Killer Joe kind of has a misleading international poster. One look at it and I guess you would be expecting a moody thriller with a hired assassin as the main character. However, you would be wrong, because Killer Joe is going down as one of the most surprising comedies of the year so far.
The film follows the titular Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) who is a local policeman who moonlights as an undercover assassin who charges very high prices. Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch) is a local drunk who has left his girlfriend and is in big trouble with the local drug dealer, Digger Soames (Marc Macaulay). Chris returns home to his Father, Ansel Smith (Thomas Haden Church), his Step-Mother, Sharla Smith (Gina Gershon) and his sister, Dottie Smith (Juno Temple) with a master plan of killing his Mother and collecting her life insurance policy so he can pay off Digger. When they can't pay Joe upfront, they agree to let him have Dottie as his holding fee before he can be paid with cash. However, things get twisted along the way as Joe and Dottie get a bit too close, Chris realises he is being conned and the drug dealers are getting closer and closer.
It's really hard to categorise Killer Joe into a genre, because it mixes quite a few together very well. There's the obvious horror element to it, involving assassins and the unsettling location of the trailer park at night. However, Killer Joe also leans into exploitation, drama, (twisted) romance and most surprisingly, comedy. So far, I think I have laughed the most during Killer Joe, largely because I wasn't expecting to when I walked into the cinema.
Firstly, I have to mention and give credit to the casting of this film, because it was spot on. McConaughey as Joe Cooper was inspired, as he plays the moody and dark characters quite well. While I want to say that this role should be one that defines him as an Actor, I'm not sure if he will want people to remember the film that saw him force a female character perform fellatio onto a chicken drumstick..! Hirsch as the troubled Chris also played the very fine line between being determined and annoying very well. He could have easily slipped into being a whiny character - he is being chased by drug dealers, he hates his Mother and his Step-Mother and Father hate him - but he keeps it quite grounded and sympathetic at the same time. Temple as the strange but endearing Dottie did fairly well with the role that she was given, although I would have liked to have a little more insight into how she was really feeling about Joe. And finally, Church and Gershon were just brilliant as the mismatched couple and the scenes that they have together are some of the best comedy I have seen in a long time - the scene in the lawyers office towards the end of the film really steals the show!
William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) really knows how to take a scene and wring it out for every emotional second that he can, and this is an amazing talent to have as a Director. The scenes at the trailer park, with the torrential rain, the dull lighting and the barking dog really set a disturbing atmosphere and then the scenes at the strip club with the garish lighting and the lingering shots on the female body really amp up the exploitation aspect of the film. The way that the film can so effortlessly switch between the different settings and mood is brilliant and proves for a really engaging storyline.
Oh yes, the stripper clubs. I've only just mentioned them, haven't I?! The film is rated 18 by the BBFC and I have to say, the film wholly deserves it. It's not really the kind of film you want to see with your parents or your grandparents or one that you would take the kids to go and see. However, despite the rating and the content of the film, it also feels like it's a film for mature adults. It's not your silly Scary Movie or your simple-minded Planet Terror type of film, where the focus is on gore or nudity. While Killer Joe does have both of those things, it also deals with a very twisted love scene, when Dottie cooks Joe his first meal and then they end up sleeping together while reminiscing about Dottie's first love at High School. Or the aforementioned chicken drumstick fellatio scene where all the skeletons come out of the closet for the Smith family and Joe starts to take charge of the situation.
So, overall I was pleasantly surprised by Killer Joe. While I would have liked a little bit more insight into the character of Dottie and her true intentions with Joe, the film overall does a very good job of taking you through a roller coaster of emotions.
It's almost a five star... Almost.
****½ / *****
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