DR. WHATLEY: Carter? Do you remember how we begin?
100 backwards by 7.
100, 93...
...86...
...79...
...72...
...66 --
66...
[ Exhales sharply ]
Wait, what was the question?
Carter, can you tell me how you're feeling?
I'm fine.
My professional assessment? He looks like shit.
Yeah, I don't like it. But his vitals are normal.
He's exceeding our projected variances.
No, something's not right. Look at that guy.
He looks all kinds of fucked up.
DR. WHATLEY: Do you know where you are?
Yes.
Do you know my name?
Carter.
My name is Carter.
Carter, have you fallen asleep yet?
The sooner you answer, the sooner we can finish.
No.
I haven't.
Okay.
Take off your jacket, please.
We'll wrap this up.
All right.
Off you go.
Whoa, whoa. What was that?
He just yawned.
FRANCINE: No, he took something.
-Like a pill or something. -What, seriously?
Can you rewind it?
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Mm!
Hey.
Hey, man. Hey. Right here.
Hey. My headphones. Where are they?
Or just fucking ignore me. Fine, dude.
Look, you were the last to have them, and I need them back.
[ Speaking indistinctly ]
[ Soft growling]
Hey, are you okay?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Carter, what are you...?
[ Panting ]
[ Pills rattling ]
[ Growling, snarling]
-[ Thud ] -Aaah!
Aah!
You know what? I'll just go ask him.
No, no. What if he lies?
I don't know. We can't search the guy.
I swear to Christ, if he fucked this up...
HOLLY: Okay, it's probably just an aspirin.
Irrelevant. Everything has to be cleared.
It's Carter! There's something wrong!
CARTER: [ Screaming ]
Carter. Having a little meltdown?
I get it, buddy. It's one of those days.
Open up. We'll talk about it, okay?
DR. WHATLEY: Carter? Carter, can you hear me?
I need you to unlock this door, please.
-[ Door thudding ] -Get the keys.
-[ Screaming ] -Get the keys.
Aah! [ Gasping ]
Carter. It's okay, man. Open the door.
Where are the bloody keys?!
[ Keys jingling ]
[ Door unlocks ]
-[ Woman screams ] -Oh, fuck me!
[ Mid-tempo electronic music plays ]
Head contusions, multiple lacerations,
including a fatal wound to the jugular vein,
and he gouged out his own eyes
with a piece of a coffee mug.
Mr. Slater, can you tell me a bit
about Mr. Carter's behavior these last few weeks?
Erratic.
Typical systems of prolonged sleeplessness.
Yes. But can you elaborate on that?
His behavior is...
It's well documented.
There were no red flags, absolutely no indication
he was a danger to himself.
Go on.
Limited visual and auditory hallucinations,
irritability, general confusion,
uh, degradation of hand-to-eye coordination.
A high concentration of adenosine in his blood work.
Yes, Francine, we have all of that in our notes.
But how was he behaving?
Uh...
[ Chuckles nervously ]
Did he mention suicide at any point, Mr. Gillman?
Any recurring darker thoughts?
He was an undergrad
at a high-pressure psychology program.
Of course he talked about suicide.
So he mentioned suicide?
Well, fuck if I know. I never talked to him.
I have my own shit to worry about.
Is there anything else that you can tell us?
He signed the release form.
We never said it would be easy, Your Honor.
This isn't a courtroom, Mr. Gillman.
Then why do I feel like I'm on trial?
He was a sweet kid.
I-I tried to talk to him.
I tried to talk to all of them,
but, you know, there's -- there's only so much time.
I-I tried to make sure
that everyone was taken care of and safe
and happy and all that, but --
But you personally didn't have any indication
that this was gonna happen?
No, not at all.
Anything like that,
we're obligated to document it immediately.
Look, I'm really sorry he's dead.
But I don't know if there's much more I can add, really.
Let me get this straight, Dr. Whatley.
You're -- You're treating sleep like an illness?
Without bothering you with the science,
the military has been developing wakefulness drugs
beyond your normal amphetamines for decades now.
Our solution --
Your drug, this, uh, "Cognifin"?
Cogniphan.
Rather than addressing the symptoms,
acts directly on the cerebral cortex and reticular formation.
I'm sorry, you're what?
We're trying to cure sleep.
And how did Carter's physiology
reflect his reaction to your drug?
It didn't.
Come again?
Carter never reacted to the Cogniphan.
He was the control.
He never took the drug.
How's your mum?
Questions about my mom? Really?
Thanks, Freud.
Idiopathic hypersomnia.
Of course, it's not like anything they've ever seen.
That's the diagnosis they pulled out of their ass today.
I'm sorry.
So...
I heard you told the board Carter was the control.
I did.
All right.
Look, I'm fine with that, you know?
I'm just putting that out there.
Lying to the board, I'm totally okay --
You know they wouldn't have understood.
Hey, I'm agreeing with you, Ella.
They were looking to throw me to the wolves.
If they could pin his death on the Cogniphan,
then that's all they would need.
