[ Suspenseful instrumental music plays ]
[ Music intensifies ]
[ Silence ]
[ Gasps ]
[ Door hinges creak ]
[ Bo screams ]
[ lnsects chirping ]
[ Door hinges creak, door slams ]
Where are they?
I don't know.
Morgan: Dad!
Uncle Merrill!
Dad!
Morgan!
[ Birds cawing ]
[ Rapid footsteps ]
Bo? Bo?
Bo, where's Morgan?
Bo?
Are you in my dream, too?
-- This is not a dr-- Morgan: Dad!
Hey...
Honey...
[ Panting ]
Morgan? What's happening?
The dogs were barking -- woke us up.
[ Dogs barking in distance ]
Are you hurt?
I think God did it.
Did what, Morgan?
[ Barking continues, birds cawing ]
[ Barking ]
Look, Lee, I don't even care if it was him.
And you can just have a word with him,
and that'd be enough for me.
See, it was strange finding the crops that way.
The kids were confused by it,
and, uh, it'd sure take the strangeness away
if I knew it was just Lionel and the Wolfington brothers messing around,
that's all.
At the movies?
Are you sure?
[ Sighing ] All right, then.
Uh, thanks for your patience, Lee.
Yeah. Bye.
[ Telephone beeps ]
Houdini peed. I think he's sick.
Why don't you take him outside? I'll call Dr. Crawford.
He doesn't treat animals.
Well, he'll know what to do.
[ Chain rattles ]
[ Door hinges creak; door opens, slams ]
Oh. That was quick, Caroline.
I only called you folks two hours ago.
Old Mrs. Kendleman twisted her ankle,
as she puts it, diving for her life
when a bunch of school kids rode down the sidewalk on skateboards.
She went down to Thornton's store this morning
and started spitting on the new skateboards.
Spitting!
By the time I got there,
Mrs. Kendleman had sprayed the whole damned place.
And she must have had a cold or something.
I'm telling you, I won't eat for a week.
[ Sighs deeply ]
So, what happened to your crops?
[ Sizzling ]
Dad's gonna burn these again.
It's contaminated.
You don't even know what that word means.
It's not contaminated.
It's just tap water. Pour it in his bowl.
It tastes funny.
It does not.
And besides, he licks his butt every day.
I don't think he'll mind.
[ Barks ]
[ Growling ]
Houdini?
Bo, don't run.
What's wrong, boy?
[ Growling continues ]
Stop it, Houdini.
[ Barks ]
[ Gasps ]
[ Snarling ]
Caroline: Look at where it's bent over, Father.
Graham: It's not broken.
Now, what kind of machine can bend a stalk of corn over without breaking it?
Can't be by hand. It's too perfect.
It doesn't sound much like Lionel Prichard and the Wolfington brothers.
They can't take a piss
without wetting the front of their pants.
I don't think anyone else around here has had any problems.
I was over at Theo Henry's farm yesterday afternoon,
and he would have mentioned something.
Why were you at Theo's place?
Some animals around the county have been acting funny --
and some of them violent.
What is it, a virus?
I don't think so, Father.
They're more edgy, you know, and alert.
It's almost like they act when they smell a predator around --
peeing on themselves and everything.
[ Birds cawing ]
Caroline...
please stop calling me "Father."
What's wrong?
I don't hear my children.
[ Sniffles ]
He fell on me.
He wanted to kill Bo.
[ Sniffling and wheezing ]
[ Air hisses ] -- [ lnhales deeply ]
[ Exhales deeply ]
Did he hurt you?
No.
I'm so sorry, Morgan.
Where were you?
Houdini's sick.
Tie lsabel up to the back of the shed, please,
and make sure the knot's very tight.
[ lnsects chirping ]
[ Gasps ]
What's the matter?
There's a monster outside my room.
Can I have a glass of water?
What's wrong with the water next to your bed?
It tastes old.
[ Breathes deeply ]
[ Sighs softly ]
What are you thinking about?
Why do you talk to Mom when you're by yourself?
Makes me feel better.
Does she ever answer back?
No.
She never answers me either.
[ Sighs deeply ]
[ lnhales sharply ]
What?
[ Whispering ] Lionel Prichard and the Wolfington brothers are back.
[ Whispering ] It's time for an ass-whupping.
This is not an intelligent way to approach this.
Lee is a friend of mine. This is his son.
Yeah, we'll be doing Lee a favor.
All right, listen -- we both go outside,
move around the house in opposite directions.
