The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Dreadfully Boring

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

While this isn't a bad film -- hence the 5/10 rating -- it's best avoided because of an extremely nasty and protracted scene (a beating). That scene went on for far too long and would, I suggest, have been as effective if it had been considerably shorter.

Bad acting, bad directing, bad writing = predictable and not good. Don't waste your time.

Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me is one of the most flat out disturbing films ever made under the sun, even if only for a few brief, harrowing sequences encased in a lurid, laconic, southern fried oddity of a story that defies genre confinement while still planting vague roots in crime drama. When the sequences I speak of show up, and you'll know exactly when, it takes you right off guard and immediately notifies you that the film has no intentions of towing a line within anyone's comfort zone. It's an odd story for someone to strive to tell, and one wonders what inky black corners of the psyche that Jim Thompson was spellunking in when he scribed the novel on which this is based. It starts off conventionally enough, under the prosperous sun of the West Texas desert in the heat of the 1950's. Sheriff's Deputy Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) is a regular enough guy, tasked with rousing a local prostitute (Jessica Alba) living in nearby suburbia. He also deals with the dodgy real estate kingpin Chester Conway (a blustery Ned Beatty) and his cronies. He's also got a cute fiancé (Kate Hudson). He's calm, cool and connected, right up until the part where he turns out to be a certifiable grade A murdering psychopath. Affleck let's the authoritarian composure bleed away and reveal the layers of evil beneath, until we begin to wonder if the film we are watching has been interrupted by someone taping over it with something far darker. But no... it's the same movie. It just veers into territory we didn't expect and may be taken aback by. Affleck discovers the psychopath within himself, and fits inside the characteristics like a glove. The first person to stray into his path is Alba, and there's a sequence where he gives her a royal, merciless, and bloody beatdown that will shiver your spine in its blunt, head-on realism. It's seriously stomach churning stuff, and levels off both the film and Affleck's role in pure stone cold seriousness. He's a budding lunatic, made all the more dangerous by bis position of power within law enforcement and shielded by his trustworthy reputation. The film resists generic story beats, and instead meanders about, diligently following Affleck from encounter to macabre encounter, discovering his dark interior nature without much rhyme or reason as far as conventional plot goes. This has a wickedly prolific cast for such a risky film, with fine work from Bill Pullman, Brent Briscoe, Tom Bower, Simon Baker and the ever reliable Elias Koteas who adds to the cumulative unease. It's Affleck's shown though, and he splinters nerves with his unpredictable, hollow and fascinating portrait of a psychopath. Soon we begin to wonder what he sees and heats is real, as characters he interacts with seem to come back from the dead and knowingly coach him towards trouble in trademark indications of serious mental distrbance. This one arrives at it's end severely south of where it started from, taking the viewer off guard. Those who appreciate the tantalizing, prickly nature of a thriller that isn't afraid to seriously shake up your nerves and take you places you've only been to on clammy nightmares will appreciate it. Just mentally psych yourself up for that scene I mentioned, because it will scar you and then some.

This is a completely misogynistic film; it involves countless acts of violence against women. On top of that, it condones domestic abuse because the female characters are shown liking that abuse."Art" and "freedom of speech" cannot be used as excuses to celebrate messages of hatred. It's not 'just a movie'; media has an affect on individuals and society as a whole. To depict acts of violence without outright condemning the abuse is completely irresponsible writing and directing.I've seen a lot of sexist and misogynistic films but this one is on top of the pile.