Dead Man's Wire (2026)

Gus Van Sant returns to our screen with this true crime thriller starring Bill Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis, an Indianapolis businessman who, in 1977 kidnapped a mortgage broker named Richard Hall, and tied his neck to a 'dead man's wire.' That is, a wire wrapped round his neck and attached to a shotgun which would fire if any policeman tried to shoot Tony. Kiritsis had grievances with Richard- and more particularly his father (played with enjoyable ease by Al Pacino, who refuses to give in to Tony's demands) after Tony had mortgaged himself to buy a plot of land he thought could be developed as a shopping mall, and seemingly had agreements in place to make this happen. Kiritsis, perhaps with good reason, believed that Richard and his father had manipulated the situation and had other designs on his land. And having fallen behind on his mortgage payments due to what he perceived as deliberate sabotage by Hall's company, Meridian Mortgage, decides to take matters into his own hands. So he turned up at Richard's office, applied the wire, and despite the ensuing police presence managed to get Richard back to his home where much of the film takes place. There's shades of Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and not just because of Pacino's cameo, while Skarsgård is terrifically unhinged as Kiritsis making the film his own and leaving us in no doubt that he's at the end of his tether. Colman Domingo also has a welcome cameo as radio DJ and phone in host Fred Temple, based on real life Indianapolis radio star Fred Heckman whom Kiritsis actually did call during the hostage situation to express his grievances on air. Myha'la also puts in good work as TV reported Linda Page who's desperate for her first big scoop, although she's somewhat underused and the whole sub-plot surrounding her character doesn't really go anywhere. When Van Sant is firing he can be one of the finest film makers in the business. HIs best work remains 2003's Elephant, a bone chilling piece inspired by the Colombine HIgh School massacre, and he was of course behind the camera for the Oscar winning Good Will Hunting (1997). Dead Man's Wire is hugely entertaining with very solid performances but the black comedy that runs through it (despite apparently much of it being true to life) slightly takes away from the terrifying ordeal this must have been. Real footage is effectively dispersed throughout the narrative and any qualms you have about blackly comedic liberties being taken are dispelled during the end credits which prove just how unhinged Kiritsis seemingly was. I didn't know anything about the story before I sat down to watch this, and I was suitably gripped for the duration. It's not earth shattering in terms of this kind of thing, but Van Sant is a safe pair of hands and gives the film a pleasing seventies aesthetic as well as keeping you gripped for what is a very solid, interesting, and entertaining thriller. 7.7/10