"[Perri] There are countless stories in this city about the lives lived here." "About how the fates of others intertwine with our own in ways we can never expect or predict." "I'm a reporter." "This is my job." "To see, to understand." "But there are stories behind these stories." "Stories about terrors I've only begun to train my eyes to see." "I've learned this seeing carries a heavy burden... because once open to the darkness... our eyes can never be closed again." "What..." "What are you doing, man?" "Let me go!" "I said let me go, damn it!" "I ain't playing with you." "Let me go!" "What do you want, man?" "Say something, man." "What do you want from me?" "What do you want from me?" "Huh?" "[creaking]" "No." "No." "No, man, no!" "Man, don't!" "Please God, no!" "No!" "No!" "Man, no!" "No, please God, no!" "[screams]" "No!" "No!" "[thumping]" "[Perri] Hey." "Hey." "[phone rings]" "Kolchak." " Who was that?" " Hung up." "Working on a story?" "Yeah." "T odd Hoffman, USC grad student." "Three nights ago he went to a Lakers game with friends, then headed south on foot." "No one's seen him since." "Missing persons case." "You wrote a missing persons story last week." "And another one a week before that." "That's four people missing from downtown inside a month." "All of them disappeared without a trace." " What's the connection?" " Beats me." "I'm hoping you can figure it out." "[Perri] Three men, one woman." "Ages range from 26 to... 58." "Rich, poor, black, white, Latina." "LAPD's drawn no conclusions whatsoever." "So who says there's a story?" "I do." "Because?" "Because, that's my angle." "T ony says I got nothing, so I got to figure a way how to sell it to him." "Jeez." "Boring T ony and his weird preoccupation with printing verifiable facts." "Ha!" "The big words indicate sarcasm, right?" "Mm-hmm." "Carl, sometimes a reporter needs more than just his gut." "So." "What are you..." "What are you still doing here?" "My birthday party." "Aren't you going to go?" "Your birthday party?" "I don't recall you..." "It's a surprise party they're throwing for me, all the folks in the office." "I..." "Well, what can I say?" "I sussed it out." "I'm a reporter." "And a fine one at that." "Happy birthday." "I really don't know anything about it." "Seriously." "Well." "It's, um..." "Pretty sure it's at my apartment." "So, I just thought maybe you might want to..." "Yeah, yeah." "Maybe I'll swing by." "Cool, um, I guess I'll see you later then." "Maybe." "[chime]" "[chime]" "[man] Hey, Kolchak." "Hey." "Can I help you?" "Yeah." "Yeah, what's my answer?" "What's..." "What's my answer?" "I'm sorry." "Do we know each other?" "What?" "Yeah." "I was 227, you were 223." "So give me my answer." "Sir, I..." "I don't have any answer for you." "I don't have any idea what you're talking about." "Hey, you contacted me, all right?" "Don't jerk me around." "I'm not jerking you around, sir." "You say I contacted you." "How exactly did I do that?" "Through your articles." "The secret code." "The secret code?" "Yes." "Yes!" "What..." "What did I just say?" "I broke the code." "Each letter represents an integer." "Fibonacci numbers." "A child could see it." "The first sentence, one-one-two-three-five-eight, P-A-U-P." "Minus four, based on the first numeral of my address, again." "Obvious." "P minus four equals L. P-A-U-L." "Paul." "And, you are Paul?" "Hey, man, why are you messing with me?" "You know I don't have much time." "All right." "Look, I think I'm starting to understand." "Here's my question." "Did you sign in with the security guard in the lobby?" "Of course not." "I snuck in." "OK, see, that's not gonna work." "I'll give you your answer, but first we have to go downstairs, sign in with the guard." "It's procedure." "Ah." "Procedure." "OK, I got you." "I don't know what game you think you're playing, but as I told you, I don't have much time." " Which you know!" " Yeah." "Now, let's start again." "You've been writing about me the last couple of weeks." "The missing persons." "The missing persons?" "You keep repeating what I say," "I'm gonna put one through the bridge of your nose." " OK, let's..." " T o hell with this!" " I do not have the time." " Paul, don't..." " Turn around!" "Turn around!" " Don't do this." "Paul..." "Your car keys." "Hurry." " A GT." "Where is it?" " Employee parking, level two." " What color is it?" "What color?" " I don't know." "It's gold and metallic." "Please don't do this." "You're not giving me much choice." "I gotta get out." "The Old Man's gonna be waiting." "You know, you should have just given me my answer." " [man grunts] - [Carl