Poor Ken. After recently being released from a mental hospital after a suicide attempt, he is living with his mother and employed at a dead end job slinging ice cream. Ken is working a private birthday party, when his past comes back to haunt him after he is confronted by one of his high school bullies. Armed with a dark rage, he fantasizes about killing the guys who put him through hell all those years ago, and it’s not long before those fantasies become a reality.
With Some Guy Who Kills People, we are presented with a refreshing black comedy that has a pretty clever murder mystery tucked neatly inside. Director Jack Perez has a solid grasp on tone and manages to juggle genres quite well, never watering down the comedy for the sake of drama or the horror for the sake of comedy. Unexpectedly, the film has a real heart, with a nice message about what it means to be a family, of any construct.
Kevin Corrigan as Ken is the classic lovable loser, and Corrigan imbues him with a twisted charm. The always reliable Karen Black is quite funny as Ken's mother, although serious and touching when the script needs it. Barry Bostwick is a riot as the wise cracking sheriff and Lucy Davis, probably most known for Shaun of the Dead, is effortlessly amusing. The standout in the cast is Ariel Gade, who is also the youngest. She’s simply fantastic and comes across as a smart, almost relentlessly positive, but always believable child, which is no small feat.
Anchor Bay Entertainment has released the film on DVD in a perfectly suitable transfer. The film was shot in a little over two weeks on a fairly tight budget. Don't expect the most amazing cinematography, but the rough edges aren’t a detriment. In a way, the low-fi look of the picture actually accentuates it. The sound on the disc is solid, music and dialogue are mixed well, with none outstripping the other.
Bonus content is a little light, but it’s all good stuff. There is a commentary with the director Jack Perez and writer/producer Ryan Levin to kick things off. The two have a nice rapport, and thankfully, they don’t just narrate the events onscreen. Next up is the short film that inspired the film, titled The Filth, a brief EPK style "making of" feature, and a trailer wrap things up.
Packed with great performances from the entire cast, and an appealing and surprisingly touching turn by Kevin Corrigan, Jack Perez and writer Ryan Levin have delivered a funny and witty film that covers a lot of ground, crisscrossing several genres in the process. Some Guy Who Kills People is a fun comedy/slasher/drama that should appeal to just about everyone for one reason or another. So scoop it up!
Film Score: 3/5 Disc Score: 3/5
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