When I rented this, I must admit, I expected it to be really really bad! But it was actually quite good and worthy of a mention. This is a New Zealand film about a serial killer, So I don’t know if many of you have been able to find it yet, but if you do, I recommend you bring it home and give it a go!

It starts off, with a lack of a better word, weird! The camera work lets off an eerie effect with blues and reds standing out most. A man is handcuffed to a chair and his face is not visible. The man brought in is a convicted serial killer. It is obvious it is a psycho ward or prison of some sort and the two carers are probably just as mentally unstable as the patients!

A woman then walks into the building and it is now clear that is a mental asylum. She has been requested specifically by the serial killer, and she is there to write a document for his trial, assessing him for the trial by doing a mental evaluation. She is introduced to her client and the story begins to unfold.

The movie is about the serial killer and moves into a thorough review of his past, his childhood, his mother, his killings and why he kills. The interpretations are completely left up to the viewer. The serial killer calls himself “The Ugly” and sees himself (mentally) as physically scarred, even though he has a rather clean-cut face. His excuse as to why he kills changes as the interview goes on and the viewer is left to decide for themselves whether the serial killer is telling the truth or not.

The film is gory and rather graphic. It covers his abuse, his mothers lies, his torment in school and all the other elements known to contribute in shaping a serial killer. The killings are graphic with lots of throats being slit. The acting is quite good and the story line is well put together. It has some repeated areas where you sit back and go “huh?” but its meant to do that to you and it all falls into place eventually. It has an ending that can be taken many ways and the movie has some wickedly creepy shots of the serial killers victims coming back to haunt him, these scenes gave me the chills.

The movie is not just set in the interview room so dont worry about that, there is development inside and outside the interview room. You almost feel sorry for the guy in some shots then see what he does in others and hate him again. It plays with your emotions a bit as he moves from abused child to murderous adult.

I know I might be a little bias cause I love my serial killer films…. I guess you will have to see it and judge for yourself. I can see it wont be for everybody but I honestly thought it was well done. I give it 8 out of 10.