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The Rookie - Season 8 Episode 15.ts
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00:177 Matter 15, we're code 6 at the 9-1-1 call location.
00:20Any further contact from the distressed individual?
00:22Negative. Do you want me to start additional units?
00:24Uh, no. Give us a minute to scope it out first.
00:27You ready?
00:28Do I have a choice?
00:29That's a spirit.
00:39LAPD, we've received a distress call from this location.
00:41We are making entry.
00:46Oh.
00:51Oh. Do you feel that?
00:53Feel what?
00:54Uh, something evil's in here.
00:56It sure smells like it.
01:07I can't die.
01:08It's inside of me.
01:10It won't let me die.
01:12It won't let me die.
01:14Police, show yourself.
01:19I can't die.
01:20It's inside of me. It won't let me die.
01:23Don't touch that, all right? Just call this in. Call it in.
01:25I need an RA to my location for a stabbing victim.
01:28So I usually sit right next to the camera to keep the eyeline tight?
01:30Then I'll just sit on the other side.
01:32No, because then you'll split his look.
01:34Oh, hey, hi. Thanks, uh, thanks again for sitting down with me.
01:37Hey. Us?
01:38What? Oh, right, us. Uh, why are you filming?
01:42Oh, I just wanted to document the new partnership. Abigail was very excited.
01:45It's not a partnership.
01:46It's totally a partnership. The judge was very clear.
01:49The judge?
01:49My name is Abigail Tierney. I'm currently trapped inside a secret lab at Westview Psychiatric.
01:54All attempts at escape have proven fruitless.
01:57I may have inadvertently used some of Abigail's footage in my last documentary without gaining the proper permissions.
02:02Translation, he stole my intellectual property, I sued, and the judge gave him a choice.
02:07Pay me 200,000 damages or give me equal partnership in his next project.
02:11He never said equal, but you know what? Never mind.
02:14Let's focus on the story that we're here to tell.
02:17Seat.
02:19Perhaps the most shocking case of murder and mayhem we've ever seen.
02:23Would you say that's a fair assessment?
02:25Um.
02:26No, no, stay back, stay back, stay back. You don't understand.
02:29Okay, relax here, okay? We're trying to help you. Who stabbed you?
02:32I stabbed myself. It's inside of me. I've tried everything else. I can't kill it. I can't die. See?
02:40No, don't pull that. Don't pull it out.
02:42Oh, God.
02:45Oh, he died instantly. I mean, the wound was fatal. You can't stab yourself in the heart and survive.
02:52But the way the knife was lodged, he wasn't bleeding. Once he pulled it out...
02:58It was Blood Fountain City.
03:00Not exactly, but as shocking as that was, it was far from the most shocking thing you found.
03:05Oh, we should get him to say that to set up the opening credits?
03:07That's not... We don't put words in people's mouths. It's a documentary.
03:13Yeah, it was, uh, straight-up crazy.
03:18You don't think there's a body in there?
03:20Oh, cool. And we have finally found it.
03:23Ah!
03:25Please don't kill us. We will join your cult.
03:27Yeah.
03:28Oh, God.
03:29You arrived on scene as the sergeant's supervisor?
03:32Yes. I got there before the ambulance. Um, not that there was any aid they could have rendered.
03:37Is there a reason you didn't want us to interview you with Tim?
03:40What?
03:41No. We're just... I'm just shaking it up.
03:44Let's... Let's stay focused. Um, were you the first to recognize the victim?
03:48Uh, sort of. Um, I thought I knew his face, but it wasn't until we ran his prints that we
03:54got a name.
03:54Rich Rowley was retired LAPD. He had been with the department for 30 years and was a little bit of
04:00a legend.
04:01Mostly because he made a series of training videos from the mid-90s till his retirement in 2015,
04:07which, by modern standards, are a little cringe.
04:11Hey, everybody. Rich Rowley here with another installment of...
04:17Now, today, we're going to be talking about proper cuffing technique.
04:22Excuse me, officer? I hurt my shoulder at the gym. Would you mind cuffing me in front?
04:28Hmm. Pretty lady like you. What's the worst that could happen?
04:37You're welcome.
04:39Oh!
04:40Stop!
04:41Rich was a trip. The life of the party, at least early in his career.
04:46Then, as the years went on, he became a little, uh, crazy.
04:52Crazy how?
04:53He was deep into conspiracy theories. He, uh, had a real thing for cults and cabals.
04:58To be fair, Los Angeles does have a pretty dark history.
05:01But Rich took it to the next level.
05:03And his training videos got more and more intense because of it.
05:06We finally got around to updating the videos this last year,
05:09but that caused quite a controversy with some of the older officers.
05:12I mean, they said we were being insensitive.
05:15Why would updating training videos be insensitive?
05:18Even three years on, a lot of his friends were still mourning his death
05:21and saw the videos as a way to keep his memory alive.
05:24I'm sorry. I thought Rich died six months ago.
05:26Yeah.
05:27He did.
05:28I'm talking about the first time.
05:30Divers are searching for any signs of retired Los Angeles police officer Richard Rowley
05:35after a sailing trip gone wrong.
05:38Coast Guard responded to a distress call this morning from Raleigh's wife,
05:42who says the 55-year-old fell overboard after the sailboat he was captaining
05:46was struck by a rogue wave.
05:49Anytime someone disappears from a boating trip,
05:51it automatically sets off alarm bells.
05:53Why is that?
05:54It's just an ideal place to cover up crime,
05:56throw a body overboard, weigh it down.
05:58The likelihood of us recovering it before it becomes fish food is low.
06:02And the circumstances were suspicious.
