Original subtitles

I had an epiphany a long time ago.

And I felt God was trying to tell me something.

But...

He's been silent since.

And I'm so sorry about imagining

snapping the necks of your little girls.

Hey, why do you have blood on your leg?

I don't have blood on my leg.

See?

The Slaughter of the Innocents

isn't killing two-year-olds.

It's corrupting the eggs.

LeRoux is dead.

Oh, my God.

He was bludgeoned.

We're thinking by his wife, but we're not sure.

I'm... so sorry.

That is-that is... that is terrible.

No, it's not.

Your troubles are over.

Mom, what's wrong?

Nothing. Go back to sleep.

What happened?

- Is Dad home? - No, no, no, he's not home.

What? I didn't do it.

What are you doing, Mom? Why are your hands dirty?

- They're not dirty. - Yes, they are.

- You want us to help clean them? - Were you digging?

Why are they dirty?

Okay, shh! No-no-no-no-no-no...

Shh! Everyone go back to sleep.

Everything's fine now, okay?

Please, God.

Please, God. Please...

Please, God.

Help me...

Help me see again.

The man was discovered in the backyard

of his Bay Terrace home. The body has been identified

as Orson LeRoux,

the recently convicted, and then cleared, serial killer.

There are no suspects at this time,

but New York police are asking

for the public's assistance.

It's called RSM Fertility. We think there's an attempt

- to corrupt its fertilized eggs. - I'm sorry, what?

We've been dealing with a lot of cases piecemeal.

Demonic and possessed children.

We think it's not an accident.

We discovered it's connected to this clinic.

And you think it's... what?

A demonic presence is trying to corrupt a generation

through manipulating their eggs.

And-and you two believe this, too?

Well, one of my daughters was conceived

with the help of that clinic.

So if there's something wrong, I'd like to know what it is.

Your Eminence, we want to focus on this

exclusively. We've always talked

about getting proactive with evil,

not just reacting defensively.

Do you have the children's names?

Um, I've...

tried to access the clinic's databases online.

They've wiped them clean.

We are looking into other ways

to locate the parents and their kids.

Okay, okay, let me look at it.

Meanwhile, I have an important assessment.

This is important...

And I'm not saying it isn't.

But this came to us directly from the cardinal.

He has a new parishioner, a good man.

He's been giving generously to the Church.

And he finally confessed why.

In his youth he allowed himself to become possessed.

- Allowed himself? - Diabolical subjugation.

He voluntarily submitted.

To the Devil?

In exchange for...? It's better

that he tell you himself. He's here.

Your Eminence, can we talk?

Saw that your serial killer's dead.

My serial killer?

LeRoux. Bludgeoned?

Is there anything I should be worried about there?

I have no idea what you're talking about, Ben.

The blood on your leg yesterday. Your hand now.

There's nothing you should be worried about.

In fact...

I put this in my hand last night.

I got a skin rash.

Could you see what the metal is?

How long was it in your hand?

Just a few seconds.

Can I see your hand?

No.

His Eminence wants us to handle this first.

He's in here.

Is this the guy who sold his soul to the Devil?

Oh, hello there.

You're kidding.

This is Leland Townsend.

- We've met. - Yes...

David and I are casual acquaintances and Ms. Bouchard

and I share a profession.

This is the man who wants an exorcism?

Yes, please.

Some of my past choices have been so...

ill-advised.

And my life, of late, is undergoing

such a change.

The most wonderful, vibrant woman has entered my life.

Our wedding is right around the corner.

My mother.

- That's right. - Really?

What a small world.

But I want no roadblocks to our future happiness.

I still have certain...

...dark moments.

So, David,

Kristen...

Ben.

Knowing my heart and mind as you do,

I think you'll find that...

an exorcism is in order.

We cannot fall for

a word that comes out of that fucker's mouth.

- Ms. Bouchard. - I know, I know you think

you know him, Your Eminence, but you don't.

It doesn't matter if I know him.

It only matters if we can help him.

But he doesn't want help!

How do you know that?

- Because he's demonic. - He's a psychopath.

But isn't that why we're obligated to help him?

David, he has come here saying he's possessed.

- Oh, my God. - He's come here saying

he's welcomed the diabolic

into his life. You're saying the same thing.

So the only question is whether or not

he's being genuine in his plea.

And that's the goal of assessing him.

Should he receive an exorcism?

You're doing this for the money.

- What? - You said

he's giving generously to the Church.

The cardinal has become his friend.

- That has nothing to do... - Oh, it has everything

to do with it. And he... that man in there...

