In the eerie setting of the abandoned Anchor Bay Cannery, a series of terrifying events unfold after a young woman named Adrienne [played by Sarah Nicklin] steals a stash of cocaine from two ruthless drug dealers. That night, she flees into the can factory—a location shrouded in local legends and notorious for being haunted by the mythical "Sailor Man". As the drug dealers close in on her, she finds herself trapped inside the derelict building, where an unexpectedly brutal confrontation results in her attackers being slaughtered by the supernatural figure, a sinister and hulking being with immense strength.
The story broadens as Lex Alistair [portrayed by Jason Robert Stephens], a wealthy CEO who owns the town and the cannery, meets with Harrigan, a lawyer representing developers intent on demolishing the old factory to make way for new construction. Harrigan raises concerns about the facility’s history of contamination and its dangerous pollution, issues that Alistair dismisses despite the ominous reports. Their meeting is interrupted by strange smoke and a security guard named Angus [Scott Swope], who becomes suspicious of the factory's secrets. As tensions rise, Angus ventures deeper into the building and unexpectedly uncovers the bodies of the drug dealers before he himself falls victim to the wrath of the Sailor Man.
Meanwhile, a college student named Dexter with [Steven McCormack], eager to document local legends, plans to film a documentary about the Sailor Man before the factory's imminent destruction. He is accompanied by Olivia [Elena Juliano], a mysterious girl with a complex past, along with her friends Lisa [Marie-Louise Boisnier], Seth [Jeff Thomas], and Katie [Mabel Thomas]. Their group soon intersects with Joey [Steven McCormack], Jesse [Clayton Turner], and Terry [Paul Konye], as Joey's jealousy over Katie's closeness to Dexter creates tension and suspicion.
When Katie stays behind to connect the security footage, the others split up exploring the decrepit site. Harrigan searches for her lost file but is caught by the Sailor Man, who brutally kills her by tearing her hair out and crushing her against the machinery. During their exploration, Dexter and Olivia discover a report revealing that contaminated spinach, processed at the factory, was responsible for the factory’s closure two decades prior. The report uncovers a cover-up of dangerous practices, which had been kept hidden from the public eye.
The Sailor Man begins to hunt the students, killing Jesse and Terry after they attack him. Flustered and terrified, Joey inadvertently shoots Katie in the side, mistaking her for the creature while trying to defend himself. The creature's strength becomes frighteningly apparent as it begins stalking the remaining group members. Seth’s accidental fall results in a fatal impalement, while Lisa faces her death after trying to escape the growing chaos, only to fall onto Seth's corpse and be fatally injured by the debris.
In a surprising turn, Dexter and Olivia uncover the Sailor Man's hidden quarters, learning that he had been consuming the tainted and mutated spinach, which granted him superhuman strength but also warped his body. They discover photos revealing his past—showing he was once married with a child—and newspaper clippings about a worker named Olive Oyl, who attempted to expose the contamination but mysteriously disappeared. Olivia, revealing herself as the Sailor Man's daughter, pleads with her father to stop his rampage, leading to tense moments of reasoning amid chaos.
The climax sees Olivia and Dexter escaping just as Joey, now fully deranged, attacks them. In a shocking display, Sailor Man decides to spare Katie, who has called the police, and leaves Olivia and Dexter alive, albeit scarred by the encounter. The story ends with a haunting glimpse of the Sailor Man watching from a factory window, giving a sense that the creature is still lurking, waiting for another chance.
In the aftermath, Alistair visits the ruined factory, furious about the development plans being canceled. His rage turns deadly when he is unexpectedly killed by the Sailor Man, reinforcing that the legend remains very much alive in this nighttime saga of horror, corporate greed, and supernatural vengeance.
> "Some legends never die."