06:05By all accounts, Rich was a skilled sailor.
06:07It was a calm day, and the only witness to his demise was Darla Phillips,
06:11his on-again, off-again girlfriend who he married five days prior.
06:15So you suspected foul play?
06:19Not necessarily, but we couldn't rule it out.
06:21Why wasn't Rich wearing a life vest?
06:23He never did.
06:24He was a strong swimmer.
06:26He must have hit his head when he fell.
06:29Why didn't you jump in after him?
06:30I'm scared of dark water.
06:32Dark water?
06:33Water you can't see the bottom of.
06:36Just blackness.
06:37With God knows what lurking below.
06:40You stand to inherit Rich's entire police pension.
06:43That's quite a bit of money.
06:44How dare you?
06:46I just watched the love of my life die in front of me.
06:50We don't know that for sure yet.
06:52They haven't found his body.
06:54Unless you know more that you're not telling us.
06:59Go to hell!
07:00This interview is over.
07:01Did it ever occur to you that Rich might still be alive?
07:04As we said, we couldn't rule anything out.
07:06But there was no evidence that he'd faked his death.
07:10Until he turned up dead again.
07:12Needless to say, we had a few more questions for Darla.
07:14Helping someone fake their death isn't a crime.
07:16I checked.
07:17You're right, but profiting off of that death, collecting Rich's pension and his life insurance, it's fraud.
07:23Not to mention the resources that were wasted trying to recover his body.
07:27He could be facing some serious charges.
07:29So, tell us.
07:31Why did Rich want to fake his death?
07:35After Rich retired, he kind of fell apart.
07:39His drinking got worse.
07:41And his paranoia...
07:43He was always a little intense.
07:45But it started to get scary.
07:48He covered all his windows with newspapers.
07:50He started writing down the license plates of passing cars.
07:55What was he so afraid of?
07:57He said there was this group.
07:59Like a secret society of dangerous and powerful people.
08:04He'd been onto them for years.
08:06And he said that they found out about him.
08:08That he was in danger because of it.
08:10It was too much for me.
08:12So, I broke up with him.
08:14And then a year later, he showed up on my doorstep.
08:17And asked me to help him fake his death.
08:21In return for his pension.
08:23I needed the money.
08:25So, we got married.
08:27And we did the deed.
08:28And I never saw him again.
08:29So, you have no idea why there was a coffin in his garage.
08:34We'll probably hold this piece of the puzzle until the end of the first act.
08:37You know, hit the audience with a twist when it's dramatically expedient.
08:40Yeah, seems manipulative.
08:41All good storytelling is.
08:42Just tell us about finding the coffin.
08:45Uh, so, once I arrived and we secured the crime scene,
08:49we cleared the rest of the house and then we moved on to the garage.
08:56Oh.
08:57Oh.
08:58You don't think there's...
08:59That there's a body in there?
09:01I absolutely do.
09:02Okay, are we going to open it?
09:04Because I don't want to open it.
09:06What do you think?
09:07I mean, it's clearly been dug up.
09:10Given the state of the coffin, it's clearly been underground for a few years.
09:13If there is a body in there, it's likely long dead.
09:17Unless...
09:18Unless what?
09:19Unless he put a fresh victim in an old coffin.
09:25Oh, okay.
09:26Got it.
09:27Yeah.
09:28Oh.
09:29Oh, God.
09:36The body belonged to a 54-year-old truck driver named Marcus Ford,
09:40who was the victim of an unsolved homicide back in 2020.
09:44How was he killed?
09:44Uh, he was stabbed in the heart.
09:47Just like Rich.
09:49Wait.
09:50Rich murdered Marcus Ford.
09:52Did I just solve the case?
09:53Uh, no.
09:54We were able to alibi Rich out.
09:57He was hospitalized with double pneumonia the day Marcus died.
10:00Medical records say he was so weak that, uh, he could barely get out of bed.
10:04Or that's what he wanted you to think.
10:05Moving on.
10:07Digging up a body is no easy task.
10:08Why would Rich go to all that trouble?
10:10Initially, we thought it was simply the demented act of a clearly disturbed mind.
10:16And in some ways, it was.
10:17But then we found the tattoo.
10:20At first, it was a little bit difficult to make out exactly what it was.
10:24A half a decade of decomp does a number on the skin.
10:27But when we look back at the case file,
10:29there was a photo of it taken during the original autopsy.
10:32That's actually kind of sick.
10:33I wonder if there's a way to track down the artist.
10:35I've been meaning to start the sleeve on my other arm.
10:38Like, uh.
10:39To my collaborator's point, lots of people have tattoos.
10:42What was it about this one that jumped out at you?
10:44Well, something about it was familiar to both of us.
10:48But we couldn't place it.
10:49So we started asking around,
10:51and the answer couldn't come from a more unlikely place.
10:56I watched the Rich Rally training videos more than any person alive.
11:00So I recognized the symbol immediately.
11:04Sometimes citizens panic when they can't get in touch with their friends or loved ones.
11:08That is why we always advise the public to wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing.
11:14Well, most missing person reports stem from a lapse in communication.
11:18Every once in a while, you'll encounter a true, workable case.
11:22Officer, help!
11:23My sister is missing!
11:25When's the last time you saw her?
11:26Last night at the bar, her boyfriend said she never made it home.
11:30You always want to take a report like this one?
11:33Seriously.
11:34So Rich hid the same symbol in his training videos
11:37that was tattooed on the body of a murder victim.
11:39What did you think that meant?
11:42Uh, I don't know.
11:43I can't believe I'm saying this, but Smitty was right.
11:46In Lesson 187, the tattoo symbol was hidden in the background.
