Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
KILLER JOEMovie Reviews
Comedy thriller about a Texas hit man who agrees to kill a drug dealer's mother for her insurance money, keeping his client's sister as collateral until the young man can pay his fee. Cast:Emile Hirsch, Matthew McConaughey, Gina Gershon, Juno TempleDirector:William FriedkinRelease Date:July 27, 2012DVD Release:December 21, 2012From:Independent PicturesRating:NC-17Length:1 hr 43 min
DECEMBER 21, 2012
Killer Joe, Good (Not Great) Reviews, Mixed Key Cities
Killer Joe played in key cities to good not great reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Christy Lemire wrote for the Associated Press, "It revels in its low-rent digs and low-life criminals.... Like a deep-fried Twinkie at the State Fair of Texas, 'Killer Joe' is gooey, flavorful and bad for you. Dig in." • And Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...a nasty black comedy... truly unpleasant..." More Reviews Below...
Killer Joe Positive Reviews (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "It revels in its low-rent digs and low-life criminals.... Like a deep-fried Twinkie at the State Fair of Texas, 'Killer Joe' is gooey, flavorful and bad for you. Dig in."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 07/26/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "Years before his 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning wacky-family drama, 'August: Osage County,' playwright Tracy Letts debuted with this nasty 1993 play."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 280 words, 07/27/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...a nasty black comedy... truly unpleasant... But, in the hands of director William Friedkin and screenwriter Tracy Letts, it is occasionally intriguing..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 496 words, 08/02/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...one hell of a movie. It left me speechless. I can't say I loved it. I can't say I hated it. It is expertly directed, flawlessly cast and written with merciless black humor..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 650 words, 08/03/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "...earns its NC-17 rating. A gleeful and unapologetic descent into delicious decadence, 'Killer Joe' is proud of what it is and never tries to be something it isn't."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 851 words, 08/09/12
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "Mr. Friedkin, a director with a talent for kinetic screen violence, never finds his groove... the film lurches from realism to corn-pone absurdism..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 754 words, 07/27/12
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...a sneering image of trailer-park Texas, in which everyone is stupid and amoral.... most notable about this aggressively cynical project is how much talent it wastes."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 211 words, 07/27/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "Out of the muck and mire of human depravity that is 'Killer Joe,' something magnificent comes: a killer performance by Matthew McConaughey."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 08/03/12
Kyle Smith, New York Post: POOR(cg) "A sleazy and pointless film about sleazy and pointless people.... McConaughey's laconic poise is the only bright spot for this dismal, brutal noir."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 07/27/12
Leah Rozen, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...simultaneously repellent and enjoyable... You never, ever want to actually meet this guy in real life, but it's a scary thrill to watch him on a screen."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 504 words, 08/03/12
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: EXCELLENT "Friedkin opens up the action without losing the pressure-cooker compression that makes Letts's torpor torturous and his characters' bad thoughts boil over..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 665 words, 07/30/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...one hell of a movie. It left me speechless. I can't say I loved it. I can't say I hated it. It is expertly directed, flawlessly cast and written with merciless black humor..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 650 words, 08/03/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...a hideously funny tabloid noir... the raving insistence on dragging the audience into a savage side of life gives the material a perennial by-the-collar directness..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 896 words, 07/25/12
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "If y'all like your comedy with a Lone Star drawl and as black as Texas tea, then by all means tuck right into 'Killer Joe.' "(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 08/10/12
Adam Nayman, Toronto Globe & Mail: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Credit goes to the actors for giving almost as good as they get in seriously demanding roles, and to Friedkin for having what it takes - to bring things thundering home."(See all of Adam Nayman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 554 words, 08/10/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "William Friedkin follows his manic 'Bug' with another adaptation of a Tracy Letts play - and this one, incredibly enough, is even crazier, bloodier and weirder..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 193 words, 08/09/12
KEY CITIES (12 Reviews)
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...a condescending tale of lowlife conspirators who are as gullible as they are homicidal... begins as a pitch-black comedy.... the final act saps the humor..."(See all of Mark Jenkins's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 416 words, 08/03/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) " 'Killer Joe' is twisted pulp, and the actors chew on it bravely, boldly, and with varying degrees of success.... McConaughey is all there as Joe, and scary as hell."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 548 words, 08/10/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...crafted with ferocious tension and unexpected humor.... you-are-there earthiness grounds the story, whose twists are absurd to the point of surrealism."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 08/24/12
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "This is a movie that's just out there... You may walk away impressed or offended, but Friedkin and McConaughey make sure you won't walk away indifferent."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 622 words, 08/24/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "The fun here -- and much of it is fun, even if you'll hate yourself in the morning -- lies in watching amoral idiots dig themselves into a hole of their own stupidity."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 626 words, 08/10/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...interesting and satisfying.... most stunts fizzle out before the finish, but 'Killer Joe' maintains its invention and energy all the way through the final seconds."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 608 words, 08/03/12
