“Go take our city back.” Vertical revealed the official trailer for an indie crime thriller titled Clean Hands, the latest from writer / filmmaker Jake Allyn. This is heading directly to VOD for viewing in October coming up this fall. The inspirational true story of hero drug cop turned recovery advocate Kevin Simmers and his daughter Brooke. The film examines the American drug crisis from the opposing eyes of cop and addict who were also father & daughter. Clean Hands was made in partnership with Brooke’s House, a non-profit, all-women recovery home that Simmers created and currently runs in Hagerstown. An on-set work program was created for women in recovery to learn film jobs during the production; the movie cast Brooke’s House graduates to authentically portray the world of addiction. 1/3 of the film profits will be dedicated to Brooke’s House. Starring Zach Braff, Esther McGregor, Abigail Spencer, Holt McCallany, and Lucas Till. As emotional as it all is, this film just seems like more generic copaganda based around the “war on drugs”.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Jake Allyn’s thriller Clean Hands, from Vertical’s YouTube:
Based on an unbelievable true story, Sergeant Kevin Simmers (Zach Braff) leads a taskforce waging war on drugs in Hagerstown, MD, a major stop on the “Heroin Highway.” At home, he is a desperate father grappling with his 19-year-old daughter Brooke’s (Esther McGregor) escalating addiction from pain meds to heroin. As Kevin is now forced to confront the failures of the system he dedicated his life to defending, together father & daughter fight for recovery, redemption, and hope. Clean Hands is written & directed by American filmmaker Jake Allyn, director of the other film Ride previously, and writer of the screenplay No Man’s Land as well. Produced by Jake Allyn and Conor Allyn of Margate House Films, Brian Loschiavo of Riverside Entertainment, James Suttles and Jason Winn of WW / SF Entertainment, and JR Rappaport of Glasshouse Pictures. This initially premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. Vertical releases Allyn’s Clean Hands film in select US theaters + on VOD starting on October 16th, 2026 this fall.
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