Original subtitles

(sizzling)

(sizzling)

(screams)

(curious electronic music)

(screaming)

(door sliding)

(door sliding)

(slides door)

(door sliding)

(tumbling)

(clattering)

(soft electronic music)

- [Director] Okay, three, two, one, action.

- Stop, Lily.

Lily, you're getting way too close to me.

- [Lily] Whoa, what?

- I feel like I'm gonna hit you,

and I feel like I'm gonna hit the camera.

- [Lily] No, you're supposed to swing

when you're like three-quarters of the way--

- Can we just change the shot or something?

Like, I feel like ...

- [Lily] No, no.

Look, it's ...

It's like its--

- [Actor] This can cut together in a million other ways.

- [Lily] Don't worry, I've got ...

I've got it all under--

- [Actor] Lily, can I just see the shot?

I don't really trust--

(scraping)

(startling music)

(shrieks)

(breathing heavily)

(scraping)

(phone ringing)

(coworkers chattering)

- Hello?

Is anybody home?

(glass breaking)

(suspenseful music)

(static crackling)

(gasps)

(yawning)

- [Girl Voiceover] Oh no!

I shouldn't yawn.

The professor told me that if I yawn three times,

the evil ghost will come and kill me.

(yawns)

Ha!

I don't believe that crazy story!

(spooky music)

(yawns)

(tapping)

(yawns)

(screams)

(squishing)

(girl screaming)

(pen scraping)

(ripping paper)

- [Female Voiceover] Should have left the apartment

when she felt danger.

Maybe then she would have survived.

(squishing)

(groans)

- [Woman In Black] I need to keep working.

It needs to be perfect.

- Are you okay?

(breathing heavily)

(gasping)

- Help me.

(phone ringing)

- [Woman On Phone] Thank you for letting us know.

We'll notify building security,

but there's nothing to worry about.

We get calls like this

all the time. (woman screaming)

(determined electronic music)

(footsteps)

(rat squeaking)

(spooky music)

(breathing heavily)

(scrubbing)

(clunking)

(static humming)

(breathing heavily)

(phone ringing)

(coworkers chattering)

(girl screaming)

(energetic electronic music)

(thumping)

(groaning)

(feverish electronic music)

(video game music playing)

(thud) (gasps)

- That's my stuff.

Can I have it back?

You dropped this.

(tense music)

What are you doing?

(gasps)

(girl screaming)

Go home.

(breathing heavily)

(whispering)

(grunts)

(grunts)

I already have this one.

(spooky music)

(whispering)

(voicemail beeps)

- [Man] Hey, Lily, it's me.

Hope things are going well.

I'm just calling to ask if I could get

the camera equipment back.

I know that we split the costs when we got it,

but I lined up a friend who might want to buy it off me,

and it's not like you're gonna use it for anything,

so I thought we might as well make a little money, right?

Anyways, we should grab a coffee sometime, catch up.

It'd be great to-- (voicemail beeps)

(soft electronic music)

(gasps)

- Hold this.

Sorry I was so aggressive last night.

Put your arm up and freeze.

Happens every night between 12:00 and 5:00 a.m.

Within a four-kilometer radius.

This isn't a good receiving cycle.

Let's move!

I haven't found the cause or source.

But I've gotten close.

I don't know what it is.

An otherworldly echo, maybe?

A little higher.

But I don't think it's human.

All I know is that every night it hits,

and every night I find something weird

where it resonated from.

Like that VHS.

I believe it slowly builds up on ultrasonic waves

before the human ear can perceive it.

You can't record it, but with specific equipment

you can capture its frequency and follow its source power

back to the location before it happens.

This isn't working.

Let's go have a snack.

- What the fuck are you talking about?

- The scream.

- The scream?

What scream?

Are you fucking with me?

- You're not hunting the scream?

- I saw a woman dying last night!

We're not playing monster squad here.

We're dealing with something violent and real, like a--

- Serial killer?

It's not that simple.

I've been doing this a long time.

If you don't believe me, go back to your apartment,

lock your door, stay out of my way!

I'm close to beating this thing.

(glass shattering)

They won't bother you if you don't bother them.

(electronic whirring)

- Do you hear that?

- Does your mouth taste like copper?

Are your eyes watering?

Here it comes.

(screaming)

(breathing heavily)

What are you doing?

- [Lily] Uh, just filming in case something happens.

- Like a shitty found footage film?

- [Lily] Yeah.

I guess.

- Cool.

(breathing heavily)

(insects chirping)

(breathing heavily)

(owl hooting)

(breathing heavily)

(spooky music)

(gasps)

- What?

