Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Voltage Pictures
Worldview Entertainment
Not part of a collection.
A Totally Deep-Fried Texas Redneck Trailer Park Murder 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.
Nathan
Dec 1, 2022 · via TMDB
_Killer Joe_ had the making to be a genuinely great film, but the quality control in the writing room limits the results. So much of the story works for me on a thematic and plot progression basis. I enjoyed the premise and the stakes that this movie provides, but writer Tracy Letts wrote this like it was some subversive wet dream of his as a teenager. This movie is vial, there is so much unnecessary nudity from creepy changing room shots to women's genitals being presented in full view, to soft-core pornography in the climax of the movie. I understand that this movie is supposed to have no redeeming characters, but the graphicness takes away from the scene more than adds to them. It is very reminiscent of my complaint about Rob Zombie films. With that being said, the performances here are incredible. Matthew McConaughey is amazing. McConaughey is cold, calculated, and downright terrifying in almost every scene he is in. The final twenty minutes of this film are spectacular. His discovery and reveal gave me goosebumps. I loved it. Thomas Haden Church is pretty great too, he is so stupid and pointless that he adds a bit of humor in intense scenes that makes the viewer guilty for laughing. Everyone else was okay, they filled their roles well but did not necessarily impress me. Despite my complaints, I enjoyed this film. It was an intense and thrilling experience that kept me on my toes till the credits rolled. I still think that the graphic nature and vulgarness take away from what could have been. **Score:** _67%_ | **Verdict:** _Good_
John Chard
Feb 7, 2019 · via TMDB
William Friedkin serves up Trailer Trash Neo-Noir with a side order of Fried Chicken. Killer Joe is directed by William Friedkin and adapted to screenplay by Tracy Letts from his own play of the same name. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church and Gina Gershon. Music is scored by Tyler Bates and cinematography by Caleb Deschanel. Plot finds Hirsch as Chris Smith, who because he is in severe debt to local thugs, hatches a plan to bump off his waster of a mother and claim the life insurance. Roping in the rest of his trailer dwelling family, he hires Killer Joe (McConaughey), a cop with a sideline in murder, but the Smith's have no idea just what price they will have to pay for his services. So pulpy, so amusingly dark, Killer Joe is one of those films that will sit at the top of many film fan's best of lists for 2012. Yet if someone came up to me and declared it one of the worst then I certainly will understand. Undeniably it has no widespread appeal, you either get it or you don't, you will either laugh along with Friedkin and his dark observations or you will feel the whole thing is just too ugly to be entertainment. Man it's good to have Friedkin back pushing peoples buttons! Filmed in Texas in under three weeks, Killer Joe is a film that walks the fine line of misogyny and perversity for perversity's sake. But it never falls over that mark, even though these are scummy characters living in a scummy world, where there's sex and violence, and violent simulated sex and nudity; all of which is cloaked by a sweaty crime gone wrong caper. Much of the film is dialogue driven, rest assured this is very talky, but the director wrings out much tension and salaciousness from every character interaction, the slow-burn approach only heightening the sense of dread. When the finale comes, and it's a cracker-jack ending, there's an almost merciful release that it's all over. These are people you wouldn't want to hang out with ever, only there's Friedkin chuckling away to himself having made us spend an hour and forty minutes with this grime laden crew. If you feel like you need a bath afterwards, that's perfectly natural. Friedkin has garnered terrific performances from a top line cast. Hirsch (powder-keg), Church (naievity extraordinaire), Temple (virginal piggy in the middle) and Gershon (bold and suspicious), are all giving disturbing credibility to the material, but as good as they are they are trumped considerably by McConaughey. One of the most frustrating actors working today, much like Cage, a ream of poor movies adorn his CV, but once in a while he throws in a performance of such genuine quality that it begs to be acknowledged by his peers. Here as Killer Joe he lays on a Faust like menace, delivering his lines with clinically calm precision, yet still there's a glint in his eye, we know a black heart beats there but he can charm a snake out of its basket, a girl out of her underwear... Unflinching direction, bravura performances and neo-noir at its near best, one of the best films of 2012 so far. Well, to some of us at least.... 9/10
Gimly
Feb 6, 2017 · via TMDB
On the one hand, Killer Joe does get better as it progresses, but on the other, it's also the first Friedkin movie I haven't loved. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Netflix Standard with Ads
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Matthew McConaughey
Killer Joe Cooper
Emile Hirsch
Chris Smith
Juno Temple
Dottie Smith
Thomas Haden Church
Ansel Smith
Gina Gershon
Sharla Smith
Marc Macaulay
Digger Soames
Gralen Bryant Banks
Pizza Patron
Carol Sutton
Saleslady
Danny Epper
G-Man
Scott A. Martin
Pizza Manager
Jeffrey Pratt Gordon
Assistant Property Master
Franco-Giacomo Carbone
Production Design
Brook Yeaton
Property Master
Caleb Deschanel
Director of Photography
Chuck Picerni Jr.
