Taffin

Taffin

Year: 1988

Runtime: 96 mins

Language: English

Director: Francis Megahy

ActionThriller

He didn’t get mad… He got even. When a small Irish town is terrorized by a corrupt business syndicate, a lone hero wages an all out war.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Taffin yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Taffin (1988) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Taffin (1988), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

Mark Taffin, Pierce Brosnan a debt collector in the small town of Ballymoran, uses his smarts and martial arts to help locals reclaim what they are owed. He beats up a restaurant owner to collect a debt, and he helps a trio of young men who have been sold a faulty van. He also helps Charlotte, a local barmaid, Alison Doody, who is having trouble with her employer, and the two become involved in each other’s lives as the town’s problems grow deeper.

Through his investigations, Taffin uncovers a deeper conspiracy: councillor Gibson, Jonathan Ryan, is conspiring with landowner Henderson, Liam O’Callaghan, to obscure who owns the meadow so the local sports field will be sold off instead of the meadow itself, paving the way for a chemical plant. Taffin confronts Gibson, but cannot move the system, until he intimidates Henderson by blowing up his outhouse, setting off a chain of retaliations that spread beyond his initial skirmishes.

The corrupt business group backing the chemical plant hires thugs, including Conway, Jim Bartley, to intimidate the townspeople. The thugs beat up Taffin, who withdraws from town and chastises Charlotte for wishing he could do more for the world, until Conway and his men beat up Taffin’s brother, Mo, Patrick Bergin. This brutal blow hardens Taffin’s resolve and pulls him back into the fight.

The trio of young men who aided Taffin, along with Taffin’s friend Ed, Gerard McSorley, help him take down two of Conway’s thugs, and Taffin himself defeats Conway after a high-stakes car chase between Conway’s Jaguar and Taffin’s red Ford Mustang through winding rural roads. When one of the syndicate’s operatives, Mr. Martin, is accused of rape by Charlotte at Taffin’s urging, Taffin uses the situation to blackmail Martin into halting the building of the chemical plant, pressing his leverage to a breaking point.

Yet the plan seems to be working only briefly, because the head of the syndicate, Sprawley, Alan Stanford, hires a hitman named Deacon, Ronan Wilmot, who sets fire to Martin’s house, killing him and his wife and framing Taffin for the crime. With the town’s faith in him eroding, Taffin faces a rising mob mentality as the townspeople turn on him, just as he warned they would.

Sprawley then orders Deacon to finish the job—killing Mark Taffin. Taffin attempts to flee the town to find Sprawley, but Deacon catches up with him and enlists Conway to hold Taffin hostage in his car, forcing him to follow to a remote spot where he can be killed. In a final confrontation, Taffin overpowers his captors, shooting both Deacon and Conway dead; a distant shot shows his car exploding, and Taffin is presumed dead.

Charlotte’s anger at the townspeople’s cowardice echoes as she contemplates leaving the country, but Taffin, masquerading as Deacon, tracks Sprawley to a deserted beach in Dublin, where he shoots Sprawley when he refuses and pulls a gun on him. As Charlotte queues to leave, Taffin appears behind her and delivers a chilling, knowing line that lingers in the air: >Be cool, Charlotte. Be cool.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:35

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Small Town Vigilante Movies like Taffin

A lone protector unleashes brutal violence against the local corruption crushing their community.If you enjoyed Taffin's story of a lone fighter taking on a corrupt syndicate, you'll find similar movies here. These gritty action thrillers feature protagonists pushed to the edge, using brutal vigilante justice to clean up a town too scared or complicit to fight back.

vengefulgrittyoppressiveviolentdeterminedunrelentingcorrupt

Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a straightforward, escalating conflict. After an initial injustice, the protagonist attempts to fight back within the system, fails, and is forced to operate outside the law. The story is a series of increasingly violent retaliations, culminating in a final, destructive confrontation that leaves the town scarred but free.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here based on their shared theme of local corruption, the archetype of the isolated vigilante, and the specific setting of a small community where everyone knows each other, making the betrayal and conflict feel intensely personal.

Bittersweet Action Thrillers like Taffin

Violent revenge stories where victory is achieved but comes at a heavy, sobering cost.Find more movies like Taffin that deliver intense, fast-paced action but conclude with a bittersweet or heavy feeling. These stories focus on revenge and justice where the hero wins the fight but loses a part of themselves, leaving the audience with a sense of grim satisfaction rather than pure triumph.

intensevengefulgrimheavyviolentcatharticsomber

Narrative Summary

The narrative is a linear, high-stakes escalation of conflict driven by revenge. The pacing is relentless, with little downtime between action set pieces. The emotional journey is heavy, dealing with themes of loss and moral compromise. The climax provides catharsis through the antagonist's defeat, but the resolution acknowledges the destruction and personal cost, resulting in a somber, rather than joyful, ending.

Why These Movies?

These movies are united by their specific emotional mix: the adrenaline of high-intensity action combined with the emotional weight of a story where victory feels pyrrhic. The similarity lies in the consistent tone and the specific feeling of the ending.

Unlock the Full Story of Taffin

Don't stop at just watching — explore Taffin in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Taffin is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Taffin Timeline

Track the full timeline of Taffin with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Taffin Timeline

Characters, Settings & Themes in Taffin

Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Taffin. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.

Characters, Settings & Themes in Taffin

Taffin Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Taffin that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Taffin Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Taffin

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Taffin: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Taffin

Similar Movies to Taffin

Discover movies like Taffin that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.