Original subtitles

Cal.

You can't park here, you gotta move.

- All right, we will in the morning.

Now, or I'll call the police.

- Listen, that's my kid back there and my father-in-law.

Give us a break?

- I got the police on speed dial,

last time I'm gonna say it, get moving now.

- Thank you.

- Mr. Anderson.

- Mr. Anderson.

- Dad.

- Raymond.

- Well, it's the oldest house in the neighborhood.

It was completed in 1865.

The house on the inside is actually a divided in two.

- I'm Bill Lendopolis, this is my son, Steven.

Stevie, say hello to the office.

- Hello. - Howdy.

- We're Raymond's kin. - Oh.

- What happened to all the people around here?

- Oh, there's still plenty of people around.

Well, you do have two, three foreclosures in this direction.

Well, you got a short sale over here.

There's another short sale.

This is a bank owned auction

and that's another auction over there.

And they got a couple more foreclosures back here.

- Like in the Bible.

- Yeah, why don't we take a look?

Right here.

This is where Cal met his maker, on his recliner.

Right, right here.

You know that the good Lord, let him die in his recliner

and not on the cold hard floor

must mean that he did some good deeds in this life.

Where's the recliner now?

- You wouldn't want that recliner.

Now you might want to think about putting something new

and uplifting in this area.

- Yeah.

Yeah, let me think about what would be nice here.

Where'd your son go.

- Tell me what number I write on the bottom of your foot.

- Seven.

- Good.

Can you identify this smell?

But close your eyes.

- Coffee.

- Good.

Get dressed.

- Stevie.

Stevie.

Stevie.

- These once all belonged to my granddaddy,

your great-great granddaddy.

At least one of 'em.

Your father's relatives on the other hand,

most probably recently came from Africa,

like most Mediterranean part-time Negros.

Your relatives fought for the Confederacy.

You see there's one of their names, right there.

These family heirlooms were brought North

by my big brother Cal,

to remind him that though our family

may not always have had money,

it has always had blood.

And since this house has been deeded to me,

I would suggest that I'd be shown more respect,

unless you have some other home

to which you and your Paige or paragraph,

you're in-cohort utterance, wish to return.

- Sunday cartoons, okay, not before.

- Cartoons are on all the time.

Why do I have to wait till then?

- Watch it, okay.

What is it now?

You're self-reliant,

gonna start paying for your own food,

for your medicine, with what?

- I'm doing my part.

You don't see me taking my medications every day,

I got my one-a-days down to twice a week.

I am making sacrifices for our side.

I must retire.

- I'm gonna run along now, Mr. Lendopolis.

Definitely a fixer upper, but it's got good bones, you know.

So is there anything else I can do for you folks?

- Any other murderers ever live here?

- Son, your granddaddy's brother didn't kill no one.

- He killed himself.

- Stevie.

- Didn't he?

He planned it.

- Okay, what else can I tell you about the place,

you know, what would a real estate person tell you?

There's a one lavatory upstairs on this side

and there's one on the.

Straight ahead, son.

Good kid.

You know, your boy was right about other murders,

just not in the house.

- What?

- Come here.

Take a look at that tree, hah. - Yeah.

- An angry mob, lynched a young black boy from that tree,

a long time ago, yeah.

People think that kind of thing only happened in the South,

but it's not so.

It's pretty interesting, right?

- Well, I can't say it's the greatest news.

- Hey, you know what?

This house came along in a good time

for you and your family.

- Yes yes it did.

You cannot live in the past,

not when opportunity knocks.

Dad.

- I'll be right up.

- Oh, why don't you come to church at Sunday?

10 o'clock, it's on the corner of Suckerbone and Beaver.

Church offers a services you could use,

you know, services for new neighbors, things like that.

All right. - We'll be there.

- Nice to meet you. - Same here.

- All right, good luck. - Thanks.

Oh, Officer. - Yeah, yeah?

- Keys.

- Oh, yeah.

- Thanks again. - Welcome to the neighborhood.

