Curse of Aurore 2020

A YouTube livestream by Casey Nolan opens with him unboxing a mysterious box retrieved from the Dark Web, a collection of macabre artifacts that appear to be scoured from a crime scene. The unboxing is followed by the reveal of a USB flash drive, and Casey, curious and cautious, begins to play the video files contained on it, kicking off a chilling descent into a documented nightmare.

The footage centers on two men, Aaron and Kevin, who land at an airport in Quebec and are greeted by their partner, Lena. On their drive to Lena’s family cottage, Lena recounts the haunting local legend of Aurore Gagnon, a girl whose abuse and murder by her parents in the 1920s left a deep mark on the community. The trio stop at a roadside restaurant where Lena introduces them to poutine, a simple moment that contrasts with the heavier topic at hand. As they talk about their lives and Lena’s recent breakup, the locals cast uneasy glances, hinting at a tension lurking beneath the surface.

At the cottage, Lena leads a tour of the surrounding area, during which an inexplicable apparition materializes behind them. Over dinner, the group decides that Aurore’s tragedy could provide a powerful, though dangerous, subject for their research. That night, while the three unwind in the living room, the upstairs hatch door slams shut on its own, and later Lena observes townsfolk entering a neighbor’s house, joining a ritual gathering that feels both intimate and ominous.

The filmmakers press deeper into Aurore’s hometown of Fortierville, visiting places such as the local church and the graveyard. The church’s priest refuses to grant them permission to film, underscoring a barrier between the living community and their invasive inquiry. At Aurore’s gravesite, they encounter Lena’s old friend Chantal, who explains that her uncle lives in Aurore’s childhood home and offers to arrange a guided tour. As they linger in the remote town, unsettling experiences mount, and the line between documentary realism and supernatural sensation begins to blur.

During a late-night drive, Lena swears she sees Aurore’s ghost in the road, causing a car crash that leaves the vehicle stuck in a snowy ditch. Seeking help, they walk to a nearby farmhouse and meet the eccentric local couple, Benoit and Blanche. Blanche is a spiritualist whose tarot reading ominously yields three death cards. Benoit steps in to help tow the car back onto the road, but the danger is far from over. The tension escalates when Kevin admits he stole Blanche’s occult book, Languages of the Dead, fueling personal and ethical conflicts within the group.

Even with creeping dread and disagreements, the trio remains determined to finish their documentary, believing the truth about Aurore’s story may lie in witnessing rather than simply recording.

A haunted streetlight flicker becomes a focal point the following night, and Lena and Kevin share a joint as they lie on the frozen street, waiting for the glow to repeat. Kevin unexpectedly passes out just as a car roars toward them, and Aaron and Lena manage to pull him to safety.

Back at Aurore’s house, Mr. Gagnon, who speaks only French, gives a guided tour and explains that Aurore’s room is kept locked, adorned with a rosary and crucifix to deter evil forces. When Kevin breaks the crucifix off the door at the tour’s end, Mr. Gagnon’s temper erupts and he ejects them from the home.

That night, Lena and Kevin notice increasingly disturbing paranormal activity in their footage. Rather than sticking to a planned script, they decide to document their lives in the moment, attempting a live-style immediacy. They conduct a seance in the basement using the stolen book and the crucifix; [Aaron] reluctantly films as the house grows still, then erupts. A strong surge of smoke from burnt pizza triggers the smoke alarm, followed by violent tremors through the house: cabinets swing open, and a wine glass hurls across the room. Blanche arrives again to survey the chaos, but flees in fear when Kevin reveals new scratches and a horrific blistering pain that crawls up his stomach.

They eventually glimpse a circle of chanting townsfolk outside and discover Kevin missing. Their search leads them to a large barn where a brutal, ritualistic ceremony unfolds: Aurore’s uncle is bound on a makeshift altar, and Kevin’s decapitated body hangs ominously in the barn as the crowd chants around him. Lena and Aaron plead for mercy, but are knocked unconscious as the terrifying scene ends.

In the aftermath, Casey Nolan concludes his video by handing the evidence to the authorities and urging viewers who have information about the tragedy to come forward, leaving a chilling invitation that lingers long after the feed cuts.