The Killer Inside Me (2010) starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Ned Beatty directed by Michael Winterbottom Movie Review

The Killer Inside Me (2010)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Casey Affleck in The Killer Inside Me (2010)

The Killer Secret

Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) has lived in the small Texas community all his life ever since he was born there 29 years earlier and like everyone there he has grown up to show some old fashioned respect to anything in a skirt. Lou has also grown up to be the deputy Sheriff and one of the jobs he is given is to head out to the home of prostitute Joyce Lakeland (Jessica Alba) and make sure she leaves. He doesn't as after taking his belt to her naked backside he makes love to her and there sadomasochistic lover making becomes a daily occurrence. Lou also plans to use Joyce in what she thinks is a shake down of local millionaire Chester Conway's (Ned Beatty) son when in truth Lou has more sadistic and murderous plans which leads to bodies piling up and the local district attorney becoming suspicious.

If the time comes when watching violence on film no longer shocks is that a warning sign that you should stop watching or is it just a sign that movies are running out of ideas and what once would have shocked no longer has the same power? It is the situation I find myself in having watched "The Killer Inside Me" a movie laden with violence yet somehow it left me unmoved and in truth scared me more for leaving me unmoved. In fact when it comes to the action there was more impact made by who the actors were participating in it rather than for what is shown.

Jessica Alba in The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Now maybe it is me but "The Killer Inside Me" just didn't wow me and it seemed such a simple movie; the local kid turned deputy sheriff who behind the public nice guy persona is a whacko who can kill without even flinching. There is more to it than that as his initial plans don't go smoothly as he makes a couple of mistakes which causes others to become suspicious which in turn causes him to kill more people. But maybe I am missing something as this doesn't wow me, doesn't grip me in the slightest.

The reason for this is simple as for me director Michael Winterbottom fails to create the right atmosphere so that there is intrigue and mystery. Instead this story plays out taking you in directions which you might not expect but fails to make you wonder where it is going or sucking you in to what happens. It is not all Winterbottom's fault as for some reason every single actor plays their parts in a cold manner which works for Casey Affleck as Lou but doesn't feel right when it comes to the other characters who by the time the movie is over feel anonymous, as if we never got to know them.

What this all boils down to is that "The Killer Inside Me" ends up just an ordinary movie which attempts to shock with this set up of a deputy sheriff who has a nice guy persona but hides a really sadistic side where he is an unrepentant killer.


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