Mex Records

(On Cable TV, September 2022) I had a big, big built-in reluctance to watch I Am Not a Serial Killer: I am not a fan of serial killer movies, and even less of films that somehow glorify serial killers. The main idea of I Am Not a Serial Killer, alas, builds on the serial-killer-as-a-hero idea. Our character is a young man living in a small Midwestern town: nothing special if it wasn’t for the strong suspicion that he is exhibiting all of the hallmarks of a budding serial killer. (The film doesn’t dwell much on this in order to keep him likable, I guess, so we largely have his word to go on this.) But he’s working on it: he’s in frequent conversations with a therapist, he has solid de-escalation mechanisms to diffuse his violent tendencies, and his job at the local mortuary takes care of many of his more morbid interests. But as the dismal winter goes on, he starts suspecting that his town harbours a secret: people keep turning up not only violently murdered, but missing body parts. Could there be another serial killer in town? As it turns out, I Am Not a Serial Killer makes the welcome leap into the supernatural: there is something in town, but it’s not human and it’s hungry for more. And there’s the third act for you: a budding (but reluctant) serial killer versus murderous monster. It ends up more fun than I had expected. Mex Records isn’t bad in the lead role, but it’s Christopher Lloyd who turns in a surprising supporting performance worth noticing. I Am Not a Serial Killer is not quite a fun film—the cinematography channels the desperation of a snowy winter that just won’t end, the directing goes for dark and gritty, while the topic matter is decidedly unfun with characters dying horribly throughout the film. It’s all implausible, but still better than most ordinary slashers. I won’t go as far as to say I liked it, but I found it better than expected and that’s already not bad.