Dylan McDermott played wacky airline pilot Captain Dave on the Fox series "LA to Vegas" with such abandon he could have set himself up for the same acting trajectory that took Leslie Nielsen from drama to comedy. Nielsen was a respected dramatic actor until starring in the absurd comedy "Airplane!" and from that point on the dramatic roles were scarce.
McDermott has found a way to keep his dramatic abilities just as much in focus. In "The Clovehitch Killer," he plays Don Burnside, a man who appears to be the perfect father, husband and leader of a Boy Scout-like group. For a major part of the movie, it's a huge question as to whether he's the hero or villain of the tale, written by Christopher Ford ("Spider-Man: Homecoming") and directed by Duncan Skiles.
The story unfolds in a small Kentucky town that survived a series of murders 10 years ago by someone who became known as "Clovehitch" because a clove hitch knot to bind his victims. Tyler Burnside (Charlie Plummer), a member of his father's troop and volunteer at his local church, has his world torn apart when a photo of a woman who has been bound and gagged is found in his truck. He begins to have questions about his father.
Discovery of a cache of disturbing images in his father's possession coupled with the unrelenting effort by Kassi (Madisen Beaty) to solve the mystery forces Tyler to face painfully serious questions about family and loyalty. Even when the answer seems clear, McDermott turns on the fatherly role to keep the answers muddled.
The way Ford has written "The Clovehitch Killer" is to make it two distinct movies with the first half as creepy and disturbing as any horror film released in recent years. It is one thing to try to create scares with fantastic creatures, but there is nothing as chilling as wondering if someone as important as a father could be hiding a dark side.
McDermott handles the ambiguity with so much skill that if the production had ended in the middle, his guilt or innocence would be a massive debate. Just the potential of him being such a horrific person makes even the most mundane family moment terrifying.
Plummer is equally as good as a young man who has obviously looked up to his father all his life while dealing with the potential darkness that would have made all that affection a complicated lie. Unlike many films where young people seem wise beyond their years, Plummer mixes confused uncertainty with the love of his father to create a complicated character.
"The Clovehitch Killer" loses steam when the truth behind the killings is revealed. Ford came up with an interesting twist, but once the uncertainty has gone, the story shifts into neutral and coasts to the ending.
Even after the reveal there are a few terrifying moments. In one scene, Clovehitch is standing over his next victim as she sleeps peacefully on the couch in her own home. Skiles doesn't rush the scene, but allows the camera to linger.
Even with a weaker second half, "The Clovehitch Killer" accomplishes what many horror films fail to do. This is a movie that creates fear out of creepy moments and by playing on the natural desire of wanting to feel safe with family. There's no need for blood or excessive acts of violence when the scares are this unsettling.
McDermott shows with "The Clovehitch Killer" and "LA to Vegas" he's equally skilled at both drama and comedy. As long as he keeps doing both with such command, he shouldn't hesitate bouncing back and forth between the genres.
