A Horrible Way to Die (2010)

An escaped murderer is in pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town.

Director:

Adam Wingard

Writer:

Simon Barrett

Stars:

AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Joe Swanberg

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
AJ Bowen	...	Garrick Turrell
Amy Seimetz	...	Sarah
Joe Swanberg	...	Kevin
Brandon Carroll	...	Rusty
Lane Hughes	...	Reed
Holly Voges	...	Carla
Kelsey Munger	...	Elisabeth
Michael Anthony Miller	...	Steven
Ed Hanson	...	Mr. Harper
Frank Stack	...	Elderly Man
Whitney Moore	...	Daphne
Gabriel Wallace	...	Warner
Kirstin Denise Racicot	...	Chelsea
Travis Stevens	...	Craig
Cathe Frank	...	Maddy

Storyline

An escaped murderer is in pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town.

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Plot Keywords:

vomiting | blood splatter | police officer killed | title at the end | slow motion scene | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing bloody violence and images, language, some sexuality and nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Užasan Način za Umiranje

Filming Locations:

Columbia, Missouri, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Snowfort Pictures,Arable Entertainment,Site B

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Outside of very few scenes, the cinematography is done with minimal lighting and/or very soft-focused cameras to give the film a very dark edge.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Garrick Turrell: I must have... I must have dozed off or something. I apologize.

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Connections

Features Cat-Women of the Moon (1953)

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Soundtracks

The Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by U.S. Air Force Band

User Reviews

A Good Way To enjoy 85 minutes

Other than knowing a brief plot outline of an escaped murderer on the hunt of his ex-girlfriend, I had no idea what I was getting into when going to see Adam Wingard's latest, A Horrible Way To Die. Just so you're aware, as far as plot goes, that is all you have to know before heading off to see this film. As for an overall visceral pleasing experience… well, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As long as the beholder isn't epileptic or easily prone to motion sickness, that is. Both of which I am not, enabling me to absolutely love this film.

Constant shots of close-ups and not just on the actors' faces but knuckles, waists and other body parts (get your mind out of the gutter) as well as random objects around them effectively brought me into the characters' personal space with an intimacy most other mainstream films lack. Never is the camera shaky either, it's more of a purposeful fluidity, like imitating the human eye as it occasionally wanders while in conversation with another person. A good example of a film to compare the camera movement to would be Gaspar Noe's Irreversible. I don't me to drone on and on about one technical aspect of the film, but when something even the most casual moviegoers can not ignore is applied in such a non-gimicky way it's praise can not go unnoticed.

So, now that my praise for the way in which the film was shot has gone on the record I'll briefly dive into other elements of the film, mainly acting, plot and score:

Acting - The two stars of the film, Aj Bowen and Amy Seimetz, both turn in a-list performances. Can't wait to see these two make the leap into Hollywood and gain the larger attention that they both deserve. Plot – Keeping the story simple and absent of any convoluted sub-plots might be too dull for some to sit through… sucks for those people. Personally, I was ready for it to be an hour longer. Score – Nothing too extraordinary here, but it works for what it's trying to accomplish. Overall I'd say A Horrible Way To Die is a great way to spend 85 minutes