The Last Broadcast

Documentary filmmaker David Leigh begins an investigative project centered on the unsolved murders linked to the Fact or Fiction show. He aims to uncover the truth behind the killings while filming his documentary.

The show, hosted by Steven 'Johnny' Avkast and Locus Wheeler, begins as a platform for unsolved mysteries and the paranormal. Leigh notes that, as his investigation unfolds, the program is faltering and threatened with cancellation.

Avkast proposes a live Internet Relay Chat segment to broadcast the show online and in real time, expanding its reach. The idea signals a shift toward interactivity and real-time broadcast, tying the investigation to a wider audience.

A caller suggests searching for the Jersey Devil; Avkast and Wheeler recruit Rein Clackin, a sound-man capable of recording the paranormal, and Jim Suerd, a psychic. The group forms the core team for the planned field investigation.

The four men travel to the Pine Barrens, hoping Suerd can lead them to the Jersey Devil. The expedition is broadcast live across television, Internet, and amateur radio, tying the hunt to a wide audience.

During the hunt, Suerd is the sole survivor. Avkast, Wheeler, and Clackin are brutally murdered, and Avkast's body is never found, making Suerd the prime suspect in the eyes of investigators.

At the murder trial, the prosecution relies on footage compiled by a video engineer nicknamed 'The Killer Cutter' from surviving film to bolster the case against Suerd. He is found guilty despite lingering questions about evidence, including the lack of bloody clothes and Suerd's alleged online alibi.

Before any appeal could be heard, Suerd dies in prison from unknown causes, leaving the case officially closed. Observers doubt the verdict in light of his death and the unresolved questions.

Leigh receives a damaged videotape reel he initially believes to be from the Fact or Fiction team and hires Shelly Monarch, a data-retrieval expert, to reconstruct the images on the tape. The reconstruction promises new insight into the murders and the case.

Monarch's analysis uncovers that Wheeler and Clackin's murders were captured on tape and reveals a blurred image of the true killer. The evidence suggests Suerd could not have committed the crime.

The footage unexpectedly shifts to a third-person perspective, revealing Leigh as the murderer. This twist contradicts the narrative Leigh has been filming and raises questions about his reliability as a documentarian.

Leigh attacks Monarch, suffocating her with plastic sheeting in the studio. He then loads her body into his car and drives to a woods clearing to dump it, before beginning to tape himself narrating the next segment of his documentary, signaling that his project has become the killer's confession.