In centuries past,
when the world was full of mystery,
and traveling was reserved for the very few,
a new form of collection was born.
The cabinet of curiosities.
Now, this collection could be lodged in a building,
a chamber,
or a piece of furniture.
In these private collections, one would find books,
paintings, or specimens of natural and unnatural history.
A dragon's tooth, a Fiji mermaid, a unicorn's horn.
And behind each of these,
a story.
One could encounter something as large as a suit of armor
or as small as a set of keys.
The keys to a storage room.
That old place where one keeps the past… alive.
The things that remind us of our deeds, our darkness, our sins.
The story today is Lot 36.
And the director,
Guillermo Navarro.
Just two hours ago,
allied air forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait.
-These attacks continue as I speak.
We have before us
the opportunity to forge for ourselves, and for future generations,
a new world order.
A world where the rule of law, not the law of the jungle,
governs the conduct of nations.
When we are successful, and we will be,
we have a real chance at this new world order.
An order in which a credible United Nations
can use its peacekeeping role
to fulfill the promise and vision of the UN standards.
We have no argument with the people of Iraq.
Indeed, for the innocents
caught in this conflict,
I pray for their safety.
Our goal is not the conquest of Iraq.
It is the liberation of Kuwait.
It is my hope that somehow the Iraqi people can, even now,
convince their dictator that he must lay down his arms,
leave Kuwait, and let Iraq itself…
…rejoin the family of peace-loving nations.
Thomas Paine wrote…
…"These are the times that try men's souls."
Those well-known words are so very true today.
But even as planes of the multinational forces attack Iraq,
I prefer to think of peace, not war.
I am convinced not only that we will prevail,
but that out of the horror of combat will come the recognition
that no nation can stand against a world united.
…our land. We fought for it and won.
These immigrants take and take, and give nothing back.
Who told them they were welcome here? Who invited them in?
We made this country, fought for its freedoms,
and they want to fit right in.
-Fuck yeah. -Reap the benefits.
Loot the social programs.
Brown rights, Black rights, well, what about white rights?
Oh no. No, we can't talk about that.
No, we can't.
We're gonna take calls soon.
No self-righteous, liberal assholes, please.
We've got Fred from Williamsville on the line. What's on your mind today?
Nice wheels.
My pride and joy.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Don't be shy. Come to Daddy.
Join your brothers and sisters.
I'm Eddie, and you're in the Gold Coast.
For new faces, that's long-term rentals.
Folks who don't trust banks, who stash gold bricks
inside of old couch cushions, fur coats in boxes.
For some reason, they leave it all behind, you know, the three Ds.
Death,
divorce, debt.
Bad luck for them, good luck for you.
But sometimes we roll up the door praying for a big score
only to find a pile of shit on the other side.
We're short and sweet today, starting with lot 36.
This is the one owned for decades by the same man.
May he rest in peace up there, down there or wherever he may be.
I'm just covering all the bases.
-Without further ado…
Yeah.
A peek, a whiff.
It's all you get.
Let the bidding begin!
All yours, Bill.
And we are on the block.
On the block, starting with 50. 50 going, 50 goes.
-We got 50 dollars. -100.
-100 going, do I hear 150? -150.
-Oooh, one five zero, we got her once! -175.
-250. -250 going once--
-350.
Routing out the competition.
I got four bills, four bills I got. 400 going once, twice, three times.
Sold, to the shy man with the deep pockets.
All right, everybody, start filing out. Next one's down the hall.
I heard you, Tommy.
Did you, fuck-nut?
I remember telling you not to cross county lines before settling in full.
-I haven't. -Oh.
So, my guy eyes on you was lying?
-I'm here to make money, to pay you. -I want my money now, lying piece of shit.
Pay phone's outside.
-You've gotta give me some room. -Sure.
-I'm handling it. - Better have it tonight, motherf--
You got that contract?
Your cut from the last unit.
Did it bear fruit?
Stones were made of glass, melting the gold yielded some.
-Looks light. What about the wooden canes? -Replicas. Shitty wooden resin.
That's minus the legwork and gas money.
Guess that's why you got the truck and I ride a busted moped.
-I'll cut you a check for the unit. -Get the fuck out of here. A check.