(breathing heavily)

Someone's up there.

(gasps)

- [Lily] Fuck.

(breathing heavily)

(shouting)

- You got me?

Grab the tree.

Let go of the camera, it's not safe.

(shouts)

I found the item, lets go!

(spooky music)

Now!

- [Lily] That was crazy.

There was a naked rabbit guy,

and I almost fell, but you caught me.

And the naked rabbit guy came back and ...

You should really get that cut checked out.

- I don't like hospitals.

- [Lily] What do you think is in there?

(thudding)

(stomps)

(banging)

Hey ...

I think there's a button on the side.

(gasps)

- I am an abomination of God.

- Ugh, gross!

I think there's a name tag on there.

- Dude, I think your camera might be bro--

(soft electronic music)

(breathing heavily)

What are you doing?

(phone buzzing)

(phone buzzing)

- Took you long enough.

Let's go beat this thing.

- [Lily] But ...

I still have no idea what's going on here.

- Don't worry.

You'll learn on the job.

Are you gonna shoot a movie on your phone?

- [Lily] Yeah, it's a little shaky and dark, but ...

It's all I've got.

- Hmm.

Gotta work with what you have.

- [Lily] So do we just walk around until we hear something?

- Oh man.

I looked up the name on that tag

of the gross stuffed animal we found.

And I discovered that the owner

took a dive off a school roof

and splattered onto a kindergartners' class.

- [Lily] Ew.

- It happened a few years ago.

Suicide.

No one really knows why.

- [Lily] How did you know where the scream

came from last night?

- Well, it's a feeling I get,

that everyone gets when they've heard

the scream a bunch of times.

I have to follow it or I-- - Hey!

- Run!

- You're not supposed to be out here!

Ah!

- Over here!

(curious electronic music)

Building security isn't the biggest fan

of people sneaking around in the dark.

And I can't get arrested aga--

- [Lily] Hey.

Hey, what's wrong?

- [Security] Stop right there!

(gasps)

Ah!

(screaming)

- Damn it!

Do you hear something?

(electronic whirring)

Is it here?

Whoa!

You found a saxophone.

I've never found one of these before.

- Are you okay?

(camera snapping)

(whispering)

(stomping)

(fireworks crackling)

(camera snaps)

- No one can defeat the Fists of the Fire, ah?

(laughing)

(whooshing)

(inhales)

- Ow.

(whooshing)

- You okay?

I thought about calling an ambulance, but I know you said--

- [Lily] I'm fine.

- Your dead brother has taught you well.

It's a shame that I was his teacher. (laughing)

- I like your sparse style.

- Yeah, there used to be more stuff.

Bad breakup.

- Nothing wrong with that.

They just make you stronger.

- [Lily] What are you doing?

- I'm documenting tonight's find.

- [Lily] Do you think they all belong to one person?

Are they weapons, prizes?

- [Stranger] I don't know.

- [Lily] How long have you been doing this?

- [Stranger] A long time.

- [Lily] And how did you get involved?

- I heard the scream.

I went looking for it.

And I realized I had to stop it.

- [Lily] Why?

- People are being killed.

- [Lily] Then why aren't the police involved?

- Not everybody hears the scream.

- [Lilly] But what is the scream?

You think that it's supernatural, like a ghost?

- No.

Ghosts can't do shit.

It's not a ghost.

Did you know that, when you die,

your brain flashes onto the image

of your parents having the sex that conceive you?

- Ew!

What?

- And your brain like totally knows

what position they were in and everything.

- Where'd you hear that?

- I'm done.

I'm Hannah by the way.

- Lily.

(gurgling)

- Is this supposed to be scary or sexy?

- Both, I think.

- [Hannah] Hm.

- They're not lighting the tentacles right.

They should use fluorescents and cover them in lubricant.

I made a short in high school with a crazy tentacle scene.

- Can I see it?

- I don't have it here.

- It's not online?

- It wasn't very good.

- That's a shame.

Did you do any other short films?

- A few.

- Can I see them?

- I burned them all.

- Liar.

- I seriously don't have anything.

(clanking music)

I just made this short with my boyfriend

at the time over a weekend.

It's not real impressive or anything.

It's just kind of a pretentious and stupidly arty thing

without any real point.

I just wanted to make something.

I hadn't shot anything in over a year, and ...

I needed to do anything.

The idea was that, when you get stressed out,

there's these weird squiggly lines

that appear in your vision, kind of like floaters,

but these just stay there, frozen,

as if you're watching a screen.

And the more you try to fight them,

the more stress that you feel, the worse they get.

