Some Guy Who Kills People – Review

Today’s film is the 2011 comedy-horror Some Guy Who Kills People directed by Jack Perez and written by Ryan A. Levin. It was the winner of the 2016 Fandependent spring Fan Award after it’s three week run. It has a heavily star studded cast with such screen Icons as Barry Bostwick, Karen Black, Kevin Corrigan and featuring Leo Fitzpatrick and Ariel Gade.

Some Guy Who Kills People tells the story of Ken Boyd (Kevin Corrigan) a former mental patient recently released from the hospital and got a job at the local ice cream shop thanks to his childhood friend Irv (Leo Fitzpatrick). Ken’s life is turned upside down when his eleven year old daughter Amy (Ariel Gade) whom he had never met before shows up at his house and inserts herself into his life. At the same time Sheriff Fuller (Barry Bostwick) who is dating Ken’s mother Ruth (Karen Black) begins an investigation of a series of brutal murders that started shortly after Amy returned to Ken’s life. As the two bond Amy finds a out a disturbing secret about her estranged father while sheriff Fuller closes ever closer to the suspect who seems to have it out for the old high school basket ball team all of whom even the sheriff considers “colossal dicks”.

It is a rare day when you can find a independent film that not only delivers Hollywood star power but the quality of a full blown production of a blockbuster film, Some Guy Who Kills People does this in spades. The writing power of Ryan Levin is clearly evident as the story of the film utterly entertaining with it’s sarcastic humor and dark undertones all of which is expertly delivered by the prolific director Jack Perez. In any comedy the timing of the jokes must come off in a natural way so as to not spoil the drama of the scene specially when it is used to defuse a intense and dark sight on the camera and Some Guy Who Kills People delivers on that one vital element, of course for the joke to work it requires the proper delivery which brings us to the acting.

The cast of Some Guy Who Kills People is pretty much the most star studded independent film I have watched to date and each one of the immeasurable talents brings their own unique charm to their rolls. Barry Bostwick has long been known for his comedic timing and he delivers the clueless and slightly careless personality of Sheriff Fuller with perfection and never really hams just to pander for a laugh. His goofball attitude while still managing to be competent his job makes the character really stand out. This energetic and wacky character is perfectly countered by the muted and subtle humor of Kevin Corrigan’s Ken. Ken while never really having any funny lines manages to come off as both deeply disturbing and humorous at the same time by some of the very best facial expression and awkward silences I have seen in a film. Normally when a line is delivered in a dead pan way it is generally bad acting but in this case not only was it beautifully done but it was purposely done and that makes all the difference. The rest of the absolutely wonderful cast also manage to bring their character’s to life in a believable way that this film just from the writing and acting alone was an true joy to watch which is saying something as I have stated many times I cringe every time I have to review a comedy film.

The props and special effects of Some Guy Who Kills People are simply put masterful. In many independent films when they go out of their way to make a bloody kill they tend to either go to far overboard as to defeat the purpose of dramatic tension or are simply muted due to having no budget and something gets lost in the ambiance of the scene, this is not the case with this film. Each of the murders done are executed on screen without any cut away or fades to black letting you get the full gore splatters that somehow manage to look realistic and still come off as utterly hilarious as well when appropriate, (the machete scene). The guns, knives and even the copious amounts of blood never seem fake or exaggerated really adding to the credibility of the film.

The technical aspects of the film are also a delight to experience. The cinematography of Some Guy Who Kills People is masterfully executed by the production team. The visuals are always right in the center of the screen and paced in such a way to really bring a cohesive and eye catching experience to the viewer. The picture is crystal clear for the most part and only on two occasions did the night scenes become to dark to accurately see what was going on but this only seemed to add to the tension of the killer stalking his prey so is easily forgivable.

The audio work of Some Guy Who Kills People is outstanding. The musical score of the film is a mix of hopeful optimism and deep tension filled drama that never seems out of place and really helps each scene along just as it is supposed to do. The voices of the actors are always perfectly clear and there are never any artifacts or hiccups in the sound as is so often the case on independent films and it is obvious that the three small production companies that produced the film are going to go far in the business if they keep up with this level of work.

When all is said and done it is very easy to see why Some Guy Who Kills People won the top award at the Fandependent spring festival with it’s goofy humor, impeccable cast and down right excellent story telling. I never thought I would actually recommend a comedy-horror film in my reviews but I wholeheartedly suggest anyone with a interest in humor, horror or just a nearly flawless production devoted ninety two minutes of their lives to this stellar film.