Killer Joe
Directed by William Friedkin
- crime
- thriller
- drama
The story
A cop who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister.
What it’s like
Sweltering Texas heat sits on every frame: a cramped trailer interior lit by a single bare bulb and the blue flicker of a TV, sweat-sheened faces, dust hanging in the yellow light of a mid-afternoon yard. Friedkin works in tight, claustrophobic two-shots and static takes that let the rooms press in, with a grimy, grainy digital texture and a palette of sickly beige, dirty denim and bruised purple. The score is sparse and jittery, punctuated by bursts of country and sudden silences that land harder than any sound. Its vibe is sun-baked dread turning jet-black comic, a sleazy southern gothic that alternates between nervous laughter and a cold, creeping unease. The pacing is deliberate and then abruptly violent, building through long, awkward stretches of bargaining before erupting. Intensity is high and unsparing: graphic, brutal violence, including a shocking late act of cruelty, plus strong sexual content, nudity, sexual humiliation and crude language; dark humour cuts through but never softens the menace. The emotional register is bleak and corrosive, following a family of desperate, mean-spirited people sliding into moral ruin. For viewers who want a nasty, unsettling crime film with black comedy and no comfort, not for anyone seeking gentleness.
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