"France." "Mid-15th century." "When superstition and ignorance hold sway over all of Europe." "Men and women accused of witchcraft are executed at the stake." "On the gallows." "Or by the axman's blade." "Pestilence." "The most devastating plagues." "And war." "With all the innumerable calamities in its wake... are not remotely as feared as the dark power of Satan and his sinister cout of devils and sorcerers." "Alaric du Marnac, you know the many evil deeds for which this just tribunal has condemned you." "You drank human blood." "You ate the flesh of people both dead and alive." "You assisted black masses with the blood sacrifice of newborns and maidens." "You worshipped Satan, and you both observed the Black Sabbath." "You are both vampires and werewolves." "Because of that, you will be decapitated, and your heads and your bodies will be buried in different places so that they can never be reunited." "I curse you, Armand du Marnac, my despicable brother, and you, Andre Roland." "You and your descendants will pay, because I shall return." "I shall return!" "Bastards!" "I curse you forever!" "You may finish our bodies, but our spirits will follow you forever!" "And you, Andre Roland, and you, Armand du Marnac, who denied your own flesh and blood, you and your descendants will suffer the worst tragedies, and in one of your bloodline, we will find our revenge!" "You yourself..." "you yourself...!" "We'll be back for revenge!" "Bastards!" "I curse you all!" "Hugo!" "I didn't hear you come in." "What happened to you, bohemian?" "It's been almost two weeks since you've shown any signs of life." "I don't know." "I spend the whole day in front of this canvas trying to do something new and different, but I can't." "Although it's only a sketch, it's totally different from your style." "Yes, I have this strange image in mind, and I can't figure it out." "All I see is a pair of black eyes, penetrating..." "staring intensely." "Well, if you've fallen in love with a pair of black eyes, my v s t s use ess" "Always with your jokes." "Anyway, tell me why you came..." "besides my whiskey." "Paula's arrived." "Where is she?" "At Sylvia's." "They're waiting for us." "One second." "I'm going to change." "You took so long, you're lucky we didn't leave." "Traffic, you know." "We even got a ticket for running a red light." "It was a wonderful afternoon." "We walked and walked, and everything seemed new to me." "Paris is extraordinary." "Love changes everything." " Right, Maurice?" " Of course." "Even though my love has no hope." "For Paula, the newspaper is more important than I am." "How many times have I asked you to marry me?" "Soon they will transfer me to Paris, but it would be too difficult to leave my job in Germany right now." "Until Dimara comes back from Pakistan, no one can replace me." " Then..." " Well, Maurice." "Don't be sad, you can have me." "I don't know how long I've been trying to marry Hugo, with no luck." "Look, Sylvia." "I'm unbearable, selfish, and too exclusive." "And you live for your patients." "If you married me, you would have to dedicate all your time to me." "Frankly, I don't see you doing that." "And how do you know what I like to do?" "It's the Dilillans." "They said they were coming." "Those bores!" "They didn't tell me they were coming." "If I had known..." " She's a fantastic medium..." " She has amazing faculties." "She meets all the requirements, and she can do everything... reincarnation, remote viewing, auras..." "Yesterday, they took us to the Pére-Lachaise cemetery, and we put our hands on the neck of the bust of Kardec." "That's a privilege within the circle." "We have a meeting tomorrow." "I've never been to a spiritualism session, and I would like to come." "Me too." "Come, then." "I'll talk to the people from the circle." "Don't tell me you believe in that nonsense." "Spiritualism is a wives' tale made up by some con artists to rob people, I tell you." "You shouldn't talk like that." "If you're going to..." "In the session, you'll change your mind." "You can be sure of that." "I'll go, then." "And we'll see." "And I have an idea, Maurice." "I'll ask Alaric du Marnac to show himself." "According to the legend, his head was buried somewhere close to the ruins of the monastery on my land." "I'll ask him to tell me where it is, and maybe we'll find him." "Try it." "I'd like to summon Mabille De Lancré." " Mabille De Lancré?" " Yes." "She was Alaric's partner." "She was also found guilty." "And after torturing her, they killed her." "Tradition has it her grave is also somewhere in the Marnacs' land." "Right, Hugo?" "Good old Alaric will clarify that for us." "Keep