In Dreams

Claire Cooper, a suburban housewife, spends her days caring for her eight-year-old Rebecca and illustrating children's stories. Her free hours are invaded by vague, unsettling dreams of an underwater city and the murder of a young girl. The dreams begin to blur the line between imagination and reality, hinting at a past she can't fully recall. They set the stage for the mystery to come.

Rebecca vanishes during an outdoor school performance, leaving Claire desperate to find her. Police and investigators search frantically, but the case grows colder by the day. Shortly after, Rebecca is found dead at the bottom of a reservoir, shocking the family.

Believing her visions hold clues, Claire tries to involve the police in the case. She clashes with investigators who minimize her theories, dismissing them as grief-induced. The more she dreams, the more convinced she becomes that she is witnessing her daughter's killer on the move.

Claire's dreams reveal an underwater city that she realizes corresponds to Northfield, a former town flooded when the reservoir was formed. The connection deepens her obsession and sense of destiny to uncover the killer's identity. The visions increasingly guide her sense of location and motive.

Desperate for answers, Claire consults Dr. Silverman, a psychologist who attempts to assess her visions. The doctor diagnoses her with psychosis, suggesting her experiences are products of mental illness. Claire remains convinced that her visions point to a real killer and a real plan to stop him.

The strain culminates in Claire slitting her wrists, which leads to her commitment to a psychiatric institution. Even in confinement, she endures visions of Vivian murdering Paul, threatening her already frayed sanity. The line between diagnosis and reality continues to blur.

A renewed vision spurs Claire to escape the institution, stealing a security guard's vehicle to pursue the killer. She drives toward the lake, determined to prevent any more victims from being claimed.

Claire arrives at an abandoned fruit factory along the lake and discovers Vivian has kidnapped Ruby, a young girl, along with other victims. Vivian reveals his ritual of making girls his 'playmates' and grows enraged when they resist. The confrontation shifts from pursuit to a hostage ordeal.

Police converge on the factory, initiating a tense standoff as Vivian holds Claire at gunpoint. A helicopter and SWAT team attempt to take him down, while Claire tries to use the moment to break free. The danger escalates as the situation teeters on a knife-edge.

Vivian and Claire race across a bridge spanning a tributary, with Vivian chasing Claire and both teetering over the guardrail. In the water below, Claire experiences a vision of reuniting with her daughter before she finally drowns. The killer survives the fall, leaving the threat unresolved for the moment.

Vivian survives the fall and is remanded to the same psychiatric institute where Claire had been housed. He is haunted by nightmares of Claire's spirit and is tormented by the cryptic message she left behind. The hospital becomes his final sanctuary from justice.

Back in his hospital bed, Vivian experiences horrific visions of Claire's spirit watching over him. The phrase 'Sweet dreams, Vivian' is scrawled in blood on the ceiling and walls, a chilling omen that his crimes will not be forgotten. He screams in horror as the power of Claire's perception lingers.