Sure, but you don't think it was the Cogniphan?
No.
It was whatever else he was taking with the Cogniphan.
I watched the tapes. He was tak--
-Trazodone. -What?
I searched his room before EMS and the police arrived.
He had a prescription for it.
Lied about his on his application to the study.
Oh, Jesus.
How long till the board gets back to you?
I don't know.
Could be tomorrow,
could be before the fall semester begins.
So it's just indefinite?
That's the exact phrase. "Indefinite suspension."
Great.
You didn't tell them about us, did you?
What? No.
Thank you.
You don't have to thank me.
I like you.
So, what now?
Now I have two weeks
to clean out my office, and that's it.
You have two weeks.
Until June 14th.
And the building will be completely empty then, won't it?
Yeah. Why?
Okay, call the team, everyone.
Tell them to meet in the classroom tomorrow morning.
Thank you.
What are you seeing?
What are you looking at?
[ Shutter clicks ]
[ Telephone rings ]
Hello?
Look, I-I know. I know you wanted to get rich.
You know, so did I. Yay, money.
But don't they see that we could really help people?
I mean, we could really do some good.
I don't want to be mean, but aren't they just --
Old fuckers with sticks up their asses?
Yes, they are.
Well, I was gonna say shortsighted,
but that works too.
I guess I could teach.
Getting my certification wouldn't be too hard.
Throwing myself off a cliff wouldn't be too hard either.
Yeah. No shit.
Fuck that. Teaching? Hell no! Publish or perish!
Look, if -- if we don't finish this thing,
I go back to working at RadioShack.
And fuck that.
My student loans are maxed.
I'm tapped.
It's not like I can just start a new dissertation.
I mean, I have a bachelor's in psychology.
What am I supposed to do with that?
What if they bring us up on criminal charges?
Oh, yeah.
Jail? Is that where we're at?
Oh, God. We are so fucked.
-No one's going to jail. -Oh!
Okay, good, good, good!
'Cause if that's a possibility, then I'm...
-I'm -- I'm going to Mexico. -HOLLY: I could do Mexico.
I could go to a beach, margaritas, all that.
Yeah.
Okay. Um, I'll go pack a bag.
We can leave in like 20 minutes if you want to.
JOE: No one's going to jail. We're gonna fix this.
We're close.
We're too close to just abandon this.
School just let out for the summer.
Everyone's gone home, even the janitors for two weeks.
We have the research, we're all here.
And we have the key to the lab.
Oh.
Oh, wow.
A clandestine experiment?
Okay, but then what?
Well, we don't even know if it was working properly, right?
Look at the numbers.
At 96 hours without sleep,
we start to see upticks in brain wave activity,
both in cognitive tests and in vitals,
all of it statistically significant.
Based on these projections, and this is just an estimate,
we will hit the lucidity point in 8.3 days --
that's roughly 200 hours --
once the Cogniphan's administered.
That's the threshold we need to hit.
That's when we break through.
And the need for sleep is just gone.
I'm sorry, but shouldn't we go back
to testing in the second phase?
I mean, I really don't want to shoot up those monkeys,
but after what happened to Carter...
DR. WHATLEY: You saw the research.
The results from the simian studies were sound.
-I hate to be callous, but -- -Sure you do.
I hate to be callous, but Carter was manically depressed
and had you have vetted him properly, we would've seen that.
Guys, guys, guys, guys.
We're right there.
This is going to work.
[ Sighs ] I don't know, you guys.
I -- I think we should get another opinion.
All right.
We could take this and get some grants, go private.
But I don't think any of you want to hand this over
to a corporation, am I right?
I mean, we worked too hard on this.
There's no reason to wait for a big pharmaceutical
to discover this.
Maybe we could wait and see what the board says,
if they'll let us continue,
but I think we all know that isn't going to happen.
This isn't about finishing our degrees, guys.
And, Ella, I'm sorry, but this isn't even about your job.
This is bigger.
I mean, guys, we joked about this, right?
About changing the world!
That is exactly what this is.
A world without sleep, right? Just think about it.
It wouldn't just increase workforce productivity
and make for a better soldier.
It would give our best and brightest
a third of their lives back.
Time spent developing new fuels or curing disease,
eliminating poverty.
Guys, if we're right -- and I think that we are --
we could change the course of human history.
Okay, no.
No, no.
There -- There's no way we can get undergrad volunteers now.
You're right. That's why we're the subjects.
Ella -- Dr. Whatley -- will monitor.
Because one success is all we need.
Shit, guys, are you serious?
I mean, you saw that kid, right?
You saw his -- his face?
Yeah, okay, I'd rather not claw my own eyes out.
Pass.
Look, Carter was on trazodone, 250 milligrams per day.
That's a big dose.
He's right.
In the rhesus monkey trials,
there were zero instances of self-harm or dangerous behavior.
Guys, you've seen the research.
You've got it.
You know it works.
Okay.
I'm in.
[ Chuckles ]
Me too.
Ohhh. Shit.
All right. Okay. I'm in.
But wait, um, we need a control, right?
