Maxie

Nick and Jan move into an old San Francisco apartment and peel back layers of wallpaper. They uncover a message: 'Maxie Malone lived here! Read it, and weep!' The note hints at a vanished 1920s star and sets a curious, eerie mood for what lies ahead.

The upstairs landlady explains Maxie Malone's backstory: a brash, young party girl who died in a car crash the morning of her Hollywood audition. She warns that Maxie's spirit lingers and may cause trouble. The tale adds a melancholy gravity to the haunting.

Nick digs up Maxie's sole film and watches it with Jan. The short clip shows Maxie's vibrant, reckless energy, as if she never really left the living world. The discovery plants the first tangible link between the past star and the present couple.

While preparing for bed, Nick hears a voice urging him to replay the film piece. At first he assumes it belongs to Jan, but the voice materializes as Maxie herself. He repeats the performance, and Maxie briefly reappears before vanishing again, leaving Nick unsettled yet intrigued.

The next day at work, Nick's boss invites him and Jan to a glamorous party. Jan feels nervous about entering high society, while the lingering Maxie influence hints at something more than a simple invitation. The social event becomes a doorway for Maxie's presence to surface.

During the party, 'Jan' is overtaken by Maxie and behaves very differently from her usual self. The possessed woman drinks freely, flirts with the men, and sings a vampy rendition of the era's charm. The performance starkly demonstrates Maxie's enduring, rebellious spirit.

Drunk and daring, Maxie-possessed Jan and Nick break into an amusement park and share a reckless kiss on a carousel. A policeman catches them, but Nick improvises an explanation and they are let go. The sequence emphasizes the crossing of boundaries between worlds and consequences in the waking world.

Realizing the possession must end so Jan can resume her life, they search for a remedy. The path leads toward an audition that could determine Maxie's fate. The pursuit becomes both practical and emotional, as Jan's autonomy hangs in the balance.

At the lead Cleopatra audition, Maxie takes over again and wows the room, performing with irresistible Hollywood verve. Harry Hamlin appears as himself, adding to the spectacle. The triumph marks Maxie's temporary rebirth as a celebrated star and brings Jan closer to reclaiming her own life.

With the audition complete, Maxie moves on in the afterlife, leaving Jan freer and more at ease expressing her own sexuality. The partnership between the two resolves into a liberating coexistence that empowers Jan. The ending frames Maxie's spirit as a transformative influence rather than a trap.

The old apartment feels lighter as Maxie's feminine energy closes its loop. Jan embraces a new confidence in living authentically, while Nick learns to accept the spectral presence as part of their shared life. The film ends on a note of renewal rather than tragedy.