We act crazy, insane with anger --
make them crap in their pants,
force them around till we meet up on the other side.
Explain "act crazy."
You know, curse and stuff.
You want me to curse?
You don't mean it. It's just for show.
What?
Well, it won't be convincing.
It doesn't sound natural when I curse.
Just make noises, then.
Explain "noises."
Are you gonna do this or what?
No, I'm not.
All right, you want them stealing something in the house next time?
On the count of three --
-- 1... -- All right.
2...3!
[ Door hinges creak ]
Aaah! I'm insane with anger!
We're gonna beat your ass, bitch!
[ Clattering ]
We're gonna tear your head off!
I'm losing my mind!
[ Rapid footsteps ]
It's time for an ass-whupping!
[ Rapid footsteps ]
[ Both panting ]
I cursed.
I heard.
[ Rustling ]
How did he get...
[ Rustling continues ]
Are you sure this is Lionel Prichard?
[ Clattering ]
[ Squeaking ]
[ Birds chirping ]
Caroline: You like that?
You got an old baby monitor around?
Bo had an old baby monitor.
You can use Bo's baby monitor as a walkie-talkie.
-- You can? -- Mm-hmm.
It only works one way, but that'll do fine.
[ Machinery whirring on television ]
That is, until someone gets you an old walkie-talkie left over at the station.
Man: Stop! It's hideous!
Woman: Get it off!
I-I know what to do.
[ Woman shuddering ]
Hey, Bo...
turn that down till Officer Paski leaves.
Doy-da!
[ Laser gun fires ]
[ Volume decreases ]
You're too old to still be doing this.
You take a glass of water, and you finish it.
Now, what's wrong with this one?
It has dust in it.
This one?
A hair.
This one?
Morgan took a sip, and it has his amebas in it.
My turn.
So, how are you, Merrill?
Fine.
How is work at the gas station?
Stimulating.
[ Chuckles ]
I never got a chance to tell you,
but l-I thought your moving in here with your brother after --
it was a nice thing to do.
Well, I don't think I'm helping much.
You are.
Sorry.
Okay, so far I have, "lt was very dark."
Yes, it was.
You can't describe him at all?
Don't you think that's kind of odd?
A little.
I don't know whether to look for a giant or a midget.
No, he definitely wasn't a midget.
Okay.
So he was tall?
I-I would say so, yes.
Probably.
Over 6 feet?
It was very dark.
Yes, it was.
How certain are you that this was a male?
Oh, I don't know -- I don't know any girls who could run like that.
I don't know, Merrill.
I've seen some of those women on the Olympics.
They can run like the wind.
This guy got on our roof in, like, a second.
O-Our roof is 10 feet high.
They have women's high jumping in the Olympics.
They got these Scandinavian women
who can jump clean over me.
Caroline, I know you're making a point here,
but I just don't know what it is.
An out-of-town woman stopped by the diner yesterday afternoon
and started yelling and cussing
because they didn't have her favorite cigarettes
at the vending machine.
She scared a couple of the customers.
No one's seen her since.
And my point is,
we don't know anything about the person you saw,
and we should just keep all possibilities available.
[ Footsteps approach ]
Dad, where's the remote?
I don't know, baby.
Why don't you check in the sofa cushions?
Excluding the possibility
that a female Scandinavian Olympian
was running around outside our house last night,
what else might be a possibility?
I'm not done asking questions,
and I don't appreciate sarcasm.
Do you two have anyone
who might have a grudge or something against you --
maybe a-a church member
who -- who might not have liked
the fact that you left the church?
I don't think so.
Okay, I was out of line
with the whole female- Scandinavian-Olympian thing.
It's just, I'm pretty strong,
and I'm pretty fast.
And I was running as fast as I could,
and this guy, he was -- he was just toying with us.
There's only food under the sofa.
Baby, why don't you
just change the channel on the television?
I did.
And?
Same show's on every station.
Every station?
Graham: Bo, turn up the volume.
Crop signs first emerged in the late '70s
with renewed interest in extraterrestrial life.
They died out by the early '80s,
dismissed as hoaxes.
This new resurgence is wholly different.
The speed and the quantity in which it has appeared
implies the coordination of hundreds of individuals
over many countries.
[ lndistinct conversations ]
There are only a limited number of explanations.
Either this is one of the most elaborate hoaxes ever created,
or basically...
it's for real.
[ Air hisses ] -- [ lnhales deeply ]
Extraterrestrials.
