Nature vs nurture: Born to Kill asks this insolvable question through the study of Sam. He’s a seemingly normal teenager, charming, vulnerable and well-meaning (he keeps company with elderly people at the hospital where his mother works as a nurse). But something’s very wrong, as Sam hides murderous tendencies. Is he inherently evil or a product of the troubled upbringing that flashbacks suggest?
Co-writer Tracey Malone had already dealt with real-life serial killer John Christie in the mini-series Rillington Place (2016). But Born to Kill is more unsettling, as we feel very close to this boy with dark impulses that clash with his own normal teenage angst. Actor Jack Rowan shines in this claustrophobic drama, shifting personalities in one single look and perfectly, ambiguously embodying the song by Magazine used here in the soundtrack: The Light Pours Out Of Me.
Season 1, episodes 1 and 2.
Film details
- Country of production
- United Kingdom
- Year
- 2017
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2018
- Length
- 95'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
