‘How to Make a Killing’ is HBO Max’s best sleeper thriller
‘How to Make a Killing’ is HBO Max’s best sleeper thriller
The theatrical release barely made a dent, but viewers quickly found the movie once it reached streaming.
Tara and I missed “How to Make a Killing” during its short theatrical run, but we caught it a few weekends after it landed on HBO Max, and we had a lot of fun with it. This is exactly the kind of dark comedy we both like. It’s twisted without being miserable, funny without becoming a full comedy, and easy to follow without feeling dumb. It’s not the most inventive movie you’ll ever see, but the murder premise keeps everything moving, the story-within-a-story format is interesting, and the twist at the end really works. So if it slipped past you, here’s why “How to Make a Killing” is the best under-the-radar thriller movie on HBO Max right now.
Best under-the-radar thriller movie on HBO Max
Why ‘How to Make a Killing’ is the most underrated thriller movie on HBO Max
To be clear, HBO Max isn’t exactly hiding “How to Make a Killing.” It shot up the streamer’s movie chart shortly after it arrived, so people are clearly finding it. But the movie came and went so quickly in theaters that Tara and I barely even knew it had been released. Now that it’s streaming, it feels like it’s finally finding the audience it probably should’ve had from the start.
The whole movie runs on a really clean, nasty premise. Glen Powell plays Becket Redfellow, a working-class outsider who grows up knowing he’s connected to one of the richest families in the country, but he’s stuck outside the gates while his relatives enjoy the fortune he thinks should belong to him. With his childhood friend Julia, played by Margaret Qualley, still tangled up in his life, Becket realizes there’s only one thing standing between him and the money: a very long line of wealthy relatives. So he starts shortening the family tree. Every time he gets rid of someone, though, the situation gets more complicated. Another relative moves up. Another person gets suspicious. Another murder creates a new problem he didn’t see coming.
That gives “How to Make a Killing” a natural propulsion that makes it ridiculously easy to watch. The movie moves quickly between Becket’s murders, his growing connection to the family, and the story he’s telling about how everything went wrong. You’re never sitting around waiting for the plot to get going because Becket is constantly making another decision that digs the hole deeper. It’s a great movie to throw on when you want something fun and twisty but don’t feel like doing any homework. And while there’s a lot of murder in this movie, I love that it stays light and tongue-in-cheek most of the time, never getting too dark.
The biggest reason it works is Glen Powell. Becket is selfish, dishonest, and eventually does things that are pretty hard to defend, but Powell is so naturally charming that you keep going along with him anyway. He makes Becket feel relaxed and weirdly reasonable even while he’s turning murder into a career plan. Margaret Qualley also gives the movie a different kind of energy as Julia, Becket’s childhood friend, who may understand him a little better than anyone else does.
The movie isn’t perfect. The class satire isn’t exactly subtle; the tone gets messy in spots, and the idea of killing your way through a rich family has definitely been done before. But Tara and I didn’t really care because “How to Make a Killing” is just good fun. It moves; the murders keep escalating, and the ending doesn’t fumble the whole thing. The final twist actually makes the story feel nastier and smarter in retrospect. It’s a slick, darkly funny thriller with a great star, a fun setup, and enough personality to stand out from the pile of generic streaming thrillers sitting around it.
How to Make a Killing
Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.
What is ‘How to Make a Killing’ about?
“How to Make a Killing” follows Becket Redfellow, a working-class outsider who discovers that he’s connected to an insanely wealthy family and could eventually inherit their fortune. There’s just one little problem: a long line of rich relatives stands between him and the money. Becket decides to start removing them one at a time, but every death pulls him deeper into the family’s world and creates another mess he needs to clean up. As his plan gets bigger, he starts realizing that getting the fortune may require him to become just as ruthless as the people he hates.
Other underappreciated thriller movies on HBO Max
If you have fun with “How to Make a Killing” and want more underappreciated thrillers on HBO Max, start with these. “The Undertone” is the creepy pick, following a podcaster who starts uncovering something disturbing while caring for her dying mother. “The Long Walk” is much darker, with a group of teenage boys forced into a deadly walking competition where slowing down can get you killed. And “They Will Kill You” is the wild-card option, mixing action, horror, and comedy inside a very dangerous New York apartment building. Different tones, but all three are worth a look if you want another thriller that’s a little stranger than the usual streaming stuff.
HBO Max
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