Indy Review Re-visited: Some Guy Who Kills People

The horror, thriller, dark comedy Some Guy Who Kills People has this guy, call him Every-Guy-Who-Has-Survived-Childhood-Prosecution, But-Not-Without-Several-Years-of-Therapy; or Some Guy works too. More importantly, he kills people. No, really, it’s in the title and this movie title doesn’t lie. It also doesn't let down when it comes to dark humor and slashing skill.

Thankfully Some Guy is at the forefront of one of those movements that defines the independent film making style of art-house/fringe that is fresh and exciting. Starting with the the title - Some Guy Who Kills People - straight forward, blatantly obvious, and sums it up in five easy words. Another of these recent logline titles is Hobo with a Shotgun, again, you know exactly what this movie is about in four words - or do you? As previously mentioned, in the film scripting business this kind of title doubles as a logline. A logline is designed to represent the entire movie in a pitch to film execs. Designed is the key word especially when it comes to Some Guy. It literally “sounds” simple by “design,” but in contrast to what you actually get on page and screen the simplicity of it fades in comparison to the multi-layered meaning behind the words. Some Guy Who Kills People is a title that asks…“What guy?” “Who does he kill?” “Why does he kill them?” “How does he kill them?” “What other things does this guy do?” “Is he justified?” “Will they catch him?” “He is the guy, right?” Well the last one, at least, is obvious. But before getting into that here's a look at the major players in this film.

Writer/Producer Ryan Levin is one of those guys responsible for shows like Scrubs and South Park and even pitched jokes to Sascha Baron Cohen when he stormed America with Borat et al. He put together his first short film to contemplate “what if” there had actually been casting involved in putting together the atrocious 2 Girls 1 Cup phenomena. His foray into horror began with a short film called Tour de Fright (2008) which is about some Americans who find out competing in the Tour de France is more than just physically demanding. As a follow up he created the sardonically humored The Fifth about some poker buddies that have a hard time keeping a fifth player because one of them has a job that continually gets in the way (he's a serial killer). Ryan claims The Fifth is the inspiration for Some Guy Who Kills People (See “Some Guy Who Kills People” by Creepercast for more). Even though there's little similarity between the two films one should be able to figure out the most important correlation. Some Guy is undoubtedly a culmination of all his experiences. A dark comedic horror with a slasher, a love story, a small society study, and ultimately a lesson. Meanwhile, director Jack Perez is best known for putting together some of those silly Asylum Pictures many love to hate/hate to love, the most notable being Mega-Shark Vs Giant Octopus (2009) (See “Some Guy Who Kills People” by Creepercast for more). Making an Asylum film, for directors, is really an exercise in how to create a lot with very little despite the silliness. A technique that Jack brings to Some Guy Who Kills People with expertise of purposely crafted silly. Asylum films also have the knack for creating expert director-story tellers. Something Jack had already proven with his independent masterpiece The Big Empty (1997) and perfects with Some Guy. The independent horror doesn't stop there for this duo (Jack and Ryan), shortly after wrapping Some Guy they teamed up for the twisted fairytale short-film T is for Tantrum (a Tooth Fairy gone wrong story) as part of The ABC's of Death anthology from Drafthouse Pictures. Finally, Some Guy is Executive Produced by none other than John Landis (Animal House (1978), An American Werewolf in London (1981). Add a stellar cast and a darkly layered humorous story, Some Guy Who Kills People is a recipe for a well put together independent horror flick.

