Working from a play by Tracy Letts, veteran director William Friedkin makes heavy weather of stylised violence and dialogue. In hock to drug dealers, trailer park boy Chris (Emile Hirsch) hires a contract killer (Matthew McConaughey) to assassinate his mother and claim her life insurance policy. He persuades his dad (an excellently bemused Thomas Haden Church) to join in and offers up his younger sister, Dottie (Juno Temple), as sexual collateral.
In Tarantino's hands this might have been enjoyable if horrid. With Friedkin it revels in evil and lacks any sprightliness that might have redeemed its twisted characters, all of whom are loathsome and stupid.
A great problem is also a lack of social context to inform the characters' actions. Yes, there's a scene of Gina Gershon giving head to a drumstick, but the strain for some kind of iconic status or shock value here is almost pitiable.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jul/01/killer-joe-review
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