Okay, I don't mean to sound like a pussy, but that's me.
I'm the control.
Yeah, man, cool.
Are you sure about this?
Yes.
But we need to start right away.
JOE: Yeah.
And it's not gonna be easy.
200 hours without sleep. We all know that.
We have to be in.
All the way in.
That's what she said.
[ People chuckling ]
[ Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" plays ]
FRANCINE: Camera. Check.
-EEG. -DALE: Yep.
-FRANCINE: BP. -Check.
[ Drawer opens ]
And is our control ready?
What's in that?
You know how we've had some trouble with the control
staying involved and awake, right?
-Yeah. -Well, this is the answer.
It's an assortment of vitamins, glucose,
and a dash of concentrated caffeine.
It's all natural and should help you keep pace
whenever you're feeling tired.
-Everyone ready? -Yeah.
Here we go.
♪ This heat has got right out of hand ♪
♪ It's a cruel, cruel, cruel summer ♪
♪ Leaving me here on my own
So I just have to sit here?
You know how this works. You've got 45 more minutes.
This will provide us real-time measurements of all your vitals.
Great.
Wait. Why do we have a defibrillator?
Can I play with it?
I'd rather you not.
Now, you --
Chimpanzee games.
Yes. Can you do better than a monkey?
An -- An ape.
Of the genus Pan. Pan troglodyte.
You really need to work on your taxonomy.
Sorry, I'm nervous.
When I say go.
Go.
♪ Cruel, cruel summer
So far I've just started to see smoke.
You know, it's common. I get that.
♪ Cruel, cruel summer
Everything's so loud.
It's like I'm...
...wading through wet cement.
100, 93,
86, 82...
That's -- That's not right, is it?
Like the volume's turned all the way up.
Doors closing sound like gunshots.
[ Inhales slowly ]
I forgot what I was saying.
Hey...
All right, give me the fucking shot.
Give me the shot.
Okay!
There's the party, right there!
Okay. [ Sniffs ]
Ow. [ Chuckles ]
We're over 50 hours in, and I'm on my third dose of Cogniphan.
I'm feeling the effects of going without sleep,
but the edge is taken off.
In between the -- the shaking and the general unsteadiness,
I'm experiencing...
...moments of clarity.
That's it.
That's the drug.
There's an immediate effect once the Cogniphan's administered.
But it also builds up over time...
...based on metabolism and -- and diet
and that sort of thing.
If my projections are correct,
these moments of clarity will continue up until 200 hours.
Then the shaking, the hallucinations,
the paranoia will all go away,
cognitive functions will be fully restored,
and we change the fucking world.
The lucidity point.
You okay?
Uh, oh, yeah.
Uh, yeah, I'm fine.
Just sore.
Old cheerleading injury.
You were a cheerleader? [ Chuckles ]
-Yeah. -[ Chuckles ]
-Don't laugh. -I'm not.
Yes, you are.
Well, it's just,
you know, you don't really look like a cheerleader.
Like, in a good way. It's a good thing.
Thanks.
Not to brag, but, um,
while the jocks were out there butting heads
and, you know, jerking each other off,
I learned how to give one hell of a back rub.
-On who? -Just mostly my mom.
-Um... -Do you want to touch me?
[ Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" plays ]
Okay.
♪ Dark in the city, night is a wire ♪
♪ Steam in the subway, earth is afire ♪
♪ Do do do do do do do do-do do-do-do do-do ♪
It's not too late for Mexico, you know?
Slow down there, gringo.
Still have a few more days to go.
Oh, I know.
No, I'm just throwing it out there.
Like, underhanded.
Nice and slow.
Hoping you might want to, uh, take a swing.
♪ I'm on the hunt, I'm after you ♪
♪ Smell like I sound, I'm lost in a crowd ♪
[ Laughter echoing]
Do you hear that?
Hear what?
YOUNG WOMAN: Holly, you're such a fricking weirdo!
I mean, look at you! You're so gross!
Are you okay?
Pathetic!
[ Laughs]
You are such a loser!
[ Laughter continues]
[ High-pitched tone]
[ Growling]
You okay?
You're really starting to freak me out.
[ Knock on door ]
Frannie? You wanted to see me?
-Yeah. -What's going on?
Tell me what you see.
I don't know, it's Carter and that one kid
what's-his-name, uh, Aaron.
Look closer. Right here.
I don't know. What is it?
Just describe it to me.
I need to know that we're seeing the same thing.
It looks like a...
Kind of looks like a visual artifact.
But something. Right there.
I guess. I mean, I could kind of see something, maybe.
Here. What about here?
The same, Frannie. It's just a blur. It's nothing.
What are you getting at?
Here it is blown up.
Okay, so?
So it's everywhere. It's all around.
17 different instances.
Frannie, it's just a blur, okay?
I mean, please don't tell me you think it's a ghost.
But you see it too.
After you told me to look for it.
It's like hearing "Paul is dead."
You're seeing patterns where there are none.
No, you described it before I planted the suggestion.
