Original subtitles

So, with psychology we can see the pattern

of the way logic and process works.

And the brain is really good,

it's basically a really powerful

pattern recognition machine.

If humans see a space

that they don't know about or it's confusing,

will take information around it

and complete the picture,

and we'll make a constellation out of it.

That faith in, in the idea

that there's another life form is validating,

and it feels like it's an answer for them.

And it gives them hope in, in a place

where they feel disconnected.

Typically there's a specific type

of socio-economic profile.

Um, that lends them more vulnerable

to believing in the idea.

Some research has shown that nutrition, lack of nutrition

can affect the vulnerability of those groups

trying to find some sort of reason.

Um, and they are good people.

Uh, they may be just a little bit lost, um,

and are looking for something that science can't provide.

Can you say a few words in the mic for me?

Oh, check, check, one, two, three.

Okay, we're good.

State your name for camera, please.

I'm... Sorry.

My name is Carl Merryweather

and, uh, this is my sister Gina Campbell.

Um, her last name is Campbell because, you know,

she was married but now she's divorced.

And, uh, his name was Carl too, so it got pretty confusing.

- And after we called him... - Okay, Carl?

Carl, too much information.

Sorry.

How long have you lived

in California?

Most of my life, um,

let's see, uh, first we lived in Wisconsin,

and then when I was five we moved here to Apple Valley.

Um...

My dad was a... sergeant in the Air Force,

so, we, he got stationed out here at the logistics base.

And when did he pass away?

February 21st, 2010, yeah.

He had a heart attack.

Yeah, he was, uh,

he was carrying 60 pound bags

of shingles on the roof the day he died.

Yeah... that was him, Mr. Do it Yourselfer.

What about your mother?

She's at the Lamar Home, in town, uh,

Gina works there, uh, part-time as a nurse's aide.

Yeah, I work there, but I'm also working

on getting my degree at night,

so I do both.

Yeah, um.

- Yeah, that's right. - Yeah, she had a, a, she had a stroke

about a year ago

and, uh, it hit her pretty hard.

It was... pretty bad.

And you have a brother too right?

Yeah, that's Kenny, um, we don't see him too much anymore.

He, uh, moved to Alaska...

like, shortly after our dad died, um.

Any other family?

Uh, no, just us.

And the turtles.

So, Carl, can you tell us how you

became interested in UFOS?

Uh, well, to... I mean, to state it as clearly as I can,

um... I was visited by one when I was a kid.

At, uh...

It was like nothing I've ever seen before.

The skies above Apple Valley

were filled with more than just

clouds last night.

News 6 lines were lighting up

with reports of an alleged triangle shaped

UFO in the high desert.

I caught it out of the corner of my eye really,

and I looked up and just over

these mountains right here.

It didn't have any lights or anything.

It was, it was just a big black triangle

and it just... it just hung out there.

Super big and superfast,

and just went straight across the sky here.

I don't know, I don't know with the government.

You know, you never know what they are doing.

They are always out there doing something.

Some local residents claimed to have seen

an Unidentified Flying Object just after sunset last evening,

with one young man even claiming to have been visited

by what he describes as a Skyman.

So, this is where I keep most of my stuff.

Gina hates to come out here,

says I'm a pack rat.

I'll find something that's broken,

I bring it back here and fix it.

So, here I've got every UFO magazine ever published

from number one in 1986 all the way to 158 in 2012.

Betty and Barney Hill, Rendlesham Forest,

Travis Walton abduction,

Tom and Elise Gifford.

That happened right out here.

Well, I don't really consider myself a collector,

I mean, it's, it's more about, you know, my research, you know.

Um.

I've always had all this stuff, you know,

I started getting them when I was a kid after,

you know, after my encounter.

Oh, sure, I mean... I mean, 90% of this stuff is BS,

but there's truth in the inconsistencies.

You know, you can, you can find anything if you know how

to dissect... the information.

You know, the way the visitors move,

the way they communicated,

uh, what's left on the ground afterwards, you know.

All those things can... can be used, you know,

help you figure things out.

Make you see things more clearly.

What do you say to people that

say phenomenon like UFOS and Bigfoot,

the paranormal et cetera, are nothing more than our search

for meaning or purpose in our lives?

Well, I think that's probably true for a lot of people,

um, I only know my experience.

What I experienced is, it, it's as real as

us having this conversation.

So, I, I know what happened to me.

There's lists of people that I've compiled over the past

couple of years of people that have had very similar

experiences to mine and... I've interviewed a few of them.

But a lot of them are just, you know, strangers from, from all over.

There... A number of years ago I went through, uh, hypnotherapy,

that's when things started to, to become clear, um,

when I could go back...

and, and, uh, go back to when I was ten years old,

and I had the encounter, and I could sort of

slow things down.

That's when I realized that... what they were,

or what the Skyman was, was telling me,

and he was telling me that he,

that he was going to come back for me.

You know Carl Merryweather?

Yes.

Um, he is a few years younger than I am,

and he is... He hung out with my brother,

I was in high school back when they, uh,

used to run around together.

Uh, he used to work in the garage

and around the yard doing

all kinds of little things for us,

kind of tinkering around. Um,

he had a couple of projects he liked to do at home too

which he kind of would get engrossed there

and forget about us over here.

He's incredibly bright, very smart guy.

He can fix anything.

There's nothing broke enough he can't fix.

Because he didn't have a car,

so we didn't know how he was coming and going.

