Serial Killing 4 Dummys

It's nice to see Thomas Haden Church doing some work, as his performances are always good. On top of everything- this film was well made, I thought. Cinematography, acting, and the editing. The music wasn't my favorite, in places (check out the White Zomby rip-offs).

I spent most of the movie wondering why Lisa Loeb was there, and wondering why she was in a high school flick, when she'd be in her 30s. She and the Casey character acted quite well, I thought.

Favorite line was was the coach talking about how someone couldn't hide up a rope in a large gymnasium. Not that that's really a cliché (hiding up a rope), but this movie didn't really deconstruct serial killers (sure, it profiled them), as it was a comedy first and foremost and a gore flick somewhere later.

Oh, so THAT'S why they were throwing frisbees...

I bought the dvd very cheap, had never heard of this movie before, knew none of the actors by name and just went for the title (which incidentally on my copy just read: "Serial Killer"), the summary on the backside ("teen has an obsession to become a serial killer and looks for persons to test his skills on") and the genre-indication "horror". So I figured that I was in for some highschool slashing and akward acting (which can actually be quite amusing when you've nothing better to watch). Surprise!! This is no horror at all, not even scary, and I didn't even sense any pretension to be a parody for a horror-movie. It's just a very funny movie, based on a horror-like theme, which is of course totally unrealistic (a highschool teen who tells everyone that his career-prospective is to be a serial killer) but treated so consistently that you kind of get along with it. It's not hilarious, but has a dry, tongue-in-cheek kind of humour. There's some good acting (Justin Urich, who's very cute by the way, and the mother), and Thomas Haden Church's acting goes in a convincing and funny way totally over the top! I really had a great time watching it. So if anyone can get his hands on it: don't hesitate but buy it!!

This movie has Lisa Loeb casted in it for, as far as I know, her only movie part ever. There are several interesting death scenes and gratuitous comedy. Thomas Hayden Church, aka Loel from "Wings," plays a janitor with a dark side. See it, if you can find it.

Casey Noland is a clueless high school kid who is bored with life and decides that he wants to be a serial killer. He just can't bring himself to actually kill anyone. He meets the nerdy Sasha Fitzgerald(Lisa Loeb, the singer), and she wishes to commit suicide and asks him to assist her in the act.

Noland has the ambition to be a famous, Ted Bundy like murderer but when someone else steals the spotlight, he gets jealous. Thomas Haden Church plays Vince Grimaldi, the rival for media attention. Church is fine, as always, but the film is neither funny or scary and I was bored to death, excuse the pun, by the time Serial Killers for is over, you will feel like a dummy for wasting 89 minutes watching this garbage.

I liked it. It's certainly not a serious horror movie, as it was advertised on my copy of the dvd. Neither a horror comedy in the usual sense of hilarious gore & splatter. It's in fact more subtle: a nice, low profile comedy that makes you most of the time smile and chuckle, with a little whodunit storyline and an equally small thriller-like finale. Most parts are well acted, with special mention of Thomas Hayden Church, very funny and blatantly over-acting in his role as the shouting gym-teacher. Lisa Loeb is totally endearing as the sweet but slightly weird love-interest of main character Casey, the teen who seriously decides, by want of other professional options after high school, to become a serial killer. Justin Urich does an excellent job, with an appealing, understated way of acting and some nice deadpan humor.

The movie dates from 2004, but looks like it's made in the seventies, and the pace is a bit slow, which particularly shows in the final showdown with the killer, that could have used some better editing. But for the rest: unpretentious entertaining comedy!