in mind that for the session to be successful, you have to give yourself without mental reservation." "I'm sure Hugo will lose all his... let's say, sense of humor... once he meets Madame Irina Komarova, our medium." "Then we agree, right?" "We're all going." "Don't count me in." " But Maurice..." " It's no use, Paula, don't insist." "Well, I'll come." "It's an experience I don't want to miss." "Alaric du Marnac, is that you?" "Yes, it's me." "What do you want from me?" "I want to know where you are resting, Alaric du Marnac." "There will never be peace for me while my severed head is not joined with my body." "Where were you buried, Alaric du Marnac?" "My executioners condemned me to wander eternally in the shadows by burying my head in the cloister of the decapitated and my body in the crypt of the monastery, next to my faithful Mabille." "Alaric..." "I command you, materialize." "I repeat, Alaric." "If everything is favorable, materialize!" "Madame Irina!" "Everything was a fraud." "Everything was a fraud." "Tricks." "And old tricks, by the way." "The voice, a tape recording." "The candelabra was moved..." "I don't know, probably with strings... and she was far away, and it was easy for her to manipulate it." "And the signs that appeared on the medium's neck?" "They were fingers, as if someone had tried to strangle her." "Makeup, maybe." "And look how fast they took her out of the room." "They didn't even let Sylvia examine her." "Hugo's explanation seems accurate." "The whole thing was probably a trick in which our own superstition played a decisive role... although I don't rule out some supernatural phenomenon." "If it was a trick, how did Irina know that the cloister and the monastery existed?" "Or don't those places exist on your land?" "Of course they exist." "But someone could've told her." "Incredible." "You look like scared and superstitious old ladies." "Everything that's happened is very strange." "I know what we'll do." "We'll go to Villas de Sade." "We'll search among the ruins of the old cloister." "That way, we'll lay all doubts to rest." "Don't you agree?" "It's a great idea." "That way, you'll be able to rest." "I take it you'll come, right?" "Of course." "Wow." "What's happened to make you change so much?" "You wouldn't believe it if I told you." "To tell you the truth, I needed a vacation." "I was sick of the clinic and of Paris." "Be prepared to be uncomfortable." "People in these mountains live the way they did two centuries ago." "Has it been long since you were last here?" "Years." "But the guard writes me every once in a while." "I hope the chalet my father built is still habitable." "Watch out!" "You girls stay here." " I wonder what happened to him." " He must be hurt." "How terrible!" "Stop!" "Don't move!" "Let go!" " Are you okay?" " I'm fine." " My God, how scary." " I don't think anything's broken." "The car was the one that ended up damaged." "It's the radiator." "We can't continue." "They made it." "It was lbea's shotgun." "He never misses." "That one already paid for his crimes." "Now it's this one's turn." "Do we hang him here or in town?" "Here." "The faster you finish the scoundrels, the better." "Good evening, folks." "My name is André Govar." "I reckon you got lost around here." "It's been a long time since we've seen strangers in these mountains." "It's also a shame that you met these two." "We were going to Villas de Sade when they assaulted us." "They're two criminals who were trying to escape." "They killed a whole family to rob them, the parents and four children." "The youngest one was a few months old." "But we're going to give them what they deserve." "Go on." "I shot him between the eyes, and he never knew what hit him." "The best shotgun in town." "He puts the bullet right where he looks." "This guy..." "We would like to continue our trip." "Do you have a hot he oca by a hy ocha hoce?" "Hey, Pierre!" "Bring the Citroën from town." "Okay." "I'll give it to Lizeth." "It will be a nice souvenir." "You know the scum that did it." "They'll be here in half an hour." "In the meantime, let's talk about the price of the car you're going to buy." "How much do you want for it?" "Let's say... three thousand." "You know, it's hard to find a car around here." "All right." "It's okay." "Okay, now, we're going to hang that guy." "I'm sorry to subject you to such a spectacle, but that's the way things go sometimes." "What are you going to do?" "You don't have the authority!" "Oh?" "You don't consider this authority enough?" "You're a little ungrateful, mister." "I'm helping you and..." "That was outrageous!" "Absurd!" "How is it possible for