Summary: An escaped murderer is in pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town.

Adam Wingard Heads From Halo 8 to Anchor Bay. Moving Up!
Reviewed by Gavin Schmitt

An escaped murderer (AJ Bowen) is in pursuit of his ex-girlfriend (Amy Seimetz), who has fled to start a new life in a small town. Director Adam Wingard, best known for the indie flick "Pop Skull", is a guy who focuses on style. That is still true here, but we see more plot development than we saw in "Pop Skull". For me, that is exciting. (I had to pass on an interview with Wingard, so sadly I cannot stress this point more with his own view added). I am all about the writing, not so much the visuals of a film (which actually seems odd given my love of Dario Argento). The visuals Wingard is associated with are here, with some camera shots pointing away from the subjects, a gritty grindhouse appearance, and "light spots" in scenes that clearly do not benefit from having spots over important characters. And the focus goes in and out. But that is how Wingard rolls. Is he the next Vincent Gallo? He might be (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). The film has something of an unusual shower scene, at least from my point of view. I was not aware you could pay ten dollars for an hour in the bathroom. Is this how truck stop bathrooms work? I suppose that might make sense. And you have to respect a man who shaves his beard into a mustache -- mustaches are hard to pull off, but if you are a serial killer, you can do this. Keeping characters and times straight is a bit complicated, distracting and somewhat annoying. Tracking the killer is easy by his facial hair, but the other characters are kind of a jumbled mess. Maybe this is me, and maybe a repeat viewing would clear this up... if I ever have time to watch this again, I will!

Pretty good indie despite the shooting style
Reviewed by GregMO ROberts

Garrick Turrell (AJ Bowen) is one mean ass mother. As A Horrible Way to Die opens, we see Garrick opening his truck and pulling out a scared and bound young girl. He then takes her to the woods and strangles her to death. We are reintroduced to Garrick in prison and we learn that he is a prolific serial killer with a fan base unrivaled in the prison system. But when Garrick escapes in transport, his murderous trail begins again and his impulsive homicidal behavior will be the focus of state-wide searches. We also meet Sarah (Amy Seimetz). Sarah is a soft spoken and somewhat timid girl we meet first at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where she testifies to being four months sober. Here, she meets Kevin (Joe Swanberg), another recovering alcoholic that befriends Sarah and the two are soon dating. As the film switches between both the past and present, we learn that Sarah and Garrick used to be a couple. Garrick would consistently leave the house in the middle of the night for his killing sprees and Sarah’s drinking obstructed her from revealing exactly who Garrick was. That is, until one night she follows Garrick to a storage garage where his murderous secret is revealed. Sarah immediately calls the police so we can assume that now that Garrick has freed himself from incarceration, revenge for Sarah turning him in would be first on his mind. A Horrible Way to Die follows both Sarah’s and Garrick’s stories both in the past together and separately as the two begin a path that will surely have them reunite. Director Adam Wingard (Pop Skull, 2007) uses a single camera that constantly zooms in and out of focus as his shooting style to bring their story to the screen. The effect can be at times brilliant and at other times annoying and headache inducing. Both stories are equally interesting in their respective paths. Sarah’s budding relationship with Kevin is honest and genuine in its portrayal thanks largely to the great acting performance by Seimetz. Garrick’s story is more gruesome. He continues to impulsively murder countless individuals on his search for Sarah with a kitchen and dinner knife being his weapon of choice. The wildcard in the story is Kevin. We will not reveal any further details other than the final 20 minutes will have you wondering which if any of the three major characters will survive. There are a lot of holes in the film. And Garrick has no serial killer M.O. He uses knives, strangles, leaves bodies, keeps others n freezers… Guess that is why the guys from Criminal Minds didn’t find him. But for an independent and low budget film, A Horrible Way to Die is above average. It was a real and interesting sit through even if the style can be abusive to watch.