11:49Although, the instructions to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person are wildly outdated.
11:55Anyways, it got me thinking.
11:57What if Rich put messages in other videos?
12:00What kind of messages?
12:02I'm not totally sure yet.
12:03I binged every single Rich training video I could get my hands on.
12:06Yeah, it's been a fun few nights.
12:07And I did find a few other possible leads.
12:10But there's a problem.
12:11The department's archive is incomplete.
12:13And without all of the videos,
12:14I can't be sure that I'm not missing a vital piece of information.
12:16So what happened to the missing videos?
12:18So when the training topics in the videos become outdated
12:21because of new laws or protocols,
12:24the department has to make new ones.
12:26And obviously, videos are supposed to be digitized and archived for historical record.
12:31But Rich is...
12:33were just gone.
12:34Gone is then destroyed?
12:35Like a cover-up?
12:36No one's saying that.
12:38Most likely it was a human error.
12:40You know, someone got lazy, didn't archive them.
12:43I tried reaching out to the production company that made the videos
12:46to see if they had any copies left.
12:48But bad news is, they went out of business a few years back
12:51and auctioned off all their equipment.
12:53What's the good news?
12:55Well, I managed to track down the auction logs.
12:58And I actually know the person who purchased the studio's old hard drives.
13:02Careful, I'm very ticklish.
13:04Like the Pillsbury Doughboy.
13:06Same.
13:07I hear it's, um, a sign of intelligence.
13:09Is that a fact?
13:10Then I am smart as the dickens.
13:13So, you purchased hard drives from Speak Now Studios?
13:16Yeah, Dropout was still in its infancy.
13:19I was building the company from the ground up.
13:21We had to be smart about how we were spending our money.
13:23We bought a huge amount of equipment secondhand.
13:26Hard drives, cameras, wigs.
13:28Wait, wait.
13:29You bought secondhand wigs?
13:30Give them a little shake before we put them on.
13:32That's awesome.
13:33Do you still have that wig connect?
13:35Because I'd love a referral.
13:36My guy is...
13:38Back on track.
13:39The hard drives you bought contain police training videos.
13:42Did you happen to watch any of them?
13:43Of course.
13:44Rich Rowley, right?
13:45We were obsessed with those videos.
13:47We probably watched them like a dozen times.
13:50I'm Rich Rowley, and this is Survive the Streets.
13:53That's great.
13:54Vic can do the best impression.
13:55Do you think you'd be able to make copies for us?
13:58I totally would, but I can't,
14:01because we wiped all of those hard drives
14:02to use as servers months ago.
14:04Sorry, I couldn't be of more help.
14:06You'll still feature this interview, right?
14:10Yeah, probably not.
14:11Wait, you said you and the Dropout crew
14:13watched the video, like, dozens of times, right?
14:16Yes, sometimes on an edible.
14:18Mostly sober.
14:19I have an idea.
14:20Okay, so then you'd be like,
14:21don't forget to check the closet, you'll die.
14:23So, I don't know.
14:23I think it's a little bit more like,
14:25like, if you forget to check the closet,
14:27Freddy, Jason, and Chucky will rip off your scrud.
14:29Okay, I think there's less foot stuff.
14:31I feel like he's like,
14:33and then your crazy met the ex-girlfriend
14:35who's been hiding in the hallway closet
14:37will chainsaw your face when you get home
14:39because you forgot to clear the room!
14:41Clear the room!
14:42Check the room!
14:43I think he was so close to pulling up...
14:45I'm rich!
14:45What are you guys doing?
14:46That's a great question.
14:47They're reenacting the police training videos
14:48since you guys wiped them off your hard drive.
14:50Oh, the Rich Rowley ones!
14:51Those are so funny.
14:53I actually stole one of the hard drives
14:55so I can watch it when I'm in the tub.
14:56Can you talk about your tub, man?
14:57A little self-care, you know?
14:58Trying to relax a little more.
15:00It's not working.
15:01Can we have it?
15:02If you want to borrow it, I could, you know...
15:04No, I think this is actually working great.
15:06Okay.
15:06I'm going to keep this up.
15:07We're riffing.
15:08Clearing the room!
15:09Help us.
15:09Okay, I finally finished watching
15:11all of the Rich training videos,
15:13and there is a lot.
15:15Take lesson 277...
15:20My Azaleas!
15:22A cold case where victim Azalea Robinson
15:25was found stabbed near a ski resort.
15:27You're kidding.
15:28No, and in Lesson 290,
15:31Rich is holding a folder
15:32with a post-it note on the back
15:33with a brown star drawn on it.
15:35I'm lost.
15:36Right, so I looked up the cold cases
15:38to see if there were any victims
15:39with names like Star or Stella,
15:42and there was one hit,
15:43Stella Brown,
15:45also found stabbed in the chest.
15:47In all, Lucy found clues
15:49pointing to seven different cold cases.
15:51But why was Rich hiding the names
15:53of murder victims in police training videos?
15:55Based on what we could piece together,
15:56he believed he had stumbled upon
15:58a conspiracy,
15:59a series of connected murders
16:00committed by person or persons unknown.
16:02If that were the case,
16:03why not just report his suspicion?
16:05He was a cop for 30 years.
16:07Well, Rich had a bit of a reputation
16:09within the department,
16:11or shall we say...
16:12Magical.
16:13...thinking, so...
16:15unfortunately, his theory
16:16was dismissed out of hand.
16:18But why did he think
16:18the murders were connected?
16:19Well, for starters,
16:20they were all stabbed in the chest,
16:22but more importantly,
16:23each victim was found with a penny
16:25either in or on their person.
16:27What do you mean in?
