The movie opens with a young woman named Sarah carefully examining herself in the mirror.
Although she is pretty, she is too self-conscious about her body,
and believes she does not meet the standards required to pursue her dreams.
In the next scene, we see that Sarah works in a fast-food restaurant to make a living.
But her dream is to be an actress, and she is working hard to make that happen.
In the evening, she attends her audition, but it doesn't turn out well.
Frustrated, Sarah retreats to the bathroom, where she vents her anger by pulling her hair,
which seems to make her feel better.
Later at home, Sarah discovers an online post looking for girls to audition for the lead
role in an upcoming horror film called "The Silver Scream."
The film is set to be produced by Astraeus Pictures, which is a well-respected production company,
so Sarah eagerly sends in her resume and photo.
Afterward, she attends a party with her friends, all of whom are also struggling in their film careers.
The group consists of girls Tracy, Erin, and Ashley, who aspire to become actresses,
and the boys, Danny, and Poe, who work behind the camera.
During this time, we see that Erin is a bit hostile toward Sarah.
She brings up a recent incident in which she supposedly stole Sarah's role in a commercial.
After a while, Sarah gets bored with the party, and decides to leave.
Danny tries to talk to her about an upcoming movie project they are working on,
right when Sarah receives a message, saying she has been selected for an audition for "The Silver Scream."
Tracy is very happy to hear this, but Erin simply mocks the movie's name.
The following day, Sarah arrives for the audition,
and she starts to feel anxious when she sees a girl crying and running after her audition.
When she enters the audition room, Sarah enthusiastically introduces herself to the casting director and his assistant.
When she tries to tell him about herself,
the rude director immediately cuts her off, and asks her to show her talent instead of just talking.
Following this, Sarah starts reciting the lines she memorized,
while the director reads the other part.
She delivers an amazing performance, but they are still not impressed, and ask her to leave.
Confused, Sarah asks for their comments, but the director coldly says they have seen what they needed.
Afterward, a frustrated Sarah goes to the nearby restroom and throws a tantrum.
She starts screaming, and pulling out her hair in a fit of rage.
After her outburst ends, she comes out of the restroom…
The assistant seems intrigued by her outburst inside the toilet,
and informs Sarah that maybe they haven't seen everything about her.
The assistant questions her about her behavior in the bathroom,
so our heroine explains that it's just a habit of hers, whenever she feels frustrated.
The assistant then asks her to do it again in front of them.
Here, Sarah thinks they are messing with her,
but when she realizes they're serious, she proceeds to act hysterical, and pull out her hair.
Despite her efforts, the director still asks her to leave,
stating they will contact her if she's selected.
Sarah then exits the building, feeling very sad and wondering what just happened.
When she reaches home, Tracy asks how the audition went,
and she replies that it didn't go well and thinks the critics made fun of her.
Despite this, she admires the photos of the actresses she has on her wall and dreams of being like them.
The next day, Sarah and her coworkers are singing
a birthday song for a customer when she gets a call from Astraeus Pictures.
Sarah disobeys her boss’s orders and leaves the workplace to answer the call.
The director informs her that they’d like to see her again, and invites her in the evening,
but they inform her that it would be different this time.
Hearing this, Sarah is over the moon.
Afterward, she is summoned by her boss, who scolds her for not respecting the
workplace rules and constantly disobeying him.
He claims he understands her dreams,
but asks her to focus on her work while she is here.
However, Sarah straightforwardly tells him that this job is hindering her dreams and she wants to quit.
He tries to stop her,
mentioning how millions of girls are begging for this job, but she claims that she is not one of them.
In the next scene, Sarah arrives in a dark room for her second round of auditions.
The director's voice suddenly instructs her to undress herself, which catches her off guard,
as there was no mention of nudity earlier.
Sarah refuses, but the man insists that she needs to prove her willingness to fully commit herself to the role.
With no other choice, Sarah begins to remove her clothes one by one.
She gets shy at first, but the man tells her to relax,
and let herself fully go so that she can transform into someone else.
Hearing this, she gradually starts to feel more at ease, and goes into a deep state of bliss.
In the end, the assistant claims that she is exactly what they were looking for,
and she notices that they are wearing pentagram-like necklaces.
After returning home, the friends ask Sarah about her audition, so she claims that it went well.
As usual, Erin questions whether it's even a legitimate company,
so Danny insists that Astraeus Pictures is a reputable company, and his statement annoys Erin.
