Review of I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016) by Brett B — 28 Aug 2016

There are few things more cinematically thrilling for me than basically stumbling upon a new gem without any hype or fanfare. I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER is a marvelous genre tale, one which tackles its subject matter with quirk, but in a very fresh and unique way.

I've never seen a movie that feels quite like this one, and it's hard to put my finger on exactly why, but it's a combination of factors: small town observational humor, very macabre - and bleak - black comedy, and an extremely interesting, idiosyncratic protagonist.

Max Records' John is essentially a sociopath (or at least thinks he is), albeit also a sympathetic high schooler. Records is absolutely fantastic, so convincing and naturalistic, and his creation feels like a real person, not a just a movie creation.

He's able to play the character's darker impulses and interests in a way that is sometimes uncomfortable, but he's always human, always relatable, especially when you consider that he very much wants to be a normal teenager.

This is a star-making turn, and one of the best performances of 2016 in any genre. He's matched by Christopher Lloyd in the sort of role we've never seen from him before, and he avoids making the obvious choices; this is a weary old man just trying to preserve his quiet existence with his wife, and his interactions with Records carry real weight.

Just as the screenplay builds up the characters in really nice ways (even the smaller roles - like John's family, his therapist, and the girl next door who pines for him - are surprisingly well-drawn people), the narrative also indulges some neat, Hitchcockian-type elements, which is always appreciated.

It also utilizes a certain trope/framework that I'm a particular fan of, but I don't really want to get into the plot any more than that; while the story is not twist-dependent, it's a movie one should walk into knowing as little as possible.

Bolstered by a neat, organ-driven score and some nice, wintry cinematography, I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER is one of the more impressive horror films of 2016.