ReviewsDVD talk - My stomach, for one, was all tied up in knots, and it's rather remarkable, how Friedkin manages to never lose control of a story that goes this far off the rails., Digital Spy - Marrying a schlocky pulp tone with a story of family dissolution on the level of Greek tragedy, Friedkin's latest is more than worth the six-year wait. Taking an irreverent kind of pleasure in its own nastiness and the depth of its characters' depravity, KILLER JOE is emphatically not to everyone's taste, but it is among the purest cinematic experiences you'll have this year., Cine-Vue - Evidently, Friedkin still has the power to make tremendous films. Whilst he will always be remembered for THE EXORCIST, KILLER JOE demands your attention - you'll never look at fried chicken in the same way again., Total Film - of a chicken drumstick. Highly recommended, then. <BR><BR>FriedkinÆs unflinching trailer-park noir features ugly characters, game performances, degradation and the obscene abuse
Additional InformationA desperate Texas drug dealer plots to settle a sizable debt by killing his mother and collecting the insurance money, but gets into an even bigger mess after hiring a twisted police detective who moonlights as a killer-for-hire to get the job done. Chris (Emile Hirsch) is in serious trouble. He's just incurred a major debt to Digger Soames (Marc Macaulay), and when you're late paying Digger, you can wind up dead. His back against the wall, Chris comes to his father Ansel (Thomas Hayden Church) with a sinister proposition: they hire a killer to get rid of Chris' mother (and Ansel's ex-wife), then collect the insurance money that will go to Chris' teenage sister Dottie (Juno Temple), a seraphic sleepwalker who seems to exist in a world all her own. Bringing Chris' temperamental step-mother Sharla (Gina Gershon) in on the hustle, the young deadbeat and his dim-witted father enlist the services of Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a local police detective whose authority and detailed knowledge of police procedures makes him the perfect hired killer. But Joe doesn't come cheap, and when his fee proves bigger than expected, Chris and Ansel agree to let him have Dottie as a 'retainer' until the insurance check clears. Just when it starts to look as if everything is going according to plan, however, an unexpected complication plunges the entire situation into total chaos. A lurid black comedy that goes to some very dark places, KILLER JOE is the second collaboration between acclaimed director William Friedkin and playwright/screenwriter Tracey Letts, who previously worked together on the 2006 psychological thriller BUG.