some film be often a collection of associate scene that be loosely tie together to advance the plot . the film story can be follow and but one have to pay attention to sort out the relevant stuff . in 1965 and the story start and two little boy explore a deserted town that be to be flood . they find some strange going on at a church building and and spoiler one of them get kill after free someone who be bound . the other boy get away . then and there a jump of 40 year . the current story start with a tv reporter and a photojournalist ( work on spec ) cover the 40th anniversary of the completion of the dam that cause water to inundate the abandoned town . the mayor of the town want to use the 40th anniversary a a mean to attract tourist and and set a celebratory party for a few day after the action open . so and a strange thing start to happen and he want them cover up with plausible cover story . strange happening be follow by strange thing . the daughter of the lady tv person seem to be a focus of what happen and and we slowly understand that she be target by mordecai salas and the strange person that the one young boy freed . salas and we learn and be an acolyte of aleister crowly and a notorious black magician of the first half of the 20th century . he apparently learn the secret of a form of immortality and but his great drive be to bring back the evil practice that the flooding of his town have suppress . the freelance photojournalist and dan quarry and eventually figure out what can stop salas program . he then take action . the film story could well have be tighten a bit . i do not recommend this for the casual viewer .