Following this, Sarah heads to her room, and on the way Tracy asks her about her audition.
She responds positively, and Tracy genuinely seems happy for her.
But then suddenly, they both notice Ashley slipping by the pool and breaking her nose.
Sarah chuckles a bit, causing Tracy to give her an unbelievable look.
In the evening, Sarah receives a call from the director, informing her that the producer wants to meet her,
and this makes her very happy.
She then starts getting ready, and carefully selects a beautiful red dress to wear.
While Sarah is leaving, she meets with her friends, who are stunned to see her.
Erin claims she is a bit overdressed, but Tracy and Danny think that she looks stunning.
A while later, Sarah arrives in front of a huge building, and the previous assistant takes her
inside to meet the producer, who turns out to be an old man.
The producer greets her by kissing her hand and states she is much prettier than on her audition tapes.
Here, the producer says he wants to capture the ugliness of the human spirit in his film,
so he asks her why she pulls her beautiful hair out.
Sarah wonders why they’re fixated on this part, and answers that it
has been a habit since childhood, and it helps her to vent her anger and focus on the moment.
The producer then explains to Sarah that their film revolves around people who
go to do whatever it takes achieve their ambitions.
After saying this, he finally offers Sarah the lead role in his film.
She can't believe her luck and thanks him for the opportunity.
However, she is shocked when the producer suddenly puts his hand between her legs.
He claims that many girls show up for auditions, but only a few make it to this room.
The producer implies that this will be her last audition round
if she is willing to do what it takes, but Sarah refuses him and runs away from there.
When she arrives home, her friends ask about her meeting, and Sarah responds that it didn't go well.
Sarah then rushes into her bedroom and begins crying.
Moments later, Tracy arrives and asks her what’s wrong.
Sarah truthfully admits everything that happened, and Tracy tells her
that she made the right choice, and that nobody gets hired for a lead role that quickly anyway.
The following morning, Sarah returns to her former job and apologizes to her boss for her actions.
She asks for a second chance, and the boss doesn't waste this opportunity to taunt her.
Eventually, he agrees to give her the job back and asks her to be on her best behavior from now on.
Sarah resumes working again but she continues to cry during her shift hours.
Later, Sarah is with her friends, but while everyone else is having fun, she seems distant and sad.
Sensing her mood, Danny approaches her and mentions that he heard about what happened with the producer.
He comforts her, suggests doing something together,
and asks her to star in the movie he is going to direct.
Sarah is confused because Erin is supposed
but Danny assures her that he can offer it to her instead.
It seems like he is romantically interested in her. Sarah eventually accepts the offer,
and then Danny hands her a pill, promising that she will have a night she will never forget.
Afterward, they get high from the drugs and have fun at the pool party.
During this time, Sarah is surprised when she sees Erin kissing Danny.
She goes into panic mode again, recalling the producer's words about doing whatever it takes.
She immediately calls Astraeus Pictures to apologize for what happened, and asks for a second chance,
so the assistant tells her to be at the producer's office within one hour.
Following this, Sarah dresses up and goes to meet the producer while still under the influence of the drugs.
Upon arrival, the assistant warns her that this is her final chance, and advises her not to waste it.
Sarah then meets the producer inside and apologizes for their last meeting.
She begins rambling about how she is perfect for this role and is willing to do anything to be a star.
However, the producer asks her to prove that she’s willing to make sacrifices and go to any extent.
Hearing this, Sarah kneels in front of the producer, and unzips his pants.
As the producer grabs her head, we notice a pentagram mark on his hand.
He tells her that she can choose to give up her old life and get a new one from him.
Just then, two men wearing full black dresses and masks arrive and observe this scene,
which looks like some kind of ritual.
The following morning, Sarah wakes up in bed with a stomach ache.
Later at work, she appears to be sick and drools over the counter.
Her boss asks her to go home and rest, but Sarah becomes aggressive, and slaps him for no apparent reason.
This infuriates her boss, who immediately fires her.
After leaving her workplace, Sarah leaves a voicemail Astraeus Pictures,
claiming that she feels ill after what happened last night.
In the evening, we see Sarah hanging out with her friends.
Seeing her terrible appearance, Poe makes fun of her, and tries to take a picture while she pulls her shirt up.
Tracy tries to stop him from doing so, but Sarah suddenly pushes Tracy.
Her friends are shocked by her behavior and ask if she's okay, but she simply walks away from there.