So, uh, he got a little trailer that we had here in the yard

and connected it to his bike.

And now you see him roaming around town on it.

He's just a little different because

he mostly just keeps to himself.

He doesn't bother anybody.

He stays busy, he works here and there or wherever and...

He had this thing for crossword puzzles,

always working on them.

So, my boss kind of said one day,

"Um, we kind of don't need you anymore, so don't come back in?"

He said he saw an alien, but I don't know.

I mean, there's no way to prove it,

but there's no way to disprove it.

So, you believe that

he might have seen something then?

Well, something happened, I guess.

You know, I thought it was me first,

but, um, the next day it was a big deal in the news.

Now with Carl because he was always

kind of tinkering with different things,

you weren't really too sure.

I believe that we can't be the only ones here.

I mean, really?

I guess you could call me a prepper.

I mean, my dad he always taught us self-reliance.

He wasn't one of those crazy

the world is going to end types.

He just liked to have a plan B.

He was in Vietnam, so...

he knew what could happen when a country goes tits up.

You know, I tried to join the Army during Desert Storm,

but they wouldn't let me in.

Because I'm almost deaf in my left ear.

My eardrum burst when I was a kid

and, uh... you know, it got infected,

never really healed right.

So, once we get over this hill, I think I'm going

to have you turn the camera off.

You know, like my dad used to say,

you have got to maintain operational security.

Right.

Here's the HGH.

So, we started out with just the one container,

and then we added the PX.

They are both from China.

Super strong, pretty much indestructible.

So, my dad lived in that camper while he was fixing it up.

Can't live in it now.

There's the windmill we started.

This is mine and that's Kenny's.

We used to race all over this front yard

before we got dirt bikes.

Bastard always won.

There we go.

Well, this is it, we spent a lot of time here as kids.

You know, I think my dad was trying to acclimate us.

What do you mean by acclimate?

You know get us used to the whole container thing

and, you know, living out in the desert off grid.

Here he is right here, Vietnam.

He was a chopper pilot, damn good one.

When I got older I helped him make

a lot of the improvements in here.

We got solar panels, uh...

out back we have a water catchment system for rain,

holds about 100 gallons.

You know, you got everything here, fridge,

camp stove.

My dad picked this up at a garage sale, like,

you know, 25 years ago,

and it's still working great.

Here's the kids room,

this is my bed.

My brother Kenny, of course, got the top bunk.

This is Gina's bed.

And then my parents slept on

the pull out sofa in the front room.

So, what was it like being out here as kids?

You know, it was like camping.

Um, me and Kenny would be running around and...

my dad taught us how to shoot,

so we did a lot of hunting out here,

a lot of hunting.

Shower, toilet, sewer runs out to a drain field.

This is my mom right here,

she was always trying to make, you know,

make the place more homey, you know.

She even, she even put up wallpaper in the kitchen,

but, you know, the heat just tore it to shreds.

How did your mom take living out here?

She was good about it, you know, at first, she was into it.

You know, she basically went

along with everything... my dad did.

Except for the goats.

I was out hunting rabbits

with my new 22 that I got for my birthday.

It was just me and my dad out here.

He was back at the High Ground House.

And I was out here shooting, I didn't see any rabbits,

you know, but I was still shooting trees and whatever.

The sun was going down behind those hills,

it was getting dark, so I figured I'd head back.

I turned to go back and then, that's when I felt the hum.

You know, it was, it was

real low frequency, you know, it was just constant low hum.

It came up from the ground up through my legs.

And... I could start to hear it, you know, it was vibrating,

I could hear it and, and it surprised me

because I could even hear it in my bad ear.

I looked up and there it was just hovering.

A giant black triangle.

And that's when I saw him.

Right over there, right about where that bush is.

He didn't look human.

I, I knew he wasn't a human.

He was, he was tall

and really skinny and that's when I, I felt him.

I, I... That's when I heard the voice.

It wasn't like words,

it was more like he was putting

ideas or pictures in my head.

He told me... that I shouldn't be afraid...

and that he wasn't going to hurt me.

He said...

He said that he was looking for someone like me.

Carl has this tendency to fixate

on things if, uh, you hadn't noticed.

And he used to really, really get under Kenny's skin.

It would get bad, uh.

But, you know, he never really bothered me that much.

I don't know, I just kind of ignored him

when he went off on his crazy tangents,

which was often.

Um.

Uh, yeah. No, no. She, um.

She wasn't happy at all actually, uh.

You know, the neighbors and everyone around town

always kind of thought that Carl was different.

He is different, um, but I think that UFO experience

just really, really sealed the deal, you know.

You know Carl used to draw a lot...

um, in his room?

He would kind of cover all the walls

with the Skyman pictures,

and after a while mama just stopped going in there.

And... I don't know, I always felt kind of bad for him.

So, this is all the stuff that I saved

from when my mom ripped off my walls

and took out of my room a lot of the drawings.

I got maps.

Here's a drawing of the bug out shelter.

I did this one more recently

just because I really wanted to get...

a sense of where everything was then, and...

what's there now, because it has changed quite a bit.

Oh, you'll like this one,

I did this right after it happened when I was ten.

You really get a sense of how tall and skinny he was

because this is actually...

a pretty good scale drawing, like,

when you look at the... Where the tree was,

and how much taller he is than the tree.

Here's a close up.

Yeah, yeah.

I know it's not very good.

Let's see more...

some better drawings.