Look, Frannie, maybe the lab screwed these up, okay?
Those cameras are outdated.
Those tapes have been recorded over dozens of times.
You're getting worked up over seeing Jesus in a tortilla.
You don't want this in your head,
but I have to show you.
JOE: [ Exhales sharply ]
Whoa, whoa. What the fuck is that, Frannie?
Joe, it wasn't there the other day
when I watched it the first time.
That's -- That's not possible. What, are you fucking with me?
No, no. You know I'm not.
It's like it's coming into focus.
No. No, Frannie, this is...
This isn't a thing. It can't be.
There is no thing there.
Then what is it?
What's the common denominator?
-The Cogniphan. -The Cogniphan.
But there's nothing in the formula
that would kick-start hallucinations.
Maybe it's just insomnia.
Better than the alternative.
-Which is what? -That this is real.
[ Suspenseful music playing]
Mm. Uh-oh.
Mm-hmm.
-[ Screaming] -[ Shrieking]
[ Slashing]
There it is.
Hmm.
Too bad.
No, don't stab her in the boob.
No.
[ Shrieking]
Ba-caw! Ba-caw!
[ Shrieking]
WOMAN: [ Whispering ] Joseph.
Joseph.
[ Growling]
[ Shrieks]
Jesus.
[ Breathing heavily ]
Are you seeing it too?
What's all this about?
JOE: We all agree we've been seeing things, right?
-FRANCINE: Yeah. -Uh, sure.
JOE: Okay.
Well, draw it.
-Draw what? -You know what.
[ Mid-tempo electronic music plays ]
Don't show anyone, don't talk about it, just draw it.
Then fold it over. I don't want to see it.
Okay. Show us what you've got.
All right, look, I don't want to be an ass here,
really, but, um, this doesn't prove anything.
We are not blind participants.
Look, we have been living with each other.
Look, it's the best we can do.
All right. I'm not going first.
The day my dog died, there was a thunderstorm.
And he got scared and ran.
And he got hit by a truck.
When it's quiet...
...I can hear him screaming.
It was the worst day of my life.
Oh, no. Joe, your mom.
Are you seeing something like this?
-Kind of. -Kind of?
What's different? Show me.
Oh. Flip it.
Is that a...
Dick with arms, drinking a martini.
Yeah.
Really? Goddamn it, Dale!
Why is he drinking a martini?
Well, he had a really tough day at the office, and, uh...
Seriously? You haven't seen anything like this?
No.
-Sweetheart -- -Let her finish.
Ella, with the monkey trials, did you see anything like this?
They didn't draw any monkey pricks, if that's what you mean.
When you were working with them, administering the Cogniphan,
did anything like this happen?
The rhesus monkeys were fine.
They were agitated for a while,
but nothing you wouldn't expect out of sleep deprivation.
Are we in danger?
I'm finished.
She doesn't see it.
I've shown Ella all the footage, Frannie's photos, everything.
She just doesn't see it.
I still don't even know if Ihave.
I've heard it.
I think I understand what it's trying to say,
because when it speaks,
it's, like, inside my brain.
It's, like, there sometimes,
um, moving things around inside my head.
Makes it hard to think.
It's like it's looking for something.
I think it wants me to sleep.
I'd like that.
To sleep.
And to not see it anymore.
I know it's there.
See, it's just infrasound, man.
When the human ear picks up frequencies
between 7 and 19 kilohertz,
it's theorized that it can cause hallucinations.
So maybe there was a stray sound in the air
or the rattling of an air conditioner vent
or the imperceptible hum of machinery.
But, uh...
...it makes us feel like we're being haunted or some shit.
It's just bad vibes.
FRANCINE: It's watching us.
I can feel it.
I keep telling myself, it's like --
it's like when you think about spiders all over your body,
and then all of a sudden you start itching, but I'm...
Um...
[ Paper rustling ]
See?
Here. See? See? Right there.
It keeps getting clearer.
Every day that we're awake, it keeps getting clearer,
and it keeps getting closer.
You probably can't even see it.
I don't even know why I'm showing it to you.
[ Yawning ]
All right, buddy, you've got about 30 minutes.
I'm gonna get some fresh air, okay?
[ The Pet Shop Boys' "Two Divided by Zero" plays ]
♪ Divided by zero, zero, two
♪ Divided by zero, zero, zero
♪ Let's not go home
♪ We'll catch the late train
♪ I've got enough money to pay all the way ♪
♪ When the postman calls, he'll deliver the letter ♪
♪ I've explained everything
♪ It's better that way
♪ Divided by, divided by
♪ I think they heard a rumor
♪ Divided by, divided by
♪ Or someone tipped them off
♪ Divided by, divided by
♪ It's better to go sooner
♪ Divided by, divided by
♪ Than call it all off
♪ We'll catch a plane to New York ♪
♪ And a cab going down
♪ Cross the bridges and tunnels♪
♪ Straight into town♪
♪ Tomorrow morning...♪
[ Whooshing]
WOMAN: [ Whispering ] Joseph!
