Synopsis

Adapted from the novel by F. Paul Wilson and set in German-occupied Romania of 1943, the film introduces the invaders to the dark presence lurking within the walls of an ancient fortress in the Carpathian Alps -- a presence which doesn't take well to unwanted guests. When soldiers under the command of Captain Woermann (Jurgen Prochnow) begin to die horribly, he receives the unwanted assistance of Nazi Major Kampffer (Gabriel Byrne), who immediately assumes command and forcibly enlists the aid of the local expert on ancient languages, the Jewish Doctor Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellen), in the translation of the cryptic writings left near a murdered soldier's body. When Cuza comes face-to-face with the Keep's ancient resident -- an ethereal creature which gains strength by draining the life-force from its enemies -- he forms a pact with the creature in the hope that it will escape and destroy Hitler's armies.