62
Metascore
38 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichIt's McConaughey who is the real revelation: All Grim Reaper strut and cutthroat stare, he savors each of Letts's vividly ghoulish lines.
- 83The PlaylistOliver LytteltonThe PlaylistOliver LytteltonIt won't change the face of cinema history, and it won't win any awards (it's too downright dirty for that), but it's furiously entertaining, and a very strong piece of drama from a director who hasn't much luck in the last thirty-odd years.
- A likeably unpleasant slice of adults-only Texas noir, which aims at the funnybone as much as the jugular.
- 80Total FilmTotal FilmFriedkin's unflinching trailer-park noir features ugly characters, game performances, degradation and the obscene abuse of a chicken drumstick. Highly recommended, then.
- 80TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissMcConaughey's fans might be shocked to see him in this role - more likely, they'd skip the opportunity - but they ought to give his performance a shot. The dimpled demon lover proves he can be just as seductive playing Texas's creepiest, craziest cop.
- 75Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezIt thrills in seeing dumb people getting their due in hyper-stylized displays of violence, and yet it never feels contemptuous of them.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThe family that slays together pays together in Killer Joe, a nasty little Texas noir that transfers Tracy Letts' 1993 play from page to screen with generally gripping results before devolving into an over-the-top splatterfest.
- 60EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanFamily dysfunction to make Jeremy Kyle blush, but thanks to McConaughey's oily power and Friedkin's unflinching purpose it's a compelling beast.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawIt is up to McConaughey's crooked cop to carry the picture: a sleek, loungingly casual loner whose hunger for violence, like his hunger for fried chicken, is finally and horribly gratified.