A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life

Year: 2019

Runtime: 81 mins

Language: English

Director: Staten Cousins Roe

Echo Score: 67
CrimeComedyThriller

Unleash the inner you. Louise Farnt is obsessed with the world of self-help. And when she meets the not necessarily sane guru wannabe Val Stone, a murderous spree begins.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life (2019)

Explore the full timeline and setting of A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life (2019). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present-day (early 21st century)

Set in contemporary Britain, the story situates itself amid a culture saturated with self-help gurus and online buzz. The narrative unfolds through organized seminars, private retreats, and media chatter, underscoring how therapy culture can blur ethical boundaries. The modern setting amplifies the thriller's satire of personal development fads and the violence they conceal.

Location

Caravan Park, Wilderness Retreat, Sonic Vibration Retreat, Laugh-Therapy Workshop, Birth-Memory Guru, Chuck Knoah's Estate

The film unfolds across a string of self-help settings that isolate the protagonist. It begins at a caravan park where Lou meets Val and begins a journey into guru-led experiments, then moves through a wilderness retreat, a large house hosting a 'sonic vibration' retreat, and a series of therapy workshops. Each location doubles as a microcosm of manipulation where the promise of discovery uncovers dangerous truths. The final leg lands at Chuck Knoah's estate, tying the rooms of personal transformation to a grim confrontation.

🏕️ Caravan Park 🧭 Wilderness Retreat 🎭 Self-Help Workshop 🚐 Road Trip

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:48

Main Characters – A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life (2019)

Meet the key characters of A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life (2019), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Louise Farnt (Katie Brayben)

A meek, insecure young woman with poor self-esteem who becomes entangled in Val Stone's radical self-help experiments. Her arc traces a harrowing journey from dependency to grim autonomy as she navigates manipulation and violence. The narrative follows her struggle to reclaim agency in a toxic culture of gurus and controlling family.

🧠 Vulnerable 🔒 Repressed 🌱 Growth

Val Stone (Poppy Roe)

A charismatic self-help guru who mentors Lou but reveals a ruthless, controlling streak. She wields psychological pressure and performs extreme acts to enforce discipline, flaunting a warped version of empowerment.

⚖️ Manipulative 🔪 Dangerous 🗺️ Charismatic

Ben (Tomiwa Edun)

A nature-therapy facilitator who runs a wilderness retreat. He embodies the friendly mentor persona but becomes a casualty in the grim escalation, highlighting how even well-meaning guides can be complicit in tragedy.

🌲 Outdoor 🧭 Mentor 🪦 Fatal

Chuck Knoah (Ben Lloyd-Hughes)

A washed-up self-help author facing a crumbling career and looming publisher challenges. He represents the commodification of personal growth and becomes a central target when his memoir’s promise lures in the wrong readers.

✍️ Author 💔 Fragile 🧠 Calculating

Maureen Farnt (Sarah Ball)

Lou's mother, emotionally abusive and controlling, whose relentless belittlement drives Lou toward escape and self-discovery. Her presence anchors the film's critique of toxic family dynamics.

👩‍👧 Dominating 💢 Critical 🧩 Controlling

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:48

Major Themes – A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life (2019)

Explore the central themes of A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life (2019), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

✨ Self-Help

The film scrutinizes the seductive pull of self-improvement cultures, showing how gurus use charm and promises of transformation to recruit and control followers. Lou's longing for validation makes her vulnerable to manipulation by Val and other instructors. The narrative exposes the gap between glossy promises and harmful real-world consequences.

⚖️ Manipulation

Val Stone embodies charismatic manipulation, steering Lou into increasingly dangerous tasks under the guise of personal growth. The retreats operate like pressure chambers where decisions blur ethics and loyalty shifts with each new claim of progress. The story highlights the power dynamics between mentor and student.

🗡️ Violence

The plot escalates through a string of murders conducted in the name of healing. Each killing is framed as part of a tutored journey, revealing the thin line between therapeutic ritual and criminal act. The violence acts as a counterweight to the self-help myth, forcing characters to confront consequences.

🫂 Identity

Lou's evolving sense of self clashes with her mother's control and with Val's seductive ideology. The film probes how identity can be reconstructed—but at a perilous cost—when vulnerability is weaponized. The finale pivots on reclaimed agency, even as memories blur with fiction.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 15:48

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Dark Comedy Crime Thrillers like A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life

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Narrative Summary

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Movies about Toxic Mentorship like A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern revolves around a power dynamic: a lost individual searching for purpose encounters a mentor who offers a radical, often violent, path to self-actualization. The plot follows the protégé's gradual indoctrination, their participation in increasingly extreme acts, and the eventual confrontation with the reality of their situation, often leading to an ambiguous or tragic conclusion.

Why These Movies?

These films are connected by their deep exploration of the psychology of influence and corruption. They share a heavy emotional weight, a steady pacing that allows for character degradation, and a focus on themes like delusion, identity, and the dark side of seeking guidance, resulting in a similarly intense and psychologically complex experience.

Unlock the Full Story of A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life

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A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life Summary

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A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life Summary

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life Timeline

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A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life Timeline

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life Spoiler-Free Summary

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A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life Spoiler-Free Summary

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