Here it is.

Right there.

"One of the more striking testimonials was"

from ten year old Carl Merryweather,

also an Apple Valley resident.

He was camping outside of Lucerne Valley

with his father in the high desert

when he allegedly came into contact

with what he describes as a Skyman.

He also details the same triangle shaped UFO

reported elsewhere flying overhead.

His father, Donald Merryweather,

described a humming noise at the time,

"but was not present during his son's encounter."

So, I'm, I'm so glad I still have that.

Maybe two, three years, I mean,

it's good to go and revisit things... I think.

I mean, there's some things that you, you don't want to forget, you know.

Yeah, so, uh, he was a chopper pilot in Vietnam,

and he would go on search and rescue missions,

and... he was coming back from an ex-fil,

and...

he was flying his chopper back to the base.

And he had an encounter, uh, with a craft...

uh, that just moved every which way, and, um.

He said the gunner and the copilot saw it too,

but they never reported it.

I guess back then, uh... nobody really wanted to admit

if they had, um,

you know, what they call battle fatigue,

so you didn't... If you saw something strange,

you, you didn't say anything.

Here we are.

It's all right.

What are you doing?

I'm unplugging the fridge.

I'm real sensitive to,

you know, electromagnetic energy

and, uh... these fridges,

they, you know, there's no shielding

in any of the wires or motors or anything, so.

I just like to have it off, so I can sleep.

So, we just arrived in McMinnville,

what do you, what do you expect

to get out of the festival?

I definitely want to meet some people,

you know, talk to some people.

You know, I've been thinking that lately it it's time for me

to start talking about my experience again.

Do you come to these festivals a lot?

I went to the Monsters of Rock music festival

a long time ago when I was a kid,

but this is the first UFO festival I've been to.

There's going to be... you know, a panel of experts,

and there's going to be a lot of presentations

on different things, so.

You know, it's all, it's all for research

it's all for the research.

We should probably get going.

We're just going to ask you a few questions

about what you are doing here at the UFO festival.

Okay, what's this, it's on YouTube?

It's on YouTube, yeah.

Can you introduce yourself to us, please?

Yeah, hi, I'm Carl Merryweather

from Apple Valley, California.

Great and, uh, what brings you

to the UFO festival this year?

I've never been to one before, so I just kind of

wanted to see what was going on.

And, uh, meet some people, uh, ask some questions, you know,

figure some stuff out.

Nice.

Have you ever had any kind of

weird experience

or seen anything?

I, uh, I saw a spacecraft when I was ten years old in the desert.

Um... I saw, uh, I saw an alien, saw a life form.

Uh, what did the alien do with you?

I wasn't abducted or anything, um.

Just kind of, um, stood there

and, and, uh, sort of talked to me, uh, in my brain,

but... that was about it.

It talked to you in your brain,

like telepathically?

- Yep, yep. - Okay.

Yeah, I mean they are known to do that, right?

I suppose so.

Have you seen any aliens here

that kind of looked like the alien you encountered?

No, no, no one here looks like that.

Um, I've seen some pretty good costumes though,

but, uh, no one looks like what I saw.

Oh. We were wondering if you would you like

to take communion with us?

Is this just a regular cookie?

It's just cookie stuff.

Oh, I see.

Alright, well, it was, it was nice to meet you.

Great to meet you, Carl.

Thank you so much.

- Well, that was weird. - That was pretty weird.

Some people wanted to interview me.

It was like a... They just stopped me

and... gave me a cookie.

And then, uh, asked about my alien experience.

I just told them the truth.

No reason not to.

Especially here.

I think we might be close.

So, why was it important to come out here?

I mean, I kind of wanted to see if I could... feel anything or.

This is definitely in, like, the top five UFO sightings.

In a lot of ways that picture... started a lot of stuff.

People started to become aware of...

That other things were possible.

Do you think coming here...

and meeting with other experiencers...

helped to validate what you saw?

Well, I don't, I mean, to me,

I've never needed validation,

you know, because I know what I saw.

You know, I mean, yeah, it's rough when people...

make fun of you and...

and stuff like that, but you know.

I know... what I saw.

You know, so it's not really about getting validation

from other people,

but it is nice to know that I'm not alone.

I am not as alone as a I feel.

Carl says the hypnosis helped him

to clarify things, do you think it helped him?

You know, I can't really say

because, you know, I was, I was, uh,

kind of going through my bad relationship at the time, um.

So, yeah, I wasn't there, I really wasn't.

Carl mentioned that something

on those tapes during his sessions

made him want to go back out to the desert.

Do you have any idea what that might be?

No, I don't know, I don't know.

For the longest time I thought, you know, it's a cry,

it's a cry for help, I mean, he just wants

to connect back to our father.

That's what I thought, I mean it was just logical.

And I still think that in a way,

but, I mean, what does he think, that my father is up there

in space and he's going to drop down and grab him?

You're working full time

and going to school at night.

How has that affected

your relationship with your brother?

I had this whole support system before,

but I don't have any of that now.

Um.

It just kind of just feels like... like now I'm on my own

and I'm trying to salvage whatever of my brother I have,

you know, that can really be here and present.

But he thinks that next weekend

he's going to go and get picked up by an alien.

You know, I can't rely on him.

Hey, guys.

These are my guys Barry and Donny.

How long have you had them?

About eight years.

Breakfast time.

I love to watch them eat,

they are like the perfect... little animal.

