I was on caIl, driving to a mountain Iodge
caIIed ''The Dead Mountaineer's Hotel'', and it was quite a difficuIt drive.
THE DEAD MOUNTAINEER'S HOTEL
Many years have passed now, but on duII shifts
or sIeepIess nIghts, I often recall what happened,
and even now l cannot decIde whether I was right or not.
What's strange is I can teII no one how it actually happened,
not my wife, friends or the authorities.
Only I know the whoIe truth.
That's the mountaineer. He was caught in an avaIanche.
He was carried 500 meters to his death.
Hello! - WeIcome!
I am Alex Snewahr,
owner of the hotel, the valley and surrounding mountains.
Lell, Ioyal friend of the deceased.
I'm police inspector Peter Glebsky. What happened here?
Sorry? - You caIIed the poIice. - Me?
HeIlo, captain, this is GIebsky.
Nothing's going on here...
Yes, faIse alarm. What?
No, I can't come back today.
There is fog in the mountains.
What? Ah, wine? WeII, OK.
I understand that one of my guests...
Yes, it must have been. - My sincere apologies.
It's OK. l'd be happy to spend the night and try your famous ''EdeIweiss''.
My wine cellars are at your command!
LeII! Room seven!
Great flying, wasn't it? - Yes.
Well?
Thanks, Lell, you can go now.
What beauties you have here! Just Iike HoIIywood...
Hi.
Yes, it's beautiful here!
I am... Peter GIebsky, poIice inspector.
Hinckus.
Nice to meet you. I just arrived.
Been here long?
I have tuberculosis.
I need fresh air, doctors teII me.
I'm sorry.
Is that the dinner bell? Are you coming?
I'II make it.
What are you doing up there? Need heIp?
I'm Simon Simonet, commander of the cyber-forces.
Funny, isn't it?
At ease. PoIice inspector Peter GIebsky.
I am actually a physicist. Four years without a vacation.
Project Midas. Heard of it? Top secret. - Yes.
I'm here to cIimb. But there's too much snow.
So I climb - the walls.
The doctors prescribed sensory pleasures.
May I present Inspector Glebsky.
This is my distant reIative, Brun.
Next to her is Olaf Andvarafors.
How do you do.
Mrs. Moses.
I Iove policemen!
Heroes, daredeviIs...
Are you a daredevil, inspector?
Alas, I am a common police officer.
Can't be. A man of such Iooks cannot be anything but a daredeviI.
Oh, really?
How do you do, gentlemen.
Mr. Moses, l present our guest inspector GIebsky. - My pleasure.
Mr. Moses. We were talking about aliens.
I compIetely share Mr. Daniken's opinion, that aliens have repeatedIy visited Earth
Your Daniken is a charIatan.
You are a physicist, Simonet, meaning you are a rationalist.
But this question is the stuff of poetry.
Inspector, what do you think?
I'm a strong rationalist. I'm a poIiceman
Everything around me -pIeasant hotel, nice owner, somewhat strange guests
and amazingly beautifuI mountains, everything boded for a pIeasant evening.
I felt gratefuI to the captain who sent me.
Mr. Inspector, you are a reaI man. Give OIaf a beating!
Ah, OIaf, the police wiIl make mincemeat out of you
Mincemeat is food.
Then he will make food from you!
Why? - To eat!
But we just had dinner.
It's impossible to taIk to you...
Why? It was a very good conversation.
But mincemeat is stiII a food.
And the inspector wiII not succeed in turning me into food
A pleasure. - Mine too.
Let's go. - Let's go. Bye.
Oh, Simonet, you're incredible! Just Iike a monkey!
Excuse me, I'm being caIIed. I have to go.
What a woman! Drive you crazy. - Yes.
You dropped something! - Ah, thanks.
Something wrong? - No, don't worry.
What are you doing, Moses? Youll lose your rook in three moves.
And who is this Mr. Moses?
Registered as a travelling businessman.
But l've no idea where he's travelIing.
The road ends here; the onIy way is back.
Don't be a wallfIower, Mr. lnspector. Can l ask you to dance?
What a beautiful view! Isn't it?
Hinckus is stiII on the roof. Poor guy. - Why? l don't like him!
Mrs. Moses? You promised me a dance.
Simonet sobered me and... I got drunk.
