- I failed.
- Don't be a
fool, blacksmith.
- You don't understand.
- I don't need
to understand.
All I know is that the girl
couldn't have acted alone,
and that's enough for me.
Once I'm done with
you, blacksmith,
I'm going to
hang your wife.
Get over there!
- I'm trying to
save my wife!
- Your wife is
nothing but a witch.
If we just, if we
destroyed the book,
wouldn't that prevent any
of this from happening?
- And
should we fail? What then?
There are dark
forces at work.
This book is all we
have in the struggle
against those forces.
Without it, I fear
we would be exposed.
This is the last message
I will leave for
you, William.
Time is against me
now, but not for you.
If I should fail, then
fate will come full circle.
If it does, then the
task will fall to you.
The path is clear,
left to us in the book
by all those who
came before.
Tonight, a chain of events
will be set in motion,
and four days from
now we will have our
chance to save her.
But should Twyla
attend the trial, or the
sheriff interfere,
then you will know that
something went wrong.
- And the screaming!
Woke the entire street,
the poor woman.
Terrible thing
to witness.
- Worse for the girl's
parents, I imagine.
Thank you.
- I heard you speaking
with Christopher.
- He was telling me
that a girl in town
m*rder*d her
parents last night.
- How awful.
- It's just that he was
woken by the screams.
- I think I was too.
I woke up last night
and I was sure I could
hear someone screaming.
- He said it happened
near Gastrode,
that's on the other
side of town.
Okay, so I'm gonna head
to the market today.
I need you to give
these to Emma.
- Of course.
- Thanks.
- What's up?
- Sheriff Crawford
is here, sir.
- Judge Hopkins, sir.
- Marshall.
- Is this the girl?
- Johanna Fletcher,
daughter of Aaron
and Matilda Fletcher,
now deceased.
- I find it hard
to believe that this
innocent looking girl
butchered her parents in
the middle of the night.
- No one is
innocent, Sheriff.
Dawnbrook is a
town rife with sin
and I intend
to cleanse it.
- I know this girl.
She comes from
a good family.
- Evidently you
didn't know this girl
as well as you
thought you had.
- And I'm just
thinking that,
that there may be
more to this, sir.
- The only thing we
have here is an absence
of God in these
people's lives.
- But if this girl
were innocent,
then surely her conviction
would be an injustice.
- Do not lecture me
on justice, boy.
I have been dispensing the
Lord's justice for years.
- This week's
takings, sir.
- My daughter will
deal with that.
Rose!
Do you know what the people
used to call this town?
- No, sir.
- They called it
the Devil's Door.
The people here knew
only wickedness.
Ungodliness.
I purged this town
of its witches,
and brought order
to the chaos.
"Thou shalt not
suffer a witch to live."
Book of Exodus.
I won't have my
years of hard work
undone by these
godless peasants.
I hope you have
good news for me.
- Yes, sir.
Seems the tanner's wife
saw the girl last night.
She could bear
witness to the crime.
- And this one?
- I caught this rat stealing
whilst I was in the market.
Thought a few hours
in the cell would
teach her a lesson.
- Carry on.
Sinners, boy, every
last one of them.
- Where can
I find this woman?
- The tanner's wife.
In the market, sir.
- As you were.
Peter Brown.
- Yes. Oh!
Sheriff Crawford, sir.
Beg your pardon, sir,
but the rates aren't due
till the end of the month.
My husband and
I aren't quite-
- Relax, woman.
I have no interest
in your money.
I'm here about the rather
distressing experience
you had this morning.
- Oh, oh, I see.
- Look, I know these matters
might be difficult for you
to think about right now,
but if you have any
details about what you saw,
it may be helpful.
- I heard a scream
and I went out to
see what it was.
That's when I saw her.
In her hands she had-
- I know what
she had. Okay?
What else can
you tell me?
- There you go.
- Thank you, Twyla.
- Thank you.
- There was a man.
He had a great big
hooded coat on
and he was holding his
hand out to her like that.
- Did he speak to you?
- No, sir. He ran
when he saw me.
- Did you see his face?
- No, sir.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Let me see what you have.
I'll take two of the apples.
- Okay. Two apples.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
I'm afraid I've put your
life in grave danger.
