Killer Joe reviewed by Mark Kermode

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Mark Kermode reviews Killer Joe. A family put out a hit on their estranged mother in order to collect her life insurance in this new thriller from director William Friedkin

[@XhoowieX]

I liked it on the Culture show when Kermode asked Friedkin about the sexual politics within the movie and how they represent the relationships between men and women and Friedkin said "What the hell are you talking about? I wasn't trying to say anything about that! It's just about these particular characters in this particular situation!" - as much as I love Mark I've wanted somebody to say that to a critic for so damn long.

[@radioactivehalfrhyme]

That’s almost as good as when he asked David Lynch about electricity.

[@Blurbcrak]

I am really glad Kermode shows so much love for Bug I thought I was alone in my adoration for it.

[@PhoenixWright101]

Sorcerer is a great film. I want it on blu-ray. To Live And Die In L.A. is also wonderful.

[@sadderthanyou7793]

To Live And Die In L.A. is overrated.

[@nectarinedreams7208]

@@sadderthanyou7793 underrated*

[@ecumming10]

Hunted was also good. Actually besides Scorcese, Friedkin's one of the few 70s guys who still has his mojo. My opinion anyway. I like Bug too.

[@Redswipe]

Love how the producer grins when he mentions the fried chicken leg lol

[@exia0801]

Kemorde's turning out to be one of my favorite reviewers alongside Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper, Jeremy Jahns & Chris Stuckmann. Great review, as always.

[@paintballing489]

I watched bug on Film4 because mark introduced it, was AWSOME!

[@hvitekristesdod]

I could write a serious essay on almost every character in this film. I think it's absolutely brilliant

[@HolisticHealthWithHarry]

Yep rewatched it great film

[@bandfromtheband9445]

Agreed!

[@Experimentalfilms123]

I saw the film last week at the BFI and the audience didn't seem to know whether to laugh at the "Chicken" scene or not, It was unpleasant but so was the entire climax of the film.

[@HolisticHealthWithHarry]

Rewatching in 2019 its a great film

[@mousehead2000]

Just saw this. I thought it was fabulous. Great characters, terrific cast especially Dottie. Kind of fell apart a little towards the end but I was very surprised how much I enjoyed it. I didn't expect that.

[@WAAAAAAAAAAAY]

I really enjoyed this film. Gina Gershon is brilliant, so is Emle Hirsch, in fact everyone is great in this, there's also some brilliant moments of comedy [Ansel's suit for those who've seen it, that's all I'm saying lol]. I'd say the scene Kermode is eluding to is far less uncomfortable than any of the nastiness towards women in The Killer Inside Me - although i think his feelings about it are valid..... I agree with the doctor 100% about Bug though - that really is terrific :)

[@ineffige]

me too! it was mix of digust, surprise, laughter and shock! I have never watched anything like it before

[@TETCOM.]

I enjoyed the brilliance of the direction....and Emile was amazing...so was Gina....and of course Matt was great....the film is VERY tragic...and pretty disturbing....and definately sad...in the end,it seemed to have a powerful impact on me....i enjoyed it...very much so....because i was invested in the story....You want to see Chris (Emile) work things out in the end..if he can...and you want to see how this tragic tale will end...because it can go a few different ways..and you see that as you watch..so you really wanna see how it all ends...what you might not expect,is how it DOES end....it's a messed up film for sure...but it's directed by one of the best director's in the world..i just watched The French Connection for the first time in 2019.....definately my vote for best police movie ever...no question...i have'nt seen anything that even comes close..the final moments of film footage in The French Connection are haunting...100% one of the best films ever made....if you've never seen it, watch it asap...Gene Hackman is perfect...the best cop i've ever seen in a film...and you learn just where he stands in the final moments of it...the film is a gritty,sprawling,thrilling masterpiece....i LOVE Micheal Mann's HEAT....that was my favorite cop film,until i saw T.F.C. also,let me say,as we all know--New York City ALWAYS looks best in 1970's film...The N.Y. portrayed in T.F.C. is the same one i grew up in,in the 80's.....all of his films have this gritty sense of ultra-realism to them...they never get fantastical or silly..they're all dark and edgy tales that feel strangely real...that's why The Exorcist was so scary..it stayed grounded in a very serious and dark sense of realism....you believed it..and it made the film very scary...all of his work is like that.. Friedkin is just a crazy genius....it's hard to love Killer Joe..it's not a lovable film...but it IS great....great in almost every way that counts....and let me quickly say Gina's performance in the final act of this film gets cranked up to 10...maybe 11...she starts pulling out some serious emotion...and it's really flawless...and i was looking for flaws...it was so good,i tried to find flaws with it...but her performance in the final 20 mins is just too good...it's all the emoting she gets to do....WOW..she's super-strong..always liked her since 1996's BOUND....overall,i thought Killer Joe was tragic,sad,and disturbing...but also wonderfully directed and acted..i was glued to the set the entire time....i love how the ending leaves some things up in the air,and we don't know what happens after the screen goes black...that's a little irritating,but also brilliant...it adds to the menancing atmosphere...this psycho murderer is about to walk away VERY happy at the end of it all...or IS he??...thats brilliant...it's a tense,twisted ending....look at Joe's face in the final seconds of the film...the last 2 or 3 seconds of the film...just look at his face.......brilliant.... this is me guys kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGfHm4CXZbh6frs

