A Horrible Way to Die

A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE

A non-linear film with a glacial pace and snooze-inducing dialogue, A Horrible Way to Die tells the tale of Sarah (a recovering alcoholic who works in a dentist’s office) as she fumbles through the early stages of a relationship with her new boyfriend.  Her ex (Garrick) turned out to be a serial killer, so she’s understandably gun-shy about rushing headlong into intimacy.  Garrick escapes from captivity and makes his way across the country (leaving freshly-killed victims in his wake).  Garrick and Sarah cross paths in the final scenes, though not in the way one might expect. 

A Horrible Way to Die left me scratching my head primarily because Sarah seemed oblivious to the fact that Garrick was on the loose despite massive media coverage about the manhunt to locate him.  Surely the authorities would contact Sarah as soon as Garrick escaped and fill her in.  The project features lots of shaky hand-held camera work that kept jolting me out of the story.  The tale runs about 83 minutes before the end credits roll, but the whole plot could probably have unfolded in an hour with proper editing (lots of shots linger and overstay their welcome).  A Horrible Way to Die feels cold and soulless.  I didn’t enjoy any aspect of it.