Was it from the wine, Mrs. Moses, or something eIse, I do not know.
But I felt l had to get some air.
And l had to do something about the anonymous note thrust into my pocket.
It read.: ''Hinckus is a dangerous gangster,
a homIcidal manIac caIIed 'OwI', he is planning a murder. Do something. ''
Hinckus! Hinckus!
What? What happened? Olaf! You have no power, either?
Quiet, gentIemen, quiet, pIease! The Iight wiII be back in two minutes.
Everything wiII be all right. I will turn on our backup generator.
No sign of life in Hinckus'room.
It was as if he had vanIshed underground.
This was not a weapon of a crimInaI. But why did he keep the toy in his case?
Looked IIke he was beIng set up as a deangerous criminal. But who?
Kaisa, come here! Quick! Kaisa!
What's wrong with him? -Maybe hypothermia
Who is he? - Don't know. Brandy, quick!
You asIeep? I'II fetch it myself.
Cold as ice.
Perhaps he is a friend of Mr. Hinckus?
Mr. Hinckus? - Yes.
I heard him dictating a teIegram: ''l am waiting for you, come quickIy.''
Yes, things look bad. The telephone and power are gone.
The avalanche has cut us off compIeteIy. It wiII take them a week to dig us out.
Not even a handkerchief.
Are you aIone? - He is weak.
Is somebody expecting you?
Olaf. Olaf Andvarafors.
OIaf! Olaf! Strange. The door is Iocked from the inside.
My God... What's wrong with him?
He is dead.
Is this his suitcase? - Yes.
Is this all of his baggage? - No, only this suitcase.
Don't teII anyone about this yet. Check the garage - if any car is missing.
If you see Hinckus, try to detain him. Now go.
The hand of the corpse was stretched out and almost touching a small suitcase.
OIaf's head was unnaturally twisted back.
What strength the killer must have had.!
Who did this? - I don't know!
Who tied you up? - How should l know?
What time is it? - One in the morning.
One in the morning! One in the morning?
CaIm down! CaIm down, Hinckus.
Who attacked you? - l don't know. - When did it happen? - Just before ten.
Do you suspect someone?
No, no, no... l don't know! I don't know! From behind! I don't know! I don't know...
Don't play dumb!
I... I... I...
I swear to you, I didn't kiII this woman!
She was already cold when l entered.
- Wait a second... She... She was...
Shut up! OK. Now taIk. Tell me what happened.
Here's what happened. She had been fIirting with me. But I didn't dare...
But this evening...
She was stone-coId dead. l swear to you!
Come with me! - Where? - To the cell! To soIitary!
To the torture chamber! Idiot. - Now. Just a moment.
Put your trousers on!
PIease forgive me.
I swear to you, l swear! I was drunk, sure, but not that drunk!
Look. This shouId be related to your profession
Very interesting.
Where did you find this? - lt's Olaf's.
I don't get it. Strange contraption.
No, not my line of work.
Something miIitary, or outer space.
Be careful, this might be dangerous.
AII right... Go to bed.
No, no... this is madness!
That was all l needed- miIitary or outer space, too...
There we go... This is the safest pIace for it.
Take the key.
Alex. Are you sure OIaf and Brun retired between 10 and 1 0:30?
Yes. AbsoluteIy sure. - Thanks. That is very important.
What the heII! You crazy? - Turn it off!
Three at night! -Get the Iight off of me! - Get out! What's your business here?
Don't shout. TeII me where and when you saw OIaf for the Iast time?
And why do l have to tell you? Get out! Go to heII, goddamn cop!
Stop it! There was a murder in the hoteI and I am investigating it.
Who is the victim? - l'll teII you Iater. Now Iisten to me.
You left Olaf between 1 0 and 10:30? And then? - I didn't hear from him again.
OK. Perhaps you saw someone in the hall?
Did somebody pass you? Mrs. Moses? No?
Hinckus was waIking down the haII.
Hinckus? Hinckus... Hinckus? After 10? How was he dressed?
That siIIy fur coat of his.
Listen, Hinckus, I'm tired of you.
Why'd you lie about being accosted at 10? You were seen after 10?
That's the thing, inspector.
They saw me in the haII...
and I saw... me. And I strangIed... me.
I... me... Do you understand? I... me!
UntiI then I hadn't made a singIe mistake.
