AJ Bowen plays Garrick Turrell, a serial killer with a pathological need to kill. He escapes from custody, and while he is on the lam the story of Sarah (Amy Seimetz) plays out. Sarah is a recovering alcoholic just trying to get from day to day; she is romanced by a member of her AA group named Kevin (Joe Swanberg). Eventually the connection between these stories is revealed.While absolutely no match for "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" (the high water mark for this genre), "A Horrible Way to Die" is an entertaining, and very grim, independently made film. It's noteworthy for the way it portrays average American folks living their lives, and for taking a fairly low key approach to its darker material. It's gory enough to suit certain tastes, but director / editor Adam Wingard doesn't concern himself with being overly stylish. He deliberately goes for a rather drab look for the film, and the only major annoyance that this viewer had regarding the technical aspects was the way that damn camera would refuse to stay still. The soundtrack choices are somewhat amusing / interesting, considering the choice of a choir at times.The performances are naturalistic and absorbing. Bowen remains utterly calm throughout; you won't see any scenery chewing on his part. Seimetz, very attractive but in a non-flashy way, is very appealing. Swanberg is quite likable in his role.The script isn't perfect, but it is intriguing the way that it jumps forward and backward in time. It might not be that easy for people to follow it. The tale does come complete with some "big" plot twists.Overall, a decent attempt to take a look at the fascination - and even hero worship - lavished upon serial killers by some of society's individuals.Seven out of 10.

This movie should be shown as an example to film students on how to deliver a story line. The director and writer did a simply amazing job at delivering the story in a slow and very suspenseful way. I can't say enough about how the story and it's reveal impressed me. The story itself had a lot of excellent twists and turns that really kept me very interested.The acting was pretty good as well for a low budget thriller. The only criticism I can give this film is the scene transitions. I loved when they were done, but the peephole cam and out of focus transitions took me quite a while to get used to and took me out of the story. That's the only thing I can criticize. The bad reviews of this film must be by people that want their stories laid out for them on a silver platter within 5 minutes. This one keeps you thinking and you truly don't know what is going on for a good 40 min of the movie. Either that or they couldn't get past the strange camera work.If you appreciate something that's different and a really good story delivery. This movie is a excellent example.

A guy has a kidnapped girl in his trunk. He drives out somewhere during winter and chokes her to death. A girl assists an AA meeting. Another of the attendees introduced himself to her and slowly they begin a relationship although she's traumatized and repressed. How these two stories relate we come to find out in flashbacks as this movie progresses.Turns out that the killer is a convicted serial killer who managed to escape while being transported somewhere. He steals cars and as the manhunt intensifies and his face is plastered all over the news, he threatens people to drive him across state lines.The couple becomes intimate and she reveals her secret to the guy. She was the serial killer's girlfriend. She called the police on him after she followed him and discovered he had rented a storage unit to keep the bodies. But there is a twist in the relationship between her and the new guy.A Horrible Way to Die is a good title for a horror movie, except that it doesn't have anything to do with this movie. The idea comes up somewhere when the killer asks his gf how she would like to die. But that's about it. We don't see any horrible killings. There is some after-the-fact gore, but nothing special. It's a small budget movie that doesn't look or sound like it is. Wingard knows how direct and he knows hot to tell a story. And this movie looks very nice and sophisticated. Wingard has to employ a variety of tricks to overcome the main problem- the short script. So we get a lot of different and strange camera techniques that may seem out of place but that give this film its unique tone and atmosphere. We get moving but not shaky camera, out of focus, odd placement of the camera, things in the way. And almost all of it works, except for the distracting Christmas lights that the girl for some reason has everywhere in her house. The story works, even the way it's told, the surprise. The actors all do a good job, in particular Seimetz. And the film transmits the closeness and intimacy of the characters. It's just not enough- not enough horror, not enough violence, not enough gore- after all this movie involves a serial killer.

I was actually compelled to watch the film, as it has a claustrophobic feel and was genuinely disturbing. The increasing feeling of dread reminded me of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).The theme of the recovering alcoholic girlfriend was realized about as well as someone mostly unfamiliar with AA could make it. I imagine the screen writer and director spent a few evenings at a "high bottom" AA club, as the drunks were all pretty nice people and not criminalistic, rude and violent. You felt genuine concern for the fate of the alcoholic girlfriend.The killer himself was largely ordinary looking and acting, which left you off guard, when he showed his true colors. The kill scenes are fairly graphic and paced well. Some things are done off screen like the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which for me added to the suspense.The dialogue, pacing, non-linear plot and the stark Midwestern landscape (mid-Missouri it seems as the bar where one of the killings happens is off "old 63") complete the feeling of desolation. You actually could run into people like the people in the film and probably have. I don't see where Blair Witch comparisons are made by other reviewers.My main problem with the film, however, is the terribly trite, Wes Craven-like ending. It seemed almost plagaristic of Scream, where you could tell where it was going but hoping they wouldn't be dumb enough to go there. A serial killer "fan club"? What? Why? I was glad to see the fan boys get offed, but that also was completely predictable.The terrible last scene actually ruined what could have been an iconic horror film for the 21st Century like the Exorcist, Halloween and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre were for the 1970s. If I were the director of this film, I would remake the film with an alternative final scene.