The surveyor tells the man that someone has died at the bottom of the mine, at the crypt. The man asks if he can be retrieved. The surveyor says that no one wants to do it, as they believe something evil is down there, like a monster. The man is worried, as the executives will come later today to check out the mine and cannot, under any circumstances, find out someone has died down there. The man asks the surveyor to take him to the mines.

The man thinks about how dark and difficult it is to work in the mines. He knows that there are people tasked with retrieving people lost in the mines, though the fact that no one wants to take on this particular person means he has to get involved. The man gives a speech to his employees about how his own brother died in the mines, but he himself took up the courage to continue working here despite that. One boy protests and says that no one will go into the crypt, not even if their pay is doubled, as the man offers. They say that a monster, the Grootslang, is down there, that it will make people see their worst nightmares. The man confronts the boy and asks for his name. He tells everyone to work as normal.

In a trailer, the man waits for his executives to come in with his boss. When they do, there is a round of introductions. The boss tells the executives about how the man became a mining captain after his brother died and his father became disillusioned with working for the mines. The boss then says he wants to take a tour through the mines with the executives, but the man says that no visitors can come right now due to a safety review. The boss looks upset, after which the man quickly apologizes and says that a visit can be arranged for tomorrow morning, which the boss finds amenable.

At night, the man gets home and sees his daughter and nanny. His wife is still away, not living with them. Inside, his nanny makes them food, and his daughter draws a picture. While sitting in his house, he looks out the window and sees a shadow morphing into a creature. Meanwhile, his daughter has finished a drawing, which he neglects to see and instead tells her to go to bed. He tucks her under her covers, and he thinks about the past, about his deceased brother in the mine.

When the man goes to his own bedroom, he overhears a sound coming from his daughter’s bedroom. He goes back only to see that his daughter is calling her mother. He says it’s okay, though before he leaves, he asks her about the Grootslang. She says she believes in it, that it’s part of their tradition for an evil to be born out of man’s wrongdoing. They say good night to each other.

At sunrise, the surveyor calls the man. They meet on site, at the mine. In the trailer, they talk about the person who died in the mine and how workers are now protesting in demand for a cleansing of the mine and a removal of the body. The surveyor tells the man that his employees think that the man has brought the Grootslang into existence. The man then resolves to retrieve the body himself.

At the mine, the man confronts the boy from earlier among his employees, telling them that they’re in trouble for protesting, but the boy insists that the man is accused of bringing the Grootslang into existence and that it’s calling his name. The man asks the boy what it’ll take for him to follow the man into the mine with him. He says he wants to become a surveyor. The man accepts.

The man and boy go into the mine which is fully dark and only getting darker. They follow a map used by the scientists. They talk about how the monster is born from man’s wrongs. Eventually, they get deep enough to see scientific equipment in ruins. Eventually, the man starts to see horrific visions of his father and brother. The man turns and runs away, and the boy tries to call him back.

By lunch, the man has returned above ground and the boy has retrieved the body. The mine is back to normal just in time for the tour. At home, the man greets his nanny, who asks him what’s wrong. They sit and talk about how the man has retired and relinquished his captain duties to his surveyor and promoted the boy to a new surveyor position. They wait for the man’s daughter to come home, and the man thinks about how he isn’t usually there to see her when she does. Together, they sit, even as the man’s phone is ringing from a call from his boss. He asks his nanny to tell him more about herself. She starts to talk.