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An Image Ten Production
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Night of the Living Dead
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Screenplay by
John Russo
George Romero
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Production Director: Vincent Survinski
Production Manager: George Kosana
Photographed by The Latent Image, Inc.
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Sound Engineers: Gary R. Steiner
Marshall Booth
Special Effects: Regis Survinski
Tony Pantanello
Make-up: Hardman Assoc., Inc.
Props: Charles O'Dato
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Title Sequence: The Animators
Script Coordination: Jacqueline Streiner
Continuity: Betty Ellen Haughey
Hair Styles: Bruce Capristo
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Lighting Supervisor: Joseph Unitas
Laboratory: W. R. S. Motion Picture Lab
Produced through the facilities of:
The Latent Image, Inc.
and Hardman Associates, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA.
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CEM*TERY
E*CE
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Produced by
Russell W. Streiner
Karl Hardman
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Directed by
George A. Romero
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- They ought to make the day the time changes the first day of summer.
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- What?
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- Well, it's eight o'clock and it's still light.
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- A lot of good the extra daylight does us.
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Now we've still got a three-hour drive back.
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We're not gonna be home until after midnight.
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- Well, if it really bugged you Johnny, you wouldn't do it.
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- You think I wanna blow Sunday on a scene like this?
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You know, I figure we're either gonna have to move mother out here, -
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or move the grave into Pittsburgh.
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- Oh, she can't make a trip like this!
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- Oh, I don't know that she can't.
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Is there any of that candy left?
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- No.
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- Look at this thing: "We still remember."
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I don't. You know, I don't even remember what the man Iooks like.
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- Johnny, it takes you five minutes.
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- Yeah, 5 minutes to put the wreath on the grave, -
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and 6 hours to drive back and forth.
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Mother wants to remember, so we trot 200 miles into the country and -
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she stays at home.
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- Well we're here Johnny, all right?
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- Testing... back on? Oh.
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Uh, ladies and gentlemen...
- Hey...!
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- We're coming back on the air after -
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an interruption due to technical prob...
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- There's nothing wrong with the radio. Must've been the station.
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- Which row is it in?
-
- Well there's no one around.
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- Well, it's late. If you'd gotten up earlier...
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- Oh, look, I already lost an hour's sleep in the time change.
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- I think you complain just to hear yourself talk.
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There it is.
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- I wonder what happened to the one from last year.
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Each year we spend good money on these things.
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We come out here, and the one from last year is gone.
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- Well, the flowers die and...
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the caretaker or somebody takes them away.
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- Yeah, a little spit and polish, -
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you can clean this up, sell it next year.
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Wonder how many times we bought the same one?
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Hey, come on Barb, church was this morning, huh?
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Hey, I mean praying's for church, huh? Come on.
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- I haven't seen you in church lately.
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- Well, there's not much sense in my going to church.
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Do you remember one time when we were small, we were out here?
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It was from right over there, -
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I jumped out at you from behind the tree.
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And grandpa got all excited, and he shook his fist at me and he said, -
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"Boy, you'll be damned to hell."
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Remember that? Right over there.
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Well, you used to really be scared here.
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- Johnny.
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- Why, you're still afraid.
- Stop it now. I mean it.
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- They're coming to get you, Barbra.
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- Stop it. You're ignorant.
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- They're coming for you, Barbra.
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- Stop it. You're acting like a child.
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- They're coming for you.
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Look! There comes one of them now.
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- He'll hear you.
- Here he comes now.
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I'm getting out of here.
- Johnny!
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Oh! No!
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Johnny!
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Help me!
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- It's all right.
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Don't worry about him. I can handle him.
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Probably be a lot more of them as soon as they find out about us.
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Truck is outta gas.
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This pump out here is locked. Is there a key?
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We can try to get out of here if we can get some gas. Is there a key?
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I suppose you've tried this.
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Do you live here?
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Jesus...
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We've gotta get out of here.
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We have to get to where there are some other people.
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May... maybe we better take some food.
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I... I'll see if I can find some food.
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- What's happening?
- I'll be just a second.
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- What's happening?
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- Two of them.
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There are two of them out there. Have you seen any more around here?
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I can take care of those two.
- I don't know...
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- Look, I know you're afraid, but we have to...
- I don't know! I don't know!
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I don't know!
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What's happening?
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- They know we're in here now.
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Don't look at it.
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Get some more lights on in this house.
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Why don't you see if you can find some wood, some boards, -
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something there by the fireplace, something we can nail this place up?
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Well, goddamn...
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Look.
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I know you're afraid. I'm afraid too.
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But we have to try to board the house up together.
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Now, I'm gonna board up the windows and the doors. Do you understand?
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We'll be all right here.
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We'll be all right here till someone comes to rescue us.
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But we'll have to work together, you'll have to help me.
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Now I want you to go in and get some wood so -
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I can board the place up, do you understand?
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Okay?
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Okay?
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They're not that strong.
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Here, I want you to pick out some nails. Pick out the biggest ones you can find.
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There, this room looks pretty secure.
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If we have to, we can run in here and board up the doors.
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Won't be long before those things'll be back, pounding their way in here.
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They're afraid now.
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They're afraid of fire. I found that out.
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You know a place back down the road called Beekman's? Beekman's diner?
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Anyhow, that's where I found that truck I have out there.
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There's a radio in the truck.
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I had jumped in to listen to it, -
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when a big gasoline truck came screaming right across the road.
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Well, there must have been 10-15 of those things chasing after it.