What in God's name is going on?
I did some research after I saw your crops.
Two or three guys can make a design the size of the one in your field overnight
using just boards and ropes.
Really?
That's how these things have been done in the past.
But there are so many now.
How could so many people be in on it?
I can't think straight.
I'm -- I'm gonna go back to the station
and have a cup of Edgar's coffee and -- and try to think clear.
And after that, I'll...
I might make some calls.
But I'll tell you something -- what I said in there, it still goes.
Your -- your family has been through a lot.
And the last thing these children need to do
is worry about some crazy things happening in the world.
Now, take them into town
and get their minds and your mind on everyday things, hmm?
Good medicine.
That's good advice.
And you take care of yourself...
Graham.
[ Engine turns over ]
Man on TV: The footage you're watching was shot yesterday afternoon
by a 34-year-old local cameraman in Bangalore,
a southern city of India.
It's the 1 8th reported crop sign
found in that country in the last 72 hours.
Uncle Merrill, will you turn on the radio?
Woman on radio: They are signs intended to be seen from the sky --
[ Radio turns off ]
No radio either. Just for a while.
[ Sighs ]
[ Brakes squeak ]
Book money?
Sure.
Just one.
Be back for pizza in 1 5.
Carl: It's just a bunch of crock.
They're trying to sell sodas. It's plain and simple.
Been watching these reports since morning.
I have seen 1 2 soda commercials so far --
1 2!
You have any books on extraterrestrials?
Now, don't tell me you believe this horse manure.
As a matter of fact, I think we have one.
Came by mistake in a shipment --
decided to keep it for the city people.
Last row, third book on the left, honey.
Man on radio: Why is no one saying the obvious?
These are just copycats.
Someone somewhere does the first one...
Woman: It was asthma medicine, right, Father?
For Morgan Hess.
And it's not "Father" anymore.
In less than an hour, a couple hundred people get the same brilliant idea,
and here we are, on the verge of mass hysteria.
Can I ask you a favor, Father?
I need to clear my conscience.
Will you listen to me?
Tracey...I am not a reverend anymore.
I haven't been for six months.
You know this.
[ Voice breaking ] All this stuff on TV --
two girls came in here talking about the end of the world --
I'm just a little scared. [ Sniffles ]
Please, I need to clear my conscience.
I've got it figured.
You do?
I've had two separate folks tell me
there have been strangers around these parts last couple nights.
Can't tell what they look like
'cause they're staying in the shadows -- covertlike.
Nobody's been hurt, mind you.
And that's the giveaway.
I see.
It's called "probing. "
It's a military procedure.
You send out a reconnaissance group --
very small -- to check things out.
Not to engage but to evaluate the situation --
evaluate the level of danger,
make sure things are all clear.
Clear for what?
For the rest of them.
Yeah?
You got a pamphlet or something I can read?
Sure.
Thanks.
You didn't used to play baseball, did ya?
Shit, I know you. You're Merrill Hess.
I was there the day you hit that 507-footer
over the left-field wall -- set the record.
Man, that thing had a motor on it.
It's still the record, right?
Got the bat at home o-on the wall.
You've got two minor-league home-run records, don't ya?
Five.
Why weren't you in the pros making stacks of cash
and getting your toes licked by beautiful women?
'Cause he has another record most people don't know about.
He has the minor-league strikeout record.
Hello, Lionel.
Merrill's a class-A screw-up.
He would just swing that bat as hard as he could every time.
Didn't matter what the coaches said,
didn't matter who was on base.
He would just whip that bat through the air as hard as he could.
Looked like a lumberjack chopping down a tree.
Merrill here has more strikeouts than any two players.
You really got the strikeout record?
Felt wrong not to swing.
It's contaminated.
Carl, there's something wrong with our water.
Your water's fine.
Bo has this thing about her drinking water.
She had it her whole life.
It's like a tick people have, except it's not a tick.
Is that right?
[ Pounds table ] Carl: 13!
# Don't give me that so-so-soda #
# That same old cola #
# I wanna pop #
-- # Pop, pop I wanna...Shasta # -- I'll take it.
Tracey: I cursed 37 times last week.
I said the "F" word a couple times, but mostly..."shits"
and..."bastards."
Is "douche bag" a curse?
I suppose that would depend on its usage.
How about, "John, you're a douche bag for kissing Barbara"?
It's a curse.
Then it's not 37. It's 71.
Pharmacy crowded?
I don't want any one of you
spending time with Tracey Abernathy alone.