- Yeah, he said lavatory not laboratory.

Lavatory is like a police word for bathroom.

- It's dead.

- So we get 'em turned back on.

Hey, this could be your room, Stevie.

What do you think?

- I don't know.

- You don't know.

Are you okay?

- Yeah.

- What a mess.

- I bet you this was Cal's room.

- There's no bed,

it's a playroom.

Did Grand Ray's brother Cal have any children?

- No.

All right, listen, why don't I take Cal's old room

on the other side of the house?

You can have the room with the computer in it, okay.

I'll be right down the hall.

What's that?

- That my boy, is an electric charcoal starter.

Which means it's probably a barbecue in the backyard.

How about I cook up them ribs tonight?

- What's that?

What are they doing?

- Jesus Christ.

- Dad.

Dad.

Wait.

Dad.

- Hey.

Put this somewhere, we never have to see it again.

- I might've been there.

- That's impossible, Raymond, you're nuts.

- Dad, why'd you leave me in the dark?

Can I see?

- No, that's not for you, son.

- What happened?

- I'm pretty sure I was there.

- Can I see it? - Go upstairs.

- I remember I was eating a big vanilla ice cream cone

at one of these.

- Raymond, somebody in your family

must have told you this story

and now you think it happened to you.

- And that was the one,

remember, a young colored boy

said something to a white woman in the store

and then he tried to escape, and they shot him.

Then men with guns, brought him back in front of a crowd

and then he brought the young woman back

so she could see how she was being avenged.

And she started to cry so they took her away.

And then, those men just cut down some hickory switches

and they started to whip him.

The old man used his cane.

Young girl, just a little bigger than me,

just a little older, she used a fishing rod.

I just kept watching, eating my ice cream cone.

Then they hung him from the tree.

Then they cut him down

and then cooked the body on a bonfire

and they cut him into pieces.

And then all the stores on Main Street

put a piece in your windows.

- You are sly as a fox.

You were awake weren't you?

You overheard us, me and the cop.

Sure you did.

You can't kid a kidder.

That is so sick, Raymond,

your sense of humor has gotten so sick, sicker than you.

Sickest thing about you.

- Ah, oh God.

- Some of them are getting away.

- Not really.

- "Dear Uncle Peter.

"Today we are visiting you and Aunt Betty,

"talking about old times when you and Mom were kids

"and this makes her laugh.

"The doctor said that's good for her.

"God bless you.

"Your little Wilbur.

"April, 9th, 1937."

"P.S. I overcooked the nigger."

Stevie.

Stevie.

- Right on time, right on time.

You heard from her?

- Nope, no, no, no,

but I hope she is very happy with the guy.

Do you know him?

He's a dentist.

You're a doctor, you probably.

- Your son's fine, totally normal.

On an unrelated topic,

my wife wanted me to ask you

how our nest egg in real estate is going.

- It's like my son.

- And how is that?

- It's gone down, but it's not serious.

- I saw a dog.

- What the hell do you mean, going off like that?

Are you daydreaming, goddammit,

no wonder you pass out all the time.

You don't live in the real world, like I have to.

I can't do everything.

This is about survival.

I am alive today because I'm awake.

Do you understand?

You're just like your mother.

You hungry?

- No.

- I got some leftover meatballs, I'm gonna heat up.

- Excuse me, is Raymond here?

You're Bill, the son-in-law right?

- And you are?

- Cristina, sorry for your loss.

- This is Raymond.

- Hey, Raymond, sorry for your loss.

- Which one?

- Your brother.

- Right.

- Cal liked to party with me, he was great fun.

Very generous until he flipped out.

- Do you want to party with us?

- No, thanks for the invitation, but I wouldn't enjoy it.

- In memory of Cal, to honor him,

to evoke in all of us what he meant.

Then maybe later on, we could be generous to like Cal.

- It's might do me some good, okay, why not.

He has a boombox, I can show you where it is.

- I'll fix you that sandwich, all right.

