A Made-for-TV Movie directed by James Steven Sadwith about residents of a northwest Missouri community dealing with local bully Len Rowan and his family. Despite the numerous crimes committed by Rowan, local law enforcement has little luck with holding Rowan accountable due to Rowan's lawyer and Rowan's intimidation of any witnesses. As Rowan's behavior escalates, local residents struggle with how to deal with Rowan, culminating in at least two residents taking the law into their own hands and murdering Rowan.
The film is loosely based upon the case of Ken Rex McElroy, who was murdered in Skidmore, Missouri after a one-man reign of terror against local residents. To this day McElroy's killers have never been identified, although locals are believed to have known who fired the shots that killed him.
Provides examples of:
- Age Lift: The character of Sheriff Phil Lewis was loosely based on Danny Estes (1947-2017), who was only 34 years old when McElroy was shot. Sheriff Lewis, on the other hand appears to be significantly older even though Tony Frank was only about four years older than Estes.
- Amoral Attorney: Len Rowan's attorney Virgil Teague, who helps him not only dodge a statutory rape charge, but also helps get him off the hook for other serious offenses such as attempted murder.note
- Artistic License – History: Along with everything else that was changed, the movie depicted Rowan as being killed in the fall of the year, however the actual killing of McElroy occurred happened in July 1981. In other words, the middle of summer.
- Asshole Victim: Rowan. This guy tormented the town and bullied the people until one or more individuals stood up and killed him. Outside his family and few friends, no one's really sorry Rowan is dead.
- Ax-Crazy: Rowan. He is psychologically unstable and most of the people in the area are afraid of him to the point that they actively avoid going in to town when they know he will be there. Rowan additionally has a tendency to settle matters with firearms or burning down residences of other people.
- Badass Boast: Rowan frequently boasts about how he can get away with various crimes due to the inability of the legal system to hold him accountable.
- Bookends: The film starts with Rowan burning down someone’s house. It ends with someone burning down Rowan's house once he's dead.
- Everybody Smokes: Many of the town residents light up at one point or another, given how much more acceptable smoking in public was at the time.
- Everyone Is Armed: Not only are Rowan and his female companions armed, but just about everyone in Darby, Missouri is armed as well. Even the town preacher is shown to be carrying a pistol at one point in the film, which he shows to Rowan when walking by his truck one day.
- Good Is Not Soft: As one of the local Missouri Highway Patrol troopers, Jack Wilson is one of the few people totally unafraid of Rowan and willing to stand up to him, to the point that he asks one of Rowan's few friends to take a message to Rowan that if he continues to harass Wilson's wife that Rowan would soon see the barrel of a 357 on a lonesome road, and it would be the last one he would ever see.
- Hate Sink: Rowan. He's a despicable monster who has shot both dogs and human beings, forced himself on children, and spends his days parked in front of the homes of potential witnesses in order to intimidate them out of testifying against him.
- In the Back: Having had enough of Rowan's reign of terror, two or more Darby residents shoot Rowan from behind while he is seated in his pickup truck.
- Love Martyr: Len's wife Adina following their marriage.
- Obstructive Vigilantism: After Rowan is shot no one in town saw or heard the shooter when interviewed by sheriff's deputies.Deputy: No, what I mean is we might have a whole town come down blind all of a sudden.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: The vast majority of the community members are OK with the means used to kill Rowan as they all felt he deserved such a death, with some of them even mentioning the bible as a justification for killing the man.
- Police Are Useless: Local law enforcement is largely unable to deal effectively with Rowan due to his lawyer's skill at getting him out of trouble with the law, and a judiciary that largely looks the other way when Rowan commits crimes.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Sheriff Lewis not only spends a great deal of time trying to keep the townspeople safe from Rowan, but in turn tries to keep Rowan and his family safe from townspeople.
- Town with a Dark Secret: Darby becomes this after two or more townspeople shoot Rowan.
- Vigilante Militia: Learning that Rowan is about to get away again with his crimes yet again, residents of the town take matters into their own hands.
- Who Murdered the Asshole: Following Rowan's death, law enforcement has to answer this question despite the challenges inherit in answering such a question when the victim is so despised.
