Into the Light - Recap

In a classroom, teacher Rachel Stark collects papers from her disinterested students, and one of them hands in a blank report. He says it’s okay and leaves, and the other students leave a few seconds later. Rachel collects their test books and goes out into the hall. She complains to the gym teacher that her students don’t care and next week, she won’t need to care because she’s gone for good. As she goes outside, she discovers that kids have slashed her tire. As she walks to the bus stop she sees a student, Jose, go by on his skateboard. She sees his face briefly glow with a golden light. On the bus, she sees a man complaining about a student playing loud music and notices his face glowing. He collapses from a heart attack and dies at her feet despite her efforts to revive him.

At home that night, her boyfriend arrives home and Rachel tries to explain what happened. He suggests she’s hallucinating from guilt because she’s guilty for quitting, but Rachel insists the kids will be fine without her. At school the next day, she tries to discuss death in <em>Romeo and Juliet</em> with her students. An assistant comes in to tell Rachel that Jose died in a car accident. When one student, Brian, laughs, Rachel sends him to the office. All the students leave except one, Tony. Tony quotes <em>Romeo and Juliet</em> to Rachel concerning Jose’s death and then leaves.

Rachel goes to the hospital ICU and sees a glowing light on a dying man’s face. The nurse tells her to leave and Rachel claims the man is her uncle. She returns home and explains to her boyfriend that she saw the same light on the man’s face. He had no family so she sat with him until he died. She’s sure now that the lights are real but wonders what it means. Her boyfriend says that it’s a sign that she needs a rest but Rachel isn’t so sure.

The next day at school, Rachel begins to see the light on many of the students’ faces. She goes to see the principal and tries to warn that the students are in danger. She talks about the light but he’s understandably skeptical. They’re interrupted when Rachel’s student Arlie comes in, and Rachel sees the light on her face as well. The principal assumes she’s hysterical and says it’s a good thing she’s leaving. He calls in Rachel’s boyfriend to make sure she leaves. Rachel insists that the lights mean that she needs to do her job and protect the kids. He says that she has to leave and she reluctantly begins packing.

As she packs, her student Ben comes in and says he heard about what she was saying. He wonders how many people are going to die and wonders if she sees the light on his face. She doesn’t and tells him, and he says he likes her. Things grow awkward and he leaves. Once he’s gone, Rachel realizes something was wrong. She gets a teacher to give her the combination for Ben’s locker and finds journals and pictures indicating that Ben is considering killing people. The principal confronts her and she tries to explain, and the fire alarm goes off.

Outside, Rachel sees the light on her students’ faces. She looks up and sees Ben with a sniper rifle on the roof. She runs back inside and up to the roof, but on the way she sees her reflection in a window… and sees the same glow. She confronts Ben who says that she hates the kids as much as he does, which is why she’s quitting. He fires into the crowd below and Rachel charges at him, seeing the glow on his face. They both fall off the roof and land on the cement below. Rachel looks over and sees the glow leave Ben’s face as he dies, but sees the light fade from the students she saved. She tells her boyfriend that it’s all right now and looks up. She says she sees a light and cries, happy… and then dies.

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