- Uma is a young woman who wakes up in an apparently idyllic reform school for young ladies. But a dark secret lies within its walls.
- In an undetermined future, society has divided into two sub-types: upper-class or "Uppers", and the rest of the world, mid- and lower-class, named "Lowers". Uma is a privileged young woman who is adamantly against marrying another Upper, Son. Instead, she falls in love with a working-class young man named Markus, so she is sent to Paradise Hills, a school for young ladies located on a remote island in the middle of the ocean. Waking up in Paradise not knowing how she arrived there, she soon meets other students: Amarna, a pop-star who was sent after she decided to sing her own songs against the will of the company that controls her records; Chloe, a plus-sized young lady whose parents want turned thin and compliant; and Yu, a Lower whose aunt and uncle sent her there after she refused to inherit the family business. Then Uma meets the eccentric Duchess, Paradise Hills' headmistress, who tries to convince Uma to marry up, like her mother wishes. Uma soon suspects a hidden purpose behind all the facility's luxuries. Its elegant staging and the daily sessions of make-up, hairdressing, etiquette, and therapy are not working on any of her classmates either. While Amarna and Uma concoct a plan to escape, Uma is shocked when Markus appears as part of Paradise Hills' staff. Amarna, who had started feeling attracted to Uma, feels bitter about this. Finally, alerted by Amarna about their dinners being laced with a sleep-inducing substance, Uma manages to investigate Paradise Hills at night and discovers the bone-chilling truth: the island is a giant control room to analyze the students' behavior and appearance so they can be replicated by Lower women hired to replace the Uppers after the original women are killed. With time running against her, Uma and the rest of her girl gang must find a way to survive before they are up next.—Agencies
- In an undetermined future (with floating cars and other technological enhancements), society has divided in two types: upper-class or "superiors", and the rest of the world, mid and lower-class, named "inferiors". Uma (Emma Roberts) is a superior teen girl who is reluctant to marry with another superior named Son (Arnaud Valois) and falls in love of an inferior named Markus (Jeremy Irvine). Her mother sends her to Paradise Hills, a school for young ladies to reform rebel girls located in a remote island in the middle of the ocean. Basically, a behavioral modification center for women who have displeased their families.
Waking up in Paradise not knowing how she arrived there, in the island she meets other students at the school: Amarna (Eiza González), a world pop star who was sent after she decided to sing her own songs against the will of her parents and the music company that produces her albums. Chloe (Danielle Macdonald), an over-weight girl which parents want to turn her in a perfect woman, thin and complaint. and Yu (Awkwafina), an inferior that after the loss of her parents was sent with her superiors aunt and uncle, who wants to make perfect and superior as them. The island is surrounded by the sea from all sides and there is no way to escape. The 4 women gradually become good friends and share their stories with each other.
At the same time that Uma meets the eccentric and out-of-the-reality The Duchess (Milla Jovovich), Paradise Hills' headmaster, who tries to convince Uma for changing her mind about marry Son as her mother wants. Uma starts to suspect a hidden purpose behind of the luxury of the facility, its elegant staging and the daily sessions of make-up, hairdressing, good manners, holographic projections (of expected behavior) and therapy to make them perfects.
While Amarna and Uma plot a plan to escape, Uma is shocked when Markus appears suddenly as part of the Paradise Hills' staff. A jealous Amarna tells Uma to be careful and reveals that she has her own secret plan to escape as her fans have smuggled her a rowboat (The mainland is only 10 miles away) she and Uma can use to leave. But now, Uma has no interest in escaping and wants to spend time with Markus. Uma confides in Markus about Amarna's escape plans.
Before they can put their plan into action, Amarna is informed that she has graduated early. She tells Uma to rescue herself and Markus. Before she leaves, Amarna also reveals that the milk the women drink each day is drugged so they sleep through the night. Amarna parts from Uma with a kiss.
After a treatment during which Uma is forced to watch old news reports of her father's suicide, Uma reacts badly and is drugged and put into solitary confinement. She awakens two weeks later and meets with the Duchess, who runs the Paradise program. Learning that she will be sent home the next day, Uma decides to leave and convinces Chloe and Yu to run away with her in the night. Before they can escape, Yu is taken to an operating room for a final treatment.
Uma manages to avoid drinking the milk and investigates Paradise Hills at night for her own risk, discovering the terrible truth: all the island is a giant control room to study the students' behavior and appearance in order to be replicated by inferior girls hired to replace them when they "back" to the world after the original is killed. With time running against her, Uma and the rest of the girls must find a way to survive before they are the next to be replaced. When Uma and Chloe try to rescue Yu, the doctors attack them, and the women are forced to kill them. Yu is badly injured in the skirmish.
Uma learns that Markus never intended to rescue her but was hired by Paradise to determine her behavior in sexual situations. As Uma and her friends run from the guards, they stumble into a room where they meet their "Replicants"; poor and lower-class women who have undergone extensive plastic and cosmetic surgeries and been trained to mimic the voices and personalities of the patients so they can assume their identities. Uma makes a passionate speech to all the doubles about why all of this is completely wrong and that the doubles are being used.
Yu dies and Chloe and Uma are forced to move on without her, but before they go, Uma leaves behind her memory locket of her father for her replacement and tells her that in order to fully embody Uma, she must hate Son, the man responsible for her father's death.
Uma and Chloe make their way into a garden where they see the lifeless bodies of former Paradise captives, including Amarna, ensnared in rose thorns. Uma sees the Duchess, who is revealed to be a Vampiric rosebush, feeding on Chloe's body and is wrapped up in vines as the Duchess prepares to make her next victim. However, Uma's Replicant saves her by pretending to be the real Uma, distracting the Duchess enough so that Uma can fatally stab her with a scalpel. Uma and her Replicant, Anna, manage to escape in the rowboat. Anna reveals she cannot return to her former life and so she and Uma develop a plan. Anna returns to Uma's wealthy family pretending to be Uma and marries Son. On their wedding night, she remains downstairs while Uma herself seduces Son and stabs him before they can have sex.
Anna is thus free from blame as she was downstairs among many witnesses when the murder occurred. Anna "discovers" Son's body and screams for help, now free to live her life as a wealthy widow. Uma, having secured her revenge, flees into the night to begin a new life.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content