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What happens when a psychologically troubled cop decides to get into the mind of a killer? Find out in Shailene Woodley’s upcoming feature, To Catch a Killer. Not to be confused with the eponymous 1992 two-part television film of the same name. Damian Szifron directs this 2023 crime thriller, which marks the Argentine director’s first English-language film.
Woodley stars as the film’s protagonist, which follows her as a troubled cop recruited by the FBI to profile and track down a dangerous serial killer, probably at the cost of her mental health. To Catch a Killer also features Ben Mendelsohn and Jovan Adepo in significant roles. While you wait for the movie to hit the theaters this spring, you can check out our handy guide below for the release date, plot, trailer, cast and characters, and everything we know about To Catch a Killer.
When Is To Catch a Killer’s Release Date?
Previously titled Misanthrope, To Catch a Killer has been in the works since 2019. The film looks very intense and could have the potential of a hard-hitting psychological crime thriller feature like Zodiac or Se7en, but mainly like The Silence of the Lambs.
To Catch a Killer is released by Vertical Entertainment and is set to premiere in theaters on April 21, 2023. The film will have some tough competition at the box office with Guy Ritchie's The Covenant and Evil Dead Rising, releasing on the same day.
Does To Catch a Killer Have a Trailer?
We got our first look at To Catch a Killer on March 8th, 2023. The two-minute clip opens with an indiscriminate city-wide shooting on New Year’s Eve, which leaves the city and the police outraged and confused. The FBI gets involved, realizes this is no ordinary killer, and needs a whole new approach to hunt them down. Check out the trailer down below!
The overall atmosphere of To Catch a Killer, as seen in the trailer, is very tense and unsettling, which is a good sign for a crime thriller of this scale. The footage gives us a glimpse into Eleanor’s character, where we see that she has had a troubled past, and somehow her tortured psyche helps her identify some traits of the killer, almost as if she can see through his mind. Thus, she becomes the lead in the investigation. Ben Mendelsohn and Jovan Adepo also feature in the trailer as FBI agents.
What Is the Story of To Catch a Killer?
Set in Baltimore on New Year’s Eve, To Catch a Killer follows a citywide shooting by a mysterious gunman. The hits look like serial killings, but the victims have no connection to each other, and there isn’t a single trace of the killer. A crime of this scale gets the FBI involved, but even they are at a loss with no lead to track this madman.
Investigator Lammark spots a highly talented young cop, Eleanor, and brings her into the FBI team to help with the case. However, Eleanor’s background doesn’t please the chief, who thinks she is “the profile of people we arrest, not hire.” And yet he believes that she is probably the only one who can find this criminal. Can Eleanor fight her own demons while hunting for one? Or will her psyche get entangled with that of the killer and draw her into his plans? You’ll have to watch the film to find the answers.
Will To Catch a Killer Be on Streaming?
There is no word on whether To Catch a Killer will be available to stream. It may get an early video-on-demand release date, but that is purely speculation. The film is slated for a theatrical release on April 21, 2023, and will compete with several films released at the start of the summer movie season.
Who Are the Cast of To Catch a Killer Cast?
Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor Shailene Woodley headlines the cast of To Catch a Killer. The Big Little Lies and Divergent series star plays Eleanor, an extraordinarily talented and perceptive police detective at Baltimore PD who gets recruited by the FBI to hunt an untraceable killer.
Woodley is joined by Emmy-winning actor and Bloodline star, Ben Mendelsohn. Some of Mendelsohn’s recent films are Cyrano, The King, and Captain Marvel. He will also costar in the upcoming Marvel series, Secret Invasion. The Emmy-nominated Jovan Adepo, who is best known for his roles in Fences, When They See Us, and Babylon, is also joining the cast. Mendelsohn will play Chief Investigator Geoffrey Lammark, while Adepo features as FBI Agent Mackenzie.
Game of Thrones and Chernobyl actor Ralph Ineson will play Dean Possey, a highly skilled sharpshooter and the film's antagonist. Rosemary Dunsmore (Orphan Black), Mark Camacho (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Sean Tucker (Pieces of a Woman), Michael Cram (The Birch), Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), and Carine Dion (Stranger Things) round out the film's cast.
Who Are the Creators Behind To Catch a Killer?
To Catch a Killer comes from Damian Szifron, who also directs and co-writes the film alongside Jonathan Wakeham. Szifron is an Argentine director and screenwriter for television and movies and is best known for the Academy Award-nominated and critically acclaimed 2014 Spanish dark-comedy, Wild Tales. Some of his previous films are Tiempo de Valientes and El fondo del mar. The upcoming crime thriller feature marks the filmmaker’s English language debut.
Szifron has also created the Argentine series Los Simuladores, which is widely considered to be the most successful television series in the history of Argentine television. In 2022, a film adaptation of Los Simuladores was announced by Paramount, with Szifron helming the project, and it is slated for a 2024 release.
The filmmaker also serves as one of the producers for To Catch a Killer, joining Woodley, Aaron Ryder (Arrival), and Stuart Manashil (Pieces of a Woman). Academy Award-nominated composer and filmmaker Martin McDonagh’s longtime collaborator, Carter Burwell, composes the movie’s score. He is best known for his recent work on the Academy Award-nominated film The Banshees of Inisherin.