On February 6, 1999, a team of three biologists, led by Professor Jonathan Hoffman, Michael O'Hear goes into a wooded area near a small New York town to investigate a series of alleged wildlife killings. One of the biologists, Bianca, Brenda Rickert suspects the events may be tied to a recent earthquake. As Hoffman and the other biologist, Gabriel, search the area, they uncover the mutilated carcass of a deer. Returning to the campsite, they discover a hole in the ground unearthed by the earthquake’s tremors. From this clue, the group concludes that a prehistoric creature frozen for thousands of years has been released and is hunting wildlife. The creature materializes and kills both Gabriel and Bianca, leaving Hoffman to conclude, in a grim whisper, that they are dealing with a “snow shark.”
Twelve years pass, and the snow shark has become a town legend. The town’s mayor, Shawn Overman, Robert Bozek, learns of two more killings and calls a town meeting with Sheriff Donald Chapman, C.J. Qualiana. During the gathering, Mike Evans, Sam Qualiana, proclaims that the shark is to blame, even though he had previously claimed to have killed the creature seven years earlier. Despite Chapman's cautions, Mike sets out to eradicate the threat once and for all. That night, Chapman’s son Ethan argues with him, slips outside to drink beer with his friend Doug, and is fatally attacked by the shark while urinating. The following day, as law enforcement gathers at the scene, Chapman confronts Doug and grows convinced that the shark is responsible, vowing to hunt it down.
Cryptozoologist Lincoln Anderson, Andrew Elias and biologist Wendy Gardner, Kathy Murphy accompanied by hunter Cameron Caine, visit the town and brief Overman on capturing the predator. With six of his friends, Mike ventures into the forest to hunt the shark, and the creature eliminates everyone except Mike. In response, Chapman, Lincoln, Wendy, and Cameron head into the woods armed with a miniature crossbow, a shotgun, and a motion-sensing camera, setting the device on a tree before moving on. Back at the town bar, Hoffman enters again, now with an eyepatch after going into hiding, and he shares a drink with a grieving Mike.
As Lincoln realizes the camera has produced no motion detections, the group presses deeper into the forest. Wendy is dragged away by the shark and killed, followed by Cameron being struck down in a brutal attack. Chapman and Lincoln retreat, while Hoffman and Mike join them soon after. Hoffman proposes starting a large fire to lure the shark, hoping heat will confuse it, but the creature ends his attempt with a fatal strike. The shark then maims Mike, tearing off his legs as Chapman and Lincoln flee. Mike manages to pull the pin on a grenade, triggering a catastrophic explosion that consumes both him and the shark.
Back at the police station, Chapman and Lincoln report the bizarre series of events, only to glimpse multiple shark fins slicing through the snow outside and sprint for safety. In a final eerie moment, a woman named Daphne, Jackey Hall, approaches Ethan’s grave to lay a wreath; a shark fin circles toward her as she exits the graveyard, leaving the warning lingering in the cold air.
