- A director makes a movie based on a murder he committed.
- Reality and illusion collide in this thriller about a megalomaniacal movie director who murders a young would-be actress, then sets about making a feature about the deed, casting the dead woman's clueless husband as the patsy, and finding a dead ringer to play the part of the dead actress.—Eugene Kim <genekim@concentric.net>
- Andrea Wilcox (Zoe Tamerlis) is an aspiring blonde actress from Dallas, Texas who has run away from her abusive husband, Keefe Waterman (Brad Rijn), and their toddler son. Keefe tracks her down in New York City, where he finds her at a nude modeling shoot. He chases her into the street, forcing her into his car. They arrive at her apartment where he shows her film footage of their son. Andrea escapes the interrogation, fleeing to the home of Christopher Neville (Eric Bogosian), a film director who has promised her a role in his upcoming picture; Neville is a disgruntled filmmaker who has recently returned to New York from Los Angeles after his last film was canceled over budgetary disputes. Neville and Andrea have a sexual encounter, but the two get into an argument afterward and he strangles her to death; her murder is caught entirely on camera from a camera he has hidden in the room.
After Andrea's body is found in Coney Island, police immediately suspect Keefe of her murder and he is arrested. Neville, however, ingratiates himself with Keefe by buying him an attorney and earning him his freedom; Neville claims to have witnessed Keefe's arrest on the street and become fascinated by his and Andrea's stories. Neville tells Keefe he wants his next film to be based on Andrea's life. Keefe, initially reluctant, agrees to help Neville as a technical advisor.
At a local Salvation Army, Keefe meets Elaine Bernstein (also Zoe Tamerlis in a dual role), a directionless local woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Andrea. He brings her to meet Neville, who casts her in the film as Andrea. Neville brutally strangles Leon Gruskin (Richard Greene), a snarky film lab assistant, to death before having dinner with Elaine to solidify her contract.
During the film shoot, Keefe becomes upset when the actor portraying him reveals he had sex with the real Andrea, and assaults him. Later, Elaine visits Keefe, and the two end up having sex. Neville ultimately decides to fire the actor and cast Keefe in the film, playing himself.
At the end of the shoot, Keefe uncovers Neville's film reel containing Andrea's murder. Keefe attempts to view the footage with Elaine, but is prevented by doing so when Neville arrives, and he damages the negatives in the process.
Neville calls Elaine to his home, where he attempts to recreate the night of Andrea's murder, this time using Elaine. Meanwhile, Phillip LeRoy (Kevin O'Connor), a detective who has grown suspicious of Neville, is staked outside his home. Keefe watches Elaine enter the house from the street, and breaks in through a window. He disrupts the liaison by pulling plug fuses out of the breaker box, shutting off the lights. Detective LeRoy notices the lights shut off from the street, and begins investigating. In the house, Neville attacks Keefe with a pair of scissors, and the two struggle. Keefe throws Neville over a balcony, and he lands in an indoor fountain below. Simultaneously, Elaine restores electricity to the house, and Keefe throws a light into the fountain, electrocuting Neville to death.
Shortly after, Keefe and Elaine arrive at the airport to board a plane to Dallas. There, Elaine plans to assume Andrea's identity for the sake of Keefe and Andrea's son, and start a new life there.
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