In the cinematic realization of Killer Joe (2011), both stage and screenplay versions written by Tracy Letts, director William Friedkin’s impeccable attention to pacing unfolds a gothic and subtly humorous tale in a suburb of Dallas, Texas.  The trouble starts right away, when sometimes-abusive drug dealer, Chris, has to scramble for his life after his girlfriend blows his stash of coke to fix her car. 

There’s a biting tinge of comic relief throughout the film, such as when Sharla (Gina Gershon), Chris’ step mom, opens the front door to her trailer in the first scene, mostly naked with no underwear on because “she didn’t know” who was knocking at the door. Chris wakes his father and brings him to a strip club where he reveals his dilemma and reasons that his best move is to hire hit man Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaghey) to kill his mother for her life insurance policy. Without much nudging, his dad and little sister, Dottie, are on-board with the plan, and neither Chris nor his dad initially mind using Dottie as a retainer, since Chris doesn’t have cash to pay Killer Joe up front.

This element of distorted logic that allows the Smiths to rationalize murder and prostitution permeates most of the film and actually drives a sense of bizarre authenticity because the characters are so utterly believable, even if the Smiths seem like a less goofy and more malicious version of the Bundy’s in Married with Children.

McConaughey’s performance is riveting; both here and in Magic Mike he’s displayed an intensity that’s both convincing and funny. Forget the charming heartthrob of all those romcoms, he shines in roles of characters that are menacing and corrupt.

The Smith’s plan goes awry when the beneficiary of the deceased turns out to be someone other than Dottie, leaving Joe to figure out what’s really going on and determined to hang on to his retainer, Dottie, since he wasn’t paid for his service of killing Chris’ mother.

The truth of who was really going to end up with the insurance money is revealed in the last, and most powerful scene of the film, where every family member plays his or her part and a piece of fried chicken is used in ways one never thought possible. Killer Joe is a must see for film buffs or anyone who enjoys dark comedy or wants to see McConaghey in what’s arguably the role of his career, but it is not for the faint of heart.