The movie opens with a murder during the cold of fall. A man wakes up from dozing off in his car. He gets out and opens the trunk and removes a bound and gagged woman. He apologizes for having nodded off, assures her everything is going to be alright and then kills her. Note when he gets out of the car, the door does not chime, i.e. keys are out of the ignition, but then when he gets back in it chimes, i.e. keys are somehow in the ignition. I hate it when a movie does this. Is this by design a clue or stupidity on the director's part?

We then move on. A dowdy looking blond (Amy Seimetz as Sarah) is at an AA meeting. She is 3 months sober. Some guy hits on her and they go out, and we discover that alcoholics are socially inept. Meanwhile the subplot continues with a prisoner looking like Zach Garifalakis (AJ Bowen as Garrick Turrell ) is being transferred in a police car under guard and carefully watched. Garrick espies a small screw rolling around on the floorboard.

Sarah is a nurse, who happens to be Garret's ex-girlfriend in hiding. Got the plot figured out yet?

But things aren't that simple. We find out that Sarah still masturbates (clothes on) while she thinks about Garrick. At her group she describes what she had was a "bad relationship" and that he was "not honest" with her. What was odd was that she took on some of the blame by claiming her drinking may have led to things being worse. We get flashbacks as the story progresses. Now Garret is on the road, leaving a trail of bodies behind him, killings he oddly appears to be remorseful about.

The mystery of the movie is what twist is this thing setting us up for? There are clues along the way as things don't fit. The car door chime wasn't one of them.

Clever? yes. Entertaining? Not really that powerful. The movie didn't feel like a slasher film. It felt more like a mystery or drama. The stabbings, wounds, and blood appeared realistic enough, which means bright red liquid doesn't squirt 3 feet into the air.

I also think they could have done better on the title.

F-bomb, near sex scene, brief nudity.

A difficult movie to watch could be another title. At least for some this will hold true. AJ Bowen made a name for himself with other movies and has quite a few fans, though even they (most of them at least) would agree that saying "Enjoy" this movie might be a wrong word to use. It's not the time structure or the different stories that make it difficult to watch itself nor the fact, that it still is predictable, but that it is very grim, with actually almost nobody the audience can identify with. Therefor choosing AJ to play the lead was actually a very good idea, that helps the movie a lot.

The final resolution of the movie and some of the characters is too convenient and predictable as mentioned, but if you can overlook that, you will get a thriller that knows what it wants. It is beautifully shot, though that means that it looks dirty in this case and dark. If that floats your boat, you should check the movie out. Otherwise rent with care

AJ Bowen plays Garrick Turrell, a serial killer with a pathological need to kill. He escapes from custody, and while he is on the lam the story of Sarah (Amy Seimetz) plays out. Sarah is a recovering alcoholic just trying to get from day to day; she is romanced by a member of her AA group named Kevin (Joe Swanberg). Eventually the connection between these stories is revealed.

While absolutely no match for "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" (the high water mark for this genre),"A Horrible Way to Die" is an entertaining, and very grim, independently made film. It's noteworthy for the way it portrays average American folks living their lives, and for taking a fairly low key approach to its darker material. It's gory enough to suit certain tastes, but director / editor Adam Wingard doesn't concern himself with being overly stylish. He deliberately goes for a rather drab look for the film, and the only major annoyance that this viewer had regarding the technical aspects was the way that damn camera would refuse to stay still. The soundtrack choices are somewhat amusing / interesting, considering the choice of a choir at times.

The performances are naturalistic and absorbing. Bowen remains utterly calm throughout; you won't see any scenery chewing on his part. Seimetz, very attractive but in a non-flashy way, is very appealing. Swanberg is quite likable in his role.

The script isn't perfect, but it is intriguing the way that it jumps forward and backward in time. It might not be that easy for people to follow it. The tale does come complete with some "big" plot twists.

Overall, a decent attempt to take a look at the fascination - and even hero worship - lavished upon serial killers by some of society's individuals.

Seven out of 10.