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Grabbing and holding on.
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Now, I didn't see them at first.
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I could just see that the truck was moving in a funny way.
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And those things were catching up to it.
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Truck went right across the road.
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Slammed on my brakes to keep from hitting it myself.
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It went right through the guard rail.
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I guess... I guess the driver must have cut off the road, -
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into that gas station by Beekman's diner.
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It went right through the billboard.
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Ripped over a gas pump and never stopped moving.
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By now it's like a moving bonfire.
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Didn't know if the truck was going to explode or what.
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I can still hear the man, screaming.
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This thing is just backing away from it.
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I look back at the diner to see -
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if there was anyone there who could help me.
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That was when I noticed that -
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the entire place had been encircled.
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Wasn't a sign of life left, except...
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By now, there were no more screams.
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I realized that...
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I was alone.
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With 50 or 60 of those things.
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Just standing there, -
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staring at me.
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I started to drive. I...
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Just plowed right through them.
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They didn't move. They didn't run or...
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Just stood there, staring at me.
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Just wanted to crush them.
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They...
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Scattered through the air, like bugs.
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- We were riding in the cemetery.
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Johnny and me.
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Johnny.
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We... we came to put a wreath on my father's grave.
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Johnny and... and he said, -
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"Can I have some candy, Barbra?"
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And we didn't have any.
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And...
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Oh...
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It's hot in here!
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Hot...
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And he said, "Oh, it's late."
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"Why did we start so late?"
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And I said, "Johnny, -
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if you'd gotten up earlier,
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we wouldn't be late."
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Johnny asked me if I were afraid.
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And I said, "I'm not afraid, Johnny."
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And then this man started walking up the road.
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He came slowly, and Johnny kept teasing me and saying, -
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"He's coming to get you, Barbra."
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And I laughed at him, and said, "Johnny, stop it."
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And then Johnny ran away.
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And I... I went up to this man, -
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and I was going to apologize.
-
- Why don't you just keep calm?
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- And I looked up, -
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and I said, "Good eve..."
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And he grabbed me!
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He grabbed me! And he ripped at me!
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He held me and he ripped at my clothes!
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- I think you should just calm down.
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- Oh, I screamed, "Johnny! Johnny, help me! Oh, help me!"
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And he wouldn't let me go. He ripped at...
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And then Johnny came and he ran and he...
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He fought this man.
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And I got so afraid I ran.
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I ran... I ran...
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And Johnny didn't come.
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We've got to...
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We have to wait for Johnny.
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Maybe... we'd better go out and get him.
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We have to go out and get Johnny.
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He's out there.
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Please, don't you hear me? We've got to go out and get him.
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Please! We have got to go get Johnny!
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Please help me!
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Please!
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- Look, don't you know what's going on out there? This is no Sunday school picnic.
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- Don't you understand? My brother is alone.
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- Your brother is dead.
- No! My brother is not dead!
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- Because of the obvious threat to untold numbers of citizens,
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and because of the crisis which is even now developing, -
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this radio station will remain on the air, day and night.
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This station and hundreds of other radio and TV stations -
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throughout this part of the country are pooling their resources through -
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an emergency network hookup to keep you informed of all developments.
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At this hour, we repeat, these are the facts as we know them.
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There is an epidemic of mass murder -
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being committed by a virtual army of unidentified assassins.
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The murders are taking place in villages, cities, -
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rural homes and suburbs with no apparent pattern or reason for the slayings.
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It seems to be a sudden, general explosion of mass homicide.
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We have some descriptions of the assassins.
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Eyewitnesses say they are "ordinary looking people".
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Some say they appear to be in a kind of trance.
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Others describe them as being...
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So, at this point there is no really authentic way for us -
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to say who or what to look for and guard yourself against.
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Misshapen monsters.
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Reaction of law enforcement officials is -
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one of complete bewilderment at this hour.
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So far, we have been... unable to determine -
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that any kind of organized investigation is yet underway.
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Police, sheriffs' deputies and emergency ambulances -
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are literally deluged with calls for help.
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The scene can best be described as mayhem.
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Mayors of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Miami, -
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along with the governors of several eastern and midwestern states -
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have indicated the national guard may be mobilized at any moment, -
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but that has not happened as yet.
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The only advice our reporters have been able to get from official sources -
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is for private citizens to stay in their homes behind locked doors.
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Do not venture outside, for any reason, -
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until the nature of this crisis has been determined -
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and until we can advise what course of action to take.
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Keep listening to radio and TV -
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for any special instructions as this crisis develops further.
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Thousands of office and factory workers are being urged -
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to stay at their places of employment, -
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not to make any attempt to get to their homes.
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However, in spite of this urging and warning, -
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streets and highways are packed with frantic people -
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trying to reach their families, or apparently to flee just anywhere.
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To repeat, the safest course of action at this time, -
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is simply to stay where you...
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Ladies and gentlemen, we've just received word -
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that the president has called a meeting of his cabinet -
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to deal with the sudden epidemic of murder -
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which has seized the eastern third of this nation.
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The meeting is scheduled to convene within the hour.
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Members of the presidential cabinet will be joined -
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by officials of the FBI and the joint chiefs behind closed doors.
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A White House spokesman, in announcing this conference, -
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says there will be an official announcement -
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as soon as possible following that meeting.
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This is the latest dispatch just received in our newsroom.
