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Stars: Christopher Lloyd, Laura Fraser, Max Records, Karl Geary, Morgan Rysso, Matt Roy, Bruce Bohne, Elizabeth Belfiori | Written by Billy O’Brien, Christopher Hyde | Directed by Billy O’Brien

I Am Not a Serial Killer is an offbeat take on the serial killer sub-genre of horror, told from the perspective of John (Max Records – best known for his role in Where the Wild Things Are). John is a teenager who has been diagnosed with sociopathy but is determined not to give in to his homicidal tendencies and lives his life by a strict set of self-imposed rules to prevent this. He also helps his mother (Laura Fraser) by assisting in the preparation of bodies in her funeral home, draining blood, removing organs and ogling viscera, is friendly with elderly neighbour Mr Crowley (Christopher Lloyd) and attempts to act like a normal human being during school. Meanwhile, dead bodies are cropping...

★★★☆☆ I Am Not a Serial Killer has a promisingly schlocky title, but Billy O'Brien's adaptation of Dan Wells' Ya novel (scripted with Christopher Hyde) never quite escapes its adolescent inspiration. John (Max Records, last seen as the kid in Where the Wild Things Are) lives with his mom (Laura Fraser) in Clayton, a small town in the frozen heart of America. Here, he helps with his mother's mortuary business which has begun to get more business due to the activity of a suspected serial killer in the vicinity.

“American Honey” took the top prize at the 2016 British Independent Film Awards, which was held on Sunday at London’s Old Billingsgate.

“American Honey” was named Best British Independent Film, and also scored three additional awards (including Best Director for Andrea Arnold). Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” was the night’s only non-uk winner, picking up honors for Best International Independent Film.

The 19th annual Bifa ceremony, hosted by Jennifer Saunders, also presented Clare Binns with the Special Jury Prize for her “unstinting efforts in bringing independent film to new audiences.”

Naomie Harris was also presented the Variety Award by Danny Boyle, in recognition of the global impact she made this year in helping to focus the international film spotlight on the UK.

Read More: La Film Critics Association Name the Best Films and Performances of 2016

The Richard Harris Award was given to Alison Steadman by Richard Harris’ granddaughter Ella Harris and...

The 2016 British Independent Film Award nominations have been announced, with Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or–winning “I, Daniel Blake” leading the pack with seven nominations. Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey,” Babak Anvari’s “Under the Shadow” and Rachel Tunnard’s “Adult Life Skills” all landed six nods apiece. More than 130 British films were submitted for consideration, and 32 British features have been nominated. Full list:

Best British Independent Film

“American Honey”

“Couple in a Hole”

“I, Daniel Blake”

“Notes on Blindness”

“Under the Shadow”

Best International Independent Film

“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”

“Manchester by the Sea”

“Moonlight”

“Mustang”

“Toni Erdmann”

Best Director

Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”

Babak Anvari, “Under the Shadow”

Ben Wheatley, “Free Fire”

Ken Loach, “I, Daniel Blake”

Peter Middleton and James Spinney, “Notes on Blindness”

Best Screenplay

Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”

Babak Anvari, “Under the Shadow”

Billy O’Brien and Christopher Hyde, “I Am Not a Serial Killer”

Paul Laverty,...

Often lumped into the Young Adult category to the chagrin of author Dan Wells, I’m not sure I know many parents who would like to have their fourteen-year old child heading to theaters with friends for the cinematic adaptation of his debut I Am Not a Serial Killer. The first of what has now spiraled into a quintet of books surrounding John Wayne Cleaver; its story introduces the character as a clinically diagnosed sociopath attempting to survive adolescence within a small mid-western town. His own predilection towards violence and the macabre aside, John’s journey ultimately finds him on the trail of a brutal assailant terrorizing his home with supernatural strength. A keen amateur scholar of the mass murderer circuit, this teen proves perfectly suited to crack the case.

Don’t expect Encyclopedia Brown or Young Sherlock, however. Cleaver’s (Max Records) motivations to hunt this monster are purely selfish.

Existing at the crossroads between Let the Right One In and Under the Skin, director Billy O’Brien’s new film, I Am Not a Serial Killer is a coming-of-age horror movie about what it means to be human. This is the kind of movie about which the less is said, the better, making it difficult to summarize its plot and even, in some cases, to argue for its strengths. So much of what O’Brien does right is in the service of the movie’s themes, which it would be unfair to fully reveal in a review. That can make talking about the film in any detailed way a challenge, but I can at least say this: it is a movie you absolutely have to see. Take my word for it.

Based on Dan Wells’ 2009 novel of the same name and having recently screened at Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Festival in Chicago,...

IFC Midnight has acquired North American and Latin American rights to I Am Not A Serial Killer, the Billy O'Brien-directed chiller written by O'Brien and Christopher Hyde based on Dan Wells’ novel. Max Records, Christopher Lloyd, Laura Fraser and Karl Geary star in the pic, which bowed this year at SXSW. The takes place in a small Midwestern town where a troubled teen (Records) with homicidal tendencies must hunt down and destroy a supernatural killer whilst keeping his…...