Summary
Highlights
Police find Sykes's house, marked with the occult symbol. A telescope with fingerprints leads them to Leslie Sykes, identified by Johnson and the property owner. Sykes has no prior record and seems to be a ghost. He sends another taunting letter, saying 'Hail Azregor' and claiming five more murders. He then sneaks into Victoria's home, ritualistically harming her on camera, and later kills her in the hospital using industrial cleaner in her blood transfusion bag, impersonating a nurse.
Public outrage mounts. Police offer a reward and investigate Sykes's past, finding his wife allegedly committed suicide. Jared Kelly, an acquaintance, reveals Sykes's strange behavior and his claim of a religious experience in a cave, seeing red lights and a vision. Records show Sykes traveled extensively through the Middle East and Europe, buying a one-way ticket to Jerusalem in 1996 and seeking a rare book on witchcraft in Germany.
The movie is presented as a mockumentary, featuring interviews and footage of a mysterious case. Joseph Kirby, a former homicide detective, introduces the brutality of the case, starting with the Sheridan family murders in 2010. Casey calls 911 to report Tiffany Sheridan's disappearance, leading police to a gruesome scene where Tiffany, her husband, and daughter are found dead, tied and bloodied, with an occult symbol painted on the ceiling.
Kirby recognizes the occult symbol from past cases. In 1993, Shiffra's dismembered body is found, followed by the brutal murder of an 84-year-old man in 1994, and the disappearance and death of a 12-year-old boy in 1995 whose liver was removed. A box cutter is found with the boy's body, revealing the word 'Kaliban'. The killer, signing as 'Mr. Shiny', sends a mocking letter to the police, claiming 10 'transits' (murders) remain, and uses the same occult symbol.
After a 15-year hiatus, the same occult symbol reappears at the Sheridan family murder, indicating the killer's return. The new murders, unlike the previous 'sloppy' ones, are meticulous. The Sheridan family victims had their legs in marked buckets to measure blood loss, and the killer deliberately painted the symbol on the ceiling for two hours without leaving forensic evidence. He then sends another letter, stating 'the harvest has begun' with only 7 killings left.
The investigation intensifies after a jogger finds Tamara's decapitated head placed in the center of the occult symbol on a road. Tamara and her boyfriend, Glen, were attacked in their home. The killer instantly killed Tamara and used a blowtorch on Glen's face, who miraculously survived but was severely disfigured and in constant pain.
No traces of DNA are found. A worker reports seeing a man unloading garbage bags from a white truck. CCTV footage leads police to Victor Shamaz, a house painter whose truck was stolen. Victor fails a polygraph test but eventually confesses he was attacked and his truck stolen, too scared to report it. Mr. Shiny sends another letter mocking the police, confirming Victor is innocent.
Another victim, Dennis Zhao, is found dead in an abandoned swimming pool, killed by leeches after being lured via a Craigslist ad. The killer had meticulously prepared the scene with barbed wire and shattered glass, and even raised the leeches. His tongue was cut out, and leech bites formed the occult symbol. A homeless man, Homer Johnson, tells police he encountered the killer, who offered him a landscaping job, but became enraged when Johnson revealed a bracelet he found wasn't his, kicking him out of the car.
Leo Deetz is killed in a doughnut shop, his heart removed, and the occult symbol drawn in blood. Security guard Saroj Mallick notes Sykes's license plate, but the car is found abandoned. Sykes brutally murders Saroj, displaying him in a 'blood eagle' position, and records the torture, sending the DVD to the police. Police find Sykes's storage unit containing human remains from his victims, including Victoria's hair and Dennis's tongue, along with detailed files and documentation of each murder.
A hidden panel in Sykes's house reveals an expired passport and a key to his storage unit. A professor explains Sykes was observing the Ophiuchus constellation, the 'Thirteenth Sign of the Zodiac', visible during a rare planetary alignment on May 13th, 2011, which matches the occult symbol. Sykes sends a final letter, claiming one more murder will set him free. He kills a couple and abducts their baby on the day of the alignment, heading to the San Bernardino National Forest.
A red SUV is found abandoned in the forest, near Sykes's first victim's discovery site. Police search for Sykes, receiving a call from a woman whose cabin was broken into. They find a lobotomized victim wearing the killer's mask. Following a baby's cry, officers discover Sykes preparing a pyre for sacrifice. Kirby and Taylor shoot Sykes dead. Bizarrely, his body vanishes, only to be found in a creek the next morning, consumed by leeches.
The community finds relief, holding a memorial for the victims. A camper near the alignment site develops permanent epilepsy, and her friend chronic vertigo. Sykes's posthumous letter reveals he didn't want to be mourned and prophesies the 'harvest season' will return in about 800 years.