Ghost Image(2007)

SHORT VERSION
The politician had nothing to do with Wade’s murder. Jennifer’s friend Alicia is the killer. She cut the brakes on Jennifer’s car to kill her so she could get back together with Wade, but he was killed when he drove her car instead of his. Alicia later kills Jennifer after she sees the video of Alicia wearing the raincoat the killer was wearing, revealing her identity.

LONG VERSION
Jennifer Zellan (Elisabeth Rohm) and her boyfriend Wade Monroe are filmmakers who are shooting a documentary on a local politician. Wade shoots some video of the politician, and that night uses the same camera to shoot video of a party he and Jennifer are hosting. The next day, Wade is killed in a car accident. Jennifer sees a tape that Wade left for her the morning he died and plays it. On the tape, Wade tells her he loves her and will be back later in the day with a surprise. When Jennifer watches it again, it changes. It now shows Wade talking directly to Jennifer, telling her she is still in danger. The police detectives who are investigating Wade’s accident learn that the brakes on the car were intentionally cut, making this a homicide. What makes this more unusual is that Wade was driving Jennifer’s car, not his. During this time, Jennifer sees a man begin to follow her.

Throughout the movie, Jennifer rewatches the tape again and again, and is able to communicate with Wade. However, her friends think that she is cracking up due to Wade’s death, and suggest she get help. Through Wade, Jennifer learns that he had taken video of the politician accepting a bribe, and that he may be behind Wade’s death. He may also be involved with the person that is stalking her. She also finds the engagement ring that Wade was going to surprise her with. Since she didn’t know about either of these things, she thinks this will prove to everyone she is talking to Wade from the other side. As the police continue their investigation, they find survellience video of a woman in a raincoat coming out of their garage with wire cutters and dumping it in the trash. The police find the cutters, and determine they were used to cut the brake lines. The raincoat belongs to Jennifer, and this evidence, along with her unusual behavior, lead the police to accuse Jennifer of killing Wade.

Jennifer, now on the run from the cops, returns to her apartment to talk to Wade. Her friend Tucker, who is also her attorney, is outside waiting for her to return and sees her. When Tucker knocks on her door, the stalker knocks him out and attacks her. During their struggle, she gets Tucker’s concealed handgun and kills the stalker just as the police arrive to arrest her. Because the alleged stalker has been found, the police now believe Jennifer’s story about the stalker and no longer consider her a suspect. The stalker is ID’d as an employee of the politician, and the detectives question the politician’s assistant. He admits to hiring the man to follow Jennifer in order to get the tape, but not to harm either her or Wade. He also provides an alibi for the stalker at the time the brakes were cut, meaning he is not the killer.

Jennifer watches Wade’s tape once again, and he tells her he must go. But before he leaves, he tells her to watch the party video. She does, and sees her friend Alicia (Stacey Dash) leave and return to the party wearing her raincoat. Just then, Alicia arrives to consol Jennifer about everything that has happened, but she also sees the video and realizes that Jennifer now knows she cut the brake lines. Alicia was Wade’s ex-girlfriend, and they remained friends, but she wanted him back. Alicia’s plan was to cut the brake lines on Jennifer’s car, and after she was killed, Wade and her could get back together. But the plan was ruined when Wade took Jennifer’s car to run the errand instead of his. Alicia puts some of Jennifer’s medication into her wine and makes her drink it. Jennifer calls 911 as Alicia then attacks her, but Jennifer eventually collapses and dies. As the police and her friends arrive, one of her other friends finds Wade’s camera and realizes it was recording. They play back the tape and see Alicia admit to the plan and killing Jennifer. Alicia is arrested as the movie ends.