Shit!
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
What was this?
What does he want?
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
Hello?
Who's there?
Hello?
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
Tatik, tell me about your tattoos.
But grandma, you never told me who gave them to you?
Okay, okay, sorry grandma.
Grandma, you said your family was rich in Turkey?
Yes.
What about after you left?
What happened then?
Do you remember?
What about after?
What happened after you left?
Did you have enough food or water?
Did the guards tell you where they were taking you?
Disappeared?
What-what do you mean?
You don't remember what happened
after your mother disappeared?
Oh, I, I didn't know we had Turkish relatives.
Grandma, did your uncle gave you those tattoos?
It doesn't make any sense.
Mom freaked out when I wanted to get a tiny tat,
tiny ankle tattoo, and now you're saying
Armenian children 100 years ago
all had tattoos on their hands?
Grandma, it is for school!
Tatik...
I've been doing a lot of research and...
Those tattoos are the markings that were given
to the women and children during the Armenian genocide.
Some of them signified belonging to a master as a slave.
In many cases, as a sex slave.
My grandma's 108 years old.
She...
It's very common in our family.
Her sister died a year ago.
She was almost 100 years old.
They are some of the last few remaining survivors
of the Armenian genocide that took place
during the first World War.
Not many left, as it happened exactly 100 years ago today.
Maro-jan!
Dinner!
I'm busy, mom!
So am I!
It's getting cold!
Today is April 24th, 2015.
The 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
1.5 million Armenian women, children and men
were slaughtered by the Turkish Government.
Maro, now!
Ugh!
Babe?
Are you home?
I've been knocking.
I sent you like 100 text messages.
Sevan?
Babe, I thought we weren't even gonna do this.
Hide from each other.
Whatever it is, you can tell me.
You know?
You can tell me anything.
Something terrible happened today.
One of my cousins was found dead by his girlfriend
in his home.
I don't know the details, but I overheard it was either
a heart attack, or a seizure of some sort.
My parents never tell me anything.
They-they still I'm a child.
I guess that's their way of protecting me.
My grandma's still in shock.
But...
But I suspect there's something they're not telling me
because when we heard from Sevan's father,
my grandma said, and-and I repeat word for word, she said,
"It is finally here."
My parents think she's just in shock,
but what does it mean?
"It is finally here"?
Maro-jan!
It's not the time for computers!
Go help your grandma!
Ugh!
Tatik?
Keep what promise?
Grandma?
What are saying?
What-what curse?
Tatik?
How are you feeling, grandma?
Is there really a curse?
What did I tell you?
Something is really wrong here, and they're not telling me.
Grandma threw a towel at me.
She's never laid a hand on me.
That's how I know something's wrong.
They're not telling me something, the whole family.
Mom!
Maro, you know...
I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it.
I know you're heartbroken.
Clara, the whole family's in shock.
My grandma had an incident a few days ago.
Please, do this for Sevan?
Weeks before his death, Sevan had become withdrawn.
I thought he was getting cold feet about us.
Again.
Sevan started talking about the curse
that his family carried,
and that it was just a matter of time
before every member of the bloodline
would have to face the consequences.
A curse?
Did he say what kind of a curse?
I thought he was teasing me.
I don't know.
Think hard, Clara.
I don't remember!
Try to remember.
Why are you doing this?
I have to figure this out!
After Sevan was found dead, I overheard my grandma
talking to herself about...
A promise they didn't keep, and the curse.
Maro, she is a 100 year old woman.
She's probably delusional.
108.
You don't know her.
She's as sharp as a kabob skewer.
Did he say anything else?
It's all so hazy now.
Look, I have to figure out what happened to Sevan.
Think, Clara.
One day, we were at a restaurant,
and Sevan got a phone call.
He was very secretive about it.
When he went to the men's room, I...
Looked through his cell.
The last call he got was from...
A psychic named Aida.
A psychic?
Yes, you know, the clairvoyant?
I know what a psychic is but,
but Sevan didn't seem like that kind of a guy...
Exactly.
Did you ask him about it?
He said I wouldn't understand.
