Dark Hollow (2026)

[bunniefuu]

Hey, I wanna ask you something.

I want you to be honest,

all right?

Okay.

You got any regrets?

10-1, 10-1.

You dead or alive down there,

buddy?

If you are dead,

can I keep the truck? Over.

I'm in the main tunnel.

Ain't no one been in here

in a hundred years

And no you don't get

to keep no damn truck.

Over.

What's it like down there?

It's spooky. Over.

Keep your eyes on the prize,

brother. Nut up and shut up!

Over.

Easy for you to say.

Some strange sh*t down here.

But there's coal, alright.

Over.

Hallelujah,

how much we talking?

Over.

Sealed shut.

Old gas seal, maybe.

Jesse, you copy?

There's something...

Something is inside there.

Jesse,

get the hell out of there,

Jesse!

You've seen with your

own eyes what they're doing

next door at Rock Creek.

Dynamiting the mountain.

Spitting lead into the air.

Arsenic into the river.

They ain't here to hire us.

They're here for the land.

So we get new homes.

Ain't nothing special about

this holler over any other.

We got elderly.

We got young.

Not everybody can up

and move on.

When we got money.

We'll figure it out.

I got offered 50 large.

Now when am I gonna see

another $50,000

in this lifetime?

If you sell,

if any of us sells,

they'll use court precedent

to sue to get the rest

of the plots,

just like they done at Hobet.

Now maybe you get 50 grand

in your pocket,

but the rest of us,

we'll be lucky if we get five.

You gonna sell out your Ma?

Your cousin?

-Your uncle on the plot over?

-KC.

Your folks've been here

longer than any of us.

What do you say?

I saw coal dust

on the patio today.

Coming down out of the sky

like it was snow.

The same black dust that

got into my daddy's lungs.

Chase, he turns ten tomorrow.

He was out there playing in it.

It ain't right.

We'll put it to a vote.

Just two hours ago,

Allied Air Forces

began its attack on military

targets in Iraq and Kuwait.

These attacks continue

as I speak.

Hey, Meemaw.

Ground forces

are not engaged.

This conflict started

August 7th.

...a small and helpless

neighbor.

Kuwait, a member

of the Arab League...

- Any good news?

- ...was crushed.

We will also destroy

his chemical weapons

facilities.

Thanks.

What if we did get out?

You heard Doc.

We'd be selling out everyone

we know.

Josie can't travel,

not with her lungs.

But this here land might

be worth a lot more than

they're letting on.

I went down that old

wildcat mine down the holler.

There's coal down there, KC,

maybe a lot.

You went down there

and you didn't tell me?

Look, you said you're worried

about Chase.

I am too. I just...

I want to know our options.

I'm sorry, alright?

I should have told you.

This here's your family land.

You gotta be the one to decide.

This is the only home

I've ever known.

To let them win after

all they've done?

We gonna figure it out.

Don't you go down

that mine again.

I won't.

Promise me.

Yeah, I do.

Okay.

You're annoying.

You all right, bud?

Alright.

It's your birthday tomorrow

You're gonna be ten years old.

Imagine that.

How about you and me,

we go down the New River gorge

tomorrow and catch some trout?

Okay.

We got some back taxes

we can't can't pay.

Bank is threatening

foreclosure.

Look, son, I'mma level with you.

The price on condemned land,

if we take it through

eminent domain,

it ain't much.

But if there is coal

underneath there,

and we can do a direct sale,

well then we can talk turkey!

KC would never agree to that.

That's a damn shame.

Hey, do you hunt?

-Buck season's coming up.

-Yeah.

Well, let me show you something.

6.3 tons on that big boy!

Can you believe that?

See, that right there is me,

and that man next to me,

you might recognize

from being on TV on account

that he sits on the US Senate.

Have you ever been on a safari,

Jesse?

-No.

-No.

No, I figure you ain't never

even left the county. Have you?

That right?

Hell, you can't even pay

your mortgage.

f*ck this.

-What's that?

-That is an offer.

Look, son, we're gonna

take the land either way.

Just a matter of when.

And how long before

that bank moves in?

What? A few weeks?

And they gonna take it anyway.

And leave you with nothing?

Just help us get what we need,

Jesse.

And you'll be compensated.

And the real question is,

how can you go home

and look that pretty little wife

of yours in the eye

if you don't?

What are you doing?

Time for bed.

But I wanna go fishing.

What did I tell you?

If ifs and buts

were candy and nuts,

every day would be Christmas.

That's right.

Go.

I don't wanna hear it.

You've been waiting to say

"I told you so" since the day

we were married.

So what? He dealt a little dope

when he was a kid.

Did a little time.

Who didn't around here?

I'm gonna go look for him.

That ain't kind

and that ain't true.

- We'll talk when you can

be nice.

Is Jesse in there?

Why don't you f*ck off?

Jesus, KC!

I told you, he ain't here.

How old is she?

How am I supposed to know?

Maybe when we go ask

Sheriff Henley, then?

Hey, that ain't funny.

Do I look like a f*cking clown?

-He's with Bo Brown. Okay?

-Where?

