Trailer for the NC-17-rated Killer Joe with Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, and Juno Temple

May 8th 2012, 2:00pm

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The trailer for director William Friedkin’s NC-17-rated KILLER JOE starring Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon, and Thomas Haden Church is now online for your viewing pleasure. The controversial film is based on the play of the same name and opened at TIFF last year and you can read our review of it here.

Check it out:

Apparently, the end of the film is the clincher and also the main reason for the NC-17. Color me intrigued. I’m a fan of Friedkin’s, even though he’s been hit or miss in his later years. Still, this is the director of TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., one of the best, most outlandish, and violent films ever, once again particularly with the twist ending.

Here’s the synopsis:

When 22-year-old Chris (Emile Hirsch) finds himself in debt to a drug lord, he hires a hit man to dispatch his mother, whose $50,000 life insurance policy benefits his sister Dottie (Juno Temple). Chris finds Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a creepy, crazy Dallas cop who moonlights as a contract killer. When Chris can’t pay Joe upfront, Joe sets his sight on Dottie as collateral for the job. The contract killer and his hostage develop an unusual bond. Like from a modern-day, twisted fairy tale, “Killer Joe” Cooper becomes the prince to Dottie’s Cinderella. Based on the play by Pulitzer and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts, “Killer Joe” is a garish, proactive black comedy from Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) and stars Emile Hirsch, Matthew McConaughey, Juno Temple, Thomas Hayden Church, and Gina Gershon.

I love a good, dark comedy and this seems to have the recipe for success. I’m all in. KILLER JOE will open in limited release on July 27, 2012.