I Am Not a Serial Killer

Obsessed with a spate of bloody murders in his hometown, a disturbed teen begins to stalk his elderly neighbour.

Mostly a tale of alienation in a decaying society, but with a light hearted touch. The hero is presented in the unusual scenario of a family that runs the local mortuary, and there's some nice gore on the dissecting table as the vascular pump ticks away in the background. Also sets up a nice sight gag for the credits music at the end.

It's well shot and paced, but only picked up for me at about the half hour mark, when the horror element was introduced. At about 54 mins there is a well thought out and skillful jump scare. But the tone never gets heavy, so this is horror lite. Maybe they should have gone full horror once the ambiguity over the killer's identity was cleared up. Instead we had to wait for some over cooked CGI at the very end.

Lead actor is very good, and the villain too - though some of his lines were obscured by the aged voice. There are too many characters, some of whom seem significant but don't matter to the story or only appear in scenes that could have been cut - mostly the high school stuff. So the screenplay is not the tightest.

Music is interesting, applied with a light touch. A bit of poetry too.

Overall, whimsical horror that needed a heart transplant somewhere along the way.

ps. Interesting to see US-Irish collaboration.

It was a rather unusual film. As it continues and it appears a bit ordinary but then what is happening seems rather silly. But gradually a very strange story emerges as the killer doesn't seem the usual at all. I don't want to give away the end but everything makes sense, also I'll mention that the song at the final credits is Norman Greenbaum and Spirit in the Sky. It even made me smile. And many will be very pleased to see Christopher Lloyd, specially, I imagine.

As an average movie goer who was let down by major titles released this year, I decided to give this one a go. As it was part of the Melbourne International Film Festival program this year, I closed one eye and picked something that sounded mildly interesting to watch with a friend.

This is a movie-adaption of Dan Well's book, which already received quite a reputation, but I didn't know that. Heck, I didn't even bother to look at the cast list, or anything further than the 'psychological thriller' genre. Boy, was I in for a ride.

Overall, I was mildly surprised by how entertaining this movie was. The pacing was adequate - not rushed, nor was it too slow. It was also quite easy to follow with no convolution in the story and it doesn't feel forced. I was even more impressed about the clever slice of humor being thrown here and there. I enjoyed the cinematography and clever use of sound effects to keep you at the edge of your seat.

So I'm giving this a good rating, simply because I really enjoyed it - and that 2016 really need more gems like these. I wouldn't mind watching it again, or pick up the book.

I'll start out by saying I don't watch much horror anymore. A lot of it seems so disturbingly graphic and psychotic that I just can't enjoy the movie. I like character, story and atmospheric stuff presented in a way that isn't all squelch, splatter, saw, cut and pop-up scares.

IANASK delivers good chills, with a hint of 'old-fashioned' horror/psychological drama -to my senses. I enjoyed the characters who felt like real people in a real town. There was good anticipatory tension being built up and I liked the slight 'turn' as we discover the killer is not quite what we thought he was -actually multiple turns as the killer also reveals some complexity that is not the norm in foot-stomping, teeth-gnashing and claw-waving monsterdom. The small town setting was moody and atmospheric with great shots throughout.

Probably some would feel this 'horror-lite'. Maybe it is -and that's okay. It manages to find a balance I found pleasing and I enjoyable.

We saw this in the theater yesterday (luckily we have one that shows non-major studio movies). We recognized many places as it was filmed locally.

It has all the elements (drama, comedy,irony, surprise, style) without adding CGI and other effects. In some ways it is a throwback to the sci-fi genre of the 50s and 60s. The plot kept me guessing and changing my mind until the end.

If you have an opportunity, watch this! You will find what quality movies can be. Granted it is not the movie of the year but should be given recognition.