The Greenskeeper

The Greenskeeper is a 2003 slasher film featuring Allelon Ruggiero as the lead. The story follows a killer dressed as a greenskeeper who attacks guests at a birthday party held at a country club.

The main character, Allen Anderson, is a young screenwriter under pressure from his girlfriend Mary Jane, who is interested in his inheritance. On his 25th birthday, Allen experiences recurring visions of a burning figure. His friends and coworkers persuade him to keep the family golf club open for a party. Allen invites a new employee, Elena, whom he likes. Meanwhile, a patron is murdered, and Allen’s uncle John orders a corrupt officer to stay quiet.

At the party, guests get drunk or high. A figure in a greenskeeper uniform kills a man in the pool. More murders follow, leaving only Allen and Elena alive. Elena escapes from a cottage in the woods, and Allen knocks the attacker down with a shovel. The Greenskeeper says Allen’s name, then John appears and shoots him. Elena finds bite marks on John’s wrist, revealing him as the real murderer.

The Greenskeeper is actually Allen’s father, George Anderson, thought dead after an explosion. He survived but was mutilated and hid in the woods. John staged the murders to divert suspicion and inherit the golf club. As John prepares to kill Allen, the Greenskeeper intervenes. In the fight, Allen’s father is stabbed with a sprinkler hose, and John is decapitated by a lawn mower propeller blade wielded by Otis, Allen’s mentor. Allen’s father apologizes and dies in Elena’s arms. Allen, Elena, and Otis leave the scene as the film ends.

The cast includes Allelon Ruggiero as Allen, Bruce Taylor as John, Ron Lester as Styles, Steve Rickman as Chase, Thomas Merdis as Otis Washington, John Rocker as the Greenskeeper, Melissa Ponzio as Elena, Jamie Renell as Champ, Allison Kulp as Mary Katherine, Michael Short as Chet, Christi Taylor as Mary Jane, Patrick Donovan as Stu, Stephanie Bingham as Mary Beth, John Judy as Officer Cox, Tim Frasier as Helmet Boy, Larry Wachs as The Milkman, and Eric Von Haessler as Redneck.

Reception was mostly mixed to negative. The DVD & Video Guide called it “surprisingly entertaining,” Film Threat Magazine said it was a “worthwhile excursion,” while Popcorn Pictures described it as “wholly unoriginal but has just enough mileage in it to see itself to the end.”