Allison, what are you doing here? I've been looking everywhere for you.
We're gonna be late.
Sorry. I didn't mean to hold you up.
Maybe you better just go without me, okay?
You've got to be kidding me. It's the first day of class.
Nobody misses the first day of class.
-Are you sure you're okay? -I'm fine.
-Well, you look terrible. -I didn't sleep very well.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Dorm life sucks.
-It's not that. -Well, what's wrong?
-Come on, you can tell me. -I don't know.
I guess maybe it's this class I let you talk me into taking.
How can you lose sleep over that? We haven't even been there yet.
I just have this feeling I'm not gonna like it.
Hey, don't be such a wimp. Come on, it's gonna be fun.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Edward Derek.
In this term, I have the pleasure of guiding you through...
Psychology 102.
More aptly referred to by most as...
the Psychology of Fear.
From what I understand, this has been a popular course in the past.
So, being new here, I sincerely hope I can make this course...
Iive up to your expectations.
Now, you may find that my method of instruction...
differs quite a bit from my colleagues.
For one thing, I prefer to share sources of knowledge with you...
that can't be found in textbooks.
All right. No fucking books.
Don't get me wrong.
You'll work hard, and you'll learn a great deal.
Just one thing.
I should give you a warning.
It is my belief that to understand fear...
you have to experience fear.
So, if any of you are hesitant to explore new territory...
now is your chance to walk out that door.
Let's get out of here.
What are you talking about? This is gonna be great.
I love getting scared.
Something is going to happen.
What is it with you today? You are so weird.
Good.
Not a coward among you.
At least not yet.
Fear.
It's like a sixth sense.
In some ways, it's a more important one to us than all the others.
Perhaps that's because...
fear is the ultimate survival mechanism.
When we're afraid...
we function at our purest level.
When we're afraid, we approach our essence.
So, what are you afraid of?
Snakes? Fire?
Dark places?
Flunking this class?
That's the only thing that frightens you?
That, and girls that say "no."
Are you afraid of me?
Are you kidding me?
Perhaps you should be.
Being human, I'm both dangerous and unpredictable.
If I were to tell you that a monster was about to break through that wall...
and rip off your heads, you wouldn't be frightened.
No.
That's because you know from a lifetime of experience, it couldn't happen.
If, on the other hand, I were to tell you...
I was going to reach into this case, pull out a gun...
put it to someone's head and blow their brains out...
-that's something to be afraid of. -Yeah, right.
That doesn't frighten you?
Of course not. Why should I be afraid of something I know you'll never do?
That's exactly the point I'm making.
Real fear can only exist...
when you believe something frightening can occur.
Does this change your feelings?
Anybody can kill.
How do you know I won't?
Hey, come on, man. This isn't funny.
It's not meant to amuse you. It's meant to frighten you.
Okay, so I'm scared.
Now you realize I can really do it, don't you?
Please, stop it.
Of course, there's only one bullet in this gun.
So you may hear a click instead of an explosion.
But that click would be infinitely more frightening than if it fired.
If it fires, you're dead!
If it doesn't, who knows what I'll do next?
-Please, don't. -Why not?
Don't you feel lucky this morning?
Maybe we better just try and see!
He said that I couldn't scare him...
but we saw how wrong he really was. He was afraid.
How about the rest of you?
Are you ready to be scared?
I am.
That wasn't real.
But it scared you, because you believed it was.
And that's what fear is all about.
Any questions?
Wait a minute. You know what?
What made it really weird is that Allison knew it was gonna happen.
No, I didn't.
You knew something was gonna happen. That's almost the same.
It's just a feeling I have about him. I can't explain it.
But I do know it's not over yet.
What happened this morning, it was just the beginning.
Hey, look who's coming.
Hey, Russ.
I hear that guy Derek really pissed you off.
-What did you say? -Who, me?
I didn't say anything.
You guys might have thought this was all a big joke.
I'll fix that bastard.
The dean of the faculty didn't think it was quite so funny.
Although I had hoped to share something special with you here this term...
I have discovered that there are those...
who disapprove of my teaching methods...
and have asked me to make some changes.
So, these are the books you will be expected to read...
your comprehension of which shall be tested on a regular basis.
