The Greenskeeper

Last updated
The Greenskeeper
Directed byKevin Greene
Adam Johnson
Tripp Norton
Written byKevin Greene
Alex Wier
Produced byKevin Greene
Adam Johnson
Tripp Norton
Starring Allelon Ruggiero
Christi Taylor
John Rocker
Bruce Taylor
Ron Lester
Melissa Ponzio
CinematographyMatthew MacCarthy
Edited byTripp Norton
Music by Kip Winger
Production
company
Ghostman
Release date
  • 2002 (2002)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100,000

The Greenskeeper is a 2002 slasher film starring Allelon Ruggiero. The plot centers around a mysterious killer dressed as a greenskeeper terrorizing guests at a country club birthday party.

Contents

Plot

Young Allen Anderson (Allelon Ruggiero), a struggling screenwriter is under pressure from his floozy girlfriend Mary Jane (Christi Taylor), due to his mediocre lifestyle and her big dream of earning his huge inheritance (which implies why she is dating him). While celebrating his 25th birthday, Allen is continuously haunted by strange visions of a figure engulfed in flames, a recurring theme in the film. Later in the day, Christi and some of Allen's friends and co-workers coax Allen to keep the family Golf Club open so they can throw a proper birthday party for him.

Clearly unsatisfied, Allen nonetheless invites the rookie employee Elena, whom he actually likes. Meanwhile, a patron is gruesomely murdered and Allen's uncle John (Bruce Taylor) strictly orders the corrupt police officer to keep his trap shut.

That night the party is in full swing with most of the group getting either high on drugs or drinking themselves stupid. When one of the guys is left alone in the pool with his eyes covered, a strange figure in a keeper uniform jumps in and murders him. As the night progresses more people end up dead with the only remaining victims being Elena and Allen.

Elena, after escaping the "Greenskeeper's" cottage in the woods, runs into Allen who knocks the assailant with a shovel. As the Greenskeeper utters Allen's name, John appears and shoots him in the chest. Elena discovers bitemarks on the latter's wrist and it becomes clear who the real murderer is.

It turns out that the real Greenskeeper is actually Allen's father (John Rocker), long thought dead after a mysterious explosion. Instead of killing him, Allen's father was heavily mutilated and hid out in the woods never to face humanity. Knowing this, John concocted the murders of Allen's friends in order to divert attention away from him and that with Allen gone, John would become the next heir to the golf club.

As John is about to shoot Allen, the Greenskeeper intervenes and the two get into a scuffle. During the fight Allen's father is stabbed with a sprinkler hose and John is decapitated with a propeller blade of a lawn mower by Otis, Allen's longtime mentor who survives John's murder attempt. With his dying breath, Allen's father apologises to him for the pain he caused and passes away in Elena's arms.

With the terror of the night concluded, Elena and Allen embrace each other and along with Otis, leave the murder scene as the film ends.

Cast

Reception

The Greenskeeper received mostly mixed to negative reviews. The DVD & Video Guide by Mick Martin and Marsha Porter called the film "surprisingly entertaining" and Film Threat Magazine said it was a "worthwhile excursion" while British site Popcorn Pictures said it was "wholly unoriginal but has just enough mileage in it to see itself to the end".[ citation needed ]

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