The Cape
Genre: Action/Superhero/Horror
Director: Ari Aster
Writer: Wesley Campbell & HG Hansen
Based on the comic and short story by Joe Hill
Cast: Ryan Hurst, James Marsden, Charlotte Rampling, Natalie Morales, Iain Armitage, Connor Kalopsis, Dan Fogler, Michael Kelly, Lauren Graham, Andre Royo
Plot: We flash at an abandoned fountain. The wind is blowing hard as we hear nothing but it. We see flashes between the fountain and the shot in the air as something appears to be falling.
A body lands on the fountain's top and then in the fountain itself. We see a slow close show a woman badly hurt breathing hard till her last breath.
Eric (Ryan Hurst) wakes up in horror as he wakes up in a pool of sweat. Mom (Charlotte Rampling) knocks on the door, concerned about him. He tells her to go away.
Eric gets questioned by Detective Packard (Michael Kelly) and Detective Craft (Andre Royo) about one, Angie Simmons (Natalie Morales), was found dead. They ask questions to which Eric gives usual answers to how he hasn't seen her for months and he's never contacted since. Packard realizes there's nothing else to know and let him know if they are any developments.
Mom tries to comfort Eric but he shrugs her off and goes to play video games in his room excepting a sandwich soon. Mom looks at her son greatly concerned.
Eric goes to his room in the basement but stops as he looks at his old cape with a red lightning bolt. He stares at it as he calls to him as voices in his head tell him to wear it.
He flashbacks to when young Eric (Iain Armitage) and his young version of his brother, Nicky (Connor Kalopsis), running around the backyard playing hero and villain with Eric being the villain. Nicky gets too into it as he chases Eric telling him if he catches him he'll rip his cape up. Eric won't let this happen and climbs up the tree in their backyard. Nicky throws a fit as he thinks it's unfair. His joy is cut short as the branch he's on starts to break. Nicky now not playing around, grows concerned for him. Eric begins to get scared as the branch slowly breaks. Eric calls for Nicky's help but it's too late as the branch snaps off leaving Eric to fall.
He shakes it off and goes to his room.
At Boston Medical, Nicky (James Marsden) rushes down the halls as his friend, Grant (Dan Fogler), tries to stop him. Nicky wants to see the body which he's told is more gruesome than he'd believe. Nicky owes to let Eric know what happened since they've known her since High School. Grant asks if he's for real cause when you wear the lab coat looking at someone you know, it's totally different. This won't be a nameless body. Nicky with seriousness in his voice tells him to open the door.
Nicky walks in after Grant and sees Angie's seriously messed up body. The huge crack in her skull can be seen, broken bones can be seen under the skin, and the jaw looks mangled but set back into place. Nicky is terrified as he sees the horrifying display. Grant reads off the sheet as she suffered 24 broken ribs, ten pierced her lungs, her skulls with many fractures, and her spine severed half-way down her back. Both arms and legs are completely broken, along with her jaw shattered and unhinged on both sides.
Nicky can't hear any more as he starts to freak out. Grant tries to comfort him but Nicky walks away. Grant tells this is all terrible but also interesting somehow. Nicky asks how to which Grant mentions how he's only seen this from cases where some dropped from 12 stories. Nicky stops dead in his tracks and slowly turns around looking at Grant wide-eyed. He looks at the body as the camera pans up to her face.
Young Eric is lying in a hospital bed as he's bandaged up and in critical condition. His eyes begin to slowly open as Young Nicky is seen standing by his bed. He asks if he's okay to which Eric can only answer with a thumbs up. Nicky is relieved as he tells him he heard the doctor talk to mom (Lauren Graham) as he needs to be here for several weeks. Eric gives a thumbs down and Nicky tries to cheer him up with how he doesn't have to do homework now. Nicky looks to see if Mom is back yet and leans in close. He tells him he thinks they should keep what happened between them both since Mom is freaking out. He heard her mention how this all reminds her about Dad and Eric gives a thumbs up. Nicky then mentions under his breath "Plus, it's not like anyone will believe us anyway."
Young Mom walks in as she sees Eric is awake and is overcome with joy. She tells Nicky to tell the doctor Eric's awake now. Nicky agrees not, puts on his robber's mask, and tells Eric "Don't worry, Bolt. The Streak will be waiting for you when you get out of here." Eric gives a thumbs up as Nicky walks out.
Mom is so relieved as she begins to tell him everything the doctor was saying but is interrupted by Eric trying to say something. Mom finds a pen and paper so Eric can write down what he is trying to say. As he writes, she goes on how much of a hero Nicky is by calling 911 when he did. Eric struggles to write one word "Cape". Mom sighs as there will be no more Cape since that silly thing almost got him killed. She goes on how she has enough to deal with to not have a crippled kid to add to her list. Besides, she threw it out anyway. Eric is shocked as he begins to form tears down his bloodshot eyes.
