Killer Joe

Aroview: True crime, trailer park style, this down-and-dirty adaptation of Tracy Letts's play tells the ugly story of a brood of white trash no-hopers who recruit a charismatic hitman to murder their mother for an insurance payout.

Dir. Friedkin's second collaboration with Letts (previously, on BUG) is grotesque and in-your-face, but there's a compelling raw energy to both the violence of the film and the fearless performances surrounding it, most notably Matthew McConaughey's sickly turn as the titular killer for hire. Whether you hang on its every word or can't help but look away, there's no denying its pulp flavour, nor its power to transform a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken, for that matter.

NZ International Film Festival 2012