groans]" "[rattling]" "Paul?" "[hushed] Keep it down." "He'll hear you." "Now, I'm gonna take my hand away." "But you have to be real quiet, all right?" "Little mouse voice." "Understand?" " What do you want from me?" " You know what I want." "I want my answer." " I don't have any answers..." " Little mouse voice." "Yes, you do." "Yes!" "No, I don't." "I..." "I don't know who you are, or what to tell you," "I think you've got the wrong guy." "I don't have the wrong..." "I don't have the wrong guy." "You're Carl Kolchak." "You were 223, I was 227." "We talked." "Lots." "I don't know what 223 or 227..." " I don't know what that means." " Ah!" "I'm sorry." "St. Elizabeth's, Carl." "Psych ward." "They had you in room 223." "I was in room 227, two doors down." "Yeah, it was only like a year and a half ago, so don't act like you don't remember." "Yeah, I was in St. Elizabeth's." " It was right after my wife died." " Yeah." "Exactly." "But I swear, I don't remember you." "I'm sorry." "They..." "They had me on very heavy psychotropics." "They..." "It was a very bad time for me." "Ah." "Whereas for me, it was Club Med." "Fine." "Say you don't remember me from St. Lizzie's." "Still, one simple fact remains." "You've been contacting me through the secret code you've inserted in your newspaper articles." "Don't!" "Don't shake your head!" "You shake your head at me and I'm going to cut it off!" "I'm sorry." "I apologize." "Please, take me through this..." "this code-breaking process." "Was this about the missing persons stories I wrote?" "Are you saying that you were responsible for the people I wrote about?" "That y... you were the reason they went missing?" "I'm not responsible." "The Old Man!" "He's responsible!" "Who's the Old Man?" "Is that your father?" "What?" "What kind of question is that?" "You keep changing the subject!" "Look!" "Look." "Right here, in the King's English." ""Paul, I have your answer."" "You wrote that and I found it." "Undeniable." "I passed your test." "Now you give me my answer!" "The answer to what?" "Which..." "Which answer?" "I mean, there's lots of questions I can think about." "Important questions that need answers." "You know that." "That's..." "That's part of my test for you." "The answer to what?" "Say it." "I want... the answer... to how I get out of here." "[?" "funk]" "He didn't know about the party?" " That's what he said." " He must have known." "He was invited." "Anyway, you told him about it, right?" "So how come he's not here?" "I don't know, he's busy, he doesn't like parties..." "It's Kolchak." "Who knows?" "But Kolchak loves you." "I mean he doesn't..." "Well..." "He doesn't "love" love you." "He "like" loves you." "Respects you as a professional." "A meeting of the minds." "Jain?" "What exactly are you drinking?" "Hmm?" "You know what?" "I'm calling him." "No." "No-no-no." "Jain." "Paul, why can't you leave?" "Who's keeping you here?" "[buzzing]" "What am I hearing?" "All right, uh..." "Well, let's talk about the Old Man." "Is he here?" "Course he's here." "He's always here." "Where is he?" "I don't see him." "Why would you see him?" "He's in the back bedroom." "He lives in the light switch." " I don't understand, Paul." " He hides there." "And here." "That's why I can't leave." "He won't let me." "He gets mad at me and he gets bigger inside my head and my skull splits open." " It's unbearable." " Yeah?" "He screams in my head." "He makes me smell bad smells." "He moves around inside my body." "My shoulder, my penis." "One time he was in my toes." "I had him then." "I had him good, I thought." "Oh, God." "Once I cut 'em all off," "I realized he was right back in my shoulder." "You see?" "But down the hall... that's all his." "You cross the yellow line, you're his forever." "That's where the others all went." "Down the hall." "The missing persons?" "Is that where you put 'em?" "Are they still back there?" "Are they still alive?" "You promise me answers, but all I hear are stupid questions." "What are you going to do with those?" "I'm going to carefully cut your head open." "My answer's in there." " I'm gonna find it." " Paul." "If I start screaming, the Old Man's going to hear, right?" "Huh?" "You're right." "He's gonna... [laughs] You passed my test." "You passed my test with flying colors, Paul." "[Paul laughs]" "I'm gonna help you now." "Uh, my car." "Did you use it to bring me here?" "Where is it?" "Parked out back, in the alley." "I hid it under a tarp." "Oh, good thinking." "Look, it's got everything we need to get rid of the Old Man." "So you check the trunk." "I got equipment in there." "And all you need to do is... is go