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Latest word also from -
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national press services in Washington, D.C., now tells us -
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that the emergency presidential conference -
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which we've just mentioned -
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will include high-ranking scientists -
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from The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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All radio and TV stations across the eastern part of the country -
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including the one to which you are listening -
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have joined their facilities in an emergency network -
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to bring you this news as it develops.
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We urge you to stay tuned to radio and TV -
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and to stay indoors at all costs.
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Late reports reaching this newsroom -
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tell of frightened people seeking refuge -
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in churches, schools and government buildings, -
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demanding shelter and protection -
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from the wholesale murder which apparently -
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is engulfing much of the nation.
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Law enforcement officials are at a loss to explain or, -
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even at this hour, even to theorize -
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about the reasons for this wave of murder...
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Chief T. K. Dunmore of Camden, North Carolina, is quoted as saying, -
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quote, "Tell the people, for God's sake, to get off the streets."
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"Tell 'em to go home and lock their doors and windows up tight."
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"We don't know what kind of -
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murder-happy characters we have here." End quote.
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That's chief Dunmore of Camden, North Carolina.
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So far the only descriptions, the only clues -
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anyone has of the killers come from frightened witnesses.
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These eyewitness accounts variously describe -
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the murderers as "ordinary looking people," -
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"misshapen monsters," -
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"people who look like they're in a trance," -
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and "things that look like people but act like animals."
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Some eyewitnesses tell of seeing victims -
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who look as though they had been torn apart.
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This whole ghastly story began developing two days ago -
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with the report of the slaying of a family of seven -
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in their rural home near...
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Since then, reports of some senseless killings -
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began snowballing in a reign of terror -
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which has hopscotched in an incredible, -
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disconnected manner throughout -
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much of the eastern and midwestern United States.
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Efforts to keep track of the murder reports -
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by the placing of markers on a map -
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seem to indicate a general spreading -
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from the extreme southeastern United States to north and west.
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Our newsmen, who have been on the telephone -
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talking with officials of other cities -
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have determined that none of this kind of mass murder -
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has yet been reported west of the Mississippi river, -
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except in the extreme south... eastern portion of Texas.
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Similar killings have been reported -
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around the Houston and Galveston areas -
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but nothing like the...
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- I found a gun and some bullets out there.
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- It was only late yesterday...
- Oh, and these.
-
- ...came clear we were facing some kind of national emergency.
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When the first reports began filtering in, -
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newsmen and law enforcement agencies -
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were of the opinion...
- This place is boarded up pretty solid now.
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We ought to be all right here for a while.
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We have the gun and bullets, -
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food and the radio.
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Sooner or later, someone's bound to come and get us out.
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- So again, we join with law enforcement agencies -
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in urging you to seek shelter in a building.
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Lock the doors and windows securely.
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- Hey, that's us. We're doin' all right.
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- Be cautious of any suspicious strangers, -
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and keep tuned to your radio and television -
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for survival instructions -
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and further details of this continuing story.
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- Look, I don't know if you're hearing me.
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But I'm going upstairs now.
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If anything should try to break in here, I can hear it from up there.
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I'll be down to take care of it.
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Everything is all right for now.
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I'll be back to reinforce the windows and doors later.
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But you'll be all right for now, okay?
-
Okay?
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- Civil defense officials in Cumberland -
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have told newsmen that murder victims -
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show evidence of having been... partially devoured by their murderers.
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Consistent reports from witnesses to the effect that people -
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who acted as though they were in a kind of trance -
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were killing and eating their victims, -
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prompted authorities to examine the bodies of some of the victims.
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Medical authorities in Cumberland have concluded that in all cases -
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the killers are eating the flesh of the people they murder.
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Repeating this latest bulletin just received moments ago -
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from Cumberland, Maryland: -
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Civil defense authorities have told newsmen -
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that murder victims show evidence -
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of having been partially devoured by their murderers.
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Medical examination of victims' bodies shows conclusively that -
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the killers are eating the flesh of the people they kill.
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And so this... incredible story becomes... more ghastly with each report.
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It's... difficult to imagine such a thing actually happening -
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but these are the reports we have been receiving and passing on to you, -
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reports which have been verified as completely as is possible -
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in this confused situation.
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It IS happening. And it would appear that -
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no one is safe from this wave of mass murder.
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- Hold it! Don't shoot! We're from town.
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- A radio!
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- The Butler county sheriff has verified that reports -
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of murder victims being partially eaten by their slayers is true.
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No further details available at this time.
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- How long've you guys been down there? I could've used some help up here.
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- That's the cellar. It's the safest place.
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- You mean you didn't hear the racket we were making up here?
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- How were we supposed to know what was going on?
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Could've been those things for all we knew.
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- That girl was screaming.
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Surely you must know what a girl screaming sounds like.
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Those things don't make any noise.
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Anybody would know somebody up here needed help.
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- Look, it's kinda hard to hear what's going on from down there.
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- We thought we could hear screams, but -
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for all we knew, that could have meant -
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those things were in the house after her.
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- And you wouldn't come up and help?
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- Well, if there were more of us...
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- The racket sounded like the place was being ripped apart.
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How were we supposed to know what was going on?
-
- Now wait a minute.
-
You just got finished saying you couldn't hear it from down there.
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Now you say it sounded like the place was being ripped apart.
-
It would be nice if you'd get your story straight, man.
-
- All right, now you tell me.
-
I'm not gonna take that kind of a chance when we've got a safe place.
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We luck into a safe place, and you're telling us -
-
we've gotta risk our lives just because somebody might need help, huh?
