I Am Not a Serial Killer

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.

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.

There are so many things I love about the Toronto After Dark Film Festival (TADFF). The venue. The people. The films. The shorts. The atmosphere. So many things combine to make the TADFF my favorite film festival of the year.

And one of the more surprising things that occur each year is that my favorite film of the festival will come unexpectedly from left field. This year's crop of screenings held many titles to which I was already aware of their existence. Under the Shadow, Antibirth, Train to Busan, Stake Land 2 and Creepy. These were all titles that I was fully conscious of their information including story, director and cast. But there were a few that I had yet to hear anything about, The Void, Master Cleanse, Kill Command and I am not a Serial Killer. It is with these titles that my hopes rested on finding that unexpected gem that I found in previous TADFF entries in Predestination, Eega and Trick 'R Treat.

By Monday night, I had found it. I am not a Serial Killer is not a film that I would expect many to know much about. The film is based on a 2009 novel by Dan Wells that was part of a trilogy of books in what is considered the John Wayne Cleaver series and includes I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster and The Devil's Only Friend.

In the film adaptation we get introduced to John Wayne Cleaver played by Max Records from Where the Wild Things Are. John is a high schooler that believes he has serial killer tendencies. Or so he tells his therapist (Karl Geary). John works in a morgue run by his family which gives John access to dead bodies that begin to show up with regularity when a serial killer begins to add to their resume in a small rural town. John is fascinated by the killings and how in each instance a different part of the victim's body has been removed. John is eager to use the killings to harvest his fascination with serial killers and this path will lead him down a plot highway that has plenty of surprises leading to a very unexpected climax.

Director Billy O'Brien worked tirelessly to get the rights to bring the Dan Wells' story to the big screen and he does not waste the energy exerted in pre-production. The film has just the right amount of everything and reveals in its own time a plot that is as smart as it is simple.

Back to the Future's Christopher Lloyd gets top billing and is a welcomed familiar face in sea of newbies and the 79-year-old actor shines as the neighbor next door that catches the eye of young Cleaver.

But the movie hinges on the wonderful performance from Max Records. Hardly recognizable from his role in Where the Wild Things Are, Max is perfectly cast in the lead and has a mix of Johnny Depp and Lukas Haas in him which works flawlessly in the role of the conflicted teenager at odds with his family, friends and, at times, himself.

To enjoy I Am Not a Serial Killer is to go in knowing as little as possible about the plot. Letting it go in directions unseen due to no preconceived notions aides in the overall enjoyment of the reveals. So do yourself a favor and just dive into the deep end and enjoy the water.

I Am Not a Serial Killer is another feather in the cap of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. It is not only one of the better films of this year's fest but it is one of the ten best films the festival has ever screened.

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 honestly doesn't happen too often that I fancy thrillers/horror movies that are deliberately slow-paced and proudly refer to themselves as being black comedies and/or social satires, but "I Am Not A Serial Killer" is clearly an exception and I really did love this film! There's nothing too extraordinary innovative about the settings, character drawings or even the story line(s), but the overall tone and atmosphere of the film is so damn bleak and moody that it almost becomes mesmerizing. From his 2005 debut feature "Isolation", we already knew that Irish bloke Billy O'Brien is a talented director, but for some strange reason it apparently took him another eleven years to come up with his next great movie. But here it is, a solid adaptation of Dan Wells' undoubtedly terrific novel (haven't read it yet) with formidable performances from a stellar cast and an absorbing dark ambiance. The story is set in a typically remote little town called Clayton somewhere in a Northwestern State – Minnesota, I think – where it gets damn cold, depressing and snowy during the winter months. 16-year-old John Wayne Cleaver is heavily struggling with his inner demons. He's the type of kid who gets bullied at school because he's introvert, peculiar and obsessed with death. His obsession might have something to do with the fact that his mother runs a funeral home, but John is also strongly convinced that – whether or not reluctantly – he will someday become history's most notorious serial killer. When people suddenly start disappearing and strange accidents occur all over town, John naturally becomes fascinated with the idea of discovering who is responsible for these acts and follow him/her around. He quickly develops a connection with his friendly and elderly, but nevertheless mysterious neighbor Mr. Crowley. The least you can say about "I Am Not A Serial Killer" is that it's a non-conventional horror movie, or – to put it in marketing terms – a horror movie that thinks out-of-the- box and also invites the viewer to step out of his/her comfort zone. The biggest trump of this film is undoubtedly that it doesn't rely on gory effects or jump scares. Don't be alarmed yet, gorehouds, as there ARE gory effects and there ARE jump scares, there just isn't any exaggerated focus or building up towards to. Instead, "I Am Not A Serial Killer" serves an intelligent screenplay full of ambiguities and flirts with the supernatural. Countless of horror stories, whether big-budgeted or shoestring, are set in small American towns, but very few of them capture the atmosphere and people portrayals so accurately as this one. That's particularly praiseworthy because director O'Brien is Irish! The acting performances are downright fantastic, with a seriously strong role for young Max Records as the offbeat and narcissist teenager John Wayne Cleaver. And then there's Christopher Lloyd… I really love this actor! Lloyd makes every film that he appears in extra macabre! Whether he appears in a drama (like "The Onion Field" or "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest"), in dark comedies (like "The Addams Family" or "Who Framed Roger Rabbit") or even in a kid's movie (like "Dennis the Menace"), Christopher Lloyd always depicts a wondrously morbid character. His role here is one of the finest of his career.