Customer Reviews

How to be a Serial Killer

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Inevitably this is being called a copycat to Man Bites Dog - Criterion Collection but I feel this has some of its own flavor, to use a bad word, in creating a domestic take on the "genre". I would recommend giving this one a fair shot, and even though they pick the depraved-to-be as another video store clerk stereotype, I still enjoyed the premise and performances.

The film mixes a "documentary" (talking to the camera/stage audience like a self help guru) - and fictional (camera does not exist) look into this guys homicidal life as he recruits a protege to pass on his serial killer skills. The story splices this interview-the-people-in-the-main-guys-life with the murdering events as they occur. Sometimes it feels long, but in the end you get used to what they are doing with the film and it keeps a decent pace, especially knowing what the outcome has to be.

The sound is good and the picture has a high budget feel. The supplements are 20 minutes of deleted scenes divided into the same amount of headings, but they thankfully have a play all option. I had to actually give this 3.5 star film an extra half just on the management of these scenes. They are mostly all interviews, and would have paced the film more being towards a farce than a mockumentary so it was nice to see them spliced out. There were one or two that would have been better left in with certain kills, but for being a relatively new crew, they did a nice job. Hope you enjoy.

The film is DEFINITELY not for everyone, as neither the slasher crowd or comedy-only crowd will be completely satisfied. It is more of a unique take on the idea of showing a self-help film like no other. I almost feel like putting it in the self-help section to see who freaks out on me.

After watching this I knew a lot of people might not enjoy it like I did. Funny, strange, and interesting at the same time. I love true crime books, tv shows, and movies and when I saw this was coming out on DVD I had to have it. The idea behind this movie is very funny, a man teaching another man to be a serial killer. I would not recommend this to be a family night movie, but I though it was worth getting.

This film had me shreiking with laughter! It's filled with dark humor and sarcasm. It's so gratifying to see someone clobber total jerks (we've all imagined doing it ourselves.) And the "infomercial" format is hilarious! Matthew Gray Gubler is great as the apprentice. Loved this film!

I really enjoyed this movie. It was strange and increadibly funny. The movie is utilizes dark and off the cuff humor. It is not straight up comedy like Saturday Night Live or a Will Ferrel movie. It is much darker and may be lost on some.

I found out about this movie from someone who had set up a site for it on MySpace. It has one of my favorite actors in it, Matthew Gray Gubler, who plays Spencer on Criminal Minds. I thought it sounded different so I bought a copy. I had no idea this movie I had never even heard of would turn out to be one of my favorites. I have watched it too many times to count now, and I never get tired of it.

This is a very dark comedy, and I even have a hard time calling it "dark", as it makes me laugh so hard. Dameon Clarke, an actor from Canada (I had never heard of him either) is Mike Wilson who takes Matt's character, Bart, under his wing and teaches him how to be a serial killer. Bart is an unhappy clerk in a video store who has always wanted to kill someone and Mike shows him the ropes. I was very impressed with Clarke, so I checked out his other work on IMDb. Most of it is guest starring roles on TV, including a small part as a victim on an episode of Criminal Minds. Maybe that is where he and Gubler met; or maybe he got the role on CM because of the movie. Either way, they make a great pair in this movie. I would love to see both of them in movies in the future. Gubler went to school to be a director and ended up doing CM, so I don't know how far he wants to go as an actor. I sure do love his work though, and I would love to see these two work together again.

This was most likely a low budget film, so I was very impressed by not only the actors but the directing and the cinematography. It almost has the tone of a documentary.

This movie is so funny, but it also has some fairly poignant scenes if you are the type who analyzes things like I do and are able to notice them.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who has a sense of humor - a REAL sense of humor.

This film was certainly dark, but it was quite humorous. The plot was a violent plot (a seasoned serial killer taking a protege; how could it not be violent?), but the graphic violence was not shown on film. It was not a deep psychological profile of serial killers. It was not actually an instructional film on how to become a serial killer (thank goodness). It was about as fun an approach to the topic of serial killers as one could take.

How To Be A Serial Killer was both written and directed by Luke Ricci which was the second movie he has written and first to direct. Honestly with the creative style and direction he went with the film I could see Luke coming up with some interesting property down the line and only hope he has the chance to get another film in the works as this one didn't receive nearly the praise that it should have.

I'm usually down on comedy films that are also horror. There have been multiple ones the past few years that have actually been able to pull it off successfully I'm very jaded against the thought of mixing these two genres. It's most likely due to movies such as the "Scary Movie" franchise having completely turned me off of the idea of mixing the two types of film but there have been just an increasingly large amount of movies that just did it right - How To Be A Serial Killer is exactly one of these movies. It is a black comedy that not only is about a serial killer but also mixes in an ongoing running gag of an ongoing late night infomercial selling the idea of being a serial killer to increase your self esteem and be a self help program.

The movie revolves around Mike (Dameon Clarke) who is running this mental self help program for himself. Near the beginning of the film he runs into a video store clerk who is being berated by customers and is exactly the kind of person who is in need of guidance and self help in their life named Bart (Matthew Gray Gubler.) Mike is quick on the uptake to sign Bart up for his course and slowly attempts to turn him into a serial killer. While Bart is completely hooked on the idea of being a killer he is unable to take the step to push him into that realm and continues learning until the very end of the film.

Mike's character is so well played its disgusting. He is energetic, endearing, and charismatic - the perfect combination to play a sociopath and he pulls it off to perfection. He is able to lure you into wanting to follow every aspect of the story including being completely sold on everything he is going and everything he is doing is killing his victims. Not only do we get a lot of murder running throughout the movie but the murder is honestly creative. We get so many various ways that people are killed from hand to hand weapons, blunt object, guns, to household appliances. What differentiates him from almost every other serial killer you see or read about is that he doesn't kill his victims in the same way which is completely against the standard view of how serial killers off their targets. With top notch casting and acting you'll be shocked when remembering that this is an independent film. Luke Ricci is going to have an amazing career ahead of him in writing horror and Demeon was born to play in horror movies. I can't wait to see what they both do next in the genre.

It was different than anything I've seen before and it was a refreshing new outlook at things. I watch a lot of crime shows and this was the other side of the story! I found it really cool and the actors were great.

Fun, Fun, Fun! Black comedy tongue-in-cheek instructions of how to be a serial killer given by a most likeable guy!

PROS:
*Dameon Clarke's dynamic performance as the motivational killer
*CRIMINAL MIND's Matthew Gray Gubler's continued mastery of the loveable nerd
*Smart blend of humor and darkness works well
*Luke Ricci's direction
CONS:
*No major flaws
SUMMARY: Original dark comedy with star-making turn by Clarke.