MAGIC

After Charles "Corky" Withers fails in his first attempt at professional magic, his mentor Merlin says that he needs a better gimmick. Corky comes back as a combination magician and ventriloquist with a foul-mouthed dummy named Fats, becoming a huge success. Corky's agent, Ben Greene, is on the verge of signing him for his own television show, but Corky bails for the Catskills, where he grew up, since he does not want to take the TV network's medical examination because the doctors might find out that he suffers from severe mental issues and cannot control Fats (who is a manifestation of Corky's id).

In the Catskills, Corky reunites with his high-school crush, Peggy Ann Snow, who is stuck in a passionless marriage with Duke, Corky's friend from high school. A magic trick with a deck of cards charms Peggy into thinking they are soulmates, and the pair have sex. This sparks jealousy in both Duke and Fats.

In the midst of an argument "between" Corky and Fats, Greene confronts Corky, discovering the truth about his state of mind. Greene leaves to contact doctors, but Fats convinces Corky to kill him. Corky bludgeons Greene with Fats' wooden head and then drowns him.

The next morning, Corky says that he plans to elope with Peggy and leave the dummy behind. Suspecting his wife has cheated on him, Duke talks with Corky by the lake and confides that he loves Peggy and is worried about losing her. Duke suddenly spots the unconscious body of a man on the edge of the lake and goes to check him for an ID. Believing he could still be alive, Corky is sent to get help while Duke administers the "kiss of life".

Curious, Duke searches Corky's cabin. He discovers that the drowned man was Corky's agent, Greene, and is stabbed to death by Fats with "help" from Corky.

Corky composes himself and persuades Peggy to run away with him, but she insists on waiting to tell Duke. Fats then "comes alive" and reveals that Corky's card trick is a ruse he uses to seduce women. Peggy sees it as Corky humiliating her and rejects him, locking herself in her bedroom. Fats orders Corky to kill Peggy.

Corky, using Fats' voice, apologizes to Peggy through her locked door and leaves her a wooden heart that he carved. A short while later, he returns with a bloodstained knife. Fats seems pleased until he learns that Corky fatally stabbed himself to prevent further murders by Fats. Corky and Fats each feel faint, wondering which of them will die first. Moments later, Peggy returns to the cabin, happily calling out that she has changed her mind and decided to run away with Corky. As she speaks, she playfully changes her voice to impersonate Fats, tossing the wooden heart in the air.

Corky's mental breakdown culminates in a violent and tragic confrontation where the lines between himself and Fats fatally blur.

The ending underscores the devastating consequences of untreated psychological disorder as Corky's split with reality becomes irreversible. Fats, as the embodiment of Corky's darkest impulses, ultimately dominates him, leaving the audience with a chilling reflection on obsession, identity, and loss of self.