[ Door slams ]
[ Gasps ]
[ Grunts ]
[ Groaning softly ]
Eye of the tiger.
[ Chuckles ]
[ Growling]
[ Whooshes]
Ella!
[ Growls]
[ Banging on door ]
Ella! Ella!
Ella!
[ Banging continues ]
Ella!
Fuck.
DR. WHATLEY: Joe?
Joe?!
Joe? What in heavens are you doing?
Joe, you're upsetting me.
There's got to be something in here.
A hammer, a tire iron. Something.
DR. WHATLEY: Explain it to me.
-Please. -You saw our drawings, right?
Yes.
Then you understand that I might want something.
A tire iron, a golf club, or something
so I'm not completely fucking naked
when that thing comes back.
What thing?
Joe, I need you to pause for a moment
and realize how erratic you're behaving right now.
No. No weapons.
No weapons? No weapons? Fuck you, Ella!
I'm not gonna be completely unarmed
when that thing comes back!
-I am not! -There is no thing, Joe.
And there's no boogeyman.
And you're in no condition
to be handling firearms or knives or --
or even casual conversation, for Pete's sake!
You're right.
Why don't we just smile at the thing
and ask it to sit down and talk?
I can craft some effective weapons
out of things we'd find around the kitchen.
No!
I can turn the defibrillator
into a stun gun.
Or I can put together a potato gun.
Absolutely not, Dale.
Joe, you're getting everyone worked up.
What did the monkeys do?
What monkeys?
"What monkeys"?
The rhesus monkeys. The fucking primate trials.
You saw the results.
Are we really getting into this again?
Okay. Please, please don't judge me.
But I can't do this anymore.
It's just not worth it.
And you guys can keep going. I really hope you do.
And I promise I won't tell the university or anything,
but I need to go home.
It's okay, Frannie.
It's okay.
DALE: No way.
What?
No.
No, fuck no!
Dale. Calm down.
No, you calm the fuck down!
She can't leave!
If she leaves, we are done.
It's over.
It's not like we can just rewind this thing.
This is it, man!
It's not over.
It won't be sound.
But the proof is, at 200 hours, we'll get there --
the lucidity point, the top of the fucking mountain.
They can't argue with that,
no matter how sloppy our method is.
This is our only research.
The only option is forward.
With or without Frannie.
You are not leaving, Frannie.
You are not!
I didn't even want to do this shit.
But you fuckers, you talked me into it!
I'm sorry, Dale.
Oh, fuck your apology, Frannie!
Come on!
[ Crying ] Come on.
We can do this. You know we can fucking do this.
Goddamn it.
If I leave right now, I can still catch the bus.
DALE: [ Sniffles ]
You want to keep going?
I want to keep going.
We're gonna keep going.
The end results might be flawed, but we're gonna finish this.
Imperfect results are better than fucking nothing!
How do I look?
It's weird.
Weird how?
I don't know. I can't really interpret it.
It's just not the brain activity of a normal, alert person.
It's more like the brain activity of a...
I don't know, someone who's dreaming.
Hmm. I don't know.
I mean, maybe I could try some electroconvulsive therapy
to get you right, you know?
I'll happily administer it.
Shock therapy?
Thanks, man, I'm good.
So, Whatley...
Bet you're doing her.
Are you doing her?
I bet she's a dom. Is she a dom?
You're awfully perky for a fucking asshole, you know that?
What the fuck is this?
It's the vitamins Whatley gave me.
I know they just gave me one. I needed a little bit more.
Man, I'm tired.
No, Dale. The control serum was in the second drawer.
This is the first drawer. It's the Cogniphan!
-Shit. -Fuck, man!
God, first we lose Frannie, now we've got no control?
Fucking done. We're done!
No. No, we can't stop now. I need to keep going.
Goddamn it! We need to know if there's a lucidity point.
This is our only shot.
Hey, man, you got to keep this between us, okay?
Yeah, okay, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.
-I didn't even know that... -[ Soft growling]
Joe, what's that? Is that...?
That's someone fucking with us, right?
-Right? -Shut up. Shut up.
Joe?
It's trying to communicate.
No. No.
No, it's looking for us.
It knows we're here.
JOE: Yeah, but can't see us.
Get the camera.
-What? -Get the camera.
DALE: [ Gasps ] Where is it?
I don't know.
Where is it? I just saw...
JOE: I can't see it.
Where is it?
Where is it?! I just saw it!
HOLLY: [ Screaming ]
Come on!
Holly?
[ Crying softly ]
Come on, Holly.
Just relax, okay?
It touched me.
It was so cold.
Okay.
S-Show me.
-DALE: Holly... -Go get Whatley.
[ Screaming ]
I just want to sleep.
I just want to sleep, I want to sleep, I want to sleep.
I want to sleep, I want to sleep.
I've just given you a sedative.
You're gonna be all right.
Okay?
Good girl.
-Are you sure? -I'm sure.
And I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask me that again.
I'm sorry.
It's just quite a lot for me to process.
What was it doing?
I think it was looking for us.
