There might be similarities in the overall plot structure (teen boy investigating suspicious deaths), but the themes and the character types are completely different.
In Phantasm you have a boy mourning the death of his parents (and also, apparently, the loss of his older brother). In I am Not a Serial Killer the main emotional driver is the main character's concern/obsession with his own sociopathy and whether or not he is predestined to kill/hurt those around him.
In Phantasm the bad guy is an alien/being from another dimension who is exploiting/enslaving humans for some unknown reason. In I am Not a Serial Killer, the bad guy is some sort of fairy-tale creature who is killing so that he may remain human to be with the woman he loves. The motivations of the villains are very different. I'd say that even the presence of the two villains are very different: the menacing, super-strong Tall Man compared to the killer who needs help using the toilet.
I think that I am Not a Serial Killer does echo some of Phantasm's dreamy, small-town surrealism. I would agree that stylistically/atmosphere-wise there are similarities. But I am Not a Serial Killer is doing enough creative things on its own to not be anywhere near rip-off territory.
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