Murder at Yellowstone City explained: Who is the mystery killer in the film?  

Murder at Yellowstone City (2022) is a Western thriller drama that combines action, suspense, and mystery in one film. In the desperate Yellowstone City, Montana, everyone is in search of a 'golden' opportunity to find gold mines like there used to be in the past. The film, set in 1881, entails the story of a series of mysterious murders and the consequences that lead to finding the culprit at the end.

Cicero (Isaiah Mustafa), a former slave, comes to the town to find a space in the community. As luck finally strikes them through the prospector Robert Dunnigan (Zach McGowan), the town dwellers largely seem delighted and hope for better days to come. Their dreams are turned upside down when Robert is mysteriously killed. Cicero is suspected to be the killer.

As one murder leads to another, several important characters get killed, and it is revealed towards the end that the local sheriff's son, Jimmy Ambrose Jr., is the actual murderer in Murder at Yellowstone City. It is also found that Emma, Robert's wife, had an affair with Jimmy and orchestrated all the murders with him to keep all of Dunnigan's gold with herself.

Preacher Thaddeus Murphy finds a clue at the end of Murder at Yellowstone City

After Robert Dunnigan's death, the other important character who dies mysteriously is the stable in-charge, Violet (Tanaya Beatty). She found love letters addressed to Emma at her residence and gave them to the town preacher, Thaddeus Murphy (Thomas Jane), who took them to the police. She dies immediately after this incident.

As Cicero escapes from the prison after Violet's death, Sheriff Jim Ambrose (Gabriel Byrne) and two others run after him. As the intense chase continues, Cicero gets bruised by a bullet but manages to escape from the sheriff. He later manages to reach the church and seek the help of the preacher, Thadddeus Murphy, and his wife, Alice (Anna Camp).

The couple gives him refuge despite the risk and helps in removing the bullet from his wound. Thaddeus inspects the bullet and figures out that Robert's body, now in the grave, also contains a similar type of bullet, which could help them find the real murderer.

The couple dig out Robert's body and find a bullet that is not like the one Cicero uses. This proves him guilty. The bullet found hints at Jimmy's involvement in the case.

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Things get tense between the preacher and the sheriff in Murder at Yellowstone City

On the other hand, the saloon worker Isabel (Aimee Garcia) also gets killed by the mystery murderer. Sheriff and his men bring Isabel's body to Thaddeus for burial, but get skeptical about the latter's actions. Sheriff suspects the preacher to be hiding Cicero, which Thaddeus tries to deny. He inspects their house and finds Robert's decaying body in his coffin.

Thaddeus honestly explains his bullet inspection to the sheriff and tells him about the unique bullet he found. Sheriff grows even more doubtful about the preacher and his past, calling for an immediate shootout at their house. This marks the start of an intense fight in Murder at Yellowstone City.

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The final shootout in Murder at Yellowstone City

Sheriff, his son Jimmy, and other townspeople gather with their guns for a shootout at the Thaddeus' house, suspecting that he hid Cicero with him. Meanwhile, Thaddeus, Alice, and Cicero prepare their arms to fight the coming troupe.

An intense exchange of bullets begins, with Thaddeus and Cicero putting a strong foot forward. Many get killed in the fight, but the sheriff and his son keep attempting to get hold of Thaddeus and Cicero.

Sheriff and Thaddeus get involved in an intense fight inside a building in the town. As one of the sheriff's men is about to shoot Thaddeus from behind, a young girl from the saloon, Josephine, manages to strike a bullet at the man. Thaddeus manages to overpower the sheriff and escape.

Meanwhile, Cicero and Alice get on a horse and try to reach a safe space. Jimmy and another man follow them, firing bullets at the duo. Alice brings Cicero to a wooden cottage in the woods where they get ready to charge at the approaching two enemies. As a series of firing follows, Jimmy shoots Cicero in the waist, and Thaddeus comes in time to capture Jimmy.

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Jimmy and Emma are the culprits in Murder at Yellowstone City

As Thaddeus returns to his station, Thaddeus, Cicero, and Alice come with Jimmy to him. Thaddeus discloses his son's involvement in the case to the sheriff. The sheriff confronts his son and also calls for Emma.

After taking a note of the situation, Emma hastily packs up to leave the town alone, leaving Jimmy behind. As she is about to leave in a carriage, she is called to meet the sheriff. She denies her affair with Jimmy in front of the sheriff and pretends that his son was actually behind her. She claims she was not involved in the murders.

On pressing her, she finally shows her real persona and threatens to kill Jimmy if she is not let to escape. Thaddeus shoots at her hand, which prompts her to shoot the sheriff. As Jimmy tries to run towards his dad, he also gets shot. Emma tries to run away, and Thaddeus chases her. Alice comes at the right time and guns down Emma, ending the culprit's life.

At the end of the movie, Alice, Thaddeus, and Cicero meet inside the saloon after the culprits meet their end and justice is done. Cicero reveals his true identity and prepares to leave the town. As the movie comes to an end, the preacher wishes to rebuild the town and hopes that peace will prevail in their town.

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Murder at Yellowstone City is available to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

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