First Kill 2017

Wall Street broker Will Beeman (Hayden Christensen) has been struggling to be present for his wife Laura (Megan Leonard) and their son Danny (Ty Shelton). After hearing that Danny has been bullied at school, Will decides to take the family back to his hometown of Granville, Ohio, in hopes of reconnecting and rebuilding their bond. In Granville, he runs into Police Chief Marvin Howell (Bruce Willis), a longtime family friend who knew Will’s father and once dated Will’s aunt Dottie (Deb G. Girdler). Howell warns him to stay alert after learning about a recent bank robbery in which several million dollars vanished, setting a tense mood for what is to come.

During a hunting lesson with Danny, the pair witness a dangerous exchange at a rural shooting station: one man holds another at gunpoint, pressing for information about a money drop gone wrong. The unarmed man, Levi Barrett (Gethin Anthony), is shot in the shoulder after he throws a key toward Will’s position. Danny’s startled gasp draws the gunman’s attention, and the gunman opens fire on Will. In self-defense, Will fires back, killing the attacker and discovering a concealed police badge on the corpse, a troubling clue that the gunman was a police officer who had failed to identify himself.

The wounded man regains consciousness and abruptly takes Danny hostage at knifepoint, demanding Will retrieve the discarded key in exchange for Danny’s safety. As Will and the gunman race to recover the key, they are interrupted by a uniformed officer, Richie Stechel (William DeMeo), who opens fire on both of them. The gunman instructs Will to meet him at a bulletin board after the key is retrieved, then escapes with Will’s car and Danny. Night falls, and Will corners Richie, subdues him, and leaves him handcuffed to a tree, then proceeds to the bulletin board for further instructions.

What follows unfolds as a web of secrets. Howell reveals that the gunman’s name is Levi Barrett, and that the dead officer was Richie’s brother, Charlie Stechel (Shea Buckner). Levi’s motive centers on a plan to help Adele (Magi Avila), Levi’s girlfriend, whose cancer-stricken mother is Mabel Fantion. A hospital-bound Mabel hands Will a map that shows the location of the post office where the stolen cash was stashed and marks an underground bunker where the exchange would take place. With the map and the key, Will unlock the mailbox containing the loot and briefly gains the upper hand, though Howell steps in to offer Will a way to recover Danny safely.

Will delivers the money to Levi and is reunited with Danny. Meanwhile, Richie abducts Laura from the family cabin and brings her to Howell’s location to use as leverage. In a brutal turn, Adele is murdered by Howell, stripping away any remaining restraint and forcing Levi to lash out. Levi fights Howell and Richie, leaving Laura with a chance to escape as Will and Danny take cover. Danny, recalling Levi’s anti-bullying wisdom from their earlier bonding over computer games, grabs a pistol from the unconscious Richie and tries to shoot Howell, but Will stops him.

The confrontation reaches its brutal climax when Howell reveals that he murdered Will’s father years earlier. Levi uses the distraction to keep Howell occupied, and Laura seizes the moment to dive for safety. Will uses the opportunity to shoot Howell in the head, ending the direct threat. Levi dies from his injuries shortly afterward, and the news cycle circles the scandal around the recovered loot. Mabel Fantion dies after Howell removes her life support, sealing Howell’s betrayal in a final, devastating turn of events. With the corrupt officers exposed and the loot recovered, the Beeman family puts the rifle away and returns home to face the ordinary, everyday life that lies beyond the danger they narrowly escaped.