[ Sighs ] Joe.
This sort of group hysteria is not uncommon,
especially in situations of extreme stress.
Hysteria didn't attack Holly.
Hysteria didn't put that mark on her arm.
The tissue looked dead, Ella,
like it just sucked the life out of her.
In extraordinary conditions,
like the one you're experiencing now,
you know that the mind can conjure up
physiological changes that are inexplicable.
No. No, Ella.
I -- I don't know what I saw.
But I know I saw something.
She's not asleep yet.
How much did you give her?
DR. WHATLEY: Enough.
She should be sleeping like the dead right now.
[ Dog whines in distance]
[ Whining continues]
[ Growling]
I'm tired, but I'm not.
That's not terribly scientific, I know,
but it's important that I document
the effects of the Cogniphan since I'm the only one left.
I want to go to sleep,
but I don't know if that's just out of habit.
Everything checks out. I'm healthy.
200 hours really isn't all that long.
By the time I get there, I should be fully awake,
like I've had a full night's rest.
I think it's working.
Yeah, yeah, I fucked up.
But Joe and I figured
we might as well monitor what's happening with me.
Could be something useful.
Hey, the greatest discoveries happen by accident.
Right?
[ Clattering ]
That thing...
...it circles us.
It's like a shark, and it knows there's blood in the water,
but it can't quite find us.
It's stalking us.
The longer we stay awake,
the closer it gets.
And it's getting aggressive.
Like it's desperate.
Or hungry.
[ Falco's "Der Kommissar" playing]
♪ Zwei, drei, vier♪
♪ One, two, three, it's easy to see ♪
♪ And it's not that I don't care, so... ♪
♪ 'Cause I hear it all the time ♪
♪ But they never let you know on the TV and on the radio ♪
♪ She was young and her heart was pure ♪
♪ And every night is bright she got ♪
♪ She said sugar is sweet
♪ She got me rocking to the beat ♪
♪ And I knew that she was hot
♪ She was singing
♪ Don't turn around, oh-uh-oh ♪
♪ Der Kommissar's in town, oh-uh-oh ♪
♪ You're in his eye...
Hey. Can you come with me for a minute?
Is everything okay?
Yeah. Everything's fine. It's fine.
[ Meter beeping rhythmically ]
JOE: What the hell is that thing?
DALE: A gauss meter.
Gauss. [ Chuckling ] It's a funny word.
You want to tell me what you're doing with it?
Yeah, looking for electromagnetic fields.
Yeah, no shit, Dale. Why?
Well, there's a theory that ghosts
either emit electromagnetic energy
or are just disruptions in the electromagnetic fields.
So you think we're haunted.
Don't you?
These aren't like any ghosts I've ever seen.
Yeah. That's because you've never seen a ghost.
Neither have I.
In movies, I mean.
Oh!
Okay, so you're expecting like a -- like a white sheet, huh?
And some rattling chains.
Because that sure as shit isn't what I'm seeing.
What are you seeing?
Me.
Joe, I'm seeing me, as a kid.
Seven years old, and I'm crying.
That's what I hear, at first.
And then I think I see it, kind of,
like moving around in the shadows.
You know? And, um, I'm, uh...
[ Exhales slowly ]
It's like trying to find shapes in clouds, you know?
But instead of a dragon, it's -- it's me.
And I'm crying.
And I'm scared.
And I'm hiding from my dad.
Because he used to beat the shit out of me.
But here's the funny thing.
When I look at it,
like, directly, it's gone.
Look!
[ Whimpers ]
-[ Meter beeping rapidly ] -[ Gasping ]
Shh. Shut up. Shut up!
-Oh! It's going off like crazy. -Shut up!
Go. Open the door, open the door.
Open the door.
[ Door opens ]
[ Gasping ]
[ Whooshing]
No. Wait.
-It's feeding. -What?
This is what it does. It feeds on our dreams.
Holy shit. It's a "somnivore."
-[ Roars] -[ Gasps]
[ Growls]
Ella!
What? What is it?
-[ High-pitched tone] -[ Gasping ]
MAN: Dale! Where are you?!
Little shit!
Get down here!
BOY: No! No!
No!
What are you doing?
Oh, shit!
Holly, stop! Put the knife down!
Stop! Holly! Holly, put down the knife!
Aah! Aah!
Aah!
♪ Hungry like the wolf♪
♪ Straddle the line in discord and rhyme♪
♪ I'm on the hunt, I'm after you♪
♪ Mouth --♪
Holly? It's okay.
Holly? Holly?
You're awake. It's okay.
Yeah, you are. You're fine.
Dale?
You there? Wake up.
You're fine. You're fine.
[ Breathing heavily ]
She needs a doctor. I'm going to take her to the ER.
It's over, guys. We are done.
What are you gonna tell them at the hospital, huh?
"Yes, Doctor.
My friend hasn't been sleeping
and the monster that I call Somnivore
can't eat her dreams, so it's draining her fucking soul."
Is that what you're gonna tell them?
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Fuck you, Joe.
Tell her how I fucked up everything.