I love to watch their tongues come out, you know.

Everything has a tongue, it makes me feel better

about the world.

Maybe these guys are the aliens.

Or maybe we're the aliens and these guys,

it's their world and we're just the aliens.

Up first, is a story that set way up in space.

So, my dad almost bought this

hardware store we're going to.

He owned an equipment rental company

with one of his friends from the base.

And according to my mom they were going to merge

with Andy's hardware,

but it turns out this so called friend was embezzling from him.

He owed a lot of back taxes.

In six months they were broke.

Personally, I think that had a lot

to do with my dad's heart attack later on.

He'd be on board with it.

I just have to get Gina on board with it

because I am going to need her help.

My mother.

Hey, Marcus.

Hey!

You're up bright and early.

Well, you know me.

Is it cool if these guys come in?

I mean, just pretend they are not here.

- These guys are going to do a film on you? - Yeah.

You really don't have anything better to do

than follow this guy around?

Come on, go easy on them, Marcus.

- I got your stuff back here. - All right.

We're going to need some more motion detectors too.

What we have is down on the end of aisle five.

Okay.

MB750s.

I'd rather have black, all black but we'll get some white ones.

We 're going to set up a perimeter all around the HGH.

Fresh off the truck.

Don't forget to grab a couple of SD cards

for the track cameras.

I got plenty at home.

You're still coming with us right?

If you provide the beer, I'll be there.

Great.

Yeah, I've known Marcus since high school.

He's a good guy.

He's one of the only people in this town

that doesn't think I'm crazy.

- Hey, Jen. - Hi, Carl.

Your mother just finished breakfast.

- Okay, thank you. - Your welcome.

Hey, Mom, it's me.

- Hey. - Hi.

I brought you some pistachios,

but don't eat too many, okay? Or Dr. Craig will skin me alive.

Who the hell is that?

These are the film guys I was telling you about...

- Oh, no. - Remember?

- No, I don't. - Okay, okay, okay.

Better go outside. It'll just take a second.

Sure, let's go, let's go.

So, you remember that day, right?

Well, I might have to if this project doesn't work out.

I'm going out to the HGH on my 40th birthday,

and there's going to be a big event happening out there.

It's just something I've been planning on doing.

Uh, hello.

Hello, Ms. Merryweather, well, don't you look nice.

It's time for your meds.

No, no, not in front

of that damn thing, no, no.

Okay.

They gave her 15 milligrams of Raglan.

I hope the nurse didn't smell the pistachios on her breath.

That woman loves her pistachios.

- Carl? - Yeah?

Can I have a minute with you, please?

I'll be right back.

They are cutting back my mom's insurance.

Probably have to move into a semi-private room.

And...

She's not going to like that at all.

I mean, there's a bunch of crazy old farts in there.

Maybe I can have Gina talk to them.

She's good with stuff like that.

You're husband spends... most of his adult life

serving his country, and then when he's gone

they treat you like a, like a bag of dirty laundry.

It's not right.

It's not right.

It should be around here somewhere,

I buried it about a month ago.

There she is.

It can be used as a beacon when it's not obscured

by an overhead power source such as these.

I buried it out here for safekeeping.

Might want to keep your camera back a little bit,

this guy is very powerful.

There's a lot of indication that UFOS

are attracted to... magnetic fields.

Magnetic fields are natural throughout the universe.

It makes sense that you would design

your navigation system to hone in on that kind of thing.

So, I'm going to use this as a beacon for the HGH.

I told you it was powerful.

Yeah, trust me it's crossed my mind more than a few times.

I guess I'll have to, uh, re-evaluate my intuition.

Because that's, that's what's really driving me,

uh, is, is a gut feeling that I have.

Um, and maybe you'll... A little help from you know who.

Did Gina tell you to ask me that question?

I really don't understand why I have to go with you, Carl.

I'm going to have to give up a few shifts.

I mean, do you understand that?

- Witnesses, Gina. - Oh, God.

The more I have the better.

You said Marcus is going to be there and these guys.

If anything happens, you'll get it all on camera,

good quality.

- Okay, all right. - I'll see it.

It's really about Mom, right?

If something happens out there,

she wouldn't believe Walter Cronkite.

But if she hears it from you, she'll believe you.

She trusts you.

Okay, so then when nothing happens what do I tell her then?

Well, then you don't have to tell her a damn thing,

and everything will stay exactly the same.

It's just for the weekend?

Yeah, we're going up Friday.

We're going to set everything up on Saturday,

and then on Sunday, you know, we'll see what happens.

So, you're just skipping your 40th birthday altogether.

The big 4-0, you're ditching it.

We can party out there,

I mean we have plenty of beer, and like you say,

you know, Marcus is going to be there and these guys.

Come on, it'll be fun.

And you never know.

You might just get to meet a real live alien.

Oh, well, perfect.

That's exactly what I need in my life right now, Carl.

School, full time job, taking care of a house and an alien.

Great.

Okay, if I go...

you have to fix the disposal in the sink.

Seriously, Carl, you promised me a month and a half ago.

Okay, Gina, as soon as we get back I will do it.

- I promise. I promise! - As soon as we get back.

You have to.

Okay.

So, what's that for?

There's an SD card in here and a note for my sister.

I, uh, made a recording of myself, sort of explaining,

you know, why I want to make this film...

and, uh... just sort of let people know

what my thinking is behind all of this.

It's just another contingency

that I have in the mix to make sure that everything...

