Plot

A struggling writer, his pregnant wife, and their daughter move to an isolated beach town for the winter. Once they're settled in, the town's true residents begin to make themselves known.

Harry Gardner, his wife, and daughter come to Provincetown on the Cape Cod coast so Harry can overcome his writer's block and produce a TV screenplay. But soon strange Pale Persons plague the family, and another writer offers Harry a black pill that he says will overcome the writer's block.—Gislef

A family, the Gardners, are driving to their summer home in Provincetown. The father, Harry, is a screenwriter hoping to write in quiet. His wife Doris is pregnant, and their young daughter Almate sits in the back and counts roadkill. Harry screeches to a halt to avoid hitting a dead deer on the highway ahead of them. He gets out and confirms the deer is dead, and Harry stares at the blood for a moment before going back to the car.

Harry drives around the deer and continues on, and behind them something pulls the deer off the road.

Later, the Gardners arrive in Provincetown as a storm sets in. Harry pulls up to the house they're renting, The real estate agent, Martha, comes out and greets them, and says that she manages the house for the Browns. They go in and Martha says that the town is quite out of the tourist season. She asks about what Harry is writing, and Doris says that he's working on a TV pilot.

Doris says that the Browns are letting them stay there for free for three months in return for redecorating, and Alma comes in with her Alma. Martha gives them a brief run down on taking care of the house, and leaves, and Alma goes to find her room. Harry goes to the market to get supplies, and Doris tells him that she can get real experience as a school teach while he writes in quiet.

Harry walks down the street, and the sun sets. Red lights come on, on the front of many of the houses. He goes into the market and shops, and a woman, Tuberculosis Karen, runs into Harry's cart, curses him, and yells at him to get out of town. The owner, Mikey, comes over and tells Karen to get out. Karen goes, and yells at Harry to get out of Provincetown as he leaves.

Mikey tells Harry that Karen smokes a lot but doesn't have tuberculosis, and is nuts but harmless. She watches Harry from outside as he pays for his supplies.

The next day in her room, Alma plays her Alma while Harry works at his laptop on his manuscript.

A wolf runs through the nearby sand dunes. It stop sand digs through the sand.

Harry paces back and forth, unable to write.



Somebody grabs the wolf.

Harry calls Alma down and asks her to stop playing, because it's distracting him. She says that she needs to play better, so she can play first chair in the Philharmonic by the time she's 18. Doris comes in and takes Alma outside, and they walk around the town. They go to the local cemetery, and Alma asks Doris if she likes it. As Doris talks about how she loves the city, a tall bald man in robes approaches them and Doris leads Alma off.

The man goes after them, and Doris and Alma run back to the house. They go in and lock the door, and the man slams into it as Harry come to see what's going on. Harry runs around and locks the doors, and the Pale Man snarls at him before running off.

Later, Chief Burleson comes in response to the Gardners' call and says that most of the crime in Provincetown is opioid -related and harmless. Doris insists that the man didn't feel harmless, and Burleson says that the Pale Man was just trying to scare her. Burleson says that she used to work in the city, and took the job in Provincetown because it's boring.

Harry asks Burleson about a family who was killed in nearby Truro last winter. Burleson insists that it's safe in Provincetown, and the father was involved with organized crime in Rhode Island. The chief says that they'll be safe and drives off, and Doris tells Harry that she doesn't want to leave because it's too big an opportunity for both of them.

That night, Harry Goggles strange murders in the area and comes up with a number of reports about animalistic attacks, and victims with their throats torn open.

Alma is in bed, and hears a tapping at her window. She goes to the window and sees three of the Pale Men outside. The one from earlier snarls at her, and Doris hears Alma screams in comes in. Harry joins them a minute later, and Doris tells him what Alma says that she saw. Harry goes to the window but the Pale Men are gone. Alma says that she doesn't think it was a nightmare, and Doris takes her daughter to her bed to stay the night with her.

The family goes to the bedroom, and Doris figures that there's no point in calling Burleson. Harry goes to the kitchen and pours himself a drink, and stares at his laptop. He tries to write but can't, and dozes off on the couch. The next morning, Alma and Doris come in and Harry says that he'll go for a run.

Harry jogs down the road and along the beach, and finds two dead corpses with bloody wounds washed up. He calls the police, and Burleson and her men arrive. The coroner suggests a great white inflicted the wounds, but says that he'll know more after the autopsy. Everyone but Harry leaves, and eventually he goes home. He suggests that they go out to the done restaurant in town to "celebrate life", and Doris agrees.

As the couple go out, Alma asks about the babysitter, Martha. She says that she's not worried, and goes to mix up her dinner.