-
- Yeah. Something like that.
- All right, why don't we settle this...
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- Look, mister!
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We came up, okay? We're here.
-
Now I suggest we all go back downstairs -
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before any of those things find out we're in here.
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- They can't get in here.
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- You got the whole place boarded up?
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- Yeah, most of it.
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All but a few spots upstairs. They won't be hard to fix.
-
- You are insane. The cellar is the safest place.
-
- I'm telling you, they can't get in here.
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- And I'm telling you, those things turned over our car.
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We were damned lucky to get away at all.
-
Now you tell me those... those things can't get through this lousy pile of wood?
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- His wife and kid's downstairs. The kid's hurt.
-
- Well, I still think we're better off up here.
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- We could strengthen everything up, Mr. Cooper.
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- With all of us working, we could fix this place up in no time.
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We have everything we need up here.
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- We can take all that stuff downstairs with us.
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Man, you're really crazy, you know that?
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You got a million windows up here.
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All these windows. You're gonna...
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You're gonna make 'em strong enough to keep these things out, huh?
-
- I told you, those things don't have any strength.
-
I smashed three of them and pushed another one out the door.
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- Did you hear me, what I told you? They turned over our car.
-
- Oh hell, any good five men can do that.
-
- That's my point...
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Only there's not going to be five, or even ten.
-
There's gonna be twenty, thirty, maybe a hundred of those things.
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And as soon as they know we're here, -
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this place is gonna be crawling with them.
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- Well, if there're that many, they'll probably get us wherever we are.
-
- Look. The cellar.
-
The cellar. There's only one door, right?
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Just one door. That's all we have to protect.
-
Tom and I fixed it so it locks and boards from the inside.
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But up here, all these windows...
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Why, we'd never know where they were gonna hit us next.
-
- You've got a point, Mr. Cooper.
-
But down in the cellar, there's no place to run to.
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I mean, if they did get in, there'd be no back exit. We'd be done for.
-
We can get out of here if we have to.
-
And we got windows to see what's going on outside.
-
But down there, with no windows, -
-
if a rescue party did come, we wouldn't even know it.
-
- But the cellar is the strongest place.
-
- The cellar is a death trap.
-
- I don't know, Mr. Cooper. I think he's right.
-
You know how many's out there?
-
- I don't know, I figure maybe six or seven.
-
- Look. You two can do whatever you like.
-
I'm going back down to the cellar and you better decide.
-
'Cause I'm gonna board up that door, -
-
and I'm not gonna unlock it again no matter what happens.
-
- Now wait a minute, Mr. Cooper.
-
- No, I'm not gonna wait! I've made my decision, now you make yours.
-
- Now wait a minute! Let's think about this!
-
We can make it to the cellar if we have to.
-
And if we do decide to stay down there, we'll need some things from up here.
-
So let's at least consider this awhile!
-
- If you box yourself in the cellar -
-
and those things get in the house, you've had it.
-
At least up here, you have a fighting chance.
-
- Yeah, it looks like 'bout eight or ten of them now.
-
- That's more than there were. There're a lot out back, too.
-
- Harry? Harry, what's happening?
-
- It's all right!
-
- Now take it.
-
We've gotta fix these boards.
-
- You're crazy!
-
Those things are gonna be at every window and door in this place!
-
We've got to get down into the cellar.
-
- Go down into your damn cellar and get out of here!
-
- I'm... I'm taking the girl with me.
- You leave her here.
-
Keep your hands off her, and everything else that's up here too.
-
Because if I stay up here, I'm fighting for everything up here, -
-
and the radio and the food is part of what I'm fighting for.
-
Now if you're going down in the cellar, get.
-
- The man's insane. He's insane.
-
We've... we've got to have food down there. We've got a right.
-
- This your house?
- We've got a right.
-
- You going down there with him?
-
- W... Well I...
-
- Yes or no? This is your last chance. No beatin' around the bush.
-
- Li... Listen, I got a kid down there.
-
She can't possib... I couldn't bring her up here.
-
She can't possibly take all the racket from those... -
-
those things smashing through the windows.
-
- Well, you're her father.
-
If you're stupid enough to go die in that trap, that's your business.
-
However, I am not stupid enough to follow you.
-
It is tough for the kid that her old man is so stupid.
-
Now, get the hell down in the cellar.
-
You can be the boss down there. I'm boss up here.
-
- You bastards!
-
You know, I won't open this door again. I mean it.
-
- Mr. Cooper, with your help we could...
- With my help.
-
- Let him go, man. His mind is made up. Just let him go.
-
- Wait a minute.
-
Judy? Come on up here, honey.
-
- You're gonna let them get her too, huh?
-
- It's all right, honey. Go ahead.
-
If we stick together, man, we can fix it up real good.
-
There's lots of places we can run to up here.
-
Mr. Cooper? We'd all be a lot better off -
-
if all three of us were working together.
-
- Hey.
-
Hey, kid.
-
He's wrong, you know.
-
I'm not boxing myself in down there.
-
- To repeat, this radio station will remain on the air day and night.
-
- Well, we're safe now. It's... boarded up tight.
-
- What about Tom and Judy?
-
- They wanna stay up there. Let 'em.
-
There are... two other people upstairs. A man and a girl.
-
- We heard the screaming.
-
- Yeah, but I didn't know who they were, -
-
and I wasn't about to take any unnecessary chances.
-
- Of course not, Harry.
-
- Is she all right?