Stunt Coordinator
Danny Epper
Stunts
William Friedkin
Director
Chuck Picerni Jr.
Second Unit Director
Darrin Navarro
Editor
Denise Chamian
Casting
Patrick Newall
Co-Producer
Christopher Woodrow
Executive Producer
Zev Foreman
Executive Producer
Nicolas Chartier
Producer
Patrick Newall
Unit Production Manager
King Cotton
Music Consultant
C.C. Adcock
Music Supervisor
Tyler Bates
Original Music Composer
Steve Boeddeker
Sound Designer
Tracy Letts
Screenplay
Tracy Letts
Writer
Awake
Slice of Life
Gladiator
Memento
American Beauty
Citizen Kane
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Blade Runner
Misery
Mississippi Burning
Har du set Alice?
Amores Perros
Giant
Requiem Apache
The Long Goodbye
Sicko
Happiness
Jacob's Ladder
True West
Heathers
Crash
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Sleepy Hollow
Shoot the Piano Player
A History of Violence
8 Mile
Grave Decisions
Ring
Pusher
Elephant
2Eleven
Chhakka Panja
Inland Empire
Trial by Fire
Southern Comfort
Dominick and Eugene
The New Godfathers
Phone Booth
Death Proof
Con Air
Signs
Taps
The Devil's Rejects
We Own the Night
Crank
Baby Assassins
Hamburger Hill
Dark Whispers - Volume 1
Saving Grace
Beverly Hills Cop II
Hard Target
The Last Supper
Kill the Day
The Salvation
The Gift
The Whole Nine Yards
Unhinged
Murder in Monaco
Reflections
Sniper: Ghost Shooter
The Dead Pool
Führer Ex
Fritz the Cat
The Hunted
Shattered
Izo
Angel
Ain't Them Bodies Saints
White Rabbit
Miami Vice
Scénarios sur la drogue
New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford
IRMA
The Specialist
Death Machine
Cold Pursuit
The Alamo
The Touch
Twenty Bucks
The Clearing
Dangerous Game
Lucia, Before and After
On the Edge
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
Shocker
No Code of Conduct
Poodle Springs
Solo mía
Crack House
No Good Deed
Frazier Park Recut
Russia 88
The Intent
L'Homme qui n'était pas là
Don't Look Back
The Devils Dagger
Outside Ozona
As I Lay Dying
Chained Heat 2001: Slave Lovers
The Manson Family Massacre
Human Zoo
Gun Woman
The Creep Behind the Camera
Bullet Head
American Gothic
Baby Shark
A Time for Witches
O Dia da Caça
Irritable Bowel
The Bottle Imp
Red Letters
Grieve
The Naturalist
Goodnight, Charlene
Anna Antinarcóticos
The Man Who Surfed The World
The Sparrow and the Tigress
South of Here
The We Should Game
Kiss My Axe
The Gallerist
Between Us
Confidential Informant (proof of concept)
Drug Garden
Nightwaves
Knuckles
Untitled
Se7en
Reservoir Dogs
Casino
Fargo
Risqué
Miller's Crossing
American Psycho
Law Abiding Citizen
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Traffic
El padrino: The Latin Godfather
Mr. Brooks
Payback
Cop Land
Narc
King of New York
The Funeral
The Outfit
One False Move
Coffy
War
John Doe: Vigilante
Gangster No. 1
State Property
El Gringo
Rise of the Footsoldier
Cop
Extreme Prejudice
Foxy Brown
Bugsy
The Dead Pool
Crime and Punishment
Kill Me Again
Tightrope
God Is a Bullet
Small Engine Repair
Marlowe
Crank: High Voltage
Wonderland
The Corrupted
Rampage
Exit Wounds
Until Death
Night Train
The Killer Inside Me
Walking Tall: Lone Justice
Mar 10, 2012
South by Southwest Film Festival
Jul 27, 2012
Dec 21, 2012
DVD
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
Norwood
1970
Rodrigo y Gabriela: Live at The Olympia Theatre
2017
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
Norwood
1970
Rodrigo y Gabriela: Live at The Olympia Theatre
2017
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.