out and get it and bring it back here." "And then we'll get to work." "OK?" "Hey!" "Hey!" "You gotta help me!" "I'm trapped in here!" "I'm being held hostage." " Who are you?" " My name is Carl Kolchak." "I've been kidnapped by the man who lives in this house." "Paul Krieger?" "Paul, yeah, that's his name." "Do you know him?" "I'm Stanley Kim, his caseworker." "L.A. Department of Mental Health." "Oh, yeah." "I'd say he definitely needs you." "Look, please, just call the police." "We don't have much time." "Where is he right now?" "He's in the alley behind the house." "[bleeping]" " Police." " [Carl sighs]" "Yeah, I'll hold." " [electrical buzzing] - [Kim groans]" " [grunting] - [groaning]" "What are you gonna do to him?" "Paul, be mad at me, not him!" "It was my idea." "He didn't do anything!" "Paul, talk to me!" "What are you gonna do to him?" "I'm gonna feed him to the Old Man." " [Kim] Paul?" " I got no choice." "You woke him up." "Now I gotta give him somebody." "[Kim] Paul?" "What are you doing?" "Paul, Paul." " [Kim] Let me go." "Paul!" "Paul!" " This is on you, Carl." " This is on your head." " [Kim] Let me go!" "No!" "[Kim yells, sobs]" "[Kim screams]" "[Krieger] I had half a mind to give you to the Old Man, instead." "But I need you." "I liked old Stanley." "He was OK." "Even if he was a little nosy." "Stanley." "That was his name?" "That was the name of the man you just killed?" "I didn't kill him." "I ain't killed anybody since 1 990." "The Old Man got him." "And when the Old Man gets you, you're worse than dead." "Look at you." "Trying to make me feel guilty." "Trying to shift the blame." "You're way more of a murderer than I am!" "Now, let's see what you had in your car, huh?" "Cattle prods." "Glow sticks." "Climbing ropes." "Useless, useless crap." "What's this, a camcorder?" " What is it?" " It's a thermographic camera." "It takes pictures of heat." "That's it." "You know what?" "I'm just gonna cut your head open." " I'm not gonna waste more time." " What if it doesn't work?" "What are you going to do then?" "Think about it, Paul." "If you cut my head open, I'll die." "What if you don't find what you're looking for?" "Then you've got nothing." "You'll be alone." "It'll just be you and the Old Man, forever." "You know, I'm understanding something now, Paul." "I'm understanding that you're right." "The answer is up here in my brain." "But it's..." "It's buried deep in my subconscious." "See, that's why it's..." "it's tricky to get at." "But it's not impossible." "Keep talking." "How did I contact you in the first place?" "It was through the secret code in my articles, right?" "I mean, messages I wasn't even aware I was sending." "Because it was..." "It was my subconscious mind communicating through my fingertips as I typed." "So, don't you see, Paul?" "You and I, the only way we're gonna get to the truth about what's locked up in here... is for you to let me write your story." "[Perri] Thank you for coming." " [man] You're welcome." " [woman laughs]" "Jain, you gonna sprout roots, or you gonna let me call you a cab?" " It doesn't make sense." " What doesn't?" "I left Kolchak three messages." "Why wouldn't he call me back?" "It's one in the morning, he's probably in bed." " Maybe he turned off his phone." " [sighs] Perri..." "We are hard-charging newspaper men in a city that never sleeps." "Since when do we turn off our phones?" "You know yourself, this isn't like him." "Jain, I don't know." "I don't know Kolchak well enough to say what's like him and what isn't and neither do you." "Except..." "You know, if he thought that something happened to you, or to me, even if it was just some crazy feeling he was having he'd check on us to make sure we were OK." "I do know that much about him." "[Jain groans] [door opening, closing]" "I can't write like this." "You'll have to unlock my wrists." "So, now what?" "Now, start talking." "T ell me about the Old Man." "When did he first come to you?" "St. Elizabeth's." "Why were you there?" "Prison dodge." "Had a good lawyer." "He got me sent there instead of Chino." "Anyway, it's not like I belong in a nut house." "Kinda like you." "Had to play the game after they blamed you for killing your wife." "Anyway, I was due for some good luck." "My old lady was a junkie whore." "I laid eyes on her maybe three times my entire life." "She palmed me off on my grandparents." "Couple of real Bible-thumpers." "They never trusted me." "Ever." "One day when I was 1 9," "I was in the kitchen and my Grams starts in on me about how I stole some money out of her purse, like, 1 1 dollars." "Ridiculous." "So what?" "But she's