There are few filmmakers in Hollywood with a portfolio as glistening as David Fincher‘s. Starting out directing commercials and music videos, Fincher quickly showcased immense talent with his visionary approach. This soon crossed over into Hollywood and he stepped into the world of filmmaking.
Since then, he has delivered a plethora of critically acclaimed movies across a variety of genres. However, it’s clear that Fincher has a penchant for darker material. With that said, his latest movie, The Killer, is perhaps one of his darkest films yet. It has also proven to be a smash hit upon its release on Netflix. So, let’s take a deep dive into David Fincher‘s The Killer, from its simple yet captivating plot to its fast rise to popularity on Netflix.
What Is the Plot of The Killer?
At the forefront of David Fincher’s dark and brooding thriller is Michael Fassbender, who portrays a deadly, world-class hitman. Although his name is never revealed in the movie, the cunning assassin assumes multiple identities throughout the picture, leaving the audience to simply know him as “The Killer”. The plot of the movie is rather straightforward and operates on a slow burn. However, Fincher has proven many times in the past that slow burns are where he truly shines.
Fassbender’s character is both illusive and intriguing. In the real-world he barely talks, but his every move is narrated by a slick and captivating voiceover. Starting out feeling like the day-to-day story of a hitman, showing everything from his morning stretching routine to his high protein breakfast, the film quickly shifts in an unexpected way. When his job goes awry, The Killer flees the scene only to return home to find his girlfriend beaten nearly half to death. From here, the movie transitions into a revenge flick. However, it is not handled with typical revenge movie tropes. The Killer is tightly-wound thriller that relies on its central character to command the screen.
Apart from Fassbender and Tilda Swinton, there are little known stars in the movie. Yet, this works masterfully as Fassbender occupies near enough every scene with a commanding presence. The result is a well-paced, tension driven movie that serves up a unique character study. Despite the movie being considered David Fincher’s first action movie, it feels like more of a taut thriller spliced with moments of action. However, The Killer boasts a relentless fight scene that could technically push the movie into the action realm.
The Killer Racked Up Massive Viewership in its First Week
The Killer marks the first time David Fincher and screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker have worked together since the smash hit movie, Seven. Given that Seven was the movie that put Fincher on the map, The Killer quickly became a much-anticipated project. What’s more, The Killer serves as the first movie in a 4-year deal between Fincher and Netflix. To that, the movie also marked Fincher’s first ever Netflix original.
It’s fair to say that Netflix trust Fincher’s material after the glaring success of his TV series, Mindhunter, which garnered critical acclaim and ran for two seasons. What’s more, Fincher also worked on the hugely popular series, House of Cards. So, off the back of that success, Fincher has delivered again with The Killer. In its first week, the movie debuted at number one drawing in 27.9 million viewers resulting in a whopping 55.7 million hours viewed. To that, The Killer outperformed movies like Locked In, Pain Hustlers, Old Dads, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Will There Be a Sequel to the Killer?
Based on the massive success of The Killer, and considering Fincher still has more projects to deliver under his contract with Netflix, it is highly possible that a sequel could follow. However, across his multifaceted career, Fincher has yet to ever direct a sequel. The majority of his movies have been successful and some have been left open-ended. So, this doesn’t bode well for the promise of a sequel to The Killer. However, he hasn’t completely ruled it out. When speaking with EW, Fincher shed some light on the fact that The Killer‘s ending undeniably left room for a sequel. When asked about the possibility of a sequel, he said “I never say never.”
As of the time of this writing, Fincher’s official IMDB page has no upcoming projects listed as a director. However, he is set to executive produce a TV prequel to the classic crime movie, Chinatown. The series is written by original Chinatown writer, Robert Towne. There is currently no director attached, although Ben Affleck has been previously been rumoured to be helming the project. Either way, it’s safe to assume the series will count towards Fincher’s deal with Netflix.
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