I'm gonna get him a sandwich, you hungry?

- No.

- How about a beer.

- Okay.

- I'll get some beers.

- You get the box, I got to eat.

- I'm Cristina, who are you?

- Steven?

- Are you okay, Steven?

- Yeah.

- We gonna have a little party and memory of Cal.

Would you like to join us?

- Maybe later.

Get your beers here.

- Hey, what about me, soldier.

- Oh, you can start this.

- Cheers. - Thanks.

You all right?

- So don't do anything.

- I want to drink.

- Well have a fucking drink.

Game fucking sucks. - Hold on.

- Hey, Cristina.

- Dad. - Yeah.

- Take a look at this.

- Hey Cristina.

I'll be right back.

- Hold your horses grandpa.

You're still married you know.

- Your daughter is a bitch.

She's a whore, a puttanesca.

Asshole, do whatever the fuck I want, you got that.

- I hate the word bitch.

When my father was around, that was the word,

my mother always said, hurt her the most.

- Dad, look at this.

- You know, I wanted to make movies too when I was a kid,

but I had to get a real job.

People making movies today, like fucking pigeons,

fucking everywhere.

My son wants to grow up to become a pigeon.

- So what do you do?

- I'm in financial services.

- I could use a guy like you.

- Dad, you used to be in financial services, not anymore.

Come take a look at this.

- Why'd you do that?

- Leave him alone.

C'mon I want to see Cal's room.

I mean, your room.

Cristina.

♪ Every Sunday morning I wake up ♪

♪ I see you by your dresser doing your makeup ♪

♪ Fluttering a Chinese fan in a Knoxville fashion ♪

♪ All last night you tossed and turned ♪

♪ Your body was hotter than the night that Richmond burned ♪

♪ You say you had a bad nightmare ♪

♪ About tractor trailers crashing ♪

♪ Throw your arms around me ♪

- Dad.

Dad.

The ice maker's frozen solid.

Cristina, did you go to school around here?

- No.

- Stevie, you ever had a black and white?

It's kind of milkshakes, neither black nor white,

your dad's people are like that.

- Your brother didn't speak this way.

- Maybe not around you.

Hey, I'm talking to my grandson here.

My grandmother, your great-great grandmother was a nativist.

And she made me understand

that if you mix Greek, Wap, Kyke,

you mix up of chocolate pudding with a whipped cream,

when the cotton grows on the fig tree

and Alfalfa hangs on the rose,

when aliens rule United States

and Jews grow a straight nose,

when the pope is praised by everyone

in the land of Uncle Sam and Greek is elected president,

then the Ku Klux Klan won't be worth a damn.

I learned it by heart when I was a little kid,

you think you could learn something like that by heart?

- Sometimes you have to improvise, think on your feet.

Right on time, right on time.

- Where there's a will, there's a way.

Remember that, Stevie.

Hey, remind me to check that ice maker

later this evening, okay Raymond.

- White man's burden.

- What?

What was that?

I'm not a wasp if that's what you mean.

I don't have your family tree, praise the Lord,

I didn't enslave anybody.

My grandparents came here, they were treated like crap,

they were in low paying jobs,

they had to struggle for a tiny piece of the American Dream,

they weren't just handed it.

- Oh, I see you now.

You're a part-time Negro, part-time white guy.

When you apply for a job or when you apply for a loan

or when you're driving in your car

and the police look at you,

well then you have part-time white, Greek guy.

But when you look at me, what my ancestors did

to secure white privilege

of which you are the beneficiary every day.

You don't owe anything to be in white

because you a part-time Greek Negro.

Well, I got news for you.

You're a full time nigger now, boy.

Dad, stop.

- Let go.

You bastard let go, let him go.

- My house, my house.

- That's right, it's your house, including the mortgage.

- No, I own it completely.

- Oh, no, no, no, you're confused,

you don't remember what you signed.

Don't worry, Raymond. I'm just with your head,

what's left of your head.

What was that?