- My husband is
expecting me.
I really have
to be going.
- Tomorrow, there
will be a trial.
The girl, Johanna
will be convicted
of the m*rder
of her parents.
- We have no interest in
such things. Let me go.
- Do you believe in
the devil, Twyla?
Before the trial is done,
Johanna will point
you out as a witch.
You and your husband
will be arrested.
After the trial is done,
you will be convicted
and then hanged
unless we do something.
- No, no. You're not
making any sense.
Please let me go.
- I swear I
speak the truth.
- I really need
to be going.
Let me go.
- No matter what happens,
you must stay away.
- Good day to you.
- Sheriff.
Sheriff.
- What do you want?
I just, I just heard
some old bloke
accuse the blacksmith's
wife of witchcraft.
- An old bloke, you say?
I need to know what
happened last night.
A man spoke to me today
and he told me Twyla Smith
is responsible for this.
Is that true?
- Annabelle.
- Who's Annabelle?
- Goosey goosey gander,
whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs,
and in my lady's chamber.
There I saw an old man, Who
wouldn't say his prayers,
So I took him by
his left leg,
and threw him
down the stairs.
- William Smith?
- Judge Hopkins.
What do I owe
the pleasure?
- It's not a social
call I'm afraid.
May we, er, go inside?
- Please.
Please help yourself.
- I trust word
has reached you
of the heinous events that
took place last night.
- Yes.
I've never heard
of such brutality.
- Indeed.
Instances like these
are particularly rare.
- What does the
sheriff make of it all?
- He's making
his inquiries.
But I however,
am in no doubt
that the devil's hand has had
a part to play in all this.
- You suspect witchcraft?
- Not something to
be taken lightly.
I want to move
swiftly to a trial.
- And you're
recruiting jury men.
That's why you're here.
- I need hardly express the
graveness of the situation.
I trust I can count
on your support.
- Of course.
- William!
Oh, Judge Hopkins, sir.
I didn't see you there.
- Are you all
right, my dear?
You seem somewhat
distressed.
- Of course. It's
just been a long day.
- Mm.
- To what do we
owe the pleasure?
- I assume you heard
what occurred last night.
I've asked your husband
to perform his civic duty
and serve as a juryman.
I understand these matters
may be difficult for...
delicate ears, my dear.
- Yes.
I'm sure I will
feel more at ease
once the Lord's
justice has been done.
- Of course.
And I wish you
both good day.
- Please, have a safe
journey back into town.
- Something's
troubling you.
- Today
in the market,
an old man spoke to me.
He told me there
would be a trial tomorrow
for that girl.
The man, he said, he
said that that girl
is some sort of devil
and that we are all
in great danger.
- You do have delicate
ears, don't you?
- But William, he said
that I shouldn't go
and that terrible things
will happen to us both.
William, he said that
the girl will accuse me
of witchcraft in front
of the whole town.
You know what happens
to people-
- Yes, I do. I do.
- Accused of such
things, William.
- These sound like
the ramblings of a
crazy old man, okay.
- A trader from
north of the wall
came through
town last week.
He left this here
and he calls it gin.
- Gastro.
- The one and
only blacksmith.
- Two tankards of your
finest ditch water.
Cheers.
- The drink is bad
and yet I require so much
of your coin, blacksmith.
- That you do.
- Alright then,
lovelies. Who's next?
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Thank you.
- William! William!
Look it's him.
- What's troubling
you, my love?
- Nothing.
- As crazy as
the old man is,
I agree that the
trial tomorrow is no
place for you.
These kinds of affairs
aren't pleasant.
Judge Hopkins only
asked for me.
So just don't
trouble yourself with
it any further.
- Who
goes there?
- Order!
Order!
Bring the girl in.
Johanna Fletcher, you are
charged with the crime
of m*rder on two counts,
of Aaron and
Matilda Fletcher, your
father and mother.
Do you have anything
to say in defense of
these allegations?
You may not
want to speak,
but rest assured, child,
the Lord knows all the
darkness in your heart.
No amount of silence
will keep that from him.
- I don't want to die.
- Bring Eda
Brown forward.
The good sheriff
informs me
that you had the misfortune
of finding the girl.
Would you be so
kind as to recount the
events of last night
to the honorable
members of the jury?