Is that understood?
[ Breathes deeply ]
Is that him?
Yeah.
[ Car door closes, engine turns over ]
Who is he?
[ Tires squeal ]
[ lnsects chirping ]
[ Car approaches ]
[ Brakes squeak ]
[ Static ]
Merrill: What is it?
Graham: It's Bo's baby monitor.
I found it in the basement.
I'm gonna use it as a walkie-talkie.
[ Droning ]
What if it's catching a signal from them?
It's not.
But it wasn't working.
Morgan, this crop stuff is about a bunch of nerds
who never had a girlfriend in their lives.
They're, like, 30, and they work up little codes together,
and they analyze Greek mythology and make up secret societies
where other guys who never had girlfriends before can join in.
They do stupid crap like this to feel special.
It's a scam.
Nerds were doing it 25 years ago,
and new nerds are doing it again.
It's just static, Morgan, all right.
Turn it up. See.
[ Volume increases ]
[ Droning continues ]
It's a code.
Why can't they get girlfriends?
Can I see that, please?
[ Static, droning continue ]
It's noise.
It's broken, Morgan. It's just gonna keep doing this.
Maybe some new batteries...
We might lose the signal.
This is exactly what the nerds want.
I'm getting out now.
[ Droning continues, volume increases ]
Nobody move.
Voices. Did you hear that?
Not English, though.
You heard the voices, right, Uncle Merrill?
I heard them, Morgan.
[ Droning ]
Probably picking up another baby monitor.
That's right.
[ Pitch fluctuates ]
Let me see it.
[ High-pitched droning ]
Stop!
[ Warbling ]
[ Volume decreases ]
See, this is why we're not watching TV.
People get obsessed.
I'm letting go now.
Bo: No, Dad!
Morgan: Don't do it!
You'll lose the signal.
Don't let go.
It gets clearer the higher you hold it.
Merrill: I got it.
Bo, honey, I don't want you climbing on the car.
Come here.
[ Volume increases ]
[ Panting ]
[ Droning, trilling ]
Stop!
There's two of them talking.
[ Droning, trilling ]
[ Static ]
[ Sighs ]
[ Bell clanging ]
[ lsabel barks, whines ]
[ Barking continues ]
[ Barking ]
-- [ Snarls ] -- [ Gasps ]
[ Barking continues ]
[ Chain rattling ]
[ Whining ]
Isabel, you're gonna feel very silly
when this turns out to be all just make-believe.
[ Whining continues ]
[ Creaks ]
[ Barking continues ]
-- [ Trilling ] -- [ Gasps ]
[ Breathing heavily ]
[ Echoing ] You're wasting your time here!
I'm not gonna report this or anything you do to my crops
to the news or TV or anybody!
You're not going to get famous!
[ Trilling ]
[ Gasps ]
[ Breathing heavily ]
[ Corn stalks rustling ]
[ Trills ]
[ Gasps ]
[ Panting ]
[ Dishes clanking, water splashing ]
[ Giggling ]
[ Sighs deeply ]
Okay.
Let's turn on the TV.
[ Clicks, television humming ]
Man on TV: It first appeared 52 minutes ago.
Mexico City officials as well as U.S. officials
have confirmed that these are not aircraft
from either government's air force.
The first sighting was made by an Air Mexico 747
en route from Mazatlan to New York
as the unidentified crafts entered Mexico City air space.
They were not detected by radar by either country.
[ Siren wails on TV ] -- The nerds were right.
We have to tape this.
My ballet recital.
Listen, Bo, this is very important.
Everything people have written about in science books is going to change.
The history of the world's future is on the TV right now.
We need to record this so you can show your children this tape
and say you were there.
For your children, Bo.
My ballet recital.
Dad!
Find another tape.
[ Videotape clattering ]
[ Siren continues ]
Uncle Merrill, I'm using your tape.
Man on TV: You are seeing a live feed
from our affiliate down here in Mexico City.
This image has not been adjusted or enhanced in any way.
What you're seeing is real.
It's unbelievable.
-- [ Wheezing ] -- Everything they wrote in science books
is about to change.
I told you.
[ Air hisses ] -- [ lnhales deeply ]
Some people are probably thinking
this is the end of the world.
That's true.
Do you think it could be?
Yes.
How can you say that?
That wasn't the answer you wanted?
Couldn't you pretend to be like you used to be?
[ Exhales sharply ] Give me some comfort.
People break down into two groups
when they experience something lucky.