Of course...
for those of you who wish...
to pursue a more adventurous curriculum...
no one can prevent me from holding private seminars at my home.
I can't offer you extra credit for attending these gatherings...
but what I can offer is a chance for you to experience...
real fear.
Well, at least it isn't raining.
Don't worry. It'll probably be pouring by the time we come back.
-lf we come back. -That isn't funny.
Come on, Allison. Would you lighten up?
Oh, man. We're gonna get soaked!
-ls anybody planning on ringing the bell? -Hey, we already did, okay?
-He must not be home. -He's home.
This is totally out there.
-So, are we all here? -No.
There's someone else.
Should we wait?
All right.
-Then it's time to get started. -Started doing what?
-Scaring each other. -All right.
I'm ready.
How do we do it?
We're gonna tell each other stories.
-Stories? What, like ghost stories? -No.
These will be true stories. They're the kind that can really scare us.
I've heard about some bizarre stuff, but who knows if it really happened?
Could it have happened?
Well, yeah. I guess.
Isn't it more prudent to believe than to doubt?
You see, the more frightening a story...
the easier it is to accept its truth.
The terrifying becomes real...
as soon as you're willing to admit to yourself...
that it could have happened to you.
I'm paying for this one.
-I'll get it. -No.
Happy birthday.
-It's beautiful. -I was hoping you'd like it.
Yeah, I love it.
I just wish there was something more I could do.
I'd like to do something really special for your birthday.
But then, who knows what else I may come up with.
-Do you know what I'm thinking? -Not very often.
I'm thinking it might be fun to drive home the long way.
-What? The Old Coast Road? -Don't you think that'd be romantic?
-I think it would take an extra hour. -Maybe more.
Maybe not tonight, Joanie. To tell you the truth, I'm kind of tired.
-It's been a long week. -Tomorrow's Saturday. You can sleep in.
Can't we just do it some other time?
Before we were married, you never said no to a midnight drive.
-Well? -Did you?
No.
-Okay. -Good.
That's funny.
There's a light on at the old Griffith house.
It looks like somebody finally bought the old place.
Nobody's lived there in years.
Well, it looks like somebody does now.
Shit.
-What's wrong? -I must have hit something.
Shit. It feels like we got a flat.
Oh, this is great. They're both flat.
This is just great.
How did that happen?
Look at this.
Tacks. There are tacks all over the road.
What are we supposed to do now?
Well, we'll just have to wait for someone to drive by.
We haven't passed a car in at least a half an hour.
We could sit here all night.
It's either wait for somebody to drive by, or take a long hike home.
What about the house?
If somebody's living there, we could call for a tow truck.
You wanna go up there?
Well, it's better than sitting here and freezing to death.
Come on.
Look, Joanie...
I just don't think it's a good idea, okay?
I mean, what happens if we walk up there and no one's home?
-Are you afraid of the house? -No, I'm not afraid of a house.
But you know what everyone says about it.
I mean, five people did get murdered there.
It's just an old story.
Oh, yeah? Well, if it's such an old story...
then how come no one ever wants to live here?
Maybe the plumbing's bad. Come on.
Come on.
I wonder if he really used hedge clippers to chop off their heads.
I mean, you'd have to be pretty strong to do it that way.
I mean, they only found bodies, no heads, no hands.
I wonder where he hid them.
Do we have to talk about this?
I'm sorry. I was just wondering.
Maybe we should just go back to the car...
and wait for somebody to drive by.
Look.
Somebody's home.
Looks like they're going to bed.
I don't think we should bother them.
If they're just going to bed, we won't be waking them up or anything.
Okay, all right. Let's just get this over with.
I don't think anybody's home.
Well, what about the light?
Must have been on a timer.
If the power's hooked up, then the phones probably are, too.
What are you doing?
I'm checking to see if there's a window that's open.
-You're not thinking of breaking in, are you? -Why not?
-Because we can get in trouble for that. -Kevin, this is an emergency.
Nobody's gonna hold a little breaking and entering against us.
There's gotta be an open window somewhere.
I don't believe this.
Bingo!
-I'm gonna need a boost. -You want me to give you a boost?