Just start at
the beginning.
- I was awoken by
a loud scream.
I stepped out of my home to
see what the commotion was.
That's when I saw them.
Come with me.
- Where are we going?
- A man
and the girl.
- To see the
blacksmith's wife.
- Sheriff Crawford, sir.
- Good morning.
- I would've expected
you to be at the trial.
- I might've expected
the same from you, dear.
- I'm afraid my
husband is sitting
as juryman at
that very trial.
I expect he won't return
for some time if you
were looking for him.
- Well, it was actually
you I wish to speak to.
If you have a
moment, of course.
- Of course.
- You and your
husband serviced
almost everyone
in Dawnbrook,
which puts you in a
very unique position
to know the comings and
goings in this town.
- I'm not sure
I follow you. sir.
- Yet, it concerns
me that there is more
to this incident
than has yet
revealed itself.
Perhaps you have heard
or seen something?
- Well, my husband and I
knew the family of the girl.
We're as distraught
and confused as anyone.
- So you don't know
of any wrongdoings
here in Dawnbrook, no?
- No, sir.
- So what is this?
- Um, a key.
My husband's a blacksmith.
He cuts many keys.
- This, this is the key
to one of my prison cells.
- Well, I'm sure there's
an explanation for this.
- Oh, there is and
we're gonna find out.
Give me that key!
- Come on, you.
- The man, he was
standing in the street-
- I'm not interested in
the man in the street.
The girl was the one covered
in blood, was she not?
- Yes, sir.
- The blood of her
father and mother
who were so cruelly
brutalized in their sleep.
You may return
to your place.
After the examinations
of Johanna Fletcher
and of the heinous
events that took place,
how does the jury
find the defendant?
- Guilty beyond any doubts
for the crime of m*rder.
A crime willfully committed
against the laws of God
and under the influence
of the devil himself.
- Order! Order!
Johanna Fletcher, do
you have anything to say
before your sentence is
heard before this court?
So be it.
Due to the revelation
of your guilt
and of the serious
nature of your crimes,
it is my duty to bestow upon
you the sentence of death.
You will be taken
from this place
and held in custody
until such time
when you'll be hanged
from the neck until dead!
- Do you have any
comprehension of the
serious nature
of what's just
happened here?
I hardly think this is a
time for childish sentiment.
- Mother says there's
always time for games.
- Your mother is
dead, by your hand.
- Not her.
My real mother.
- Who is your
real mother,
if not the woman
who raised you?
- She's here with us now.
- Bring her forward.
- Judge, Judge Hopkins, your
honor, the girl is mistaken.
Twyla has had nothing
to do with this.
This is a mistake.
- Do you have
anything to say
in defense of
these allegations?
- I have no idea why she
would think I'm her mother.
I've only ever seen
this girl in passing.
- We're too
young to have...
If she'd had a child that
would be this age by now.
This is obviously
a mistake.
- I do not understand why
or how the devil
chooses to interfere
with decent people,
but rest assured, I will
get to the bottom of this.
- Like we
did here today!?
- Hold your tongue,
blacksmith.
- How many innocent
people have been sent
to the gallows in these
so-called trials?
- How dare you
question my judgment.
I act upon the
grace of God.
Take them both!
- No, William, no!
Stop! Someone!
William! William!
- Let me go!
- The old man from
the market was right.
- If I could just
talk to Judge Hopkins
we could make him
understand this is just...
we could explain
it to him.
We are decent
God-fearing people.
This shouldn't be
happening to us.
- Is it time to play?
- No. No, no, no.
No! No!
No! No!
- Twyla! Twyla!
- William?
You have to get
her out of there.
Take these keys.
- Quiet! Off ol.d
man, on your way
- O-O-One more song.
- Get out of here,
you old drunk!
- Oh!
I always thought the ale
at Gastro's was toxic.
We need to get out of town
and find somewhere safe.
The elixir I gave the
guards won't last long.
Soon they'll realize
you're missing.
- You said this
would happen.
What's happening to me?
- I know you both have
a lot of questions
but now it's
not the time.
- Stop right there!
- Stay with her.
- None of the men
saw anything.
- I understand
what you're saying
but the men and I have been
on guard the entire night
No one saw them leave.
