Diary of a Serial Killer (2008) (V)

Director:

Andy Hurst

Writer:

Ellis Walker (written by)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

He learned from the masters.

Cast

Bruce Robert Cole	...	Ed Gein
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jessica Aldridge	...	Mirabelle
Andreas Beckett	...	Killer
Garrett Brawith	...	Jeffrey Dahmer
Danny Chan	...	Konerak
Victoria De Mare	...	Selena
Samuel Dobbins	...	Harry Purvis
Elissa Dowling	...	Kat
Heath Finn	...	Police Officer
Mark Hengst	...	Robert Dean
David Hill	...	Police Officer
Zak Howell	...	Guy in alleyway
Gil Menchaca	...	Dollar Bill (as Ethan Drake)
Matt Mercer	...	James
Alan Mueting	...	Detective
Ryan Michael Oman	...	Lionel
Kara Revel	...	First Victim
Chloe Snyder	...	Laura
Brent Stevens	...	Blond guy
Adam Robert Taylor	...	Cousin Mike
Bradley J. Thornton	...	Police Officer

Directed by
Andy Hurst

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ellis Walker		written by

Produced by
James Elliot	....	producer

Cinematography by
Jeff Smith

Casting by
Steve Helgoth

Production Design by
Zak Howell

Makeup Department
Corinne Dutra	....	makeup department head
Amy St. Lucas	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Kelley Cauthen	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Koo Abuali	....	second assistant director
Samantha Wear	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Jacelyn Lauren Jackson	....	art assistant

Sound Department
Matthew Sanchez	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Corinne Dutra	....	special effects coordinator
Josh Foster	....	special effects supervisor
Amy St. Lucas	....	special effects assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Christian H. Burton	....	cinematographer: second unit
Paul La Fontaine	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jolee Kim	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Justin Donaldson	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Jenna Delp	....	script supervisor
Mark Ross Edrys	....	production assistant (as 'Shoehead')
Heather Pennington	....	additional script supervisor
Mike Tristano	....	armorer

Production Companies

• MRG Entertainment

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2008) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Lionsgate (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Copycat (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sadistic violence and torture, language, nudity, some sexual and drug content.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

MRG Entertainment

Goofs:

Factual errors: Ed Gein's house was not in a forested area, it was out in the middle of the field on rolling plains. The house was two stories and was far, far, messier. The mother's room was just as she left it when she died. In fact, it was the only room in the house to be neat. Gein was also much older than he is portrayed in this film.

Copycat basically copycats other movies in the Cop/Serial Killer/Thriller sub-genre.

A young journalist is out for revenge against the serial killer who killed her mother; the serial killer's niche, is that he is/was inspired by the hilariously talented trio of Gein, Ramirez, and Dahmer.

Copycat for some reason wants to be some sort of intelligent, analytical thesis on what makes a killer, but, it fails miserably. For starters, the ending is idiotic; heavily placed so that the message the movie is providing tries to be truthful and convincing. The rest of the movie basically revolves around vignettes (or flashbacks) from the lives of Gein, Dahmer, and Ramirez, and the "relationship" between the journalist with the cop who helps her, and the serial killer who she wants to kill. Everything is kept at a nice pace, but the clichéd, redundant script and weak acting f*ck everything up to the extent that you don't care for any nice pace; you just want the damn movie to end.

The cinematography and editing are adequately done, the main score is effective, and the gore is bland for the most part.

Either way you look at this movie, be it from a critical or gore-fix (?) point of view, you should skip it. Hell, you shouldn't even read the plot synopsis on the back of the DVD box. Ignore this crap fest.

3.0/10