And then, something about his family
escaping Turkey in 1915.
Maro?
I gotta go.
Maro?
I've looked into every psychic in LA named Aida.
There are literally 35 of them.
Who knows if that's even their real name?
After sifting through all of these charlatans,
I came across one Aida that hit all the marks.
Armenian?
Check.
Does coffee readings?
Check.
Lives in North Hollywood?
Check.
She might be able to provide some information
about Sevan's last days and this so-called curse.
I don't even know if I believe in any of this
superstitious mumbo-jumbo.
Ugh, I can't believe I have to drive to the Valley...
25 bucks, and you can't afford better coffee?
If you came here for coffee, go to Starbucks.
There's one on Sherman Way, around the corner.
Now drink up.
What now?
Now, we wait.
I'm just being straightforward.
I'm not sure that I believe in any of this abracadabra.
Is that so?
So why are you here?
You spoke to my cousin Sevan a few weeks ago.
What did you tell him?
I never betray my clients' confidentiality.
I have dozens of Sevans walking through that door
on a weekly basis.
This one died a couple of weeks ago.
You need to start talking,
or I will have to ask you to leave.
No refund.
My cousin Sevan died shortly after he visited you.
They said he had a heart attack.
But I know there's something they're not telling me.
What did he say when he was here?
What did you tell him?
Nobody listens to what I have to say.
They come here, they pay for my advice,
but nobody ever listens.
Sevan had all the signs of a marked man, a cursed man.
I read for him.
I told him the truth.
I always tell the truth, no matter how bad it is.
His coffee...
It had a loop in it, circling around like a snake.
Like a noose, ready to squeeze at the right moment.
Tell me more about the curse.
Your family had been cursed a long, long time ago.
A sleeper curse.
Sleeper curse?
A curse placed by a very patient person...
Is usually brought on by the victims themselves.
What-what does that mean?
You are a part of this curse.
The loop is tightening.
What about the promise?
What promise?
Was there a promise?
You must go now!
No, not until you answer me!
Get out!
Get out of my house now!
Tell me about the promise!
It's all in the family, the family, the family...
Maro-jan?
Why are you awake?
Oh, bad dream.
You and the whole family.
Come sit with your father.
It's on, dad.
Oh.
Sometimes I question my sanity.
Sometimes I feel like the whole world has gone mad.
It's been 100 years,
but the Armenian people are still searching for answers.
They say we should move on, but how can we?
The Turkish government
still has not accepted the responsibility.
But, mark my word, nothing goes unpunished.
Not something like this.
The Armenian people will have their answers.
We just need to be patient.
Dad, has grandma told you
about her experience in Turkey?
I've told you all you needed to know.
By the way, how did your school report go?
The professor said it was one-sided.
Dad, there was a specific detail
that grandma is leaving off.
Was there a promise made?
And if so, was it kept?
Who-who was the promise made to?
W-when did this happen?
- Who are these people? - Whoa, whoa, whoa.
So many questions.
Settle down.
You're making my head spin.
Sorry, there's just...
So much void in this story.
First of all, you have to quit asking grandma
about those tats.
You're a big girl.
By now you've figured out what they mean.
For an Armenian woman, to talk about rape...
Is like betraying all the generations of women before her.
Being a woman is very sacred.
Her-her memory with these events
is becoming more muddled over the years.
But there is something that has stuck in my head.
She said...
There was a man who sacrificed his seat on the boat
for grandma and her pregnant mother.
They were crossing the river the night before
the Turkish guards entered the village.
Yeah.
Her dad was arrested earlier.
She was only eight.
So...
Some of the details on that event are not quite defined.
She told me the man and her mother
had a secretive conversation
as he was stepping off the boat.
A relative maybe?
All I know is the man asked your mom to keep the promise.
I overhead Tatik, uh, mumbling to herself
before she collapsed.
Something about keeping the promise, and the curse.
The curse?
Yeah, the curse, and that they didn't keep the promise.
Dad, you have to help me.
Is there anybody else who might know more?
This might be useless to you,
but your mom and your grandma
have been visiting a psychic in the Valley.
What?
