I Am Not a Serial Killer

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.

I had never read the book so I can't say a thing about the adaption. But it's a strange flick clocking in over 90 minutes and has a lot of blah blah but also some action here and there.

The problem is the fact that I can't spoil a thing so for the non readers of the book you're in for a strange flick with a weird ending. One you can't see coming. Of course by being a slow flick, it isn't going to be a flick for all horror geeks. It has some excellent effects in the beginning at the morgue and the end is also well done. On part of the horror, it do has a few killings not gory at all but they surely deliver in context of this story.

Even with the word serial killer it isn't a normal serial killer flick. So if you can stand a lot of characterisation and weird things going on then this is going to be your stuff but for gorehounds this doesn't fulfil your wishes.

A flick that stands on his own. But with excellent performances.

Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

It's 2017, and even though I Am Not a Serial Killer was released way back in march of last year, it has recently been added to Netflix thus giving the movie it's most widespread accessibility. I Am Not a Serial Killer has been on my radar since that South By Southwest Film Festival screening and I have only heard good things so when I saw it was headed to Netflix I was quite excited. It has been a while since I have seen a real solid horror movie, actually probably since I saw It Follows in 2015. While it's not really fair to compare the two movies, they do have some similarities.

The basics of I Am Not a Serial Killer are pretty basic. The appropriately named John Wayne Cleaver is our main character, a teenager who has some issues that most normal heroes don't have, he is a diagnosed sociopath. John struggles with the idea that he will become a serial killer, so he comes up with a set of rules to control himself when he starts to think about indulging his impulses. He is good at controlling himself with the help of his therapist, and oddly enough working in the mortuary that his mother owns and operates. The small nondescript mid-western town that John lives in has been plagued by some rather grizzly murders and John feels that he can figure out who has been committing these crimes, either from a connection to the killer or possibly something deeper.

I Am Not a Serial Killer is a slow moving affair. This is not necessarily a bad thing, the movie takes it's time setting up relationships between characters and giving some solid character development that is usually glossed over or explained away with boring exposition. The movie lets the actors show and not tell, which even though it is one of the biggest rules in film making is often forgotten by horror movies. Max Records who plays John Wayne Cleaver does a great job of getting his character into the gray area that seems so difficult to achieve. John is not only a flawed person because of his sociopath, but he is also a kid, he does not always make the right choice or he may not always be quick with a line. He feels like a real high school student, with a bit of a twist.

The pacing of the movie is not the only thing that lends a hand to separate the tone from most other serial killer movies. I Am Not a Serial Killer makes efforts to not be a cookie cutter low budget horror movie, because it's really not. It blends genres quite well I think but also relies on its story and tone to drive the emotion, rather than well timed musical cues and immense gore. There are no jump scares here, which I can appreciate. Jump scares to me are like hot sauce, when used sparingly the effect is much more enjoyable, but when overused the whole thing is ruined. Don't necessarily expect to be given nightmares by I Am Not a Serial Killer, it may just keep you up at night with some self reflection.

While I Am Not a Serial Killer does not stand up to The Babadook or It Follows, it is certainly a good movie and like those other two (which I believe are the two best horror movies I have seen in the last few years) it avoids being a clone of all the mass produced horror movies that make 200x their budget because every guy hopes this will finally be the scary movie that will make that girl he likes jump into his arms for protection. If you come into it looking for more of a good movie rather than a scary or bone chilling one you should be good. Enjoy the creepiness of the atmosphere and the well told story, and the girl you are trying to impress with how tough you are during scary movies may just appreciate your taste in movies a bit more.

John Wayne Cleaver(Max Records) is a high school student with an unhealthy obsession with serial killers. His small Midwestern town begins to experience a series of brutal murders. John's mother is the town's only mortician and she allows her son to help her with the postmortems. He plays detective and becomes friends with an elderly neighbor, Crowley, played by Christopher Lloyd, in his best role since Back to the Future. Lloyd is funny, sarcastic and he pretty much steals this film. The less written about where his quirky character goes, the better. Lloyd and his young costar, Max Records, have a strange and endearing chemistry which will keep viewers guessing as to how it will all end. The final scene is not what I expected, but I can recommend I am Not a Serial Killer without reservation.

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.