We see flashes of Eric as a kid with his cape when it was a blanket, then seeing his mom sew Red Felt Lightning Bolt along with his dad's Marine's patch from his footlocker onto it when it's all faded into dark blue. We see him running around as a black P.O.W. flag waves in the background. We then see Eric wrapped in it like it's his protection against everything. The memories go to him beginning to fall off the tree.
Eric snaps back to reality as he is sitting on the toilet. He breathes deep, running his hands through his hair. He then takes out his phone as he looks at photos of him and Angie. They look so happy together as he also sees photos of him with Nicky and all of them together. Nicky looks so happy as does Angie but Eric looks upset by something. We then see a picture of a bloody hand. He stares it and goes to reach for some tp but there is none. He screams for his mom to grab some and she does but then tells him the police are back. Eric looks confused by this.
The same detectives are back to receive some hair samples off of him. He lets them take some from his forearms as Detective Packard tries to sympathize with him as breakups can be hard. He calls Angie "Angela" but Eric rudely corrects him everyone called her Angie. Packard lets it go and continues to show he's piecing pieces together where he moved out after a disagreement with her. Also how the last call she made was to Boston Medical which is where his brother works. He asks if he would know anyone reason she'd call there. A flash of Angie and Nicky having sex runs through his mind. Eric replies he doesn't have a single idea why.
He shows them the door as he asks what do they have to find justice for Angie. They tell him they found blue fibers and some hair on the body and they'll match the hair to his to find out. Eric glares at them after hearing this.
The detective walks back to their car as Craft finds Eric creepy and Packard agrees. They make a bet that he did it.
Eric watches through the blinds as he looks serious. Mom says his name which startles him. He yells at her to not do that. She asks how it went but Eric blows her off. She looks concerned to which he tells her to stop it. She apologizes which he doesn't acknowledge.
He walks to his room but stops looking at the cape. He hears the whispering voices grow louder as the background grows dark red around him. He looks at the cape as a look of darkness grows on his face. He says "fuck it" and puts the cape on.
We see the zoo where we focus on the bear exhibit.
The detectives drive up to a spotlight which turns red. Packard hears a roar which he looks up and begins to say "What the f-" A grizzly bear drops into their convertible and begins to tear them apart. As we see an upfront shot of this, someone comes flying down to the ground in front of the car, watching it all go down. We then see a phone ring as see the caller ID read "Douche"
Nicky is walking down the halls of work as he talks to Eric. Eric tries to raincheck on the talk but we hear in the background someone yell "You Motherfucker..." Then a roar can be heard after that. Nicky asks what was that and Eric replies about he's watching some movie where a cop is getting mauled by a bear. He asks what does he want and Nicky is concerned cause he just examined Angie's body and had some questions. Eric asks how is she since she looks worse than the last time Nicky saw her.
Nicky confused begins to question what's wrong with him and why he'd say something like that. Eric begins to tell him how Nicky thinks he's stupid and how he knows something been going on with them. But he doesn't blame him since he did steal her first. Nicky begins to grow more confused asking what's his deal but hears a click on the phone. Nicky stares at his phone. He calls Mom and asks what's going with Eric. Mom doesn't know as he's been acting strange since moving back. They continue how they need to help Eric but she gets cut off. She stares outside a window as she sees Eric with his cape, float down to the ground. Nicky keeps repeating her name as Eric slowly turns around with a sinister grin on his face.
BLACKOUT
We cut to when Eric gets his acceptance letter to Harvard as both Mom and Angie celebrate with him telling him he's a hero and how wonderful he is. Eric just glares as he chews his cereal hard and loudly.
Eric and Angie are lying in bed as Angie keeps going on about Nicky. Eric gets jealous and denies Angie sex, which she uses to make him feel better. He asks what's wrong with him for he can never reach the level Nicky is at always. Angie reassures him nothing is wrong with him and one day he'll find something he's good at.
A closeup of Eric pans out to see him floating in the air staring at Angie's tombstone in the rain.
We see flashes of their relationship with Angie getting her degree, Eric working a dead-end job of delivering pizzas, to them arguing which leads him to stab his steak so hard it breaks the plate. She moves out as he moves back home. He finds his cape and wraps himself it as he did as a kid. He begins to float as he's shocked but quickly smiles.
He flies to Angie's new place as he hears her talking to Nicky and they should meet up. He grabs her attention and they begin to recoil. He asks to take her for a ride which after some hesitation she does. They share a beautiful moment together that quickly turns ugly she tells him she loves him and misses him. He loosens his grip and then asks if she knows what it's like to be dropped by someone. She freaks out begging him not to let go till he does. Eric watches as she disappears under the clouds.