No, l did make one key mistake. I did not sense the danger.
I should have, must have reaIIzed something unusuaI.
But l did not.
I dIdn't know whom to suspect.
The women were ruIed out,; Moses, too.
Hinkus was tied up.
Maybe someone was disguised as Hinckus?
I don't Iike it here. I don't Iike your hotel!
The interrogations, murders, avaIanches, dogs, your cluelessness.
And as for the police, they break into my wife's room at night!
How can you humiliate a man Iike this! My wife, in this case!
I understand, Mr. Moses but stiII...
I aIready know you won't rest until you get answers to your foolish questions.
WeII, remember, onIy two questions.
Yes. Thanks. l'm investigating a murder, lt's very important.
Oh, gentlemen! Wonderful night, isn't it?
PIease, take a seat.
I must apologize for intruding at night, but l did notice you were not asleep.
TeII me, did something awake you? - Yes. lndeed I was not sleeping.
But I cannot say anything woke me up.
You didn't hear anything? - No, nothing.
And you did not hear the avalanche?
Avalanche?
What avalanche?
Nothing terribIe, l will tell you later.
Around 9:30 Iast night you Ieft the dance hall for a bit.
Did you see anyone in the hall?
It seems to me... Of course!
On my way back, l saw Olaf and Brun.
HoIding hands and taIking as lovers do.
Mrs. Moses, you've been a great help.
The victim is... OIaf.
I know you were the Iast to see him alive You lied to me about parting at the door.
Where did you part? Where, when and how?
What is it?
Quick! Go! Go away! Go now!
And I never saw him again.
I am sorry - you're on the wrong track.
Your professional experience is meaningIess.
Like time at greater than Iight speed.
Alex, I Iike you. - I Iike you too.
But if you play with me, I'II suspect you.
That wiII mean a world of trouble.
Yes, of course. What can we do...
You are not ripe yet.
I'm so ripe l wiII fall off the tree soon
Some tribes in CentraI Africa know how to revive their dead.
The phenomenon is called zombie.
Perhaps zombie is the third state of Iiving organisms.
I was tired and at an Impasse.
I was listening to Snewahr taIk about zombies and fell asIeep.
What? What is it? What happened? Where did this come from?
Did you bring it?
There's only one possibility - that the gun was thrown from the roof.
Thus it was Hinckus stalkIng someone.
Inspector, l've been looking for you!
The guy has regained consciousness!
Where is Olaf Andvarafors?
Excuse me, I need to ask a few questions.
What is your name?
Luarvik.- And your first name? - Luarvik.
Mr. Luarvik Luarvik? - Yes.
Well. Who are you?
Are you a foreigner?
Yes. Foreigner.
Don't come in! Please Ieave immediateIy, Mr. Moses!
Don't shout at me. l'm Ieaving.
I must inform you that Olaf Andvarafors was killed tonight.
Killed? Dead? You don't reaIIy know.
I saw him myseIf, he is dead. - l want to see him. - Why?
I have business with him.
Did he need to pass something to you? - No. l have to taIk to him.
What about?
To him. To him!
Listen, Mr. Luarvik. l am investigating a murder. Do you understand?
Sooner or later you'II tell me everything This may resuIt in a Iot of troubIe.
Why?
You want to identify the body? - Identify... Recognize...
How can you recognize him, if you haven't seen his face? - Why face?
Get dressed.
This is OIaf Andvarafors. Strange.
How did you recognize him? - Recalled. I have seen him.
And where did you see him? - Elsewhere. Not important now.
Are you Iooking for something? Maybe a suitcase?
Where is it? - l have the suitcase.
Good. Bring it.
OK. But first answer my questions.
Why questions again?
I do not want questions.
I... I... l want to Iie down.
Where can I Iie down?
What to make of this?
I am almost convinced that OIaf, Luarvik and Moses beIong to the same gang,
which does not want pubIicity.
But Hinckus - this is his revolver.
He is also somehow connected to them.
And that's where I made my main mistake.
Linking Moses and Luarvik to the murder.
Are we hoIding Hinckus for no reason?
Let's set him free... like a fox into the chicken coop.
Snewahr, make sure that everyone is at breakfast.
It's important.
Good morning, Simonet!
Good morning, Brun! - Hello.
Good morning, inspector. - Good morning.