- They escaped into the
woods sir, I lost them.
- Then go back into the
woods and find them.
- Sorry, sir. I chased them
for as long as I could.
- I want your
men, Marshall,
back in those woods
at first light.
Find the blacksmith
and his wife and bring
them back here
or there will be
consequences.
- There's an evil
taking hold of my town
and I want it dealt with.
Move up the girl's
execution for tomorrow.
I want the matter
resolved swiftly.
- What are you
waiting for?
- Sir!
- What do you actually
know about witchcraft?
- Devil worship.
- There is much outside
the world you know
that is hard
to understand
and people fear what
they don't understand.
Understanding requires
an open mind,
something that men in
power rarely possess.
It is far easier for them
to maintain their
order through fear.
Their religions,
their laws,
are nothing more
than fear masquerading
as righteousness.
- Fear of what?
What's happening?
- The, the pages
in this book
contain the, the
knowledge of many things,
things that are
hidden from our
modern world.
A world built on a lie.
- What lie?
- That the devil is
something to be feared.
- I don't understand, if,
if, if not for the devil
then what drove the
girl to m*rder.
- The words
are a calling
to the gatekeepers
of the underworld.
A corner of existence
where all souls end up
and this is the key.
With this,
one would be able to
traverse the vast ocean
of the lost souls within
and with the right focus,
able to find and
return a loved one.
But there is more.
The underworld is home
to far more than just
the souls of mankind.
And the passageway
between worlds
is much sought after by
the demonic forces within.
This mark will allow
whoever travels,
to roam the
underworld unharmed,
but to attempt the
journey without it,
the traveler would become
a vessel for those forces
to cross into our world.
- Why are we in the
middle of all of this?
- Time is a complex
force in this world,
but like most things, it is
not immune to manipulation.
Drinking this
when Saturn and the
constellation Eridanus
align in the night sky
opens a flowing stream,
carrying whoever has consumed
the elixir to the last time
Saturn and
Eridanus aligned.
36 years ago,
I sat exactly where
you sit right now
starting out on a journey
that has led me back
to this very moment.
You want to know how you're
involved in all of this?
I am you, William.
- So, so you,
you're saying that
you're, that you're,
you are me.
- All of this
has happened before.
I thought my journey had
found a happy ending.
We left this place
and moved to the far northern
reaches of this country.
- You caught me,
you're too fast.
- Our
daughter Annabelle
completed our family
and we were so in love.
- And who are
these ones then?
- This is Mommy
and this is Daddy.
- Wow.
And what about
this little one?
- She is a baby one.
She loves the color red.
- But that's your
favorite color.
It's hers too.
- I kept the book safe,
hidden for years,
just as I'd been
told to do in order to
keep my family safe.
Looking back, I know
that Annabelle must have
known about the book.
The years passed.
We grew older and my
Twyla became sick.
- Mum!
- When her time came-
- Mum!
- Annabelle
was unable to let go.
Consumed by grief in
a moment of madness,
she looked to the
book for help.
Annabelle tried to
recover her mother's soul.
Instead she brought
something much darker
through the door.
A parasite attaching
itself to Annabelle's soul.
It destroyed her
physical body,
leaving no trace of
my beloved daughter.
The demon
bound itself
to my daughter
and now it's trying
to reconnect with
Annabelle again.
- But Annabelle d*ed.
- A part of
Annabelle d*ed,
but a part now
exists again,
it's using girls
like Johanna
to draw you out.
It wants the
child within you.
Driven by
Annabelle's desire
to return to her
physical body.
- You mean I'm
already with child?
- If I can't stop it,
then you will
both be lost.
- Assuming that you
speak the truth,
what happens next?
- We must use the same
runes Annabelle used
trying to save my Twyla
and banish the demon
back from whence it came.
- We should go back
for the girl Johanna.
- There are a
infinite number
of Williams in
existence right now
across an infinite
number of worlds.
A new one created
with each journey
we take with this.
Each one of us has
added his own account
to the book in the search for
the solution to save Twyla.
If I follow the steps left
to me by the William before
and learn from
the mistakes,
then we shall put an
end to all of this.
Before this is done,
you will both make
your own journey
and in that world,
Johanna will be
alive and well.
But in this world,
I'm afraid she
will have to die.
