Director: William Friedkin
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon
Chris (Hirsch) is in deep debt so he hatches a plot with his father Ansel (Church) to kill his mother and collect the insurance money. He hires Joe (McConaughey), a detective who moonlights as a hitman. As a retainer, he has an affair with Chris’ virginal sister Dottie (Temple) but things go awry quickly.
This is a black comedy that has moments of genuine, laugh out loud hilarity peppered in. If the first ten minutes doesn’t have you amused then it’s probably not worth carrying on because Killer Joe carries on in the same vein. The story centres around a dysfunctional family. Church is hilarious as Ansel, the often perplexed father. Hirsch is earnest as Chris but also pretty dumb. Temple is sweet but there’s also something a bit off about her, which comes into play at the end of the film. As good as these actors are it’s really McConaughey’s film though. He’s like a snake slithering through the grass and you’re never sure what he’s going to do next.
Some parts of them film may be difficult to watch, especially the seduction scene between Joe and Dottie. But the mood is lightened by moments of slapstick, one such instance occurred in the middle of a completely serious scene and it had me guffawing. I really enjoyed Killer Joe. The characters were memorable, it’s twisted and hilarious, and there are good performances all round. The only thing I will say is that the ending is left unresolved, and I know some people hate it when films do that. It even annoyed me a little bit here, as I was just wishing the camera would have lingered for another second or two. Still, it’s a really fun movie and I highly recommend it.
