Parents' Guide to

The Clovehitch Killer

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Boy senses his dad is a serial killer; sexualized violence.

Movie NR 2018 109 minutes
The Clovehitch Killer Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

A small Kentucky town vividly remembers being terrified years back when THE CLOVEHITCH KILLER was on his 13-victim killing spree, a spree that mercifully stopped ten years before. Earnest Boy Scout Tyler (Charlie Plummer) comes to suspect that his dad, Donald (Dylan McDermott), Scout leader, churchgoer, and grace-saying community leader, is a ruthless, perverse killer of innocent women. Tyler soon discovers his dad has a hidden cache of pictures of women in bondage and, worse yet, a hidden collection of the victims' driver's licenses. Smooth-talking Donald claims Tyler's paraplegic uncle was the killer. Speechless and confined to a wheelchair, he's already been punished enough, Donald argues. Why bring shame on the family by going to the police? Tyler wants to believe and, ever loyal to the family, he keeps the secret. But his friend and neighbor Kassi (Madisen Beaty), a girl with a personal connection to the Clovehitch murders, is skeptical. Together they secretly track Donald as he plots a new attack.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (3):

This movie grabs you right away, giving us a 16-year-old narrator who has skills of observation, meticulousness, self reliance, and preparedness, as instilled in him by his Scout leader dad. Telling the story from the point of view of a naïve observer following his suspicions is a clever conceit, and leaves us rooting for a confused boy and also concerned for his safety.

Performances by Plummer and McDermott are excellent and go a long way toward helping us forget the gaping holes in the movie's otherwise-absorbing narrative. A crime victim has the opportunity to call the police but doesn't. A witness also has the chance but doesn't. Finally, the movie doesn't do much to explain why it's better to take punishment of a criminal into one's own hands rather than to turn that criminal over to the authorities. Still, older teens who can handle the mature content are likely to be sucked into the story.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what a teen can do when he or she discovers a parent is behaving badly or illegally. What do you think of the way Tyler handled his discovery?

  • Instead of being remorseful when caught, Donald scolds his son for breaking family rules. What does this show us about Donald? Do you think he'll ever admit his wrongs and take responsibility for his actions? Why or why not?

  • How do you think it affects a child to learn a respected parent is a perpetrator of heinous crimes?

Movie Details

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