I am not a Serial Killer

I am not a Serial Killer, the Billy O’Brien film based on the novel by Dan Wells, is set in the fictitious US Clayton County; 17-year-old John Wayne Cleaver discovers the identity of a serial killer who’s picking off members of his community. In this quiet town Cleaver, played by Max Records, sets about investigating the killers background, which leads a startling climax.

Shot on 35mm film by Robbie Ryan the breath-taking, snow clad Northern Minnesota landscape is captured beautifully and gives the location a real sense of solitude and isolation, it’s incredibly atmospheric, and the pace of the film is such that that you’ve the feeling that Clayton is a place where very little tends to happen – and even when things do occur, they do so in no particular hurry.

There is a quite a dark humour to this film, which I liked, and one jump-out-your-seat moment which was a real treat, it presents the experiences of a diagnosed sociopathic teenager who attends high school whilst working part-time in the family undertaking business – put into the mix a string of murders with each victim losing a different body part and you’ve got yourself this situation.

How this situation plays out is not for me to share, you need to see this film for yourself, but should you do so, incredibly, your belief will be suspended by the convincing performances of a cast which includes Christopher Lloyd, who is absolutely brilliant, quite chilling, not at all Dr Emmett Brown; Laura Fraser [Cleaver’s Mum], Raymond Brandstrom [his best mate Max], and Karl Geary [Cleaver’s therapist] deliver compelling performances that are what makes this film so intriguing and captivating.

A week after watching this film it’s still affecting me, I’m still pondering, still thinking about it, I think I want to see it again and I imagine this might be where the strength of this film will lie, in its rewatch-ability.