Are you familiar with the autonomous sensory meridian response? Do you like ambient noise? Are you literally him? Have I got the movie for you! “The Killer” is a 2023 Netflix original movie (NOM?) starring Michael Fassbender, and directed by our dearly beloved David Fincher. “The Killer” follows the titular hitman as he deals with the consequences of a botched job and tries desperately to stick to the set of rules that have kept him clear in the past.
This was such an interesting viewing experience. The plot was whatever. I honestly didn’t care about the killer (whose real name we never learn) enough to really get into it story-wise. Basically, the killer messes up a job, and as punishment the client sends some guys to take him out or whatever. Unfortunately, the killer isn’t home, so they just beat up his girlfriend instead. Cold and calculating revenge murders ensue, set to a soundtrack of The Smiths (the killer is a big fan, it’s all he listens to). I won’t give any spoilers, but by the end I still sort of felt like nothing had happened. Perhaps a second watch through would sit differently, knowing the ending, but as of right now it’s just… okay.
Now to what I really care about! The sound in this movie was so strange and interesting. The aforementioned Smiths play frequently, as well as a score by Trent Reznor (yeah, the Nine Inch Nails guy) and Atticus Ross, who you might know from other David Fincher films like “The Social Network” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” I was honestly way more into the score than I was the plot of this movie, it has this sort of bio-technological-industrial feel that is genuinely super reminiscent of NIN. At one point I really thought that I was missing something on screen because there were these strange… gurgling noises (?) that were actually just a part of the score. Very interesting! I’ll be revisiting this one on Spotify.
The sound editing was also quite intriguing to me. One of the most interesting choices that springs to mind is a sequence in which we switch back and forth between a third person point of view and the killer’s point of view. Each time we switch, the music changes — from the killer’s POV, it’s loud and clear, just as he would hear it listening through his headphones, and from the third person POV it’s muted, as we’re hearing just the spillover from the killer’s headphones. It was a super interesting sequence, but it did feel a bit jarring at times. When we weren’t jamming to The Smiths, this whole film is filled with ambient noise, and soft narration from the killer. There is very little dialogue, but a LOT of the killer’s internal thoughts. I wasn’t kidding about the ASMR thing. This movie genuinely felt like one of those “ASMR Ambience” videos you find on YouTube. It was strange, but not entirely unpleasant! I’d listen again.
I think if you’re a David Fincher fan, there’s definitely something for you to love in this movie. I can’t wait for the male manipulators to get ahold of it, I just know they’re gonna be so literally him. I’m happy for you pookies! I will also likely return to this movie in the future, even if it’s just to put on while I fall asleep to the peaceful sounds of Michael Fassbender telling me how to be a perfect hitman. In the end, on the Good Time-Bad Time Scale, “The Killer” is getting a, “Hmm… yes, yes… I see… Intriguing!”
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