How else do you think I'm gonna get in there?
I'm not gonna let you go in alone.
Well, either I go in alone, or you do it.
Now take your pick.
What are you doing?
Are you okay?
Not really. I just landed on my head.
Joanie, I don't like this. Let's just go.
Look, I'm in, okay?
I'll just open the front door. Then we can decide what we wanna do.
Joan.
Joan, where are you?
Where are you?
Kevin.
He's gonna kill me for putting him through this.
But this is one birthday he's never gonna forget.
He's almost here.
Everybody, duck.
One.
Two.
Three.
What happened to him afterwards?
He ended up in a mental hospital fighting for his sanity.
-Did he ever recover? -No.
One night while everyone was asleep, he broke into an office...
found a pair of scissors and slit his own throat.
What's happening?
Some power lines must have been knocked down by the storm.
What are we supposed to do now?
I see no reason why we can't continue.
In the dark?
I know I have some candles around here somewhere.
Why are the lights still on in those houses over there?
Maybe the power's only off on this side of the street.
Or just this house.
Well, I could have sworn they were up there.
No, they're over here.
You're not telling us everything, Allison.
-There's nothing to tell. -Nothing?
Not even a story you can share with us?
How about the rest of you?
I know a story.
-A scary one? -Oh, yeah.
Good.
There were these four girls.
It's not like they were really looking for trouble...
but that's sure what they found.
-Are you sure we can get in? -Of course I am.
Why would I drag you guys downtown if I didn't think we could get in?
Maybe so you'd have somebody to blame if it doesn't work.
You trying to tell me that I don't have the guts to come down here alone?
Face it, Jen. You may have the guts, but Amy's got the car.
Or at least has a father who's dumb enough to loan her his.
-Are you sure they're not gonna card us? -Amy, don't worry about it, they won't.
We'll never pass.
-Amy, just shut up and act mature. -Yeah, like maybe 13 or so.
Oh, thanks a lot, Kelly.
Here, just smoke this cigarette. It'll make you seem older, okay?
So, we struck out there. There's lots of other places we could try.
Yeah. You showed us that you're the big expert on the club scene.
No, really. There's one place I know about we can definitely get into.
All of us?
This place let's almost anybody in.
Maybe we should just head home.
I mean, we could stop on the way and rent a tape or something.
Just shut up and drive, Amy.
It's gotta be around here somewhere.
What are you talking about? There's nothing around here.
There's no way we're gonna find any clubs in this area.
-This is a warehouse district. -Of course it is.
There are a lot of artists who live around here in lofts and places like that.
Yeah. I'm sure all these dumps are just full of really interesting people.
Well, we better find something soon...
because we're gonna run out of gas if we keep driving around in circles.
I thought you filled up the tank before we left.
Well, I didn't exactly fill it.
I mean, I figured a couple of bucks worth would be enough.
Smart move.
-Well, how low are we? -I don't know.
I guess the warning lights been on for a while.
Amy, you dweeb! Why didn't you say something?
We better head back to the freeway.
I'm sure there's something there, a gas station or something.
Okay, which way is it?
Haven't you been keeping track of where we are?
-Well, I thought you guys were. -That's terrific.
This is a great part of town to get lost in.
Wait a minute. There is something right up there.
Oh, good. They have super unleaded.
My dad would throw a fit if I use anything else.
Fill her up, Amy.
That's great. That's just great.
We're lost. We're almost out of gas, and you think this is all a joke.
Amy, none of us thinks it's a joke...
but it's not exactly the end of the world, either.
Maybe there's a phone in there someplace.
Are you trying to say we should go in there?
Hey, we don't care what you do. Stay out here if you want.
By myself?
It's okay, I'll baby-sit.
It's not like I'm scared or anything. Somebody's got to watch the car.
Right. And somebody's gotta watch you.
Hello?
Anybody here?
Are you sure this is a good idea?
No. But what the hell? We're here. Let's check the place out.
There's no way there's gonna be a working phone in here.
Well, maybe there's a map or something.
Shit!
I gotta change hands. This thing is hot!
Nice doggies.
Hi.
What's taking them so long?
They probably found a phone and they're calling the Auto Club.
