Fear Itself

Steven?

Steven?

Yeah.

Hey.

Hey.

So, what do you think?

It's, um... it's big.

You have a family of 12 I don't know about?

Don't be a buzz kill.

Come on, take off your jacket,

help me unpack.

Boy. How much is the rent?

You looked at, like, what, 100 houses?

So why this one?

I don't know. I just kind of...

Had a feeling about it, you know?

It's... like I belong here.

Oh, hey. Don't... don't touch that.

That's my dissertation research.

I still have to organize all that stuff.

What's really in this box? Porn?

You know what?

I feel like there should be an art deco chair

and an oriental rug right there.

Do you ever have really strong déjá vu?

Aah! Huh?

All done.

How the hell did that happen?

It took you long enough.

Hey, it's, um, it's 10:00.

Can we order some pizza?

Uh, it's, uh...

I think it's getting kind of late.

I should probably walk you home.

Whew.

Wow, this is a really nice bathroom.

Aah!

Aah!

Why are you looking at me like that?

What's wrong with you?

Nothing. I'm fine.

Hello?

Karen?

Karen, is that you?

Maxie.

Can we have a party, maxie?

Karen?

Maxie, I'm bored.

I haven't been for a week.

Can we have a party?

Who is that?

Please, maxie, can we have a party, maxie?

Please? Karen?

How'd you get in?

Ok, ok.

Uhh!

You look thinner.

How have you been sleeping?

How are things with Karen?

Great.

We're, uh, we're great friends.

And you're ok with that, are you?

No.

How long have you two been friends again?

Um, I first met her about a year ago,

jogging across campus.

It was like I had been waiting for her my entire life

and she just finally arrived.

But you still haven't been physical with her in any way?

No. I can't.

What do you think would happen if you were?

It's strange. I...

I'll try to hold her hand or lean in to kiss her

and suddenly it's like I can't breathe.

I get this horrible, uh, tightness in my chest,

this pain.

Sense of guilt?

I don't know.

Maybe.

Anyway, I'm not here to talk about Karen.

All right. Tell me about the blackouts.

Well, I'll be in the house

and, uh, strange images appear.

Visions.

And I'll blink my eyes and an hour will have passed.

Scary images?

Not sexy ones like the girl in the tub,

the one who looks like Karen?

We're back onto Karen?

Well, these things could be related.

I mean, what if these visions are merely repressed childhood memories?

I had a very happy childhood,

and I've never had any difficulties with women before.

Ok.

But we do have blackouts, sense of detachment.

I mean, what you're describing

is what we call dissociation.

So, uh, I think we should dig a little deeper.

As you breathe in,

feel the warmth spread through your body.

You're going back, Steven.

Back to a time when something happened that upset you,

something that you have deliberately forgotten.

What you looking at, maxie?

4, 3, 2,

1.

How are you feeling?

I feel good.

I was, uh, in my house.

It was different.

It was decorated like it was the twenties.

It wasn't my face. It was this...

This long face and a goatee.

There was a woman there.

I started recording the session about halfway through.

And?

Listen.

What are you thinking?

I'm thinking for a priest

you ask a lot of nutty questions.

You seem angry. What are you angry about?

Zelda. Zelda's got my goat.

I could kill that little slut.

Things she says to me.

I could slice open her throat,

slip in my finger, and pull out her tongue.

Who is that?

It's you.

If you don't mind terribly,

would you stop calling me Steven?

My name is Maxwell.

Ok. Tell me about yourself, Maxwell.

There's not much to tell.

I was a boxer once.

Took a few too many hits to the head.

And what do you do now?

Well, I make do.

There's always work for a big six who's good with a shiv.

What's a shiv?

Cross me sometime and I'll show you.

Is that how you got the money to rent the old house?

Well, I lucked into a couple grand.

Besides, this shack is brand new, buddy guy.

Brand new.

When were you born, Maxwell?

1893.

What year is it now?

Excuse me?

It's 1928.

What, you been nipping at the wine after mass?

You seem angry.

What are you so angry about?

Zelda.

Zelda's got my goat.

I could kill that little slut.

Things she says to me.

I could slice open her throat, slip in...

Aah!

Sorry. Sorry.

You sneaking up on me?

No, I knocked and I called your name like 30 times.

You didn't answer. God, who does that?

Don't be mad.

I brought you a house-warming gift.

Thanks for all the candles.

Heh.

Mmm. Mm-hmm.

Let me ask you something.

Do you believe in reincarnation?

I don't know.

I mean, why is that everyone's

always queen Elizabeth in a past life?

You know?

No one's ever just some ordinary peasant.

What about hypnosis...

Past life regression,

people who speak in other people's voices?

Mm-mmm, don't even get me started on recovered memories.

I mean, those almost always turn out to be false.

Or they're just, um...

Fantasies that are prodded out by an overzealous therapist.

Since when did you become such a skeptic?

Oh, come on.

You know I read a lot of books on that stuff.

This one woman recovered memories of this whole plantation drama.

It turned out to be from some harlequin novel.