I always tease your mom about it.
You know, we're just not those kind of people.
Aida!
Aida please, you have to help me!
I'm not working today.
I have questions about my grandmother!
What did she tell you?
Aida, please!
I thought you didn't believe in curses.
Leave me alone!
You are harassing me!
Please, help me!
My family's in danger!
Are you ready?
Should I start?
Your grandmother and your mother came to my shop
a few weeks ago, around the same time Sevan,
may he rest in peace, knocked on my door.
They had the same questions as you have now.
I put the puzzle pieces together quickly.
And I knew almost instantly that this was a family affair.
A curse of some sorts.
So I was right.
Sevan knew about all this.
It seemed he wasn't convinced,
but he told me about the dreams he was having.
Dreams he'd wake up from
that would still continue moments later.
Dreams?
A man with broken legs and arms.
It can't be.
Your grandmother asked me if I could stop a family curse.
I asked her what the curse was.
She told me it came from a man
when she was a young girl in Turkey.
Her mother broke a promise she'd given to this man.
Did you ask her what the promise was?
Before she answered, your mother stepped in and
they just left.
A piece of work your mother is.
That's it?
Nothing else?
I told you all I know.
Sevan didn't seem to know the specifics of that promise,
but I knew that man was doomed
the minute I laid eyes on him.
I told him to be careful.
Nobody listens.
You too, I told you.
It's all in the family.
You're having those dreams, huh?
I loved my brother, and I do miss him.
No question about it.
My mom is devastated.
Have you been having strange dreams?
Like what?
Like scary shit, ghosts, monsters?
Not since I was four.
I'm being serious.
Sevan had one of those dreams before he died.
How did you know?
I talked to a psychic.
Oh, what are you doing, cousin?
There's something suspicious about your brother's death
and I need to know the answers.
What are you talking about?
I overheard Tatik talking to herself about some curse,
and a promise that was made.
Tatik is old as fuck, man.
That's what old people do, talk to themselves.
Did he say anything to you?
Did he behave in a strange way?
Look, Sevan had been distant
since he had that fight with dad about
his non-Armenian girlfriend.
Who's hot as hell, by the way.
But you know our dad, he's a hardcore Armenian.
He was really fuckin' angry
when Sevan brought Clara to dinner.
I'm like, "It's 2015, can we just like move on
"with the whole Armenians must marry Armenian bullshit?"
After that, Sevan sort of drifted away a little.
He did let me use bimmer though.
I really miss him.
I gotta go, cousin.
We're not done yet!
Sorry, we can continue later.
Hey bro, what took you so long?
That little shit is lying.
I can tell, he knows something.
He either doesn't want to admit it to himself
that something's wrong, or he's embarrassed to tell me.
Typical Armenian guy.
This fucking door...
Where are they?
Here you are.
Oh, come on!
This goddamn door!
I can't believe this is happening.
I just talked to him yesterday.
Arsen is dead.
Dead!
And they-they arrested some man in suspicion.
He and my cousin had a fight about the money he borrowed.
I know it wasn't that man who killed him.
The curse is here.
I'm scared for my life.
I'm scared for my family.
There has to be something that I can do to stop it.
I-I know I can stop it.
I have to find it.
How are you doing, mom?
To lose two children...
I can't imagine what that family is going through.
I don't know what I would do if...
Maro!
Turn that off!
This is not the time for this!
Sorry, mom.
How inappropriate!
I'm sorry, it's off!
I turned it off!
Did you find that black dress for tomorrow?
Um, I'll look for it tonight, I promise.
Mama?
What do you know about the family curse and the promise?
I overheard Tatik talking to herself...
You overheard nothing!
Mom, please don't lie to me, I'm not a child.
I understand everything.
You don't understand, and you won't understand.
Your grandmother went through a lot when she was little.
Those knuckle tattoos...
I know.
Well...
There's no sense in keeping it a secret any longer.
She told me everything.
She could no longer keep it inside.
And your dad...
She couldn't even tell her own son.
But I guess confiding in a stranger is easier.
And, woman to woman, she finally felt she could trust me.
