User reviews

An absolute waste of time. A very poor adaption of a British TV series about Dennis. The acting was that bad I thought it was deliberate.

Ok, you have to throw out any ratings on here above a 7, they are all BS and most likely tied to the movies. Mindhunter, really. Should not even be mentioned in the same breath... Wait for a free release and save your money. Wow, movies really really suck in past year... put actors on vaccine list so they can get back to work please, oh and writers and directors lol...

seriously....

What is the core of the story?

Like the 80's style but did not execute it good enough makes it vague in where it wants to go. Like how it aligned with the actions, but the actions did not do anything... it does shows how it evolves and steps, but the scientific part is hard to follow making not understandable where it wants to go. Is it entertainment or knowledgeable?

Everything is done very low quality making it not pleasant to watch.... pity could be so much more...

When you wish the title was " 3 killings " .....this will send you to sleep , boring and repetitive come to mind,..... but maybe voyeurism just not my cup of tea .

Terrible, terrible, terrible, movie! In fact calling this abomination a movie, is in itself fraudulent! My ex-students would have produced a better offering than this. Nothing can be said to redeem it, it stinks, like the rotting bodies under the floorboards, from beginning to end and in every department.

This is is a well made movie, but the acting is not very good at all. The casting choices were a little strange as well, as in the main character and his brother, unless one or both of them were adopted they didn't seem like they were related at all. Some scenes that were supossed to be scary or at least serious, elicited laughter, for example, the second bath tub scene with the main character and his first victim. The story needed some tune ups, it's apparently based on a real life geraman serial killer so I'd think there must be ways to add some suspense or scary aspects to the story. Overall, I think if there had been more money spent on making this movie, for better actors, better sets, etc, it could have been better.

While this movie is obviously a lower budget production, the story is great, the main character is super creepy but kind of likeable. If you are into serial killers you will enjoy this watch. It's a captivating tale of a sicko.

15 KILLINGS deliberately does the one thing you'd think a movie about serial killers wouldn't want to do: it makes its subject matter boring. It doesn't even pretend to be suspenseful: its main conceits are revealed within the first ten minutes, so there's little to wonder about in terms of whodunnit, where and when.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing, since the film does give its audience an alternative to the usual stale serial killer narrative.

This inevitably starts with the dispatch of a (generally attractive female) victim, and plods on, through the point of view of either amoral killer or pursuing cop, to the also-inevitable capture. Which is never easy, because serial killers in movies are One Per Centers-independently wealthy, no Gover'mint Cheese in their fridge. They have plenty of money to fund their fiendish rituals, and plenty of time to carry them out in public spaces.

On the Silver Screen, however, the most murderous career is 120 minutes long. So filmmakers are forced to choose: the killer can satisfy his bloodlust and quit, or taunt the cops and move the plot along. Coincidentally, they usually choose the latter. So we're not surprised when cop and killer must finally settle their differences mano a mano. But the killer is usually a savant in one way or another: super-smart, super-evil, super-human. So naturally only super-cops can catch him (the "him" is also a given), because who wants mediocrity in either their heroes or villains?

15 KILLINGS, on the other hand, puts its action within a relatively novel frame. A doctor-the prim-and-proper type, complete with bun and clipboard-is studying psychopathy via neurological research. She visits a prison to ask Norris, a convicted serial killer, if he'll undergo a series of brain function tests, designed to compare his brain to that of "normal" people. As the doctor begins explaining theories to her potential subject, flashbacks show him in action.

This is where the film presents a glint of editorial genius: the flashbacks are oddly inconsistent with the present action between Norris and the doctor. As she delves into the subject of deviant brains and their origins, we watch an average, somewhat schlubby guy lure pathetic runaways and other destitute young men back to his home with the sterling pickup line, "I'll cook you a hot meal."

As the film goes on, we also can't help noting that the doctor describing the cold and emotionless interior of the psychopath sounds...cold and emotionless. While she expounds on the psychopath's manipulative behavior, Norris is shown having interactions so mundane they say almost nothing about him, other than to shout, "ORDINARY!" So we see what the doctor apparently can't: she can pore over charts and spout nomenclature all day, but at the end of that day she'll be no closer to explaining or bridging the gulf between herself and her subject.

And she can't remotely predict his future behavior. We know far sooner than the doctor that Norris will never take those tests; he'll string her along, suck up her coffee and chocolates, until she's either forced to desist due to lack of funds, or laughed out of her study due to lack of results.