So here's the story... Ken Boyd (Kevin Corrigan - True Romance (1993), Grounded for Life (2001)) is a depressed fellow just released from an insane asylum where he was treated for severe depression due too torture he received from school bullies years before. As part of his release and reintroduction to society his sardonic mother (Karen Black - Hitchcock’s Family Plot (1976), and Rob Zombie’s House of 1,000 Corpses (2003)) reluctantly takes him in and his best friend, Irv (Leo Fitzpatrick – The Wire (2002), My Name is Earl (2005)), also helps out by getting him a job at the hometown ice cream parlor. No one has ever said that reintegration was easy, especially when you go back to the same town that made you insane to begin with. Flashbacks cleverly link to new taunts by old bullies, a mother learns to cope with her troubled prodigal son, and a town ruled by rumors and labels struggles to accept one of their own back into the fold. Fortunately Ken still has his main coping mechanism, the graphic art novel he's created, to bridge his troubles from the past to those of the present. Ken also manages to attract a girlfriend (Lucy Davis – Shaun of the Dead (2004)), but his life is further complicated by his daughter Amy (Ariel Gade - Dark Water (2005), Alien vs. Predator-Requiem (2007)) that didn’t know he existed prior, and is un-relentless in her desire to learn more about him and make him a part of her own troubled life. As if this wasn't enough, while some guy in a ski mask is killing off all the old bullies, the deceptively bumbling Sheriff Fuller (brilliantly portrayed by Barry Bostwick – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Spin City (1996), and Cougar Town (2010)) is hot on the trail of the killer, and Ken's mother. The fact that Ken's latest graphic novel depicts each grisly bully death in detail probably doesn't help his case.

As mentioned earlier, the title Some Guy Who Kills People is by “design.” There is this amazing juxtaposition between literal and metaphorical killing at work that is both exhilarating and cathartic. Ken Boyd is “Every-Guy-Who-Has-Survived-Childhood-Prosecution-But-Not-Without-Several-Years-of-Therapy” because he represents geeks, nerds, and outcasts who can feel for, nay, identify with the mentality that lead to Ken murdering these bullies on the page. Now of course this isn’t a new concept. It’s too easy of a concept to not have been exploited before. But today, as concerns over childhood bullying has become prevalent in the news, Some Guy stands as a testament to what separates the artist from the realist, or, fictional horror versus real life horrors. Some Guy is Ryan and Jack's commentary on the horrors of bullying and the methods by which people cope with real tragedy, vindication, and revenge. So the question that remains when it comes to Some Guy is... does life imitate art, or art imitate life? It's a really slippery slope.

As far as dark comedic horror goes Some Guy Who Kills People is at the top of the game. Kevin Corrigan (Ken) easily balances angst and torment with ridicule. Karen Black (Ken's Mother) sarcasm is real and her clever interplay with Bostwick is fun to watch. Ariel Gade (Amy) is intelligent, brash, and delightful. But, without question, a greater portion of the comedy accolades go to Barry Bostwick and his “seemingly bumbling” portrayal of Sheriff Walter Fuller (See “We Talk with Mr. Barry Bostwick!” by Creepercast for more). Aided by Levin’s writing and Perez’s directing, his depiction of an ignorant and self absorbed Sheriff in a middle class American society is archetypal. He has all the great one liners and delivers them naturally. Upon the discovery of one victim he declares, “Where’s the head? We have a body but there aint no head! You can’t have a body without a head!” The inter-action between Bostwick and Karen Black (Ken's mother) after he has to arrest Ken as a suspect for all the murders is priceless. The Keystone Cop like pairing with a deputy that thinks all the one liners are planned and tries to join in with his own horrible puns only adds credence to this realism. Sheriff Fullers best line? “We’re going to find this guy, and we’re going to skin him. Then we’re going to make him wear his own skin!”

There is very little about Some Guy Who Kills People that wasn’t delightfully designed. It builds in pace with cleverly sprinkled death scenes as each kill is quickly pulled off. Creative camera shots with minimal blood and gore that holds to a level of dark comedy that should make the Coen Brothers proud. Even so, it quickly becomes obvious that the deaths were not the real focus of the film. Ken Boyd’s struggle with normalcy in a far from normal world is the real story. This makes Some Guy a must see for fans of slashers that want heart, style, comedy, and thought provoking interaction. Of Course such a slasher flick doesn't exist, the whole idea is an oxymoron and reserved for family films. Well friends, Some Guy Who Kills People is a living and breathing oxymoron!

For the trailer and more visit Some Guy Who Kills People's YouTube channel. Rent Some Guy from Netflix (DVD) or Redbox. Purchase it at Amazon and get bonus features like behind the scenes footage, commentary from cast and crew, and the inspirational short-film The Fifth.