Group number one sees it as more than luck,
more than coincidence.
They see it as a sign --
evidence that there is someone up there
watching out for them.
Group number two sees it as just pure luck,
a happy turn of chance.
I'm sure the people in group number two
are looking at those 14 lights in a very suspicious way.
For them, the situation isn't 50-50.
Could be bad, could be good.
But deep down,
they feel that whatever happens,
they're on their own.
And that fills them with fear.
Yeah, there are those people.
But there's a whole lot of people in the group number one.
When they see those 14 lights,
they're looking at a miracle.
And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen,
there'll be someone there to help them.
And that fills them with hope.
See, what you have to ask yourself is, what kind of person are you?
Are you the kind who sees signs, sees miracles?
Or do you believe that people just get lucky?
Or look at the question this way --
is it possible that there are no coincidences?
I was at this party once.
I'm on the couch with Randa McKinney. [ Clicks tongue ]
[ Exhales sharply ] She was just sitting there
Iooking beautiful, staring at me.
I go to lean in and kiss her...
[ Laughing ] and I realize I have gum in my mouth.
So I turn, take out the gum,
stuff it in a paper cup next to the sofa,
and turn around.
Randa McKinney throws up all over herself.
[ Chuckles softly ]
I knew the second it happened it was a miracle.
I could have been kissing her when she threw up.
That would have scarred me for life.
I may never have recovered.
[ Laughs ]
I'm a miracle man.
Those lights are a miracle.
There you go.
So, which type are you?
Do you feel comforted?
Yeah, I do.
Then what does it matter?
I never told you the last words
that Colleen said before they let her die.
She said, "See."
Then her eyes glazed a bit.
And then she said, "Swing away. "
You know why she said that?
Because the nerve endings in her brain were firing as she died,
and some random memory of us at one of your baseball games just popped into her head.
There is no one watching out for us, Merrill.
We are all on our own.
[ Siren wails ]
[ Keys jingle, engine turns off ]
What do you know?
Well, there was an accident -- drunk driving, they weren't sure --
He wasn't drunk. Ray fell asleep at the wheel.
-- Is he okay? -- Yeah.
That was the first thing Colleen asked, too.
She's talking. What ambulance is she in?
She's not in an ambulance, Father.
[ Floorboards squeak ]
For the kids' protection.
All they were doing was watching TV from 5:00 a.m.
I felt like they were getting obsessed, like you said.
They should be playing furry, furry rabbit or tea party or something.
What's furry, furry rabbit?
It's a game, isn't it?
Anyways, they closed the schools.
And there's been some interesting developments.
What time is it?
1 1 :00 a.m.
They're gone, but they're not really gone.
We just can't see them.
Early this morning, a bird flew into the area
where the lights were hovering last night.
It stopped dead in the air and fell straight down.
They caught it on tape. They've been playing it all morning.
The footage looks like the bird flew into a wall in the sky.
They found the bird. His -- his head was crushed in.
They think they have some kind of invisible-shield thing going, l-like an optical illusion.
They're still there, hovering.
Some people think there's more of them now...
All over the place, over us, even.
There's a theory about the c-- the crop circles.
They could be some kind of --
some kind of landmark,
visual mapping system so they could navigate,
coordinate --
makes sense.
[ Wind chimes tinkling ]
Morgan: Want to hear a story?
Bo: Is it true?
So the aliens can't read our minds.
Oh.
Oh, of course.
They tell you everything in this book.
It says they're probably very small, like my height,
because as their brains develop,
there was no use for physical development.
It also says they're probably vegetarians
because they would have realized the benefits of such a diet.
Who wrote this book?
Scientists who have been persecuted for their beliefs.
That means they're unemployed.
If you're gonna make fun of it, then forget it.
This is serious.
I don't know what got into me.
There are pictures.
Dr. Bimbu, one of the authors of the book --
-- Bimbu? -- Dad.
I just asked his name.
You had a tone.
He said there are two reasons why extraterrestrials would visit us --
to make contact in the spirit of exploration
and furthering the knowledge of the universe,
or the other reason -- they're hostile.
They've used up all the resources on their planet,
and they're looking to harvest our planet next.
Here.
Looks a little like our house, doesn't it?
Same windows.
That's weird.
[ T elephone rings ]
-- [ Gasps ] -- [ Gasps ]
Yeah, oh, yeah.
That's enough from Dr. Bimbu for now.
Everybody in this house needs to calm down
and eat some fruit or something.