yelling like I robbed Fort Knox!" "Yelling in that damned screeching voice of hers, screeching in my head." "So the next thing I know, I got a handful of her hair, and I'm just..." "So then..." "I had to go do the same thing to Gramps." "I mean, what choice did I have?" "What, was I gonna look him in the eye?" "The look he'd give me?" "I just couldn't stand to see that." "Anyway..." "I ended up at St. Elizabeth's." "And one day, when they were giving me shock therapy..." "I look up and there's the Old Man, smiling down at me." "Showing those sharp little teeth." "Nobody else could see him except for me." "And he says, "You're mine."" "'Cause of what I'd done." "And I knew right then, he was never gonna leave me alone after that." "He wants me bad." "Real bad." "But I can't let him get me." "Paul, if he wants you, what about the others?" "The ones you send down in the hallway?" "Why does he take them?" "He's always screaming in my head, making my head hurt." "Yelling at me to cross the yellow line." "He wants me in that back bedroom with him." "So... sometimes I give him somebody else instead." "And then he's quiet for a little while." "I don't like doing it." "I feel real bad for those people." "I have your answer now." "There is no Old Man." "There never was." " What are you talking about?" " You invented him." "The guilt you feel about your grandparents is so overwhelming that it makes you see your very own devil." "One that you created, one that doesn't exist." "Oh yeah, Dr. Freud?" "Then what's waiting at the end of that hall?" "Nothing." "It's just an empty bedroom." "And that's your answer." "And you and I could walk out of here any time." "It's up to you." "You know how many times I heard that, Carl?" "Every doctor at St. Lizzie's told me that!" "But you?" "Out of all the people, I thought you would believe me." "You know what it's like to be called crazy!" "We're not talking about me, Paul." "You told me your wife was killed by monsters, and I believe you." "But what?" "Was that just your guilty conscience talking?" "Huh?" "Was that just a wild story you confabulated so as you could sleep?" "We're not talking about me, Paul." "You and I have nothing in common." "Oh, yeah?" "Really?" "This camera sees through walls." "It takes pictures of heat." "I want you to go down the hallway, aim it at that closed door." "And if your Old Man's there, you'll see him." "Go on." "Do it." "You're sure that Old Man's there, prove it to me." "There." "[Krieger] See?" "What did I tell you?" "[Krieger] See him?" " T ell me you see him." " I see something." "What's the matter with this thing?" "I don't know." "The battery may be dead." " Anyone back there?" " Don't." "[creaking]" "[panting]" "Mr. Kim." "Please... help me." " No!" " Paul, he's hurt." "Let me go!" "It's a trick." "He wants you to cross the line." " What?" "Damn it, let me go!" " Hey!" "That's the Old Man." "Right there." "Plain as day." "Don't you see him?" "Paul, I'm Stanley." "Please." " You're the Old Man." " I'm Stanley, Paul." "Stanley." "For God's sake, you stabbed me, remember?" "You took me in the back, stabbed me, then dumped me out of the chair." " You always lie." "Stop lying!" " [Carl] Paul." "Paul, calm down." "Put the gun down." "[Kim] Try..." "Try and focus, Paul." "Please." "Have you..." "Have you taken your chlorpromazine?" "Remember how we talk about how you always need to take it?" " Stanley tells me, not you." " Paul, don't." "I'm bleeding bad." "I think..." "I think I'm going to die if I don't get an ambulance." " T ell him, Mr. Kolchak." " See?" "He knows your name." "How would he know unless he's the Old Man?" "Because I told him." "I told him when he first came here!" "Remember how you and I always talk... talk about Mr. Kolchak?" "How you say he's sending clues to you?" "Your interest in his wife Irene?" "What?" "What about my wife?" "He's..." "He's fixated on her." "He was on day-release from St. Elizabeth's when she was murdered." "He came back talking about Las Vegas." "Something scary in the desert." "He had blood on his pant leg..." "Shut up, Old Man." "I..." "I never... never put two and two together until now." "I swear to you, I never thought he had it in him." "Shut up!" "Shut up!" "Shut up!" "No, stop!" "Take me back!" "Let me hear the rest!" "T ell me about my wife." "He's lying!" "That's what he does." "Paul!" "Don't hurt him." "Paul!" "Paul!" "I checked the parking deck on my way up." "His car's not there." "[Perri] He left in a hurry." "His jacket's still on the back of his chair." "Something doesn't feel right, T ony." "Honestly, if it was the Carl Kolchak I knew