The Killer Inside Me Reviews

Since I always had a weak spot for Michael Winterbottom's work, I was really eager to check this movie. Well, even though I actually liked the damned thing, unfortunately, like most of Winterbottom's other movies, it still turned out to be rather half-baked. First of all, the guy has tackled so many genres and, this time, he went for a film noir and really nailed it. Indeed, it looked fine and the mood was just spot-on. Then, Casey Affleck, one of the most interesting actors at work nowadays, gave another strong performance, he basically carried the whole thing on his shoulders and his character was just spellbinding to behold. I must admit that I was also quite impressed by Jessica Alba who gave here one of the very few interesting performances in her otherwise seriously boring career. And, yet, in spite some very strong potential, it still didn't completely worked, I'm afraid. Indeed, basically, there were too much stuff in the story that didn't really add up. For example, it didn't make much sense that Elias Koteas's character, who was just some union guy, would keep playing the detective like this. Then, in the 3rd act, the whole thing started to make less and less sense and the ending was pretty much ludicrous. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still liked the damned thing and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

It's a shame this movie has such lower level talent as Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba for the women. They really detract from Casey Affleck's performance, and he does a great job in this. It's like the women, knowing they were only there for the purpose of being his punching bags, basically didn't bother trying to deliver even a decent performance.

Casey Affleck makes this movie much better than it otherwise would have been, but even still, it's barely better than average, and I don't really see what all the fuss is about.

A brilliantly crafted film inside the mind of a killer. A film which has received a lot of criticism over the films violent content, and scenes which were argued to be necessary. I would argue against that. I think the violence in this film is totally needed, without it Lou Ford wouldn't be the character that he was. A brilliant cast with a incredibly performance from the vastly underrated and brilliant Casey Affleck and some great supporting performances from Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba. I also loved the use of music to portray Ford's emotions, which was brilliantly done. Look out for a strong yet brief appearance from Bill Pullman too! This one is well worth the watch!

Really hard to beat, but it takes your breath until the end. Two scenes really gore, i can't stand really good, but the entire pelicula is really good. Casey Affleck acted really cool, he is right in the part of the disturbed sheriff, i loved him. I liked this film and give it a "five up".

*This review does contain spoilers*



Deputy Sherriff Lou Ford (Affleck) is sent out to run a local prostitute out of town, except he finds himself drawn to her. Eventually Lou succumbs to his inner demons and begins to brutally murder those around him and is slowly but surely unmasked as one West Texas most prolific and psychotic serial killers.

The Killer Inside Me has an unusual atmosphere, it is unbelievably slow paced, little character development seems to be used in the film which is based on a legendary and well know book. It seems like the Killer Inside Me is purposely trying to stop itself from being simply just a film about a murderous maniac who is hell bent on killing. It slows down for the awkward sexual scenes or brutal torture, with some really strange flashbacks that visually make no sense and plot wise never seem to be fully explained. There are some unusual moods on display in some of the sex scenes, and some odd after effects in one of them. Lou Ford is oddly pictured in this film as a man who enjoys the rougher side of the sexual experience, yet after one of the scenes he is calmly shown smoking a cigar while an old western tune plays in the background. There seems to be a lack of character in Ford at times. It may be that that they wanted to capture all his moods, and how quickly he can change on a dime but for a film that comes in at under 2 hours it makes the progression and the outcome seem entirely stretched.

There seems to be a lot lacking from the middle of this film it seems. It’s just Lou Ford trying to con his way out of a jail time. There is no other real purpose to the plot, it seems so much like they spent a lot of time worrying about how the character will worm his way out of the situation, rather than his complete transformation from a passive local Deputy Sheriff into a Psychopathic homicidal killer.

The killer Inside me features a few scenes of unnerving violence, that are enough to make even those who have seen gory horror flicks cringe and want to turn away. It’s not because Lou Ford hacks up his victims with a machete or a chainsaw but solely because it is a relentless attack with his own two fists that seems to drag on for about 3 minutes, which is about 2 and a half more minutes then necessary. It even has nothing to do with the actors, it’s just a scene of brutal violence that seemingly does not let up until you either have your eyes closed or you just simply do not care what happens in the rest of the film. There are two of these scenes, and the first one is enough for you to know when the second is coming, so my advice to you is if you do not like violence of this graphic nature just skip it, especially the second incident, because there are a few moments where you think it is over only for it to continue.

The actors do not seem to runaway with these performances, Affleck coming off his major break in Jesse James seems rather flat faced and dull in every scene other than those of pure violence. It just makes his performance seem even creepier, and his sexual scenes just seem to be really awkward and not in the way the film intends it to be. Hudson for lack of a better term is lacking in all sense of the word. Her sexual scenes with Affleck are just horrible, there is no striking chemistry between the two, even though their characters are going through a rough patch, they just cannot seem to get on the same level. Hudson seems to sit there with a square face, while Affleck takes the lead and tries to make the scene better, but it always seems to fail. It seems like Casey fails to ignite any sort of spark under his character that makes him a unique character. He is no different from any killer in any other slasher flick or thrill kill flick. As much as I like Casey this simply is a downgrade from his recent streak of top notch performances. The disappointment in acting stops when it comes to Jessica Alba and Elias Koteas. Koteas plays a small part as a man who is beginning to figure out the real Lou Ford. Alba has never looked so seductive and has never to this point in her career been so convincing in her portrayal of a dramatic character. This could be the reason why the scenes of violence seemed so much more intense. Her painful expressions, her sexual tension all brought realism to a filmed that was ultimately lacking in that department.

