After breaking up with his girlfriend, high school senior, Jared Rider 's mood could not feel any more dismal or gray. However, Jared 's melancholy is about to metamorphose into vivid color when he discovers a message taped to his door, instructing him to go to the Victorian mansion across the street. When Jared knocks on the door, he is stunned when he meets a fellow classmate, Gemma Worthington, who seems to possess unworldly beauty. But admiration shifts to terror when Jared encounters Gemma 's grandmother whose appearance and demeanor are conversely disturbing. Gemma 's grandmother also appears to be unusually suspicious and interested in Jared and persuades him to clean their attic the next day. In the attic, Jared discovers an