| Director | Robert Rodriguez |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, drama film, police film, science fiction film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 93 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $65 million |
| Box office | $16.3 million |
In a therapy session, Austin Police Detective Danny Rourke recounts the abduction of his seven-year-old daughter, Minnie, three years earlier. He and his partner, Nicks, act on an anonymous tip that a safe deposit box will be robbed, and witness a mysterious man give instructions to bystanders who immediately follow his commands. Rourke opens the box to find a picture of Minnie with the message "Find Lev Dellrayne", and the mysterious man escapes.
The tip is traced to fortune-teller Diana Cruz, who reveals that she and the mysterious man, Lev Dellrayne, are "Hypnotics", powerful hypnotists who escaped from the secretive government "Division" that trained them. Rourke is mysteriously immune to her mind-control abilities, and Dellrayne hypnotizes Nicks into attacking them, forcing Cruz to kill Nicks. Pursued by Dellrayne and law enforcement under his influence, Rourke and Cruz flee to Mexico.
They visit Jeremiah, a former Division member who explains that Dellrayne stole a Division weapon known as "Domino". Having wiped his own memory to keep Domino hidden, Dellrayne left himself "triggers" to recall its location and regain his hypnotic power. Jeremiah is revealed to be Dellrayne in disguise, and corners Rourke and Cruz by controlling an angry crowd. Rourke discovers his own hypnotic power, turning the crowd against Dellrayne and escaping with Cruz.
Rourke and Cruz seek out River, a reclusive hacker who infiltrates the Division database and learns that Rourke's ex-wife, Vivian, is a Division agent. Dellrayne calls Rourke, who struggles to resist his command to kill Cruz, and Rourke and Cruz sleep together. Rourke discovers that "Domino" is actually Minnie; she is the daughter of two powerful hypnotics, Rourke and Vivian, who has been posing as "Cruz".
Rourke realizes that his life as a detective is a charade, a hypnotic "construct" created inside a Division facility. His memories have been altered, and Vivian, Nicks, River, and everyone else he has encountered are Division agents led by Dellrayne. Minnie was born and raised within the Division, but Rourke hid her to stop her from becoming their weapon. He wiped his memory to protect her, so the Division has repeatedly forced him to relive the constructed scenario to locate Minnie.
Rourke's mind is again "reset", bringing him back to the therapy session and reliving the same events, but his powers allow him to awaken from the construct and escape. The Division realizes that "Find Lev Dellrayne" refers to an address on "Deer Valley Lane", where Rourke hid Minnie with her grandparents, Carl and Thelma. At their ranch, Rourke is reunited with his daughter, but Vivian soon arrives with Dellrayne and his agents.
With her memories restored by Minnie, Vivian realizes she aided Rourke and Minnie's escape and wiped her own memory, keeping Minnie hidden until she could grow powerful enough to defeat the entire Division. Minnie provided the "Find Lev Dellrayne" photo to lead the Division to her, and Dellrayne realizes they are inside another construct she created. After forcing Dellrayne and his agents to kill each other, Minnie and her family celebrate their newfound freedom.
In a mid-credits scene, the family departs as Carl stays behind, and is revealed to be Dellrayne. Having used his powers to switch places with Carl, who was killed instead, Dellrayne continues his hunt for the family.