[@LicoriceLain]

I just finished it. He really sold the weird arousal in that scene.

[@HolisticHealthWithHarry]

He was actually aroused though lol

[@keybladechosn1]

Hi, I listen to Kermode and Mayo on podcast. Do you know if the Culture show is available of podcast?

[@ryanlueras4594]

I really liked Killer Joe, and where Mark didn't like those certain scenes I loved them. So I have to disagree, Killer Joe is a better film then bug hands down. But Mark Kermode is great none the less

[@MegaFilmFanatic]

Bug is so awesome and underrated.

[@HolisticHealthWithHarry]

Will have to seek it out

[@kimmyfreak200]

the attention to detail and the cast was what made this film so great... that first scene when Ansel walks out into the living room he is wearing a dreadfully filthy "onesie" and it has rips in it then he proceeds to spit on his own floor... they don't make movies like this anymore lol his character was hilarious

[@mjbrannelly]

the chicken scene was appropriate, betrayal requires reprisal, fine film free of cowardice.

[@XhoowieX]

I think that critics just like to look for hidden meanings. The culture show interview was before this review which means that Friedkin had already said to Kermode that he wasn't trying to say anything about sexual politics and Kermode downgrades the movie for it here anyway. Let's face it, you can twist what's said and shot in movies to make it seem like it's giving out any message you want - I don't think that critics to this intentionally but they certainly do sometimes do it.

[@Claverleykid1]

I enjoyed the film. Had some good comedy moments in there, when joe is questioning Ansel about certain photographs was great. matthew mcconaughey did a great job and stole the show for me, which was surprising as i never really rated him as an actor before.

[@HolisticHealthWithHarry]

Hes amazing in mud also and dallas buyers film

[@kimmyfreak200]

haven';t u seen A TIME TO KILL and dallas buyers club... not to mention INTERSTELLAR (his best roles honestly)

[@johanschimt3761]

@@kimmyfreak200 he's being silly

[@bandfromtheband9445]

BUG was absolutely, hands down, the most brilliant film of that year! Yet no one, save Mark and several others, "got" that film! WHY?????

[@MrCockPirate]

The jet black humour in Killer Joe made the film for me. The chicken drumstick scene was more shocking than I thought it could be, I had to watch it with my head in my hands. Disgusting.

[@terratrema]

I thought the movie was all belly laughs and some surprising suspense. I thoroughly loved it.

[@chrishiggins7166]

The film’s well acted, well directed, well written, well characterised, dark, violent & is A very stylish crime thriller. (82%) (4/5 stars) (positive)

[@XhoowieX]

Wow, I've never listened to his Twilight reviews but now I may have to look them up! But once again, and I have to add this, I do love Mark and other critics - it's just that it has always annoyed me when they've marked a film down (or up for that matter) due to a hidden meaning which was clearly never there to hide in the first place.

[@ToolManDan82]

You need to consider the metaphor, the look at low-class American family morality. Listen to Dottie's character again and it might makes sense.

[@WAAAAAAAAAAAY]

also on the scene Kermode's alluding to, i kind of agree that the tone of the scene is very odd, i wasn't sure if i was meant to laugh or wince.....although i think that might be what Friedken was going for...... :)

[@allaboutdmagic]

I did rent Bug back in 2007 or around then. It was memorably weird and a convincing picture of someone going looney as a Toon.

[@qwerty6517]

Yes, type in ""Kermode Uncut: storm warning".

