Killer of Men is written and directed by Tzvi Friedman. It follows an unnamed serial killer, portrayed by Jon Peterson. He is unable to feel anything physically or emotionally, but this begins to change after meeting a woman at a laundry mat named Eva, played by Stacie Brown.

The performances are good, but Jon Peterson‘s performance is a tier above. He carries the bulk of the scenes and makes it look like a breeze. As an unfeeling harbinger of death, he can’t emote too much, but he makes so many great decisions with his physicality and micro-expressions that he never comes off as a mindless or static figure. This is made even more important due to how little dialogue there is. It’s impressive how well characters and character relationships are defined in such an understated manner. One character, however, does not benefit. That character is Hoggs, who delivers groceries with the killer during their work hours. Hoggs makes a wild decision halfway through Killer of Men, and it isn’t explored or justified nearly enough. It seemed like an incredibly forced way to set up segments of the resolution. Imagine a film where in the first half a character is a teacher. 40 minutes in he disappears, and the next time you see him he’s riding in on a stampede of dogs. He’s been rescuing all the strays offscreen, but why? There’s a canine rescue ranch 10 miles out. It’s kind of like that. The dialogue is ok. It usually feels restrained, which is highly appropriate, but rarely impressive.

Killer of Men is a mood piece, and its slow methodical pacing reinforces that. The story advances at a fair pace, but the scenes often linger. They linger just enough to get the point across or build up their repressed energy. Everything is set in New York, and it wears the city on its sleeves. There is a significant amount of blue filtering here, but it doesn’t seem out of place or careless. It’s reflective of a kind of aimless melancholy that stems from not being able to feel. The atmosphere is thick with this. Other scenes look more yellow-brown, like an old Polaroid, sometimes reflecting small moments of warmth or emotional resonance in the cold blue. The final factor in this formula is the excellent music, which brings everything together to create an almost meditative experience. The camera work is interesting. The camera feels playful at times, showing things in atypical and interesting ways. The majority of the practical effects are blood. Some of the blood looked great. I wasn’t as impressed with other examples. I’m not disappointed in it because this isn’t a gorey or even particularly violent movie, and there aren’t enough examples of the lesser blood to counter the good stuff. One scene did present a glimpse at a victim in a way it usually didn’t, and the effects and make-up looked fantastic.

Killer of Men is akin to Pinnochio becoming a real boy. There are themes of hope and redemption, and it asks who is deserving of those things. I wouldn’t call it hopeful, but it plays with hope. It is less than feature length. As a short simple mood piece centered around a captivating performance, this is an easy “Why not?” Toss it on, give it an hour of your time, and enjoy.

7 out of 10