Dark Ascendants

Daniel Harper, a 27-year-old London journalist, is unraveling. Haunted by the recent death of his young son, Christopher, and the collapse of his relationship with Elena, Daniel drifts through his days in a fog of grief and self-isolation. But when terrifying visions begin—first in his dreams, then while awake—his suffering takes a sinister turn. The visions place him in the role of a killer: walking shadowy Victorian streets, holding a curved knife, standing over lifeless victims. Each time, he awakens disoriented and disturbed. His therapist believes it’s trauma manifesting. But everything changes when Daniel finds an old painting from his childhood—one he recalls from his father’s study. It depicts a hooded figure holding a knife, identical to the one in his visions. Daniel becomes obsessed. When he destroys the painting in a fit of panic, only to find it mysteriously restored the next day, he realizes something far darker is at work. His estranged cousin, Sebastian, appears out of nowhere—friendly, charismatic, and seemingly eager to reconnect. Sebastian, too, remembers the painting. Together, they begin to investigate its origins, uncovering clues about their family’s buried history. They discover whispers of a secret society called R.I.S.E.—“Riches Inherited through Successive Eras”—linked to wealth, ritual sacrifice, and a legacy of violence spanning generations. Daniel’s hallucinations escalate: he begins experiencing full-blown visions of murders from the killer’s point of view—brutal rituals performed by hooded figures, with recurring symbols that match those on the painting. As they dig deeper, Daniel finds an obscure blog post by a man who claims to have infiltrated R.I.S.E. years ago and barely escaped. The post references ancient artifacts, bloodline loyalty... and a prophecy. Daniel contacts the blogger, who agrees to meet. But before the meeting, Daniel has a horrifying vision: a secret R.I.S.E. ritual in which a curved blade is used to execute two members—one of them Sebastian’s mother. When he arrives at the meeting location, he learns the blog’s author witnessed similar events two decades earlier—and confirms that the Harper estate was once used as a ceremonial site. The truth becomes undeniable: R.I.S.E. is real, and Daniel’s family was—and may still be—deeply involved. Worse, the painting is more than a cursed object. It’s a conduit. Daniel hasn’t just been seeing past murders—he’s being groomed to continue them. In the film’s climax, Daniel discovers the final twist: Sebastian, who has been guiding him the whole time, is not a fellow victim. He’s a loyal member of R.I.S.E., returned to pull Daniel into the fold. The visions weren’t a warning—they were an invitation. Elena, still living in the old estate, becomes the next intended sacrifice. Daniel races to the Harper mansion as a ceremonial fire ritual begins, hallucinating between reality and nightmare. In a final confrontation, he kills Sebastian in a moment of pure desperation—but not before Sebastian delivers a chilling line: “You were always meant to finish what our fathers started.” The fire spreads. Artifacts burn. Elena escapes. But as Daniel stares into the flames, he sees a final vision—himself, cloaked and holding the curved knife. Whether it’s prophecy, memory, or destiny is left uncertain. The curse may be broken—or passed on.