Movie Review: ‘The Clovehitch Killer’

Review by Caitlin Zeigler

Tyler (Charlie Plummer) is a boy scout in a small Christian community. His father, Don (Dylan McDermott), is the leader of the scouts. Every year the town celebrates the anniversary of the victims lost to a serial killer, who has never been caught. After Tyler finds disturbing pictures that belongs to his father, he starts to question if his father might possibly be the serial killer that was never caught. Tyler befriends the town outcast, Kassi (Madisen Beaty), who is obsessed with finding out everything that has to do with the killings. She also believes that the ‘Clovehitch Killer’ has killed more people than reported. People in town treat Kassi differently, but she’s obsessed with the Clovehitch Killer for personal reasons.

When Tyler tells Kassi that he thinks his dad is the killer, she doesn’t believe him at first. However, she has access to evidence and she starts to question if Don is the Clovehitch killer; at the same time Don has convinced Tyler that it was Tyler’s uncle that was the killer. When Don sends Tyler to a boy scout camp and his wife and daughter Cindy (Samantha Mathis) and Susie (Brenna Sherman) go to visit Cindy’s mother, Don decides to go back into his old sinister lifestyle. It’s up to Tyler and Kassi to stop anyone else from becoming a victim.

This film kind of drags, but it’s a good and creepy movie with a lot of skewed Christian values thrown in. It shows how some people act like they follow their Christian values and are committing terrible sins. It’s kind of weird to see a serial killer take a break and try to get back into things, even though he’s older and out of shape. The ending threw me off a little bit, but I guess Tyler and Kassi thought that the way they handled things was the best way to do it. This movie is worth the watch and it’s almost laughable watching Don find out he’s probably too out of shape to be a serial killer again.