The Horror Show
The Clovehitch Killer
by Duncan Skiles
Personally, hearing about a movie that features the story of a murderer really tapped into my appetite for watching what new, or at least refreshing, things the serial-killer sub-genre has to offer. But in order to manage any expectations, for a horror movie that toys with the idea of a murderer’s killing spree, The Clovehitch Killer is not the one to amaze with its graphic depiction of manslaughter. If anything, there is none.
The Clovehitch Killer tries to take the horror as well as the drama-chiller route, putting the focus on everything surrounding a killer and not on the killings alone. Skiles’s story follows Tyler (Charlie Plummer), a young boy terrified by the thought that his father might have a sinister secret life. Set in a small Kentucky town, where a wave of serial murders spread terror over a decade ago, we get to witness Tyler’s emotional journey, wrestling with denial and slowly realizing that his father is indeed the notorious serial killer who shocked an entire town with his murders.
Undeniably, making a horror movie without actually showing any murders, screaming, or jump scares is quite risky. But, at the end of the day, The Clovehitch Killer is a story worth telling. Not because it is based on gore, not because it features a crazy amount of slaughters, but because it triggers tension through other means. Skiles clearly went for a different kind of suspense — the quiet, gloomy kind deriving from the realization that a parent has a truly dark, evil side.
Even though it has some obvious elements of horror and the premise is, in fact, based on the sinister journey of a serial killer, Duncan Skiles delivers a stronger proposition by highlighting the agony of the serial killer’s son rather than the actual slaughter caused by a murderer; which is quite refreshing for a change.
Maria Kriva, HMS
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