And while this is going on, I intercut

with a physical manifestation of the fight

as an uber-pretentious little touch

that's pure first-year film school.

I know it makes very little sense, but ...

nobody was supposed to see this.

It was ...

just a silly idea that I had.

- Wait, is that you now?

- My boyfriend got bored, and I had to finish it myself.

It's not done yet.

My lanyard broke on the second day,

and I didn't have the right lens,

and it's really, really hard to do the proper--

- I'm excited to help you finish this new film.

- I wouldn't call it a film yet.

I'm just filming stuff.

- You seem enthusiastic and like you know your shit.

- Yeah?

- Sure.

- Well I try my best.

- Promise me you'll finish this.

- Well I can't just--

- Look, I've known a lot of people

to give up on their dreams,

and it's effectively the end of their lives.

I don't believe in giving up on stuff.

Promise me you'll finish this.

- Uh ...

okay.

I promise?

- Good.

Do you have any shot glasses?

- Why?

- [Hannah] Found this on one of my first scream hunts

and I've been waiting for the right person to drink it with.

I'm pretty sure it's not poison.

L'Chaim!

No turning back.

- We should document this.

- What are you doing?

- I'm making a film.

It will be very scary.

And incredibly violent.

We will win a thousand awards!

No one else is getting hurt,

because we're gonna beat this thing!

(upbeat indie music)

(gagging)

(coughing and heaving)

(intense music)

(clattering)

(gasps)

(squishing)

(vomits)

My apartment is haunted.

(spooky music)

(tray clanking)

What are you doing?

(shatters plate)

- That.

That's all a ghost can do.

Move shit around and make loud noises.

But they can't hurt you if you don't let them.

(shatters plate)

You have to confront the supernatural

in the same way you'd fight a bear.

Act bigger and crazier to win.

So, how crazy are you?

(shatters mug)

(energetic rock music)

(yelling)

(dishes shattering)

Found it.

Yes!

If we get there before the scream happens, we can beat it.

Cool.

(books thudding)

Yes!

And no one else can get hurt.

Is that too dramatic?

(shatters porcelain doll)

You got anything?

(electronic whirring)

(train whistling)

- Doesn't anything ever scare you?

- Sure.

I'm terrified of the dark.

- Really?

- Yeah, I think everyone has at least one irrational fear,

like spiders, or clowns, or snakes, or--

- Mummies.

I'm terrified of shambling Egyptian mummies.

- Really?

- Yeah, they're like pants-shittingly scary.

(electronic humming)

You feel that?

Like bees in a marching band?

It's gonna happen ...

right ...

over ...

there!

- [Hannah] Grab the high-powered LED.

This is a poorly-lit area with rough terrain.

You'll need your knife and helmet.

Safety first.

- [Lily] We need to be careful.

Something feels different tonight.

- [Hannah] Yeah, that's because tonight we finish this.

(screaming)

(dramatic electronic music)

Hey you!

Back off!

That's mine!

- Let's just go.

- I need that typewriter!

- It's fine.

- No, it's not!

I'm not gonna let me stop me again!

(punching)

Hey!

(grunting)

(punches whooshing)

(grunting)

(whispering)

- [Woman] Blood is the only thing I have left to offer.

- Whoa, whoa!

They're gone!

- I can't let them get away!

- Why?

What's the big deal?

- [Hannah] It belonged to her.

- Who?

- Every item is important, but the typewriter is key.

The video said so, and I'm not giving up this time!

(sniffs)

- Shit!

(birds chirping)

(birds chirping)

(birds chirping)

(whispering)

(eerie music)

- [Woman] Blood is the only thing I have left to offer.

- Ugh!

Gross!

Oh!

Hannah!

Look, I'm so sorry that I haven't been out

the past few nights.

I've just been really tired.

But now I'm feeling so much better, fully rested.

(gasps)

What the fuck!

- I cut myself last night,

and the closer I got to the scream, the more it hurt.

I cut myself again tonight, but it didn't work.

It has to be fresh blood to amplify the signal.

Blood is the only thing we have left to offer.

That's what it wants.

- Stay the fuck away from me!

(unsettling electronic music)

(woman screaming)

(grunts)

- [Hannah] Did it work?

Did you see it?

- [Lily] No.

- Damn it!

What did you find?

- [Lily] Nothing.

- Really?

- [Lily] Just leave me alone.

- I don't believe you!

Give me what you found!

- [Lily] I didn't find anything!

- Stop filming!

- [Lily] Don't fucking touch me!

- [Hannah] We need to do this together!

I'm sorry!