Wants to co-opt you.

He wants to co-opt us.

That's why he proposed to my mother,

that's why he came to my house.

And now he's moving on from me to here, to you.

Are you done?

I'm not done if you're not listening.

Jesus said, "They that are whole have no need

of the physician, but they that are sick."

If Townsend is sick, then all the greater glory is God's.

Why didn't you say anything?

Hmm? I was thinking.

- What? - That we should be smart.

- And what is smart here? - Well, look,

I don't believe in possession, I don't believe in exorcism,

but I still think that we do some good here

because we target bad people

and keep them from hurting good people.

Ben, this is a con job.

Exactly. So let's con him back.

How?

We're gonna assess him, right?

We're gonna find out about his life.

We're gonna talk to him, he's gonna talk to us.

- He's gonna lie. - Exactly.

And in my experience, people who lie

reveal just as much about themselves.

So let's let him lie.

Well, isn't this civilized? Look at the four of us.

Mr. Townsend, why do you want an exorcism?

Well, I'm in love.

What does an exorcism mean to you?

It's the Roman Catholic Church's attempt

to separate man from his darker nature.

And my darker nature has enjoyed

a pretty free rein.

How exactly did you go about offering your soul to the Devil?

Well, you don't offer, you sell.

And unlike with your Christ,

where the rewards don't come until after death...

And then not particularly well-defined...

With Satan, it's a clear contract.

The rewards are now,

it's always something that you've asked for,

-something you covet. What did you covet?

How have you been sleeping, Ben?

- Well. What did you covet? - No nightmares?

Mr. Townsend, we can only assess

your need for an exorcism

if you answer our questions.

Otherwise, we have other cases.

Well, then, let me set the scene.

High school, senior year.

Class of 1979, Roosevelt High, Des Moines.

Kristen has been kind enough to investigate my background.

- And talk to your ex-wives. - That's right.

A whole cornucopia of biographical details.

Marching band, never made it to prom.

Kristen, you're looking especially fetching today.

What am I missing?

Oh, this is what I look like when I'm bored.

Go ahead. You were setting the scene?

Roosevelt High, Des Moines.

After marching band,

I was forced to ride the school bus home.

The bus driver enjoyed making fun of me.

Incessantly.

I had always been intrigued by the dark arts.

And one day I decided to apply what I had learned,

and I conjured up the living Devil.

While my parents were watching Má*AáSá*H in the next room,

my soul in exchange

for the excruciatingly painful and lingering death

of that bus driver.

What was his name?

Luke Faraday.

What exactly did Satan look like?

I'm sorry?

You said you conjured up the Devil.

What did the Devil look like?

Tall. Seven feet.

Body thick with gray-brown hair, an animal's muzzle

and long, curving horns.

- You all right? - Yeah.

You look different.

- I'm not. - Ready to start?

Yes, but I wanted to make sure about the ground rules first.

The ground rules?

We have patient/doctor privilege, right?

Jaffee v. Redmond, Supreme Court decision,

demands absolute protection from communication between

psychotherapists and their patients...

Kristen, what is this about, a parking ticket?

And it cannot be reported to the police, as long as

- it's not about a future crime. - Okay, yes.

- We both know the ground rules. - And I also know

how psychiatrists sometimes bend these rules

and tell anonymous stories to the police

in order to achieve what they consider justice.

- That would never happen... - Kurt,

I worked with the D.A.'s office. It happens all the time.

Kristen, you know how seriously I take confidentiality.

It's absolutely sacred.

I will in no way share or hint to the police.

Now, what are we talking about here... shoplifting?

I killed someone.

You killed someone?

How-how did you kill someone?

I took an ice ax,

I went to a man's house and I killed him.

In self-defense?

No.

Kristen. I...

I don't...

- What were the circumstances? - Well, you heard me talk

about Orson LeRoux...

...the serial killer, right?

So, he was threatening my family.

So I went to his house with an ice ax.

I told him not to come near my family again

or I would kill him.

And he said he was gonna call the police,

tell them I threatened him, and when they came for me,

he was gonna go to my house and kill my daughters.

So I stepped inside, I closed his door

and I hit him over the head.

I, um...

I'm stunned. Um...

You couldn't find any other way?

To protect my daughters? No.

The way you're telling me this, you don't seem bothered.

I'm not. I am...

I'm glad he's dead.

And the police? You're not worried?

No. They think it's LeRoux's wife.

- Oh, my God. - They-They're wrong.

They'll quickly find that out.

She was with friends. I made sure of that

- before I went to his house. - You made sure she had an alibi?

