A Serial Killer's Guide to Life

Neither gory, funny or dark enough to work. Good performance by Poppy Roe, but too much of a copy of Sightseers without that film’s wit or style. Disappointing

A very witty, and in places tender poke at the self help phenomenon from a great creative team and made on a staggeringly low budget, though you’d never know that from watching it!

Self help gurus eh? Getting rich by telling people what they want to hear. It’s fine if you need that affirmation and are willing to pay for it, but there’s so many of them out there, using NLP or whatever to reboot your life. If it works, great, but it’s a subject ripe for parody, so little wonder this offbeat new Black British comedy drama has such a rich subject matter to mine. It could also turn Poppy Roe into the hottest new talent since Phoebe Waller Bridge. Her new film described as “Sightseers meets Thelma and Louise” certainly echoes those classics. Thanks to a fine cast, including Olivier Award-winning Katie Brayben, Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, and assured direction by Staten Cousins Roe, the whole thing ticks over beautifully. The plot is simple enough: a self-help addict who cares for her unstable mother unwittingly finds herself on a killing spree with her unhinged life coach. Once you get past the obvious comparisons with Sightseers, the movie takes on a life of its own. It’s skilfully constructed and is bound to attract a cult following in the months to come. It’s not always the dialogue which works, but the looks. Great films and TV shows rely more on the unsaid, and Team Roe do a fine job on that front. A lot of films cop out at the end, but this hits just the right note. There’s a twist in the finale which echoes a cult film from the 1990s; if I tell you it’ll spoil the surprise, but as someone who’s seen every trick in the book, I rarely got the urge to turn off. At a little over 80 minutes it’s the perfect length, and as good as the rest of the cast are, Poppy is blooming marvellous.I cannot wait to see what she does next. Highly recommended.

This is a weird, funny, dark indie. Great cast. Loved it.

Saw it at Fright fest it’s SRSLY good, wanted to see again. Funny, well observed take on self help culture and little seaside Britain. Excellent performances from Katie Brayben and Poppy Roe and very assured direction from Staten Cousins Roe. Will recommend. Good female characters also.

Serial Killing shouldn’t be this much fun!

Loved this film. Great acting and direction a very funny script. Came away smiling.

What a great film! One of the best I’ve seen this year.

The only self-help Guide you’ll need this year..

Quirky, well written and produced. A great independent film worthy of a large audience.