- I'm getting outta here, you people are no good.

Goodbye old cold.

- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, can I see you tomorrow?

I'll be in a lot better shape tomorrow.

- You must think I'm stupid.

Tomorrow, you definitely can't see me, none of you can.

- Cristina.

It's gotta be the pipes, it's an old house.

- Doesn't sound like pipes.

- Shh, quiet.

Quiet.

Wait.

Dad.

- Yeah.

Will you come say goodnight to me?

- Okay, time for bed.

- Dad.

You were so good taking care of people's money.

They shouldn't have given up on you.

- Well, I haven't given up on myself.

You remember the story about the two shoe salesmen

who went to Africa?

First guy gets their emails, his company,

he says, "No business here.

"Nobody wears shoes."

Second guy, he writes back and he says,

"Great opportunity here, everybody needs shoes."

Can never give up, Stevie.

You always have to see the glass as half full.

- But what if it's not?

- Goodnight.

If it's not,

I'll figure something else out.

Sleep tight.

Anyone home?

Hello.

Hello.

- Who is there?

- It's me, Dad.

Can I get in bed with you?

- Sure.

Dad.

Yeah.

- Are we going to be okay?

- Yes.

- I used to like it when he took me to work.

Remember when you took me

to where they printed the catalogs?

- Yeah.

- Remember the old office?

- Go to sleep, Steven.

- Can you tell me a story?

- Do you want to ghost story that isn't scary?

- Yes.

- Once upon a time,

a ghost learned that he had to stay visible all the time,

every second of his life.

And he could never be invisible again.

So he disappeared forever.

Stevie, this one seems sick.

- The government mended the minorities,

that got this country into this mess.

- Stevie on second thought, if we leave Grand Ray home,

we could take one of your animals, okay.

- That's not funny.

- Oh, come on Raymond, we gotta laugh a little bit, right?

Stevie, you finish your homework?

- What's the point?

I'm not going back to that school.

Jesus, the point is you got to learn

no matter where you are.

- Hey.

- Come here.

Listen, I know this hasn't been easy on you,

but you and me are gonna be okay.

All right.

Give me a hug.

Good boy.

Stevie.

Stevie.

- Grand Ray?

Stevie.

Stevie, Stevie.

Stevie, Stevie, Stevie.

- Fuck.

- Remember that pussycat we used to have?

- Whiskers.

- Yeah, Whiskers.

Whiskers.

It always used to like to cuddle with your mom,

never with me.

It's how you can tell he wasn't a fag.

- What are you carving?

- Just whittling.

- Is it true what you said last night,

about Grand Ray not owning this house?

Are we gonna have to move out of this house too?

Are you gonna make breakfast?

- When Grand Ray gets back with the groceries.

You want an omelet?

But just don't drown it in ketchup.

- The computer's not working.

- That's 'cause they turned off the electricity.

But Grand Ray's gonna pick up some more candles.

Here's Grand Ray.

Let's give him a hand.

Right on time, right on time.

- Good morning, I'm looking for Raymond Anderson.

- Raymond, somebody else here to see you,

different than the last one.

- Is that a Confederate Flag painted on that?

Calhoun never showed me this one.

I'm Virgil, Virgil Paxton.

I tried to phone you, but your line is dead.

I'm sorry for your loss.

- Okay.

- I knew Calhoun.

We were colleagues, friends in a kind of way.

So I heard you had moved in,

I thought I'd come over and introduce myself.

- Well, we'd love to have you in for a cup of coffee,

but the power's out.

All I can offer you is water.

- Well, you know, Calhoun always kept a good stock

of Kentucky whiskey, but he kept it hidden.

So you interested?

To old Calhoun.

- Virgil, exactly how you know my brother?

- We were lovers Raymond.

He was my gardener once upon a time

and then one day I asked him to come inside for an ice tea

and one thing led to another.

You know how that is?

Come on, man.

I'm just having fun with you, Raymond.

Calhoun was a devoted re-enactor.

