The title Amateur Porn Star Killer is a bit of a misnomer. There are no porn stars here, although the protagonist (antagonist?) of the film is a murderer. The movie is a snuff film (well, fake snuff film), and although their is explicit sex, or what certainly seems to be explicit sex, it is far from pornography. Writer/director Shane Ryan is not interested in titillating his viewer. He wants to creep you out, and for most of the movie, he succeeds.
Ryan plays Brandon, a guy who trolls around looking for victims. His victim tonight is Stacey (Michiko Jimenez, who also co-wrote), a young woman who claims to be nineteen. As they get to know each other more, her age continues to drop. Ryan does a bunch of thinks to increase the tension and general feeling of uneasiness. First, he uses a handheld video camera. The images are grainy, which doesn't exactly make sense because it is video and not film, but it still works. There is some low music in the background that kicks up every once in a while. Ryan also has some scenes with another actress (Jan Gould) that look more like a traditional porn film. Amateur Porn Star Killer never mentions if this is one of his previous victims, just a porno, or anything else. But the contrast (he sometimes superimposes the pictures on one another) is a bit weird, creating the desired effect.
The movie begins with an extended scene with Gould. It segues into black and white, with Brandon driving around in a car, and picking up Stacey. The rest of the movie takes place in his hotel room. There's not much plot, Ryan just wants you to see his character operate. It's all the more scary knowing that he is out to seduce this young woman, and he keeps going even when he discovers she is underage. For her part, Jimenez's improvised dialogue is good. Stacey is clearly uncomfortable, yet Brandon keeps pressing her to go further. Every time she is reluctant, she soon crumbles under his dominance.
It's hard to say whether or not Amateur Porn Star Killer is too long. Ryan needs time to show Brandon slowly working Stacey, but this may have been a bit long. But if he cut out too much, the movie wouldn't feel realistic. The color scenes with Gould, especially the beginning, seem a bit superfluous. Worst is Jimenez, whose performance deteriorates in the last part of the movie. Both she and Ryan seem to run out of steam, and Amateur Porn Star Killer slows down. It ends the exact way you would expect it to, but by now, the power is gone, aided by end titles that are unintentionally cheesy.