As far as films of this nature go, this has got to be one of the most predictable and drawn out films. Spoiler Alert for anyone reading who has intentions of seeing this film, the ending was so cliché. As much as I enjoyed Alba’s fine performance her characters resurgence at the end was a bit of a scapegoat ending. For her character to walk in and say she said nothing about who actually attacked her was downright dumb. Then she walked closer only to have Ford stab her, and the cops to shot him igniting the entire house in a blaze (that looked horribly CGIed if I might add). There was no conclusion, no moral play in the end, just every character who we had seen through out the film killed in one stupid looking blaze. The worst part of all it showed the bodies turning to ash and crumbling together. What a horrible way to end a film that should have been one hell of a masterpiece. The younger Affleck may need to re-examine his acting techniques and fine tune them because something was visibly lacking through out this performance.

Casey Affleck is an immensely talented actor. He's demonstrated it before, but he validates it in THE KILLER INSIDE ME by taking what would have otherwise been a dull noir about a psychopath trying to cover his tracks and turning it into a very interesting character study.

Many actors can only play one or two notes in their performances, but Affleck can look entirely tame and innocent and suddenly become savagely menacing. The ability to make that transition proves crucial to his role as the protagonist of this film, Lou Ford. What a coincidence that his character in this film shares the last name of the villain that Affleck also brilliantly played three years ago (a performance for which he scored a best supporting actor nomination).

The violence in THE KILLER INSIDE ME is extreme and will disturb even people who don't think much of the gore-fest that we see in most horror movies. That's because the violent scenes in THE KILLER INSIDE ME don't feature a psychopath tracking a group of teens and disposing of them. Instead, the aggression takes place in domestic, usually sex-related circumstances, and the physical abuse towards more than one female character will certainly be too much for some to take. However, those who are calling it unnecessary are failing to appreciate the film's uncompromising approach. Considering the incredible rawness and depth of the lead actor's performance, it would've been an injustice to Affleck if the film had tried to sanitize the plot in any way.

The narrative flow of the movie isn't always solid, and while Affleck's voiceovers are effective, the editors could've made better decisions as to where to place particular bits of the voiceovers. There are also some quasi plot holes (why didn't they check inside Johnnie's cell immediately after Lou's visit ended?).

THE KILLER INSIDE ME is somewhat reminiscent of this year's earlier SHUTTER ISLAND in that it has an unreliable narrator, but the difference is that while the main character in SHUTTER ISLAND had little notion of what was truly happening, in THE KILLER INSIDE ME we have a malevolent protagonist who has no problem messing with the audience's minds as much as he does with the other characters of the film. This gives the amazing Casey Affleck all the room in the world to make this movie more than a merely forgettable piece of cinema.

The Killer Inside Me (2010) teve polêmica e première em Sundace esta semana quando muitas pessoas deixaram a sessão indignadas durante a exibição do filme. O novo longa do inglês Michael Winterbottom é um remake baseado no conto homônimo de Jim Thompson lançado em 1952 que foi descrito por Stanley Kubric, que trabalhou com Thompson em The Killing(1956), como “provavelmente a mais fria e crível história em primeira pessoa de uma mente criminalmente distorcida que eu já encontrei” e introduzido como “um dos mais intransigentes romances policiais já escritos” numa antologia de contos policiais noir da década de 50.

Para os que ficaram na sala foi elogiada a ferocidade da performance de Casey Affleck interpretando um sociopata oculto por seu ordinário comportamento como o jovem xerife Lou, que dá espaço a sua verdadeira faceta sádica quando inicia um relacionamento com a prostituta Joyce Lakeland, papel de Jessica Alba. A princípio a violência é consensual mas culmina com Lou a espancando até que apareçam os ossos da sua face, num resultado descrito como “carne de hambúrguer” por outro personagem. Com Joyce em coma o xerife inicia uma série de assassinatos na tentativa de mascarar a verdadeira identidade do agressor até que começa a dar sinais de sua insanidade e torna-se suspeito. E Winterbottom mergulha com fidelidade na perversidade explorando o noir em sua forma mais obscura.

O diretor, que costuma alternar entre temas político-sociais como A Doutrina de Choque(2009), O Preço da Coragem(2007),The Road to Guantanamo(2006), In this World (2002), Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) ou relacionamentos em família e amorosos, Genova(2008),White or Without you (1999), I Want You (1998), Butterfly Kiss (1995), nunca deixando de lado a sexualidade, exaltado o sexo no explícito 9 Canções (2004), onde confessou ir ‘em oposto extremo ao puritanismo e recalque da indústria cinematográfica’, parece ter agora atingido novos extremos.

A polêmica tem seguido não apenas pela gratuidade da violência mas pela misoginia do protagonista quanto as cenas que enfatizam a tortura com que as vítimas mulheres são brutalizadas, como a personagem de Kate Hudson. Quando perguntado após a sessão sobre a reação de uma espectadora que saiu gritando “Nojento!”, Winterbottom após segundos de silêncio disse: “Próxima pergunta?”