16:28One had a penny in her stomach.
16:30Another had one shoved up his nose.
16:32Stella Brown lucked out.
16:33Hers was just clasped in her hand.
16:35And when we re-examined Marcus Ford's corpse,
16:38the Emmy found one inserted
16:39into the heel of his left foot.
16:42Why?
16:42Did we mention that
16:43they were all minted in 1930?
16:45Okay.
16:46Well, I just got goosebumps.
16:47Rich's autopsy also revealed
16:49that he had swallowed
16:49close to 50 pennies before he died.
16:52Gross.
16:52So at this point,
16:53was your theory...
16:55I actually have no idea
16:56what their theory would have been.
16:57Yeah, well, I-I would tell you,
16:58but we were way off the mark,
17:00which we were about to discover
17:01when we got access
17:02to his cloud account.
17:05Okay.
17:06I may have finally found it.
17:08but I am so close
17:10to getting some real answers.
17:14See that?
17:27Oh, my God.
17:31Oh, my God.
17:40For a guy pretending to be dead,
17:43breaking into a secure military facility
17:45doesn't seem like the best idea.
17:47No, he wasn't just breaking
17:48into any military facility.
17:50It was Area 67.
17:52What does that mean?
17:53That's where the government
17:54keeps the aliens.
18:02So Rich broke into
18:04a secret government base
18:05on the hunt
18:05for a massive conspiracy
18:07then stabbed himself
18:08in the chest?
18:08I mean, at that point,
18:09it's obvious what happened.
18:10Is it?
18:11Come on.
18:12Remember what Rich said
18:13right before he died?
18:14I can't die!
18:15It's inside of me!
18:17It won't let me die!
18:18Yeah, I'm not following.
18:20Rich was exposed
18:21to an alien parasite.
18:23It was inside him.
18:25Were you familiar
18:26with Area 67?
18:28I'd heard of it, yeah.
18:29There's this AM radio station
18:31I used to listen to
18:32back in Foxburg.
18:33Kept me awake
18:34when I was working late.
18:35The host was obsessed
18:37with UFOs.
18:38Val's Velvet Bunker?
18:39That's the one.
18:40He was a little bit out there,
18:42but always entertaining.
18:44Area 51 is theater.
18:47Do you believe,
18:48do you really believe
18:50the most secretive military
18:52installation in the world
18:53would let itself
18:54become a tourist attraction?
18:56No, no, no, no.
18:57Area 51 is the distraction.
19:00Area 67 is the real deal.
19:03You know why California
19:04has all those earthquakes?
19:05It's not San Andreas fault,
19:07my friends.
19:08It's the sonic resonance
19:10from Area 67's
19:11underground testing chambers.
19:13Did you believe
19:14even as theories?
19:15No, no.
19:17Like I said,
19:17just entertainment.
19:19Let's hear from a caller.
19:20Hi, name's John,
19:21long-time listener,
19:22fourth-time caller.
19:23Hey, John from Foxburg.
19:24Welcome back.
19:25What have you got for us tonight?
19:26I swear to God,
19:27I just saw a UFO.
19:31John is such a common name.
19:34I'm open to the possibility
19:35of extraterrestrial life.
19:37You are?
19:38Yeah.
19:38I mean, it's a big universe.
19:39Anything could be out there.
19:41I don't know.
19:41People who claim to have seen aliens
19:43tend to be a little off.
19:45You were friends
19:46with the corpse, right?
19:46Well, yeah,
19:47we were more than friends,
19:48but fair enough.
19:49Okay.
19:50Legally,
19:50is it necrophilia
19:52if she only did
19:52over-the-clothes stuff?
19:53That's a great question.
19:54Oh, I definitely believe.
19:56In fact,
19:58I've been abducted by aliens.
20:00Really?
20:01Multiple times.
20:02Apparently,
20:04I'm a fascinating subject.
20:05I remember the last time
20:07Smitty was abducted.
20:09Turns out he partied too hard
20:10in Vegas
20:11and woke up in Wisconsin.
20:12Missing time.
20:14One of the hallmarks
20:15of alien abductions
20:17had been stricken.
20:18Point is,
20:19the government
20:20had little gray men
20:21in their secret labs
20:23for decades.
20:24What are they doing with that?
20:26They're implanting the aliens
20:27in unsuspecting hosts
20:28and taking over their bodies.
20:30You just never know
20:32who might be one of them.
20:35Some people in the station
20:36believed Rich stabbed himself
20:38to kill an alien parasite.
20:41But I wouldn't say
20:42that was a dominant theory.
20:43It wasn't long before
20:44we figured out
20:45Rich believed something darker
20:47and it was connected
20:48to the seven murders.
20:50Then why did Rich
20:51break into the army base?
20:52Yes, I remember the incident.
20:54Rich Rowley cut through a fence.
20:56He trespassed
20:57on government property.
20:58He was promptly apprehended
21:00and sent on his way.
21:01Do you have any idea
21:02what Rich was looking for?
21:03Uh, as it turns out,
21:04he was looking for me.
21:06But not because of
21:07any alleged aliens.
21:09So why did he come?
21:12Uh, this part is, uh,
21:15is a little bit embarrassing.
21:16Um, before I found
21:18my calling in the military,
21:19I thought that I wanted
21:21to be an actor.
21:22And, uh, I was in
21:24a few DTV movies.
21:25What's DTV?
21:26You're so young.
21:28Uh, direct-to-video.
21:29They made all these
21:30super cheap movies
21:31back in the 80s
21:32and 90s.
21:33You make them
21:34as cheaply as possible
21:35and then hope that
21:36someone was drawn in
21:36enough by the cover art
21:38to rent them.