Jesus, KC. I don't know.

Probably drunk.

He'd be home sooner if

you quit hounding him.

Hey, look, I didn't sell

nothing, okay? I swear.

Don't you start.

sh*t, Jesse. What did you do?

You got the carbon

monoxide detector?

About that...

Woah now, settle down.

What the hell you got in there?

I couldn't get my hands

on a CMD.

So I brung old Dusky here.

That's a cat, Bo.

Yeah. Ain't you never heard

of a cat in a coal mine?

It's a canary, dumbass.

It's a bird.

Yeah, I caught me a bird too.

But Dusky ate it.

Anyway, I figure it's

the same in principle.

Out your damn gourd.

Well come on.

Well, maybe I should stay here.

Give me the cat then.

Why?

Because what if there's gas?

I don't want no harm

to come to her.

It's Dusky.

-Bo, give me the cat.

-No.

Give me the cat, Bo.

Give me the cat.

You're scaring her.

It's okay, Dusky.

It's all right.

Tug twice if you get in trouble.

This place is huge.

You see any coal?

It's all coal.

Bo?

Is that you?

Well lookie here.

Finders keepers.

Oh!

Dusky.

Oh, sh*t.

Oh, sh*t!

He's been missing

since yesterday.

Well, how long do I

gotta wait to report it?

Look, it ain't like him.

Yeah.

Yeah, okay.

I understand.

sh*t.

What the hell?

Hey!

Well, howdy, ma'am.

This here's a company mine.

For right now, I'm gonna have

to ask you to keep off

the property.

You're Dorsey Cayton.

You used to drive

with my daddy Jeb.

You must be KC.

Yeah.

So you know for a fact that

this ain't your land,

and you

got no right to be here.

All I know is what's

right here in black and white.

You can take it up with the home

office, but I can't do nothin'

for ya.

And I can't let you pass.

- Is Jesse in there?

- Jesse?

What you want with that junkie?

Wait...

Don't tell me you went

and married him.

Hey, I'm kiddin'.

What's the matter?

You can't take a f*ck' joke?

Get out of my way.

You know, they used to

talk about you on the pit.

Jeb's little girl had

something of a reputation.

A real f*ck' skank!

f*ck you.

What I heard, you like to

squeal like a stuck f*ck' pig!

Oh, hi. Ma'am, can you just

have a seat in the corner?

Ma'am, excuse me.

Ma'am, excuse me.

Your g*dd*mn th*gs

are on my land,

and my g*dd*mn husband

is missin'.

I am so sorry, sir.

KC, we've been tryin' to

get hold of you.

-Why don't you sit down?

-Where's Jesse?

Sit?

For my sake.

Now listen, I don't know how

to tell you this,

but it seems like you ain't

got word, so here it is.

I got a call a few hours ago

from the boys runnin' GPR.

Your Jesse was in that mine

during a partial collapse.

-What?

-Now I want you to know

I am doing

everything in my power

to try to save that boy.

Did you send him down there?

-Point of fact, he volunteered.

-You're lying.

And even if you ain't,

I want you off my land.

I'll find him myself.

Look, let me put this

to you simple.

It ain't your land no more, KC.

I made Jesse an offer,

and he took it.

That's all right, we got copies.

It's a f*ck' forgery.

-Prove it.

-I will, I'll sue you.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and it'll be

your word against his.

And without him there

in court to testify,

well, good luck.

f*ck.

You know, it's hard to believe.

It's hard to believe

when we haven't kept

this issue from every time.

When we have men

and women standing

preaching and teaching,

it is hard to believe that men

are at low sight on heaven

and that's about a good boy.

Told you so.

Manhattan is expecting a report.

You know what's at stake

for our investors.

Now look, things work

different down here.

You gotta work the people.

Our bosses know this and that is

why they put me in charge of it.

Results, Lawson.

Jesse?

Hey, who's there?

- KC help me

- No!

Help me

Help me, KC! Help me!

Help me KC, please!

Chase!

Chase!

Hey, hey, little bean.

Little bean, come on.

You're all right.

You're all right. Hey, Come on.

Hold still, it's gonna sting,

okay?

Okay.

What's this?

Where did you get this?

Chase.

The coal man gave it to me.

Okay.

Let's get you back to bed, okay?

Okay.

Hey, open up.

Cricket?

Jesse's in trouble.

We gotta warn him.

It's too late.

He and Bo got trapped down

a Mine Shaft.

-It can't be.

-Well, it is.

It ain't KC, Bo was here.

Last night he came in,

coughing, hacking up a lung.

He was begging me for a hit,

scared as sh*t.

I think he got me sick.

Where the hell is he now?

I called the Black Lung

Clinic and they,

they came and took him.

The one up in Kingwood?

-I gotta go.

-KC, you been dreaming?

I've been having this one

over and over.

It's, it's dark.

It's-- it's like my feet

sliding into the ground.

Like, like,

like it's pulling me in.

In this dream,

something's hunting me.

Something from down in the

mountain hollers or some--

It ain't human.

Get some rest.

Breathing center.

Oh, sh*t, Bo.

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

Here, put it back.

