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The Clovehitch Killer

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The Clovehitch Killer
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDuncan Skiles
Written byChristopher Ford
Produced by
  • Andrew Kortschak
  • Cody Ryder
  • Walter Kortschak
Starring
CinematographyLuke McCoubrey
Edited byMegan Brooks
Andrew Hasse
Music byMatt Veligdan
Production
company
End Cue
Distributed byIFC Midnight
Release dates
  • September 22, 2018 (2018-09-22) (LAFF)
  • November 16, 2018 (2018-11-16) (United States)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Clovehitch Killer is a 2018 American coming-of-age[1] thriller film, directed by Duncan Skiles in his directorial debut and written by Christopher Ford. It stars Dylan McDermott, Charlie Plummer, Samantha Mathis, and Madisen Beaty. The film was mostly inspired by the story of real life serial killer Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK Killer.[2]

It premiered at LA Film Festival, on September 22, 2018,[3] and it received a limited theatrical release, on November 16, 2018, distributed by IFC Midnight.

Plot

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16-year-old Tyler Burnside lives with his Christian family in a small Kentucky town. The town and its residents are haunted by the memory of the Clovehitch Killer, an infamous serial killer who bound and strangled ten known female victims before disappearing ten years earlier.[4]

One night, Tyler takes his father's truck to see a girl, who finds a bondage photograph between the seats. When word of the photo spreads among teenagers in Tyler's church and scout troop, they ostracize him, believing him to be a BDSM fetishist. Tyler, meanwhile, begins to wonder if his father, family man and community leader Don Burnside, has a connection to the Clovehitch Killer. Investigating Don's private shed, Tyler finds a hidden compartment containing bondage magazines, along with a Polaroid photo of a beaten and bound woman.

Suspecting his father might be the killer, Tyler approaches Kassi, an outcast and amateur Clovehitch historian, and asks for help. They link the photo to a known Clovehitch victim and later uncover blueprints of a BDSM dungeon in the shed. Exploring his house's crawl space, Tyler finds a box containing the driver's licenses of the ten Clovehitch victims and three other women, as well as more Polaroid photos of beaten and bound women.

Don, now suspicious of Tyler's behavior, takes him camping. To explain the evidence Tyler had uncovered, Don says that the Clovehitch Killer was Tyler's vegetative uncle Rudy, who became paralyzed after the guilt drove him to a suicide attempt. Don says he kept the evidence in hopes of one day giving it to the victims' families. Tyler accepts the explanation, and the two burn all the evidence. Tyler ends the investigation, although Kassi remains unsatisfied with Don's story.

Uncharacteristically, Don allows Tyler to attend a scout leadership camp, something he'd previously claimed the family had no money for. He then sends his wife and daughter to his in-laws for two weeks. Home alone, he photographs himself crossdressing in bondage positions, but angrily throws the photos away later. Kassi briefly stops by looking for Tyler, but receives a call on her cell phone and leaves.

Don then stalks a woman to her home. He breaks in when she sleeps, binds her, and begins strangling her. However, Tyler appears in the house with a rifle. A flashback reveals that Tyler never left for camp, but instead was tailing Don with Kassi. It is also revealed that Kassi's mother was one of the three unknown Clovehitch victims.

Tyler confronts his father and tries to talk him into giving himself up. Don claims that they are having an affair, with his wife's knowledge. Meanwhile, As Kassi tries to help the bound woman, Don knocks her out, then takes the gun from Tyler. He shoots Tyler, only to find the gun unloaded. As the two scuffle, Kassi awakens and knocks Don unconscious. Kassi begins to dial 9-1-1, but Tyler grabs stops her.

Later, Don has been declared missing. The family is informed by the police that Don's body has been found and his death ruled a suicide. At their church, Tyler delivers a eulogy for Don, intercut with flashbacks of him and Kassi dragging an unconscious Don into the forest to set up his death. As Don slowly woke up to Tyler pointing a pistol at his head, his expression showed approval of Tyler's actions. Tyler ends the eulogy with, "Dad, if you can hear me, I love you."

Cast

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Production

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The film is set in Kentucky where it also was shot.[5] Director Duncan Skiles took inspiration from the story of Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) serial killer.[4]

Reception

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Clovehitch Killer holds an approval rating of 79%, based on 38 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10. Its consensus reads, "The Clovehitch Killer patiently dials up the tension with a story that makes up for a lack of surprises with strong performances and a chilling wit."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59/100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[7]

The New York Times's Jeannette Catsoulis wrote, "Christopher Ford's screenplay has obvious narrative holes... and the relentless focus on mood over action can drag. Even so, McDermott is admirably unsettling, and Luke McCoubrey's artfully sterile cinematography adds an air of suffocating wholesomeness that can make you squirm."[8] Entertainment Weekly's Dana Schwartz gave the film a B+ grade, writing, "Unlike so many recent horror movies, The Clovehitch Killer is patient with its thrills, almost excruciatingly so", but added that it "falters with the character of Kassi".[9] Emily Yoshida of Vulture said that Don's character was "convincing because it's not terribly sensationalized, and the film's conclusion is similarly smart, completely pulling the rug out from under our expectations of justice and revenge."[10]

Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter called the plot "slow...more reliant on atmosphere than action to build suspense...offers an intriguing perspective on the dark side of Americans values...but lacks the conviction to entirely expose the cultural contradictions that often enable compulsive murderers...It's a missed opportunity."[11]

In a 2019 list of the 50 best serial killer movies of all time, Paste magazine ranked The Clovehitch Killer at #48, writing "This is a devilish movie that does beautifully what horror films are meant to—vex us with fear—through the most deceptively simple of means."[12] Lauded horror author Stephen King wrote about the film, calling it "an excellent small movie", "unbearably suspenseful", and "(n)ot for the faint of heart".[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Clovehitch Killer". Roger Ebert. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Is The Clovehitch Killer Based On The BTK Murders True Story?". ScreenRant. May 10, 2021. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Dennis Harvey (September 27, 2017). "Film Review: 'The Clovehitch Killer '". Variety. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Presnell, Riley (February 5, 2023). "The Terrifying True Story Behind 'The Clovehitch Killer'". Collider. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  5. ^ Spencer, Dave (October 23, 2018). "New Horror Film The Clovehitch Killer Filmed and Set in Kentucky". WBKR. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "The Clovehitch Killer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Clovehitch Killer reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  8. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (November 15, 2018). "'The Clovehitch Killer' Review: Unsolved Murders Haunt a Small Town". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  9. ^ November 15, Dana Schwartz; EST, 2018 at 07:31 PM. "'The Clovehitch Killer' is an artful, nail-biting Bible Belt thriller: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2023.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Yoshida, Emily (November 16, 2018). "The Clovehitch Killer Is a Smartly Underplayed Domestic Nightmare". Vulture. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  11. ^ Lowe, Justin (September 27, 2018). "'The Clovehitch Killer': Film Review | LAFF 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "The 50 Best Serial Killer Movies of All Time". pastemagazine.com. October 22, 2019. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  13. ^ "Stephen King Recommends "Unbearably Suspenseful" Hidden Gem on Netflix". dreadcentral.com. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
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