21:40A guy can't have
21:41a side gig?
21:41Totally.
21:42How did you get into acting?
21:43Some director scouted me
21:45when I pulled him over.
21:46He said I had a
21:48bitchin' bod.
21:49Well, he wasn't wrong.
21:50But I gave it up
21:52because the people
21:52of this city
21:53needed a savior.
21:55Yeah, you are the model
21:57of public service.
21:58Right?
21:59Anyway, Rich became
22:00interested in
22:01a terrible B-movie
22:03that I was in.
22:04I played a monk.
22:06It was called
22:07300 Days of Hell.
22:12Terrible B-movie?
22:13That's what he called it?
22:14300 Days of Hell
22:15is the scariest film
22:16of the 1990s.
22:17Really?
22:18The Ring, Scream,
22:19Blair Witch Project?
22:20Which one of us
22:21executive produced
22:22a horror movie?
22:22Trust me,
22:23T-H-D-O-H
22:25is true nightmare fuel.
22:26It's not that scary.
22:28She made me watch
22:29at the beginning
22:30of our relationship.
22:31When he was still
22:31trying to impress me.
22:34You want to watch
22:35it again tonight?
22:36I would.
22:38Totally.
22:39I do have plans, though.
22:42Yeah, I'm not
22:43watching that crap.
22:44Even if it is for a case.
22:45I-I see enough horror
22:47on the job.
22:48That being said,
22:49300 Days of Hell
22:50was our first real window
22:52into the rabbit hole
22:53that Rich had gone down.
22:54A rabbit hole filled
22:55with demons.
22:56Or rather,
22:57a demon.
22:58So Rich believed
22:59a demon had killed
22:59all those people?
23:00No, the killers
23:01were definitely human.
23:02Killers, plural?
23:03Yeah, there was
23:04different trace DNA
23:05on all the bodies.
23:06All from different subjects
23:07and none of them
23:08were in the system.
23:10Meaning?
23:10The murders were committed
23:11by a group of people
23:12with shared beliefs.
23:14A murder cult.
23:15The cult believed
23:16a demon named Malifus
23:17had been possessing people
23:19all across the city,
23:20jumping from host to host,
23:21and it was up to them
23:23to stop it.
23:31The legend of Malifus
23:33is centuries old.
23:35The first mention
23:35we see of him
23:36is 1433's
23:38Lesser Grimoire of Solomon
23:40by Slovenian inquisitor
23:41Terentius Bruma.
23:43A reference text
23:45of demons
23:46and their attributes.
23:48Gnarly.
23:49Right?
23:49He's also known
23:51as the deceiver,
23:52the infestor,
23:53and demon of 300 days.
23:55Why?
23:55Once summoned to Earth,
23:57Malifus won't rest
23:58until he finds
23:58a human host.
23:59After possession begins,
24:01he incubates.
24:03300 days.
24:04What happens
24:05after 300 days?
24:06He reaches full strength
24:08and his power
24:09becomes uncontainable.
24:11Uh-oh.
24:14Um,
24:15if Malifus
24:16was summoned to Earth,
24:16how would one stop him?
24:18Bruma suggests
24:19killing the host
24:20might slow Malifus down,
24:21forcing him to
24:23regenerate
24:23before he can find
24:24a new host,
24:25a process that
24:26also can be slowed
24:28by the use of copper.
24:30It was the pennies.
24:32The pennies.
24:32It all came back
24:33to the pennies.
24:34Before 1984,
24:36U.S. pennies
24:37were 95% copper.
24:38So the copper
24:39and the pennies
24:39was meant to
24:40bind the demon,
24:41but what about
24:41the 1930 part?
24:42Uh-are-are you
24:44familiar with numerology?
24:46Some ancient peoples,
24:48and Taylor Swift,
24:50believed there was
24:51a mystical connection
24:52between letters
24:53and numbers.
24:55Using the Chaldean method,
24:56the name Malifus
24:57becomes a digit 1930.
24:59So you're saying...
25:00We had a theory.
25:01Whoever killed
25:02those people believed
25:04the victims
25:04were possessed
25:05by Malifus.
25:06They had to reach
25:08Malifus' host
25:09before he reached
25:11his true form.
25:11A 1930 penny
25:12was the perfect tool.
25:14Yeah.
25:14Rich's talk of
25:15it's inside me,
25:16it won't let me die,
25:17he thought he was
25:18infested by this demon too,
25:20and that's why
25:21he killed himself.
25:22Wait, I thought
25:23Rich didn't believe
25:24in Malifus.
25:25Isn't that why
25:25he was trying
25:25to stop the cult?
25:26Yes, but years
25:27of obsession and paranoia
25:29can do a number
25:29on a person's psyche.
25:31I mean, it seems
25:31as though in the end,
25:32Rich could no longer
25:33distinguish fantasy
25:34from reality.
25:35And you got this theory
25:36from Rich's files?
25:37Well, I mean,
25:38we actually got it
25:38from Lopez.
25:39And they say
25:40watching old horror movies
25:42isn't a good use of time.
25:44I never said that.
25:53Are we safe, brother?
25:55Is Malifus banished?
25:57His sigil is drawn.
25:59The right is spoken.
26:01We have sealed
26:02his last human vessel
26:03with copper.
26:11heaven, forgive us.
26:13Indeed.
26:15For hell will not.
26:19Midnight.
26:20The 300th day.
26:23Our task was done
26:25none too soon.
26:53Yeah, that was me.
26:57Do you guys want a glass?
26:58Oh, you got anything stronger?
27:01Fine, I'll just take a glass.