There is a police car outside Mom's house as she talks to Nicky about Eric. He's been missing for three days and no one has found him yet. She's concerned while Nicky persists she leaves the house. She can't as she believes Eric needs help before he hurts another person again. She can't run away from her son. Nicky sighs and confesses he was talking to Angie behind Eric's back. She asks if they were sleeping together which Eric quickly denies as Angie has been concerned with Eric as he has been. Eric has been flying off the handle for the past few months.
Mom then takes a moment as looks at the family photos. She stops at a photo of her husband in the army. She then confesses to him about how she thought she saw Eric flying. Eric has a memory of Young Eric floating in the sky.
He tells her to pack her things as this is no longer a request. He'll pay for the flight for tomorrow. He tells her he loves her and she replies the same till suddenly, the black P.O.W. flag crashes through the window behind her. She looks outside to no one but just the rain.
Eric walks into a convenience store and grabs scissors and lighter fluid. He walks into the bathroom and takes out part of the black P.O.W. flag and cuts a part off. He then cuts eye holes out and soaks it with lighter fluid. He holds it out with a wicked smile. He walks out of the store for us to see the store clerk's head smashed in with blood dripping off the counter.
Eric stands outside an apartment complex and begins to fly up. People start to freak out thinking he's some street magician. He flies up to a porch and opens the screen door. He looks inside with sinister menace.
Nicky walks with some groceries, into the lobby of his apartment building, talking to the guard about the Red Sox game as they just blew a lead. Nicky makes a comment about maybe they'll pull some magic which leads the guard talking about some magician with a cape floated up in front of the building. Nicky freezes in his tracks as he asks what magician. The guard tells him about some guy floating around the city lately. Nicky rushes to the elevator.
Nicky rushes into his room and sees Eric with his arm around Mom's throat. Nicky tries to talk Eric down. Eric tells him to not move or he'll snap her neck like a toothpick. Eric puffs his joint as Nicky complies. He asks why is he doing this to which Eric tells him its cause he's good at it. He's never been good at anything compared to the life-saver and hero of the family. Nicky doesn't think that's an answer but Eric doesn't care what he thinks. He pulls the mask he made earlier out and tells him to put it on. If he does, he'll let her go and fly out of here never to be seen again cross his heart.
Nicky refuses as he can smell its awful scent. Eric now furiously tells him to put it on or he'll run their bitch of a mother off the balcony. "She'll fall but I won't." Nicky defeated, puts it on as Mom can be heard crying loudly. He tells Eric he won and to let Mom go. Eric though looks at Nicky as he is reminded of their childhood. How kids would stare at Eric's shaved head showing the plates put in. Kids would want to touch it during class and how the teachers would blame Eric for being a distraction. He hears Young Nicky voice tell him to take off the cape. He shuts his eye trying to block out all of this. Nicky takes a step which makes a sound which then leads to Eric shoots his eyes open. Eric puffs on his joint again and asks Nicky something. Since he's a doctor, he wanted to know if Nicky knew any good burn specialist. Nicky is confused and asks him to let mom go but Eric spits his joint at Nicky's mask. The joint set it on fire and engulfs one side of Nicky's right eye.
Eric lets Mom go as he screams "Look it's the Streak." over and over again as Nicky's eye burns. Mom grabs a lap and smashes it against Eric's face. The back of Eric's head starts to bleed as he calls her a bitch. Mom quickly puts out the fire and carries Nicky out the door. Eric lies on the floor as in his mind a dead Angie berates him for losing to a pussy Ivy Leaguer and an old woman. She goes on to how useless he is. Young Eric apologizes as he cries. Angie tells him it's time to get serious now.
A cop waiting outside the family home tells dispatch he hasn't seen him but then a concrete brick falls out of the sky smacking his head.
Eric goes to the shed and takes out a chainsaw.
An airplane is about to take off as Mom is one of the passengers. The pilot makes small talk about how grinding the job is and how this one should go off without a hitch. They fly into the air as one of the pilots tells him about his family until the other notices something in the air.
We see Young Eric running around with his cape as him, Young mom, and Young Nicky are at a picnic. They enjoy their time till Eric tells her Nicky says he's in heaven now and if that's true. Nicky tells him to shut up but Mom politely how she doesn't know. She tells them she loves them dearly. Eric asks more than everything and she replies "More than anything."
We see Eric flying toward the airplane with the chainsaw. Mom looks out the window and then at a photo she has of the kids. The pilots try to dodge him but it's too late as he throws the chainsaw into one of the engines. The engine catches on fire as the plane begins to go down. Mom looking horrified looks out the window to see Eric flying in the air. He looks remorseless as he watches as the plane crashes into a bridge and explodes. Eric smiles big loving his handy work.
