In the quiet town of Fort Dundas, Ontario, Inspector Hazel Micallef (played by Susan Sarandon) leads a relatively solitary life, dedicated to her duties as a police officer. Her routine is disrupted when she is called to check on Delia Chandler, an elderly woman who is found nearly decapitated in her own home, her face twisted as if she was screaming in terror. This shocking scene marks the beginning of a series of gruesome murders that soon become the focus of Hazel’s investigation.
As the body count rises, the police discover a disturbing pattern: the victims, all with twisted mouths, have been arranged to spell out the word "Líbera". The nature of these killings leads Hazel to suspect they are the work of a serial killer with a twisted obsession. Turning to Father Price, a priest from the nearby Catholic church played by Donald Sutherland, Hazel learns that "libera" is a Latin word with multiple meanings, including a "Resurrection Prayer" that is believed to hold the power to bring the dead back to life. Father Price explains that the prayer involves a sacrifice of twelve souls, and Hazel begins to realize that her suspect is contorting his victims’ faces to mimic the twelve syllables of this prayer.
Meanwhile, Hazel’s deputy, Ben Wingate (portrayed by Topher Grace), pursues a lead to British Columbia, using his mother’s travel points to track down a trail of clues. His investigation leads him to a remote forest trailer where he uncovers more sinister evidence, including packages from "the disciples" and a body wrapped in formaldehyde-soaked bandages, indicating that the killer is collecting or possibly creating more victims.
The story takes a disturbing turn when a mysterious man, played by Christopher Heyerdahl, appears at a local coffee shop and then visits a young girl suffering from severe seizures. The man introduces himself as Simon and offers help to the girl’s mother, who is also a waitress. After brewing her tea, Simon appears to smother the girl. However, in a twist, Hazel learns that the girl survived and is now symptom-free, revealing that Simon's methods involve poisoning his victims, all of whom are terminally ill and seeking a way out from their suffering.
Hazel deduces that Simon is targeting people from an online forum for terminal patients, collecting victims who are ready to die. She tracks down his next target, but Ben Wingate arrives too late, and Simon subdues him with a sedative. The killer's plans come into sharper focus when Hazel confronts Simon in Father Price's church, where they discuss Simon’s mission. It becomes clear that Simon, whose real name is Peter, is trying to resurrect his brother, who had committed suicide and was found dead in Simon’s trailer.
Hazel uncovers that Peter’s brother was a victim of the same twisted ritual, and that Peter sees his actions as a form of salvation. The film reveals that Peter's obsession stemmed from his tragic childhood, being orphaned and left with unimaginable pain. Peter’s complex motives come to light when Hazel's superiors learn he is the next target—an appointment that Hazel herself resents being kept out of.
In a dark turn, Hazel, overwhelmed by her own grief over the loss of her baby, gets drunk and returns home where Peter is waiting. He drugs her and takes her to a farmhouse, offering her his tea and explaining his mission: to resurrect his brother by collecting the twelve sacrifices needed for the ritual. Hazel, in a moment of clarity, confronts her own pain about her baby’s death, nearly succumbing to Peter’s plea. But in a final act of resilience, she rejects the ritual and refuses to drink the poison he prepared.
Tragically, Peter chooses to end his own life instead of continuing his deadly mission. The film concludes with police raiding his trailer, only to find the bed empty, leaving the fate of Peter and his victims unresolved. Throughout the story, themes of grief, redemption, and the desperate search for meaning in suffering are explored, wrapped in a chilling narrative about how far one might go to escape pain, even through resurrection or sacrifice.
