One Community, Too Many Lies

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MOVIE REVIEW
Stone Creek Killer
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Genre: Thriller, Psychological, Crime
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 36m
Director(s): Robert Enriquez
Writer(s): Clint Elliott
Cast: Clayne Crawford, Lyndon Smith, Britney Young, Adam Hicks
Where to Watch: now available via VOD, stream here: www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: There’s an undeniable thrill to watching a small-town mystery unfold slowly, letting paranoia seep into every corner. STONE CREEK KILLER leans into that feeling from its first moments, throwing us into a place that looks peaceful on the surface but carries a history that refuses to rest. The setup is simple but effective: missing girls, a police chief with a complicated past, and a psychic whose arrival unravels the illusion of safety. For a film shot in just ten days, it carries itself with confidence, even if not every moment hits the level it aims for.

Clayne Crawford steps into the role of Karl Harding with the kind of urgency that can anchor an entire story. His past roles showed what he can do with characters who sit on the edge of something dangerous, and that sensibility carries over here. He plays Karl as a man constantly on alert, someone who knows the past is never truly gone. There’s a tension to him — not explosive, but quietly coiled — and that makes him compelling even when the story doesn’t give him the space to dig in. The character’s guilt, exhaustion, and suspicion toward everything around him are present in the performance, and those qualities keep the film afloat.

The arrival of the psychic, played by Lyndon Smith, gives the film a second pulse. Her character, Meredith Wagner, could have easily been overplayed or gimmicky, but instead, she brings a grounded approach that works well with the material. The idea of psychics solving murders has been used plenty of times before, but STONE CREEK KILLER uses it less as pageantry and more as tension. Her visions act as provocation, pushing Karl toward truths he doesn’t want to face. When the two of them share scenes, the film feels alive, not because they clash, but because the dynamic forces the story into deeper territory than the conventional thriller setup initially suggests.

Robert Enriquez’s direction is straightforward, focused, and efficient. You can feel the indie sensibility guiding the choices, something he established with the film CASH FOR GOLD. The ten-day shoot becomes an advantage in certain ways; scenes play out with a stripped-back simplicity that gives the atmosphere weight without unnecessary distraction. The limitation becomes most noticeable in the film’s transitions and some of the connective tissue between moments of tension, but even when those parts feel thin, the overall tone remains consistent. Enriquez makes the most out of what he has, and that determination comes through clearly.

The missing-girl storyline is inherently intense, but the script doesn’t always give these developments enough space to land. The narrative chooses a steady pace over escalation, which fits the “slow burn” description the director mentioned, but this means the suspense sometimes loses momentum between reveals. For a story that involves psychics, guilt, memory, and a killer lurking in the shadows, a bit more urgency would have taken it further.

The supporting cast helps round out the world. Britney Young, Adam Hicks, Vincent Washington, and Andrew J. West each bring a different key to the story. While the film doesn’t dig deeply into all of their characters, they serve the story’s sense of community — the kind where closeness makes suspicion feel heavier. STONE CREEK KILLER wants you to question everyone, and the ensemble helps maintain that atmosphere.

The psychic element is one of the film’s strongest choices (which I wasn’t expecting). Meredith’s abilities operate in a restrained, unsettling way. Her presence becomes a line between the rational and the unexplained, allowing the story to explore fear without relying solely on physical threats. It adds a texture that sets the film apart from more procedural-driven thrillers. This also gives Crawford’s character more conflict; he’s forced to see past what he can control, and that tension becomes the backbone of his arc.

STONE CREEK KILLER isn’t trying to imitate the bigger-budget thrillers; it’s focused on character, mood, and the quiet unraveling of someone who can’t escape what he’s running from. For viewers who prefer thrillers that avoid showiness in favor of atmosphere and performance, this delivers enough to hold attention. It’s not the kind of film designed for explosive twists, but rather one that aims to leave you with a lingering sense of unease, the kind that small towns can hide so easily. Crawford’s commitment, Smith’s grounded presence, and Enriquez’s direction make it worth watching, especially for thriller fans who appreciate a more intimate approach. It won’t redefine the genre, but it works as a contained, character-focused mystery that knows exactly what kind of story it wants to tell.

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[photo courtesy of VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT, VRC FILMS, RED BARON FILMS]

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