something like this to happen?" "We wandered into a day of reckoning!" "We should be happy." "We only lost 3000 francs and the car." "But those people!" "We have to report them." "The authorities must know about it." "You can't just kill like that and go unpunished." "They probably deserved it." "I thought they were going to kill us." "Me too." "That's why I'm saying we should be happy." "Even so, we have to report them." "People protect one another here, and the law of silence is sacred." " Good morning, Gaston." " Good morning, sir." "Good morning, everyone." "Gaston, you will take us to the cloister this afternoon, and tomorrow we'll explore the galleries of the monastery." "Sir, I wouldn't like to go to the monastery." "But why?" "I don't understand." "You haven't come here in many years, and you don't know what goes on." "What's going on?" "It's not a good place, sir." "More than one person has gone to the galleries and never, ever returned." "They say there's a buried treasure, and that's why they went." "But now, no one dares." "The devil... is loose there." "Stop talking nonsense." "Nobody did anything to those who entered the ruins." "They simply got lost in the labyrinth of galleries and crypts." "But I have a map." "Okay, sir." "I'll do as you say." "And see if you can find a guy to help us." "The area I want to remove is wide." "I'll go to town and try to find somebody." "But it won't be easy." "You know that all the land close to the monastery..." "Yes, I know, the devil is loose." "But in this life, everything has a price." "Give them whatever is necessary, but find them." " And by this afternoon." " Yes, sir." "Listen, Hugo." "Why don't we leave everything alone and go back home?" "What nonsense is this?" "After coming all this way?" "Suppose we find the treasure the locals talk about." "And you guys?" "You're not going to get cold feet, are you?" "It's not about that." "But I would also rather leave it alone." "Well, do you think we're going to find the famous head?" "M aybe" "Okay, fine, I'll go myself." "I don't need you." "We'll go with you." "We started this stupid adventure together, and we'll finish it together." "Gaston... if we find the treasure, I'll marry your daughter Elvira." "And I'll keep Chantal." "She's a little fatter." "They say there's a lot of gold buried around here." "And I assume it will be for all of us, huh, old man?" "There are no treasures here." "And if you keep talking nonsense, I'm going to hit you in the head." "Is there a problem, Gaston?" "No, sir." "We're just talking." "It would be very difficult to find something buried centuries ago." "Here, help me!" "Dig." "Come, dig here!" ""My nourishment will come from the human heart." "Red, palpitating, and lowly"." ""1454."" "Let's open it." "It's impossible." "Let's take it with us." "We'll find a blowtorch in town tomorrow." "Okay, let's take it to the car." "Tomorrow we'll try to fix the electricity." "I don't like candles." "If it hasn't been used in so long, we may not be able to." "Hugo, why don't we put the chest back where it was?" "I can't help it, I have a bad feeling." "Stop it, Maurice!" "You're acting like a scared child." "We'll open the chest tomorrow and regardless of what it has inside, nothing will happen." "Come on, open the door." "And don't make any noise." "Old Gaston has a very good ear." " Wait." " And his house is very close." " Come on." " Wait." "Open the door!" " What if we play a joke on the girls?" " A joke?" "Can you imagine if we went in their bedrooms covered with a sheet?" "No, I guess it's not funny." "Good night." "Okay." "Help me with this." "Let's see." "We got it." ""Asta..." "Astaroth"." "I knew you would come, you filthy thieves!" "Gaston, you're not thinking we wanted to keep it, are you?" "We've always been friends." "I don't think it's worth it for something like this." "If the treasure had been there, we would've shared it with you." "You can be sure." "You killed him." "Open the door!" "Open the door!" "Please!" "Open the door!" "My father." "They killed him." "They killed him." "I woke up and didn't find him in his bedroom... so I went in, and his gun was gone." "I looked for him... and found him in the shed." "Dead." "Let's go." "There's another man dead." "Smashed." "He's one of the guys that dug up the chest." " The chest!" " It's gone." "It's incredible!" "I don't understand how something like this can happen in this day and age!" "Come on, Maurice, calm down." "I tried to talk again with the mayor, and he didn't even see me." "The doctor and the police, either." "Everybody in town seems mute and deaf." "The children even threw rocks at