- I don't know what it is.
-
She feels warm. Maybe it's shock.
-
- Where'd you get the bandage?
-
- Some laundry in a basket. I tore a sheet.
-
- Let them stay upstairs.
-
Let them.
-
Too many ways those monsters can get in up there.
-
We'll see who's right.
-
We'll see, when they come begging me to let them in down here.
-
- That's important, isn't it?
- What?
-
- To be right. Everybody else to be wrong.
-
- What do you mean by that?
-
- Does anyone up there know why we're being attacked?
-
- Whatever it is, it isn't just happening here.
-
It's some kind of mass murder. It's going on everywhere.
-
- The radio said to stay inside...
- A radio?
-
- Radio, upstairs. I heard the news bulletin.
-
- There's a radio upstairs and you boarded us in down here?
-
- I know what I'm doing.
- What did it say?
-
- Nothing! Nothing. They don't know anything yet.
-
That... there's mass murder everywhere, and -
-
people are supposed to look for a safe place to hide.
-
- Take the boards off that door.
-
- We are staying down here, Helen.
-
- Harry, that radio is at least some kind of communication.
-
If the authorities know what's happening, -
-
well, they'll send people for us, or they'll tell us what to do.
-
How are we going to know what's going on, -
-
if we lock ourselves in this dungeon?
-
We may not enjoy living together...
-
But dying together isn't going to solve anything.
-
Those people aren't our enemies.
-
- Mr. Cooper!
-
Mr. Cooper? They have found a television set upstairs.
-
- Let's go up. Tom!
-
- Yes?
-
- If Judy would come downstairs for a few minutes, -
-
Harry and I could come upstairs.
-
- Okay. Yeah. Right away.
-
Will you do it?
-
- Do I have to?
-
- Look, honey. Nothing's gonna get done with them down there and us up here.
-
Do this. For me.
-
- Okay.
-
- Okay, open up.
-
- I'll take good care of her, Helen.
-
- She's all I have.
-
- Why don't you go upstairs now?
-
- Her brother was killed.
-
- Hey... give me a hand with this thing!
-
- I gotta go help Ben with the television.
-
- Don't be afraid of me.
-
I'm Helen Cooper. Harry's wife.
-
- This place is ridiculous. Look at this.
-
There's a million weak spots up here.
-
Give me one of those.
-
- Her brother was killed.
-
- And they talk about these windows.
-
I can't see a damned thing.
-
There could be 15 million of those things out there.
-
That's how much good these windows are.
-
- Why don't you do something to help somebody?
-
- Here, I have it. Drag a couple of those chairs together.
-
- There's a socket over here.
-
- Now, you'd better watch this and try to understand what's going on.
-
I don't want anyone's life on my hands.
-
- Is there anything I can do to help?
-
- I don't wanna hear any more from you, mister.
-
If you stay up here, you take orders from me!
-
And that includes leaving the girl alone.
-
- It's on! It's on!
-
- There's no sound.
-
Play with the rabbit ears.
-
- ...reports, incredible as they seem, -
-
are not the results of mass hysteria.
-
- "Mass hysteria." What do they think, we're imagining all this?
-
- Shut up.
-
- ...in all parts of the country.
-
The wave of murder which is sweeping the eastern third of the nation -
-
is being committed by creatures -
-
who feast upon the flesh of their victims.
-
First eyewitness accounts of this grisly development -
-
came from people who were understandably frightened and almost incoherent.
-
Officials and newsmen at first discounted -
-
those eyewitness descriptions as being beyond belief.
-
However, the reports persisted.
-
Medical examinations of some of the victims -
-
bore out the fact that they had been partially devoured.
-
I think we have some late word just arriving -
-
and we interrupt to bring this to you.
-
This is the latest disclosure in a report -
-
from National civil defense headquarters in Washington.
-
It has been established that persons who have recently died -
-
have been returning to life and committing acts of murder.
-
A widespread investigation of reports -
-
from funeral homes, morgues and hospitals -
-
has concluded that the unburied dead are coming back to life -
-
and seeking human victims.
-
It's hard for us here to believe what we're reporting to you, -
-
but it does seem to be a fact.
-
When this emergency first began, -
-
radio and television was advising people to stay inside, -
-
behind locked doors, for safety.
-
Well, that situation has now changed.
-
We're able to report a definite course of action for you.
-
Civil defense machinery has been organized to provide -
-
rescue stations with food, shelter, -
-
medical treatment and protection by armed National Guardsmen.
-
Stay tuned to the broadcasting stations in your local area -
-
for this list of rescue stations.
-
This list will be repeated throughout our news coverage.
-
Look for the name of the rescue station nearest you, -
-
and make your way to that location as soon as possible.
-
- So we have that truck. If we can get some gas, we can get outta here.
-
- There's a pump out by the shed.
- I know. That's why I pulled in here -
-
but it's locked.
-
- ...called this afternoon by the president.
-
Since convening, this conference of the presidential cabinet, -
-
the FBI, the joint chiefs of staff, the CIA -
-
has not produced any public information.
-
Why are space experts being consulted -
-
about an earthbound emergency?
-
So far, all the betting on the answer to that question -
-
centers on the recent explorer satellite shot to Venus.
-
That satellite, you recall, started back to Earth, -
-
but never got here.
-
That's the space vehicle which orbited Venus -
-
and then pur... was purposely destroyed by NASA, -
-
when scientists discovered it was carrying -
-
a mysterious, high-level radiation with it.
