ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The Movie Diorama From the very few indie films that I have seen, I should really expect the unexpected. Yet here I am, again...wondering what the heck did I just watch!? The story revolves around a teenager who is obsessed with death and murder. His hometown of Clayton is currently experiencing several deaths in which our protagonist attempts to find the culprit. So...automatically, even just by acknowledging the title, I thought this would be a character study on a psychotic teen who slowly becomes a serial killer. In which, to be fair, that concept is explored both on a subtextual and contextual level. His obsession overwhelms him which could be interpreted for any obsession. Defining the line between passion and obsession, the film utilises murder to convey this. Then...then then then...'I Am Not A Serial Killer' becomes 'I Am Under The Skin'. Quite literally. I was so adamant I knew what was going to happen, even before playing the film and yet the indie genre slaps me round the face and shouts "no, you're wrong. Prepare yourself for this...". Honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about this film. It's intelligent and original no doubt, but the forced abnormal plot just seemed too unusual. So unusual that I think it detracts from the ideas that the film evokes. The psychological aspects are thrown to the side line whilst the narrative focuses purely on this weird story. Is he imagining it? Is it actually happening? Whatever it is, it's hard to relate to the characters. I don't know what to say, I just didn't fully connect with this and couldn't jump onboard. Christopher Lloyd was great as usual, glad he got a decent amount of screen time. The direction was solid all round, really liked the smudges and dirt on the camera lens in certain shots. The ending wasn't powerful or clever. I mean...it concludes fine, but I wanted it to be more psychologically stimulating. It just wasn't. In the end, this was a so-so affair. I liked the technical aspects but disliked the surreal plot to illustrate psychotic behaviour.

ejuopperi Slow paced ? No ! It's called great character development and great story which you want more of ! Amazing script, acting and excellent executed! Christopher Lloyd is fantastic in this role, and it's a joy to see him act out his role. The movie itself has an late 80s early 90s aura around it, which is great.The soundtrack, atmosphere and the way the movie was filmed felt authentic and real and that combined with everything else just made this movie so awesome. I really can't compare it to anything, but I felt like if the movie Southbound, The Void and the TV show Stranger Things would have a love child it would be named I am not a series killer. When Lloyd quoted William Blake it gave me goosebumps and a chill down my spine. A must watch ! 9/10 for an amazing horror, thriller, drama !

Nick Duguay Reminiscent of the work of Cronenberg, particularly his pre- 2000's era, I Am Not a Serial Killer was a much better watch than I had expected. As some have pointed out, it is a slow burner, but I think that's necessary to give us insight and character development. At it's core, IANASK is a character study of our protagonist, John Cleaver. Is John Cleaver destined to be a serial killer? Is he a sociopath? Is he good, is he evil? These are the questions we find ourselves asking time and time again throughout the film as his words and actions contradict themselves and each other over and over. John Cleaver is a teenager and with all of the issues that face any normal teenager he also has to deal with some extremely difficult and strange problems. He is misunderstood, he doesn't know how to express himself, he is unsure of his feelings and his identity. If this movie had been gutted of the sci-fi aspect I am perfectly confident that this would have been a wonderful quality drama focusing on John's school and home life and how he deals with his father's absence and his homicidal ideations. That being said, I think the film works just fine as it is- really much better than it sounds on paper. IANASK has an organic feel in it's material that is hard to find and much sought after by many cinephiles, and that is the artistic vision of its creator. Not having seen any of O'Brien's other films I can't tell you if this elusive vision is that of the director or moreso of the source material, the novel by Dan Wells that it was based on; or, of course, a perfect marriage of the two. What I can tell you is that this film is not only fresh and interesting in way of the story but also the cinematography, shot beautifully on 16mm film, which gives the film a much more stately and artistic feel than this sort of material would have easily afforded shot digitally with the increasingly common voyeuristic hand-held style. All in all IANASK is a perfect example of modern film that still has heart, soul, and style; and as such it is a breath of fresh air in today's Hollywood climate.

toot toot If your thing is jumpscares galore or "made from the producers of most of the popular horror films this season" don't watch this movie. With that said...As a huge horror movie fanatic, from psychological and paranormal to the gory sides of it, I've seen so many that I've grown tired of the modern cash-grabs. This is where "I am not a serial killer" separates itself from the rest. Now, I haven't read the book, so I can't judge it based on its adaptation. However, as a standalone indie movie it surpassed all my expectations. For one, the setting isn't typically what you'd expect from a horror movie. Yes, a small town and a troubled teen, but John Wayne Cleaver (the teen), wasn't typical either. We follow a kid who has sociopathic tendencies, and the film even goes to the extent of calling him A sociopath. Yes, we've seen anti-heroes, psychopaths and sociopaths as protagonists fighting evil, but this film simply does it in, perhaps, a more honest approach. He's struggling with himself, with his violent urges and anti-social behavior, and in a way he finds escape through fighting the greater evil. And not to get too personal here, but to an extent I related to the main character. The antagonist doesn't fall in any particular category of famous horror movie villains, but it is maybe because of that, that he fit the story. The ending gave a great insight as well to his actions and his own story and we might feel, in a way, empathetic to his reasons. The supporting characters were really nicely written as well, I think.I'm not saying this is a perfect horror movie, *cough* the CGI *cough* but I honestly don't think it'd be fair to compare it to the usual things we get these days. Whereas not only horror movies, but movies of any genre focus more on the CGI, this movie has a better developed story line, better structured characters and an intriguing calm winter aesthetic about it. It is much slower paced than regular horror flicks out there, but it really deserves a watch.Having said all this, my intention isn't to undermine popular modern horror movies, I actually quite enjoyed "The Conjuring 2", instead to hopefully provoke people who want an aesthetically pleasing horror to watch "I am not a serial killer".PS: I'm not sure if John Wayne Cleaver is named after John Wayne Gacy, but that'd be an interesting choice if it were true.