me!" "I went for a telephone, and the explanation I got sounded more like a threat." "They said the storm knocked down the posts and the lines are not working." "Imagine." "But there were two homicides here." "We had to get rid of the bodies." "We have to leave." "We have to report it." "We are directly affected." "Well, man, that "day of reckoning" didn't matter to you, and it was as serious as this." "It's not the time to argue." "It's time to get the hell out of here." "How?" "We don't have gas, and we're not likely to find any." "This is a trap, Hugo!" "Between the marsh and the mountains, escape is impossible." "And there's something else besides." "I gave Claude, the town drunk, a little money... and he gave me some information." "Gaston was already ostracized." "He lived on Marnac land, and apparently that's enough." "However, they tolerated him." "Trouble came when he went to town looking for men and told them his master was here." "That's why he only found those two criminals." "No one else wanted to come with him." " The legend." " Exactly." "In town they believe that our arrival will bring calamity." "They may try to kill us." "M aybe" "And if we don't try to cross the mountains by foot, we could also die of hunger." "We only have provisions for four days." "We'll find a solution." "God damn the moment we got involved in all this!" " Can I help you?" " Thanks, it's not necessary." " Good night, then." " Good night." "Chantal, are you there?" "And Elvira?" "How is she?" "Fine." "I gave her a sedative to make her sleep." "It's horrible." "Paula gone." "And poor Chantal." "Only a monster could have done something like that." "It's all your fault!" "You got us into this hell!" "Are you crazy?" "We have to stick together now!" " Stop it!" " Let me go." "Paula." "My God, what did they do to you?" "No." "No." "No, don't come near me." "This blood." "Take this blood away." "I'm alone." "Completely alone." "You still have me, Elvira." "I'm afraid." "You used to be afraid when we were kids, too." "And you would come to me, remember?" "Yes." "You love her very much, right?" "I have only loved one woman." "Maurice, come." "Maurice, come to me." "And Elvira?" "Is she calm?" "She's sleeping." "And Maurice?" "Where is he?" "I don't know." "I think he went out." "I'm going to look for him." "It's almost dusk, and anything can happen." "Poor guy." "He's all alone." "Hugo went to look for you." "And he's very worried about you." "You, Maurice Roland... who have the blood of my enemies, will serve me and help me fulfill my revenge." "Tonight, my faithful partner," "Mabille de Lancré... will return." "And in seven full moons, when the astral convergence is favorable, we'll have maximum power, and we'll exterminate all who carry in their veins the blood of those who executed us." "Then our hatred will be infinite and the rest of mankind will tremble!" "Paula." "Maurice." "Sylvia." "Paula." "Maurice." "Sylvia." "They all disappeared." "They are probably dead, and I have the feeling that a terrible danger is also threatening us." "Now I know clearly that I'm the only one to blame." "This place is cursed." "The whole region is." "I told my father many times, "We have to go, we have to go"." "But he never listened to me." "Deep down, he loved all this." " He loved it too much." " Elvira." "You have to save yourself." "Isn't there anyone in town, a friend or a relative, who can help you?" "No one." "No one ever wanted to look at us or talk to us." "I have seen only misfortune." "Maurice Roland... you will give me my body back." "For centuries, it was separated from me, causing my soul to wander through a world of shadows." "Lift the tombstone that covers it!" "Mabille, my faithful partner, you will return to me, and our revenge will be fulfilled." "Maurice." "You two will serve us during the day." "And once the seven moons have gone by and the rite is carried out, you will be our master Satan's dish." "My father used to keep something that, according to him, would defend us from what would someday rise from the tomb to destroy us... something evil and powerful that would try to attack us." "Do you know where it is?" "I think..." "I think he kept it in the well." "Let's go." "Let's look for it." "The hammers of Thor!" "They were in the hands of my ancestors for centuries." "How did your father get them?" "I don't know." "He never told me." "According to the legend, with this talisman, they believed they could defend themselves from the devil and evil spirits." "Put it on." "It may protect you." "Anything can happen in this madness." "Daughter, my daughter." "Open up." "Dad!" "Dad!" "Elvira!" "Elvira!" "Don't