27:04Okay, I'll just,
27:05I'll have nothing, actually.
27:06No fun for me.
27:08Yeah, that was
27:09my first big movie role.
27:12Well, my only one, really.
27:15Rich was so excited
27:17when I told him
27:17I booked it.
27:18He helped me run lines.
27:19Did Rich buy into
27:21the Malifus mythology?
27:22No.
27:23Weirdly,
27:24given all the conspiracies
27:25that Rich believed in,
27:26he was a total atheist.
27:28But I wouldn't have blamed him
27:30after everything
27:31that happened on that shoot.
27:32Like what?
27:35Before production wrapped,
27:37the DP was paralyzed
27:38driving to set.
27:39A stunt person
27:40had his leg amputated.
27:42There were divorces,
27:43bankruptcies,
27:44careers ended.
27:45One of the actors
27:46even died
27:47in his hotel room.
27:49People say
27:49the production was cursed.
27:51What about you?
27:52What do you believe?
27:53I believe the real curse
27:55was the director.
27:57He was a reckless maniac
27:59that didn't know
28:00how to run a set.
28:01Cuts!
28:02Cuts!
28:03Arthur!
28:04Arthur!
28:05Your strangulation,
28:06it has to be real.
28:09I want to feel
28:10a life draining from him.
28:11You!
28:12You!
28:12You cannot move.
28:14From your position,
28:16not even an inch.
28:17Guys, this ritual
28:19is extremely specific.
28:21Okay?
28:22Let's go again.
28:23Okay.
28:24I thought I was choking
28:25you pretty well.
28:26I'm sorry.
28:26Okay?
28:26I'm going to choke
28:27you a little harder.
28:27Ready?
28:28Douglas was real touchy
28:29about the religious stuff.
28:31I guess he had grown up
28:32in some sort of commune,
28:33and this was all based
28:34on stories he was told
28:35growing up.
28:36Okay, but what I heard
28:38is that they accidentally
28:39summoned Malifus for real.
28:40The director found
28:41some ancient tome
28:42and inserted the incantation
28:44and rituals verbatim.
28:46Ooh, I love that.
28:47And that's what got me
28:48thinking about
28:49the penny killings.
28:50We found the first victim
28:51just a little under
28:52300 days after
28:53the summoning ritual
28:54was filmed.
28:55We knew Rich was aware
28:56of the Malifus legends.
28:57It was only natural
28:58to link them.
28:59So Rich thought
29:00that penny victims
29:01were killed by people
29:02trying to stop Malifus.
29:03Was he able to identify
29:05any of these killers?
29:06We know he tried.
29:08Hey, how are you?
29:10Jared.
29:10Hello.
29:12Wow.
29:13It's a pleasure
29:14to meet you, gentlemen.
29:15Pleasure to meet you, too.
29:16Why don't you tell us
29:17about yourselves?
29:17Yeah, we co-starred
29:20on a TV show together
29:22for 15 seasons
29:25called Supernatural.
29:26Yeah, we played Sam
29:27and Dean Winchester,
29:29brothers that, you know,
29:31tracked and fought
29:32Supernatural beings.
29:34Like K-pop demon hunters.
29:36No, no, not like that.
29:37I mean, you're kind of like that.
29:40Okay, can you tell us
29:42about your encounter
29:43with Rich Rowley?
29:44Yeah, yeah, yeah.
29:45Rich Rowley.
29:46He came to a fan event
29:48we did last year
29:50at MonsterCon.
29:51Yeah, you know,
29:52most people show up
29:52and they just want
29:53the autograph or a photo.
29:56But Rich was
29:58sort of a different beast
30:00altogether.
30:00Yeah, yeah.
30:01He was super fixated
30:03on this one particular episode
30:05where we fought a demon.
30:06Malifus.
30:07Yeah, that one.
30:09Anyway, he seemed to think
30:11we, like, knew more about it
30:15than we were saying.
30:16More about what?
30:17Demon hunting.
30:18He kept, like, asking
30:19these super pointed questions
30:21like he was, I don't know,
30:23testing us or something.
30:25Did you have an answer?
30:26No.
30:27No, I mean, we didn't.
30:28We didn't come up
30:29with these stories, you know.
30:30We just did what
30:30the writers wrote.
30:31It's called acting.
30:33There's no actual
30:34demon hunters in real life.
30:35Exactly.
30:36Uh, that's not exactly true.
30:39There is at least one.
30:41And it actually connected
30:42to the movie.
30:44We heard the director
30:45brought a priest
30:46named Father Simon McCabe
30:47to bless the set
30:48every day before filming.
30:50Well, it was either that
30:50or the whole crew
30:51was going to walk.
30:52Does that name
30:53mean anything to you?
30:56About 15 years ago,
30:57Lopez and I had just
30:58finished our rookie years.
31:00We responded to a
31:01call at a house
31:01of a priest
31:03doing an exorcism
31:04with a 16-year-old girl.
31:05Had been going on
31:05for three days.
31:06Father, help!
31:09Police!
31:12Help her!
31:13Please!
31:16Police!
31:21Get away from her!
31:25Father, forgive me.
31:35Did you feel like
31:36you'd seen the devil?
31:37The only thing in that room
31:38that belonged in hell
31:38was Father Simon.
31:40He kept saying
31:41he had to.
31:42The whole way
31:42to the station.
31:43I'm sorry I had to.
31:44I'm sorry I had to.
31:46Because he believed
31:47she was possessed.
31:48She had a brain tumor.
31:49That's what they found
31:50after the autopsy.
31:52She needed a doctor,
31:53not an exorcism.
31:54And he wasn't a man of God.
31:55He was a killer.
