a serial killer's guide to life was val real

ASKGTL takes us on a bizzare, original, dark and funny journey in the form of a road trip to enlightenment via a number of grizzly murders. A SERIAL KILLER'S GUIDE TO LIFE is a wickedly fun ride for anyone fond of a laugh at (fictional) murder. Writer, director, editor Staten Cousins-Roe has created a wonderfully dark world as seen through the eyes of Lou, a young woman trapped at home with a frightningly needy mother. 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She befriends Val at one of the many self-help meetings she attends and the two decide to take a little trip together. Beautiful shot scenery and a star making performance from Poppy Roe. The short film, starring Poppy Roe, Katie Brayben, Sarah Ball, Christopher Gilling, and Adam. https://feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/1084180975-modernhorrors-death-dying-and-other-things-episode-56-message.mp3. [6], A trailer was released in January 2020. The service requires full cookie support in order to view this website. Lou Farnt (Brayben) is stuck in her life, with a dead-end job, no apparent friends to speak of, and still living with her domineering mother (Ball). After finding Val living at a trailer park, from this point on, Lous life takes a dramatic turn. Most of the films kills are not overly violent, focusing on the end result as opposed to an abundance of gore. Outwardly, Lou is quiet, shy, and socially awkward. Poppy Roe as Val is what will draw you in, because shes positively electric, but as Lou, Katie Brayben absolutely transforms from a milksop to a fully-realized person, and its brilliant to see someone grab life by the horns and smack it in the forehead with a rolling pin. Todd Martin Movie Review, Run time: 1h 48m. As the pair set off after item 3 begins, a boom mic is clearly reflected in the windows of the car. Whos played? The real highlight of the film is the interplay between Brayben and Roe. What is the Spanish language plot outline for A Serial Killer's Guide to Life (2019)? It is somewhat amusing how naive Lou is, in regard to Vals extra-curricular activities, and how long it takes her to realize she is taking life advice from a psychopath. What could have been a fun little dark comedy instead becomes something else all together and I just wasnt that impressed with the end result. Part One, The 3 Best, and Only, Thanksgiving Themed Horror Movies, Top Ten Horror Films For the Holidays 2022 from HNN Presents & Bayview Entertainment, Marketing Macabre Must Read Book List for Halloween 2022, Top Ten Exclusives For 2022 from HalloweenCostumes.com. Whilst the two women possess significant differences, one cant help but notice Lou has a well-hidden darkness lurking within her. Sian Clifford . Unfortunately for Lou, Val's a serial killer. This is just further proof that you cant trust anyone online. The film has on several occasions been compared to Ben Wheatleys Sightseers, and it is similar in tone and presentation. Being a single young woman who lives at home with her mother as basically a live in care taker , cooking, cleaning, bathing, etc. Although fairly predictable, the story still keeps you watching and wondering where this little journey will go next. They are opposites in every way imaginable. This isnt a cause I particularly care about: if not my cup of tea, Im sure some people find them helpful. Ok, mildly interesting, but the "twist" is completely illogical. She seeks escape from one self-help guru after another, spending her money on their books, DVDs and audio-tapes, though with little or no apparent positive results. Note the scene where she picks up a rock and begins to run after a woman. I think my biggest problem with the film is that it is just more boring than anything. When you give yourself over to possibility, anything can and will happen, Noah said in a voiceover. I recommend watchin it. Their roles are vastly different, and the actresses portray these irredeemable characters in a likable way. Katie Brayben, Poppy Roe, Ben Lloyd-Hughes. Lou is quiet and shy, not blind. Stuff happens. The short film, starring Poppy Roe, Katie Brayben, Sarah Ball, Christopher Gilling, and Adam Venus, proves the perfect jumping-off point for a feature film. She has a memory of herself killing her mother before leaving on this trip, with the image intercutting with that of Val murdering her mother. Her indecision passes quickly. Children at Play! Internet Service Terms The short attracted positive attention and sales, and the filmmakers in January 2017 did a crowdfunding campaign for a feature film they originally titled Self-Help. Show me something really scary. Lou, in contrast to Val, is meekly awkward. The acting was brilliant. A SERIAL KILLER'S GUIDE TO LIFE will be released on iTunes and Digital HD January 13, 2020. nice but fake and terribly nonsense in this society. He liked its "darkly humorous tone" that "nails the self-indulged attitudes and attributes of many a life-coaching element," and he "appreciated the dry tone and believable delivery from each actress, as well as the surrounding cast," but felt that, "The idea is a one-trick pony that doesn't truly evolve the premise beyond what's expected and becomes a rinse/repeat of therapeutic slayings that are visually stifled by repetitive cutaways and (sometimes) after-imagery of a corpse." A Serial Killers Guide to Life, arguably one of the best dark comedies to come out of the British Isles in a few years, was recently made available in these United States and Canada on iTunes and Digital HD Monday, 13 January 2020. https://bit.ly/3iEQTqW, Theres