Review of "Serial Killing 101" (DVD)

Released on the film festival circuit in 1999, this small film from a first time writer/director is finally seeing the light of day via DVD this month. Serial Killing 101 (aka, "Serial Killing 4 Dummys") follows the story of a Marilyn Manson loving high schooler named Casey Noland (Justin Urich), and his quest to become the most infamous serial killer of all time. He finds a willing first victim in goth-gal and classmate Sasha (Lisa Loeb), but he can't bring himself to actually kill her. He has a wonderfully over-the-top fantasy life in which he has no problem offing his most hated teachers (writer/director Trace Slobotkin definitely remembers those dreaded days!), and he goes so far as to buy some unique implements of death (Corey Feldman has a funny cameo as a helpful hardware salesman), but that's as far as he gets.

Meanwhile, someone has decided to pick up where Casey never left off and beautiful teenage girls start dying all over town. Who could be the murderer? Could it be Mr. Korn (Rick Overton), the nosy guidance counselor? Or maybe it's Coach Grimaldi (Thomas Haden Church), the mean gym teacher who moonlights as a locksmith. Or could it be Sasha herself, only playing victim to act as a decoy?

While there is plenty of blood and murder in Serial Killing 101, it's more of a comedy than anything else. The dialog is mostly clever and quippy, and some of the set ups are pretty funny -- I wasn't expecting much (I'd never even heard of Serial Killing 101 before), so I was pleasantly surprised. The acting is above average for a low-budget comedy, and the characters are all well-drawn and rounded out nicely. It may not be quite idiosyncratic enough to be an underground black comedy classic (like Cherry Falls, or Student Bodies) but it's a fun way to "kill" an hour and half.

Unfortunately, there is no additional release material on the DVD.

Review by Staci Layne Wilson for Horror.com