So it was premeditated?

You knew you were going there to kill him?

Well, I knew that if I did kill him,

they would blame his wife, so I made sure she had an alibi.

So, um...

how do you feel about your actions now?

I can't change my actions.

And I wouldn't.

So, if you, uh,

if you're not bothered, why call me to come in today?

I came in contact with an object last night,

and it left a rash on my skin.

- Yeah, is that a-a cross? - Yeah.

It's from a rosary, it had a crucifix on it.

Uh, I'm wondering if I might be showing psychosomatic symptoms.

Well, uh, we have talked about your Catholic guilt before.

Could be a-a remnant, an anachronism from your childhood.

Have you seen anything like it before?

Well, I have had people come in with rashes

on their neck and back.

You know, the body has a tendency to object

even when the mind doesn't.

Kristen.

You're pretending to be unaffected

by a terrible act.

So your PTSD is coming out in ways

both primitive and sub-logical. That's why the rash.

I want you to take this prescription of prazosin.

And we should talk again.

- Lexi... - Mom, it's my teeth.

- What? Is it the brushing again? - No, I don't know.

I was just sleeping and then it just started hurting.

Let me see.

See... Hold on, hold on.

It's just about your baby teeth.

What? What happened?

Nothing. You've just...

You've got some sharp teeth coming in there.

Am I a freak, Mom?

No.

You are the best daughter in the whole world.

And you have the most beautiful smile.

A vampire smile.

No. A beautiful smile.

- I love you. - I love you, too.

- Hey. - It's cobalt.

Cobalt can cause a rash.

Oh, sorry. Is it too late?

No, no, no. It's-it's fine. Come in.

So, cobalt can cause a rash,

but more importantly, it's a great conductor of heat.

So if it's heated up even a few degrees,

it can cause a burn.

Let me see your hand.

See, that's a burn.

Where was this? Where was the cross?

Whoa. Whoa. What happened?

What the hell? Did you slaughter a pig?

It's, uh, teeth issues.

Um, so, it was here.

This was on, right?

Uh, I don't know.

The girls turned it on?

It was on earlier, and it was cooling down?

That's what did it.

- You think? - I know.

Cobalt doesn't create a rash on its own,

but you heat it up, yes, it will.

What'd you find out about the bus driver?

Luke Faraday died in 1978.

The same year Leland went to Roosevelt High?

- Yeah. I couldn't find him. - His name was Jake Perry.

Leland's name was Jake Perry.

You did your own research?

Yes, a few weeks ago.

How'd the bus driver die?

There was a crash.

Luke Faraday was trapped inside the bus.

The fire was so intense,

nobody could get close enough to help him.

No other vehicles involved.

The bus just seemed to careen

out of control all by itself.

Well, that means nothing. Right? Nothing supernatural anyway.

He knew this bus driver died.

Made up the tension with the bus driver to match the facts.

So how do we find out if it's a lie?

I talked to his ex-wife before. I'll call her again.

See if he even knew this bus driver.

Well, good, you do that.

We'll go in and deal with him.

Mr. Townsend.

Where's Kristen?

Uh, she was hoping to join us later.

She's not ill, I hope.

Did you look up Luke Faraday, Ben?

I did. Tell us more about him.

Poor man. He had such a future in bus driving.

It's such a promising career. Don't you think?

Instead, that awful fire.

Suffered for a week in the hospital.

Unimaginable pain.

So, how do you decide if I'm worthy of an exorcism?

We ask questions,

looking for causes other than the supernatural.

What causes?

Mental illness.

So if I'm a psychopath, I can't be possessed?

No, you can be both.

Yay.

Then what is it that you do?

I'm the comic relief.

I look for physical causes.

And if there are physical causes

of my diabolical possession, then I don't get my exorcism?

That's right.

You don't believe.

In the Devil? No.

In God?

No.

Do you ever pray?

In the dark of night,

when there are strange sounds,

strange forebodings?

Do you?

Do I pray?

Oh, yes. To my father below.

You should try it sometime.

It's so comforting to pray to power instead of weakness.

Did you know that Christianity is the only religion

that prays to a criminal?

The more I listen to you, the more ridiculous you sound.

You're gonna have a dream tonight, Ben.

Good guess.

One you've never had before.

Oh, my God. Tell me more.

Ah, Kristen.

We've been having the most wonderful chat.

I'd heard that you were ill.

Oh, no, not at all.

I was just having a wonderful talk

with your ex-wife, Janie.

Ah. The lovely Janie.

How is she?

Good.