Lily!

(exhales)

- These are the pages that I found

at the scene of the scream today.

They seem to be some kind of journal

written by a woman named Amber.

(clears throat)

I cannot focus on my writing.

I cannot sleep.

- [Amber] And all I can think about is the sound

that calls out to me in the dark.

My girlfriend is worried about my nightly outings.

But she's glad I've joined a group of friendly people.

There's Mark L, Amy M, Howard T,

Isaac F, Alyssa O, Joel K,

and me, the soon-to-be best-selling author. (chuckles)

I've decided to turn my journal

into a novel about the scream.

The hunt for the scream has inspired us all

in different ways.

Amy wants to capture its essence in a sculpture.

Howard thinks he'll get good material

for a five-minute set.

Alyssa is composing an operetta

based on its sonic landscape,

and Mark's working on an equation

that will allow him to catch the scream

using probability and statistics.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

My girlfriend is gone forever.

She joined the hunt thinking she could beat the scream

like one of her video games.

But she didn't understand that it's something

that you have to feel, not just hear,

something that you chase because it's the only way

you'll ever feel whole.

You must be willing to sacrifice your everything,

even the ones you love most.

(woman screaming)

I'm gonna miss her, but my book is gonna be great.

What does it want?

Loyalty, a sacrifice, our souls?

None of us can agree on an answer,

so we've broken up to continue our work separately,

which is good, because they were getting in my way!

And I have so much work left to do.

Fucking stupid shit!

Everything I type is wrong, nonsense,

garbage, useless, ugly gibberish!

Fuck!

I tricked myself into believing I could be a writer,

an artist, a success.

None of us ever had any talents.

The scream smashes open to reveal

what we really are: nothing!

- I am the only one left.

- [Amber] The others have decided that,

if they can't complete their work, they can only destroy it.

Amy loved to use clay to express her deepest emotions.

She severed her left hand and died of shock.

Isaac was always searching for a new way

to reach his physical peak.

He beat himself up til his brain hemorrhaged.

Howard was obsessed with finding the perfect punchline.

He ripped out his tongue and choked on his own vomit.

Alyssa worked constantly to develop her lungs

to sing the high notes.

She tore herself open and tried to remove them.

Joel wanted to capture images no one had ever seen.

He burnt his eyes out with sodium hydroxide.

Mark told me he had finally discovered

the equation to catch the scream,

but by the time they found him,

it was so infected, no one could read it.

I need to finish this novel!

- I must finish it before it consumes me.

This one is all scratched out.

- [Amber] I give up.

I'm never going to see this end.

Blood is the only thing I have left to offer.

I must open myself up to express the inevitable.

The scream has existed since the dawn of time,

and I'm nothing in its path.

I hear them calling.

And there's only one thing they want me to do.

(screaming)

This is gonna make a great--

(crackling)

(eerie music)

What do you want?

You're not scaring me.

And you're not gonna stop me from making this film.

So I'm gonna ask you again.

What do you want?

It's you.

You're Amber.

So what do you fucking want?

(dog barking)

(video game music playing)

You stink.

Brought you some new clothes.

- Thanks.

- No more wild goose chases.

No more lies.

I want to know everything.

- Okay.

My girlfriend Amber used to live in your apartment.

I panicked when I thought what happened to her

was happening to you.

I'm sorry.

I've been going out at night,

hoping that her journal would show up,

because I thought she'd found a way

to stop all of this.

Every item we find belonged to someone

that hunted the scream.

- [Lily] You live here?

- No rent, good location,

and our friendly apartment security guard

has yet to find me.

- How well did you know the people

you and your girlfriend hunted the scream with?

- I didn't even know their last names.

I tapped out pretty early,

and when I back to look for more information,

everything was gone.

In her journal, she made it sound like you killed yourself.

- I came pretty close.

Spent a year in the hospital recovering.

- What happened to her?

- She slit her wrists.

Everyone who hunts the scream

eventually goes crazy and kills themselves.

What are you looking for?

- Something more tangible than a scream.

- I've looked through it a hundred times.

There's nothing there.

- M leaves.

M.

Mark!

Mark Leaves was one of the scream hunters!

(knocking) Are you excited?

We're finally gonna talk to someone who caught the scream.

- Unless he's dead.

(door opening)

- Is, uh ...

Mark home?

(soft music)

- So, how do you know Mark?

- He lent us his calculator,

and we wanted to give it back to him.

(chuckles)

- He loved this calculator.

What class did you take with him?

- (stutters) Probability and statistics.

- (chuckles) He loved that class too.

Did you want to talk to him?

