A teenager’s world turns upside down when he discovers disturbing photos in his father’s things. He begins to suspect that the man he trusts the most may be a wanted serial killer. A thrilling portrait of your friendly next-door-killer. A film by Duncan Skiles, starring Dylan McDermott, Charlie Plummer, Samantha Mathis, Lance Chantiles-Wertz, and Madisen Beaty.
THE CLOVEHITCH KILLER
Duncan Skiles
(2018)
The film opens with the voice of protagonist Tyler Burnside (Charlie Plummer) narrating how, before he was born, his town was terrorized by a series of murders. The killer became known as the Clovehitch Killer, named after the distinctive knots he used to bind his female victims before killing them.
This serial killer murdered 10 women according to police records, but then the killings suddenly stopped for no apparent reason. Despite a decade passing, the killer was never caught.
One night, Tyler sneaks out with his father’s pickup truck and discovers a photograph of a young woman tied up with rope. This discovery makes him begin to suspect his own father Don (Dylan McDermott), who has been exhibiting strange behavior, like keeping a locked storage room that only he knows the combination to.
When Tyler gets the chance, he sneaks into the storage room and discovers a box hidden beneath the wooden floorboards. Inside, he finds bondage magazines and Polaroid photographs of women tied up with rope. One photo has writing on it that says “Nora — Lucky’s favorite.”
Filled with suspicion, he secretly searches the name online and discovers that a woman named Nora Devlin was one of the Clovehitch Killer’s victims. This discovery leads Tyler to believe that his father might be the serial killer who disappeared 10 years ago.
Directed by American filmmaker Duncan Skiles in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Christopher Ford, THE CLOVEHITCH KILLER is a thriller film inspired by the story of real-life serial killer, the BTK Killer.
The BTK Killer was Dennis Lynn Rader, an American serial killer who murdered at least ten people in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. His nickname, BTK, stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill,” describing his method of attacking victims by binding, torturing, and strangling them, often in their homes. Rader terrorized the area for decades, initially killing four members of the Otero family in 1974 and continuing with other victims over the years. He gained notoriety by sending taunting letters to the police and media describing his crimes. After a long break starting in 1979, he resumed communication in 2004, which eventually led to his arrest in 2005. Despite living a seemingly normal life as a family man, churchgoer, and Boy Scout leader, Rader hid his violent crimes for years. He pleaded guilty and is now serving ten consecutive life sentences in a Kansas prison.
I usually enjoy films in this genre, but unfortunately this one has a weak and rather drawn-out script. Apart from revealing the killer’s identity from the very beginning, the villain’s behavior seems far too normal (this isn’t Dexter). The film never offers a believable explanation for why he stopped killing for a decade, only to suddenly start again.
There’s also a contradiction between his supposed abilities (skilled enough that police couldn’t find gather enough evidence to arrest him for a decad) and his surprisingly sloppy downfall. The ending feels underwhelming as it lacks clarity, leaving viewers to figure out what actually happened on their own.
THE CLOVEHITCH KILLER premiered premiered at LA Film Festival on 22 September 2018. The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 16 November.
