Fred Madison (Bill Pullman) a Los Angeles saxophonist receives a massage on the intercom of his house from an unknown who says: Dick Laurent is dead During a break at a show one night Fred calls his home but his wife Renée (Patricia Arquette) does not answer any of the home's ringing telephones Arriving home later Fred finds her sleeping in their bed The next morning Renée finds a VHS tape on their contains a videotape of their house Afler having sex one night Fred sees Renée's face as that of a pale old man then tells Reneé of a dream he had about someone resembling her being attacked As the days pass more tapes arrive showing the interior of their house and even shots of the pair asleep in bad Fred and Renée call the police but the detectives they send over offer no assistance.