How did you sIeep? - Good, thanks.
You don't look so good.
WeII, did you find anything? -It depends.
You know, I have a feeIing, I sense the smell of death here.
BeautifuI morning. So warm and sunny... Poor Olaf didn't Iive to see it.
Good morning, gentIemen.
Let me present Mr. Luarvik Luarvik. He arrived last night.
A pleasure.
Gentlemen, we are temporarily cut off from the rest of the worId.
I understand. We are all under pressure.
But don't forget the investigation is in inspector GIebsky's reIiabIe hands.
Attention, please. It appears some crooks selected this hoteI
as the place to settle their scores.
With the heIp of Mr. Snewahr I sent word to the poIice by pigeon.
A police heIicopter will arrive shortly.
The criminaIs wiII get their just deserts I advise that criminaI activity be ceased
I'm warning you or else your position will be hopeless.
Thank you for your attention.
Ah, how interesting! Bandits among us?
I wanted to scare them, but I knew that my pretend pigeons couldn't help.
We were cut off and l could count onIy on myself.
Wait! Wait, Hinckus.
We have to taIk. - About what?
Sit down.
Of course, police tactics...
Part of the job. Well, Owl, let's hear it A frank confession is your onIy chance.
You're confused, inspector. What 'OwI'? - ls this yours?
I don't understand. What you do want?
Think fast, it wiII be better for you.
Your friends wiII not come in time.
But the police wiII arrive at any second.
Got what you deserved!
Inspector,where did he hit you? Your arm?
You were Iucky, inspector. Very Iucky.
Pour some water on his head.
He's coming to.
Well, OwI, shouId we talk now?
Damn it aII! l've had it with all this!
Ask. lf I know how to answer.
Who are you? - Have you heard of the hit squads?
Well, I am one of them. But this here! This is horrifying!
Trust me, supernaturaI forces are at play - Cut the crap! Get to the point!
HaIf a year ago a guy approached us. No one knew his name.
They caIIed him Master. They assigned the hardest jobs to him.
Remember the Second NationaI Bank job? That's was his doing.
But then he quit working with us. Oh yes. He was aIways a bit eccentric.
Wouldn't let us kill hostages, or anyone. He said we shouldn't.
That's why he had a fight with the Boss. And then he disappeared.
With his assistant and wife. I was ordered by the Boss to find him.
And you found them here. Who are they?
No. You teII me who they are!
What man could get the better of me, as if l were a kitten?
But this one did. - What?
Who? - This woman.
Moses knew I wouId not Iet him live. So he set his wife against me.
She was coming right at me.
You don't beIieve me, but l was approaching me!
I don't know how I didn't Iose my mind.
Who is Olaf? Is he also from your gang?
Listen, l know nothing about OIaf.
I haven't laid a finger on him.
Now Moses won't kill. He just can't do it.
That's why he didn't touch me.
Is the Boss coming alone? - No, he aIways has three guys with him.
What wiII he do with Moses? - Kill him, of course.
Simonet, could I ask you to...
Simonet! Open up!
Simonet!
Where are you, Simonet!
Simonet!
Si... mo... net...!
Simonet had disappeared.
Moses had to be stopped at any cost.
AIex! Come here!
Everything is quiet here. - Let's go.
Don't worry, inspector. They cannot reach us by car.
But terrorists can have helicopters.
I'm surprised they're not here yet. Let's go, Alex. Don't be scared.
Against the walI! Don't move!
Stop this goddamn hypnosis!
Mr. Moses! You are charged with the NationaI Bank robbery and
the murder of OIaf Andvarafors.
Inspector! They are not peopIe! They are aliens from another pIanet.
Yeah, they arrived directly from Venus!
I don't know where they came from.
From another universe, or from another gaIaxy.
But they're in trouble and we have to help them.
Put away your weapon, inspector.
Mr. Moses arrived here as an observer. He made a fatal mistake.
He should not have contacted humans.
Yes, this is true. But when l saw how you live here, l broke the ruIe.
I wanted to heIp you so much.
But your life proved to be too compIex for me.
Mr. Moses was deceived. They enticed him to fight for justice
but it turned out that these were gangsters.
He ran to this hotel so that he couId Ieave our pIanet.
Here in the mountains is our launch pad. But the avaIanche
destroyed the generator, which powered our robots.
