How to Be a Serial Killer (2008)

After the last entry, I'd set today aside to review a festive movie I actually enjoy. At some point between then and now, however, Mr. Beaupepys approached, saying he'd found something interesting for us to watch and that I wouldn't have heard of it. I didn't believe him, of course, because not much slips under my radar, but on this occasion he was right: I really didn't know anything at all about How to Be a Serial Killer.

It turns out that the trick to it is self-discipline, mostly, although sticktoitiveness is also key.

Seriously, though, if a title like that doesn't pique your curiosity, are you entirely sure you're not already dead?

Shot as a mockumentary (mostly), the film is quick to introduce our two protagonists: video store clerk Bart (Matthew Gray Gubler) and customer Mike (Dameon Clarke). Having watched Bart put up with a torrent of verbal abuse from the only other customer in the store, Mike approaches the counter and asks Bart one question: If you could do absolutely anything to him, what would you do? It takes a while for Bart to respond, but his eventual answer leads Mike, the titular serial killer, to take him on as his pupil. From that point onwards, both parties embark on a personal journey that we, the viewers, are privileged to share.

The good

These days, I watch most films with my notepad in hand so I can jot down anything I want to bring up when I write about them. Normally, I land up with about a page of notes, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. This time, however, I was so engaged in the onscreen action that I didn't even manage half a page. From start to finish, How to Be a Serial Killer was an absolute blast. 

Credit for this has to go to the two leads, both of whom strike just the right note for this sort of dark comedy. Dameon Clarke shines as Mike, in the showier of the two roles - hardly surprising, given that his resume includes a truly excellent turn as Handsome Jack, one of the main villains of the acclaimed Borderlands video game franchise. With his relaxed charisma and sharp social conscience, Mike is a model citizen in every respect other than the obvious, and while I never exactly rooted for him against his victims, I certainly found myself hoping he'd somehow get away with his crimes. Particularly enjoyable are the fantasy segments that act as chapter headers to the story, as Mike imagines himself a self-help guru delivering a talk to a packed theatre of acolytes. These give Clarke the chance to really cut loose, and even now, I'm giggling at the memory.

As his pupil, Matthew Gray Gubler has arguably the more difficult part to play - we expect murderers to be somehow unhinged, after all, but what could send an ordinary person wandering down that dark path? Gubler imbues Bart with a sort of puppyish enthusiasm that suggests he might have willingly followed any leader, had they just given him the attention he needed to blossom - I found myself reminded, at the unlikeliest of moments, of Emmett from the Lego Movie.

Let's not kid ourselves here: this is definitely the Clarke and Gubler show, although they're aided by writer-director Luke Ricci's riotously playful script. This is a proper, balls-out black comedy that might want us to like its main players but never, ever begs us for sympathy on their behalf, and I cannot tell you quite how refreshing I found this.

Morally speaking, the film is solid, at least until you consider that most of said morality is being dispensed by somebody who slaughters people for kicks. Not a new concept, but an interesting one, and very effective indeed when played for laughs. 

The bad

As I've already stated, there's a lot to love in this one - so much, in fact, that I'm inclined to ignore such flaws as it possesses. There's no getting around it, however: structurally, How to Be a Serial Killer is a mess. Parts of it are played out in mockumentary format, parts as straight narrative and parts as fantasy sequences, but we're never given any clue as to which is which or why they're happening. Worse, the same music plays throughout, leaving me initially confused as to which thread was carrying the primary narrative and then mildly frustrated by the sheer sloppiness of it.

One more thing about the music: I thought it sounded like a bunch of cheap library tracks from the late 80s. Mr. Beaupepys thought it sounded as though it came from a cheesy porn movie. There's the possibility that we're both right here, given that my cinematic knowledge only extends so far in certain directions, but the point I'm trying to make is that a film this good deserves a far, far better soundtrack. It's a minor thing, but I honestly believe that little things like these are all that held it back from cult classic status.

Oh, and while I'm quibbling: video store clerk? In 2008? Really?

The verdict

Confident, mischievous and eminently quotable, this is one of the most enjoyable films I've seen this year - heck, in plenty of years it would have clinched the #1 shot. Flawed but forgivably so, this one deserves a far wider audience, so why not try and track it down?