The film opens in black and white, depicting Mary Rollins (portrayed by [Shirley McQueen]) as she tries to hide her two children: her teenage daughter Lindsay (played by Tatiana Maslany) and her young son Michael (acted by Jodelle Ferland) in an old farmhouse. Mary comforts her son, urging him to be brave as they enter a bedroom. Suddenly, the door begins to shake, and in a terrifying moment, Mary hides Michael under the bed, trying to silence his cries. The door bursts open, and an unseen force violently throws her against the wall.
As the shadow retreats, Michael rushes into the hall seeking his sister, who is equally frightened and asks, "Where's mom?" In a flash of chaos, an unseen entity throws her over the banister, and she is later dragged into the basement, leaving deep scratch marks on the floor. Michael, in a desperate attempt to escape, hides in a kitchen cupboard, but the sinister presence soon finds him, leading to a heart-stopping moment before the screen fades to black.
As the title credits roll, we transition to a colorful scene where Jess (played by [Kristen Stewart]) is seen driving down the highway with her family, arriving at the farmhouse previously shown. Upon entering the house alone, Jess experiences a chilling moment when a cupboard mysteriously opens and closes behind her. She discovers a wind-up tractor tucked away, but as she attempts to reach it, it unexpectedly moves on its own.
Hearing strange noises from the locked basement, Jess notices unsettling marks on the wooden floor that resemble the scratches left by Lindsay. She heads upstairs, where her father Roy (played by [Dylan McDermott]) engages her in conversation about how much she enjoys their new home. Meanwhile, her mother Denise (portrayed by [Penelope Ann Miller]) cleans a watermark off the wall, only to later witness two bloody legs beneath the sheets in a shocking moment.
Jess's curiosity leads her back to the basement, where a chance encounter with a drifter named John Burwell (acted by John Corbett) sets off a series of unsettling events. Jess feels inexplicably drawn to the cellar, where she encounters a ghostly figure that leaves bruises on her arm, eventually necessitating a trip to the ER. Isolated at home while babysitting her brother, she calls the police, fearing for their safety, but is met with skepticism and a warning.
The situation escalates as the family deals with the trauma of their past and the haunting memories of a previous family who lived in the house. Jess confides in a friend about her suspicion that the Rollins family didn’t just leave town; they tragically died. Struggling with the financial burden of her brother Ben's hospitalization, Jess attempts to uncover the dark history behind the farmhouse, but more horrors await her as she confronts the vengeful spirits connected to the land.
In a terrifying confrontation, the spirits become malevolent, resulting in chaos as John, tormented by his past, mistakes Denise for his long-lost wife. The family must band together as they find themselves in a nightmarish fight for survival when John and the ghosts of the farmhouse collide, leading to a shocking climax.
Despite the overwhelming terror, after a grueling battle, the remnants of the malevolent past are finally quelled, leaving Jess and her family hopeful for the future, as they witness a gradual return to normalcy with Ben beginning to speak again, crops thriving, and the dark legacy seemingly put to rest. However, ominously, a flock of crows circles above the farm, hinting that the past may not be entirely behind them.
