TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

 

 

 

In Roanoke, Virginia, Wayne Weinsider (Bruce Campbell) and his pregnant wife Laura (Lisa Jane Persky) learn via an ultrasound scan that their unborn child has bizarre physical abnormalities, such as horn-like protrusions. Weinsider appears to be especially distraught after hearing the news. That night, Laura has a terrifying dream in which a demon-like figure snatches the baby from her womb. When she wakes up, the couple discover that Laura has seemingly miscarried.

Laura's brother, local deputy sheriff Arky Stevens, reports her story to the X-Files section at the FBI. Agent Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) discards the report, but Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) salvages the case and travels to Virginia with Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). As Mulder and Scully interview the Weinsiders, the police, who suspect an illegal abortion, find the remains of the baby in the garden furnace. Wayne quickly confesses to destroying the evidence, claiming that his wife had aborted the child while in a trance-like state. He convinces Laura that his story is true, persuading her to turn herself in. While visiting Laura in jail, Wayne attempts to steal her soul, but the EMT is able to save her life, much to his surprise. Meanwhile, Wayne has another wife, Betsy Monroe, who is also pregnant.

Mulder, determining that Wayne is a Czech immigrant by the name of Ivan Veles, reaches the conclusion that Wayne is a demon who is trying to have a normal baby, and suspects that he terminates pregnancies when the fetus exhibits demon-like traits. Betsy has a dream similar to Laura's, but recognizes the dream-demon as her husband. Nevertheless, she loses her baby and tracks down Mulder and Scully. The two seek out Weinsider and catch him digging in Betsy's backyard. After a short conversation, the sheriff arrives at the house and shoots Weinsider. He is taken to hospital and placed in a bed next to Laura. A mist passes from Weinsider's body into Laura's, at which point Weinsider dies and Laura recovers.

Mulder and Scully discover remains of normal human babies in Betsy's yard. Upon seeing the evidence, Mulder deduces that Betsy is another demon who is unable to have demonic offspring unless another demon impregnates her. Unlike Weinsider, she has been terminating pregnancies that resulted in non-demonic fetuses: the very type Weinsider has been so desperate to have. As a demon, she could recognize her husband as a demon in her dream and stop him extracting her baby. However, it becomes apparent that she never lost her baby; it was merely a trick to frame Weinsider. At the end of the narrative, Betsy drives away with her new demon baby. Her eyes flash with a red gleam before returning to normal

 

 

 

 

 

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