well, i can't chain him, can i

"I brought you into this world and I can take you out."
Uttered by Bill Cosby, the line is hilarious! After all, he's recounting a conversation with his son, probably teen-aged, during a moment of extreme boorishness on the son's part. However, we all know it would be a cold day in July before he would ever ACT on that threat. That means, of course, that the boy's life is safe in his father's hands. Right? As long as he's in the Northern hemisphere, that is.
Now, consider a case of a parolee, just released from prison. In the movie, we're not told why he was incarcerated; that's not the point. Suffice it to say that's he's been gone at least two decades and the small boy he left on the other side of the bars is now a grown man.
But... in the father's mind, the mental image of his son is frozen at that young age, that preschool innocence shining from his face. The picture of the boy is front and center in the dad's memories. Time stood still for that aspect of the man's life.
Now, consider that the very day the father is released on parole, he is informed that his son is dead, killed while burgling an occupied home. Moreover, on the day of his release, the son is being buried. The father never actually sees the son's body, so the mental image he carries is preserved, carrying over into a need for vengeance against the homeowner who killed the son.
Things get complicated, though. The father becomes aware that the man buried was not his little boy, but some random guy. His son, his all grown up son, has mob affiliations and has been whisked into witness protection until his testimony against the mobsters.
The father wants to see his son, wants to have a new image of the boy who grew up without him. Only this image is nightmare fuel. The man he sees is a serial killer of young girls, a brutal animal who is the star of many snuff films.
And the father makes a hard decision, but the right one. The son must be put down, as he cannot be chained.
Great story.
If you get a chance, see "Cold In July". The ending is exactly right.