Summary
Highlights
The film begins in Australia with the disappearance of 16-year-old Alice Palmer during a family picnic near a dam. Authorities conduct a thorough search, but Alice is not found. Her brother, Matthew, recalls swimming with her, and their father, Russell, notes Alice's towel still by the water, suggesting she never came out. The family explains the police asked them to go home, promising updates. Friends and family express their shock and devastation.
On December 24th, 2005, police announce they've found a body in the water. Russell identifies it as Alice's, but his wife June refuses to see it, later expressing regret for not getting closure. The family holds a funeral. Ten days later, strange occurrences begin at home: noises on the roof, sounds from Alice's room. June suffers recurring nightmares of Alice, wet and standing at the foot of their bed. Russell copes by overworking.
Russell experiences a ghostly encounter with Alice in her room. A family friend expresses concern for Matthew, who becomes withdrawn after his sister's death. Matthew develops bruises, the cause of which remains unknown. He, a photography enthusiast, later discovers Alice mysteriously appearing in a background of one of his time-lapse photos of their backyard. The family, especially June, finds a strange sense of hope that Alice might still be alive, despite Russell's initial skepticism after identifying the body.
The Palmer family requests Alice's body be exhumed for DNA testing due to mysterious sightings. The reports confirm it is indeed Alice's body. Matthew, hearing noises, sets up a camera in the hallway, capturing a shadowy figure. June consults a psychic, Ray Kemin, who conducts a seance. Footage from the seance reveals Alice clearly, astonishing Ray. More images of Alice appear in home recordings, becoming clearer. It's then revealed that Matthew confessed to his father about editing photos and videos of Alice using old recordings and mirrors, intending to help his mother cope.
June reviews old footage and spots their neighbor, Brett Tui, in Alice's room a month after her death. Later, June finds a tape in Alice's safe, revealing Alice's intimate involvement with Brett and his wife. Russell suspects this secret contributed to Alice's death. Police investigate Brett and his wife, but the leads go cold. Alice's boyfriend is shocked by the revelation. June discovers Ray's business card in Alice's diary, indicating Alice had consulted him before her death, and Ray withheld this information, leading to the family's distrust.
June reads Alice's diary, detailing a nightmare where she's drenched in water. June recalls Alice losing items on a school trip to Lake Mungo. A video from the trip shows Alice distressed and burying something. The family travels to Lake Mungo and unearths Alice's necklace, ring, watch, and mobile phone. On the phone, they find a video of Alice recording herself at the lake, where she sees a disturbing figure approach that turns out to be her own future corpse. Alice's friends found her in a panic afterward.
June believes Alice knew she would die and buried her possessions as a ritual. Russell thinks Alice had morbid thoughts but didn't know the exact time of her death. Matthew believes Alice recorded a ghost from her grim future. The family returns home, feeling a sense of peace, believing Alice wanted them to know her truth. Six months later, Ray visits, and the family forgives him, deciding to move out of their home to fully move on. As they leave, a final family photo shows a faint figure of Alice in a window, and a replay of past 'fake' images reveals Alice's real ghost was present in every frame, silently watching her grieving family.