I though that day would never come.
When she was eight years old,
her pregnant mother took her in the middle of the night
to cross the river to escape the Turkish guards.
They arrested her father a day before.
They told them it was a suspicion of treason
to the Turkish government.
There was a boat.
But there was no space left.
And a kind man offered his to them.
In exchange, he made them promise
that they would deliver a bundle of jewelry and valuables
to his wife and children.
They swore they would.
Later, they found out that the guards had beaten him,
his arms and legs broken.
And he died a slow death on the street.
They never looked for the wife.
And instead, they kept all that jewelry
and used it to survive.
I told you to turn that off!
It's off, mom!
No!
You liar, how dare you?
I love Armenian food.
Thank you.
No, thank you, Dr. Freedman.
I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.
How did you find me again?
A clairvoyant, Aida, recommended you.
Your particular case is very intriguing.
This kind of dormant imprecation is very rare,
but as you're experiencing now, extremely potent.
So according to what you've told me over the phone,
your two cousins and their mother
have fallen victims within two weeks?
Yes, Dr. Freedman.
Sevan was first.
Everyone thinks he suffered a heart failure.
But you saw something nobody else did.
Your grandmother talking to herself was a turning point.
Yes.
Now, we know that the curse was placed
as a response to the promise that was broken
by your great-grandmother, while she was pregnant.
See, I believe that the state of gestation
is a very powerful transitional state
where any emotion aimed at the expecting woman
can become genetic, and maintains its potency
for hundreds of years.
Therefore, affecting many generations.
We have to find the source.
The source?
But-but he's dead.
His body is.
If your suspicions are correct,
and all three victims died at the hand of someone,
something, then we need to find the manifestation
of that something.
Something that caused their deaths?
Exactly.
But I don't know what that is.
Officially, Sevan died of a heart failure.
Arsen was stabbed to death by...
A suspected man.
And their mother fell and broke her neck.
Keep the promise...
Who would be next in line?
It's your family, isn't it?
So, why did you bring me here?
You know your mom can't stand me.
What are you talking about?
She adores you.
Oh really?
The last time that she saw me, she was like,
"Garo-jan!
"Why are you like this?"
You're the only who would understand
what I'm about to say.
Um...
Is that on?
Oh my God.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, yes!
Hi!
Hey, come on!
Rude!
There.
Now it's off, now you can relax.
Okay.
So what is it?
Okay.
You know how you're into the supernatural?
Okay?
My family's cursed.
See, I knew it would be a waste of time!
Maro-jan, your family is cursed
with what I call Armenicus-misogynisticus.
Ugh, I'm serious!
Mmhmm.
Two of my cousins and their mother died
within two weeks of each other.
My grandma talked to herself about a,
about a promise and a curse.
After doing some research and talking to people,
I found out that my family made a promise 100 years ago
that wasn't kept, and-and now there's,
there's something or someone set out
to wipe out the whole family!
My parents and I are next, and grandma of course...
Tatik, are you okay?
I don't know what to do.
Look, I'm really sorry, and I wish I could help you but...
Just tell me what you see.
Please?
No.
- Help... - Absolutely not.
The last time that I connected, I lost all my hair,
and my nails chipped for a month!
Please, I beg you!
I...
I don't know what to do, I don't know where to go.
Please help my family.
Fine.
Are those new glasses?
Please.
There is a man.
An Armenian man.
His heart is broken.
His grief...
Is endless.
He wants a resolution.
An acknowledgement.
An acknowledgement of what?
Shut up!
He knows that...
His wife and children suffered.
But, he feels that
that night on the river,
he sacrificed his family
for...
Another family.
A family who didn't pay...
Their dues.
The family who didn't manifest
their gratefulness.
A family who broke the promise.
And now
Now he wants to go.
But before he goes...
He must get his pay-off.
He wants his family to have the recognition they deserve.
He must receive request for pardon.
Can I have some water?
Keep the promise...
Thank you.
I'm tired.
Let's go to Akbar!
Wait, how-how do I ask for his forgiveness?
How-how do I find him?
Look...
