“Pull me in. We don't have the rope anymore.”
Why it's great
A plea and a flat refusal land together, making the darkest beat funny.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
Pull me up! We don't have the harness anymore.
00:00 / 03:06
00:00 / 03:06
Something Outside the House, Explained
This Is the End · 2013
Chapter 14 of 27 · 3'06"
A plan to fetch water collapses — the rope is dropped, someone is left hanging, and no one gets a drop. Then a noise outside sends one of them back in shaken, and the group faces the bigger question: if this really is the Apocalypse, what now? "Even if it is the Apocalypse, it's not the end of us."
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:22–0:54
The Water Run Goes Wrong
31s - 2:05–3:01
The Talk About the Apocalypse
55s
Something Outside the House, explained
What happens
The group tries to fetch water from the space below the house, but the rope slips and they lose it, leaving one of them stranded until they cut him free. Craig returns from a run empty-handed because the door was stuck. Then a sound outside sends someone scrambling back in, and the group talks about whether this is the Apocalypse and how to face it.
What's really going on
The scene is the film's turn from survival comedy toward something like hope. First the group fails at a basic task — fetching water — and the failure is almost slapstick: the rope is dropped, someone hangs in the gap, and 'we don't have the rope anymore.' Then a creature outside scares them back in, and the talk shifts to meaning. They debate whether this is the Apocalypse, and one of them offers the first constructive idea: 'Even if it is the Apocalypse, it's not the end of us. There's still hope.' The plan that follows is moral rather than practical: prove themselves worthy by being better people, follow the commandments, love one another. It is a joke and a genuine shift at once — the same men who bickered over food now promise to 'get through this' together, a promise the film will spend the rest of its runtime testing.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Pull me in. We don't have the rope anymore.”
- The line that sums up the botched rescue: the call for help and the reply that the rope is already gone.
- “I don't know what the fuck that was, but I ain't going back out there.”
- The resolve after the scare: whatever is outside, he is staying in — the group's only real plan is not to open the door.
- “It's so close, but so far.”
- The water is directly under the floor yet out of reach — the scene's image for being rescued and stuck at the same time.
- “Even if it is the Apocalypse, it's not the end of us.”
- The first hopeful note: the end of the world does not have to mean the end of them, and that opens the talk about proving themselves.
Theme
- Survival — A simple water run almost kills one of them, showing how ill-prepared the group is for the disaster outside.
- Faith — Facing the Apocalypse, they turn to the Bible's promise that the worthy ascend, and decide to prove their worth by being better.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level4/7
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“I don't know what the fuck that was, but I ain't going back out there.”
Why it's great
He admits he has no idea what happened, then refuses flatly to go back out.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I don't know what happened, but I'm not going back in that water.
“It's so close, but so far.”
Why it's great
The repeated so stretches the distance between what is visible and what is reachable.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
The job was so close but so far.
“Even if it is the Apocalypse, it's not the end of us.”
Why it's great
He concedes the worst with even if, then refuses to accept it as the end.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
Even if we lose this round, it's not the end of the project.
Up next · 15get all worked upThe scene: The Fight Over a MagazineTakeaways
What you walk away with- For sake of argument accepts a premise to keep talking
- So close but so far means near yet unreachable
- Get through this means to survive a hard time
- Prepared for means ready for what comes
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy do they fail to get water?
They lose the rope into the space below the house, leaving one of them stranded, and Craig can't get through a stuck door on his run. So they end up with nothing.
What scares them back inside?
A noise and something moving outside. One of them comes back shaken and refuses to go out again, which pushes the group to talk about what is happening.
What do they decide to do about the Apocalypse?
They decide there is still hope if they can prove themselves worthy — by being kinder, loving one another, and following the commandments. It's half joke, half real plan.
Why does the group quote the Bible?
To find a rule for the disaster: if the worthy ascend to Heaven, then improving themselves might be the only way to survive. It becomes their mission for the rest of the film.