While terrible in nature, there’s always a curiosity towards serial killers, even if only in hope to identify and protect one’s self from a potential one. The Young Poisoner’s Handbook depicts one such killer named the Teacup Murderer, but while the usual serial killing tropes are present (e.g. the fascination towards death, the disregard for others, and the possible psychosis), the film is equal parts creepy and funny. It doesn’t really delight in the gore, with poison as his weapon, but it mostly takes pleasure in how captivated he is with his experiments– the meticulous method he recorded, the thought he placed into his endeavors, and the way he was able to escape detection, even from those who knew him. One should obviously not follow The Young Poisoner’s Handbook, but one can’t deny how Hugh O’Conor makes said poisoner a fascinating watch.
Graham Young is a teenage misfit living in suburban London in the 1960s. He hates his stepmother but loves chemistry, and the two impulses unite in a wicked plot to slowly poison her. After she dies, he's found guilty and sent to a psychiatric hospital, where an idealistic doctor thinks he can be cured.
London, 1960s. After discovering his aptitude for chemistry, teenage misfit Graham Young turns to his passion for deadly ends.
Hugh O’Conor reminds me somewhat of Wednesday with a special interest in poisons and without a supportive gothic family.
Funny, but let’s keep this away from aspiring/amateur chemists, shall we?
Sundance
1 win
This movie sucks. It’s not funny, but rather long drawn out, and is mostly him talking to people. A much better choice for a dark comedy would be Some Guy Who Kills People.