As 40-year-old Jessica Valdemar (Adrienne Barbeau) arrives at lawyer Steven Pike's office, an unsettling feeling envelops her. With important paperwork in hand, she seeks Mr. Pike's blessing regarding her husband Ernest's estate planning. However, Pike's astute observations reveal a troubling scenario: Ernest, aged 65 and terminally ill, is hastily liquidating his assets, sparking doubts about Jessica's potential influence over the frail patriarch. A phone call with Ernest deepens Pike's concern, prompting him to reluctantly allow Jessica access to the funds, but with a stern caution that if anything were to happen to Ernest in the forthcoming three weeks before the estate transfer is finalized, an investigation into her actions will ensue.
Returning to Valdemar Manor, Jessica confides in Dr. Robert Hoffman (Harvey Keitel), both of them embroiled in a covert scheme to manipulate Ernest's dying wishes through hypnotic techniques for their own benefit. Their ambition? To seize Ernest's $3 million estate and escape with their ill-gotten gains. As they commence their sinister plot, Ernest falls victim to hypnosis, leaving behind an enigmatic message. Opting to keep his death a secret for now, Robert and Jessica stuff his lifeless body into the basement freezer.
However, as darkness descends, Jessica is awakened by eerie groans echoing from the cellar. She attempts to rouse Robert, but he remains ensnared in his hypnotic stupor. The following morning, the unsettling sounds return, compelling them to explore the source – Ernest's frozen corpse, now possessing an unearthly voice. Valdemar claims he is trapped between existence and oblivion, tormented by malevolent spirits seeking retribution.
As Robert begins to awaken from his trance, Jessica's frustration mounts, leading her to withdraw $300,000 and secure it in a safe. Ernest's corpse continues to mock her, warning that the "others" will not cease until they claim his soul. In a panic-fueled rage, she confronts Ernest, discharging a fatal bullet into his already lifeless body.
While Robert steps outside to prepare a makeshift grave for Ernest, Jessica descends into the cellar, only to encounter Valdemar's reanimated corpse, its eyes ablaze with unnatural desire. Desperately seeking escape, Robert finds Jessica and Ernest locked in a grotesque dance on the balcony as the undead figure shifts focus to her. In a tragic turn of events, she plummets from the edge, her lifeless body crashing to the ground below.
As Valdemar succumbs during Robert's frantic attempts to awaken him from his stupor, the haunting exclamation, > "They're with you now!" reverberates ominously. In the chaos, Robert seizes the opportunity to steal the hidden stash of cash belonging to Jessica and flees, leaving behind a scene of devastation. In an act of masochistic indulgence, he plunges into his own hypnotic slumber, unwittingly inviting the vengeful "others" to unleash their fury. The malevolent spirits execute a brutal revenge, mercilessly plunging a digital hypnotic counter deep into Robert's chest, extinguishing his life force and claiming his physical form.
Meanwhile, Detective Grogan leads a team of law enforcement to Robert's abode, responding to numerous complaints regarding a foul stench and haunting moans. Upon their arrival, Grogan discovers the disarray of the flat, revealing evidence of a violent struggle. The grim sight of Robert's decaying body, now under the dominion of the "others," signals an impending onslaught of terror as it confronts Grogan with eyes burning with supernatural fury.
In a seemingly separate story, crime scene photographer Rod Usher enters a nightmarish dimension where the fabric of existence appears torn. Amidst grotesque scenes of dismembered bodies, a mutilated female figure lies helpless under a pendulum-like blade. Rod's morbid curiosity captivates him as he documents the horror for the local authorities, led by Detective LeGrand.
After Rod returns to his darkroom to process the photographs, his peace is shattered by the sudden arrival of a black cat that has claimed his home alongside his talented violinist girlfriend, Annabel. Despite her affection for the feline, a growing tension brews between Rod and the cat, further exacerbated by Annabel's fierce protectiveness. As frustration mounts, Rod becomes convinced the cat harbors animosity towards him, culminating in an act of violence where he ends the creature's life during a photo shoot, a heinous act he immortalizes in his photography book, Metropolitan Horrors.
As Annabel uncovers the dark reality surrounding her pet’s demise, their relationship spirals into chaos and conflict. Amid this turmoil, Rod is haunted by a recurring nightmare where he faces execution by medieval authorities for his heinous act. Destiny cruelly intertwines their fates as Annabel's attention is drawn to the cover of Rod’s book, featuring a strangled cat, igniting her determination to sever their ties.
Coincidentally, while Rod succumbs to a drunken stupor at a local bar, he receives a mysterious black cat from Eleonora, the barmaid. The uncanny resemblance of this new feline to Annabel's pet incites his wrath, leading to another shocking act of violence that claims Annabel's life with a meat cleaver. Rod constructs a web of lies to mask her disappearance, assuring his curious landlord, Mr. Pym, that everything is fine.
Days later, when Annabel's music students arrive for lessons, Rod's evasiveness raises suspicions. Christian, one of the students, confides in Mr. and Mrs. Pym, expressing his fear that Rod may hold responsibility for Annabel's vanishing. Desperate to maintain his facade, Rod disconnects the phone when a friend attempts to call inquiring about Annabel.
In a bizarre twist, the black cat mysteriously returns, only to meet another cruel fate at Rod's hands. However, this is not the end of its involvement. When Detective LeGrand arrives with a colleague to question Rod regarding Annabel’s disappearance, they leave only to be summoned back by a haunting sound echoing from within Rod's home.
Upon their return, the detectives are horrified to discover that the cat had birthed kittens in Annabel's tomb, feasting upon her remains. In a fit of rage, Rod brutally murders both detectives using a pickaxe wielded by LeGrand’s partner. In a final desperate gasp for freedom, he attempts to escape through a second-story window using a rope tied to a tree in the backyard. However, his demise is sealed as he becomes entangled in the rope, leading to a gruesome ending where he hangs lifeless, serving as a twisted testament to his horrific actions and the vengeance of the spirits he could not escape.
