The movie begins with stock footage of President Clinton and other people announcing the existence of the government experiment Project MKUltra. The scene then cuts away to camera footage of James Hirsch (Michael McMillian), a young man investigating Project MKUltra. With a friend filming him, James takes the drug used in the experiments, dimethyltryptamine-19 (DMT-19). Soon, bizarre music and voices begin to broadcast from a nearby radio and James becomes extremely anxious, announcing that something is coming towards the house and that it wants to "wear them". A large, shadowy figure rushes by the window and the camera's footage cuts in and out, ultimately ending with a shot of James with all-black eyes and a disfigured face. The movie then shifts to Anne (Katia Winter) a reporter who attended college with James. She is concerned over his disappearance, as James's friend also mysteriously disappeared a few days after he was questioned by the police. Anne investigates James's house and discovers a betamax cassette that contains footage of the MKUltra experiments as well as a book of notes about the project. Curious about some of the things found in the house — particularly some information about radio waves — Anne goes to a local expert and discovers that the bizarre radio broadcast heard by James is a phantom radio station, which can only be tuned into in the desert, at a certain time of night. Anne drives out into the desert after dark and is able to pick up the broadcast, but flees when a monstrous form appears from the darkness. Anne discovers that a mention of "Friends in Colorado" in James's notes is related to the counter-culture writer Thomas Blackburn (Ted Levine), a Hunter S. Thompson-esque figure known for his drug use and unpredictable behavior. She tries to contact him by phone and is angrily rebuffed when she mentions Project MKUltra. Anne travels to Blackburn's home and lies to gain his confidence, only to discover that Thomas has seen through her ruse and tricked her into taking DMT-19 that his friend Callie (Jenny Gabrielle), has made. The night quickly sours as Anne is angry at the deception, and Callie begins exhibiting the same behaviors that James did earlier in the film. Anne hears some of the bizarre music played by the phantom station and goes to investigate, only to be attacked by a strange entity. Callie suddenly exhibits the same black eyes and disfigurement as James did, and vomits blood onto the floor. An indeterminate time later, Anne and Thomas awaken to find Callie missing. They decide to go to Callie's house to find out more information about the DMT-19. Anne is nearly captured by Callie, who is now controlled by the entity.