You better get me my money.
A check.
-That's slick. -Got any idea how much I make an hour?
Got my keys?
Before we get to that, I wanna show you something.
Here it is.
Check this out. You gotta see.
This is the guy that owns the one you bought.
Every day,
same guy.
Carrying the same bag.
Stayed in there for an hour, hour-and-a-half.
-And then… -What's this got to do with me?
Ain't you curious?
No, I'm not, and I've never been. Maybe that's why I'm still alive.
You gotta be shitting me.
Guy's had it since this place opened.
Going back to '45.
Kept mostly to himself, polite,
tighter than a Tupperware lid.
White anger.
White anger… Am I allowed to say Black anger?
I didn't think so.
Anyway, something special in there, for him to check on it like this?
Yeah, old clothes and worn-out shoes.
I bought a unit in Palmetto packed with jars.
Urine, feces, hair, and toenails.
And bags and bags of coupons. The older we get, the stranger, man.
Now look.
Bag's empty when he comes out.
-Of course, it's a fucking storage unit. -Yeah, but what was he up to?
He dropped something in there. Every day for decades.
Here's with the hopping again.
What do you think it is?
I'll dig around.
For your lot 36.
Enjoy.
Remember, I'm the one tipped you off.
Don't forget to spread the love.
Stingy bastard.
The skies over Baghdad are illuminated tonight
as allied forces unleash an assault. Another…
Hello, Mr. Eddie. I came to pay my bill.
Two months.
Uh, I thought you left the unit.
Gave it up. We sold it on the block when we didn't hear from you.
Oh, no, no, no.
Mr. Eddie,
how long I am renting here?
We sent you an eviction notice, Ms. Amelia.
-Your phone was disconnected. -I telled you, I moved.
I have a new number.
Maybe you sent the notice to the older address.
-The wrong one. -Well, whose fault is that?
You!
I called. I said, "Please, Mr. Eddie, don't forget."
That was…
You see that guy right there?
His name is Nick Appleton.
He bought your unit.
Go see him.
Maybe you can get some of your things back.
Hmm.
-Thank you. -You're welcome.
Thank you very much.
I'm sorry.
Eyes on me.
Mr. Appleton?
-Mr. Appleton? Mr. Appleton. -Whoa!
Sorry. My name is Amelia, Mr. Eddie said you bought my unit.
-It's on the other side. Number 87. -What if I did?
They made mistake.
-Who's they? You were evicted, right? -They send wrong address.
-Talk to the manager. -No. Mr. Eddie said I speak to you.
Fucker.
Is that right?
-Speak fast, this ear. -All my family things are there.
Uh, letters, photos, personal stuff, you know?
Well, I threw a lot of stuff away and sold some others.
There may be some stuff left in there, but whatever is in there is mine now.
No, it's not yours.
-Where are you from? -My name is Amelia, and I am from here.
I took two buses.
Legally, you lost whatever is in there. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.
All my children's pictures. My mama, my papa's letters.
What good are they to you, Mr. Appleton?
You let me look around and I bother nobody.
Maybe some things are still there, and I'll go quick.
I'm sorry for your troubles, but they're not mine.
You can do nothing for me?
A thousand bucks. You can have what's left there.
I make this money in a month, cleaning.
Here.
This is yours, I bet you can still use it.
What's that?
Do you speak Spanish?
No. And clearly you don't speak English.
Make an effort when you're in my country and try and insult me in my own language.
Dumb bitch.
I said I hope you rot in hell!
As usual, it's all on me.
All on me.
Like I don't have enough problems.
I don't need this shit.
-It's always something with this shit.
If it ain't the rain, it's the pipe. I gotta get a new job.
Hey, Eddie.
The unit I got is a lot smaller than this.
What you talking about? Ain't planning on getting a discount on account of size?
What made you so cheap, man?
Smaller space, fewer items. All's I'm saying.
Nothing's up to code in this section.
It was built in the 1940s. Units were wider, deeper, steeper.
Connected to each other.
I don't know what the fuck is…
Excuse me. I gotta get a mop.
That lady Amelia's sitting outside.
Yeah, thanks for ambushing me with that, by the way.
Let the lady see if any of her stuff's left, for Christ's sake.