I wish they'd hurry up. I told my folks I'd be home by 1:00.
Don't worry about it.
The worse thing that can happen now is we'd be a few minutes late.
We're sorry if we bothered you.
We were just wondering if you had a phone.
Right. I didn't think so.
I don't suppose you could direct us back to the freeway?
Isn't that a damn shame?
These poor little girls, they're lost.
-We're not really lost. -You're not?
Well, if you're not lost, you must have come looking for me.
Yeah, you.
We're gonna have some real good times.
Lisa, I think we ought to move along now.
Great idea, Jen. Let's go.
Hugo.
Oh, yeah.
Why, you little bitch! What'd you wanna do that for?
I was only trying to be friendly.
Now you've gone and made me mad.
Jennifer!
Yeah, we're gonna have fun.
-Put up the top and lock the doors. -What?
-I'll be right back. -Where you going?
Where do you think?
-You said there was nothing to worry about. -So I lied.
You wanna play now?
Yeah, you like that?
Kelly, if you think I'm just gonna wait out there by myself, you've got another....
-Who's out there? -I don't know.
You got friends?
-Tell me! -Yes.
How many friends?
How many?
Just one.
Come here!
You go real slow.
Oh, yeah.
Come here.
-Come here or I'm gonna cut her. -Stop it.
Lock the door.
Come on!
Hurry up! Open the door!
Give me the key!
-Hurry up! Open the door. Quick. -Go around.
Open up.
All right. Let me do it.
Amy!
Just let go!
Go faster!
Let me in!
Hang on!
Kelly!
Jesus!
You wanna play? Well, let's play!
Oh, my God!
Calm down. Come on, it's okay. He can't hurt us anymore.
Well, he can't hurt you...
but they sure as hell can.
Start the car. Start it!
-Come on, Kelly, hurry! -I am!
-Come on! Let's go! Start it! -lt won't.
-What are you doing? Amy, stop! -Let me out!
What are you doing?
-We gotta run for it, it's our only chance! -There's nowhere to run to.
-They're gonna get us. -Amy, come back!
Hurry!
Hurry, Kelly!
Oh, my God!
We gotta help her.
It's too late!
It's my fault.
-It's all my fault. -It's okay. It's not your fault.
We're gonna be fine.
Shit!
-What's happening? -We're out of gas.
Open the door, Kelly, come on! Go!
Move it! Run!
Come on!
No!
Come on, we gotta climb. Yes, you can, Kelly.
I'll help you.
Hurry up.
Pull her up, Jen.
Lisa, look out!
I got you.
-There's no way out. -There's gotta be.
What are we gonna do now?
-Run for it! -What?
As soon as we move away, they'll come in after us.
-There's no way we'll make it. -At least we can try.
Wait a minute...
I got a better idea.
You mutts looking for somebody?
Come on. That's it.
Come and get me.
-That really happened? -Sure it did. My sister told me about it.
She said she knew someone who went to their high school.
We should leave. Now!
-We're not done yet, Allison. -lt doesn't matter.
But it does.
You still have a story for us.
You do know a story, don't you?
Yes, but I can't remember it right now.
Don't worry...
it'll come to you.
While we wait for Allison's offering...
does anyone else want to frighten us?
If you guys are ready for it...
I've got a hell of a story.
I didn't wanna tell it before because it scares me just to think about it.
Can I help you?
Hi, Ray.
-Alex, welcome home. -Thank you.
You look like you had an interesting ski trip.
-Yeah, it was lots of fun. -Well, you know, it could have been worse.
Worse, Ray? How could it have been worse? I broke my leg.
You could have been killed. Lots of people get killed skiing.
Thank you, that makes me feel a lot better.
Yeah, I know it. I mean, you read about it all the time.
I mean, they run into trees, you know, they fall off of cliffs...
-they skewer each other with their skis. -I guess I was lucky.
Yeah.
Thank you, ma'am. I'll give him the message.
-Hi. -You're a little late.
I know.
-What happened to you? -Don't ask.
Tell me you got in a couple of days on the slopes before this happened.
Hell, I didn't even get in a couple of hours.
I slipped on some ice in the parking lot right after I got there.
