Killer Joe

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  • Opened July 27, 2012 
  • 1 hr 42 min
  • NC-17 | Graphic aberrant content involving violence and sexuality, and a scene of brutality
  • When 22-year-old Chris (Emile Hirsch) finds himself in debt to a drug lord, he stumbles on the scheme of hiring a hit man to dispatch his mother, whose $50,000 life insurance policy is supposed to go to his sister Dottie (Juno Temple). Chris hires Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a creepy, crazy Dallas cop who moonlights as a contract killer. When Chris can’t pay Joe up front, Joe sets his sight on Dottie as collateral for the job. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon, Marc Macaulay
  • Director: William Friedkin
  • Genres: Black Comedy, Crime Thriller, Comedy

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Fans say Go
828 fans
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Critics say Go
62 out of 100
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Fan Reviews

Oh No!
Killer Joe

by alohajill

The worst movie I have ever seen! And to rate it as a comedy? What a sick joke! Lost all respect for Matthew. Took my friend for his birthday thinking it would something to laugh at and we were all...

Must Go!
WARNING: Not for everyone and adults only

by calcutta

This movie is like watching a super cell (storm) bearing down on a rustic collection of inhabited rural huts. No matter how unspeakable the outcome is bound to be, one knows from the opening scenes...

I'm In
Killer Joe

by Movie Gem Seeker

What a movie! Really liked it although it is not for everyone. Well written characters and actors who know what they are doing. The script is great and despite the "uncomfortable" moments (they are...

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Critic Reviews

100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
|

Credit goes to the actors (especially Gershon) for giving almost as good as they get in seriously demanding roles, and to Friedkin for having what it takes – guts, chops and a refreshing lack of artistic caution – to bring things thundering home. Read full review

80
The Hollywood Reporter
|

A likeably unpleasant slice of adults-only Texas noir, which aims at the funnybone as much as the jugular. Read full review

75
Rolling Stone
| Peter Travers

Even when the film goes too far over the top to be saved, McConaughey mesmerizes. Read full review

75
San Francisco Chronicle
| Mick LaSalle

The hardest thing to describe is tone, but it's the thing that most sets Killer Joe apart and makes it one of the most interesting and satisfying movies of the year so far. Read full review

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Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon, Juno Temple and Thomas Haden Church in "Killer Joe."