"Black Widow Killer" is set in a quaint town that the filmmakers use extensively for footage of old brick buildings and snowy cityscapes. It could easily be the setting for Thornton Wilder's "Our Town." But the confluence of events all lead back to a fateful and tragic encounter on the majestic Old Stone Bridge.
Twenty-five years in the past, Jason Alexander Hall was driving too fast, and he rear-ended a vehicle stalled on the bridge. A human life was cut short in the figure of Kyle Hanson. A young woman named Shannon Collins was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Kyle was killed, and Shannon was sent into a coma.
The identities of all of the people in the car driven by Jason Hall are only gradually revealed in the course of the complex narrative. The focal point is the sharp-tongued attorney and deputy mayor, Judy Dwyer. Judy is in the process of getting a divorce from her husband Steven, who is the town sheriff. After both Steven and Judy's best friend Kendra are killed, it is clear that someone is out for vengeance against Judy, as well as her young daughter, Abbey.
Judy proves to be an excellent sleuth as she follows the trail of evidence to the Pine Grove Rehabilitation Center for the final piece of the puzzle. One of the most intriguing characters is the substitute teacher, Miss Alice Evans, who appears to have a little too much knowledge of the history of the Old Stone Bridge accident. The only shortcoming of the screenplay was the implausible decision to arrest Daniel, an unprepossessing teenager for the death of his mother Kendra.
The performances were first-rate, and the film really captured the stultifying environment of a small town where memories are long and the secrets of a hidden past run deep.
Twenty-five years in the past, Jason Alexander Hall was driving too fast, and he rear-ended a vehicle stalled on the bridge. A human life was cut short in the figure of Kyle Hanson. A young woman named Shannon Collins was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Kyle was killed, and Shannon was sent into a coma.
The identities of all of the people in the car driven by Jason Hall are only gradually revealed in the course of the complex narrative. The focal point is the sharp-tongued attorney and deputy mayor, Judy Dwyer. Judy is in the process of getting a divorce from her husband Steven, who is the town sheriff. After both Steven and Judy's best friend Kendra are killed, it is clear that someone is out for vengeance against Judy, as well as her young daughter, Abbey.
Judy proves to be an excellent sleuth as she follows the trail of evidence to the Pine Grove Rehabilitation Center for the final piece of the puzzle. One of the most intriguing characters is the substitute teacher, Miss Alice Evans, who appears to have a little too much knowledge of the history of the Old Stone Bridge accident. The only shortcoming of the screenplay was the implausible decision to arrest Daniel, an unprepossessing teenager for the death of his mother Kendra.
The performances were first-rate, and the film really captured the stultifying environment of a small town where memories are long and the secrets of a hidden past run deep.