That my story gets told.

I don't even know why she's bringing all this stuff.

I mean we have plenty of bedding out at the HGH.

Those beds are rock hard, Carl.

What's this?

Um, I'm sorry, some real food.

We're not going to survive on MREs

and canned veggies all weekend.

- Okay, fine. - And also I'm going to need

a bigger cooler, okay?

Why?

Because I have something else

to put in there.

You don't have to bring the whole fridge, Gina!

Why are you bringing this thing?

I couldn't get the truck to start this morning.

You know, that thing hasn't run right

since you brought it to JT in the first place.

I'll have a few words when I get back, don't worry.

- Did you bring the stuff? - It's in back.

Awesome, you found your camera mounts.

Yeah, they were over at Dickie's.

And you got the wire, that's great.

How much do I owe you?

They were 7.98 each, I got two of them, so.

17.22 with tax.

Alright, I'll pick up the beer on the way out there,

and then we'll settle up when we get there.

Sounds good.

The way Carl eats his bacon is so weird.

I like to pre dip it.

You can't play around with your food like that at my house.

You play around with that food and they'd take it away.

By the way, how are you guys going

to power all that camera equipment?

Well, that stuff isn't going to take much juice.

Well, I'm bringing the jenny and the solar panels,

so we should be fine.

Gina!

Hey, Gary.

I haven't seen you around in a while.

Yeah, yeah, I'm actually at the Lamar home now, so.

Oh, why?

All those old people?

Yeah, well, you know, over there

they like to call them retirees, but.

Well, a bedpan is a bedpan, am I right?

Yeah, um, I'm just paying my dues

until I get my nursing degree.

I've only got two semesters left so, so close.

- Good for you. - Thanks.

- What's up, Marcus? - Hey.

Carl.

Hey.

Hey, it's good to see you. We all miss you around here.

- Aw. - That smile.

Oh, thank you, Gary,

that's sweet.

Yeah, really good to see you.

Yeah.

- See you. - Bye, Gary, bye.

- See you, Shawn! - Okay.

Asshole.

"A bedpan is a bedpan, am I right?"

I've known him for a long time, since we were kids.

He's always been a jerk.

I understand why Carl's sensitive about it, I'd be too.

As he would come over for like family dinners

and seemed like a great guy, all this stuff.

I thought he was great to Carl.

Um, and then my mom told me all this stuff

about how, like, he kicked Carl off Kenny's football team.

How Carl would come home crying about him.

How he would bully him behind his back.

He was trying to steal Kenny from Carl, all this stuff.

I, I couldn't take that. If you're going to be mean to my brother,

and you're going to date me?

Nah.

That's a line.

I got some jerky, you want some?

I see that, I'm okay.

- Mm. - You don't want any?

No, we just had breakfast what are you talking about?

This gas station has the best jerky.

Carl, that's so gross.

Do you know what's in that?

Whatever it is, it's good.

This place has a history.

A man named George Van Tassel built the Integratron.

He felt that he was getting communications from aliens.

I don't know, I mean, there's, you know, they,

they built it over a, a magnetic anomaly,

and that's been known to, to, you know, draw UFOs.

I've been to this place three times by myself.

The second time...

I started feeling like I did when I was ten.

I could hear... them talking to me again.

I'm not sure if... if this place made it happen,

or if it was just the right time, but.

They told me what I had to do.

And that's, that's what we're doing.

And somehow it...

it all makes sense.

Carl, what are we doing here?

I've just got to go take care of something.

- What? - Just, just, wait up, okay?

It'll take just a second.

What's he doing?

I have no idea.

So, we're out here at the Giant Rock,

not far from the Integratron.

So, it's been a while since I've been out here.

But... it's pretty much the same.

Well, I mean, uh, it's just, it's nice to be out here.

I mean, there have been UFO sightings out here.

I guess Howard Hughes would come here

on the weekends sometimes, and, uh,

they had UFO conventions out here

because Van Tassel wrote a few books

about his experiences with UFOS.

So, this seems like the perfect place to, to bury this.

But I'm like, do I laugh or cry?

What is he doing?

It's his birthday, what are you going to do, man?

- I know. - It's his birthday.

I know.

I left word with

someone that I trust

that if anything happens to all of us

while we're out there, they'll come and get this, so.

All right, let's go.

What the hell was that?

It's a message, I had to bury it.

It's got a marker over there, you can find it.

What do you mean, a message, Carl?

In case something happens, you can come back and dig it up.

Are you kidding me?

That's why we drove out to this rock?

Let's go, I'm hungry.

When are you going to finish that windmill?

Oh, I don't know,

I had some lights up there before,

but I took them down because I didn't

want them to get stolen.

Who'd be crazy enough

to climb up on that thing?

I climbed it.

So, do you think your mom liked it out here?

Uh, I mean she was definitely reluctant at first, uh.

Wait, first I want to make sure that toilet works

because I don't trust Carl. One second.

What are you guys doing there?

It's a Faraday cage, it protects the camera against EMPs.

You mean like from like a bomb?

Well, any electromagnetic force really.

I mean, I don't know what to expect from our visitors.

We don't want something awesome to happen

and have nothing but static to show for it.

Unless they zap us with their death ray or something.

Well, in that case it won't matter

because we'll be jelly toast.

These are going to give us high def

footage all around the compound.

They record to SD cards, they go forever.

Where's the remote?

Still in the box.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, that's on.

