A Horrible Way To Die Review

18th Mar 2012

Sigh. Here we go again, a serial killer escapes from prison in order wreak revenge on those who wronged him. Having not read or heard anything about the film prior to watching it, this reviewer expected a bog-standard, low-budget serial killer flick full dirty, violent scenes. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that A Horrible Way To Die avoids all the clichés and actually turns out to be a good little independent film.

We meet Sarah (Amy Seimetz, Wristcutters: A Love Story ) at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in a small Midwest town. Recovering alcoholic Sarah is a troubled young woman with a heck of a lot baggage, which is not surprising as we soon discover her ex-love is notorious, moustachioed serial killer Garrick Turrell (AJ Bowen, You’re Next) . Having previously discovered Turrell’s “kill room” and initiating events that lead to his arrest, Sarah is struggling to rebuild her life, but when she meets the affable Kevin ( Joe Swanberg, Cabin Fever II))it seems as though her luck is finally starting to turn around. However, Sarah’s new found happiness is threatened when Turrell stages a somewhat implausible escape from prison. As Turrell makes his way towards Sarah he leaves a trail of gruesome murders in his wake, will Sarah be able to hold her new life and sobriety together with the help of Kevin? Will they escape Turrell before he finds Sarah or does a horrible, all too familiar, fate await her?

Despite the body count this film does not contain an excessive amount of gore or violence. There are some horridly graphic scenes but the film is not saturated with them, therefore when they do occur they have a powerfully disturbing effect instead of appearing gratuitous and cheap, which is often the case. The film starts slowly, but as the scrambled timeline reveals the past and present the film picks up pace and draws you in. The characterisation is one of the films high points. In too many films a serial killer is portrayed as either a slavering lunatic or a Machiavellian figure that enjoys nothing more than playing mind games with those around him, Garrick Turrell does not fall foul to either of these stereotypes. Sure, he’s a little weepy, but for once we get to see what seems to be a more realistic version of a man who is repeatedly driven to kill. Certainly his character is more believable than the majority of serial killers Hollywood delivers. Sarah makes for a sympathetic lead as Turrell’s ex and again the film avoids the clichés by making her neither complicit nor wilfully ignorant of Turrell’s penchant for chopping up women. In fact Sarah’s character is a touchingly human portrayal of a woman who has been dealt a tough hand and is trying to overcome her situation. Kevin is an understanding stranger who offers her support and humour and you can’t help but root for them as a couple, hoping that Kevin will provide Sarah’s happy ending. There are no household names in this film but that does not lessen the quality of the acting, the whole cast give, good, believable performances and they avoid hamming it up, which helps to add realism to the film. In fact all three of the leads have worked together again on Wingard’s upcoming film You’re Next, clearly the Director sees chemistry between the three of them and he is not wrong. Of course this film has a couple of twists, one more obvious than the other, but on the whole they totally derail the audience’s preconceptions, which is arguably the whole point of a twist.

The Director, Adam Wingard (You’re Next, Paradox Mary), has created an atmospheric film but the shaky camera work, constant lingering close-ups and wavering focus can become tiresome and, at times, distracting. However, the budget on this film was low and Wingard’s artful direction does help to disguise this, but this does not make it any less irritating. There are also some gaping plot holes, for example Turrell’s escape seems unlikely and this is not helped by the “escape scene” barely being touched on, the man may be dangerous but asking the audience to believe he could escape from a reinforced vehicle full of armed guards, equipped with little more than a nail, is a stretch. Furthermore Sarah is supposedly in witness protection, so it is odd that after Turrell’s escape she is neither contacted, nor protected, by any sort of law enforcement agency. To be fair this reviewer is nit-picking, but when a film is striving for realism it’s a shame to see it let down by silly plot holes.

In all A Horrible Way To Die is a surprising film, it does not conform to expectations and has a couple of surprises up its sleeve. The Director has done well to create an atmospheric and original film but he may want to ease up on the camera trickery, sometimes less really is more. The characters are well-acted, well-written and manage to avoid predictable stereotypes. Don’t let the title fool you, A Horrible Way To Die is far more than just another low-budget, serial killer story, it’s a story that deals with themes such as love, betrayal, addiction and redemption and it deserves far more credit than the title and artwork suggest.