-
Could that radiation be somehow responsible -
-
for the wholesale murders we're now suffering?
-
Newsman Don Quinn in Washington -
-
has posed those questions...
-
- It's obvious. Our best move is to try to get out of here.
-
- How are you gonna get over to that pump?
-
- Look!
-
- You're coming from a meeting regarding the explosion of the Venus probe, -
-
is that right?
-
- Uh, yes, yes, that was the subject of the meeting.
-
- Do you feel there is a connection between this and the phenomenon...
-
- There's a definite connection. A definite connection.
-
- In other words, you feel that the radiation on the Venus probe is enough -
-
to call thes... cause these mutations?
-
- There was a very high degree of radiation.
-
- Well, just a minute. Uh... I'm not sure that that's certain at all.
-
I don't think that has been...
- It's the only logical explanation -
-
that we have at this time.
-
- In other words, it is the military's viewpoint that this... -
-
the radiation is not the cause of the mutation?
-
- I can't speak for the entire military at this time, gentlemen.
-
I must disagree with these gentlemen presently, -
-
until we, until this is irrefutably proved.
-
- Everything is being done that can be done.
-
- We'll have to hurry for our next meeting.
-
- Professor, you feel that there is a definite connection between...?
-
- A definite connection as far as Dr. Keller and myself...
-
- Doctor, please, I... I thought we decided that is not proved yet.
-
- Was it... was the satellite...
-
When the satellite was exploded...
- It was an unusual amount of radiation, -
-
enough to cause mutation under certain circumstances.
-
- Could have happened to have a bearing on it.
-
- It does seem to have a bearing.
-
- Will there be a reply for the...?
- Later!
-
- There will be a reply?
- Yes.
-
- Later this afternoon?
-
- There will be, there'll be a report this afternoon?
-
- Perhaps there will be a report later...
-
- Will you close the window?
-
- We are doing everything possible to solve the problem.
-
- Hoping to get some further explanation on this...
-
- We've heard all we need to know. We have to try to get out of here.
-
- He said the rescue stations have doctors and medical supplies.
-
If we can get Karen there, we can get help for her.
-
- ...is one of the world's foremost authorities -
-
on space science and technologies...
-
- Willard. I saw a sign that said Willard.
-
- It's only about 17 miles from here.
-
- You know this area? You from around here?
-
- Judy and I are both from around here.
-
We were on our way up to the lake to go swimmin'.
-
And Judy had a radio, and we heard the first reports about this.
-
So we knew the old house was here and we came in, -
-
found the lady upstairs, dead.
-
Then these other people came.
-
We went down into the basement and -
-
put a bar across the door, and it is pretty strong.
-
- How could we possibly get away from here?
-
We've got a sick child, two women, -
-
one woman out of her head, -
-
three men, and the place is surrounded with these things.
-
- ...for NASA.
-
Dr. Grimes, your entire staff, I know, -
-
has been working very hard to find some solution -
-
to these things that are happening.
-
Do you have any answers at this time?
-
- Yes, we have some answers.
-
But first let me stress the importance -
-
of seeking medical attention for anyone who's been injured in any way.
-
We don't know yet what complications might result from such injuries.
-
- How bad has your kid been hurt?
-
- Uhm...
-
- Look. You go down there and tell... Wasn't it Judy?
-
Yeah, you tell Judy to come up here and you stay with the kid, all right?
-
- ...destructive action taken with regard to the Venus probe.
-
In the cold room at the university, we had a cadaver.
-
A cadaver from which all four limbs had been amputated.
-
Sometime early this morning, -
-
it opened its eyes and began to move its trunk.
-
It was dead, but it opened its eyes and tried to move.
-
- They want you upstairs. Did she ask for me?
-
- She hasn't said anything.
-
- I don't understand.
-
Baby? It's mommy.
-
- I hurt.
-
- I'll come back down as soon as I find out what they want.
-
- Thank you, Judy.
-
- The bodies should be disposed of at once, preferably by cremation.
-
- Well, how long after death, then, does the body become reactivated?
-
- It's only a matter of minutes.
- Minutes?
-
Well, that doesn't give people time to make any arr...
-
- No, you're right. It doesn't give them time to make funeral arrangements.
-
The bodies must be carried to the street and, and... and burned.
-
They must be burned immediately. Soak them with gasoline and burn them.
-
The bereaved will have to forgo the dubious comforts -
-
that a funeral service will give.
-
They're just dead flesh. And dangerous.
-
- Judy, I need you to find some bedspreads or sheets -
-
to tear up into small strips, okay?
-
- Is there a fruit cellar here?
- Yes.
-
- We need some bottles or jars -
-
to make Molotov cocktails to hold them off while we try to escape.
-
- Hey! There's a big can of kerosene down there.
-
- I'll see what I can find.
- I'll look for the bottles.
-
- There's a big key ring down there.
-
There may be a key to the gas pump on it.
-
- I'll check.
-
- We can toss the cocktails from a window upstairs.
-
Meantime, a couple of us can go out and try to get the gas, -
-
then we can come back for the rest of the people.
-
- But that'll leave a door open someplace.
-
- Yeah, that's right. It better be this door.
-
It's closer to the truck.
-
Before we go out, we'll put some supplies behind the cellar door.
-
While we're gone, the rest of you can hold up in there.
-
- I found some fruit jars in the cellar.
-
And there's a key on here that's labeled for the gas pump out back.
