[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[FATHER SIGHS]
[EXCLAIMING IN ANNOYANCE]
[UTENSILS CLATTERING]
Honey, it's family hour,
there must be something on.
DAUGHTER: Oh, wow, Candied Critters!
[FATHER EXCLAIMS]
Oh, great. It's Monsters, our favorite show!
[MONSTROUS LAUGH]
[SHUSHING]
It's starting.
[MONSTROUS LAUGH]
[FATHER CHUCKLES]
[SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYING]
Try that one in the corner pocket, honey.
Here we go.
[SIGHS]
You're too distracting,
I could've made that any other day in the week.
Here you go.
You're beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Set up another one, sweetie.
Sure.
[SIGHS]
There's one born every minute.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Score one for the man. Come here, babe.
[SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYING]
Draught.
Comin' right up, sir.
Somebody die in here?
What?
You got a hearse parked out front.
Oh, uh,
the guy back there is an undertaker.
Drove up in the meat wagon.
Funeral business must be pretty good around here, huh?
Oh, he's not from around here. I've never seen him before.
What about the girl?
Never seen her before.
She came in about, uh, ten minutes after the mortician.
She's been playing kiss and pay ever since.
She's something, huh?
Huh, huh.
If that ain't drop dead good lookin',
I don't know what is.
It's enough to make your blood boil.
Barkeep...
Name's Cappy.
I wanna buy this stiff as much whiskey as he can drink.
So, when you pour,
pour it heavy and put it on my tab.
Yes, sir.
Call me Gabe.
Yes, sir. Gabe.
You know, Cappy, my man,
[SIGHS] it's a weird thing.
When I look back there,
I see a happy hour twofer
just waiting to be ordered. [CHUCKLES]
Hey, Gabe. Uh,
you religious or something?
No.
Just cautious.
I'll, uh, bring the drinks right back there.
[SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHUCKLING]
You're beautiful, I love it.
Another game, babe? What do you say?
I'll rack 'em up.
I got the next set.
Um... match.
[LAUGHS] I got the next one.
See, that's my quarter right there.
That's the way you line 'em up. Right, Cap?
That's the way.
Drinks on the house, folks.
Thanks. Here you go, sweet one.
Fellow, you must be good luck.
So...
wanna give it a whirl?
I may not be much competition,
but, uh,
frankly, you don't look like you're in the best of shape yourself.
You know what I mean? [LAUGHS]
No offense, bud.
I'll play ya.
Great. Super. We'll have fun.
LESTER: Twenty bucks a rack. GABE: Huh?
LESTER: Just to make it interesting.
$20 a game.
Or were you thinking of just spending this quarter?
$20, huh?
Yeah, why not. I mean, you know... like you say,
without money, pool's just a stick and some balls.
That's what I like about it.
[SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYING]
Oh, geez, I'm sorry.
Here, let me buy you another one.
Ah! Damn.
Ah.
Let me see.
No, it's nothing. Really, it's just...
Come, let Natasha fix it for you.
Well, it's just a little cut.
I mean, it's really nothing.
[SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYING]
Very sweet.
Like clover blossom honey.
The, um...
cut's gone.
Thank you.
My pleasure.
[ALARM BEEPING]
Damn! I almost had it.
There's no such thing as "almost" in pool.
It's two games to none. That's 40 bucks.
If I had made that last ball, I would've won that game.
Yeah, but you didn't.
So let's have the $40.
All right, here's your $40. Wanna go again?
Not for $20 a game.
If you say $100, I could find the time.
$100 a game?
What are you, a hustler?
No, I'm just an undertaker.
You got the 100 bucks?
If not, I suggest you take a hike.
'Cause I got other things I wanna do.
Yeah, I got the $100.
Why stop there?
Why not play for $200?
Unless you can't afford $200.
I can afford it.
Rack 'em up, my dear. This won't take long.
[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]
Another?
A little short of cash.
You know that hike you were talkin' about?
I think it's time you took it.
Let's get out of here.
I'm sorry, Lester. I don't like hikes.
I'm prefer lounging.
So I think I'll stick around the lounge awhile.
I'll see you around.
Libations all around.
Cappy, my man.
Little privacy, if you please?
Yes, sir.
Mr. Gabe.
To you. The beautiful Natasha.
[ALARM BEEPS]
What, you on a schedule or something?
I have only one rule.
I insist on being cozy in bed before the sun comes up.
Otherwise I'm quite flexible.
Sounds a long way off, babe.
We got plenty of time.
Mister, you're a charmer.
But I should be mad at you, you know?
Yeah? Why is that?
You stole my mark.
Oh. [LAUGHS] Oh, yeah.
You had quite a score going before I showed up.
Sorry.
I let you steal him.
I had you made as a hustler
the moment you walked in that door.
So why'd you let me take him?
Some things are more important than money.
Let's just say that I have a weakness
for men with steel-blue eyes.
Let me make it up to you.
