The film begins with newspaper clippings highlighting a bank robbery that escalated into a prolonged standoff, culminating in a dramatic scene featuring a masked figure brandishing a lighter. This unsettling imagery transitions to a billowing cloud of smoke and the urgent sound of fire trucks racing to the scene.
In the confines of the bank, Ed Maas, played by James Franco, stands isolated in a break-room, accompanied by disturbing visuals, including the same masked man seen earlier and ominous figures adorned with bloody bags over their heads. The unsettling atmosphere intensifies with close-ups of Ed’s anxious expression.
As chaos unfolds in the lobby, a man, later identified as Detective Tom Iger portrayed by Clifton Collins Jr., enters the bank and quenches his thirst at a coffee station, nonchalantly spiking his drink with liquor. After a brief interaction with the teller, this detective is drawn back into the unfolding drama as he urges patrons to remain calm amid the fire outside.
Meanwhile, Leah makes her entrance, seeking a teller position. Handing her resume to the bank manager, the conversation takes a mysterious turn as he divulges that he is struggling to keep staff, all of whom leave after experiencing spooky occurrences in the bank's basement. The tension escalates as another patron, Vee Dillon, known universally as the irate customer, confronts the teller about her bounced cheques, bringing security into the mix for escalating her behavior with threats and a fierce struggle.
This leads to the profound revelation that Leah, Vee, and three disguised accomplices—Michael Dillon, Cyrus, and Kramer—are orchestrating the robbery. In a shocking twist, Leah pulls a shotgun on the bank manager, turning the situation dire.
Trapped inside, they take hostages, compelling Susan Cromwell, the head teller played by Q'orianka Kilcher, to access the vault. Kramer, one of the thieves, discovers that the cash on hand is alarmingly short of their $500,000 target. As tensions flare among the crew debating their next move, Ed, now a hostage, reveals the existence of an old vault in the basement, promising to assist them in exchange for safety.
As Kramer drills into the second vault, mysterious events transpire. Flickering lights and increasing eeriness dominate the scene, leading to horrifying encounters with spectral versions of past hostages. The reality blurs as figures resembling hostages become more vivid, and terror ensues when Cyrus, having entered the vault to check on the hostages, confronts a gruesome revelation of death lurking within the walls.
Ed, with an eerie calmness, observes these sinister events unfold, seeming unaffected by the chaos that surrounds him. As Michael’s own moral compass starts to waver amid the pressures from his family, Leah struggles to maintain control of the crumbling situation, grappling with ghostly apparitions that implore her to understand their tragic past.
In an attempt to clarify, phone calls reveal that authorities are aware of the robbery, shattering the crew's illusions of anonymity, while Leah questions the eerie coincidences that seem entwined with the bank’s history.
As fire begins to engulf the building, Michael desperately tries to make sense of his surroundings amidst the supernatural chaos. Together with Leah, they fight not just for their lives but to confront the haunting legacies that linger in the bank, all while horrific flashbacks and spectral confrontations become increasingly violent.
Finally, as Leah makes a narrow escape through the ventilation shafts, they face the masked menace and the shadows of their choices fill every corridor. In a shocking twist of fate, Ed is revealed to be one of the ghostly figures, completely entwined in the bank's tragic past.
The film culminates as Leah and Vee meet outside, grappling with truth and reality amid the aftermath of their harrowing experience. The chilling closure indicates that the past is never truly buried, and the echoes of a bank robbery that went horrifically wrong still resonate, leaving audiences questioning what remains of those who tread the delicate line between life and death. Now, at the brink of reality itself, the camera fades out, echoing the somber realization that the horrors of the past can never escape the present.