[@LiliWhyte]

I agree with Mark Kermode's review of Killer Joe! I could have, I wanted to also embrace this movie wholeheartedly but for that damn scene! I thought the performances were outstanding, and it had a solid story, but for a few other problems, it could've been my favourite movie in a long while...too bad!!

[@subodhprasain6987]

Repugnant he says...but that's the beauty of it!

[@TJBris07]

'Bug' is a better film - although it feels more stage like (being based on a play), its incredibly tense and hysterical with fantastic performances.

[@TheMrTJWhite]

Yeah he loves it.

[@andrewbeeable]

Nice one, mate.

[@aniketbanerjee631]

Its shock therapy which william friedkin uses which is exciting..

[@jakeharder9868]

This movie will make you question life for sure

[@dogbadger]

For me bug is a masterpiece and up there with my favourite films of the last 20 years - possibly at the top. Killer Joe was a very good film made brilliantly but not no where near his previous effort. I agree that Killer Joe is somewhat distasteful, but there you go.

[@Chicago48]

I will never look at chicken legs the same way again. I thought that scene went on too too long. Excruciating. But Matthew was brilliant.

[@scottw3048]

*spoiler warnings for a 7+ year old film!* I lloved the film, and i sort of found myself disagreeing with kermode about that KFC scene, but couldnt figure out why at first, although as ever he's put his argument across in a solid, thought provoking way. In isolation I can get what he means, but I think it serves a couple of purposes; firstly, it hammers home Joe having hit the peak of his utter dominance over the entire family by this point (throughout the film there's events ranging from key plot points of him claiming their virginal daughter as a retainer, to smaller scenes where he's just strolling about completely naked which might well be played for dark humour in a similar vein to the KFC scene, but are also a way of showing how he's firmly asserting himself in the family trailer) which makes the entire family turning on their own son by the end more plausible. In terms of the humour of it, the "reach around and grab my ass" line got a lot of laughs at the screening when I first watched it, but tbf I can't really explain that beyond it maybe being McConnaughey's delivery. As did Ansel asking his wife how she's doing while she's cleaning up and her deadpan reply.

[@davidlean1060]

McConnaughey is obviously playing the entire final scene for laughs. He goes from being a mannered, even cultured southern Gent to being a raging psycho in an instant....and then he goes back to naive innocence with that last line to Dottie! It's brilliantly done. I have seen the film many times now and the best way I can think to describe it is to call it a black as night comedic farce. It's one of my firm favorites at this stage.

[@XhoowieX]

In my opinion the movie was switching between dark thriller and black comedy throughout and that wacky ending was the movie's way of saying "Yeah, this was definitely a comedy." Of course that's just my opinion, and I've been wrong oh so many times before.

[@robcochran6213]

the fried chicken leg scene makes the film

[@bevbo42]

I think you are being selective in your recollection of events. MK liked Django and said as much - but he also rightly (in my view at least) pointed out that QT is very self indulgent, the last 30 minutes of Django was just silly and almost ruined an excellent film. MK was also less enthusiastic about Killer Joe than many reviewers. I myself thought the KFC scene worked very well and the acting throughout was excellent. But, MK certainly has biased opinions, he is a critic after all!

[@terratrema]

...You really just have to see it...

[@BradHominem]

So does Kermode like that movie Bug?

[@tianalinden]

did you REALLY believe they wanted the mother dead? i wasn't convinced. the rest was good though

[@Schramm29]

Bug is a brilliant film! Oh come on!

[@bandfromtheband9445]

Oh! You are a brilliant film watcher and a spot-on critic! Oh, come on!

[@kamlem]

Just watched is and thought that "that scene" was repugnant, but then so were the characters presented in the film. I'm not sure what to think...

[@soprano168]

I think kermode has gone soft. This was once a guy who used to talk about his love of nasty horror films and how horror and comedy were related. These days he's offended by such things and thinks Twilight is worthey of a serious conversation.

[@southerndandy89]

K Fry C

[@andrewbeeable]

That scene made it for me. I did laugh when the credids rolled.Perfect. I mite watch it again. But with a side order of deep fried CHICKEN!!!!

[@bandfromtheband9445]

Sorry Mate, but you seem to be confusing "Bug" with "Killer Joe," Wake up here!

[@XhoowieX]

That last comment I put was meant to be in reply to you. Oops.

[@ehansen3]

Everything in this film happened because every character was a cretin. Also, Joe wasn't a hitman, this was his first job and it went terribly.

