A banal American small town struggles to forget a series of killings ten years ago in which each victim was tied with a clovehitch knot. The intrigue starts when one young man (Charlie Plummer) from a staunchly Christian family begins to suspect that the title murderer is his dad (Dylan McDermott), a pillar of the community (and BTW a scoutmaster), who may be preparing to strike again.
As serial killer movies go, this one admirably tones down the sadism and violence, and builds suspense on atmosphere rather than actions. It’s scary, intelligent and subversive, and Plummer (Lean on Pete) is particularly good. Loved the clever, expectations-confounding coda, which is not how you thought things would be wound up. (109 min)
