Dark Netflix Serial Killer Thriller Inspired By True Events Is Truly The Stuff Of Nightmares

The Clovehitch Killer is the story of a small community that is still searching for a serial killer who tied up and brutally murdered 10 women. After a decade of inactivity, the identity of the man responsible is still questioned by locals, some of whom consider themselves “experts” on the still open investigation.

The Clovehitch Killer sees 16-year-old Tyler Burnside (Charlie Plummer) finding a photo of a bound woman in between the seats of his dad’s (Dylan McDermott) pickup truck one night when the teenager is on a date with another student. Tyler’s date sees it, too, and word quickly spreads around their high school and church and make the young man out to be a fetishist. Now ostracized for a photograph that isn’t his, Tyler begins to suspect that, since the photo was found in his dad’s vehicle, that his dad might be the dormant serial killer.

With the help of a local “expert” on the Clovehitch Killer named Kassie (Madisen Beaty), Tyler discovers a significant amount of bondage magazines, more Polaroids of bound women, and a hidden box with the state identifications of multiple murder victims. As the movie moves forward, viewers are left guessing whether or not Tyler’s dad is really the killer or if the story he tells Tyler about his incapacitated uncle is the real and awful truth.

The Clovehitch Killer was inspired by Dennis Rader, a serial murderer that claimed the lives of at least 10 victims between 1974 and 1991. Working under the self-given moniker BTK (bind, torture, kill), Rader would secure his victims with ropes or pantyhose before assaulting and ultimately suffocating or strangling them to death.

The real-life “Clovehitch Killer” was brought to justice in early 2005 after he began sending local police taunting letters about the urge to kill again beginning to resurface. At some point, Rader sent messages on a computer disc. This allowed law enforcement to use the disc’s metadata to trace it to a computer that was in the church where Rader was a deacon.

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Though the victims in The Clovehitch Killer are largely described through news articles, dialogue between characters, and in the found Polaroids, these devices were more than enough to paint the picture of just how sadistic their killer was. The film does well in evoking the horror of a serial killer without needlessly capitalizing on the kills themselves. It’s storytelling on a high level and deserves praise for using everything but gore to get its point across.

The Clovehitch Killer is a slow burn with a powerful payoff, and is a must-see for any true crime fan.

For those wanting an intense thriller to round out an evening, The Clovehitch Killer is currently streaming on Netflix.