Review of Killer Joe (2012) by Do You Even Jay C — 24 Feb 2014

*THE OFFICIAL BETTER THAN JUNO SEAL*.

I have this strange, and somewhat creepy obsession with William Friedkin movies....and Killer Joe is no exception. From the guy that brought us the Exorcist, comes quite possibly one of the most crude, bashful, and funniest film of the decade. In what could be considered a guilty pleasure of mine, I doubt most folk will find the same enjoyment I found in it. For you see, this is not a normal film. There's a fried chicken blowjob, someone getting their face smashed in, and....family values? Killer Joe is quite possibly one of my favorite films of the decade, and for a couple of reasons. One, Matthew McCounaghey is epic as Killer Joe. Two, the dialogue is witty, fast paced and enthralling. And three......fried chicken blowjob. It all adds up to one of the most fascinating, fun, amazing, thrill ride that never lets up until the credits roll. Also, did people really expect some tour de force from the guy who brought you....Bug? Yeah, right.

Killer Joe's plot is fairly simple, yet it gets the job done. A drug dealer named Chris (played by Emile Hirsch) is having mother issues.....Well, his mom stole his coke and is hiding it somewhere. He goes to his father (Thomas Hayden Church) and begs to stay for a while. They pretty much treat Chris like dirt 95% of the time, though some of the mistakes are his fault. However, they have one thing in common: They all hate the mother. And, one great thing about her: She has a lot of money! So, enter Killer Joe, a cop who works on the low as a hitman. They hire him to kill the mom, so that they can take the money for themselves and enjoy this. Of course, things don't go according to plan, and Killer Joe is pissed about it. It all ends with quite possibly the most epic ending I could've imagine.

Matthew McCounaghey is a leading Oscar contender this year for Dallas Buyers Club, and I totally understand. Here, he proves his charm and talent as an actor. He brings a rather one-note character to life with his calm, cool collective attitude about everything, but this can all switch up quickly. One second, Joe is calm. The next, he's punching your skull in. Some might note the violence can seem a tad....excessive, but it honestly works for this film. Joe is a monster, so he does monster things, like breaking a woman's nose open. It fits perfectly with the character and I honestly couldn't see this film any other way. Also, I hate to admit this, but...I laughed a lot in this film. It's dark comedy rings within my head. The idea of a chicken blowjob sounds rather disgusting and not funny, but the film handles it quite well, to be honest.

Here was my first though when this ended - where did THAT come from? By far this is Matthew McConaughey's most WTF-bad-ass performance, with touches of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet and even Anton Chigurh. He's such a fantastic, menacing, snake-like villain here, because after the first couple of times you see him, you're not quite sure where he'll go. Friedkin takes this material into some VERY dark places (I imagine based off of the play, once again like 'Bug' from Tracy Letts), and if you aren't offended after the first ten minutes, you just gotta hang on for the rest of the ride. It's a twisted-fuck film-noir comedy of horrors where morality is so screwed that you have to laugh to not recoil from where it goes ultimately.

The ending had me howling with laughter, recoiling in pain, and just stunned by McConaughey suddenly shattering an image he's built up for himself over the past fifteen years as a rom-com hack. It's his film, along with the unlikely-attractive actress Juno Temple, who has a seduction scene with 'Killer Joe' that is edge-of-your-seat. For those of us sick bastards looking for something off the wall, it's one of the must-sees of the year. Not as surreal as Blue Velvet, but not as poorly-crafted trash as a Grindhouse movie. It's in an area somewhere in-between, and I can't wait to see it again.