I'm going to record a little bit to make sure

we know what we're getting.

There she is. This one's good.

- Here you go. - Thanks.

I'm numbering all these for each camera.

Sure.

Carl, I thought you said there was cell coverage here.

I'm not getting anything.

You're standing in the middle of a big metal box, Gina.

So?

You have to go outside.

Hey, yes, I'm calling about Denise Merryweather records.

Well, I guess I'm just wondering

if, if I could get those on Monday?

So, why don't you guys have the cameras on now?

We don't need to, they're not coming until Sunday.

Well, what if they come early?

They won't.

Okay, just so I can get this straight, okay.

You're telling me that these aliens.

Or whatever we're going to call them,

are traveling through space and time

across the entire universe

to get here on your 40th birthday?

That's what I've been saying, Gina.

Don't ask me how I know.

I just do.

Carl, you saw them 30 year ago.

I mean, right?

Yeah, that was 30 years from our perspective.

When you calculate speed of travel, time dilation.

- No. - Gravity. I mean...

No, please, Carl.

It might've been just a few weeks for them.

You know, Einstein's theory of relativity?

Please, Carl, no boggle talk.

Einstein was probably one of them.

Remember? Close Encounters.

Best film ever.

I cannot get across town on time

let alone the entire universe.

That's for sure.

Oh, shut up, Carl, you know what I mean.

Shut your trap too, Marcus.

- What, I didn't say anything! - You didn't have to.

What the hell was that laugh?

It said enough.

Dad used to call it Gina time in high school.

Oh, no, seriously don't, I hate that.

She'd say she's be home at midnight on a weekend,

and he'd have to add two hours to it every single time.

Okay, well, sorry I had a social life, Carl.

I wasn't like you locked up in your damn room all day.

I was busy, with my friends.

More like getting busy with your friends.

Wow, I got to pee.

Assholes.

- Don't take too long. - Oh, my God!

I like it out here.

You can go for a really long time...

before you even... see or hear a plane.

I don't know,

answers I guess.

Sometimes I wonder how monkeys felt... you know,

the first time they saw humans.

We recognize ourselves in them.

You know, and they recognize... themselves in us.

You can tell kind of, but.

You're really both from two different worlds.

Morning.

Morning.

There's coffee.

So, we're getting the perimeter set up.

These are great.

They are wireless.

Good range, low interference.

Hey, where did you say you wanted this one?

On the far side of the container.

Facing that way?

Yeah, hopefully...

these will all work once we get them set up.

So, there's four zones, north south, east and west.

Okay, Marcus, head over to the next one.

Copy.

Okay, man, that's good, stop.

Carl, where are the extra paper towels?

If it's not under there you have to go the PX.

Okay, Marcus head to zone three.

- Stop. - Where are the keys to the PX?

They are up there by the fridge where they always are.

Okay, good, yeah, keep going.

Copy that.

I don't know.

Carl's always been a little different.

But I've never seen him like this.

With you guys and all this equipment.

Who spends 200 bucks on a magnet?

There it is.

This is as close as I could get to being on axis.

I took a bunch of compass readings out here,

last time I was hunting.

And right about here is where it flips over.

I'll show you.

See, see right there. It's going wacky.

How's it doing that?

It could be a lot of things.

It's not that uncommon,

sometimes there's iron ore in the rocks that goof it up.

I'm hoping to take advantage of the anomaly with our magnet,

amplify it for our beacon.

Soon we'll be open for business.

I told you we've got a full first

aid kit in the truck and a nurse's aide right there.

We're covered.

I'm not talking about no cuts

or bruises, Carl.

What happens if they hit us

with some radiation or something?

Oh, my God, Marcus, no.

- No - Why would they do that?

I don't know maybe they get pissed off real easy.

This isn't the movies Marcus, they are not

running around with ray guns.

They are not running around

at all.

Look, I'm just saying,

if something serious happens,

what are we going to do, way out here?

If something serious happens we just call 911

and search and rescue can be here in 15 minutes.

Carl, they can't.

They airlift stranded hikers

are out of these hills all of the time!

They make you pay an arm and a leg for that shit.

Look, if something happens, I'll pay for it, okay?

Oh, that is a good one.

Marcus, we're fine. Seriously,

nothing is going to happen, okay?

Hey, Carl, did you tell Kenny

that we were coming out here for your birthday?

No.

He'd just think I was crazy.

Well, I think you're crazy.

Well, Marcus don't.

Well, Marcus is crazy too Carl.

Nothing ventured nothing gained, Gina.

Oh, my God, Dad's famous last words.

What's that supposed to mean?

Need I remind you of the house boat that he built on Elm.

Don't start on that again.

Oh, well, yeah, it was a sight to be seen.

Had about four bedrooms, finished kitchen, working stove.

A diving board, it had a diving board.

That diving board was nice.

Oh, yeah, it was so nice.

One tiny problem.

There was no way to get it to the water.

It wouldn't fit on the trailer.

It wouldn't even fit on the trailer.

And that is what happens when you build a house boat

in the middle of the desert.

- It was very large. - Enormous.

We turned it into a fort.

It took up the entire yard.

What's going on?

Something triggered the alarm, right there.

- Carl, what is it? - Probably a coyote.

It wasn't a coyote!

Come on, let's go check it out.

- Take your flashlight. - I am.

Holy shit.

It's a goddamn owl.

Jesus.

There's another one, there's two of them!

Will you look at that.

