The quiet suburbs of Cleveland are shattered when young Justin Whitter vanishes while cycling through a local park. Lead detective Greg Harper (Jon Tenney) and his partner Spitzky (Gregory Alan Williams) are met with a haunting piece of evidence: a jagged green pocketknife left at the scene.

The discovery sends shockwaves through the department. The knife is the calling card of a child predator from fifteen years ago, a case supposedly closed with the conviction of Cole Gordon. If a copycat is at work, it’s a tragedy; if Gordon is innocent, it’s a judicial nightmare. For Tommy (Jeremy Gladen), one of Gordon’s surviving victims, the news triggers a visceral, bone-deep breakdown, as the trauma he thought was buried resurfaces with violent intensity.

Jackie (Helen Hunt) is struggling to repair her marriage after a scandalous affair, but her son Connor (Judah Lewis) remains venomous, unable to forgive her betrayal. However, the family’s emotional war is soon eclipsed by inexplicable occurrences, such as missing silverware, a daughter who doesn’t exist, letting people into the house, and Greg getting trapped in a closet.

The domestic friction turns fatal when Jackie’s former lover, Todd, arrives unannounced. After being struck by a flying mug, he is hidden in the basement to recover, only for Jackie to find his corpse later that day. Desperate to protect her family and convinced Connor is the killer, Jackie helps Greg bury the body in the woods.

Unknown to everyone, two homeless people, Mindy (Libe Barer) and Alec (Owen Teague), are hiders in the house. The film has set this all up as a supernatural story, and suddenly, everything becomes real life. While Mindy is a documentary filmmaker looking for a thrill, Alec is something far more. He isn’t just watching; he is interfering. He is the one who tied up Connor and left the green knife, a calculated move that suggests he knows more about Greg’s secret life than he lets on. As the two narratives collide, the film’s giallo influences shine through, thanks to masks, hidden perspectives, and a dark, stylish exploration of a legacy of violence.

This has the kind of big twist that I don’t want to reveal. But wow — I get it. Director Adam Randall and writer Devon Graye have set up plenty of twists and turns. It’s also the only giallo adjacent movie made in Cleveland.