When a husband returns with his wife and young son to the tiny, rural town where he was born, the family encounters wary townspeople, a forest that holds a terrible secret and an ancestral destiny from which no one can escape.

SYNOPSIS:

As the sun sets on open pasture, a Country Father and Country Son stop work, hinting at a fearsome presence. Then a Young Man hunting in the forest begs a hulking Creature for mercy and flees. In a distant city, Will Clayton confirms to Erin and Jason he’s selling his company. The family then heads to tiny rural Foster, Will’s childhood home. Erin isn’t thrilled with the big, old house. When Will goes for a run, and the Creature eyes him from the trees. In bed, Will can’t perform, and says he’ll see a doctor. Will and Erin find a photo of Will’s dad, who left when Will was five. At the local store, Will and Jason meet Fletcher and Efram, and Fletcher says Will’s groceries are on the house. Erin finds a locket once worn by Will’s mother. Inside is a faded photo of a forest clearing. After school, Jason sees a Kid lead a sheep into the forest. At a pizza shop, Caleb hints at a sad history for Will’s ancestor, Spencer Clayton. Will offers to help Caleb on the fire brigade, and Caleb says their pizza is free. After Will and Jason leave, Caleb and Noel wonder aloud what drew Will back to Foster. After morning sex, Erin marvels at Will’s turnaround. At school, bully Earl confronts Jason, but Harlan steps in, crushes Earl’s hand, declaring the fight a “violation.” Verity joins Erin at lunch and invites her to the library. That night, the Creature kills three wolves to save a flock of sheep. The next day, Will sees Sheriff Freeman and Fletcher examining the wolf carcasses. After Will leaves, the men discuss an ominous coming change.

A Farm Husband trapped by a fallen tractor cries out for help, and is dragged home by the Creature. At school, Harlan cryptically outlines Jason’s family tree. That night, Erin finds Will zoned out on the porch, staring at the moon. At the library, Verity guides Erin to the history section. After Will’s firefighting training with Caleb, Jason says there’s something in the forest. While looking at the stars with Erin, Will hears a strange whispering, and later wakes up outside, naked. In the morning, Will finds a wooden Creature figurine on the porch. After a thunderstorm brings roof leaks, Maxwell and crew arrive to fix the roof, refusing payment. In a dream, a naked Will confronts three wolves, who retreat. Caleb meets with Efram and Fletcher, who mentions an impending sacrifice. Will dreams of being a child again and seeing a Naked Man facing away from him in a forest clearing. When Will steps on a twig, the man cocks his head, and Will wakes. Erin asks Verity why Will’s mom sent her son away, and Verity says someday Erin will understand. At a barn fire, Will is trapped in the burning barn, but is saved by Maxwell, who dies. At the funeral, Maxwell’s wife oddly thanks Will. That night, Fletcher counsels Verity on her role in what is to come. In a bar, Sheriff Freeman confronts Owen about his intentions. Later, in the forest, the Creature confronts and kills Owen after he assaults Sarah. Will sleepwalks, and Erin follows into the forest, seeing the Creature’s shadow in the flashlight beam. In the morning, Jason and Will discover the Creature’s footprints. At school, Earl helps Jason pick up his books, and is met by a watchful Harlan. Jason says everything’s fine, but a sad Earl oddly disagrees. In a trance, Will tries to force himself on Erin, who slaps him to snap him out of it. Erin demands an answer from Will who, remembering nothing, emphatically apologizes. That night, when three criminals attack elder farmer Arvis, the Creature kills them, but is shot several times. Will again dreams of the Naked Man. It’s Harold Clayton, Will’s father, who tells Will he’s sorry. The next morning, Will is turned away from the shooting scene by Sheriff Freeman, who tells Fletcher the Creature is badly injured.

A woman at the library asks Verity about Festival. Erin inquires, but Verity is evasive, as is Fletcher when Will mentions the signs all over town. That night, the town is lit by red lights; stores are closed; and the streets are deserted. Jason sneaks out and bikes to the forest. In a torchlit clearing, Jason watches Fletcher lead the townspeople in a strange ceremony. A terrified Jason is caught by Efram and brought to Fletcher, who calms him; and Efram takes Jason home. As Fletcher continues the ceremony, the gravely injured Creature appears. Soon after, Will meets the Creature in the forest and realizes the beast was once his father. He offers to help, but the Creature turns and leaves. Erin makes a horrifying discovery in an old book: The Clayton men are fated to become the Creature. Verity leads Erin to her office, where she tells the story of a terrifying 1800s-era night that led to the town’s bargain with three otherworldly Creatures, eventually marking the Clayton line. Fletcher sadly tells Will his fate is sealed; and at home, Erin confirms what must be done. After Will and Erin make love, Will walks out of the bedroom, stopping at Jason’s door, which Jason is afraid to open. Will leaves, shedding his clothes as he enters the forest. In the large clearing, Will touches the Creature’s corpse and is transformed, leaving his humanity behind, his howl echoing across the land. Days later, Fletcher tells Erin there’s no charge for her groceries; and she takes her place at the library. One winter evening, Jason asks Erin if he’ll see his father again. Erin says he will, but first he’ll go off to school, meet a girl, find a career, and have a child of his own – a son. Then one night, he’ll see him again. Some things a mother knows. On the other side of the forest, the Creature confronts three wolves. With a mighty roar, it charges into the fray.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/488359051/355b1d08eb

DARK FOREST