From the look on your face,

you don't know what the hell I'm talking about.

He would put on a Confederate uniform

and re-enact the Civil War.

Go down south with a bunch

of other self-described descendants.

You ever do that, Raymond?

Yeah.

Well, anyway, I was a teacher of American history

until I was promoted to unemployment.

American history connects me to Cal.

Sorry about what happened to him.

He wanted to sell a bunch of that stuff.

I said, I knew some people

who would be able to get him the best price.

If you're interested,

I still might be able to help you get that done.

- What if it's not for sale?

- Yeah, like you people have a lot of assets

hidden in off shore accounts, right?

Well, anyway, it's your decision.

Did he buy this house because of what happened?

- Well, he said no, but it didn't bother him.

Today's the anniversary, you know.

What anniversary?

- Isaac Scotsman.

- Like Isaac in the Bible.

- No like Isaac in Haynesville.

Isaac Scotsman, the boy, the black boy

who was lynched right out there by the side of the house.

He was a bright kid, got a scholarship

to attend, what had been an all white prep school

in Connecticut.

He integrated the school.

All he had to do was just speak intelligently

to some dumb white bigot.

And they'd beat him, tortured him.

They lynched him,

right outside this house.

Now I'm a historian

so we're good with names and dates.

Calhoun always liked the fact

that I was good with names and dates

and he would always put a little bit more in my glass

whenever I came up with one like that.

And boom.

Thank you very kindly.

Now you starting to understand the rules.

I'll give you another one.

The authorities never found out who did it.

They even made a postcard

with people looking at the boy's body,

like it was an amusement.

- We got it, Grand Ray.

- I ate it.

- You what?

- I ate it.

- That's no big deal, I've seen it.

Many years after the crime police

wanted to find out who did it,

wanted to question those people.

Two of those families lived in this house.

No one ever found 'em.

They vanished.

The invisible white people.

It has been a pleasure meeting all of you.

And would you mind if I photograph that?

- No, sure, go ahead.

- It may not work as a phone out here,

but it's a perfectly good camera.

- Oh, yeah, Calhoun always bought anything

with a Confederate flag on it.

He was always buying stuff over the internet.

Open it up.

Usually they were forgeries, but this one,

damn that looks authentic.

It looks like a voodoo curse to me.

Who found it?

- Why?

- Listen Professor, before you go,

how much do you think this stuff is worth?

- Well, I would get an appraised by an expert.

But if I were you, I would be very kind to my father-in-law.

Thanks for the hospitality.

Thank you.

Sir.

- Something wrong?

- Sir, is my dad cursed?

- Son, curses aren't for real.

- Maybe this one is.

Something's not right in this house.

- Maybe you just have to get used to it.

So you go relax and I'll be back soon.

- Hey,

what were you talking to him about?

- I'm worried, Dad.

- What are you worried about?

You don't have to be worried.

Sit down.

I'm gonna show you a trick, okay.

Grab my wrist,

hold it as tight as you can.

If I turn this way, I can't get out, right.

What you need to do is turn towards

where the fingers meet in a very tight circle.

You see?

You try.

First go that way.

Okay, now turn towards my fingers, that's it.

Very good, you're natural, you see that?

Got nothing to worry about.

Okay, go play, go outside.

- How are you Virgil?

Don't get to see you often in church.

You missed the last service by miles.

- Sam.

I need you.

Take a look at this.

What do you make of it?

This opens up to this.

I think is some kind of voodoo curse.

- Definitely not voodoo, voodoo is benevolent.

It's a curse of some kind,

source of the symbols are multiples,

Celtic, African, but that doesn't tell you who wrote them.

Where did you find this?

- The original was in the house of the late Cal Anderson.

- Cal had it coming to him.

You play with fire, you get burned.

- You don't believe in this.

- No, but I believe in the history.

You can't go digging in that history

and then tame it by buying a bunch of souvenirs.

One way or another, it has an effect on you.

- His relatives have moved into the house.

There's a boy there who believes that this curse

is affecting his father.