-
- I'm not really that used to the truck. I found it abandoned.
-
- I can handle the truck, no sweat.
-
- You're it, then. You and I'll go.
-
We'll put whatever lumber we find behind the cellar door.
-
You can go upstairs and toss the cocktails from a window.
-
Tom, you and I will have to unboard this door.
-
After you toss the cocktails, -
-
you hustle back down here and lock this door.
-
It's no good to board it up because we'll have to get back in quickly.
-
After we get the gas and get back into the house, -
-
then we'll worry about getting everybody into the truck.
-
Now, let's move it.
-
- ...no place to flee for safety, except for the rescue stations -
-
which have been set up.
-
Indications are that before this emergency is over, -
-
we will need many, many more such rescue stations.
-
- You always have a smile for me.
-
How can you smile like that all the time?
-
How many do you have done?
-
Come on, honey, we gotta move.
-
- Tom, are you sure about the phone?
-
- The phone is dead out. All you get is a recorded message.
-
- If I could only call the folks. They're going to be so worried about us.
-
- Everything'll be all right.
-
As soon as we get to Willard, we'll call them. They might even be there.
-
- I know.
-
- Tom...?
- Uh-hum?
-
- Are you sure we're doing the right thing, Tom?
-
- What, about getting outta here?
- Yeah.
-
- Well, the television said that's the right thing to do.
-
We've got to get to a rescue station.
-
- I don't know.
-
- Come on, honey. You're starting to sound like Mr. Cooper now.
-
- But why do you have to go out there?
-
- Look, I know how to handle that truck. And I can handle the pump.
-
Ben doesn't know anything about that stuff.
-
- But we're safe in here.
-
- For how long, honey? We're safe now.
-
But there's gonna be more and more of those things.
-
- I know. I know all that.
-
- Hey, listen.
-
Remember when we had the big flood?
-
Remember how difficult it was for us to convince you that it was right to leave?
-
Remember? Remember we had to go to Willard then?
-
Well, this isn't a passing thing, honey.
-
It... it's not like just a wind passing through.
-
We've got to do something, and fast.
-
- I just don't want you to go out there, that's all.
-
- Hey... smile, honey.
-
Where's that big smile for me?
-
Boy...
-
You sure are no use at all, are you?
-
We've got work to do, honey.
-
And you... you...
-
- We better get her downstairs.
-
- We have to go downstairs now, Barbra.
-
- She's right. You have to go downstairs now.
-
Just for a little while, until we get back.
-
Then we can all leave.
- Oh, I'd like to leave. Yes.
-
- Good luck.
- Yeah.
-
- You ready upstairs?
- Yeah.
-
- Okay, toss 'em!
-
- Go ahead! Go on!
-
- I'm going with him!
-
- Get back in the cellar!
- I'm going!
-
- It's too late. It's too late!
-
- Well, is she coming? Come on.
-
Get in!
-
Come on!
- This key won't work.
-
- Watch it.
-
Watch the torch!
-
- We've gotta get away from the pump!
-
Hang on!
-
- Stop! I'm telling you guys to get out of the truck!
-
- Come on, let's get out of here!
-
Come on, come on!
-
- My jacket's caught.
-
- Let me in!
-
I'm coming in!
-
Cooper! Cooper!
-
I ought to drag you out there and feed you to those things.
-
- Isn't it three o'clock yet?
-
There's supposed to be another broadcast at three o'clock.
-
- Ten minutes.
-
- Oh.
-
Only ten more minutes?
-
We don't have very long to wait.
-
We can leave.
-
Or we better leave soon.
-
It's ten minutes to three.
-
- You know anything about this area at all?
-
I mean, is Willard the nearest town?
-
- I don't know.
-
We were... -
-
just trying to get to a motel before dark.
-
- You said those things turned your car over.
-
You think we can get it back on its wheels and drive it? Where is it?
-
- Seems like it was pretty far away.
-
Seems like we ran.
-
- Forget it. It's at least a mile.
-
- Johnny has the keys.
-
- You gonna carry that child a mile?
-
Through that army of things out there?
-
- I can carry the kid.
-
What's wrong with her? How'd she get hurt?
-
- One of those things grabbed her.
- Bit her on the arm.
-
- What's wrong?
-
- Who knows what kind of disease those things carry?
-
Is she conscious?
- Barely.
-
- She can't walk. She's too weak.
-
- Well, one of us could try to get to the car.
-
- You gonna turn it over by yourself?
-
- You can't start the car. Johnny has the keys.
-
- You have a car? Where? Where is it?
-
- You won't be able to start it.
- Yeah. I know. But where is it?
-
- Good lord.
-
- ...being monitored closely by scientists and -
-
all the radiation detection stations.
-
- At this hour, they report the level of the mysterious radiation -
-
continues to increase steadily.
-
So long as this situation remains, -
-
government spokesmen warn that dead bodies -
-
will continue to be transformed into the flesh-eating ghouls.
-
All persons who die during this crisis, from whatever cause, -
-
will come back to life to seek human victims, -
-
unless their bodies are first disposed of by cremation.
-
Our news cameras have just returned -
-
from covering such a search and destroy operation against the ghouls.
-
This one conducted by sheriff Conan McClellan -
-
in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
-
So now let's go to that film report.
-
All law enforcement agencies and the military -
-
have been organized to search out and destroy the marauding ghouls.
-
The survival command center at the Pentagon -
-
has disclosed that a ghoul can be killed -
-
by a shot in the head or a heavy blow to the skull.