31:56The courts agreed.
31:58So Father Simon
31:58was convicted
31:59of first-degree murder.
32:01When we processed him,
32:02we found a penny in his pocket.
32:03Nothing else, just a penny.
32:05Didn't mean anything
32:05at the time,
32:06but after Rich connected
32:07those seven murders,
32:08it seemed likely
32:09he was involved.
32:10Involved?
32:11Like he killed them?
32:12No, Simon was already
32:13in prison when five
32:14of the murders took place,
32:16and his DNA didn't match
32:17any that was found
32:18on the corpses.
32:19But he could have been part
32:20of whatever group
32:21Rich was so afraid of.
32:23Which means he knew
32:23more than he had told us,
32:25so we had to go back.
32:29Officers, I remember you.
32:30You were the ones
32:31who tried to stop the ritual.
32:32I wish we would have
32:33gotten here sooner.
32:34Becca Scott might still be alive.
32:36Oh, she was long gone
32:37before you arrived.
32:38The demon saw to that.
32:40Malifus?
32:41Shh.
32:42Do not say its name
32:43in my presence.
32:44Boy, are you afraid
32:45we might accidentally
32:45summon it?
32:47You may scorn me
32:49and my beliefs,
32:50but I have fought this evil.
32:52I know enough
32:52to fear its power.
32:54What's more evil
32:55than murdering a child?
32:57I took no pleasure
32:58in the act.
32:59I'm grateful I had the courage
33:00to do what was necessary.
33:01Courage?
33:02Tell us about the penny
33:03that was in your pocket.
33:05In the movie
33:06300 Days of Hell,
33:07Malifus is sealed
33:08inside his host with copper
33:09before he can be killed.
33:10Uh, banished.
33:12Not killed.
33:13What's the difference?
33:14The demon is a parasite.
33:18It needs a host.
33:19Once you kill the body
33:20that inhabits it,
33:21find a new one.
33:23Becca Scott was just
33:24a single battle
33:25in a larger war.
33:26If you're in here,
33:28who's doing the fighting now?
33:31The Knights of Avila.
33:33Los Angeles has a long history
33:35of spiritualism,
33:37esoteric religions
33:38that go back over 100 years.
33:39So think Aleister Crowley,
33:41Jack Parsons, L. Ron Hubbard.
33:43He freaking loves this stuff.
33:44I do.
33:45Anyway,
33:46a lot of these groups
33:47started out as fraternal orders,
33:49similar to the Freemasons,
33:50where people would gather
33:52and share.
33:53Well, yeah, yes.
33:54And some women.
33:56And they would share new ideas,
33:58explore philosophies.
34:00They also liked partying,
34:02doing drugs,
34:02and performing weird sex rituals.
34:05Sign me up.
34:07For the intellectual exchanging
34:10of ideas, obviously.
34:11So the Knights of Avila
34:12is one of these groups.
34:13It was.
34:14Like a lot of the similar
34:15organizations at the time,
34:16it fell apart when the founder died.
34:18It hasn't been active in 60 years.
34:20Then what was Father Simon talking about?
34:22Based on Tim and Lopez's
34:24conversation with Father Simon,
34:25we began to believe
34:26that the group,
34:27or at least the name,
34:30had been revived sometime
34:31in the late 90s
34:32to the early 2000s
34:33and rebranded
34:35as some kind of demon hunting cult.
34:38So Rich was actually right.
34:40There was a murderous cabal after him.
34:42It seemed that way.
34:43And we were getting close
34:45to discovering
34:46who their ringleader was.
34:50I found him.
34:51Found who?
34:52Doug Roberts.
34:53I want to fill a life
34:54training for him.
34:55Oh, you mean the director
34:56of this sad little demon porn?
34:57Where?
34:58I was going through
34:58some old industry trades
34:59from around the time
35:00THDOH was slated to come out.
35:02One of the articles
35:03mentioned that Roberts
35:04was a client of Stuart Wynecliffe
35:06at the Golden Talent Agency.
35:07The guy hasn't made a movie
35:08in 26 years.
35:09I doubt they still rep him.
35:10Not actively, no.
35:12But I called their offices
35:13and I bribed or like...
35:14I talked one of the assistants
35:16into giving me the address
35:17where his residual checks are sent.
35:19It's downtown.
35:19Let's go.
35:20Uh, hold on.
35:21You just want to go
35:22doorstep the guy?
35:23If that means go knock on a door
35:24while also filming, then yes.
35:25Yeah, I'm not in the business
35:26of gotcha journalism.
35:28What about the business
35:29of making that paper?
35:31The guap?
35:33Money, guy.
35:34Come on, the doc business
35:35is oversaturated these days.
35:37We need footage that P.O.P.'s.
35:39And what pops more than
35:40blindsiding a potential cult later?
35:43Come on.
35:44What's the worst
35:45that could happen?
35:47This is it.
35:48Okay.
35:50Um, uh, here.
35:51Here's your camera.
35:52Um, I don't operate.
35:54Oh.
35:54Well.
35:58Now you do.
36:01Let's go.
36:04What floor is it on?
36:05Eight, but, uh,
36:06there's an elevator.
36:07Don't worry.
36:14Are you sure it's that way?
36:16Yep.
36:17Nope.
36:19You know,
36:20at the risk of being called
36:21a scaredy cat,
36:22you do understand
36:23that this is inherently
36:24neither a wise
36:25nor safe activity?
36:27You're asking a woman
36:28if she understands
36:29that it's inherently dangerous
36:30to go anywhere
36:31or do anything?
36:33When you put it that way,
36:35I sound like an ass.
36:36Oh, I truly thought
36:37that's a new one.
