The film is directed by Larry Cohen and stars Eric Bogosian as Christopher Neville, the narcissistic director who will stop at nothing to make his movie, including killing an actress named Andrea (played by Zoe Lund). Neville convinces her husband, Roland (played by Brad Rijn), that he's innocent and offers him the lead role in the film. Meanwhile, Neville finds a lookalike named Elaine (played by Lund again) to play Andrea in the movie-within-a-movie.
As filming begins, Roland must confront the truth about his wife's death while trying to act within Neville's twisted world. He becomes involved with a compassionate production assistant (played by Helen Lloyd Breed), who helps him uncover the truth about Neville's crimes. But Neville's grip on reality begins to slip, and the climax of the film involves a showdown between the director and his actors on the set of the film.
Special Effects is known for its dark sense of humor and biting satire of Hollywood and the film industry. It also features self-reflexive elements, as it is a movie about a movie being made, which blurs the line between reality and fiction.