Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Killer Joe

Play trailer Poster for Killer Joe TV-MA 2011 1h 41m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
80% Tomatometer 168 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
A cop (Matthew McConaughey) who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer (Emile Hirsch) in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister (Juno Temple).
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Killer Joe

Killer Joe

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Violent, darkly comic, and full of strong performances, Killer Joe proves William Friedkin hasn't lost his touch, even if the plot may be too lurid for some.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (168)
Tom Long Detroit News If you like your movies filled with twisted humor, sexual perversion, psychological intimidation and sudden violence, "Killer Joe" is the flick for you. Rated: B Aug 31, 2012 Full Review Joe Williams St. Louis Post-Dispatch Watching "Killer Joe" to the bitter end is like playing the Pick 6 lottery and getting three of the numbers right. You don't win anything, but you still think you're smarter than all those other idiots. Rated: 2.5/4 Aug 24, 2012 Full Review Bill Goodykoontz Arizona Republic [Friedkin] has retained his touch ... all these years later. And in Matthew McConaughey, he has the perfect vehicle for madness. Rated: 4/5 Aug 23, 2012 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review In Killer Joe, director William Friedkin reaches magnificent new lows as he descends into playwright Tracy Letts' world of southern-fried depravity, stupidity, sexuality, and possibly (almost certainly) madness. Rated: 4/4 Oct 3, 2022 Full Review Mitchell Beaupre Paste Magazine Killer Joe is pitched squarely as a rotted black comedy of errors, a cavalcade of one disaster after another from a bunch of fools tripping over themselves in the pursuit of the one thing that drives America: Greed Rated: 8.5/10 Sep 23, 2022 Full Review Kip Mooney College Movie Review You won't see anything else like it this year. Rated: B Sep 18, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)
james l Gave it about half an hour and switched it off. Just couldn't get interested in this. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/08/25 Full Review nick s Great production value. The cast was excellent and so was the directing. My only gripe would be the edginess - nudity, violence, language, drumsticks. It was okay but didn't always feel necessary. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/04/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 1 hour and 41 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ages 17 and older!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/31/25 Full Review Dave S While the first half of director William Friedkin’s career was pretty impressive, things dropped off significantly over the second half, eventually wrapping up his career with the controversial and grimy Killer Joe. Matthew McConaughey plays the title character, a quietly menacing police detective who makes money on the side as a hitman, hired by a squalid and dysfunctional family to kill the matriarch for the insurance money. McConaughey is great in the lead role and most of the supporting cast is outstanding, but Emil Hirsch, playing the wayward son and catalyst for the murder scheme, seems totally out of his league, sucking the energy from most of the scenes he’s in. While Killer Joe is generally well done (with a more than memorable final scene), you’ll need a shower to scrub off the vileness that the movie leaves behind. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/25/25 Full Review Rene M Not a must watch but watchable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/10/25 Full Review Les P World record holder for the most g--dams in movie history. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 05/20/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Killer Joe

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Lying and Stealing 58% 22% Lying and Stealing Watchlist TRAILER for Lying and Stealing Brighton Rock 51% 32% Brighton Rock Watchlist Swerve 38% 24% Swerve Watchlist The Informers 13% 18% The Informers Watchlist Gone Baby Gone 94% 86% Gone Baby Gone Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A cop (Matthew McConaughey) who moonlights as a hit man agrees to kill the hated mother of a desperate drug dealer (Emile Hirsch) in exchange for a tumble with the young man's virginal sister (Juno Temple).
Director
William Friedkin
Producer
Nicolas Chartier, Scott Einbinder
Screenwriter
Tracy Letts
Production Co
Voltage Pictures, Ana Media
Rating
TV-MA, R (Graphic Nudity|Drug Use|Strong Disturbing Violence|Language|Sexuality)
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 3, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.0M
Runtime
1h 41m
Most Popular at Home Now