Serial Killing 101 (2004)

This film seems to have been made on a budget, and took about two years to go from filming to release. And, mysteriously, it looks to be set in 1995, with the way Marilyn Manson is presented. (If it is actually in 2002, the Manson posters and shirts are very out of date.) Thomas Haden Church is amazing, Lisa Loeb actually pulls off a good look, despite being in her thirties and playing a high school girl. Corey Feldman shows up briefly... so briefly, in fact, it is a wonder why he appears at all.The plot is great. Some aspects are predictable, others not so much. Anyone who enjoys studying serial killers should enjoy this film, and the gore effects are decent, too. There are a few moments of really bad CGI, but they are not so obnoxious that they cannot be overlooked.I would not say to go out of your way to see this film, but it really is better than you might expect from the cover. If the purpose of a film is to entertain, this one succeeded.

*SPOILERS For Dummies* 17-year-old Casey Noland (Justin Urich), who has lost his father, a cop, a year before, claims that he's going to be a serial killer to impress his classmate Sasha (Lisa Loeb), who seems to be fascinated by the subject.But there is a killer on the loose on campus, and he has to find him before someone he loves could meet a grisly end. Suspect N° 1 is the gym teacher (Thomas Hayden Church)...'Serial Killing 4 Dummys' is a nice movie which tries to blend dark comedy with thriller, and does a fair job of it, even if some characters and side plots are pretty annoying.Urich works as a leading man, and though there is quite the age difference between her and her character (she's in her 30s and plays a high school student) so does Lisa Loeb, and Thomas Hayden Church gives another top-notch performance.Serial Killing 4 Dummys: 6/10.

I bought the dvd very cheap, had never heard of this movie before, knew none of the actors by name and just went for the title (which incidentally on my copy just read: "Serial Killer"), the summary on the backside ("teen has an obsession to become a serial killer and looks for persons to test his skills on") and the genre-indication "horror". So I figured that I was in for some highschool slashing and akward acting (which can actually be quite amusing when you've nothing better to watch). Surprise!! This is no horror at all, not even scary, and I didn't even sense any pretension to be a parody for a horror-movie. It's just a very funny movie, based on a horror-like theme, which is of course totally unrealistic (a highschool teen who tells everyone that his career-prospective is to be a serial killer) but treated so consistently that you kind of get along with it. It's not hilarious, but has a dry, tongue-in-cheek kind of humour. There's some good acting (Justin Urich, who's very cute by the way, and the mother), and Thomas Haden Church's acting goes in a convincing and funny way totally over the top! I really had a great time watching it. So if anyone can get his hands on it: don't hesitate but buy it!!

I saw this movie last year at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan. It was a Friday night, the perfect time to watch it, and I had a great time.MINOR SPOILERS Stuart Stone plays a High School student who gets complaints from his teachers for having no ambition. So Stone decides he wants to be famous by becoming a serial killer. Along the way, Lisa Loeb (yes, Lisa Loeb), a fellow student and outcast finds out about his scheme and wants to be his first victim. She helps him become the part by grooming him, helping him research, etc. Unfortunately, he doesn't have it in him to kill people. And things get bad when killings start happening in his town, and he isn't the one doing them. SPOILERS ENDThis movie was very entertaining, though it seems a little cliched, it's a great movie to watch at night on the weekend. And you can't go wrong with a cameo from Cory Feldman.Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find this movie since I saw it last year. I hope it comes to video soo.9/10