Madison County

Kristen awakens in the bed of a pickup truck and attempts to escape. She is knocked unconscious by the man driving, signaling a kidnapping. The scene sets a perilous tone for what follows.

The college students—James and Will—pick up Will's girlfriend Brooke, her friend Jenna, and Brooke's protective brother Kyle, and drive toward Madison County. They intend to interview David Randall for a class assignment, hoping for insight into a killer's profile. The trip is framed as an academic pursuit that quickly darkens.

A trucker on the road suggests a shortcut that could shave time off their trip, but the group decides to stick to their planned route. The moment plants a seed of unease, hinting that not every shortcut leads to safety. The decision preserves momentum but foreshadows danger ahead.

In Madison County, the group visits a diner where locals glare at them with suspicion. An old woman named Erma tells them Damien Ewell doesn't exist and that David Randall moved away years ago, yet she provides David's old address. The tension rises as the locals' hostility becomes apparent.

A local threatens Will after he accidentally photographs the truck, escalating the sense of menace in town. Kyle steps in to confront the aggressor, and the confrontation ends with the threat backing off. The encounter deepens the group's unease about the locals.

The group arrives at David Randall's house only to find it empty and abandoned. Kyle volunteers to go back into town to learn what the locals know while the others wait at the house. The discrepancy between expectation and reality begins to unravel the plan.

Kyle checks a graveyard and is lured into the woods by two nude women. Damien Ewell then ambushes him, stabbing him and disposing of his body in the lake. The brutality confirms the danger pursuing the group.

James finds a photograph proving Erma is Damien's mother, revealing a hidden lineage behind the local myth. On the way back to town he nearly gets hit by the hostile local who previously threatened Will. The new information changes his view of the danger they face.

Will and Brooke separate while hiking; Will discovers Kyle's body floating in a river. Damien appears shortly after, killing Will and chasing Jenna and Brooke. The pursuit escalates the threat and narrows the survivors' options.

Jenna attempts to distract Damien to shield Brooke, engaging him in a dangerous struggle. Her quick actions momentarily delay Damien but cost her life, underscoring the peril all three girls face. Brooke remains on the run, haunted by the sacrifices around her.

James confronts Erma, who warns that Damien will arrive soon. The trucker who first offered the shortcut reappears and reveals that he is David Randall, offering James a ride to Damien's house. The revelation compounds the danger and deepens the conspiracy.

James wakes up tied in a barn along with David and Kristen, the girl from the opening scene. David explains he was forced to lure the friends to Madison County in a desperate bid to rescue his kidnapped daughter. The moment turns the situation into a personal vendetta against Damien.

Damien jumps into the truck bed and finishes off David, who is dying from his wounds. James fights Damien, wounds him, and escapes with Kristen in the truck after a brief struggle. The escape marks a narrow victory for the remaining protagonists as danger remains.

Brooke returns to town, going to the diner to tell Erma that her friends were killed. Erma instructs her to wait by her car, then sneaks up and stabs Brooke to death as locals watch from their homes. The town's quiet complicity underscores the film's looming menace.