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IMDbPro

Killer Joe

  • 20112011
  • UnratedUnrated
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
78K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,906
344
Killer Joe (2011)
When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.
Play trailer2:28
13 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaThriller
When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
78K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,906
344
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • William Friedkin
    • Writer
      • Tracy Letts(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Matthew McConaughey
      • Emile Hirsch
      • Juno Temple
    Top credits
    • Director
      • William Friedkin
    • Writer
      • Tracy Letts(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Matthew McConaughey
      • Emile Hirsch
      • Juno Temple
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 313User reviews
    • 381Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 21 nominations

    Videos13

    U.K. Trailer
    Trailer 2:28
    U.K. Trailer
    Theatrical Version
    Trailer 2:33
    Theatrical Version
    Killer Joe
    Trailer 1:31
    Killer Joe
    All About Juno Temple
    Clip 1:19
    All About Juno Temple
    "Tuna Casserole Dinner"
    Clip 1:01
    "Tuna Casserole Dinner"
    "Sharla and Ansel in the Basement"
    Clip 0:50
    "Sharla and Ansel in the Basement"
    "Meeting at the Pool Hall"
    Clip 0:53
    "Meeting at the Pool Hall"
    "Sit Down, Dottie"
    Clip 0:38
    "Sit Down, Dottie"
    "The Amusement Park"
    Clip 0:39
    "The Amusement Park"
    "My Boyfriend Marshall"
    Clip 0:54
    "My Boyfriend Marshall"
    "Joe and Dottie in Kitchen"
    Clip 0:53
    "Joe and Dottie in Kitchen"
    "Dottie Modeling Dress"
    Clip 0:36
    "Dottie Modeling Dress"

    Photos128

    Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe (2011)
    Emile Hirsch and Juno Temple in Killer Joe (2011)
    Gina Gershon, Thomas Haden Church, Emile Hirsch, and Juno Temple in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves McConaughey at an event for Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, and Juno Temple in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch in Killer Joe (2011)
    Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch in Killer Joe (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Matthew McConaughey
    Matthew McConaughey
    • Killer Joe Cooper
    Emile Hirsch
    Emile Hirsch
    • Chris Smith
    Juno Temple
    Juno Temple
    • Dottie Smith
    Thomas Haden Church
    Thomas Haden Church
    • Ansel Smith
    Gina Gershon
    Gina Gershon
    • Sharla Smith
    Marc Macaulay
    Marc Macaulay
    • Digger Soames
    Gralen Bryant Banks
    Gralen Bryant Banks
    • Pizza Patron
    • (as Graylen Banks)
    Carol Sutton
    • Saleslady
    Danny Epper
    • G-Man
    Jeff Galpin
    Jeff Galpin
    • Biker Thug
    Scott A. Martin
    Scott A. Martin
    • Pizza Manager
    • (as Scott Martin)
    Gregory C. Bachaud
    • Filpatrick
    Charley Vance
    Charley Vance
    • Preacher
    Julia Adams
    • Adele
    • (uncredited)
    Geraldine Glenn
    • Pizza Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Sean O'Hara
    Sean O'Hara
    • Rex
    • (uncredited)
    Blain Sanchez
    Blain Sanchez
    • Prisoner
    • (uncredited)
    Tony Severio
    • Pizza Patron
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • William Friedkin
    • Writer
      • Tracy Letts(screenplay) (play "Killer Joe")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      According to Matthew McConaughey, director William Friedkin rarely exceeded three takes per scene when filming. Juno Temple confirmed it, saying, "He trusts you so much and in turn you trust him with your whole heart. He does one or two takes of everything, and when you have a director that believes in you that strongly, all you want to do is get it right the minute they say action."
    • Goofs
      After Joe lights the fire to burn up the car we see in the next shot a set of pipes added to the undercarriage of the car to aid and/or assist with the stunt car fire and/or extinguishing of the fire.
    • Quotes

      Killer Joe Cooper: Tuna casserole! May I serve?

      Dottie Smith: How are you gonna kill my mama?

      Killer Joe Cooper: That's not appropriate dinner conversation, Dottie.

      Dottie Smith: Unless you poison her.

