The core premise remains a 1960s Midwestern town's annual ritual where teenage boys hunt the creature Sawtooth Jack, with the twist that winners become the next monster to enforce conformity and sacrifice. However, the film layers in explicit identity-based conflicts through new or heavily emphasized characters: Kelly Haines (E'myri Crutchfield), a Black teenage girl portrayed as an outcast due to her race and gender who forms an interracial romance with protagonist Richie Shepard (Casey Likes), complete with scenes of townspeople reacting with disgust to their kiss; and Bud (Alejandro Akara), a Mexican boy facing slurs and exclusion from the ritual. These elements drive subplots and underscore critiques of the town's 'white patriarchal traditions,' toxic masculinity, class barriers, and systemic bigotry.