Now that you know that you have to ask for his forgiveness
to save your family, try to make contact.
But how?
Okay.
Before you go to sleep, stir yourself in that direction.
See what happens.
And when you wake up,
try to recall as many details as possible.
Things like the place and the time, stuff like that.
But...
Do not force it.
Let it come to you.
Now girl, let's get a drink.
I'm home.
Jesus, grandma!
I didn't see you standing there.
You scared the shit out of me.
I'm sorry.
I know it's not an easy time for you, for any of us,
but especially you.
I know you're heartbroken.
You've barely said a word to me this whole week.
Look, I understand what you're going through.
It's just...
Just so sad.
It hurts so much to know what you experienced
when you were a child, just a little girl.
And I promise you, I'll tell your story.
I'll-I'll never stop telling your story until people listen,
and everything that's been happening to our family,
I know that you're blaming yourself,
but, I want you to know that I don't think it's your fault
and you have to stop tormenting yourself.
You've lived through enough heartbreak.
I know what you think.
A spoiled brat, how could I comprehend any of it?
I'm too young and immature to see things.
But I've been trying really hard and
I know you think I'm spoon-fed
and have all these privileges and freedom,
but I understand you now, more than ever, and...
I think you're the most incredible woman
for having lived through the genocide and both wars.
And you have the strength to carry on.
I need you back in my life so bad...
Please, grandma...
Mom?
Something's wrong with Tatik!
Mom!
Tatik?
This is it.
Grandma's given up.
And if she gave up, then what else is there to be done?
I...
I couldn't figure this out, I failed my family.
She might be leaving us soon.
And that thing...
That man...
I am not scared of him.
I want him to show himself.
I want to confront him.
So what are you waiting for?
Come out and confront me, I'm waiting!
Come and take it all, I-I dare you!
Mom!
Grandma is gone.
The curse is in motion and seems to be unstoppable.
I am lost.
She didn't particularly like coming here.
It reminded her of a lifelong betrayal
she and millions like her suffered.
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
How could I ever understand her pain?
The loss, the betrayal?
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
My family has carried this curse
for 100 years.
I will keep the promise I made to my grandma,
the promise to never stop, now matter how bad it gets.
I am following Garo's and Dr. Freedman's advice
and I am trying to establish contact.
I think I'm getting close.
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
Dr.Freedman talked about
the power of grief.
Garo said that sleeping is like swimming in the river
between two worlds, reality and subconscious.
Grandma's deepest pain had always been
her childhood memory of Turkey.
I have all the puzzle pieces now.
People everywhere.
Crowds.
Women.
Children.
It's hot, there is no water.
Everyone is disoriented.
They feel like they're walking in a giant circle.
No one had any food for days.
They began to hallucinate.
The guards are circling around on their horses.
They were told they are being taken to a safe place,
away from war.
Taken out of their homes, with not much to carry.
Girls are taken away into slavery.
Children orphaned by hunger and illness.
They run in gangs, begging for food, stealing.
Many die untreated.
Bodies everywhere.
Broken legs.
Broken arms.
Broken spirits...
This is not happening, this is not real...
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
I'm not scared of you!
Show yourself!
I know who you are, I know all about you!
I know why you're here!
Show yourself, come face to face!
Stop killing my family!
I have something to tell you.
And you must listen, do you hear?
This is all just a dream.
It's only a dream.
This is a dream, you're not real.
This isn't real...
I know why you're here.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for, I'm sorry for what happened to you,
I'm sorry for what we did to your wife and children.
I'm, I'm sorry for all the pain we caused you.
Please!
Please forgive us!
Please!
Please forgive my family!
I'll fix it.
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
David?
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
David, where are you?
Keep the promise, promise, promise...
Keep the promise...
Eva!
No!
No, Eva!
No!
Papa!
Mom!
Mom?
Mom!
No!
Dad?
Dad!
Keep the promise...
Keep the promise, keep the promise...
I'm sorry!
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
Keep the promise!
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
Keep the promise!
- Keep the promise! - I'm sorry!
Keep the promise!
Keep the promise...
Keep the promise.
Miss Grigorian?