    • Crazy credits
      The unrated DVD retains the MPAA's NC-17 graphic at the end, although the rating was surrendered.
    • Alternate versions
      The USA/Canada DVD is available in two versions, one the original NC-17 rated version (labeled as Unrated) and the other an R-Rated version. The R-Rated version has the following cuts:
      • 1:25:27 (10.5 sec. cut) Sharla starts sucking at the chicken leg. Joe moans "Easy...easy."
      • 1:25:42 (5.5 sec. cut) A cut to Carla, who is still sucking the chicken leg, is missing. The R-Rated shows the shot of Joe without interruption, lengthening it insignificantly.
      • 1:25:49 (2.5 sec. cut) Joe asks Ansel in this shot "What do you think?". The R-Rated Version features the question from the off in the following shot of Ansel.
      • 1:26:03 (Alternate Shot) The R-Rated shows Joe talking in a longer shot of himself and then an alternative shot of Ansel sitting down on the bench. The original features two shots from further away showing Sharla during her forced blow job. The Unrated Version runs a bit longer.
      • 1:26:34 (11 sec. cut) The shot of Ansel can be seen a moment longer. Joe then asks twice: "Reach around and grab my ass!". Sharla obeys.
      • 1:26:56 (Alternate Shot (No time difference)) The R-Rated Version mainly shows the shot of Joe longer and the alternative shot of Ansel before the shot from further away can be seen for a short time. The latter can be seen the whole time in the Unrated Version.
      • 1:27:20 (Alternate Shot) The R-Rated Version shows the previous and following shots of Joe longer/earlier, whereas the Unrated cuts to a close-up of Sharla complying with Joe's demands and starting to moan.
      • 1:37:30 (1 sec. cut) The shot starts a bit earlier with an additional (first) blow of the can against Chris' head.
      • 1:37:33 (1.5 sec.) Another blow is missing.
      • 1:37:41 (4.5 sec.) Joe beats Chris with the can three more times against the head and in the face, Chris spits out blood. Additional shot of Dottie screaming "Oh God!".
      • 1:42:47 (No time difference) The MPAA overlays at the end differ display the different rating for the two versions.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Big Review: Summer Trailer Park Series (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Swamp Fox
      Written by Rick Miller

      Performed by Southern Culture on the Skids

    User reviews313

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    William Friedkin serves up Trailer Trash Neo-Noir with a side order of Fried Chicken.
    Killer Joe is directed by William Friedkin and adapted to screenplay by Tracy Letts from his own play of the same name. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church and Gina Gershon. Music is scored by Tyler Bates and cinematography by Caleb Deschanel. Plot finds Hirsch as Chris Smith, who because he is in severe debt to local thugs, hatches a plan to bump off his waster of a mother and claim the life insurance. Roping in the rest of his trailer dwelling family, he hires Killer Joe (McConaughey), a cop with a sideline in murder, but the Smith's have no idea just what price they will have to pay for his services.

    So pulpy, so amusingly dark, Killer Joe is one of those films that will sit at the top of many film fan's best of lists for 2012. Yet if someone came up to me and declared it one of the worst then I certainly will understand. Undeniably it has no widespread appeal, you either get it or you don't, you will either laugh along with Friedkin and his dark observations or you will feel the whole thing is just too ugly to be entertainment. Man it's good to have Friedkin back pushing peoples buttons!

    Filmed in Texas in under three weeks, Killer Joe is a film that walks the fine line of misogyny and perversity for perversity's sake. But it never falls over that mark, even though these are scummy characters living in a scummy world, where there's sex and violence, and violent simulated sex and nudity; all of which is cloaked by a sweaty crime gone wrong caper. Much of the film is dialogue driven, rest assured this is very talky, but the director wrings out much tension and salaciousness from every character interaction, the slow-burn approach only heightening the sense of dread. When the finale comes, and it's a cracker-jack ending, there's an almost merciful release that it's all over. These are people you wouldn't want to hang out with ever, only there's Friedkin chuckling away to himself having made us spend an hour and forty minutes with this grime laden crew. If you feel like you need a bath afterwards, that's perfectly natural.

    Friedkin has garnered terrific performances from a top line cast. Hirsch (powder-keg), Church (naievity extraordinaire), Temple (virginal piggy in the middle) and Gershon (bold and suspicious), are all giving disturbing credibility to the material, but as good as they are they are trumped considerably by McConaughey. One of the most frustrating actors working today, much like Cage, a ream of poor movies adorn his CV, but once in a while he throws in a performance of such genuine quality that it begs to be acknowledged by his peers. Here as Killer Joe he lays on a Faust like menace, delivering his lines with clinically calm precision, yet still there's a glint in his eye, we know a black heart beats there but he can charm a snake out of its basket, a girl out of her underwear...

    Unflinching direction, bravura performances and neo-noir at its near best, one of the best films of 2012 so far. Well, to some of us at least.... 9/10
    helpful•144
    68
    • hitchcockthelegend
    • Jul 28, 2012

    FAQ1

    • What are the differences between the R-Rated Version and the Unrated Director's Cut?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 29, 2012 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Killer Joe: A Twisted Redneck Trailer Park Murder Story
    • Filming locations
      • Six Flags New Orleans - Six Flags Pkwy, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
    • Production companies
      • Voltage Pictures
      • Picture Perfect Corporation
      • Worldview Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $11,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,987,762
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $37,900
      • Jul 29, 2012
    • Gross worldwide
      • $4,633,668
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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