two years ago, I would agree." "But the one who works for me now..." "Couldn't tell you." "Why do you say that?" "The death of Irene, it changed him." "He's driven now by demons I can't even begin to understand." "But if I had to guess," "I'd say he probably just doesn't want to be reached." "What else do you have?" "How can you track him down?" "I don't know." "There's nothing here." "I mean... [sighs]" "What?" "He got a telephone call before I left." "He said it was a hang-up." "Maybe if we could get it traced..." "[Kim] No, I'm not the Old Man." "[approaching engine]" " Perri!" "Perri, it's me." " Carl, what are you doing?" "I'm being held hostage." "Me and another guy who needs an ambulance." " Get away and call the police." " Can you climb out?" " My foot's chained." " I'm not leaving you here." "Perri, this guy is a lunatic." "He's got a gun." "Listen to me and get the hell out of here, OK?" "Come on. [grunts]" "Help me, damn it!" "[Perri] Move." "For God's sake." "What are you, Nancy Drew?" "Oh, God." "Are you OK?" "Wonderful." "How did you find me?" "Remember we were talking in the newsroom and you got that hang up call?" "Well, I traced it to this address." " Well, good job." " It's all I had, so..." "You trusted your gut?" "Someone once told me a reporter needs more than their gut." "Yeah, and a nice set of bolt cutters would be great about now, too." "Yes, I'd like to report a man with a gun at 4809 Pampas Street." "He's holding two hostages, one of whom needs immediate medical attention." "This is Perri Reed with the Los Angeles Beacon." "Please, hurry." "They're on their way." "Sorry I missed your birthday party." " How was it?" " Uh, well, you know..." "Uh... people drinking, having a good time." "Friends helping me celebrate the fact that I'm one year closer to death." "The usual." "Perri." "I..." "I..." "You know, when so many people tell you you're crazy, you start to wonder." "And you shut them out to protect yourself." "And you feel like you need to take things on alone." "But Carl, you're not alone." "You have friends who believe in you." "You got me." "Let's get the hell outta here." " What are you trying to do?" " What do you mean?" "This!" "There's a message here." "Your answer!" "Where's Mr. Kim?" "What did you do to him?" "He was the Old Man." "He went back there, and he's waiting." "I'm sending you to him if you don't explain this, right now." " There's nothing to explain." " No?" "Then why did you write this, huh?" "Why?" "Uh, well, what does it say, Paul?" ""Cross the yellow line."" "Why would you tell me to do that, Carl?" "Are you trying to kill me?" "Answer me, you son of a bitch!" "[Perri yells]" " [groans]" " No!" "Oh, God." "Oh, God." "OK, hold on, Perri." " [Carl] Just hold on." " How did you get loose?" "Who let you out of the chair?" "The Old Man?" " The ambulance is coming." " Get away from her." " You're gonna be OK." " That's the Old Man." "Shut up!" "Shut up!" "Please, don't let me die." "Carl, please..." "Please don't let me die." "What?" "Are you kidding?" "Think I'm gonna let you die on your birthday?" "Come on." "You don't know me very well." " Perri." " Please don't let me die." "Perri, hold on." "Perri." "Perri." "Oh, he is good." "You ought to win an Oscar for that one." "That was genius." "Bravo, Old Man." "Don't you get it?" "Don't you see what he's trying to do?" "That's the Old Man, pretending to be your friend." "Get you to turn on the waterworks." "Get you all emotional." "So you'll do something crazy." "Put me over the yellow line!" "Because that's where he wants me!" "Back in that room, where he's got all the power!" "Son of a bitch." "You damn lunatic!" "[grunting] [gunshot]" "Is the Old Man doing this?" "Huh?" "Where's the Old Man now, you sick bastard?" "Huh, is he down the hallway?" "Or is he in the light switch?" "I'll tell you what," " let's go see him." " No!" "No!" " Let's go see him together!" " No!" "[Krieger screams]" "[Perri] Carl." "Perri?" "[door opening, creaking]" "Paul?" "[police radio]" " Hey." " Hey." "So, uh, I missed your birthday." "I think I understand." "The Detective said you thought you saw me here tonight?" "Yeah, I did." "He kept telling me I sent him messages in my stories." "That I had his answer." "And he was right, I did." "But it didn't come from me." "If it didn't come from you, Carl... where did it come from?" "[Perri] If you look into the darkness long enough your eyes adjust." "And you start to see... that there are evils in the dark." "But in seeing... you learn a terrible truth." "That you have not found these evils at all... but rather... they have found you."