The plot revolves around Walter Paisley (Anthony Michael Hall), a socially awkward busboy working at the Jabberjaw, an alternative coffee house which hosts performance art, poetry readings, and live music.

While attempting to create an original sculpture, he accidentally kills his landlady's cat, and hides the dead animal by covering it in plaster and passing it off as a statue.

The cast also includes cameos by David Cross, Paul Bartel, Mink Stole, Jennifer Coolidge, and Will Ferrell, in his film debut.

At a Los Angeles coffee house called the Jabberjaw, several performance artists vie for the attention of Generation X hipsters, including Maxwell, a poet who declares that "life is nothing but a homeless traveler on the RTD of art", Mayolia, who performs monologues holding a toy monkey, Cuff and Link, a pair of sarcastic photographers who intentionally run over animals and photograph the road kill, and "Stupid Girl", who strips nude on stage while playing cello.

The experience leaves Carla mute, Leonard to burn down the Jabberjaw for insurance money and Maxwell to unsuccessfully imitate Walter's "suicide art", dying in the process.

"[2] AllMovie's Fred Beldin wrote, "Although executive producer Corman was probably pleased to see his work refashioned with the gratuitous gore and nudity he couldn't use the first time around, Death Artist is fairly pointless.