Night of the Seagulls (1975)

[bunniefuu]

-Are we lost? Where are we?
-I'm afraid we are.

We’re close to the sea,
and our new house is inland.

-This damned fog!
-You insisted we travel at night.

It looks like there’s a house over there.

-You wait here.
-Don’t go, please.

Don’t worry.

Open the door!

I’m a lost traveler!

Open the door, please!

Open up! Please let me in!

George!

No! No!

Present day

-Is this it?
-Yes, we’re here.

l didn’t think it would be so primitive,
did you?

it’s horrible!

l suppose one of these houses is
the doctor’s.

No, they told me it’s on the outskirts.

Be patient, Joan.

This will be a rough time for us.

We knew it would be.

it’s my first assignment as a rural doctor.

We have no choice.

it’s so far from everything we know,
our friends.

The people here are rough and simple.
You’ll see.

-They have a right to be treated by a doctor.
-Yes.

Come on.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.
I’m Dr. Stein, the new doctor.

Henry.

Ma’am.

l just want you to tell me
where the doctor lives.

Henry. Let’s go.

Can one of you tell me
where the doctor’s house is?

l only want to know how to get there.

At the end of the road,
on the cliff overlooking the sea.

It’s a sinister place.

It’s so horrible here, Henry.
Why don’t we go home?

This is our new home, Joan.
We must be patient.

Henry.

This is Dr. Stein!

Open the door!

Please open up!

This is Dr. Stein! l know you’re there!

Yes, just a minute.

Hurry. Please, come inside.

It’s very late.
l was expecting you much sooner.

My name is Henry Stein,
General Practitioner. My wife, Joan.

-I’ll show you my credentials.
-That’s not necessary.

I’m just about finished packing.

l sent off everything else days ago.

-Stay until tomorrow.
-Stay?

-No way.
-As you wish.

I’ll go get our luggage.

-Allow me.
-Thank you.

Ma’am, the townsfolk don’t want us.
You should leave.

But why?

-Do you have a car?
-No.

Then I’ll take you in mine.

impossible, you don’t know these roads.

Well, then I’ll walk with you.

Let me take your bag, Doctor.
I’ll be right back.

Henry?

Who’s there?

Don’t hit me, no!

Teddy doesn’t want to hurt you.

l....

l don’t want to be in the street!

They throw stones at me.

Are you hurt?

Shut the door.
The doctor’s out, but I’ll take care of you.

They all hit me.
They don’t let me into their homes.

And tonight, I’m afraid.

All right. Sit here.

Come on.

I’ll make sure you’re all right.

Hurry.

Be careful.

Will you hold my bag, please?

Will it take you long to get
to the next village?

Around an hour and a half.

Thank you for accompanying me.
l certainly appreciate it.

-I’ll go with you a little further.
-No, go back.

-There’s no danger away from the shore.
-What do you mean? What kind of danger?

Ask for a transfer as soon as possible.

But if you stay,
don’t get involved in anything.

Don’t ask questions
and don’t go out at night.

Whatever happens, it’s the only way
you’ll save yourself.

The only way.

Henry.

Henry.

What?

l can’t sleep.

All those noises.

It’s that kid you let sleep in the attic.

l couldn’t throw him out of the house.

He was so scared, and l am, too.

l know. Go to sleep.

Don’t you hear? It’s almost midnight.

-No one rings the bell at this hour.
-That sound is far away.

It’s a signal from the sea.

Yes, when they’re in an area
that’s difficult to navigate...

they always ring the bells on foggy nights.

Do you think so?

It’s such a strange sound.

And Teddy was very frightened.

It was like tonight was something different.

All right, now try to sleep, will you?

Please, Joan, don’t let all this frighten you.

This is nothing but a miserable place and--

Listen!

Do you think that sounded
like a ship’s warning, too?

Don’t tell me it’s the wind. They’re singing.

I’ll go see what’s going on.

Don’t leave me alone, Henry!

All right.

Put this on.

It looks like a procession.

-And then, those voices.
-They’re not the ones singing.

The sound’s coming
from the other end of the beach.

It’s some kind of tradition
to ask for good fishing.

I’m sure there’s a chapel in those hills.

Well, let’s go back.
You see? There’s nothing mysterious.

Just some old customs. Let’s go.

Don’t leave me here!
Please don’t leave me here!

Don’t leave me!

Henry, my God! Did you hear that?

That’s enough, Joan.

You’d better take a tranquilizer
or you’ll never sleep.

-And l won’t, either. And tomorrow--
-l heard a scream.

A woman’s scream.

It was the seagulls. Don’t you hear them?

But seagulls don’t fly at night.

That’s true.

Although, here....

Tomorrow, in the daylight,
everything will seem more normal.

At least, l hope so.
Come on, get some sleep.

-The usual?
-Yes.