I'm not buying into being the bad guy here,
especially not from you.
Don't be a hypocrite like everyone else.
Hey, look. You and me got our thing going?
Okay. I got my stuff on the side, sure, but this lady? She's too good.
The game has rules. You win some, you lose some.
Look at me. I did what I had to for this country.
How the fuck do you bring that into every conversation?
Because it bears fucking repeating! The game I played was rigged.
Lost this ear except for high-pitched ringing day in, day out.
Fine. Wife? Gone.
I'll take all the losses. But now it's my turn.
You're not the only one that feels fucked, brother.
Rigged? The front line is all Black and Brown.
Maybe you didn't recall all the dark-skinned bodies you stepped over
on your way to take a leak in the Perfume River.
I bought that unit fair and square.
So fuck you, fuck her, and fuck this guilt trip!
-And in my unit, everyone was green.
Pfft.
-Fuck me blue!
Twelve K, tomorrow.
You made your fucking point.
Now I made my point.
Fuck.
Dammit.
Shoo!
Fucking hell.
Oh!
The fuck happened to you?
I'm borrowing your first aid kit.
-Maybe you should sit for a minute. -What?
Why? I'm fine. I gotta get some shit appraised.
-Must be something good. -Antique pieces, some gold.
Maybe you should skip the five-and-dime this time.
Go over to Agatha's joint on Douglas Drive.
She's good people.
Don't be hostile with your big, weird eyes, and your bloody head.
Fuck off.
You need a chill pill, Nick.
It's gold, sure, but I'll only pay scrap for it.
Eddie said you'd do better for us.
Sure, if you guys do better for me.
Look at this.
No certified marks on the metal, craftsmanship's crude.
Can't even dress it up.
Next, please.
The table and chairs are good. That inlay is real.
Now those are excellent.
It's a séance table.
Like Ouija-board séance?
A bit more serious than that.
What have we here?
Have you ever seen a--
Yes.
"Liber Primus, Daemonia."
"Liber Secundus,
Symvolia."
"Liber Tertius,
Perilipsi."
What does it mean?
They're important, right? Valuable, I bet.
Not my province.
Whose then?
I have an associate in mind.
And this…
-I've never seen one like it. -I have.
Many times.
Feel. She's a beauty.
Gently. It gets brittle.
Try. Touch.
Can you guess the material?
Wool.
Human hair.
Smell.
Yeah. No thanks.
I'll go call my guy about the books.
Roland. It's Agatha.
-Jesus Christ. -I'm at the store.
I have a client here with some very interesting items.
Right up your alley, know what I mean?
Come quickly.
Trust me.
Hallo, my dear.
How's it going?
Mmmwah!
This is Nick.
Ah, hello. Hello.
Take a look. What do you think?
Ah…
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very interesting. Yeah.
This is
indeed
a séance table.
-It's exquisite. -Nineteenth century Austria.
The wood is
white cedar and sandalwood,
treated in a very…
unique way.
And arranged to facilitate the summoning of an entity.
-You see?
The reddish tint on the lacquer? Huh?
Guess what went into it? Hey?
Sick fucks.
My God.
I knew you'd be thrilled.
Oh!
Was there a fourth volume?
Not that I saw.
But… it's possible you could have it?
Well, I've barely touched the unit.
There's a life's worth of crap in there.
The books are extremely rare.
I would say 10,000 for all three.
Well, well.
How much for all four?
If placed at the right auction, with multiple buyers,
in excess of $300,000.
You see, the fourth volume is the rarest one.
Liber Quartus Sacramentum.
The most desirable piece.
It's legendary.
Full of symbols and spells to bind a demon,
to make it earthbound.
Ja?
A demon?
The reason the… the fourth volume is the rarest
is because it burns down completely at the end of the transaction
with the purveyor of its favors.
Except when…
-Cut the fuckin' drumroll, will you? -You've got a tough case here, Rolly.
Except when the demon has been betrayed. Therefore, unable to collect its debt.
This transaction has to happen tonight.
This is the payment for the candelabra, the table, and the chairs.
But the wreath I donate to you, mein liebshe, Agatha.
For the referral, danke schön.
But…
if we find the missing fourth volume,
I will write you a check for $300,000.