Something Wrong with the Children has a lot more going on for it than your average creepy-kid #horror #movie. [10] Picked up by Arrow Films for commercial distribution, it was released to digital media / video on demand in the US, Canada, and the UK on 13 January 2020,[1] including the streaming channels Amazon Prime and Hulu and the cable channel Showtime. Brayben as Lou is so very, very sad sack in films opening scenes that watching Roes film, one has a difficult time warming up to her. "A Serial Killer's Guide to Life" (2019 release from the UK; 80 min.) But her mother's emotional abusiveness changes her mind. I have written reviews before for other independent films and they can rate pretty low and high with all factors taken into consideration with the one major factor being I'm a filmmaker as well, is having the idea and visualizing it and making it come to life on screen for us to enjoy which is a major step in your career and the ultimate release in knowing you put out what you wanted to put out and not what a studio maybe demanded you input and change to make it adhere to there standards. Where the film does become more interesting is the twist where it reveals [PLOT SPOILERS] (with a certain ambiguity) that Poppy Roes Val is actually an imaginary companion/split personality in Lous head. A Serial Killer's Guide to Life is based on Roe's 2013 much-acclaimed short film This Way Out. Awards I choose to highlight this moment because it quintessentially illustrates the kind of person Lou is. Val Stone: I think you might be the best client, Lou. So when strange and strikingly confident new life coach Val (Poppy Roe) suddenly arrives on the scene and invites her on a road trip of alternative therapies, Lou finds the perfect opportunity to leave, and the perfect person to become. I absolutely loved it. Currently you are able to watch "A Serial Killer's Guide to Life" streaming on ARROW, Paramount+ Showtime. External Reviews Almost pumping into a man walking in the opposite direction, she is immediately brought out of her bubble. On the one hand, as a horror, it demands a taut, lean, thrill-ride, on the other, as a road movie, it would suggest a meandering, spiritual journey. Nick is a self-described rock star journalist, which is strange, considering hes married with two kids and three cats. Meh. brings the story of Lou and Val. 390 backers pledged 27,312 to help bring this project to life. A Serial Killer's Guide to Life - ARROW A Serial Killer's Guide to Life Serial murder meets self-help in A Serial Killer's Guide to Life - a darkly satirical cross between Thelma and Louise and Sightseers from the creative team behind the award-winning short film This Way Out (Best Comedy, Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2013). This film follows the wonderfully British tradition of darkly comic understatement! Either she regards them as a curse on humanity with their vapid schemes, or she simply wants to dispose of the competition. A Serial Killers Guide to Life is bookended by brief platitudes from fictional motivational speaker Chuck Knoah. . Production Company Forward Motion Pictures. There is a dry sense of black humour to the film the girls turning from bashing the head of Owain Rhys-Davies in with a rolling pin to saying Dont forget to bring the sandwiches. On the other hand, this is never a black comedy that goes for the throat or pushes everything into uncomfortable territory as a work like Sightseers does. A radio briefly mentions that a woman has been found murdered at a caravan park. Quintessentially British filmmaking with a heart. Low budget film making at its level best. All that changes when she meets Val (Poppy Roe, The Big Finish), an ambitious life . A Serial Killer's Guide to Life is a 2019 British satirical horror road movie written, directed, co-produced and co-edited by Staten Cousins Roe in his feature-length directorial debut. The likes of Killing Eve have shown even we British can engage in a gleeful embrace of the darker side of things. The two struggle, and Val is being overpowered when Lou kills the husband. Unfortunately for Lou, Vals a serial killer!. Lou is momentarily frozen by this unnecessary guilt trip. Weve seen this story beat used more effectively in other films. Lifelong horror fan, former projectionist & video store clerk. Despite this, given his self-serving tone, the scene suggests hes more interested in helping himself than he is other people. Val Stone: Yeah. Noah, a self-help coach, exudes confidence as he expresses his thoughts. Life is like a box of chocolates, Noah said, all the crappy ones get left behind.. I didnt think that things got particularly interesting until maybe the last 20 minutes or so and I am still not sure if I liked the big twist at the end or not as it reminded me of the ending of High Tension in a lot of ways (which I despised and feel ruined the entire movie for me). Copyright 2023 They find him a pathetic wreck, going through a terrible divorce and about to be dropped by his publisher for having no new book ideas. The script here is simply too gentle for the subject matter, not least with much of the violence happening off-screen. Weve got a #spoiler free review ready but, more importantly, check it out when it drops on digital next week. A self-help addict unwittingly finds herself on a killing spree with her unhinged life coach. While it could be waved away with the unreliable narrator trope, I did find myself wishing the film had handled either this decision or its reveal differently. We never get much insight into what makes it particularly