What's he talking about, Joe?
It's over.
We have no controlled variable.
Dale accidentally took the Cogniphan.
What?
When were you planning to tell me?!
Afterwards.
I thought if I hit lucidity,
that's all the proof we would need.
I'm sorry.
[ Telephone rings ]
-Hello? -Hey.
Did you -- Did you hear it?
-No, not... -Joe, can hear it right now?
Listen, Frannie, I need your help.
Joe, I can't quit shaking.
I thought if I came here, then it would leave me alone,
but it followed me here.
Frannie, please. Come back.
Holly...
It's bad.
Just come back and help me figure this out, please?
Okay.
I'll be there as soon as I can.
Oh, a-and, Joe?
Don't trust Whatley.
I'm feeling better now, Dale.
Good.
Good. That's good.
I need you.
Okay.
I need you too.
I need you to cut me.
What?
I can't.
I can't do that.
No, I -- I need you to cut me.
Don't you want me to feel better?
Don't -- Don't you want me to feel good?
Don't you care about me?
-Please. -I can't.
-Please, please cut me, please. -I can't.
-Please, come on. Please, Dale. -Please, don't talk like this.
Dale, please, fu-- fucking cut me, please!
Please!
Please. Please.
[ Growling]
Joe! Joe!
Joe, let me in! I forgot my key!
Hurry! Hurry! Please! Hurry!
-Joe! -Come on!
-You okay? -There's more than one.
Dale and I saw one.
It was feeding on Whatley while she slept.
That's why they're after us.
They're hungry.
They're hungry, and we're not feeding them anymore.
We're not dreaming, so they're coming after
the next-best thing -- us.
We've opened our minds to them.
Yeah. With the Cogniphan.
Yeah.
It's like they've always been here,
around us, around humanity all along.
We didn't find them. They found us.
Let's say they're feeding on our dreams.
It's a symbiotic relationship.
Humanity has evolved along with them,
but now with the Cogniphan,
we're pushing human evolution past the need for sleep.
It's like we're in a liminal state right now,
not quite sleeping but not quite free of it, either.
We're a walking dream to them.
But once we hit 200 hours,
our brains are completely rewired from the ground up.
Their food source will be completely gone.
Maybe they won't be able to find us.
Okay. That is a lot of maybes.
Why Holly?
What do you mean?
Why have they gotten to her but not to us?
You remember Rob Paddit from our biology class?
He needed three hours of sleep, and he was fine.
Me? I need eight hours or I can't even dress myself.
Everybody's different.
Some people live closer to the threshold.
Oh, I almost forgot.
Dr. Becker, the professor that collaborated with Whatley
during the rhesus monkey trials?
He died three years ago.
There's no way he could've signed off on that study.
Joe, there's something she's not telling us.
-YOUNG WOMAN: Oh, my God. Loser. -[ Laughter]
[ Indistinct talking]
[ Exhales slowly ]
You're so gross! And pathetic!
Cut me again.
Cut me again, cut me again. Please, Dale, please.
-I can't. -It feels good, it feels good.
I can't. I can't do any more.
I need you to cut me again. Cut me again.
Undo the strap. I'll help you, I'll help you, I'll help you.
I'll help you. Please. I -- I...
I-I need you to cut me again.
Okay. It's okay.
We're gonna go home.
-Okay. -Okay?
We're going home.
You are so disgusting!
No. No. I don't want...
No. No, no. We can't go any more.
If we go any deeper, we'll cut your femoral artery. You'll die.
I don't want to -- I don't want to do this.
-Aah! -[ High-pitched tone]
-Piece-of-shit loser. -[ Exhales slowly ]
I'll cut myself too. Ohh!
No! No.
[ Talking stops]
No.
It's quiet.
I'm going to sleep now.
Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.
[ Sobbing ] God.
Here. Here it is.
Oh, yeah.
-There it is. -Yeah.
This is it.
And that's Dr. Becker's signature.
-After the day he died. -[ Light switch clicks ]
What are you doing?
-You lied. -About what?
About the simian tests.
About Dr. Becker. You forged his signature.
And? You would've done the same.
Maybe.
It would've been nice to have a fucking choice.
Going straight from rats to humans?
You've got to be kidding me.
They shot us down at every turn.
The primate lab just wouldn't cooperate.
They wouldn't budge.
So you did it anyway.
You went forward anyway and showed us falsified results.
Had I confessed before we started all of this --
which was your idea, by the way --
no one would've gone along with it.
Yeah, you're goddamn right we wouldn't have!
It was our decision to make!
You're putting our lives at risk here!
You're fucking putting our lives at risk!
I just knew how much this meant to all of you --
Don't bullshit me!
Don't play kindly benefactor now.
Are you done?
Hardly.
Well, I am.
I'm pulling the plug on all of this.
This is over.
Did she just break up with you, or did she stop the experiment?
I'm pretty sure that was both.
[ Thud ]
Dale?
Dale, are you all right?
[ Opens door ]
-Dale? -[ Sobbing softly ]
Are you okay? I need you to talk to me.