My truck's outside. I'll drive us over there.
Thank you. Thank you. -Mm.
Thank you very much.
Great.
Now we're getting ass fucked with rain on top of all this shit.
Did you, uh, hurt your head on the windshield?
Yeah. When I was rear-ended.
Uh, do you mind closing, uh, the side window, please?
I, uh…
I have a confession to make.
Jesus, really?
You see, I know all about the family
who owned the unit that you bought.
They were very rich,
made their money from steel in Europe,
and emigrated to America at the end of World War II.
They made weapons.
Wolfram for tanks.
But for the wrong side.
Yeah, I saw some old war photos in a photo album in there.
Whoever this guy was.
I hate to disabuse you on your relative notion
of good and evil,
but this man knew and did evil on a scale almost absolute.
Well, God's got him now.
Ah, yes.
God.
Silent, strong type
that loves to see us squirm with free will and other delusions.
But what about his adversary? Huh?
Relentless, feisty even.
You know, whispering in our ears at every waking moment. Huh?
Something tells me
you traffic in the wrong, feisty side yourself there, Hans.
Is this relevant to this transaction?
The owner of the unit was a sick man.
Gambled his fortune away, destroyed his family,
never had enough of anything.
Bottomless appetites.
You understand?
Yeah, another empty asshole.
That's right.
He moved in occult circles in Berlin and Vienna.
And he invoked an entity.
Offered it a vessel to occupy.
To possess.
His sister.
Dottie Wolmar,
I believe
was her name.
It was…
quite the scandal.
Did they ever find her?
No. They searched but…
it was futile.
All right, enough.
I'm not interested in any of this creepshow shit you favor, okay?
Anyway, we're here.
Here.
You've gotta be kidding me, put that away.
No, no, no, no.
The molten metal was collected from a very peculiar source.
Bit by bit.
You see, if we find the book,
the light from the candelabra will yield protection.
No offense, but shut the fuck up.
Huh.
You take the left side.
We don't leave until we find it.
Books don't spontaneously combust.
Ah, shit!
You take anything out of here, I'm gonna know.
And there's only one exit.
Yeah, yeah.
Where are you, Dottie Wolmar?
Ah, fuck!
It's hollow.
You heard that?
I knew these fucking measurements were off.
-Help me with this thing. -Yes.
You know that book's locked in here.
Now we'll find out why he came here every day.
Oh!
What is that fucking smell?
-In my field, we call it effluvia. -Oh, man.
You know, like when a cat or a dog mark their territory.
Do not touch anything.
Do not say anything.
-Follow my precise instructions, please. -You platoon leader now?
If anything not from the natural world
is found on the other side of this threshold,
I have one piece of advice for you.
Do not make eye contact with it, do not speak with it.
It will sense the dark in you as I do.
It will be greedy for it, hungry. Do you understand?
I'm pretty sure that's two pieces of advice,
and you don't know shit about me.
So fuck off.
It fucking smells horrible.
God dammit.
Unbelievable.
Never in my imagination.
He trapped his poor sister.
Must be weak.
Starving. Poor thing.
It was pinned inside the circle for so long, see?
-The hair is fused to the floor.
Look. Look how the demon writhes.
See, it took her face as a way in.
-There it is. -Do not cross that line.
-Fuck this, I'm going for the book. -No, stop, don't!
You have no idea what you've awakened!
Holy mother of God.
Dottie.
Oh, fucking hell!
Oh, thank God. Could you please open the door?
Could you open the door, please?
Can you open the door, please?
Open the door, please!
Thank you.
No! No, please!
I'm in danger here, I need your help!
Please! Open the door!
No!
Please! I'll give you whatever you want, anything you want! Please!
Please! Open the door!
Open the door, please!
Open the door!
Please! Please!
My career as an artist ended the moment I saw your work.
Do you feel it, Will?
-The fear.
Youse telling me rats is stealing bodies out of coffins?
I've seen a forest that takes the dead inside.
-We need to get back there.
-This house gives me the creeps. -I'm very worried about you!
-I don't think you should use that lotion. -This is what's gonna fix me!
Tonight, I'm gonna gift you a singular experience.
What am I gonna find?
Did that just happen?
Oh God!
The darkness has a way of catching me.