life for all of us,
- No,
You will not do this to us,
- Stanley,
Bring her to me,
Stanley, bring her to me,
- Take my fear if I have none,
You can't take my fear,
- Jen,
- Stanley,
It's okay, it's okay,
It's okay,
Stanley,
What are you doing?
Stop,
Stanley,
Let go!
No,
Stanley, let me go,
Johnny, be together,
Please, Johnny,
Tell me where Johnny is,
- With all the other dolls,
- Oh my god,
Oh my god, Johnny,
I'm coming, oh my god,
It's okay, it's okay, come here,
Come here, sit up,
Give me your legs, give me your legs,
You stand up,
Good boy,
Good job,
Give me these hands,
- Run from her, Mommy, run,
- Okay, baby, no,
Everything's fine,
Johnny,
- Run from her,
- Don't be scared,
That's how she gets you, when you're scared,
I need you to be strong,
- I want you to be afraid so we can be together,
- But we gotta get out of here, baby, okay?
- She's already here, Mama, waiting for us to be together,
- Johnny, no,
No,
- She's already in here, waiting for us to be together,
- No, goddamn it, Johnny, stay behind me,
Come on,
Goddamn it, no!
- Are you gonna leave me here?
With our son?
- Stanley,
- I thought we were family,
We're all staying here forever!
- Johnny,
- Get out of here while we can,
Hurry,
Go ahead and open the passenger door, okay?
- Yeah,
- We're lucky we escaped,
It's possessed,
There's no telling what he would have done to us
in his demented state,
Just glad I got there when I did to save you both,
Thank god I'm always there to pick up the pieces,
People just don't understand how important it is
to be there when it matters,
Sorry about the chemicals, Jennifer,
but you as a physicist can appreciate what they do
to the brain and the central nervous system,
Lot of stress, so,
This special local bourbon,
Would you put this on for me, please?
Add in your run of the mill muscle relaxer
and you know,
Stanley should spend more time with Johnny,
be more of a father figure,
Doesn't even matter
whether or not he's the biological father or not,
- Mom,
- Alright, come on, let's go,
Come on, that's right,
Come on, Johnny,
Good boy, that's it,
Come, come, come, come,
Yeah, you got it,
Let's go,
Come, come, come,
Yes,
We're all gonna live happily ever after
together in this house for all eternity,
- No, no, no, no,
No, we will not!
Johnny, Johnny, come on,
Baby, we have to run,
Johnny, come with me, baby,
Baby, come with me,
- Mommy, I want to stay here,
- I'm coming back with the police!
- They're never gonna believe you, Jennifer,
- Mom, I need you to stay here forever,
with all my friends,
- Not your friends,
- Oh well, let's go see your dad,
- They're not real, Johnny!
I'm coming back,
- Go to your father,
- Hello, Daddy,
- Ma'am, where are they?
- Okay,
They're upstairs in the study,
- There,
- Johnny?
Johnny?
- Mommy,
Mommy,
Come with us, Mommy,
- God,
- Don't leave us,
Mommy,
Come with us,
- Hey there,
- Are you the owner?
- No, my name's Johannes,
Or Johann,
Friends call me Joe,
Go right in and take a look around,
This is a special place,
But don't forget, you buy the house, you buy me too,
Because I'll be here,
Always here,
♪ One, two, three, come play with me ♪
♪ Four, five, six, let's hide and seek ♪
♪ Seven, eight, nine, your soul is mine ♪
♪ 10, 11, 12, I'll break your spine ♪