To Catch a Killer (2023-2023) is not a fun movie. It is not a date movie. It is not background noise. It is a 119-minute stress test of your patience and your faith in institutions. Shailene Woodley and Ben Mendelsohn give performances that deserve to be remembered alongside the greats of the procedural genre—from Heat to Prisoners . Damian Szifron proves that his Wild Tales brilliance was no fluke; he simply chose to channel his chaos into a tombstone of a thriller.
The film wastes no time in establishing its grim tone. The opening sequence is a masterclass in tension and sound design. On New Year’s Eve, a sniper opens fire on a high-rise apartment building, killing seemingly random victims. The chaos is palpable, not through excessive gore, but through the confusion and terror of the survivors and the first responders. To Catch a Killer -2023-2023
But the timing was also thematic. 2023 was a year of real-world mass shootings in the United States—Nashville, Louisville, Allen, Texas. Audiences, exhausted and traumatized, showed little appetite for a film that opens with a sniper murdering dozens of partygoers in hyper-realistic detail. Distributor Vertical Entertainment knew this. They gave the film a modest theatrical run (fewer than 500 screens) before pivoting to VOD and Starz by late summer. To Catch a Killer (2023-2023) is not a fun movie
As of 2026, To Catch a Killer is available for streaming on platforms like Netflix (in many regions), Prime Video , and Apple TV (for rental/purchase). Check local listings. It is a 119-minute stress test of your
: After a limited theatrical release in April 2023, the film gained renewed popularity after being added to Netflix. It is also available to rent or buy on platforms like Amazon Prime Video. If you're interested in similar psychological thrillers, To Catch a Killer (2023)
Mendelsohn, doing his best worn-out trench coat impression, plays Lammark as a man who has seen too much. He has no brilliant deductions. He relies on shoe-leather police work, gut feelings, and the bitter wisdom that every killer is eventually caught by a mistake, not a masterstroke. His mentorship of Eleanor is reluctant and, ultimately, futile. He cannot save her from her demons, just as she cannot save him from his cynicism.