Notable as the directorial debut of Blade Runner co-writer Hampton Fancher, this darkly comic thriller stars Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums) as Vann Siegert, a different brand of serial killer: one who actually believes he's doing his deeply depressed victims a service of mercy.

Wandering up the West Coast, Seigert choses victims from a parage of social misfits and expounds on his motives with a pocket tape recorder (a monologue that servers as the film's narrative voice-over). A brief layover in Owensville eventually finds Vann in the company of warring middle-aged couple Doug and Jane (Brian Cox, Rob Roy and Mercedes Ruehl, The Fisher King), who grow fond of the young drifter's amiable demeanour and take him on as a boarder. After landing a job at the local post office, Vann catches the eye of co-worker Ferrin (Janeanne Garofolo), and a tentative romance blossums - but even love can't distract Van from his crusade to terminate people's unhappiness.