Deadly Dreams

As a child, Alex witnesses the brutal murder of his parents by Norman Perkins during Christmas Eve. Perkins taunts them while wearing a mask made from a fox pelt, then shoots them and kills himself. The atrocity devastates Alex and seeds recurring nightmares that haunt him for years.

After the murder, Alex is plagued by recurring nightmares in which Perkins stalks and taunts him. The trauma bleeds into his waking life, shaping his fear and paranoia. He wakes with a lingering sense that danger still follows him.

Alex, an aspiring writer, begins dating Maggie Kallir, a dance student from New York City. His brother Jack pushes him to join the family business instead of pursuing writing. The tug between art and duty strains their early relationship.

Alex finds a fox mask at his friend Danny's house and suspects Danny is impersonating Perkins to torment him. He ends the friendship, convinced the prankster is the killer in disguise. The fear pushes him deeper into Maggie and Jack's orbit.

Maggie accompanies Alex to the family estate for dinner with Jack. Jack questions Maggie about her past and catches her in a lie about a non existent dance company. He accuses her of being a gold digger aiming to profit from Alex's inheritance.

Alex discovers a butchered deer in his bathtub, a gruesome omen that unsettles him. The deer vanishes when he reports it to authorities, and Maggie and Danny try to calm him while he is gaslighted, suspecting Danny planted the scene.

Some time later Maggie visits Jack and they have passionate sex, revealing their conspiracy to trigger Alex’s psychological breakdown. They plan to manipulate him to secure the inheritance. The alliance between Maggie and Jack grows darker.

Danny breaks into Maggie's apartment and finds a photo album showing her with Jack and clippings about Alex and his parents murder. He confronts Maggie, who forces him to leave, deepening the danger she and Jack pose. Danny's suspicions and warning signs escalate.

Maggie and Jack murder Danny with a rifle, staging it as a suicide. The brutal act removes a threat and solidifies their plan to silence witnesses. The deception widens their web of crime around Alex.

Maggie lures Alex to his remote cabin on his birthday, where Jack is drunkenly resentful of Alex's inheritance and perceived lack of involvement. The setup leads to a dangerous confrontation in the woods. The eerie atmosphere amplifies the danger.

A fox masked hitman, hired by Jack, pursues Alex through the woods and shoots him in the shoulder. Maggie arrives in a car, and the hitman then slits Alex's throat on the car hood, sealing his fate as Maggie watches coldly. The violent climax reveals the depth of their scheme.

Days later on Christmas, Jack experiences a nightmare of Alex alive in the morgue. An unseen assailant murders Jack in his bedroom, and Maggie phones her mother to say that her father Norman Perkins can finally rest in peace. The web of deception seems complete as the killer walks away.