We first got a taste of Killer Joe during the 2011 Toronto International Film Fest. An indie in every sense of the word, the film, which had its world premiere during the 68th Venice International Film Festival, is definitely generating a ton of buzz powered by a pretty fantastic and sadistic performance by Matthew McConaughey. It is absolute fantastic to see McConaughey going back to these grittier roles. I absolutely loved him in the recent The Lincoln Lawyer and after watching him in Killer Joe I am very much looking forward to see what he has coming up next.

To give you a sense of what I mean, check out this clip from the movie. Tell me you don’t want to see it right now.

About the Film
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, provocative black comedy from Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection) and also stars  Thomas Hayden Church, and Gina Gershon.

Killer Joe opens August 10.