[@lu4y4pants]

Hmmm, I have mixed feelings on Killer Joe, I, unlike a lot of people, found no problem with the drumstick scene. I just thought of it as a form of intimidation. I think it was just the guy playing Chris that turned me off. I was not impressed by his acting. Other than that, it's a pretty solid film. I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10, if not a 7.

[@tianalinden]

i don't think he's made up his mind yet

[@PhoenixWright101]

Bug had some of the most irritating characters I've had to endure since Mamet's Oleanna. I just wanted to punch everyone, and then myself. But it's still good.

[@imyouandurme]

Spot on Mark! About that "drumstick scene"... Let me just say that if anyone finds that entertaining or intriguing, you should be ashamed of yourself. I'm surprised this movie has received as much praise as it did. Yeah, the performances are top notch, and the direction is superb. But the story is, to quote Jason Statham, "a bad day in Bosnia". By the end of the film I feel as abused and traumatized as its characters. I respect this film's intentions, but I hate its methods.

[@allthewine]

I like Mark but he can be pretty biased when it comes to his reviews. He gave up on QT along time ago and although it seemed he liked Django, he tried to find faults with the film for no other reason than his dislike of the director. As for Friedkin, he can do no wrong in the eyes of Kermode. The fact that Friedkan's last good movie came out in 1985 doesn't seem to be a problem to MK.

[@callumsutherland2954]

Critics, as they ceaselessly have to point out, are all by nature biased, and that is normal and okay.

[@XhoowieX]

What a strange comment. I never said that I had a problem with subliminal themes in cinema; just that not every director makes every movie with subliminal themes in mind. Please take your stupid assumptions and misplaced lectures elsewhere.

[@chrishobbes1931]

I kind of liked The Guardian. There are thousands of horror films out there that stink, but it kind of grows on you this one. It is certainly very stylish. So sorry Mark.

[@dinoatcharterdotnet]

What was the point of this movie? Super messed up. And WTF was that ending?

[@diskortion]

All the characters in the film are despicable and deserve everything they get, so that scene is fine. In fact I thought it was funny in the context of the film. It's not a documentary so lighten up people. Save morality for real life problems, not entertainment and art.

[@imyouandurme]

At least in Blue Velvet there was a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. In Killer Joe, there's nothing but tunnel, deep, dark and depressing. This movie is all pain and suffering. It's not worth the ride.

[@HolisticHealthWithHarry]

I enjoyed it!

[@gypsywasteland]

Lol who says all films have to have “a glimmer of light” “happy ending”. Killer joe is dark but brilliant

[@autofocus4556]

Isn’t it a false glimmer of light though?

[@andrewbeeable]

Mark... I just saw Killer Joe last nite. A bit shocking. Get over it. Meh.

[@rossl5908]

Henry portrait of a serial killer but not as good

[@tcc300892]

I really enjoyed Bug, so was suprised to be completely disappointed by this. The script is clunky, some of the editing is rubbish and there's moments of terrible acting. You can clearly can see the dead mother's mouth and eyes move. There a moment where Gershons character is shouting, yet it cuts to another angle and her mouth is closed. During the final scene, Hirsch appears to hitch up his jeans in the middle of being beaten up (honestly, have a look). It really is bad.

[@tcc300892]

And I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that Emile Hirsch attacked a woman in 2015. Utter scumbag. Look it up.

[@Technique-kj2bp]

@@tcc300892 What was the motive behind attacking her?

[@tcc300892]

@@Technique-kj2bp That strikes me as an odd question to ask... there wasno motive. He was drunk and he brutally attacked her.

[@Technique-kj2bp]

@@tcc300892 Not really odd at all, just want to know the full picture before calling someone an utter scumbag by default. The fact that you've said there was no motive strikes me as odd.

[@tcc300892]

@@Technique-kj2bp feel free to read up about it. I'm not sure what kind of motive would warrant such behaviour: "Hirsch put her in a chokehold from behind, dragged her across a table and body slammed her to the floor". "A waitress told police Hirsch was really drunk and was grabbing Bernfeld's hair and touching her prior to the attack."

[@imyouandurme]

There were some funny moments, especially with Thomas Haden Church, but the end was so dark and terrifying, it just ruined it. It was kind of like watching a scene from Hostel. I get it, this guy's a killer and he's going to brutalize some people. But so what? I'm not impressed. I've seen real violence in real life. It's not funny or entertaining. It's tragic and horrible. I knew good and well that violence was going to be in this movie. I didn't know that violence was going to be the plot.

[@EdwardWhelanPiano]

Secondo!

[@10poundnote]

I didn't like it.