A solid noir-driven whodunnit has not come along in ages, so Killer Heat certainly had potential. Couple that with a solid main trio of a cast in Richard Madden, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Shailene Woodley, and at the very least, there should be plenty of fun to be found within. Unfortunately, an altogether humorless affair leads to a stuffier than expected, almost stagnant quality. Why does a global release on Prime Video end up feeling like a Lifetime movie special? Saddled with the obviousness of its reveals, Killer Heat lacks the staying power of sharper mystery movies, destined to fall into a pile of endless copycats.
In a metaphor we will hear over and again, the rock climbing accident that kills wealthy socialite Leo (Madden, Game of Thrones, Cinderella) parallels with the ancient myth of Icarus getting too close to the sun. Private investigator Nick Bali (Levitt, Mysterious Skin, (500) Days of Summer) has been hired by Leo’s sister, Penelope (Woodley, Divergent, The Spectacular Now), just two days after the family buried Leo. She suspects that foul play may have been involved—Penelope doubles Nick’s pay, but insists that he cannot tell anyone they are working together.
Nick goes after every possible angle to figure out how this regular free solo climber plummeted to his death. Leo’s family had a shipping empire, meaning loads of potential suspects out to snatch everything they have. Despite the case being closed by the local authorities and proclaimed an “accidental death,” Nick begins to follow a trail of dark secrets, wealth, and brotherly rivalry. The filmmakers find the perfect way to keep Madden around: Leo’s twin brother, Elias, also lives on this small Greek island. The very virtue of a twin being enmeshed in the story should tell viewers all they need to draw conclusions about how this plays out. Nick starts following Elias around the island, eventually pairing up with detective George Mensah (Babou Ceesay). The duo make for a somewhat fun odd coupling.
A half-baked backstory with Nick’s family life attempts to bookend and give levity to the proceedings. The eventual “big reveal” does blankly spell out what occurred to lead to Leo’s murder, yet feels undercooked. The predictable twists undermine the suspense, plainly highlighting the formulaic nature of the script. Despite casting being on point for the most part, there are few scenes that highlight strengths among the ensemble. There is no depth to the mystery, either. If one has been paying even the slightest bit of attention, there will be no surprise in that department. Being that the sole most important element falls flat, Killer Heat gets snuffed out well before making any sort of impression.
Solve the mystery of Killer Heat, heading to Prime Video on Thursday, September 26th.
