DC Showcase: The Spectre

Foster Brenner, a successful film producer, is killed by a bomb hidden beneath the diving board of his swimming pool. Jim Corrigan, a Los Angeles Police Department detective who has been involved with Brenner’s daughter Aimee Brenner, starts the investigation even though the case is officially assigned to Lt. Brice. Jim interviews Brenner’s butler, Flemming, who shows him security footage of two men in ski masks entering the complex and placing the bomb. Flemming explains that several of Brenner’s longtime collaborators were cut from his latest films and were very unhappy about it, and Jim pushes for the names of the suspects.

That night, at a special effects warehouse, Drew Flynn, a skilled special effects designer, sees a man who looks like the deceased Foster Brenner, who accuses him of the murder and then transforms into the Spectre. The Spectre uses his powers to animate the models and animatronic film monsters to attack and kill Flynn. He then confronts and kills another suspect, Peter McCoy, by crushing him with his car, before inspecting a suitcase of money McCoy was fleeing with.

Arriving at Aimee’s house undetected by phasing through the wall, Jim tells Aimee that she is good enough to be an actress in her father’s films. Jim concludes that Aimee was responsible for giving the correct access code for her father’s estate to Flynn and McCoy, opening the briefcase and showing her the money, which was the real connection. Aimee tries to distract Jim by asking if they can still be together while taking a pistol out of a desk drawer, but Jim refuses. Aimee then shoots at him, but the bullets pass harmlessly through his body. Jim coldly states that he is already dead before transforming into the Spectre. When Aimee attempts to flee, the Spectre kills her by trapping her in a cyclone of money, causing her to bleed to death.

With his vengeance now complete, Jim transforms back and calmly walks away, unseen by the arriving police. The film ends with Jim narrating about his job to root out evil, with his secret as the Spectre.

Last Updated: October 10, 2025 at 16:05