Excuse me, please take my order.
I’m in a hurry, and l was ahead of this lady.

Goodbye.

What do you need, Lucy?

Please take my order.

-We don’t have anything you want.
-You haven’t even looked at my order.

l can see it right there.

Please leave. We don’t want you here.

This is a public establishment, ma’am.

Lucy, hurry up and tell me what you want.

This lady was here before me.

l certainly was here first.

But it seems they have
some strange customs here.

Such as being rude to those
who have only come to serve them.

Like my husband.

Or beating up a poor, defenseless idiot,
or singing on the beach at night.

We don’t need you or the doctor.

Well, if you get sick,
you’ll change your mind.

Will you allow me to carry that?
You’re not accustomed to all this.

Thank you.

Lucy, be very careful.

What’s going on with the people
in this village?

They’re afraid of strangers. Don’t worry.

You must have a lot of work to do
in the house.

-The old doctor wasn’t very tidy, was he?
-Why?

l could come and work for you.

l live alone. My parents are dead.

You’re not afraid of the neighbors?
You’ve seen that they don’t like us.

-l need the money.
-All right.

You’ve got the job.
You’re a really brave and pretty girl.

You don’t take part in the nocturnal
ceremonies on the beach, do you?

l don’t know what ceremonies
you’re talking about.

Didn’t you hear the bells ringing last night?

Those voices?

l didn’t hear anything.

Well, it doesn’t matter. Forget it, Lucy.

We’re going to be good friends.

No one came to the office.

Either they’re all in excellent heath,
or they just don’t want to see a doctor.

I’m sure they still see a witch doctor.

isn’t that right, Lucy?

Leave the girl alone.

Help me set the table.

Those bells again.

-Don’t you hear them, Lucy?
-l don’t hear any bells, ma’am.

Teddy wants to sleep in the attic.

Teddy is very afraid.

-Teddy doesn’t want to stay outside.
-Shut up! Don’t frighten the lady.

Henry. Do you hear it?

Sure. There’s fog.

It’s a signal for navigators.
What’s wrong with Teddy?

The poor thing is very frightened.

Give him something to eat
and send him to bed.

Who would that be at this hour?

Get the door, Lucy.

Come on, open it.

Never mind. I’ll get it.

They want to take me away!
l don’t want to go! No!

Send her away, ma’am.
This is very dangerous.

Please, don’t let her stay!

Quiet! This girl is hysterical
and needs medical attention.

Don’t be afraid, miss.
Come with me. You come, too, Joan.

All right. It’s over now.

Calm down.

Where is she?

-In there with the doctor.
-Tell her to come out right now.

All right, that’s enough.
Come with us, Tilda.

Are you this girl’s father?
She was very upset.

l gave her a tranquilizer.
You can take her home tomorrow.

We didn’t ask you to treat her, doctor.
Please leave us alone.

But this girl needs treatment!

No! No!

Excuse me.

Last night a sick girl came to see me.

Blond hair, very pretty.
Do you know where she lives?

l think her father called her Tilda.

l don’t know anything. Go away.

lf necessary, I’ll go from house to house.

That girl needs me.

I’m responsible for the health of this village.

-Flanagan.
-What?

Tilda Flanagan.

Teddy knows where that girl lives.

Teddy, tell us.

They beat me.

They always beat me.

That’s where she used to live.

Tilda Flanagan.

What do you mean, ''used to live''?

They’re evil.

They’ve taken her away.

You’ll never find her.

-Damned traitor!
-l didn’t do anything!

He went that way!

I’ve come to see your daughter.
I’m the doctor.

Please let me in.

l want to know how she is.

-Nobody called you.
-l must see the girl.

Please go away.

You can’t do anything for her.

I’ll decide whether your daughter needs
any medical treatment or not.

I’m telling you, she’s fine.

Henry, let’s go.

Our daughter went to the city
with some relatives.

There are good doctors there.

Let’s go.

There he is!

Please, don’t beat me!

No!

Do you think there will be
a procession tonight, too?

Oh! I’m sorry.

Don’t worry. We’re all nervous.

Please, Lucy. Open the door.

Lucy, come here.

What are you doing?

I’m leaving now. l have to,
or the village will be destroyed.

Lucy, that’s enough!

Get out of here! Let her go!

Please, sir. It’s nothing. Leave me alone.

l shouldn’t have let Lucy go with them.

Maybe she won’t come back.
Just like the Flanagan girl.

It’s only a ceremony.

We don’t know that.

Why do you feel guilty?

Lucy lives with us.
We’re responsible for her.

Those birds again!

How is it possible that seagulls fly at night?

This town is cursed, Henry!

I’m afraid. We should leave here tonight.

Leave everything behind.

All right, we’ll go if you want to.

Do you think it’s wise for us to leave
at night in this fog?

