"Weaver the Killer Cleaver" was the nickname given to Annie Weaver, who was found guilty of a double homicide of the Millers, a nice couple living in her home. It was her daughter Natalie (Nat), whose testimony against her mother put Annie on death row. But now, six years later, two fresh murders are committed that point to a killer still on the loose and the exoneration of Annie Weaver.
Nat herself comes to believe that she may have killed the Millers. Her memory is vague, but, in a flash, she recalls that she was holding the infamous cleaver at the time her mom found her cowering in a closet. Nat has also been sleepwalking and has direct ties to the two most recent victims, an obnoxious fellow high school student named Kent and her employer Owen.
The film succeeds in developing suspense around a number of characters who could be the killer. Nat's friend Geoff becomes a suspect when she discovers him following her and carrying a concealed knife. Her psychiatrist, Dr. Desmond Welk, gives her the odd advice of returning to the crime scene and visiting her mother in prison, and he loves to keep Nat heavily medicated. Her Aunt Caroline has nothing but disparaging words to say about Annie. It may also be revealing that no one in Ridgeside has a positive memory of Annie Weaver.
The sleepy community of Ridgeside is unhinged by the murder saga and a police department that includes the intransigent Captain Maggie Lawrence, who is determined to arrest Nat for the four murders. A retired officer, John Matthews, admits to destroying evidence in the case to avoid raising doubt about Annie's guilt.
But the film's most immovable force is Aunt Caroline when she vows to Nat, "I'm never going to stop protecting you." Nothing in the world may impede the love of a mother for her daughter, and the devoted aunt is just as caring as the loving parents in "Leave it to Beaver."
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