-Oh, no. -Oh, yeah.
Molly, it made for one sensational week.
So what did you do the rest of the time you were up there?
What do you think I did?
I sat in front of the fireplace at the lodge and drank lrish coffee.
So, where is everybody?
I had to make a little change while you were gone.
Like what?
Like I had either to lay off most of the staff or go under.
-You're kidding? -I wish I was.
You know, when I started this business 10 years ago, it was a gold mine.
I had a dozen girls working for me and more clients than I could handle.
Now, everything is car phones and beepers...
and cheap Japanese answering machines. I just can't compete anymore.
-So who else is on the shift with me? -Nobody.
What?
For the next few days, you are the night shift and I am the day shift.
-You mean I have to work here all alone? -I'm afraid so.
Thanks a lot.
-lt sounds like all sorts of fun. -You'll be fine. I'll get this.
Service.
Yes, I can tell who this is.
I see.
Yes, I'll be sure to give her your message.
Thank you.
This guy is really something.
It's gotta be the tenth time he's called in the last two hours.
-Who's he calling? -Vanessa Birch.
-You know the one on the soaps. -A friend of hers?
For her sake I sure hope he isn't. He sounds like a real nut!
Must be a fan.
Show biz. And sometimes I think my life is crazy.
-Well, I'll see you in the morning. -Yeah.
You gonna be okay?
Sure, I'll be fine. You know how much I love being alone at night.
If it gets too lonely, you can give Ray a buzz and tell him you wanna party.
Very funny.
-I'm sure he would love that. -Just get out of here.
-Bye. -Bye.
Shit!
Birch residence.
Hello?
I thought you were supposed to pick up before the third ring.
I'm sorry, sir. Sometimes things get a little busy here.
Your friend couldn't take my call?
-My friend? -You're not the same one I talked to before.
No. I just came on duty.
You have a much nicer voice.
I'm glad you're the one taking my calls now.
Of course, I'd like you better if you picked up a little faster when I call.
Look, are you planning on leaving a message or what?
You don't have to be rude.
I'm sorry, sir. I'm just trying to do my job.
Of course you are.
So, who should I tell Miss Birch is calling?
Don't you know?
Is this gonna be like 20 Questions or something?
Or were you gonna give me a name I can write down?
Asshole.
Birch residence.
That was much better. I only had to wait one ring.
May I take your message?
I'm sorry if I got angry with you before.
I'm sure you didn't mean any harm.
-No. -Of course not.
You have no reason to be against me.
All I want to do is take your message, sir.
And if I give you my name, you'll let her know I called, won't you?
-That's right, I'll tell her. -She hasn't checked in yet, has she?
I'm sorry, sir, we're not allowed to give out that information.
Then how do I know you'll even tell her I called?
Believe me, sir, I'll tell her.
I can trust you?
Yes, absolutely.
Good. That's the way I like it.
It's important for people to trust each other.
So, what's the message you want to leave?
Just tell her that Richard called, please. Let her know I've been waiting to see her.
Tell her that....
Yes?
Hello?
That's all.
All-Nite.
Hi. Yeah, this is 851, any messages?
Hi. Yeah, there sure are.
There's one guy who's called you about a dozen times tonight.
Miss Birch, are you still there?
Yes, I'm here.
-He said that his name was Richard. -Oh, God, no.
-ls something wrong? -Have you talked to him?
Well, yes.
And you have to ask me if there's something wrong?
He did seem pretty strange.
He's phoned me at the studio for weeks, but this is the first time he's called me here.
I just don't know how he got my home phone number.
Oh, God, what if he has my address?
-Do you want me to read you his messages? -No!
No, and I don't want you to tell him that you've talked to me.
-Okay. -I just want him to leave me alone.
Did you give her my messages?
Excuse me?
Don't play games with me.
I asked you a simple question.
What did you tell her?
-I haven't talked to her. -I know she came home, so don't lie to me.
I don't like it when people lie to me.
Why would I lie to you?
Because you're just like her.
You're two of a kind.
Miss Birch, hi, this is Alex from All-Nite...
I probably shouldn't be bothering you like this, but that guy just called again...
and he knows that you're there.