He's just upstairs.

I'm so glad you came.

Mark could really use a friend right now.

(door slams)

(eerie music)

(murmuring)

(gasps)

I'm so sorry you both can't see him.

He gets ...

easily overwhelmed.

(breathing heavily)

(snarling) (gasps)

(grunts)

Could you ...

not move please?

I'm almost done.

Thanks.

(grunting)

(sheet rustling)

(thudding)

Please stop!

(grunts)

(screaming)

(dramatic electronic music)

(screaming)

- Let's go!

Come on!

(coughing)

(grunting)

You okay?

- [Lily] Film this.

- What the fuck are you doing?

- We have to keep filming.

- No we don't, we can just go!

- Do you want to fail like Amber did?

Film me!

- Okay.

But this is it!

(moaning)

(breathing heavily)

- Whatever happens ...

you keep filming.

(screams)

(breathing heavily)

(eerie whirring)

- Are you okay?

Lily?

(scratching)

(gloomy electronic music)

We have to go!

- Why aren't you filming?

(vomits)

(gurgling)

Keep ...

filming.

- What do you want?

Do you want me?

Do you want her?

Do you want this?

Well fuck you!

It's mine now!

All you idiots ever did was stand around!

Oh, come on.

You don't scare me.

(punches) (grunts)

(punches whooshing)

If you want it, come and get it!

Come on fuckers!

(whooshing)

Oh shit.

(gasps)

(grunting)

(rips page)

(sizzling)

(grunts)

(shouting)

Let's go!

(breathing heavily)

You okay?

- Yeah.

I'm fine.

(page ripping) What are you doing?

- Those assholes out there are all in this book,

and they're affected by what we do to it.

If we destroy this, we end it.

- Don't destroy the book!

- Why the hell not?

- Because this is just barely scratching the surface.

I'm not even close to an ending for my film.

- Your film.

(smashes phone)

Your film's done.

- I need that book.

- No.

(punches) (grunts)

(grunting)

- [Lily] Give me the book!

- Fuck you!

- [Lily] Let go! (grunts)

(choking)

(breathing heavily)

(grunting)

- We're done.

(grunting)

- You dropped this.

(groaning)

(knife clanking)

- Hey!

You're not supposed be here!

This area is for apartment residents only!

So I'm gonna need to see some identification,

or you're gonna have to get outta here and go back to--

(stabs) (groans)

(stabbing)

(breathing heavily)

(metal door slams)

(gasps)

(intense electronic music)

(utensils jangling)

(yelling)

(groaning)

(yelling)

(thudding)

(grunting)

(banging)

(breathing heavily)

(soft music)

- [Lily] Hannah.

There's only one way to finish this.

You have to make a sacrifice.

Amber knew it.

She understood that your best effort is never good enough.

Aren't you tired of failing?

There's nothing wrong with giving up.

- [Hannah] You got me?

Grab the tree.

Let go of the camera, it's not safe.

(yelling)

I found the item, let's go.

Now!

- [Lily] That was crazy.

There was a naked rabbit guy,

and I almost fell, but you caught me.

And then the naked rabbit guy came back.

You should really get that cut checked out.

- I don't like hospitals.

- [Lily] What do you think is in there?

- This is pretty cool.

- Yeah.

It's not terrible.

- You should keep working on it.

- You don't think I should quit?

- No.

Do it til it's perfect.

- It doesn't need to be perfect.

Just needs an ending.

- What did you have in mind?

(eerie music)

(page ripping)

- Film it.

Please.

(rips page)

(spurting) (screaming)

(sizzling)

(grunts)

(pounding)

(car horns honking)

- Come on!

We're gonna be late!

(bright electronic music)

(breathing heavily)

- You saw it?

(woman screaming)

(women and men screaming)

♪ I had a dream ♪

♪ My cheek was opened ♪

♪ I gathered and stitched ♪

♪ To hide my teeth ♪

♪ I had a dream ♪

♪ My friend beside me ♪

♪ Waiting to know ♪

♪ If I should be afraid ♪

♪ I don't know ♪

♪ What I'll find ♪

♪ And now I'm swimming ♪

♪ Into my mind ♪

(whispering)

♪ I had a dream ♪

♪ Running hard to find it ♪

♪ Silence and scream ♪

♪ My heart was quiet ♪

♪ I had a dream ♪

♪ My friend beside me ♪

♪ Dripping in black ♪

♪ Trying hard to breathe ♪

♪ I don't know ♪

♪ What I'll find ♪

♪ And now I'm swimming ♪

♪ Into my mind ♪

(intense rock music)