In America's Deep South, in the small town of Gibbington, a manhunt is on for Howard Blaime (Bruce Dern). He's wanted in connection with the murder of a teenage girl in the swamps, the latest in a string of grisly slayings. Bruce's daughter Melanie (Cindy Sampson), convinced of her father's innocence, joins the hunt determined to prove the locals wrong.
As the manhunt grows more intense, another victim is claimed and this time it's the town's sheriff. But what attacks him isn't even human. It's a foul vine-choked mass of mud and earth, impervious to bullets and able to stifle a scream before anyone can hear it.
As Melanie leads an investigation into what is living in the swamps, the terrified people of Gibbington learn of their town's gruesome secret, buried years ago, but now resurrected to enact a terrible vengeance...