The Killer Inside Me (2010) ***

The Killer Inside Me is a film that when it works works great, but when it stumbles it falls flat on its face breaking its nose and glasses. I pulp noir story centered in the middle of nowhere, the film is about Deputy Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), a public servant that appears to be a by the book kind of guy, doing his duty in the small town that needs him. What people don't see is that Lou is a troubled soul with demons in his past that are finally ready to boil over into his everyday life. This all starts when he's asked to remove a local prostitute (Jessica Alba) from town because of her indiscretions with a prominent businessman's son. Lou gets involved with her. Then an idea for revenge springs up. And then the demons appear and send Lou's life and sanity spiraling out of control.
The first half of the film has all of its ducks in a row as we see Lou degenerate from local savior to psychotic killer. The story could border on parody but doesn't and leaves a grim sense to the viewer that blends very nicely with the construction of the film. It's in the second half that the film falters into a mess that culminates in an ending that is executed in such a messy and unbelievable way that it almost ruins the picture.

Highly violent and provocative The Killer Inside Me is a nice piece of small town noir that builds to a climax that never arrives. It goes from being a great sleeper film to being filed away in movies you'll forget in a month.