open the door!" "Stop it!" " Dad, dad!" " Stand back!" "Elvira!" "A log!" "The fireplace!" "The fireplace!" "A log!" "Hurry up!" "Come on, Elvira!" "The lamp, quickly!" "Maurice!" "What happened to you?" "It was horrible." "I wandered lost for hours." "Fortunately, I was able to take refuge in a cave during the night." "Just when I despaired of ever making it back, I saw the chalet." "But why?" "Why did you do it?" "I was desperate." "I was completely mad over Paula's disappearance." "I decided to go to town and look for her beocause was su e t hey wee t he ohes who too k he" "But I got lost." "Maurice, many things have happened, horrible things that I cannot explain." "I want you to come with me to the marsh." "There, you will see things that your mind won't accept, bu t t hat a e as ea as we a e" "I'll explain later." "First, we'll go to the shed for an axe." "We need firewood." "You stay here." "It's going to be very unpleasant." "It's daytime already, so you'll be safe, even if you stay by yourself." "We'll burn them as soon as I find them." "Here they are." "Come, help me take them out." "We have to destroy them so they won't come back." "Didn't you hear me?" "Maurice, what are you doing?" "Maurice, what happened?" "And Hugo?" "That monster took over." "He turned me into my best friend's killer." "I don't know what other monstrosities I committed under his orders." "I vaguely remember terrible things..." "Dantesque." " Hugo is dead." "Dead." " It wasn't me who killed him." "It was that damned freak!" "But I swear I'll give my life to destroy him." "Listen, Elvira." "That talisman is effective." "It liberated me from his influence and made him run away." "We'll look for him in his den and try to destroy him." "You loved Hugo." "And your father and your sister were also killed by that monster." "Help me." "We have to finish him, otherwise many innocent people will meet an end far worse than death itself." "We must arrive at his refuge during the day." "But how?" "We'll never find him in that labyrinth of galleries." "The map!" "Hugo had a map." "It must be in his room." ""If the talisman of Thor is put on the forehead" ""of the reincarnated evil spirit," ""he will be destroyed for good." ""During the day, these horrible beings have no power." ""When the reincarnated sorcerer is a female," ""these talismans have no power over her." ""She will be destroyed forever only if a woman with a pure soul who is willing to give her life trying pierces her heart with a silver needle"." "A silver needle." "We have to find something that may work." "First, we'll destroy the bodies in the marsh." "Then, we'll look for that needle." "Stop!" "Not yet!" "I'm hungry." "I want her heart." "No." "We'll sacrifice her and the others on the day of the main rite." " Hurry up, then." " Only that day!" "Let's look for the food that gives us life!" "We shouldn't have come." "You know what that guy told us." "He's a drunk." "How can you believe him?" "He would sell his soul to the devil rather than come close to that place." "We'll be rich tomorrow." "Didn't you see?" "When that guy paid me what I asked for that piece of junk," "I saw how much he had." "A wad this big!" "Then why didn't we kill them in the forest?" "It would've been easy to get rid of the bodies without leaving a trace." "Well, that's in the past now." "Listen, do you know what we're going to find in that house?" "Jewelry, I'm sure... silver..." "how should I know?" "They're moneybags." " Are you sure?" " Of course." " Come on, let's go." " No, wait a little while." "At night." "I don't dare during the day." "You don't dare?" "Are you afraid now?" "Have you ever had any problems with me?" "It's almost dawn and they haven't attacked." "There must be a reason." "They must be saving us for something important." "Yes, I remember something." "After seven moons, the final rite." "We should have tried yesterday." "We wouldn't have had time." "Night would have overtaken us." "Today is our chance." "They have enormous power." "We'll never be able to defeat them here." "Elvira, let's not lose hope." "We must fight to the end." "There has to be a chance." "They'll attack any minute." "We have the talisman and the silver needle." "Good always triumphs over evil." "And we have faith." "We'll defeat them." "Seven moons have gone by." "We'll capture them today." "When the supreme day arrives," "I want them completely prepared for the sacrifice." "Maurice, my love." " Paula!" " Maurice." "Please, don't go out there!" " Here, take it." " I have to go." "She needs me." "Paula." "Paula!" "Paula!" "My God, what did I do?" "Alaric!" "Mabille."