36:39Do you doubt me?
36:40Maybe we should come back?
36:42Hey, hello,
36:43Douglas Roberts.
36:44We're here to question you
36:45about murders and demons.
36:47That should get his attention.
36:50Oh!
36:51I am just an intern.
36:57So,
36:58clearly we're not deceased,
37:01which means...
37:02We saved you
37:02from certain deaths?
37:03I'm not sure
37:04how certain it was, right?
37:05Oh, it felt pretty certain to me.
37:07Please don't kill us.
37:08We will join your cult.
37:09Is there a membership fee
37:10or a secret handshake?
37:11I love a secret handshake.
37:12Ignore her.
37:13She's not right in the head.
37:14In fact,
37:14she has short-term memory issues,
37:15so if you let her go now,
37:16she won't remember any of this.
37:17Just shut up.
37:18No one's going anywhere.
37:19I mean, technically,
37:20we're all going somewhere.
37:25All right, let him go.
37:27Get your hands up.
37:28Up against the jeep now.
37:30Let's go.
37:36Oh, my God.
37:37Hey, Anna.
37:39Thanks for trying to save me,
37:40even though I'm the one
37:41who put us in danger.
37:42No problem.
37:44I was about to do the same thing,
37:46but you just beat me to it.
37:48I can be noble, too.
37:49No doubt.
37:50Yeah.
37:51I get very claustrophobic.
37:52Can I just point out
37:53how claustrophobic I get, please?
37:54So when did you and Douglas meet?
37:57In the movie.
37:58He was, you know,
38:00so commanding and driven
38:02and everything I wasn't.
38:03When did he start talking
38:04about killing the demon?
38:06It was, uh,
38:07at least a year after that.
38:09He would call me late at night
38:11and talk about the demon
38:12and how scared he was for the world,
38:14and eventually it started to make sense.
38:17And he told you
38:18that someone was possessed.
38:20Correct.
38:21Her name was Cynthia.
38:23Um,
38:24she cried when I tied her up,
38:26and she kept saying
38:27that she was not a demon.
38:29She begged me to believe her,
38:31and...
38:35at that point,
38:36he was very deep in my head.
38:39And then tonight,
38:40you know,
38:40all the lies he was spewing
38:41at the end,
38:43it was like somebody
38:44turned on a light switch.
38:45I could just see him
38:46for who he was.
38:48So pathetic.
38:52We'll need you to write up
38:53a detailed confession.
38:59I would like to make a deal.
39:03Uh,
39:03we have already located
39:04your co-conspirators.
39:05You don't really
39:06have anything to offer.
39:09You don't want to know
39:10what an alien spaceship
39:11looks like?
39:13I am all that stands
39:15between the world
39:17and damnation.
39:19So all of the people
39:20that you had targeted,
39:21they had to die
39:22for the greater good?
39:24Yes.
39:25And my heart breaks
39:26for each of them.
39:28But I will not let
39:29innocence fall to perdition.
39:31Okay.
39:32Have you had your fill of BS?
39:34God, yes.
39:35Okay, me too.
39:36So, uh,
39:36first victim.
39:39Cynthia Green.
39:40You dated for two years
39:41before she cheated on you.
39:42Marcus Ford.
39:43He worked as a teamster
39:44on your movie,
39:45then later sued you
39:46for non-payment.
39:48Pamela Jones
39:49wrote a scathing review
39:51of your movie.
39:52Really?
39:53I had no idea.
39:55All seven victims
39:56were people who
39:57wronged you in some way.
39:58You don't even believe
39:59in the demon.
40:00You just used it
40:01as a tool to get people
40:02with weak minds
40:03to do your dirty work
40:04for you.
40:07Exactly.
40:08I was the director.
40:10I think you'll find
40:10I never laid a finger
40:13on any of the victims.
40:14And I think
40:15he will find
40:16that Manson
40:16died in prison.
40:21All right.
40:21Uh, anything else?
40:23No, I think
40:24we got everything.
40:25Okay.
40:27That was a crazy one, huh?
40:28Tell me about it.
40:29And look,
40:30thanks so much
40:31for all of your time
40:31and for saving our lives.
40:33Anything from
40:34my favorite documentarian?
40:35Actually,
40:35the only documentarian I know.
40:37Not true.
40:37I'm a documentarian, too.
40:38Of course, yes.
40:40Oh, speaking of,
40:41how did this whole
40:42working together thing go?
40:44Is this the start
40:45of a beautiful friendship?
40:47I don't know.
40:48I mean,
40:48we have very different styles
40:49and instincts
40:51and, well,
40:52basically everything,
40:52but I'd be open
40:54to another collaboration.
40:57Oh, um,
40:59it's just I, uh,
41:00I kind of signed
41:01an exclusive
41:02three-film deal
41:03with Hulu.
41:04What?
41:04Yeah, I, um,
41:06I sent them a sizzle reel
41:07of this project.
41:07Just the me parts
41:08and, uh,
41:09they freaked.
41:10Said I'm gonna be
41:10the new face
41:11of true crime.
41:12Their words.
41:13Wow, I mean,
41:14you'd probably be able
41:15to bring him along,
41:16though, right?
41:17Oh, totally.
41:19Totally.
41:21I gotta go,
41:22but, uh,
41:23thanks again.
41:24Hello?
41:25No, I said Toronto
41:26and then camp.
41:30She'll probably call you.
41:39Have a great job.
41:43Bye-bye.
41:44Bye-bye.
41:44Bye-bye.
41:45Bye-bye.
41:53Bye-bye.
41:54Bye-bye.
41:56Bye-bye.
42:11Damn it.
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