Deep 2021

As the sun dips below the horizon, casting an eerie glow over the forest of Chanteloup, Ben (actor’s name) and Tina (actor’s name), a young and adventurous couple, embark on a journey to unravel the mysteries of a long-abandoned sanatorium. The allure of capturing paranormal activity on camera drives them to seek out the isolated branch of the lake, an area artificially submerged in 1984 to prevent devastating floods from wreaking havoc. Their local guide, Pierre, leads them through the dense foliage, finally revealing the mansion’s grandiose facade, eerily preserved in time.

As they venture deeper into the mansion, an unsettling atmosphere begins to permeate their exploration. The air thickens with an otherworldly presence as strange whispers and disembodied noises echo through the halls. Their high-tech gadgetry, once a trusted companion on their paranormal investigations, now malfunctioning, further heightens their sense of unease. The discovery of disturbing photographs, news articles, and satanic symbols scattered throughout the rooms only serves to intensify the feeling that they are not alone.

The kitchen, once a symbol of warmth and comfort, has been transformed into a chamber of horrors. A large crucifix, eerily positioned at the entrance, belies the gruesome discovery that awaits them. The room beyond is a tableau of terror: two lifeless bodies suspended in chains, their faces contorted in agony, as they hover above a twisted pentagram. In a nearby room, the walls are adorned with jars containing pickled human body parts, an unsettling testament to the dark forces at work.

As panic sets in, Ben and Tina frantically search for an exit, only to find that the window through which they entered has been sealed off by an impenetrable brick wall. Their desperate attempts to flee prove futile, as if the mansion itself is determined to keep them trapped within its labyrinthine confines.

As Tina struggles to pry open the grate in the cellar, an eerie silence is shattered by a sudden and intense assault that seems to vanish as abruptly as it began. Ben’s nonchalant response to the incident piques Tina’s curiosity, prompting her to scrutinize the corpses more closely. The removal of their masks reveals the identities of the victims - the Montégnacs, the former occupants of the house - whose lifeless bodies suddenly spring back into motion, pursuing the pair through the labyrinthine corridors. In a desperate bid to escape, Ben and Tina make a break for the chimney, only to find it collapses, trapping them on different floors.

Ben’s subsequent discovery of a family tree in an upstairs bedroom yields a startling revelation: Pierre, the Montégnacs’ son, had deliberately lured his own family members to their doom. As if summoned by this grim truth, an undead Sarah - the Montégnacs’ daughter - attacks Ben, and her dark energy infuses him with an otherworldly power. When Tina finds him, he leads her to a hidden sitting room in the basement where Sarah, manipulating Ben’s body like a puppeteer, reveals the depraved secrets of her family’s past: the abduction and ritual sacrifice of innocent children for occult purposes. The Montégnacs’ own gruesome fate at the hands of an outraged mob is only one part of this dark narrative, which also includes Pierre’s cunning escape.

Under Sarah’s malevolent influence, Ben attempts to persuade Tina to join their twisted family, but her growing unease and desperation drive her to flee into a hidden satanic chapel. There, she discovers a shaft that leads back out into the world - or so she hopes. However, Ben quickly catches up with her, his eyes now glowing with an unholy light as he attempts to strike her down. Tina fights back with a diving knife, but ultimately wounds him enough to shatter Sarah’s hold on his mind.

In the aftermath of this brief respite from possession, Ben and Tina might have escaped together, but their chance at freedom is brutally cut short by Sarah’s treacherous stab wound. The Montégnacs then turn their attention back to Tina, but she manages to slip away, climbing up a shaft that leads her back down into the depths of the lake. As the water closes in around her, Tina’s air supply dwindles, and her struggles eventually cease.

In the film’s final moments, two new divers descend into the lake, their gaze directed out across the water’s surface - a vantage point shared by none other than Pierre himself.