Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. Soon they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.
The shy, lonely and outcast teenager Andrew Detmer is bullied and has no friends at high-school and lives with his abusive and alcoholic father Richard Detmer and his terminally ill mother Karen. Andrew buys a camera to film his everyday life. His cousin Matt Garetty drives him to school and invites Andrew to go to a party at night. Nearby they find a tunnel and suddenly acquire telekinetic abilities and Andrew becomes the most powerful. But he easily loses his temper and becomes dangerous while Matt tries to control him. When his mother needs a medicine and Andrew does not have enough money to buy it, his darker side overwhelms him and he becomes a menace.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
For teenager Andrew, life is nothing short of a nightmare: on top of being a social pariah, he also has to cope with an alcoholic, abusive father and a mother who is suffering from terminal illness. As a form of therapy, he films his life with a video camera. When Andrew, his best friend Steve and cousin Matt discover an alien source which imbues them with superpowers, Andrew decides to use his newfound abilities for darker purposes.—Tom Daly
Reserved and emotionally hurt, Andrew Detmer, an unhappy teenager and the high school's outcast, has good reasons to feel a lasting resentment and anger against the world--powerful feelings which stem from years of abuse and the fact that his sick mother is dying. However, when his cousin, Matt, and their popular classmate, Steve, stumble upon a mysterious hole in the forest floor, their unexpected discovery will soon change their lives, as an inconceivable and indomitable energy imbues their teenage bodies. But, what started out as an innocent game among friends, will inevitably spiral out of control--and Andrew's floating camera will keep filming until one of them is devoured by this double-edged otherworldly gift.—Nick Riganas
Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.—yusufpiskin
Seattle high-school teenager Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) starts videotaping his life. At home, his mother Karen (Bo Petersen) is slowly dying from cancer and his alcoholic father Richard (Michael Kelly) browbeats him. At school, Andrew is unpopular and frequently bullied.
Andrew's cousin Matt (Alex Russell) invites him to a rave to help him meet people, but Andrew's filming angers an attendee and Andrew leaves the rave, despondent. Approached outside by Steve (Michael B. Jordan), the school's popular star quarterback, Andrew is persuaded to join him and Matt and record something strange the pair of them have found in the woods nearby: a hole in the ground that emits a loud and strange noise. The three enter the hole and discover a large, blue, glowing, crystalline object. As Andrew films, the object turns red and the group is stricken by nosebleeds and pain. The camera cuts out.
Weeks later Andrew records himself, Matt, and Steve as they display telekinetic abilities; able to move objects with their minds, but suffering nosebleeds when they overexert themselves. They return to the hole, but find that it has collapsed and that the sheriff's department are sealing off the area for safety.
As their abilities continue to grow more powerful, Matt theorizes that their abilities function like a muscle, becoming stronger with use. The three boys develop a close friendship and begin employing their abilities to play pranks. However, after Andrew pushes a rude motorist off the road and into a river, Matt insists that they restrict the use of their powers, particularly against living creatures. The three later discover that they can use their powers to fly and revel in the experience. They agree to fly around the world together after graduation, with Andrew expressing an interest in visiting Tibet because of its peaceful nature. Matt and Steve are not happy with the reckless way in which Andrew used his powers to put another human being into harms way. Andrew is unapologetic.
Steve encourages Andrew to enter the school talent show to gain popularity. Andrew amazes his fellow students by disguising his powers as an impressive display of magic tricks, juggling, and tightrope walking. That night, Andrew, Matt and Steve celebrate at a house party, where Andrew is the center of attention. After drinking with his classmate Monica (Anna Wood), Andrew and her go upstairs to have sex but Andrew vomits on Monica, disgusting her and humiliating himself.Andrew becomes increasingly withdrawn and hostile, culminating when his father attacks him and Andrew uses his ability to overpower him. His outburst inflicts nosebleeds and pain on Steve and Matt. Steve is drawn to Andrew, who is floating in the middle of a storm. Steve tries to console him, but Andrew grows increasingly angry until Steve is suddenly struck by lightning and killed. At Steve's funeral, Matt confronts Andrew about the suspicious circumstances of Steve's death. Andrew denies knowledge or responsibility to Matt, but he privately begs forgiveness at Steve's grave.
Andrew grows distant from Matt and again finds himself alone and unpopular at school. After being bullied, he uses his power to tear several teeth from the bully's mouth. Andrew begins to identify himself as an apex predator, rationalizing that he should not feel guilt for using his power to hurt those weaker than himself. When his mother's condition deteriorates, Andrew uses his powers to steal money for her medicine. After mugging some local thugs, he robs a gas station where he inadvertently causes an explosion that puts him in the hospital and under police investigation. At his bedside, his upset father informs the unconscious Andrew that his mother has died, and he angrily blames Andrew for her death. As his father is about to strike him, Andrew awakens and blows out the outer wall of the hospital room.
Matt, while attending a family birthday party with his girlfriend, Casey (Ashley Hinshaw), suddenly experiences a nosebleed and senses Andrew is in trouble. He sees a television news report about the explosion at the hospital and knows it involved Andrew. Matt and Casey travel to the hospital and finds Andrew floating outside the building. Andrew drops his father, who is saved by Matt, and proceeds to wreak havoc with his powers. Matt confronts Andrew at the Space Needle and tries to reason with him, but Andrew grows increasingly hostile and irrational at any attempt to tell him what to do. Andrew attacks Matt and the pair fight across the city, crashing through buildings and hurling vehicles. Andrew, injured and enraged, begins using his power to destroy the buildings around him, threatening many other lives. Unable to get through to Andrew, Matt tears a spear from a nearby statue and impales Andrew, killing him. The police surround Matt, but he flies away.Some time later, Matt lands in Tibet with Andrews camera. Speaking to the camera while addressing Andrew, Matt vows to use his powers for good and to find out what happened to them in the hole. Matt positions the camera to view a Tibetan monastery in the distance and says "You made it" before flying away, leaving the camera behind to continue recording the tranquil scene.