-
Officials are quoted as explaining -
-
that since the brain of a ghoul has been activated by the radiation, -
-
the plan is, kill the brain and you kill the ghoul.
-
- Want anything from the supply wagon, cous?
- No, we're all right.
-
Hey, Cass, put that thing all the way in the fire.
-
We don't want it getting up again.
- All right, I gotcha.
-
- Chief McClellan, how's everything going?
-
- Oh, things aren't going too bad. Men are taking it pretty good.
-
You want to get on the other side of the road over there.
-
- Chief, do you think we'll be able to defeat these things?
-
- Well, we killed 19 of them today, right in this area.
-
Those last three we caught trying to claw their way into an abandoned shed.
-
They must have thought somebody was in there. There wasn't, though.
-
We heard 'em making all kinda noise, -
-
and we came over and beat 'em off, blasted 'em down.
-
- Chief, as soon as you're finished, can I see you here?
-
- Yeah, okay.
-
- Chief, if I were surrounded by six or eight of these things, -
-
would I stand a chance with them?
-
- Well, there's no problem. If you had a gun, shoot 'em in the head.
-
That's a sure way to kill 'em.
-
If you don't, get yourself a club or a torch.
-
Beat 'em or burn 'em. They go up pretty easy.
-
- Well, chief McClellan, how long do you think it will take -
-
until you get the situation under control?
-
- Well, that's pretty hard to say. We don't know how many of 'em there are.
-
We know when we find 'em, we can kill 'em.
-
- Are they slow-moving, chief?
-
- Yeah, they're dead. They're all messed up.
-
- Well, in time, would you say you oughta be able to wrap this up in 24 hours?
-
- Well, we don't really know.
-
We know we'll be into it most of the night, probably into the early morning.
-
We're working our way toward Willard -
-
and we'll team up with the National Guard over there, -
-
and then we'll be able to give a more definite view.
-
- Thank you very much, chief McClellan.
-
This is Bill Cardille, WIC-TV 11 news.
-
- Thank you, Bill, for that report.
-
Official spokesmen declined to speculate -
-
just how long it may take to kill off all the flesh-eaters -
-
so long as the heavy ra...
-
- Is the fuse box in the cellar?
-
- I don't know. I...
-
It... isn't the fuse...
-
The power lines are down.
-
Helen, I have to get that gun.
-
- Haven't you had enough?
-
- Two people are dead already, on account of that guy.
-
Take a look out that window. Look at...
-
- Get over here, man!
-
Come on!
-
- Go ahead. Go ahead. You wanna stay up here now?
-
Helen, get in the cellar.
-
Get in the cellar now! Move!
-
- Karen?
-
Karen...
-
Oh, baby.
-
Baby.
-
- No!
-
No...
-
No!
-
No!
-
No, get out!
-
- No... No! Johnny! No...
-
Help me, help me...
-
Oh somebody help me...
-
- Hey, Vince, Bill, -
-
you wanna get about four or five men and a couple dogs, -
-
there is a house over here behind those trees, we wanna go check it out.
-
You still here, Bill?
-
- Yeah, chief, we're gonna to stay with it -
-
till we meet up with the National Guard.
-
- Where'd you get the coffee?
-
- One of the volunteers. You're doing all the work, you take it.
-
Thank you. We should be wrapped up here, -
-
'bout three or four more hours, -
-
and we'll probably get into Willard's end.
-
I guess you can go over there and meet the national guard.
-
Nick, you and the rest of these men wanna come with me?
-
- Well, Bill, I'm checking the office to see what's happening.
-
- All right, Steve, tell 'em we're gonna stay with it and...
-
Everything appears to be under control.
-
- They need you down there by the barn.
- Okay.
-
- You guys can follow the wagon down.
-
I only need a few men to check out the house.
-
Somebody had a cookout here, Vince.
- Yeah, sure looks like it, Con.
-
- He's a dead one. Get up here!
-
Nick! Tony! Steve!
-
You wanna get out in that field and build me a bonfire?
-
You. Drag that out of here and throw it on the fire.
-
- Nothing down here.
-
- All right. Go ahead down and give 'em a hand.
-
Let's go check out the house.
-
- There's something there. I heard a noise.
-
- A'right, Vince. Hit him in the head. Right between the eyes.
-
Good shot. Okay, he's dead. Let's go get him.
-
That's another one for the fire.
-
- A'right, send a wagon through...
-
Ben: Duane Jones
Barbra: Judith O'Dea
-
Harry: Karl Hardman
Helen: Marilyn Eastman
-
- Keep those dogs back off of those things.
-
Tom: Keith Wayne
Judy: Judith Riley
-
with Kyra Schow, Charles Craig, Bill Heinzman, George Kosana, Frank Doak
-
and Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille, A. C. McDonald, Samuel R. Solito, Mark Ricci
-
Lee Hartman, Jack Givens, R. J. Ricci, Paula Richards, John Simpson
-
Herbert Summer, Richard Ricci, William Burchinal, Ross Harris, Al Croft
-
Jason Richards, Dave James, Sharon Carroll, William Mogush, Steve Hutsko
-
Joann Michaels, Phillip Smith, Ella Mae Smith, Randy Burr
-
- Come ahead with the motorcycle, please. Let's go!
-
Special thanks to WIIC-TV, Pittsburgh
KQV-Radio, Pittsburgh and the
Pittsburgh Police Department
-
- Hey Randy, light these torches over here.
-
The End