Netflix is very quickly becoming the home of previous years’ box office disasters, and to prove a point, 2023’s crime thrillerTo Catch a Killerstarring Shailene Woodley andBen Mendelsohnis sitting at the top of the streamer’s movie chart. While the film is underrated by some, there is no way to deny that it was a complete flop at the box office, taking just $3.1 million at the box office on its initial release.
Damián Szifron directed and wrote the project, with Jonathan Wakeham also serving as a writer. Szifron and Woodley are also producers alongside Stuart Manashil (Watcher) and Aaron Ryder (Arrival). The movie plays out withvery similar traits toThe Silence of the Lambs, with a young agent being recruited by the FBI to track down a serial killer with her unique, disturbed view of the world. The synopsis reads:
“A modern-day Clarice Starling, Eleanor (Woodley) is a young police investigator wrestling with the demons of her past when she is recruited by the FBI’s chief investigator (Mendelsohn) to help profile and track the work of a disturbed individual. As the police and FBI launch a nationwide manhunt, they are thwarted at every turn by the individual’s unprecedented behavior. Given her tortured psyche, Eleanor may be the only person who can understand the mind of their assailant and bring him to justice.”
Shailene Woodley originally rose to prominence with her roles in young adult media like the ABC Family/Freeform seriesThe Secret Life of the American Teenager, theDivergenttrilogy, and the film adaptation ofThe Fault in Our Stars. She has since appeared inThe Descendants, andBig Little Lies. Additional cast members include Mendelsohn, Jovan Adepo, Ralph Ineson, Rosemary Dunsmore, Michael Cram, Jason Cavalier, and Mark Camacho.
Is ‘To Catch a Killer’ Worth Watching on Netflix?
In a crowded market of thrillers,To Catch a Killerdid not stand out enough to be noticed two years ago. However, one audience review on Rotten Tomatoes puts it,“When you see a 2023 film come up on Netflix in 2025 it’s usually a box office flop being microwaved for a few extra click dollars. This film was indeed a flop (it made 3 million in the US) but that doesn’t mean you should skip it.”
That seems to be the general feel for the movie, which scored a middle-of-the-road 53% on the critics’ side and 62% from audiences. In the main, the comments are unanimously positive towards the movies’ leads, with Woodley solidly portraying her troubled police investigator, and Mendelsohn bringing his usual gravitas – let’s remember, he wasone of the high points of Marvel’sSecret Invasion.
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If you like dark and brutal crime thrillers, thenTo Catch a Killeris probably one that you will be able to find something to enjoy in, as long as you can forgive a dialogue-heavy plot. As the site’s consensus puts it,“To Catch a Killeris an above-average thriller with some surprises, even if it never quite hits the heights scaled by true genre classics.”That has clearly been enough to entice in a strong viewership on Netflix.
