FILM REVIEW: A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO LIFE A LOST-IN-LIFE SELF-HELP ADDICT UNWITTINGLY FINDS HERSELF ON A KILLING SPREE WITH HER UNHINGED NEW LIFE COACH Directed by: Staten Cousins Roe Written by: Staten Cousins Roe Starring: Katie Brayben, Poppy Roe, Ben Lloyd-Hughes Have you felt lost in your life, found it hard to manage, to cope with? Have you turned to self-help programs with the hope they’ll make life easier? Let’s say a life coach promises to unlock your full potential, and all that’s required is a road trip with a slight body count, would you take it? That’s Staten Cousins Roe’s ‘A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life’. The story follows Lou (Katie Brayben), a “self-help addict” who is aimless and desperate to take control of her own life. At a seminar, she meets Val (Poppy Roe), a life coach determined to become the greatest self-help guru that ever lived. Val invites Lou to join her on a retreat where they’ll participate in other self-help programs before she unveils her own steps to success. Lou learns that Val’s methods involve the murder of other self-help gurus and their followers, leading to a “jet-black comedy” of self-discovery. I should admit that while I try to go into everything without expectations, the promotional references to Ben Wheatley’s ‘Sightseers’ and Alice Lowe’s ‘Prevenge’ (both with serial killing premises) challenged me in that I’m a fan of both films. Rest assured ‘A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life’ does not disappoint either. The movie offers great comedic moments in its satirizing of the self-help industry, but what sets it apart from the plethora of serial killer content lately, is its heart. While the commentary on the gurus and their exploitation of people is blatant, the movie puts a lot of care into the “victims” of these programs: People, like so many of us, trying to navigate through a chaotic world and looking for guidance along the way.
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