Night Visions

Ray sits in a club, his jealousy boiling as Aura dances with other men. He angrily pulls her off the floor, sparking a brief fight. Aura storms out and takes the car home, leaving Ray fuming.

Later, in the parking lot, Aura is choked to death with a hose. The killer leaves her body on the ground with her legs spread apart.

The papers report that the 'Spread-Eagle Killer' has struck a fourth time and Ray is brought in for questioning. Sergeant Thomas Mackey conducts the interrogation roughly, testing his nerves and instincts.

The extremely intuitive Dr. Sally Powers, a specialist in criminal psychopathology, is brought in to help understand the killer's mind. Mackey is allowed to forego a ten-day suspension and to continue to work on the case if he agrees to supervise Powers.

At the scene of the next murder, Powers writhes on the floor inside the tape outline of the victim and declares that the victim was raped. Her claim reinforces the killer's predatory profile and foreshadows deeper trauma.

That night in bed, Powers relives a murder she survived as a child. The experience underscores how her mind fragments into other personalities as a defense.

The next morning, Powers is called to the station to meet with the captain, but a stronger instinct drives her to a health club. Her hunch sets in motion her hands-on involvement in the investigation.

Inside the health club, she emulates the instructors' behavior to take over a class when the next body is found in another room. The display of imitation convinces Mackey of Powers's talent for reading killers' minds.

After an argument with Mackey, Powers predicts the next location will be a biker bar. Her insight showcases her evolving psychological approach to the case.

Mackey follows her to a back room in the biker bar and finds her with a knife in her hand beside a freshly murdered woman. The victim was not stabbed; instead, the blows from a blunt object left the body damaged.

Mackey apologizes to Powers at a diner, and he witnesses her imitate the waitress's mannerisms. The moment highlights her uncanny ability to adopt other personas.

Powers begins to think like the killer, encouraged by Mackey, but the realization frightens her and she runs away. The line between observer and participant grows dangerously thin.

The commissioner explains to Mackey that Powers is the survivor of an attack on her family, which forced her to retreat into other personalities. This history explains her dissociative tendencies and the danger of powerful empathy with the killer.

Powers maps the murders on a diagram inspired by Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and concludes that the killer is assembling a 'perfect' woman. Her analysis crystallizes the pattern and motive driving the crimes.

Powers corners the killer at the rooftop for a final confrontation with Mackey. The killer tries to murder them but ends up falling to his death, bringing the case to a dramatic close.