An unassuming cantina in Jackson Heights, Queens, known as El Pozo draws locals from the Mexican community with its good tunes and chill vibe. But the joint’s not always what it seems.

Mateo, having just clocked out from his shift delivering food, makes his way to the bar to meet up with a buddy and discovers both its charm and its beer-and-shot special. Even its old CD player brings him a smile with tracks that take him back to his mother's barmaid days in Mexico. He perches at the bar, taking in the ambience, dulling the edges of his day, and putting off a night at home with his pregnant girlfriend.

When an alluring woman - Pepa - on the dance floor catches his eye, he meanders over for what might be a spark between them. The familiarity with which she speaks to him is soothing and intriguing. Before long, he finds himself drawn into a heady spiral of enchantment, comfort and memories long submerged - as though Pepa herself is drawing his repressed past to the surface.

The painful reckoning that ensues in turn gives sustenance to a force that only pulls him deeper into its drain.

Mateo's ill-fated visit is part catharsis, part witchery, part nightmare.