- Stop
falling behind.
- I've seen what
the blacksmith's wife
did to that girl.
- We have to go.
- Yeah, well I don't
wanna be stuck
out here all
day with you.
They're out here,
in these woods.
- This could be a trap,
the witch could be
watching us right now.
- When you've stopped
acting like an infant girl,
report back to the town.
They're out
here somewhere.
Tell them if they want the
blacksmith and the witch
We're gonna need more
men to join the search.
- Okay.
- Go!
- This is where we
will make our preparations.
- What will become
of the girl Johanna?
Leaving her to die is
something we cannot do.
- I trust myself,
which is why I trust
the advice given to
me in that book.
For us to get to
where we need to be,
the girl will
have to die.
- I cannot live
with that.
That is not who we are.
Promise me, William,
promise me you will not
leave me with that burden.
- I will try.
I almost forgot
this conversation.
- Which conversation?
- The one we're
about to have.
- Because you've
been here before.
- Hm.
- If we just, if we
destroyed the book,
wouldn't that prevent any
of this from happening?
- It would, but
at great risk.
I have come to
learn, as you will,
that there are dark
forces at work,
in this world
and in others.
This, this book
is all we have
in the struggle
against those forces.
Without it, I fear
we would be exposed.
- Twyla's all
I care about.
- And should we fail?
What then?
I once thought as you do.
I, I, I thought that if
I destroyed this page,
my love would never
be tempted to use it.
But that dark day came
to pass all the same.
It, it has taken me
years to rediscover it.
In order to reverse
what she did that day.
- But how, how is it
possible without this?
- That is a question
I, I, I cannot answer.
All I do know is
that the risk
of destroying this
book entirely
is one we cannot take.
It's the only tool
we have to save her.
- Tell me how
to save her.
- When the girl
Johanna is hung,
the demon will come
for another girl.
When that happens, I
will bring her out here
and we will use this
to banish the demon back
from whence it came.
- Did that work
before, in your world?
- I fear that if
you know too much
about what is to happen
then it, it, it can
risk it not
happening at all.
All I do know is that I
will bring the girl here.
- And how will you know where
the demon will strike next?
What if we're
condemning another
innocent girl to death?
- These were made by
my daughter, Annabelle.
The love that was
shared through these
between mother and
daughter is, is powerful.
They have a way of
enticing a demon
once held in the
hands of a child.
Twyla will not
be herself.
Take this candle.
This candle will keep
the demon at bay.
Use what is left of it.
I shall return
before it's done.
- Hey.
Are you okay?
- I thought I
heard something.
- It's just the wind.
Come and sit with me.
- Help,
can you help me?
Please help me.
- Step back.
- I'm sorry.
- Please.
- Please!
Don't leave me!
Please!
- Hey, you!
Stop right there!
- Sir?
- Useless!
- I think
they went this way.
- William!
- Shh.
- Where's the blacksmith.
I'm gonna see you back
in the irons, witch.
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
- Pretty, aren't they?
- Yes. Very.
- Seen anything in
particular you like?
- Not really.
- I have some more here.
They used to belong to
my daughter, Annabelle.
They're yours.
- Are you sure?
- She, she doesn't
use them anymore.
- Thank you.
- Yeah, you're welcome.
- Stop!
- We can't keep him here.
- I know.
But we can't let him
raise the alarm.
Not until you've got
the help you need.
- The good sheriff Crawford!
What can I get for you?
- The usual.
- What news of the blacksmith
and his wife, sheriff?
- I don't believe that's any
of your business, innkeeper.
- All this talk of
witchcraft and m*rder.
People are nervous.
I was hoping maybe you'd
have some good news
I can pass on to
these fine people.
People are afraid to
go out after dark.
It's not good
for business.
- Well, yeah, well I'm
sure when I have some news
you'll be the
first to know.
Right now I have other
matters to take care of.
Matters that I've been
neglecting in town,
such as collecting taxes
off local businesses.
- If I hear anything
at all, sheriff,
be more than happy to
assist you in any way I can.
- Oh you will, Gastro,
That you will.
- Sir.
- What is it?
- We have the old
man in custody,
the one we've
been looking for.
He had this on him.
- Follow me.
- What happens when
that candle goes out?