Underscoring this is the series of victims. We see them only as Norris does: briefly alive, then dead and compliant. Soon their faces run together-as they do for Norris, and even the investigating cops. The victims are throwaways, and when he's done, Norris throws them away. He uses the techniques made famous by John Gacey, Dean Corll, and Jeffrey Dahmer-but also like them, he's utterly ordinary, mysterious as a Big Mac. The film conveys perfectly the fact that killing is the only remotely exceptional act Norris performs, and that's only because there aren't more serial killers. When the cold-cut variety pack becomes a smorgasbord, he'll still be baloney.

This is a far cry and a nice break from the Hannibal Lechters we sneakily admire from our safe spot behind the fourth wall. It's a point worth noting: when you cross paths with Evil, it may be so mundane you almost step over it. The exceptional is no more common in crime than in any other field of endeavor.

That may be the film's clearest message, if it feels it needs one: evil dwells in the split-level ranch next door. That's where we create our Dahmers and Corrls and Norrises-in the cozy neighborhoods of why-do-you-think-it's-called-nuclear families. And that's where we find them later, stalking their victims in the streets of their childhoods. Or yours.

It's not up to the film to explain either Norris or the origins of his lethal obsessions; in fact, the movie is all but an argument against facile attempts to "understand". The doctor's inability to relate to her human subject on any level is a reminder that naming something is not the same as understanding it. We can break down the components of psychopathy, but that doesn't bring us any closer to changing it. We're forced to settle for an uneasy truce, rather than the decisive victory over the horrifically mundane-or is it the mundanely horrific-that we long for.

The Norrises among us, in other words, will endure. Until one day they make the mistake or two (or fifteen) that drags them out of the subterranean shadows and into the light-where they look just like the rest of us.

This movie has the look of a 70s cheap exploitation movie. The story that is told is boring at best. The cinematography looks bland. Only one character is explored, but only on the surface. We learn absolutly nothing about motives or even the overhyped neurology basics. Anything resembling a plot is absent in this movie.

The filmmakers tried to use some clever storytelling by offscreen mentioning one keyword about psychopaths and then playing a corresponding scene from the life of the main character. The only problem is, the scenes and the keyword never seem to fit together. Usually it's just another victim and another killing. Sorry, that's just not enough to make a movie work.

I don't know why I watched more than 5 minutes; but kept thinking there would be some breakthrough. I sure hope the "actors" weren't paid. Maybe they paid the producer to be in the movie?

The acting, sets, costumes.....all pretty much among the absolute worst I have ever witnessed. It made me uncomfortable to watch and it was not worth the effort. Go watch paint dry instead. Or watch a bum sleep under an overpass. Watching ants build an ant mound has more excitement and better action than this travesty. I would be ashamed to say I was affiliated with it. I am even embarrassed to say I watched half of it. I do not know who made it or why they thought it would be a good idea to use talentless actors and a junior high school level set to make a movie about a serial killer, but they missed the mark completely. Hire a forensic specialist while you're at it.

If monotone characters with no depth or expression is what you want, this is the flick for you. The only believable character was the doctor. Well, maybe the main character since he was supposed to be a psychopath!

This is serial killer Dennis Nilsen! Look him up! Based on true story - 😱😱😱

The straightforward and chilling portrayal of a serial killer- who is your typical everyday man that could turn out be any one around us.

Few films end better than they start. Weird but very interesting. People who are looking for sensational serial killer stay away.

One of the most upsetting films I have seen lately. Terrifying hilarious and informative at the same time. I loved Mindhunter so i was searching for films like that. the film blares the line of protagonist and antagonist in a smart way and explains the brain research behind violent criminals. I highly recommend it.

It starts awkward, but built nicely and ends strong. I love the main character!

This is a real portrait of how boring, repetitive and absurd a killer's life is. No ingenious killer here. He calls the police on himself. I appreciate honest films. Not bad at all!

If you were wondering why serial killers do what they do, this is a good film to start from. A very bizarre and entertaining dive into the mind of a serial killer.

Few times am I intrigued, entertained and horrified by a main character like the one in 15 Killings! I admit it starts slow. But after the 15 minute mark this film sends you down the rabbit hole into a nightmare. Campy and cultish you will enjoy it if you are a serial killer movie fan.