In the bathroom, Doris is putting on her makeup when she throws up. Harry comes in, and Doris figures that isn't morning sickness. He takes Doris to the bedroom and lays her down, and she tells Harry to go and get some stimulation for his writing. Doris asks him to bring back some red meat, saying that she's gracing red meat. Harry agrees and leaves.

Harry goes to the restaurant and sits at the bar drinking. A man, Mickey, sits down next to Harry and flirts with him. Harry calls the Hostess over to take him to his table, and Mickey tells Harry to call him.

Austin Sommers and Sarah Cunningham start singing "Islands in the Stream", and Harry nurses his drink and watches them.

At home, Doris is looking at a computer article about Lyme disease. Harry calls her and asks who she's doing, and she passes on the red meat. Harry goes back to his table, just as the couple finish singing.

As Doris sleeps, more Pale Men gather outside the house.

Sarah and Austin order a drink for Harry, and he goes over to join them. Harry asks what he did to deserve the drink, and they say that they're fellow writers and figured that's why Harried moved to Provincetown. Sarah says that she writes under the pseudonym "Belle Noir", and Harry has heard of her romance novels. Harry says that her stories are deep and moving, and dismisses himself as a crap writer.

Austin and Belle insist that he sit with them, and they explains that they've been coming there for years to get inspiration. They talk about how they create masterpieces during the winter, and Harry says that he could use some of their inspiration. Harry admits that he's having writer's block, and Austin tells him that it won't last long.

Karen comes in and steals, and yells to the Hostess that she wants the gristle. When Austin mocks Karen, she yells at Harry to stay away from them, and the Hostess takes Karen out.

Harry returns home and locks the doors and windows, then looks in on his sleeping wife and daughter. He goes to the kitchen and make some tea, and hears a window banging. Harry checks on it, closes it, and one of the Pale Person's lunges out of the shadows at him. They fight, and Harry clubs his attacker with a poker then beats his skull in.

At Belle's house, Austin is in bed with Belle. She angrily offers Austin $300 for a suck, and then cuts a vein in his arm and drinks his blood.

Karen goes through garbage can looking for food, and a cell phone in her purse rings. She takes it out, and tells the caller that she can't. The woman at other end tells Karen that she has three hours and hangs up, and Karen breaks into tears.

The police arrive and take the corpse away, and Burleson tells Harry that he'll have to come down to the station the next day and make an official statement. Doris wonders if they have to get lawyer, and Burleson says that they're not in trouble for defending themselves against a Tweeker. Harry says that the intruder was more than that, and Burleson just stares at him.

Once they're alone, Doris thanks Harry for protecting them. He says that they're leaving them the next day. Doris reminds Harry that she's there to do a job, then agrees that they should go.

Karen goes to Belle's house with something in her bag, and Belle invites her in. When the newcomer says that she's going to Hell, Belle tells her that most people would sell their soul for greatness. She takes one of several small bags of white plastic out of a case, and says that Karen is a piece of garbage to sell "it" for a chance to be close to greatness.

When Karen insists that she doesn't do it to be close to Bell, Belle doesn't care and orders her to hand over the bag. Karen hands over the bag with a baby in, and then takes the bag. Belle tells her to scram, and Karen runs out as the baby cries... and then stops.

The next morning, Harry is packing, and Alma comes down and tells him that she doesn't want to go back to NYC. She figures the house is haunted and looks over at the Pale Person's bloodstains from the wall. Once his daughter leaves, Harry gets a call from Austin who invites Harry over to his place right away. Harry tells Austin that they're leaving, and Austin says that he something for Harry that will cure his writer's block.

Harry drives over to Austin's house and goes in, opens a small box of black pills. He tosses some in a bag to Harry, and says that it doesn't have a name. Austin tells Harry that he used to think small and write small, and he wondered how a successful friend did it. The writer invited Austin to Provincetown one season, gave Austin a pill, and Austin was soon writing like crazy.

Harry wonders who makes the pills and if they have side effects, and Austin says that it doesn't matter. He figures Harry chose to become a writer because he likes the attention, love, and lots of money. When Harry hesitates, Austin tells him that if he was a real writer, he wouldn't care as long as he could write. Austin tells Harry to at least try the pill, and Harry takes the bag and leaves.

Back at home, Harry gets a call from his agent Ursula. He says that it's been kind of weird and they're leaving, and Ursula tells him to stay there and finish his pilot. When Harry says that he's not feeling it, Ursula tells him that he's a professional writer and feels it when he has to. Harry says that it doesn't matter when he writes, and Ursula tells him that his old job is gone and he has to create his own thing, and it will take him years to recover if he ever does, if he doesn't write.

After Ursula hangs up, Harry throws the phone away in anger. He takes the pills out and then swallows one.

Alma watches her father secretly from the stairs.