She was just telling me how you never took the bus

because you had your own car,

so you never knew Luke Faraday, and he never teased you.

So there was absolutely no reason

for you to pray to Satan to cause his fiery accident.

Any thoughts on that, Leland?

Well, of course I lied. I'm possessed.

Did you really think that the spawn of the Devil

would be honest with you?

Well, we believe the spawn of the Devil

would at least offer some evidence that he was,

in fact, the spawn of the Devil.

It's an eight now, but this read nine last month.

And ten before that.

It's counting down my debt.

I have eight months to get you to help me.

You're saying you didn't do that tattoo?

I'm saying that Satan did this.

I was home one night.

I heard scratching noises

moving around on my hardwood floors.

Like the claws of some beast coming for me.

How do you run away from something you can't see?

And then a searing pain,

like a claw digging into my flesh.

Carving out the number eight.

Really?

God, how frightening for you.

I understand your skepticism, Kristen,

but have a little pity.

It was awful.

Well, it's a good thing we're investigating.

We'll have to examine your residence now.

What? No, that won't be necessary.

Actually, it is.

We'll check with the bishop, but I'm sure

-he'll agree. Mm.

Yeah. We need to look for signs

of demonic infestation.

Or we could just drop this whole thing right now.

Good.

It's settled.

Tomorrow.

We'll drop on by.

This is not real.

Kiss me. Come on.

Why won't you kiss me? Please.

Okay, this is from the talk today.

Leland put this in my mind.

You know what I love?

Men's nipples.

Remember the safeword?

Cas-3.

Just a second more, Lexis.

My goodness, those are sharp, aren't they?

They've been hurting for a long time.

I think this will just require a little reshaping, that's all.

Can you do it today?

- I think so. - Do I need a shot?

Just local anesthesia. It won't hurt.

- Maybe we won't do these today. - Is everything all right?

It's nothing to worry about, but incisors can be tricky,

and these...

are buried pretty deep in her jaw.

- Why? - Sometimes

teeth form this way in the womb if the mother had a fever.

It's nothing to worry about, Mrs. Bouchard.

I just want to put Lexis under general anesthesia

to deal with the underlying problem.

- Is the operation serious? - No, no.

It just means going in deeper.

Let's do it Thursday.

Am I all right, Mom?

Oh, you're great, babe.

Why are my teeth like this?

I don't know. They just are.

You know, my feet were webbed when I was a kid.

- Really? - Yeah. I don't know why.

But everyone made fun of me. They called me Swamp Thing.

So, I stopped caring.

I just decided I would climb. I'd read about it in a magazine.

I started climbing everything. You know, school,

the side of our building,

- a mountain. - Should I do that?

No.

I'm just saying, kids make fun

until they realize who you really are.

Told Leland we needed four hours.

He'll be back at midnight.

Well, very tasteful.

Looks like he removed anything

that'd reveal anything about himself.

He's being sarcastic.

Nothing in the bathroom.

No mirrors.

David.

He's toying with us.

Hey, I got something in here.

- I'm in. - It's not password-protected?

Yeah, but not a great one.

"Lucifer8."

Seems like he does most of his work in the cloud.

Can you add some surveillance software?

I could hack into his webcam

so the camera light doesn't come on,

and we could watch him whenever we want.

Yeah, great.

All right, so Leland said

that he heard scratching noises, right?

Anything?

Turn off the lights.

They're too loud.

Sorry.

Huh, really weird.

What?

No sound.

So maybe he lied about the scratching.

No, no, no. That's not what I mean.

Usually an apartment building will have

all kinds of ambient sounds, you know?

Wood settling, water in the pipes.

But I'm getting nothing.

It's like it's completely

devoid of any natural sound.

- Oh, I got something. - What?

Coming from there.

Oh, no, that's... The thing does a...

Are you all right?

- Some cheap-ass alarm? - No,

Maybe you're right.

There.

I feel air.

Fuck.

- Damn. - Oh, my God, what is that?

A dead rat?

That is not how a dead rat smells.

Ah, that's the sound.

Paper flapping.

- Sigil map. - The photos we took.

- How did he get it? - My mother.

What is all this writing?

It's some weird-looking math?

- Chinese? - Is that Arabic?

I don't recognize it. Hold on.

Do you think he wanted us to find this?

No. I would never have found it without the sound.

So we put it back exactly the way we found it.

- Oh, man. - You okay?

What happened?

Good morning.

A tattoo kit?

Is that what the all-powerful Prince of Darkness used

- to mark your ear? - You did it to yourself.

Everything you told us was a lie.