- No.

- It's okay.

You gotta get me out of here,

KC.

They know I got out.

They don't want me to talk.

-Raleigh coal?

-Please, KC.

What happened, Bo?

Is Jesse alive?

I don't know.

That blackness in the earth,

brushed up against

some greater dark.

What?

Don't let them open up

the mountain, KC.

I closed it back up, but

you've seen what it done to me

in just one second.

Don't let it out.

Hey!

-Get me out of here.

-Okay! Okay!

I got Meemaw's spare breather

in the truck.

I'll fetch it.

Mrs. Scarbro.

What brings you

to Kingwood today?

And you are?

My name is Eli.

Visiting a relative.

Relative.

Would that happen to be,

Bo Brown?

You're blocking my truck.

Mm.

sh*t.

Bo?

Hey!

Oh, no. Bo!

Bo! Oh, sh*t.

Hey, will somebody

get the f*ck in here?

Hey!

Hey, hey, hey, hey!

Stop!

Stop, stop, stop!

No, no, no!

Hey!

Oh, sh*t.

Meemaw? Chase?

Come on, Jesse.

Where'd you stash it?

f*ck.

Hey, Ma.

Hey, little bean.

Go, get in.

Seatbelt!

Where are we going?

Taking you to Doc and Tipper's

to stay a while.

Why?

Keep you safe is why.

Because of the coal man?

Well ain't you a little miracle.

Go on.

What you doing, KC?

Coming to get you, that's what.

What you think

you're gonna find down there

in all that dark?

Don't matter.

You got others that need you

more than my junky a*s.

You ain't real,

so I don't gotta listen to you.

It ain't gonna let you, KC.

What ain't?

That what's down the mountain.

It's hungry.

It wants out.

It's coming.

Give me a cigarette.

No, Meemaw, you know you can't.

You just sh**t somebody?

Maybe.

You get to sh**t a sumbitch.

I get to have smoke.

Bo's dead.

He was sick with something.

He said something real bad

got in him down there.

And Cricket had it too.

What's down that mountain?

Cigarette.

What's down there...

...it ain't the coal.

It's what drives men to dig it.

We gotta keep it caged.

Jesse's alive down there,

I can feel it.

Don't you go after him, girl.

There ain't no curse here.

It's just plain greed

and sickness.

I'm gonna go get him out.

And then we're all gonna

get out.

I know that this is home.

But it ain't worth this.

You've got a responsibility

to this land.

I got a responsibility

to my family.

What the hell, Cricket?

What are you doing?

-It's after me.

-What is?

Huntin me down

like a g*dd*mn whistle pig.

You calm down,

there ain't nothing there.

You look.

You're pie-eyed is all.

See?

Is it Raleigh after you?

The Yankee in the coat?

It ain't no Yankee.

It ain't a man at all.

You're talking crazy.

Ain't you got a g*n in here?

It's in the truck.

Just some critter.

Cricket?

Meemaw.

Meemaw.

Come on out, Cricket.

Not with that booger I ain't.

There ain't no booger.

Grow a f*cking sack, man.

Come on.

I'mma get you cleaned up.

Get a little coffee in you,

my God.

What?

Run.

Git.

Hey!

Oh, Jesus, meemaw.

No, no, no, no, no, no,

Come on.

You're okay, you're okay,

I'll get the spare.

You're okay, you're okay,

you're okay.

Come on.

Come on.

You piece of sh*t come on.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

That's good!

That's good, Meemaw.

That's right.

Just breathe.

Just breathe.

- Hey, hello.

- Doc, it's KC.

This here's Doc and

Tipper's message machine.

Go on and leave us one then.

Doc, it's KC, you give me a

call back as soon as you can.

Doc, Doc, is that you?

Is Chase all right?

Doc?

Mrs. Scarbro,

do you know who I am?

You k*lled Bo...

Bo Brown carried the flame.

He did not have

the will to become it.

Go to hell.

Ma?

Chase?

You son of a b*tch,

what do you want?

You know.

Where?

You know that, too.

Let him go.

The g*n...

Come.

You let go my Mama!

Stop it, stop it.

Chase, no, you be good.

You already took our land,

you took our home.

Just let us go.

Don't you want to see

your Jesse again?

Where is he?

We are...

family.

And family must be united.

What the f*ck?

Run, Chase!

You got any regrets?

Yeah, I got my share.

But I guess you ain't

one of them.

Chase?

Chase!

Jesse?

Hold on, okay?

Stay back.

I said stay f*cking back.

Chase.

I found Daddy.

KC.

I'm sorry.

For what I've done.

We should have just gone.

There ain't no leavin it.

Oh, come on.

You gotta try.

Time to go, little man.

Jesse...

Go.

Go!

To hell with you!

Go.

There was a huge expl*si*n.

There's been

a lot of dynamite involved.

Rest assured,

we will continue

to fight for clean coal jobs

for Americans

and we will be moving forward

with the trout mountain dig

at the soonest viable

opportunity.

Jesse?

Fight ain't over yet.

They'll just keep coming

again and again.

You're a good girl,

KC Scarbro.

Make your family proud.