John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...shockingly crude even for a Southwestern gothic melodrama. Yet the movie frequently clicks as a sendup of over-the-top film-noir storytelling."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 305 words, 08/17/12
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "In the hands of Letts, Friedkin and this cast, it feels, despairingly, terribly real... you can't blame artists for reporting what humans are actually like."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 841 words, 08/31/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "One of the rarest qualities of a Hollywood film is provocation... one of the most repugnant parodies of small-town stupidity that you will ever see..."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 329 words, 08/24/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: VERY GOOD(cg) "True, 'Killer Joe' unravels spectacularly with its unnerving, cataclysmic ending, but then it's probably supposed to. It's that kind of movie."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 288 words, 08/31/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "The movie would be unwatchable if it were not filmed so well (the cinematographer is Caleb Deschanel) and if its cast were not so stellar."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 523 words, 08/24/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...a hideously funny tabloid noir... the raving insistence on dragging the audience into a savage side of life gives the material a perennial by-the-collar directness..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 896 words, 07/25/12
Jake Mulligan, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "William Friedkin directs; his taste for sadism has never been personified better than in McConaughey's unassuming-but-dangerous drawl."(See all of Jake Mulligan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 139 words, 08/09/12
Scott Tobias, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "Tracey Letts and director William Friedkin seem both a natural pair and way the hell too much together... Friedkin makes you pay such a steep price for a good time."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 09/13/11
Michelle Orange, Movieline: GOOD(cg) "Slick and mean and full of piss and chicken grease, 'Killer Joe' has worse manners than its deadly, courtly antihero.... seeks to amuse as well as shake and stir."(See all of Michelle Orange's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 819 words, 07/26/12
Ed Gonzalez, Slant: VERY GOOD(cg) "...mean toward its characters. It thrills in seeing dumb people getting their due in hyper-stylized displays of violence, and yet it never feels contemptuous..."(See all of Ed Gonzalez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 07/22/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "William Friedkin follows his manic 'Bug' with another adaptation of a Tracy Letts play - and this one, incredibly enough, is even crazier, bloodier and weirder..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 193 words, 08/09/12
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "McConaughey infuses his drawn-out delivery with menace, whether he's seducing a young woman or putting prospective clients in line.... compelling and watchable..."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 08/16/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "Mr. Friedkin, a director with a talent for kinetic screen violence, never finds his groove... the film lurches from realism to corn-pone absurdism..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 754 words, 07/27/12
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: FAIR "What McConaughey is doing here, as he does in 'Magic Mike,' is clambering out of a rut.... If only the film didn't let him down with such a thump."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 892 words, 07/30/12
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "Out of the muck and mire of human depravity that is 'Killer Joe,' something magnificent comes: a killer performance by Matthew McConaughey."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 08/03/12
Dana Stevens, Slate: MODERATE "...the pleasure of watching McConaughey strut, preen, and menace his way through this Southern-fried black comedy (at least I think it's a comedy) isn't quite enough..."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 927 words, 07/27/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: VERY GOOD "This is the kind of moody, murky, amoral project I generally like, with an outer coating of trashiness and some surprisingly serious issues at its core."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,274 words, 07/26/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...becomes an unadulterated horror show in its final reels.... a mostly well-done adaptation that never quite convinces you it was worth doing well in the first place."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 09/08/11
Neil Young, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "The cast proves crucial in maintaining the material's tricky tonal balances. McConaughey underplays with seductive, snake-like charm..."(See all of Neil Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 09/08/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "Out of the muck and mire of human depravity that is 'Killer Joe,' something magnificent comes: a killer performance by Matthew McConaughey."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 609 words, 08/03/12
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: MODERATE "Mr. Friedkin, a director with a talent for kinetic screen violence, never finds his groove... the film lurches from realism to corn-pone absurdism..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 754 words, 07/27/12
23.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Killer Joe's reviews are separated by an average 23.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Killer Joe (43 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Killer Joe's reviews cover 84.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 23,253 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 541 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Killer Joe Coverage, Volume & Length (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 46 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Killer Joe's reviews on average broke 46 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Killer Joe's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Killer Joe (43 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
