Jean-Marc is a man without qualities living in times that are out of joint. His wife and children ignore him; he's a mid-level government functionary in Montreal doing his job without care. He has an active imagination of sexual conquest, but his only real feelings come when he visits his aged mother, whose health is failing. When his wife leaves abruptly to work in Toronto, Jean-Marc sets out to reorder things with his daughters, his social life, and at work. In a world that at best is a farce, does he stand a chance?
After being forced to visit a hypnotist, Martin receives news of his estranged mother's passing. He returns home for the funeral, and before long, people start dropping dead. The victims - brutally torn apart by what appears to be a predatory monster - convince the local police that Martin is somehow responsible, and soon he comes to believe it too, as all the victims are connected to the evil within him.
Paul Marnac and his infirm wife Geneviève move to his childhood estate in the French countryside. The estate is also the site of the castle inhabited by Paul's ancestor Alaric de Marnac, who was known for brutally slaughtering anyone whom he suspected of infidelity. There is a legend that Alaric rises from the grave to continue his deeds. The estate is currently inhabited by Paul's aunt Maville and cousin Julie. Right after Paul and Geneviève arrive, mysterious things begin to happen. Geneviève begins to wonder if the legend about Alaric is true.
A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.