Jude Karsen isn’t just a contract killer—he’s a ghost who’s made a career out of never leaving a trace. With over 140 kills to his name and no law enforcement agency ever suspecting him, Karsen’s confession should be the most explosive in FBI history. But there’s a problem: no evidence, no accomplices, no bodies—just a man with a bullet scar in his forehead and a story that’s either the unraveling of a madman or a window into the darkest corridors of American power.
From the sleek streets of Los Angeles to international conspiracies with CIA front companies masquerading as Christian aid groups, hitter dissects the machinery of murder-for-hire with unnerving precision. Told through chilling flashbacks and a mounting psychological interrogation, the film explores Karsen’s evolution from disillusioned Marine to philosophical assassin, unpacking the belief systems that rationalize atrocity—and the trauma that finally cracks them.
The script blends gritty procedural detail with meditative moral inquiry, placing it squarely in the tradition of cerebral thrillers like Collateral or The Insider. Karsen is not only a compelling antihero, he’s a vehicle for razor-edged commentary on justice, faith, moral relativism, and the shadow operations that governments deny but quietly depend on. What begins as a confession becomes a philosophical reckoning, and possibly, the first move in a far greater game.
Stylishly structured, smartly written, and laced with dangerous irony, hitter delivers a gripping slow-burn narrative that keeps raising the stakes without relying on cliché. It’s a story that doesn’t just ask if evil can be justified—but whether the systems meant to contain it might be its most sophisticated expression.
Note: This project was originally conceived as a starring vehicle for Jeffrey Dean Morgan who had worked with Cole Luck III on The Burning Zone. Unfortunately for the project, but fortunately for Mr. Morgan, his career took off before the screenplay was finished, he never got to see the script and contact was lost.
Thorncrown Studios 