She then arrives at the producer's place to talk to him, but unfortunately, no one answers her.
The following morning, while Sarah is in bed, her body begins to tremble erratically.
She then rushes to the bathroom and throws up.
Sometime later, Tracy urges her to leave the bathroom, as it has been two hours.
Sarah exits but continues to vomit into the kitchen sink.
Tracy shows her concern, but Sarah only gets mad and scolds her for telling
their friends about what happened to her with the producer.
She claims that she is sick of hanging out with losers who don't have any ambition and live off of her.
Hearing this, Tracy also gets angry and reminds her how she has been covering her
share of rent for the past three months.
She accuses Sarah of chasing unrealistic dreams,
and leaving a job that actually pays her bills.
Following this, Sarah heads to her room, where she finds an envelope with lots of cash left by Astraeus Company.
She immediately throws the cash at Tracy's face,
retreats to her room, and then has a vision of herself as a glamorous starlet.
As night falls, Sarah's health deteriorates rapidly, and she breaks out in a rash.
She tries to walk into the bathroom;
she notices that her nails have loosened, her hair almost completely fallen out.
Furthermore, her underwear becomes soaked in blood, and she feels something
moving in her stomach, before vomiting worms into the bathtub.
She crawls back to her room when she hears her phone rings.
But then, when Sarah answers it, she hears the producer's voice.
She desperately informs him that she is dying.
However, the producer states she can choose whether she
can continue to die and be forgotten, or accept the transformation through sacrifice.
In the next scene, Sarah goes to the van where Danny lives.
She notices him and Erin getting cuddly and spending time inside.
Moments later, Erin gets out to use the bathroom, and Sarah follows her.
In the house, she grabs a knife, and confronts Erin in the dark kitchen.
She accuses her of sleeping with Danny to get the lead role, and Erin clarifies that the two like each other.
Erin also angrily accuses her of sleeping with the producer,
as Tracy had told her about the cash left by Astraeus.
Erin then turns on the light,
and sees Sarah’s deteriorated face, so she suggests they should go to the hospital, but…
Sarah slashes Erin's cheeks with the knife, before repeatedly stabbing her.
Following this, Sarah walks into a bedroom where Ashley is lying in bed.
She beats her head with a dumbbell, until it’s totally crushed, killing her on the spot.
Poe is horrified to see what Sarah has done,
but unfortunately, he trips and falls when he’s trying to escape,
and Sarah stabs him until he stops moving.
Just then, she sees Erin, who is still alive and trying to flee.
Sarah puts a plastic bag over her head, and pulls it tight until Erin suffocates and dies.
Later, when Danny comes out of his van to check on Erin, Sarah is sitting on a chair in front of his car door.
He asks how she is since she was not looking well when they last met.
Danny claims that everyone is concerned about her because they are friends.
But then…
Sarah suddenly stabs him, claiming that she has no friends.
On the verge of death, Danny asks why she is doing this, and Sarah responds that she only wants one thing,
and that the filmmakers are going to give it to her.
Soon after, some men with hoods and masks emerge from the bushes.
They take Sarah with them, and we also see the people behind Astraeus Pictures.
Up next, they bury Sarah in the dirt.
The producer, the director, and several of their colleagues
form a circle around her, and perform a cult ritual while chanting “Hail Astraeus.”
They use luminous light rods to form a pentagram-shaped sign above her grave.
The next morning, Sarah crawls up from the ground to the place where she was buried.
There, she notices a gift box with a note wishing her a happy birthday.
She notices that she is bald, but her body is perfect again and she feels great.
A while later, Tracy comes to the apartment and tries to look for Sarah.
She finds her in bed, covered in sheets and notices candles lit all around the room.
Tracy apologizes to Sarah for their argument and also for telling their friends about her meeting with the producer.
Sarah doesn't respond,
so Tracy pulls back the covers, revealing hairless and naked Sarah.
Tracy gets scared and tries to leave, but the door suddenly shuts on its own.
Sarah asks Tracy to come lie with her like they did in their old times.
She claims that she is going to be a star, so she just wants to say goodbye.
Sarah then begins kissing a scared Tracy,
and it turns out that she is suffocating Tracy with blood from her mouth, until Tracy dies.
In the final scene, Sarah opens her gift box, which contains a dress, a long brunette wig,
and a necklace in the shape of a pentagram.
She wears them and admires her new look in the mirror.
Her eyes are glowing green, and she has now become the demon who will illuminate and empower Astraeus.