Dale?
[ Growling]
[ Both screaming ]
[ Whimpers ]
FRANCINE: Aah!
Jesus.
I'm so sorry!
I'm so sorry.
Jesus! Fuck.
Oh, my God!
You fuck!
You fucker!
No! Stop!
No!
Joe, stop it! Stop it, stop it!
No!
Stop it! Stop it!
[ Sobbing ]
[ Crying ] I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry!
I thought she was...!
It was all in my head.
It was all in my head!
[ Sobbing ]
[ Grunting ]
What are we gonna do?
I mean, they're dead. I mean, should we call the cops?
If we call the police, we're all dead, Frannie.
How long until lucidity?
About two hours for me, maybe.
You missed treatments, so I don't know how long for you.
Your body's metabolized a good 60% of it by now.
It's irrelevant. We need to sleep, Frannie.
Wait. Wait, wait.
That didn't work for Holly.
Why do you think it would work for us?
I gave Holly a sedative. This is surgical anesthetic.
Oh.
Oh, okay.
So...
We're just gonna leave them there, Ella and Holly?
No. No, no, I'll think of something.
But until then, they're just gonna lie there.
We need to sleep, Frannie.
Then we'll talk, we'll figure everything out.
But we need to protect ourselves first, all right?
-All right? -Okay.
Hey, I'm gonna count to 10.
No, I mean, I'm gonna count down from -- from -- from 10 to zero.
I probably shouldn't even make it to zero.
I mean, this is good stuff. I'm just gonna fall asleep.
Don't worry about me. Just don't want to roll my vein.
And, um, don't forgot to do all the things
that you're supposed to do when you give someone an injection.
You know, and don't give me an embolism.
It's a really horrible way to die.
You're giving me 20 cc's, right?
That's how much you're giving me,
so I should be able to go to sleep for a couple days.
You already did it.
Backwards from 10, Frannie.
Okay.
10...
Joe, I'm -- I'm really sorry about what happened to Ella.
Nine, eight,
seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one.
[ Exhales sharply ]
[ Body thuds ]
[ Grunting ]
I'm...
I'm not afraid of you.
[ Growling]
You can't hurt me.
This is only a dream.
And you can't hurt me.
[ Growling]
It didn't work.
I know.
20 cc's.
No, I gave us 40 each.
What? You shouldn't have done that.
-You could've stopped my heart. -Would it have mattered?
[ Growling]
Wait. Wait, I have an idea.
JOE: This won't work.
Joe, I need you to believe this,
'cause if you don't, then I can't --
I just -- I can't.
You're just hypnotizing yourself?
Yeah, essentially.
I was part of this group that was doing this
a few semesters ago.
The idea is that when your brain is in a waking state,
those are beta waves.
When it is in REM sleep, those are delta.
So I may not be able to fall asleep,
but maybe I can trick my brain.
And hopefully them.
Any other choice if this doesn't work?
Electroconvulsive therapy can alter brain waves.
I am not putting that shit to your head, Frannie!
-It'll kill you. -Okay, then do this with me!
I'm close, Frannie.
I haven't missed a dose. You have.
If I quit now and this doesn't work...
No, it's going to work!
Hey, I believe you.
If this doesn't, then we can try a warm glass of milk
and a bedtime story.
Deal.
[ Sighs ]
MAN: Hello,
and welcome to tape one of the Myers Hypnosis Program.
Let's start by taking a few deep breaths.
Focus on that breath.
In through your nostrils, out through your mouth.
In slowly and out slowly.
Let your mind begin to float.
My voice will drift away.
Look deep into the shadows of your mind...
-[ Speaking indistinctly] -[ Growling]
...as your consciousness...
Clear your head and stay focused.
Breathe.
Focus on your breath.
In through your nostrils,
out through your mouth.
-Joe? -Listen to the voice.
Breathe.
[ Machine whines ]
Holy shit.
Frannie. Frannie, we can beat this, Frannie.
Frannie, listen to me, please.
-Frannie, don't do this. -[ Growling]
Frannie.
I'm sorry, Joe.
It wasn't working.
[ Electricity zaps ]
Frannie!
Shit.
-Oh, shit. -[ Growling]
[ Roars]
[ Doorknob rattling ]
I think it worked.
Frannie? Oh, God. Oh, God.
[ Roaring]
Aah! Dale, we've got to go!
We've got to get the fuck out of here!
[ Growling]
WOMAN: [ Whispering ] Joseph.
[ High-pitched tone]
Joseph.
[ Whimpering ]
[ Soft thud ]
Okay, Mr. Slater.
I'll be back next week to see if you need anything.
They're in here.
They're in here right now.
There's nothing here, Joe.
Try and get some rest, okay?
-How is he? -The same.
He never sleeps. He just screams all night.
You know, after a lobotomy, people don't ever fully recover.
Okay. Thank you.
[ Gasping ]
[ Growling ]
JOE: [ Screaming ]
[ Growling ]
[ Mid-tempo electronic music plays ]