Man-Thing

There is a sacred place in the deep swamp...

where the mangrove trees grow close together...

and the rays of the sun are never seen.

My people call this place the "Dark Water."

It is here that the spirit of the swamp lives.

This place was always filled with life and beauty.

But evil men have changed that...

with their drills, their pipes,

greed and murder.

Now the swamp cries out a warning:

A time of retribution is here.

Wait! Hey!

Whoa!

Mmm!

Not here, Billy.

Wait!

Sarah! Stop!

I mean it, Sarah! Stop!

Come on, Billy!

I don't want to!

Come on back to the fire. This swamp's dangerous.

You're out of your goddamn mind!

Have you heard the stories about this place?

Hey.

People disappear down here all the time, girl.

Why you being so crazy, huh?

You're not afraid of the dark, are you, Billy boy?

Oh, hell no. That ain't it. This place has got bad mojo.

'Fraidy cat. Oh, shit!

You still afraid, Billy boy? We shouldn't be doin' this out here.

Holy shit!

You seem like a virgin, Billy.

I ain't no fuckin' virgin.

Oh, yeah! Oh!

Oh, my God! You liked that, huh, baby?

That was good, huh?

Oh, my God!

So, you're taking me the scenic route, huh?

What in the hell are you doin' down here anyway, boy?

Start a new life, maybe. Lookin' for some peace and quiet.

You know.

You city boys sure are funny.

Why do they call it "Bywater"?

Because it's by the water.

No. No, ma'am. No, I can't.

I'm sorry, but I have to stay put.

Ma'am, I don't know where your son is.

I gotta get out of this town. So why would you wanna leave paradise?

Geez!

Man, you scared the shit out of me. Sorry about that.

I'm Kyle Williams, the new sheriff.

You must be Eric Fraser, yeah?

Yeah, yeah. Fraser'll do.

What? No offense, but--

Well, I just expected someone more--

more experienced, I mean, considerin'--

Considering what?

See, Sheriff Corely, he, uh--

Well, he kind of went insane before he disappeared.

That's a lot of missing persons for a small town.

I guess they didn't fill you in all the way.

It started with this Indian medicine man-- Ted Sallis.

He was the first one to disappear.

Corely thought Sallis put a curse on Bywater.

Hey, I can take all this down.

No.

Leave it.

So what do you think, Fraser? I don't know.

Gator attacks. Murder, possibly.

Possibly.

Another one disappeared last night.

Local boy. Billy James.

Jesus. Yeah.

Who's Rene Laroque?

He's a local troublemaker. Corely thought...

he and Sallis were in this together.

Called him a "shape-shifter."

But we could never catch him.

Why can't you catch him?

Why can't we catch him?

Hell, you ain't never been in that swamp before, have you? Well--

Deputy Fraser. Oh, hey, Val.

It's the coroner. Whoa, whoa. What?

Oh, my God.

Is that Billy? Yeah.

- That's Billy. -

Fraser, you go wait outside.

Yeah. Yeah, okay.

Cause of death?

Only thing around here large enough to do this, Sheriff, is a gator.

You know, there's a-- there's a girl that was with him.

She might've seen what happened. She's down at the hospital here.

Is this normal?

This green stuff?

Sheriff, this body has been in the swamp. You understand?

Yeah, for one night.

Mr. Schist just called. There's a disturbance at the oil site.

Can you go? I'd like to stick with this right now.

Mr. Schist asked if you could handle it personally.

Said he wants the new sheriff to see what he's been up against.

Okay.

- I want a full autopsy. - You got it.

I appreciate your rights to free assembly,

but this here's private property.

Now, we can cut you out one by one,

or one of you can tell me where the key is to that chain.

This is not a goddamn-- This is a work site!

Surely you got a home to go to, girlie.

Now, I've been real patient with you folk.

- But you all are trespassin'. - You just listen to the man!

I'm givin' you one last chance to disperse!

Or else, I'm gonna drag you out by that chain--

Fraser, I'm real glad you're here.

I want all these folk arrested.

Now, now, Jake. This is Kyle Williams, our new sheriff.

Sheriff, this is Jake Schist. Mornin'.

He's a foreman here for his dad, headin' up the new drillin' operations.

Good. You can arrest 'em.

Arresting all of them might be a little difficult.

Let me see what I can do.

All right, everyone! I appreciate your right to free assembly,

but this is a privately-owned work site.

Your actions here are illegal.

You gotta get your asses up out of the mud and go home.

Who the hell are you?

- I'm the new sheriff, ma'am. - Well, have a taste of country hospitality, Sheriff.

Our asses aren't goin' anywhere.

- Why don't y'all go fuck a tree, ya hippie bitch? - Here.

Fraser. Oh. Got it, chief.

Ma'am, right or wrong, this is my job.

Yeah, well, this is about a different kind of law, Sheriff.

Schist has been committing a crime against these people on this land for long enough.

You got handcuffs. Put 'em on Schist.

[ Protestors Murmuring In Agreement ] Bolt cutters.

Hey, hey, hey! What are you doin'?

Sheriff, I-I'm sorry.

Are you all right?

Walk or ride? What did you say?

Put me down! What do you think you're doin'?

This is a violation of my civil rights! Put me down now!

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you...

in a court of law. Who do you think you are?

Fraser, cut everyone loose. I want to speak to my attorney!

You have the right to an attorney. I want a lawyer!

If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Put me down!

Get in the car.

You had better be arresting me,

'cause I'm gonna kick your city-boy ass--

Got in straight to work, Sheriff.

I like that. Howdy, Sheriff.

Frederic Schist. Kyle Williams.

Hell of a way to spend your first day on the job, Kyle. I hate this. I really do.

These are good folk. I sympathize.

Can't let the goddamn flies spoil the picnic, Sheriff.

You're gonna hear a lot about me around here.

I'm the, uh, big fish in the small pond.

Bottom line is, I'm not breakin' any laws.

Not any American laws, anyways. And I paid a bundle for this land.

What do you mean, "American laws"?

Well, you're gonna hear that honey that you arrested...

sing about tribal laws.

Horseshit excuses...

for terrorists to put sand in my gears.

But is there something you wanna tell me? Something specific?

You're a straight shooter, ain't you? I like that.

Well, there is, uh, someone specific.

Rene Laroque. He's part Indian.

Hell, he could be out there in the swamp killin' people.

Lives out there like an animal.

Sir, before I, um, arrest anybody,

I need to conduct my own proper investigation. Of course you do.

What I'm sayin' is, it needs to be sooner rather than later.

Let me tell you. When the dust has settled,

you'll find this a nice place to live.

Isn't that right, Jake? Yes, sir.

Real nice place to live.

I'll make sure of it.

Thank you, Mr. Schist.

Jake. Get that dozer movin'!

Pa.

He's kind of young to be a sheriff, ain't he?

Yes, he is.

That's the idea.

Name? Teri Elizabeth Richards.

Occupation? I teach third grade.

You think getting arrested's setting a good example for your students?