Review of Killer Joe (2012) by Edgar C — 23 Dec 2013

Friedkin has this weird habit of making annoying and standard films during the first half or the first 66% of the film for then offering a solid payback to the audience. Just like his disappointing and pretentious mess called Bug (2006), Killer Joe has also shared features:

I. An electrifying and disturbing male leading role.

Ii. A boring and forgettable build-up.

Iii. A GOOD third act with comedic shock value added.

Iv. An ambiguous ending.

Friedkin is desperately trying to challenge boundaries (is he trying to approach the Serbian Film realm before he gets too old?). It is not the first time he manages to put an underage girl performing shocking content (heh). I applaud his bravery, not the final outcome. McConaughey just got his best role so far and another NC-17 film that had to be cut has been released (say no to censorship!), but that is not enough. If he were able to either keep consistency throughout the whole running time, or making a quality build-up that engages its audience for then punishing the audience with a shockfest that causes cognitive dissonance, he could return to his best decade: the 70s... because I really, really loved the last 30 minutes, and they were funny as fuck.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some KFC to eat.

61/100.