It's too late for warnings, Alex.
It's too late for her...
and it's too late for you.
-Hello. -Molly, it's Alex.
I'm sorry to wake you, I just figured you'd wanna know...
there won't be anybody answering phones for the rest of the night.
What are you talking about?
I'm talking about the fact that I'm about to get out of here.
-But you can't just leave. -You gotta understand me.
That creep that's been hassling Vanessa Birch is starting to threaten me.
Don't do this to me. Things are bad enough down there already.
I'm all alone here and I don't think this guy's kidding around.
Okay, look, I can be there in 15 minutes...
can you just stick around till then, please?
I don't know.
-He's really got me scared, Molly. -Just do it for me, okay?
All right, can you just get here as fast as you can?
-I'm halfway there already. -Thanks.
Security.
-God, you had me worried. -Alex.
Jesus, Ray, where were you?
Well, I was taking a leak. Is that all right with you?
I'm sorry.
I just wanted to ask you to keep your eyes open...
and give me a call if you see any strangers hanging around.
Why? Are you expecting somebody?
I sure as hell hope not.
Look, I got a call.
Would you let me know if you see anybody suspicious?
-All right. Will do. -Thanks.
All-Nite.
Hello?
I was hoping you'd still be there.
You shouldn't have lied to me.
What do you want?
I wanna make sure you never lie to me again.
Listen, you got any ideas about hassling me, just forget it...
because I'm calling the cops.
And if you try coming down here, I'll personally make sure...
they throw your ass in jail! You hear me?
If you got nothing else to say just do me a favor and hang up!
Hello? Is somebody there?
-Who is this? -Alex, this is Ray.
-Ray? Where are you? -I'm down in the lobby?
-In our lobby? -Yeah. I thought I heard a noise...
and was checking it out and I found this phone off the hook.
Oh, God! He's in the building.
Who's in the building? What's going on here?
Just call the cops and tell them to get here as soon as they can...
and when Molly shows up have her wait with you.
"When Molly shows up"? She got here five minutes ago.
-lsn't she up there with you? -What?
Why didn't you tell me that when I talked to you before?
You asked me about strangers, you didn't say anything about Molly.
Just call the cops. I'm coming down there right now.
Shit!
Hello?
Hello.
I can't stop shivering.
Was it that story or is it really cold in here?
It isn't cold, it's freezing.
-I better go down and check it out. -Wait.
-Don't go. -Why not?
-I'm starting to remember. -Remember?
-My story. -Good.
When I get back it'll be your turn.
Please. Don't make me tell it!
Is your story that scary?
What's it about?
Us.
-What the hell are you doing in here? -It's payback time.
Allison?
-What is it? -It's started.
Cheryl.
What is with her?
I don't know. But she's really starting to freak me out.
Don't do it.
Shut up!
You can still stop.
It's not too late.
It's was too late for him the minute he pulled that shit on me in class!
-But this will be much worse. -You're damn right it will be.
I wanna see him cry like a baby.
What's going on?
Come on down.
Glad to see you could finally make it.
The party's just about ready to start.
-Hey, now look-- -Back off!
I don't hear anybody laughing.
What's the matter? You don't think this is funny?
I think this is really, really funny.
Go ahead...
scare me.
You want to be scared?
Try this, asshole.
-Stop it! -There's nothing you can do!
-Go ahead, show them how easy it is. -Don't push me.
What's the matter? Can't you do it?
-I could. -Shut up!
Do it!
Jesus Christ, man, you're fucking crazy!
He's the one that's crazy, man. He wanted me to do it.
You were afraid...
but I'm not.
Help!
Allison, help me!
No!
Help me!
Help me.
You're next.
Are you ready to be scared?
-Are you sure you're okay? -I'm fine.
-Well, you look terrible. -I didn't sleep very well.
Yeah, I know what you mean. Dorm life sucks.
-It's not that. -Well, what is it?
-Come on, you can tell me. -I don't know.
I guess maybe it's this class I let you talk me into taking.
How can you lose sleep over that? We haven't even been there yet.
I just have this feeling I'm not gonna like it.
Hey, don't be such a wimp. Come on, it's gonna be fun.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Edward Derek.