Nicky is in the hospital with his right eye bandaged as he hears the news talk about the crash. No one survived as he remembers about his mom's flight. He goes crazy as he remembers he told his mom to get out of here and somewhere which he convinced her to do. The last thing he saw was his mom crying how she couldn't stay.
Nicky goes crazy as Grant walks in telling him to calm down. Nicky tries to explain what happened but Grant sedates him for his own good. As Nicky passes out, he sees Eric watching him enjoying the condition he's in.
Nicky remembers a memory of how he got Eric to jump off a bridge into the water with him and how he gave Eric confidence basically creating the Red Bolt character.
Eric wakes up to a message on his window about going to Pru tomorrow night or more people die.
We see Eric in school with kids again staring at his scars as Eric looks disconnected to everything only focusing on him drawing of him falling on his notebook.
Nicky waits outside for Eric as Eric tells he doesn't have to do this. Nicky wants to though and plus it makes Mom feel better. A kid walking by calls Eric a freak which Nicky goes to beat the kid up but Eric stops him. Eric feels like a freak and its not just the scars. Eric doesn't feel since he's cape was thrown out. Nicky sympathizes but there's nothing they can do. Eric begins to cry as he wants it back. Nicky hugs his brother.
Nicky is up now looking at himself as he cuts off his bandages. His right eye is burnt badly as he can barely look at himself. He dresses up as a doctor and walks out without anyone noticing him.
Eric flies onto the top of the building and looks down whispering for the Streak to come to get him. He smiles as he sees Eric walking up to the building.
Eric is smoking a joint as Eric opens the door behind him. Eric didn't think he had the balls to show up and then makes fun of his outfit. Nicky backs off as Eric loves he has power over him. Nicky begs him to take off the cape, give it to him, and no one has to get hurt. He'll tell the police everything about the cape, what happened when they were kids, and he'll get help in a hospital. Eric screams how that isn't gonna happen and how their bitch of a mother took it once and it'll never happen again.
Nicky snaps as their mother was a good person and so what if she took his cape who cares. He'd see that if he wasn't such a self-centered, sad-sack, mopey fucking cry-ba... Eric cuts him off with a knee to the gut.
Eric stands over and tells him how he'll never know it felt for him as a kid. How he felt finally apart of something than to have it taken from you. He grabs Nicky's hair to look at him. He talks about finally having powers being a hero and not some freak people gawked at. He blames him and mom for it who he believes couldn't even bear to have him how he was. He was happy and they sabotaged it all. They sabotaged him.
Nicky gets beaten up some more as he breathes heavily. He then asks about Angie while calling him a psycho. Eric looks at him with a smile and then asks what does he think. He beats him up some more.
He talks about how everyone is wrong. The first isn't the hardest how it's all mobster movie bullshit. Nicky tries to say something to which Eric mocks him. Nicky corrects him how Eric's wrong and they all loved him. It's all in his head to which Eric furiously grabs Nick and pulls him up close. He tells him dead seriously he has no idea what goes on in his head.
Images paint the background as we see the plane crash, Angie and Nick having sex, their mother as a monster, skulls, the P.O.W. flag, tentacles, and blood everywhere.
He kicks Nicky in the face as blood flies off. Nicky tries to crawl away. Eric stalks him and asks if Nicky wants to get off the building all he had to do was ask. THen he asks if he would like to know what it feels like to fly. Nicky can't answer as blood rushes down his face.
Eric takes Nicky into the air as the moon shines on them both. Eric compares this night to one where he dropped Angie calling it beautiful. Nicky holds on to dear life begging Eric to stop. Eric takes pleasure in this, mocking his pleads, and then calls him pathetic, whiney, little bitch. He laughs at how Nicky always needed to be the hero when they were kids. Eric grabs Nicky face trying to get him off. Nicky keeps hold of the cape as Eric makes a crack how his hero name will work when he's the Streak on the pavement.
Nicky reaches down to see scissors taped to his ankle. He tells Eric he's sorry and goes to cut the cape off his neck. Eric is caught off guard as he begins to fall. Nicky holding onto the cape, Eric begins to beg Nicky to save him as he continues to fall. He falls and falls till finally splat. Nicky holding onto the cape watching in sorrow.
Nicky flies down to the building as he looks at his father marine patch on the cape now with blood on it. Bodies surround Eric's body as he begins to slowly stop breathing.
Nicky is now at the family home, holding the cape in front of the fireplace. He remembers that day. Everything that happened. Them running around. Eric climbing the tree. Them trash talking to each other. The tree branch breaking. Right to the point, Eric was flying. Nicky tells Eric to take it off and Eric falls right onto the tree branch with the part of it inserted in his right shoulder. He whispers how he told Eric what he'd do if he caught him. He throws it into the fireplace and walks away.
We see the cape begin to burn as the red bolt burns up into flames.