I'd go with histrionic personality disorder

in addition to the raging narcissism.

You strip everything away and you just don't seem like a man

who's had his every evil wish granted.

Maybe I'm just very patient. Did you ever think about that?

Take my bitch of an ex-wife,

- for example. Janie. - Oh, right, I just

spoke with her. Her life seems infinitely better without you.

You might want to talk to her again.

Hi, may I speak with Janie?

Are-are you one of Janie's friends?

My name is Kristen Bouchard. Who's this?

I'm... I'm Janie's mother.

She's been in an accident.

I-I'm so sorry.

What happened?

A truck hit her car coming home.

She's in a coma.

I'm not convinced.

Your Eminence, he's lied about every past

evil act he's offered to support his claim.

What about his ex-wife?

You said she was in a coma.

Leland could've found that out all sorts of ways.

It certainly doesn't mean that he caused it.

Look, I'm not an unreasonable man.

But I'm getting calls from the cardinal.

You want me to convince him, then convince me.

You believe Townsend is a psychopath?

- I do. - Then give me a positive

analysis of psychopathy, instead of a negative analysis

of possession.

- How does she do that? - Interview him.

You know...

Your job.

So, what do you think?

I think he's right.

I need to evaluate him.

Something funny?

No.

It's just the chair.

Knowing who else has sat there.

I'm going to ask you a series of true or false questions.

Aha, the classic approach.

- Your birth name is Jake Perry? - True.

You grew up in Des Moines, Iowa?

- True. - At the age of 18,

you sold your soul to Satan?

True.

It must be so difficult

with your husband away all the time.

You feel sad when people around you are sad?

- False. - You like sunsets

- more than... - Sunrises?

Why, yes, I do.

Just how insane are you, Leland?

Insane?

What a quaint term.

By the way, how's little Laura?

- Is her heart all better? - Oh, that's right.

You stole my therapy notes.

Which just means that you're a thief.

If you want an exorcism,

you're gonna have to do better than that.

You're no more evil than...

No more evil than what?

You?

Ever since you've been working with David,

things have been happening to you.

Darkness has come into your life.

You let it happen.

That's why you're easy.

David will be harder.

He's the real prize.

Which is why I need your help.

Oh, dear God.

It's a trade... you want me to leave your daughters alone?

Then help me tempt David away from the priesthood.

He's two months away from ordination.

Two months

of potential sexual activity.

Yum, yum.

Just tell him I need the exorcism.

That's all.

He shows all the signs of a psychopathic

narcissistic personality.

So your view hasn't changed?

No, he wants us to think he has some supernatural power,

but his grandiose claims are just part

of his narcissistic defense.

- What do you think? - I think it's

up to us whether there's value in taking this further.

You mean suggesting an exorcism just to see what he does?

The only reason not to is because he wants us to.

Well, there's another possibility here.

- What's that? - It's a cry for help.

- What do you mean? - Well, he wants an exorcism

because he wants to be good.

- No. - Yeah,

I don't believe it, either.

So we recommend no exorcism?

Agreed. What's he doing?

Nothing. He's just staring straight ahead.

He's been like that

-for ten minutes. You think it's a loop?

Well, I thought of that, but the shadows

outside the window aren't repeating.

Okay. I'll see you guys here in an hour.

Okay, yeah, I'll be there.

I think we're gonna have to go a little deeper...

Oh, my God!

Oh! We need a doctor!

Oh, my God! We need a doctor in here! Oh, my God!

We need a doctor in here, someone!

Feel all right?

I feel funny.

Yeah.

It's just the anesthesia.

It'll wear off.

All right.

I'm looking for something definitive,

but I'm-I'm not seeing anything.

Well, I expected, going into this,

that we would only find what he wanted us to find.

As you can see,

- he left... - Yes, I'm reading that.

Interesting. Maybe even somewhat disturbing.

Your evaluation wasn't very long.

Sorry. What?

There are aspects of his psychology

that fall outside of known conventions?

- That's right. - But you still believe

his issues are long-standing narcissism

and psychopathic traits.

- Correct. - David, you wrote

you don't think an exorcism is appropriate.

He doesn't want one.

He wants to con the Church into doing his bidding.

I'm going to recommend to the cardinal

that we go forward with the exorcism.

Well, then it doesn't matter what we said.

It does matter.

I listened. I considered your opinion,

and I came to a different conclusion.

Wait.

I want you three to be there.

- Be there? For what? - His exorcism.

You all believe Mr. Townsend will mimic

a possessed soul.

He will.

Then that's why I want you there.

To be my skeptical eyes.