- Nothing good.
- You can't run forever.
- If people would listen,
I wouldn't have to run.
- He should be
back by now.
Something's wrong.
- Twyla! Twyla!
I'll be back.
- William!
William!
- What is this book?
- Evil, Marshall.
Pure evil.
- Books are neither
good nor evil.
And there is no
soul on this Earth
who should understand
that more than you.
- All that I understand,
heretic, is that the fate
of that poor girl is not the
doing of any book I know.
- Wait! Wait, it's
not safe out here.
- And this little one?
- That's the baby one.
She likes the color red.
- I found you.
- You did.
You clever girl.
Now it's your turn.
Go!
- Go and get her.
- I found you.
- Now.
For pity's sake.
- Do
not do this.
- I have to save her.
I'm so sorry.
- Please.
- A dark time is upon us.
I know that the
decent, God-fearing
people of this town
sense it as much as I do.
The devil walks
amongst us,
in our towns, in our
streets and in our homes.
Sin is everywhere,
and it is sin that
draws the devil out
from his fiery
home of damnation
and lays the path out for
him to corrupt our lives
and the lives of
our children.
I know you fear this.
And fear it you should.
This heresy is a plague
amongst our town.
A plague I have
brought to an end.
I have found the heretic, the
witch who walks amongst us
and I bring
you salvation.
Join with me, citizens
of Dawnbrook.
Let us show those who are too
weak to resist temptation
that the devil is
not welcome here.
Anyone who allows
a witch to escape
or does not punish them
with the utmost rigor
can be assured that they
will be abandoned by God
and left to the
mercy of Satan.
In contrast,
those who seek
vengeance against Satan
and his followers will
be blessed by God.
May the Lord God have
mercy on your souls.
- Gods forgive me.
- If they're not back here
in my prison before sunrise,
the next execution
order I sign will be
yours, Marshall.
- You found me.
- One, two,
three, four.
- Listen, we have to
get back to Twyla.
- She's safe for now.
If we return
without the girl,
we'll have no chance
of saving her.
- You knew this
would happen.
You knew and you
said nothing.
- If I had told you
what would happen,
then there's a chance it
might not happen at all.
If you want to save her,
you'll have to trust me.
- So what do we do next?
- I need you
to take this.
Place your hand
on the page.
And say the words, then lead
the girl to the cottage.
I shall return once
my task is done.
- Where are you going?
- To deal with
the sheriff.
- Any sign of them?
- No, sir.
- You make sure that
there are men posted
on every pathway
and road out
of this town.
I will not allow them to slip
through my fingers again.
As you were.
I will have your
head for this.
- You're meddling in things
you don't understand.
Come with me.
Where we going?
- What do we do now?
- Patience.
- We should be out
there looking for Twyla.
- Patience.
- Twyla!
What are you doing?
Demon's in there. Yes?
This was your plan to
lure out the demon.
- William.
We can still save
her, William.
We can still save her.
- Search these woods.
Now!
- I failed.
- Don't be a
fool, blacksmith.
- You don't understand.
- I don't need
to understand.
All I know is that the girl
couldn't have acted alone.
And that's enough for me.
Once I'm done with
you, blacksmith,
I'm going to
hang your wife.
Get over there.
- I'm trying to
save my wife.
- Your wife is
nothing but a witch.
- Look at this!
If we just, if we
destroyed the book,
wouldn't that prevent any
of this from happening?
And should we fail?
Then, there are dark
forces at work.
This book is all we
have in the struggle
against those forces.
Without it, I fear
we would be exposed.
- We need to get far
away from all of this.
- I just burnt the page.
This can't happen again.
It can't hurt us anymore.
- There is more to this
than I care to understand.
- We have to do
things differently.
For Annabelle's sake.
This is the last message
I will leave for
you, William.
Time is against me
now, but not for you.
If I should fail, then
fate will come full circle.
If it does, then the
task will fall to you.
The path is clear,
left to us in the book
by all those who
came before.
Tonight, a chain of events
will be set in motion
and four days from
now we will have our
chance to save her.
But should Twyla
attend the trial
or the sheriff interfere,
then you will know
that something
went wrong.
- Holy sh*t!
Witch (2024)
Moderator: Maskath3