Now what precisely is this about?

- I don't know.

Let me hold onto these and I'll get back to you.

- Okay sure.

But tell me this, Sam, if this is a curse,

hypothetically speaking, why doesn't it affect me and you?

- If someone dies from the curse,

it is transmitted to the first person who next touches it.

The boy is right, that would mean his father

was the next one to touch it after Cal died.

It's interesting that this should be in that house.

Just like throwing gasoline on fire.

- So you could be rich.

Jesus.

I'd better start treating you with respect,

like the professor said.

Pour me another, kind sir.

Sure, sure.

One for you

and one for what's his name.

- Do you think it would fit?

- Try it on.

♪ I wish I was in the land of cotton ♪

♪ Old times there are not forgotten ♪

♪ Look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land ♪

- Like a fucking glove.

Hah.

Like a fucking glove.

Where to, my captain, my captain?

Jesus Christ.

I look like the real deal in this thing.

- Forward, march.

You see that shining city on the hill?

- Sir, yes sir.

We'll burn the fucker to the ground

because the spirits are coming.

- Spirits.

- The spirits.

- What do you want in our house?

What do you want in our home?

This is our home.

Raymond, this is our home.

We being kin, right?

- It's their house Bill.

- Where are you going Raymond?

Back me up here Raymond.

Get away from me.

What do you want?

What do you want in our home?

Right on time.

What do you want?

Get away from me.

- Is that your family in there?

- That's who I've got left to me.

Yeah.

- Right on time.

Right on time.

♪ Come on in, take a seat ♪

What are you doing?

- A house call, don't worry.

New policy, you are covered.

- What happened to you?

- Oh, self-medicating swerved into oncoming traffic

and bought the farm.

It's no biggie.

Yes.

Now, enough about me.

Let's talk about your son, Steven.

You know, we've made great strides in genetics.

We ran some tests.

It turns out you passed on the nigger gene to him.

Now, in your case, the gene is recessive,

but in your son's case,

because his father is in debt, unemployed, no connections,

the gene is dominant, which means that he'll grow up

to be a full blown.

No.

Dad.

Dad, can you hear me?

Dad are you okay?

Steven, Steven, Steven, Steven.

Steven, Steven, Steven, Steven.

Like Isaac in the Bible.

- Isaac in the Bible.

Virgil, I did what you wanted me to

and well, it's got me worried.

Is the boy around 11 or 12 years old?

Virgil?

Virgil?

- I seem to know you, Sir.

- Senator Chestnut, Sir, from South Carolina.

Now I promised to drink all the blood spilled

as a result of the declaration of secession

by the Confederacy.

Now with the help of these good men,

I am fulfilling that promise.

- What are you doing so far North here?

- Displaced, Raymond,

just like you and your brother,

displaced from the South and displaced from the past.

We are looking forward to the show.

- What show?

- Lower your head, son.

Let me tell you about the crimes of this mixed race heathen.

Last night, sneaking into my bed,

this nigger tried to make me his Greek.

Anybody want a little barbecue?

Everybody loves barbecue, right?

Everybody loves barbecue.

735 code 6.

105 North Avenue 52.

- Yeah, when it rains, it pours.

This won't take but five or 10 minutes.

- What about the boy?

- Well, when another police car arrives,

we can get going, but orders are orders, I'm sorry.

- This is car 51, responding.

- You want to see who's white, Raymond?

I will show you white.

♪ Amazing grace ♪

♪ How sweet the sound ♪

♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪

- Get outta here, run.

Boy.

Steven.

Steven.

Stevie.

Come to papa.

Stevie.

Stevie.

- Bill, for the love of Jesus, Bill, he's your son,

your baby boy.

- Stevie.

- Please stay here.

You're gonna get us both killed.

- What?

- All right, just stay here.

- Stevie.

Stevie.

Time to foreclose, son.

Steven.

Steven.

Stevie.

- Dad.

- You're just like your mother.

- No.

- Dad!