This is The Killer Inside Me week. How to Be a Serial Killer is currently available on instant Netflix.

WATCH: How to Be a Serial Killer (2008) – Rated R.

“Meet Mike Wilson (Dameon Clarke). He is charming. He is smart. He is a serial killer — and a very happy one, too. Determined to share the secrets of his satisfying career, Mike enlists sad-sack video store clerk Bart (Matthew Gray Gubler) as his star pupil. Mike enlightens Bart on the finer points of body disposal and other tricks of the trade, but it is not long before Mikes girlfriend catches on to his very odd job in this hilarious dark comedy.”

“I want to show you how to appreciate your life.”

“Perception is reality.”

I was afraid when I watched this that it was simply going to be a rehash of Man Bites Dog, a great foreign film  with a similar subject (also currently available on instant Netflix).

Luke Ricci writes, produces, and directs here. He tells the main story with two separate sets of segues. One set of segues is a psychiatrist explaining basic serial killer behavior. These are okay but are certainly overshadowed by the second set.

The second set of segues is Mike conducting an awesome self-help seminar on How to be a Serial Killer. This set of segues are absolutely hysterical and spot-on examples of self-help.

Dameon Clarke plays our charismatic serial killer, Mike. The rest of his credits seem to be voicing anime and guesting on various TV series. I hope this gets him a big break as he is quite good here. He plays icy, charming, extroverted, and loving quite well.

Matthew Gray Gubler is Bart, our video store employee-cum-apprentice. He is also Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds. He does not really sell the dependent schlub very well – he just plays Bart kind of flat but likable and lets a buttoned up shirt do the acting for him.

Laura Regan plays Abigail, the unsuspecting girlfriend of Mike. Laura most recently played Jennifer Crane on Mad Men. When Abigail discovers what is going on (not really a spoiler as it is in the description from Netflix), it begins the most hilarious sequence of the movie.

Unfortunately Luke Ricci has a bit of a problem with focus. Not only are there two different types of segues but there are normal movies scenes, interview scenes where characters talk to the camera, and even some POV shots that Mike takes with a camera. This makes the film seem schizophrenic at times.

While the focus is problematic, I did find How to be a Serial Killer to be very entertaining and often hilarious.