A Horrible Way To Die (2010)

Now that Oddities is over and the girls have gone to sleep it is a great time to enjoy something a bit darker. While I do enjoy watching things with them, I definitely have to draw a line in what they can watch. Personally, I have little problems with movies and such, as I remember watching some of the great 1970s/1980s horror flicks with my parents at the theatre (Phantasm, The Fog, Friday the 13th, etc.) and I turned out pretty good. However, as society has changed for the worse and political correctness has gone overboard, I would not want to be accused of something stupid. To me, these  cultural changes have gone a long way in creating the social problems that we face, as people are too consumed by everything and everyone else instead of what they should be focused on. Enough of that, the movie I chose for the evening is A Horrible Way To Die from 2010.

Plot/ Notorious serial killer Garrick Turrell  has just escaped police custody and resumed his killing spree. His former girlfriend and recovering alcoholic Sarah has recently moved to a small Midwestern town and is trying to put her life back together. She regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where she meets fellow addict Kevin. Kevin is romantically interested in Sarah, but she remains withdrawn: her past continues to haunt her and may soon catch up with her, as Garrick is leaving a trail of bodies in his hunt to find her.

This character driven thriller is interesting in many ways. The spiraling and parallel storylines are dark and dismal; unfortunately, there is excessively much going on to grasp in one sitting, creating holes that are truly hard to overlook. Much of these holes are caused by the continuous use of flashbacks that skew the linearity of the film. I will admit, the cinematography is challenging to watch, as some of the scenes are artistically filmed, while others seem extremely out of place. Honestly, at times this makes the action decently disturbing. Yes, there is nothing new going on with this one, but it does boast some solid performances and some suspenseful moments (and a decent ending). While there is some bloody scenes, gorehounds will be a bit turned off as there is not in the way of gore or action. However, to me, the overall dark and moody feel and the heavy atmosphere more than make up for that. In the end, this decent independent thriller is much better than some of the others that have been released in the past few years. If you get a chance, check it out.