The Killing Jar (2010)

The Killing Jar (2010)
Director: Mark Young
== Summary ==
A stranger (Michael Madsen) armed with a shotgun takes seven patrons hostage in a remote roadside diner. But as the body count increases, the desperate survivors discover that one of the hostages (Harold Perrineau Jr.) may be even more dangerous than their captor.
The film begins with a group of people, Noreen: friendly, talkative waitress, Hank: quiet regular, Lonnie: dimwitted cop, Jimmy: short tempered owner and cook, John Dixon: salesman on his way to New York City for a conference, and Billy and Starr: young couple on their way to elope, are gathered at a diner, where they hear radio news reports about a farmer and his family in another county bound, gagged, and shot in the back of the head in what police suspect to be a burglary gone wrong.
Just then an aggressive man in a black leather jacket walks in and asks for a steak and coffee, but Noreen becomes nervous especiallywhen the man angrily demands his meal. Jimmy tells him to either call down or leave since the kitchen is closed. Noreen tells Lonnie it might be the killer, but Lonnie dismisses this, until he asks the man some questions, but the man starts to belittle and antagonize Lonnie.
He then pulls a gun on the man, asks Hank to check the man's vehicle if it matches the police reports, and when Hank returns he says it doesn't. Lonnie then apologizes to the man, whom then leaves, but returns a few minutes later with a Shotgun and handgun, brutally killing Lonnie and Jimmy. Noreen begs for her life when he points the shotgun at her, asks her to retrieve everyone's cell phone and wallets, but not before he catches her trying to sneak a cellphone, and threatens to kill her if she does it again.
Hank, whom was in the bathroom smoking a cigarette, thinks that they should rush the gunman, since he used up 3 rounds of his shotgun, which carries 8 shells and the pistol, a .45, has 8 rounds as well, but John and Noreen refuse, as do Billy and Starr. Another customer, Greene, walks in and is minimally surprised by the situation, hands a suitcase of $500,000 dollars in cash to the gunman, whom he addresses as "Smith", but Greene realizes this mistake too late, and is taken hostage.
At first, Greene refuses to tell the gunman anything about the money, until he is severely beaten, where Greene reveals he's a corrupt land developer, whom hired a professional hitman to kill the farmer and his family after they refused to sell their land to build a shopping mall. With no heirs to the family's life insurance policy, Greene would buy the land from the bank.
When the gunman asks what Smith looks like, Greene doesn't know, as he was supposed to meet him at the diner at midnight, give the briefcase and leave. The gunman believes him, but kills Greene in retaliation for what he did to the family. The gunman discounts Noreen and the young couple and interrogates Hank, after he disposes of the bodies in the restroom.
Hank tries to escape but the gunman beats him and demands answers about him. Hank reveals he's an ex-soldier cheating on his wife, and works as a delivery truck driver. When he asks Hank about a condom in his wallet, Hank refuses to answer, until the gunman shoots him in the leg, where he confesses that he has sex with both men and women at gas stations, truck stops and bathrooms.
The Gunman, satisfied that Hank held nothing back, he asks if he's Smith, and when Hank tells him, "I'll be whatever you want," the gunman kills him. He then interrogates John, whom then begs for his life then reveals he's the real Smith, with a sinister smile on his face. He recounts killing the family, but rejects comparisons between himself and the gunman, whom he calls insane.
John then turns the interrogation around, revealing the gunman is ex-military, kicked out due to being mentally unstable and jailed for 2 years, as well as telling him that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time when Lonnie started harassing him for information. The gunman threatens to torture John, whom laughs it off it as pointless, and will not reveal anything about his employers, except they are "very powerful and well connected."
With the situation now reversed, the gunman tries to bargain with John, but this doesn't work either. Realizing no matter what he does will have him marked for death by the organization, and knowing he'll never stop running or hiding, the gunman panics and kills the young couple. Just when he's about to kill Noreen without leaving any witnesses, John falls out his chair, where he's called "an amateur" and "not a professional". Noreen stabs him in the back, and slashes his throat with a knife.
John thanks her for saving his life and asks for the keys to the handcuffs, but Noreen refuses and points the pistol at him, now knowing who John really is and what he's capable of. John tells Noreen he won't go to prison, but Noreen tells him he has no choice. He tries to cruelly bully her into surrendering, where she admits that she has a pathetic life, she's afraid to stand up to herself, and is afraid of change, but surprises him instead by shooting with the last round in the pistol. Rather than call the police, she takes the money, puts music on the jukebox, and walks out of the diner. 
== Male Deaths ==
* Jake Busey [Mr. Greene]
* Kevin Gage [Hank]
* Michael Madsen [Doe]
* Harold Perrineau Jr. [John Dixon/Smith]
* Lew Temple [Lonnie]
* Talan Torriero [Billy]
* Danny Trejo [Jimmy]
== Female Deaths ==
* Lindsey Axelsson [Starr]
Category:Films
Category:2010 Films
Category:Crime
Category:Thriller
Category:Films directed by Mark Young