How to Be a Serial Killer (2008)

How to Be a Serial Killer: Directed by Luke Ricci. With Dameon Clarke, Matthew Gray Gubler, Laura Regan, George Wyner. A serial killer decides to teach the secrets of his satisfying career to a video store clerk.

“I donu0026#39;t even remember when I laughed. That is not a good sign when the good jokes arenu0026#39;t even memorable.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNow, understand that I have nothing against this movieu0026#39;s premise. A comedy about a serial killer couldu0026#39;ve worked, as could a movie analyzing a serial killeru0026#39;s delusion about himself and what he does. However, this movie tries to be both. As such, it was impossible for me to take the serious bits seriously due to the attempts at comedy and the comedic bits arenu0026#39;t exaggerated enough for me NOT to take them seriously. If you want to be comedic, be comedic. If you want to be serious, be serious. Donu0026#39;t try to meet halfway. The only point where I started taking the film completely seriously was at the end during the climax, and even then I didnu0026#39;t like what I was seeing. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile I held high hopes for this movie at the beginning thanks to its title, those hopes were quickly dashed when we were introduced to our resident serial killer, Mike. Now, nothing against the actor, but in a comedy with as dark a subject matter as this, there is no place for people. And thatu0026#39;s my main problem with Mike: the film tries too hard to portray him as a normal person while forgetting that comedy comes from the abnormal, the twisted, and the weird. Mike wasnu0026#39;t any of those things. He was just u0026quot;normalu0026quot;, and as such, the movieu0026#39;s attempts to portray his character comically fall flat. Then again, maybe I was supposed to take them seriously, but because of the unclear tone the movie had I was unsure whether I was supposed to laugh or be horrified. Most of the time I was horrified.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDespite that, while I might not have liked this movie, I let it keep two additional stars on the merit of its premise and the fact that while the problems in this movie are big ones, theyu0026#39;re hardly rage-inducing.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd please, if youu0026#39;re going to make a movie about a serial killer, go full-bore. Donu0026#39;t try to meet the two ends of the spectrum halfway.”