Comments on: How To Be A Serial Killer

By: MichaelC2B

MichaelC2B — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:23:02 +0000

Review by MichaelC2B for How To Be A Serial Killer Rating: 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.

By: Jennie Laree Gaston

Jennie Laree Gaston — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:53:07 +0000

Review by Jennie Laree Gaston for How To Be A Serial Killer Rating: 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.

By: N. Rieckmann

N. Rieckmann — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:24:55 +0000

Review by N. Rieckmann for How To Be A Serial Killer Rating: 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!

By: Gina

Gina — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:05:50 +0000

Review by Gina for How To Be A Serial Killer Rating: 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.

By: Steve Kuehl

Steve Kuehl — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:47:52 +0000

Review by Steve Kuehl for How To Be A Serial Killer Rating: 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.