empowering, since theres no sense of catharsis for Lou. Right from the beginning we're given an interesting protagonist (Lou) to follow and shortly after an equally deep and complex supporting character named Val. Lou dreams of self improvement and a better life. Despite a final-act story beat that may not resonate with all viewers, A Serial Killers Guide to Life is a worthwhile pitch-black comedy with engaging character work from its two leads. Val leaves her card and Lou goes to meet her. bloody, murderous road trip with Val doing all the killing during the first Firstly, how long you see the end twist coming before its announced. Kill off social media influencers, reality TV celebrities or Los Angeles Dodgers fans, and Id be right there with you. Lou Farnt is a meek young Englishwoman with poor self-esteem, who is emotionally browbeaten by her harsh and demanding mother, with whom she lives. All this changes on the day that Louise meets Val (Poppy Roe, who also edited and produced), a self-proclaimed life coach. Cast: Bella Ramsey, Billie Piper, Andrew Scott. Cleopatra Entertainment Unleashes The Long Dark Trail on Blu-ray/DVD! Metacritic Reviews. Tags 2019 A SERIAL KILLER'S GUIDE TO LIFE Ben Lloyd-Hughes Katie Brayben Poppy Roe Sarah Ball Sinead Matthews Staten Cousins Roe Tomiwa Edun. It seems clear that writer-director Roe holds a strong, likely personal grudge against self-help tutors, in order to create a movie which is largely based on showing their flaws, and then killing them off. If youve ever wondered what the title characters of Thelma (Geena Davis) & Louise (Susan Sarandon) would be like if they were serial killers, this would be it. But Lou cannot, and the two lay exhausted in the field. In addition to his work for Scene-Stealers, Nick can be found bitching about music elsewhere on the Internet at his blog, Rock Star Journalist, and as Music Editor for The Pitch. Lou is a pitiful woman that most people (including her overbearing mother) treat like garbage and she just takes it and tries to go on with her life. The title could have been an interesting one, and the story's pacing and camera language were an indescribable failure.The action scenes are also very simple. But how much you get out of it may depend on two things. Addicted to self-help guides and guru's Lou becomes beguiled by a mysterious women (Val) who seems to have it all, amazing self confidence, clear life goals and a action plan to achieve them. Sounds interesting, right? . Katie Brayben has the same gormless quality as Saskia Reeves did in that film, someone easily led in the wake of a more dominant unstable personality. The next morning, Val hurries Lou to leave. Its not until later that we discover shes a serial killer. It doesn't look like it was made with a ton of money and one can see where the corners were cut but it only adds to the brilliance, in my view. Lou stabs Val, who earlier had called the police in an attempt to frame Lou and escape. Please enable cookies on your browser and try again. That could have served as a clue to what would come by the end, but when that end arrived, it was unsatisfying and felt like I was hustled out of 90 wasted minutes that could have been something better, without spending a single Euro more on budget. Val, something that makes the character feel familiar, has a positively sinister aura around her. The latest release from Arrow Films is the British Black Comedy A Serial Killer's Guide to Life. Lou Farnt: It did feel pretty empowering, you know? Despite this constant diet of positive affirmations, Lou seems paralyzed, unable to make meaningful change in her life. All rights reserved. Ben Lloyd-Hughes . Is mysteriously enamored with self help gurus that preach about visualizing yourself as you wish to be, rich, married, successful, ya know the people that aren't really successful that tell you how to be successful, those people. A day later, at Val's invitation, Lou visits her at a caravan park. A Serial Killer's Guide to Life accomplishes this task tenfold and is one of the funniest and most original British films in a long time. This is a film where I didnt know which way it would go at the outset. She meets Val one day and they hit it off from the start even though they are totally different people and they go on a trip together, visiting several self-help retreats and the like. Val, a confident self-empowered woman, seems to possess the answers Lou needs to succeed in life. Staten Cousins Roe, Previous post: Inherit the Viper Doesnt Bite, Next post: Disturbing the Peace is a Crime, All Original Content 2007-2011 Scene-Stealers.com | Privacy Policy, Stunning The Lighthouse Deserves Your Attention, I Kill Giants Doesnt Inspire the Way its Built To, Danny Boyles New Film Puts You In a Trance, Avengers: Age of Ultron is a beached whale of a film. From Arrow films is the British Black Comedy a Serial Killer, from this point on, Lous life a... 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Val hurries Lou to leave gleeful embrace of the many self-help meetings she attends and the struggle! Story still keeps you watching and wondering where this little journey will go next to take little. Of her bubble next week on two things vastly different, and the two struggle and. Sarah Ball Sinead Matthews Staten Cousins Roe Tomiwa Edun tags 2019 a Serial Killer #! Simply too gentle for the subject matter, not least with much of the many self-help meetings she and. Said in a likable way scene where she picks up a rock and begins to Run after a has! Make meaningful change in her life aura around her the outset changes her mind of her....