- Well, ain't that something. - Carl, what is

- going on? - Quiet, Gina.

There's a couple of owls out here.

Seriously?

That's why you're up?

God, Carl, you made it sound like

it was a goddamn mountain lion.

I'm trying to sleep.

These are messengers, Marcus.

What does that mean?

Owls are known to show up to UFO events,

Mike Clelland wrote a whole book about it.

They are supposed to be some kind

of inter-dimensional scouts.

Marci said she saw an owl,

but the cops said it was just coincidence.

This is no coincidence.

It's synchronicity.

They are here for a reason.

Happy birthday to me.

I'm the big 4-0.

Do you see anything?

No, then again I don't know what I'm looking for.

Prints, anything out of the ordinary.

If last night was just a screen memory,

we might be able to find some physical evidence.

It's when the mind replaces

something it can't explain with something it can.

Like... substituting a couple of owls for a couple of aliens.

I don't see anything, Carl.

Look for anything. Scorch marks.

I mean, I don't even see any owl tracks.

- Oh! - What the hell, Gina.

- Get it out, get it out. - -What is it?

I don't know, it's a tarantula or something.

It's huge.

Get it out, don't kill it,

- just get it out. - I won't kill it.

There he is.

Oh, shit.

It must have crawled in through

- the drain pipe opening. - God, Carl!

Hey, Marcus, go get me a bowl or something.

- Okay, I'll get it. - That's a good one.

Got it.

Wash that out when you're done,

- wash it out. - I will.

- Want to eat it for dinner? - Oh, my God,

Carl, get it out!

There you go, Mr. Spider.

Go, find a girlfriend.

They are real active this time of year.

It's mating season.

I was just about shit a brick

when I saw it in there.

Maybe it's good you were next to a toilet.

- Oh, shut up, Marcus. - Hey, hey.

It serves you right, are you kidding me?

What's that?

I'm not falling for it.

No, no, no, somebody's coming.

Yeah, he's right.

I wonder who it is?

Maybe it's some hikers or something.

I don't know.

I'm going to go tell them they are on private property.

Well, that was some BS.

Carl, who were those guys?

They said they were from Edwards.

Well, what did they want?

They wanted us to leave.

Off of our own property, can you believe that?

- Well, they can't do that, Carl. - -They said it's a precaution.

They are doing some exercises over the next couple of days,

and they are just going around telling everybody.

- That's not right. - What kind of exercise,

it doesn't even make any sense.

They didn't say exactly.

They just asked us to clear off,

for our own safety.

I mean, I guess they could be testing

some sort of chemical weapon, but even that feels weird,

- why would they do that here? - They are not testing anything, Gina.

- It's a part of the whole thing. - What whole thing?

You know, the owls last night,

these government guys today.

Synchronicity, it's all connected.

Something's going on, I know it.

Jesus, Carl, they are a bunch of lackeys

from the base trying to get some target practice in.

Nothings' going on!

Those were not lackeys, Gina.

One of them was SF, I could tell.

And they are out here in a spit clean government issue.

Way the hell out here?

He's got a point, Gina.

You don't send special forces guys out for nothing.

All right, well then, what do you want to do, Carl?

Huh, do you want to leave for your birthday?

Is that what you want to do?

After all this?

Happy birthday by the way.

I don't know about you, guys,

but I am so sick of the government jacking us around.

First, it was mama's insurance papers,

which I'm still dealing with, and then this shit.

It's bullshit and we don't have to deal with it.

I just don't want anyone to get hurt.

You weren't worried about me getting zapped

with radiation a while ago.

Oh, come on, Marcus, that's different.

- How is it different? - Okay, okay, you two,

please, let's not get into that right now.

The point is this is our property,

and as long as we're not doing anything illegal,

we can be out here for as long as we want,

and last time I checked it's not illegal

to look for aliens on your birthday.

Am I right?

Yeah, I would be really surprised if that was a law.

Okay, Carl...

I think you know what dad would do.

He would tell those chumps

to shove their orders up their asses.

- Yeah, he would. - Yeah, he would.

Huh?

Okay, then.

We've got to lay low if we're going to stay out here.

Marcus, can you move the cars behind the containers,

and I'm going to get the gas masks.

Gas masks, what do you need those for?

Contingencies, remember?

So, what did he say?

He sounds a little spooked.

Well, there goes our sound guy.

Yeah, I guess we can just hang on camera mics.

He's just spooked.

Hopefully, he can find his way home.

There are things in this life

that just can't be explained by science alone.

And if they can be it's... it's a type of science

that we know nothing about yet.

Arthur C Clarke said...

"A sufficiently advanced technology

is indistinguishable from magic."

And I've always liked magic.

Okay, check this out, okay? Shh.

Get a good look.

It's like we at least need this.

But I hope that the candles are going to stay lit.

Here we go!

Now blow out the candles!

I can't believe you made this.

Yeah, that's why I needed the bigger cooler you dingus.

Oh, my God.

- Aw, man. - Happy 4-0, old man.

- Thank you guys. - Happy birthday.

Love you.

- It's cool, huh? - Aw,

I can't believe it.

I wish Mom was here.

Yeah, yeah...

But you know what? She probably would've been dead

if she saw that spider...

it's just as well.

You just about died yourself, Gina.

Well, Marcus, I was trying to take a pee,

and the thing almost climbed up my hoo-ha,

what do you expect me to do, it was huge!

