Killer Joe

There’s plenty of shock and titillation in Killer Joe, but those are fleeting sensations. What the film lacks is the type of penetrating, skin-crawling suspense that goes straight to the brain.

The severely twisted five-character drama, adapted by Tracy Letts from his stage play, has just about everything you would want in a good thriller — revenge, extortion, betrayal, romantic obsession and old-fashioned depravity.

But despite admiration being due a film that pushes boundaries in terms of sex and violence, this well-acted effort is aggressive in its brutality to the extent it sacrifices raw human emotion.

The depravity is kicked off by Chris (Emile Hirsch), who desperately tries to pay off a drug debt by hiring a cop who moonlights as a slick contract killer named Joe (Matthew McConaughey) to knock off his mother (Gina Gershon), with the resulting insurance policy set to be paid to Chris’ naive sister, Dottie (Juno Temple).

The plan goes awry when Chris is unable to pay Joe his upfront fee, leading Joe to terrorize the family and take a romantic interest in Dottie. What remains unclear to the family is whether Joe’s behavior is really about money or if he has some other sinister motive.

Veteran director William Friedkin (who also collaborated with Letts on Bug) keeps the intensity level high despite the lack of traditional action. It is atmospheric and deliberately paced, more of a darkly comic character study than a typical crime thriller.

The film is loaded with seedy and dysfunctional characters of questionable morals and intelligence, which makes things entertaining in a train-wreck sort of way, but it leaves nobody to root for.

McConaughey tries his best, however, playing the title role with a cool and calculating manipulation that’s as disturbing as it is fascinating.

Likewise, there are some scattered great scenes, including a couple of final-act twists that are just plain uncomfortable to watch, with the sharp dialogue of Letts shining through as the various schemes begin to unravel.

The stylish visuals benefit from the cinematography of Caleb Deschanel (The Natural), who subtly uses light and shadows to accentuate the sweltering Texas backdrop.

Killer Joe is difficult to dismiss in terms of audacity alone. Yet the film favors the types of talky extended scenes that don’t translate as well from the material’s stagebound roots, no matter how creepy they become.

Rated NC-17, 102 minutes.