It’s no use fooling ourselves, Joan.
Whatever’s going on is serious.

We’ll go to the city and talk
to the authorities.

What are you thinking now?

You said it was only tradition,
old ceremonial rituals.

There’s tremendous fear in everyone’s eyes.
And Lucy hasn’t returned.

We’ll go seek help.
They’ll have to talk to the police.

Teddy was sure that someone takes
the girls away.

It seems absurd,
but there’s something strange about all this.

We shouldn’t leave at night.
We should never have come here.

It must be Lucy.

They tried to k*ll you. What savages!

Don’t worry, Teddy. You’ll get better soon.

l want to know who did this to you.
Tell me who it was!

The dead rise out of the sea.

They take the girls away.

One a night...

for seven nights.

They take the girls away?
And they never return?

The dead girls are those seagulls...

that cry and cry.

They are the souls of the girls
who were sacrificed.

Are we supposed to believe that story?

They took Lucy away.
And that’s not a story, Henry.

Just like Tilda Flanagan.

That’s why her mother was crying.

There’s something horrible
behind these stories.

This silence.

It seems like something’s going to happen.

It’s them.

They’re going to take Lucy away.
We’ve got to help her!

Don’t do anything, Henry, please.

Human or not,
they’ll take her away! They’ll k*ll her!

Don’t go out there, Henry!

Please don’t go out there!

Come back! Please!

Don’t go there.
The sacrifice has to continue.

-Lucy!
-Please, go away!

-I've come to get you.
-They’re almost here. Get out of here.

It is said that they died 600 years ago.

I’m being given up to them
so the others may be saved. Run, hurry!

l won’t leave you here.

Run, Doctor!

Get out of here! There’s still time!

Get away or they’ll k*ll you, too!

Here, drink this.

And you need one, too, Henry.

When we’re far away from here
I’ll be able to drink.

Let’s leave as soon as we can.

-We can’t move Teddy.
-We must.

We’ll have to put him in the back seat
of the car.

Get some blankets for him.

Do you think they’ll come?

I’ll have to stay here.
No one can refuse the knights of the sea.

It’s always been like that.

l was told that they come from France,
persecuted for their vices and evil.

Every seven years their bells toll...

and seven girls have to be sacrificed
on seven consecutive nights.

And no one ever resisted?

Yes, and the knights attacked the town
and razed it...

k*lling even the newborn babies.

That sounds like our car!

We can’t get him out of here without a car.

We’ll have to carry him in a blanket.

He’ll probably die if we do it.

Get out of here! Hurry!
I’ll stay here with Teddy.

The knights will go to the village.

l don’t think they’ll come
to this side of the rocks.

We’ll have to use the kitchen table
to barricade the door.

-But they can get in through the attic.
-That’s true. I’ll block it.

Take care of the back of the house.

Henry!

I’ll be right down.

They’re here, ma’am.
They’re coming toward the house.

Let’s go to the kitchen. We’ll be safer there.

We broke up some furniture
and reinforced the window.

Good.

That one, too.

Here, hurry.

The wardrobe!

That’s it!

Quickly!

Find something!

Hurry!

The front door is much stronger.
Help me move Teddy there.

Bring the blanket and the pillow.

Wait here.

Henry.

Henry!

Henry, come here!

Henry!

No.

-Now they’re coming for us.
-We’ll try and run for it.

-We’re surrounded.
-We have to get out of here somehow.

The attic door is still clear. Come on!

Come on! We’ve got to get the horses.

-Come on, Joan.
-No!

-Let’s go! We don’t have much time!
-No! I’m dizzy! l can’t do it! No!

-Don’t look down. I’ll help you. Come on.
-No!

Let go of me!

-Leave me alone! I’m going to stay here!
-No!

Henry!

You’re coming even if l have to force you!

-That’s it.
-Leave me! Leave me, please!

-Jump! Come on, it’s not very high.
-No!

That’s it. Just like that.

You’ve done it.

Get on a horse! Come on!

-No, not on those horses.
-There’s no other way!

Not that way!

Head toward the road!

My horse won’t obey me!

He’s heading for the castle!

Let him go where he wants,
but we have to keep moving.

Please, help me!

Help!

It’s incredible. A temple.

It seems like they’re not following us.

They’re not in a hurry.

They’ve managed to bring us
where they wanted us.

But why?

It’s obvious that they need a female victim...

for their rituals.

And you’re the one they chose.

Why do you think that?

They could have k*lled you several times...

but they only cornered us.

What about Lucy?

Lucy broke the rules.

And she’s been punished.

What is that supposed to be?

An underwater beast.

It looks like the god of an unknown cult.

-What’s going to happen now?
-l don’t know.

But this idol is responsible
for the sacrifices.

Let’s destroy it and put an end to all this.

Help me.

Come on, Joan.