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Some Guy Who Kills People (2011)
Anchor Bay Entertainment
DVD Released: 7/3/2012
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Review by Mike Long, Posted on 7/18/2012
When The Silence of the Lambs premiered in 1991, it completely changed the landscape of the serial killer film. Sure, there had been movies about multiple-murderers in the past, but Jonathon Demme's adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel was a breath of fresh air. Of course, this resulted in many, many imitators and to this day, we continue to get serial killer movies. (And, every few years someone is convinced that it's time to bring Hannibal Lecter back.) The good news is that every once in a while, someone tries to put a new spin on the serial killer genre, such as with Some Guy Who Kills People.
Ken Boyd (Kevin Corrigan) was violently abused by a group of his peers when he was a teenager. This caused him to later have a nervous breakdown, which resulted in a stay in a mental hospital. Ken has now returned home and is living with his mother, Karen Black. His friend Irv (Leo Fitzpatrick) gets Ken a job at an ice cream parlor. However, Ken doesn't find this appealing, as he sometimes has to wear an ice cream cone costume. While in said costume, Ken runs into Stephanie (Lucy Davis) at a party, and they flirt. Meanwhile, people who heckle Ken are being murdered in gruesome ways and Ken is often out all night. He always like wearing a ski mask. Sheriff Fuller (Barry Bostwick) tries to piece together clues from the crime scenes in order to get leads. He's also dating Ken's mother. In another part of town, a young girl named Amy (Ariel Gade) questions who mother about the identity of her father, and she learns that it's Ken. She introduced herself to him and then horns in on his life.
As you can tell, there's a lot going on in Some Guy Who Kills People and the movie tries to cram a lot of plot in all at once. The main focus is always Ken and his strange life. Although we get few details about his hospitalization, he's clearly trying to make the best of things. But, he hates his job, his mother is often spiteful towards him, and he keeps drawing very violent images in his sketchbook. Oh, and there's the fact that he keeps killing people. When Amy is thrown into the mix, Ken suddenly finds himself being a father and trying to learn to care for someone else. This brings out a mixture of paternal instincts and an over-protective streak.
The problem with Some Guy Who Kills People is that it never balances these ideas and squanders the interesting portions of the story. Writer Ryan Levin has bitten off more than he can chew and he really should have focused on Ken and Amy. The idea of a serial killer suddenly getting a kid is an interesting one which has a lot of comedic potential. The title certainly makes the movie sound as if it would be a black comedy, if not a straight-up spoof. (Seriously, Some Guy Who Kills People could sit on the shelf right next to Scary Movie in the send up section.) However, someone forgot to tell the makers of the film to be funny. There are ample opportunities for some sly humor here, but the laughs rarely surface. For the most part, the movie is very flat. It's not funny, the murder scenes are standard, and the drama never really takes off.
And then something weird happens -- in the last few minutes, Some Guy Who Kills People becomes a murder mystery. Wait a minute...this was a mystery? Since when? This sudden change doesn't feel organic and negates about 90% of the film. The movie certainly could have used a good plot twist, but the change exhibited here is nearly bewildering. It changes how we view some of the characters, but it also feels like Levin and Director Jack Perez wimped out and didn't make the straight-ahead serial killer movie which they could have. The saddest thing about Some Guy Who Kills People is that there is the seed of a good movie in here somewhere. Imagine The Silence of the Lambs meets The Professional and you've got an indication of the quirky drama this movie could have been. Instead, we are left with an uneven movie which tries to dip into too many genres.
Some Guy Who Kills People made me glad to see Laura Kightlinger getting work on DVD courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, showing only a fine sheen of grain at times and no defects from the source material. The image is somewhat dark at times, but the action is usually visible. The colors look good, most notably the red blood and the green of the ice cream costume. The image doesn't exhibit much artifacting. However, it does have an overall flat appearance, which gives the movie a low-budget look. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The track provides some nice stereo effects in key scenes, as we are treated to specific sounds coming from the right and left speakers. The surround sound in good at times, most notably during the basketball game. Ken's flashbacks produce some nice surround effects, and are accompanied by some subwoofer "booms".
The Some Guy Who Kills People DVD contains a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Producer Ryan Levin and Director/Co-producer Jack Perez. "Making of" (13 minutes) really should have been called "Interview with Jack Perez", as the director talks us through some of the key scenes in the film and how the script got to the screen. This is peppered with a nice amount of on-set footage which illustrates the things which Perez is describing. We also get comments from Executive Producer John Landis who gives his thoughts on the movie. "The Fifth" (13 minutes) is a short film which contains some cast members from Scrubs which was written and directed by Ryan Levin. (I had to look this up, as there are no credits on the movie.) The final extra is a TRAILER for Some Guys Who Kills People.
Review Copyright 2012 by Mike Long