I'll play you left-handed for $20.
[CHUCKLES]
See, there I go again. Trying for the extra $20.
It's automatic with me.
I'll tell you what. If you win, you keep the $20.
If I win,
we'll figure out a way to work it out.
[CHUCKLES] What's so funny?
Don't hustle a hustler, Gabe.
Just say what's on your mind.
You wanna play pool for my body.
For me.
Would you do the same thing?
I mean,
would you be willing to lay yourself on the line as a bet?
A prize to be won?
To have done to you whatever the winner desires.
Under the right circumstances, yeah, I would.
Well, I like these circumstances.
You're a charmer.
You're cute.
So...
I'll agree if you will.
No money on the line, just us.
You win, you get me.
And if I win,
I get you.
Straight pool.
We'll play to 50.
Sound like a fair bet?
More than fair.
You're holding back.
You're even better than you let on.
The way I figured, babe,
a hustler can't really complain about being hustled.
I'm glad you feel that way.
Rack 'em up, sweetie?
[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
You got the eye, you got the stroke.
Where'd you learn?
Bar here, pool hall there.
Where are you from?
Where you from, Gabe?
I'm from Allentown, PA. Ever been there?
Might've been.
I've been all over.
Ever heard of a little bar named Pinky's?
Nice little pool table on the back,
right outside Allentown.
I really wouldn't remember.
Well, you'd remember Pinky's.
Curiosity killed the cat, Gabe.
Why so many questions?
I heard a story about something that happened at Pinky's
about a month ago.
Beautiful woman came in to play pool.
Guy she played against disappeared.
Everybody in town thought he ran off with her.
Except his family. They think different.
And what did they think happened to this man?
Something bad.
Something truly evil.
Well, that sounds frightening, Gabe.
But how could a woman just make a man disappear?
If that's not exactly what this man wanted?
Doesn't that seem odd to you?
Seems unusual.
[ALARM BEEPS]
I have to go powder my nose.
Will you be a sweetie and rack 'em up for me?
Sure.
It's 47-47, Gabe.
Let's make it challenging and rack up only five.
You got it.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Can I get you a...
[NATASHA SHUSHES]
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
[GROWLS]
[HISSES]
[SQUEAKS]
[SIGHS] Tough break.
Nine ball in that pocket.
Thirteen over there.
No way, can't be done.
That's what I used to think until my brother taught me how to do it.
Smart guy, my brother.
Shoot the shot, Gabe.
His name was Bobby.
But, then again, you know what happened to Bobby.
How's that?
How would I know about your brother?
I was telling you about him before. Don't you remember?
He was playing pool at Pinky's bar, outside Allentown.
And then he disappeared.
Did you ever lose anybody you loved?
It hurts more than anything else in the world.
What a shot, huh?
Next ball wins it.
You're in trouble now.
Am I?
[SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
Tough one.
[HISSES]
Take that thing off.
Move over there.
[ALARM BEEPS]
[CLEARS THROAT]
Um... it... it's 6:00 a.m, Countess.
Your bed is all made up and time is getting short.
We're almost finished, Lester. A moment more.
Yes, Countess.
[NATASHA GROWLING]
I remember Pinky's bar, Gabe.
Bobby was a nice-looking boy.
Good pool player.
And in the end,
a divinely sumptuous treat.
But you, Gabe,
you know who I am
and still risked coming here.
I've been tracking you for a month.
A town here, a town there,
I find another missing person.
Always last seen playing pool with a beautiful woman.
That's too many deaths, Natasha.
Poor Gabe.
You thought you could beat me?
You never had a chance.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Game's over.
Fifty points even.
Time to pay the bet, Gabe.
[BREATHES HEAVILY]
[GRUNTS]
Relax, Gabe.
It'll feel nice.
49-49.
It's my shot.
Countess, it's late.
I'm aware of the time.
Game's not over.
[EXHALES]
[PANTS]
[SKIN SIZZLING] [GASPS]
[GROWLS]
So we have a smart guy.
Well, smart guys don't cut it with me, Gabe.
It could've been blissful for you.
But now it'll be more painful than you can possibly imagine.
Tell me, Natasha.
Why pool?
Why not take your kill clean and straight, like other animals?
We need an invitation.
Our prey must invite us to take them.
That's the bet.
Besides,
I find it stimulating.
The panic a mark feels the moment he realizes
just what it is he's lost.
It drives me crazy.
Yeah, like a shark with the smell of blood in the water.
Well, I still got the eight ball, right here.
You won't make the shot, Gabe.
Not even with your super dandy pool cue.
This game was over before it began.
[SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYING]
This game's not over yet, babe.
You're good, Gabe.
You're the best I've ever seen.
Fifty points.
It's over.
I'm yours, Gabe.
Have you ever made love to a vampire?
Time to pay the bet, Natasha.
[GASPS]
This one's for Bobby.
[SCREAMS IN PAIN]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]