The Greenskeeper

Allen Anderson's 25th birthday unfolds as a celebration that highlights his precarious life as a struggling screenwriter, pressured by his floozy girlfriend Mary Jane who dreams of his inheritance. He is haunted by visions of a figure engulfed in flames, a recurring motif foreshadowing the danger ahead. The mood mixes celebration with a creeping sense of dread that will soon erupt.

Friends and Mary Jane urge Allen to keep the Family Golf Club open to host a proper birthday party, hoping the celebration will mask his failures. They see the party as a chance to secure his prospects and perhaps please Mary Jane. The plan sets the stage for a night that spirals into tragedy.

Allen decides to invite Elena, a rookie employee he actually likes, to the party. Her presence adds a spark of romance and a potential ally in the chaotic night. The invitation shifts the dynamic of the gathering and raises the stakes.

A patron is gruesomely murdered during the celebration, drawing suspicion and fear through the group. Allen's Uncle John manipulates the situation by pressuring a corrupt police officer to stay silent, attempting to cover up what happened. The crime marks the night as more than a casual party and hints at a broader conspiracy.

The party intensifies as attendees drink heavily and some use drugs, blurring lines between revelry and danger. Tension rises as more people fall into peril and disappear. The atmosphere shifts from festive to menacing, foreshadowing the killer's next move.

With one guest left alone in the pool with his eyes covered, a figure in a keeper uniform dives in to murder him, establishing the killer's motif. The poolside murder introduces the identity of the Greenskeeper and the night’s deadly game. The killer's costume hints that this is no ordinary assailant, but someone linked to the estate.

Elena escapes the Greenskeeper’s cottage in the woods and runs into Allen, who knocks the assailant to the ground with a shovel. The Greenskeeper utters Allen's name, ratcheting up the shock of the revelation. The confrontation tightens the grip of the mystery on the partygoers.

As the Greenskeeper's identity becomes tangled with the living, John appears and shoots the killer in the chest, stopping the immediate murder. Elena processes the shocking truth that the Greenkeeper may be tied directly to Allen's family. The act moves the plot from revelation to a direct confrontation with John.

Elena discovers bite marks on the Greenskeeper's wrist, indicating a deeper, personal involvement in the killings. It becomes clear that the Greenskeeper is actually Allen's father, John Rocker, long thought dead after a mysterious explosion. He hid in the woods, orchestrating the murders to divert attention from himself.

John's plan to stage the murders to remove Allen and secure the Golf Club for himself becomes evident. He hopes to claim the family asset and its inheritance by eliminating his nephew. The revelation heightens the stakes as the truth comes to light amid the chaos.

In the climactic clash, Allen's father intervenes in the fight and is stabbed with a sprinkler hose, sustaining mortal wounds. The struggle exposes the depth of deception and tests the loyalties of Elena and Otis, Allen's mentor. The scene escalates toward a decisive showdown.

Otis, Allen's longtime mentor, decapitates John with a lawn mower propeller blade, ending John's murderous scheme. Allen's father dies from his wounds, offering a dying apology to his son as Elena holds him. The revelations culminate in a bittersweet, emotional climax.

With the danger over, Elena and Allen embrace and, along with Otis, leave the murder scene. The trio steps away from the horror, facing an uncertain future but united. The film ends as they disappear into the night.