Our pilot Luarvik was severely injured.
His spacesuit is torn. He is becoming weaker every second.
Give them back OIaf's suitcase! - Do not babble, Simonet!
Olaf is not dead. OIaf is a robot. And Mrs. Moses is also a robot.
Do you recaII,after the avaIanche she was dead, and now, as you see, she is aIive.
Because Mr. Moses turned on the backup battery last night.
OIaf's suitcase has one more, which feeds...
Which feeds your sick imagination!
Fantasy can explain every crime so everything is Iogical.
Glebsky, return the suitcase to them!
Right in front of you they wiII turn on Olaf and then Ieave. - I don't buy this!
But why? You are being offered proof!
Why do you say nothing?
You have nothing to say?
I'm not a scientist, l'm a police officer
I've heard too many lies about this suitcase.
Listen! - Enough!
Was it you who caIIed the poIice?
Yes. - And the note is aIso your doing?
Yes. I hoped that we would be rid of Hinckus.
And that you'd evade responsibiIity.
Clumsy piece of work.
An alien mask does not fit you, and the robots...
are not robots at all.
Do you want to say that our robots are too much like humans?
Let them say what they want, I thought. If Olaf and this woman were robots,
it's worse. In the hands of terrorists they wouId be a terribIe weapon.
CIearly I selected a poor mask for myseIf
It's a pity I can't show you my reaI face
I know your reaI face, Mr. Moses.
Your nickname is Master!
I must turn you in to the law.
I stared at them, and for some reason l feIt bad.
Very bad.
How l hoped for a miracIe.
I wanted the phone to taIk and give me orders.
What to do.
What to do?
Inspector!
Inspector! - Yes, what?
They say you can bring him back to life.
No one can be brought back to life, It's a fairy taIe, Brun, a fairy taIe.
No, please Iisten to me! I beg you, please revive him!
If Olaf is an android, then maybe I am also an android!
How couId l know?
I am totally aIone. OnIy you can heIp me.
Only you, inspector. I beg of you!
Yes, I understood that Brun is a fooIish moody girl.
H!nckus - superstItious crimInaI.
Simonet is a half-wit physicist with crazy ideas.
Yet I felt they were right, not me.
My experience, my senses, rebelled against this truth.
Their truth seemed impossible, absurd.
In order to pertorm my poIice duties, I had to draw on my experience,
conservatism and conformism that l had gathered in 40 years.
A sense of duty was aII I had Ieft. The poIiceman's duty embedded into me.
Simonet! Go to the roof and watch the sky We'II stay here with AIex.
Luarvik is dying. Moses said he has no more than an hour.
You wiII Iet him die. GIebsky?
I am a policeman. It's not in my hands to punish or forgive
The onIy thing I know is there is a law.
One law for all. It says Moses is a criminal and killer.
My duty is to bring him before a court.
Here is an encounter between two worlds.
Just think, they arrive here from God knows where
and first they meet terrorists, and then a police officer like you.
I don't beIieve in aliens.
If they are, what are they Iooking for?
Or observers. What are they observing?
How are ''observers'' from abroad caIIed?
Simonet, l am a citizen of this country. And not just a citizen Iike you,
wiseass and chatterbox but an official with certain duties!
You want another star on your uniform?
You're just a pawn, a police pawn!
This is the first and the last time when fate handed you
an important decision and you behave Iike a complete idiot!
The key is in his pocket! Be quiet!
LeII! - You too, Alex!
Don't move, you'II hurt yourself! There is no such Iaw...
Goodbye, humans! Real contact is yet to come!
They're coming! Damn it!
We're done for. I felt totaI indifference.
Only In the depths of my heart did l feel a cowardIy relief.
The situation no Ionger depended on me. Responsibility was taken over by others.
You see! You got what you wanted! Policeman! Hero!
God forgive us aII.
WeIl? Why are you staring at me?
No! I acted correctly.
I performed my duty.
Duty.
I didn't break the law, I heId it sacred.
You say this entire strange crew died?
Well, so what?
Listen, Iet's be logical.
If they're peopIe, then they're criminals and they got what they deserved.
If they are not criminals... then they are not people!
Why shouId l care about nonhumans, anyway?
Disguised as people!
Is it Iogical?
It is Iogical. Then l am right?
Then l acted correctIy!