The Killer: Redditors Argue Fincher's Film Is A Dark Comedy - Are They Right?

On November 10, David Fincher debuted his 12th feature film, "The Killer," on Netflix. The film follows a meticulous and calculating assassin, known only as the Killer (Michael Fassbender), who approaches his work with unfeeling professionalism. When a job goes awry, "The Killer" morphs into a globe-spanning revenge tale, the pulpy shocks of violence aided in large part by global brands like Amazon, WeWork, and McDonalds. The murders, meanwhile, are soundtracked heavily by The Smiths.

Those pop cultural and late-capitalist flourishes are just some of the reasons why "The Killer" has a darkly funny edge. One Redditor, however, wasn't so sure they should be laughing. "Idk if this makes me a psycho but I found a lot of this movie hilarious lol," wrote u/Zantheman22. "Loved the mundanity of such a seemingly exciting profession."

Other Redditors rushed in to reassure their fellow Fincher fan. "Oh it's a comedy, full stop," replied u/b3nfriend. "I didn't expect it at all and was sort of taken aback by how broad and slapsticky the humor was in what I figured would be a straight thriller."

Another fan, u/DavidMerrick89, noted that "The Killer" is basically a comedy of errors disguised as a thriller, with each character convinced they're infallible. "Oh this goes beyond being merely darkly comic into being an outright comedy. Literally EVERYBODY f***s up." They continued, "It's a cascade of human error and made all the funnier by everybody involved being otherwise consummate professionals." For the most part, critics tend to agree.

Reviews for "The Killer" have been largely positive, and as of this writing, Fincher's latest has earned an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many of those reviews point out the distinct sense of humor. "It's gallows humor, to be sure, but this is an incredibly funny film," wrote Joey Magidson for Awards Radar.

Some critics, however, feel that the humor didn't go far enough. "Leaning further into the comedy might have worked, but Fassbender's submerged performance and Fincher's controlled direction are a bit too cool to be deadpan," Bilge Ebiri wrote in his review for Vulture.

Regardless of its execution, the pitch-black comedy in "The Killer" is undeniable. For some fans, the film functions as a meta in-joke about Fincher's own fastidious reputation as a filmmaker. "It's Fincher making fun of... himself? It's hilarious," wrote u/funktion. That assertion was eye-opening for u/TheTruckWashChannel. "Fincher the man of 100+ takes for a single scene, making a movie about a perfectionist repeatedly seeing his carefully thought-out plans go for a toss."