At the very.beginning they try to make Penny look like a rogue cop, when it came to the break-in, but from what they showed it was a righteous shooting. The 2nd cop that showed up at the scene criticizes Penny for not calling it in, was a lame attempt to make her look like a bad cop, even though another commentator (NijazBaBs) thought this was a good example of police corruption. It's not until later we see the real reason why she goes bad. What transpires later, turns out to be a good plot line for bullying and the ramifications that can come from it. This would have made a good episode of a police drama on a tv show.

I liked the good and serious topic here, which is police corruption and evidence planting. Accusing innocent, messing with somebody's life, dealing with dangerous things, childhood emotional trauma, betrayal are all good and serious topics here. Also good is the unpredictability and positive ending. Good scientific explanation unlike in worse movies where nothing is explained. But bad is the too much negativity, violence, and too much common stuff and talk which did cause feelings of boredom and desperation.

The filmmakers of "Hometown Killer" were successful for over half of the film in making the villainess, Penny Blake, a sympathetic character. After being mercilessly hazed in high school, Penny went on to become a crackerjack policewoman. Now, it is payback time.

On the receiving end of Penny's venom is Tara Henson, now happily married to her devoted husband Charles. When Penny comes back into Tara's life, it begins as a friendship with promise as the contrite Tara does everything in her power to make amends for participating obliquely in the hazing that involved humiliating "Penny Pig," tying her to a chair and thrusting her onstage in the high school auditorium in front of a jeering crowd. There is no attempt on the part of the filmmakers to reveal if the perps were ever punished.

The ringleader of the high school students, whom Penny never forgot, was Nolan. He reunites as well with Penny, but with no sense of the genuine contrition of Tara. Nolan will now be no contest for the policewoman, who becomes his nemesis. Penny also bumps off the character of Kutter, one of her fellow officers, when he gets in her way.

It is inevitable that the action will return to the original scene of the crime in the high school auditorium. It is there that the decorated officer Penny Blake will have her final showdown with her past. Will she redeem herself, or will she fall prey to a personal vendetta that can only reduce her humanity to the basest level? A good ending for the film might have been when Penny was being cuffed and taken off to jail, Tara could have asked her, "A penny for your thoughts?"