Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess), a psychiatrist and scholar who claims to be from Oxford University, has come to the remote Stonehurst Mental Hospital. He hopes to learn relevant treatment methods from the accomplished Professor Silas Lyme (Ben Kingsley). Silas is gloomy and the treatment methods he uses are very different from the prevailing methods at the time, but it seems that the mental conditions of the patients have been relieved and recovered to a certain extent. During this period, Edward was attracted by the beautiful and dignified lady Eliza Graf (Kate Beckinsale), who suffered from psychogenic hysteria. Edward, who had just arrived, vaguely noticed the weirdness of this hospital, and he soon discovered the terrible and shocking secret behind the hospital... This film is adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Treatment of Dr. Tarr and Professor Feather".