The Night Brings Charlie

In the small town of Pakoe, Shannon Davis is beheaded by a killer wearing swimming goggles and a burlap sack. New sheriff Carl Carson and mortician Walt Parker begin investigating this homicide and a previous one, as the body count rises and the killer taunts the police.

As the killer taunts the police, suspicion falls on Charlie Puckett, a disfigured gardener who wears a mask similar to the killer's. Carson and Walt keep Charlie under watch as the investigation widens.

Charlie is brought in for questioning but refuses to talk. Carson seeks Walt's help, recalling their shared Vietnam service as a potential way to crack him.

Walt manages to get Charlie to confess, but Carson remains doubtful of Charlie's guilt. The two partners set up a cautious interrogation to test Charlie's statements.

Carson's trap flushes out the real killer: Walt. Carson reveals Walt's Vietnam-era dismemberment of a civilian and the dropped charges, shattering Charlie's assumed guilt.

When Carson notes that Charlie has been released from custody, Walt panics and admits that Charlie is like him. He claims Charlie helped him kill the Vietnamese girl and is behind the Pakoe murders.

Carson leaves to search for Charlie, while the detained Walt calls home. Tanya informs him that Jenny, his stepdaughter, has gone to the abandoned barn where Charlie was living.

Fearing for Jenny's safety, Walt escapes custody. He races to the barn to confront Charlie and protect his family.

Charlie reaches the barn, kills several people, and wounds Carson in a tense confrontation. He corners Jenny, but Tanya arrives to save her sister.

The sisters flee as Charlie advances; they accidentally shoot their father with Carson's gun. In a final act, Walt sacrifices himself by setting Charlie on fire to protect his daughters.

The next day, Carson and his men search the lake for Charlie, but the district attorney prematurely closes the case, claiming Walt was responsible for all the murders. Carson laments that the danger isn't over.

As the town breathes a false sense of resolution, Charlie is seen picking up a female hitchhiker on the outskirts. The scene hints that the killer's spree may continue beyond Pakoe.