It was probably more scared

of your hoo-ha than you were of it!

- Oh! - Oh, know what?

Fuck you.

That's why it was all curled up

and shaking in the corner.

You know what, you two should really consider

doing open mic night at Thorney's.

- And don't forget to tip your waitress. - Mm-mm.

Reload.

I'll be back.

Are you okay, Carl?

Yeah.

I just hope this hasn't been a big waste of time.

And money.

Hey.

You're doing what you believe in.

You know?

Dad would have been so proud of you.

And despite what happens.

That's all that matters.

And also...

you really got to fix that disposal when we get back.

It's really important.

I will.

There she is.

Alright it's all powered up,

so maybe you want to hang back a little bit,

you know you don't want to zap your camera.

Alright.

Alright, come on, you have got to see this.

It's completely demagnetized.

It's not doing anything, is it?

It's not doing anything.

I don't know how that could happen.

Well, I don't know,

maybe I just got screwed out of 200 bucks.

You order stuff from those guys all the time.

Maybe it's defective.

I don't see how I've had it

buried for over a month,

and it worked find when we set this up.

How does a magnet demagnetize.

Well, a few ways, I mean rough handling for one.

But it's obvious this thing hasn't moved since we set it up.

Heating it past it's curie point,

but that's 580 degrees Fahrenheit,

so that seems out of the question.

Other than that.

An opposing magnetic field.

A very big one.

You guys!

What does she want now?

- Carl! - We're coming!

- What's the matter. - Didn't you guys hear that?

- No, hear what? - That buzzing.

It was really, really loud, Carl.

I didn't hear anything did you?

No, I didn't hear nothing.

I was literally standing right here

and it happened three or four times,

and I thought it was you guys,

and I went outside and you weren't there.

And I was just, I was worried.

And then, I don't know, I thought it could it be

like something electric, like a light shorting.

I don't smell anything.

You guys are sure it wasn't you two.

No, Gina, we were over the hill by the beacon.

Well, that seems more likely.

I mean, we do get a lot of stray signals out here.

Well, we better go out and finish that.

Shit!

What the hell was that?

I'm going to go, I'm going to go check it out.

- Carl, Carl! - Carl, wait! Just hold on!

- Are you sure you... - Carl!

Marcus, be careful!

Maybe a bird ran into it.

Or one of those owls.

Holy mother!

Guys come over here look at this!

What is it?

It's our magnet, or what's left of it.

It makes no sense.

What did you guys find?

What? How did it get over here.

It was propelled somehow.

It's been re-magnetized.

That's some shit, Carl.

That thing was 200 yards away.

I know, hell of a magnetic field for this to happen.

Maybe it has something to do with the buzzing I heard.

So much for our beacon,

no way it works now.

I don't know... maybe it already has.

Why would someone do that, Gina?

I don't know, Carl,

maybe it's the government guys trying to scare us.

It seems likely.

That's now how they operate!

If they thought we were still here

they'd come right up to the door

and tell us to leave.

- He's right. - Something propelled

that thing over 200 yards.

Even Kershaw doesn't have an arm that good.

So, what, you really think aliens did that?

I don't know what to think, Gina!

All I know is something is going on around here,

and it is not human related!

That's what, that's what I heard.

That's what I heard, I told you guys.

I think that's...

it's happening.

My God, Carl.

Shh, shh, shh.

I'm going out there.

No, Carl, no!

Just wait, just wait!

Gina, if this is what I think it is,

I want you guys to see it.

No, you don't even

know what you're looking...

Stop acting like Mama, Gina.

Well, then stop acting like a goddamn child!

What do you think this is, Gina, huh?

Do you think I'm having fun out here, really?

What?

Going through my life being looked at

like I'm some kind of freak.

Do you know what it's like to be an embarrassment

to your family?

That is not true, Carl, that is not true!

Okay, you made that up in your head, it's not true.

I'm not embarrassed by you!

- I love you! Stay! - Gina!

- That's not what this is about... - Gina!

You have just got to stay here,

we're all in it together.

We have to be safe, okay?

Marcus, keep an eye on the cameras.

Carl, what are you saying?

And turn on the interior camera too.

- We'll go together, just stay! - -Gina,

something is happening and I need you here.

Carl, what, what are you talking about?

Goddammit!

Marcus, go after him!

Grab the flashlight.

Carl, wait up!

Carl!

Carl!

What are you doing?

- What the fuck? - What the hell was that?

Carl?

Carl!

Carl!

Carl, where are you?

Goddammit, Carl!

Carl!

Well, if he's out there, he's not answering.

He kept telling us to stay back.

I know, but I don't understand why.

Especially because he asked us... to see it.

Whatever it is.

I don't understand.

My name is Carl James Merryweather,

I am of sound mind and body.

I am making this film to record

my final days here on this earth.

This is not a suicide note in any way shape or form.

I am preparing for an extraordinary occurrence

that will be happening in a matter of a few weeks.

As many of you may already know,

I was visited by an alien life form

on my 10th birthday while I was

camping in the desert with my father.

It was a well-documented event.

Recently, I have come into possession

of irrefutable knowledge that the alien

I came into contact with then will be returning

for a reunion with me exactly 30 years later.

Yes, I hear you, just me.

My intention is to record this event

to prove once and for all that the Skyman is real.

Stay back, Marcus!

And extra-terrestrial intelligent life

does, in fact, exist.

Stay back!

Mama, Gina, Kenny,

I love you.