The Kill-Off

The Kill-Off (1989)

Gossip Can Kill.

In a seedy New Jersey nightclub, gossip turns to murder when the owner Pete hires exotic dancer Danny Lee, who starts up an affair with barfly Ralph, much to the chagrin of his bedridden wife, Luane.

Date of release
1989-05-01
TMDB
4.6 / 10 (13)
Runtime
1h 50m
Genres
Drama, Crime
Director
Maggie Greenwald

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: The Kill-Off
  • Filmed in: New Jersey

The Kill-Off is a 1989 American crime drama film written and directed by Maggie Greenwald, based on a 1957 novel of the same name by Jim Thompson. It was an independent film, produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher and shot by Declan Quinn in his film debut.

Production

The Kill-Off was a part of the so-called Jim Thompson revival in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The other Jim Thompson novels to be adapted into films were The Grifters and After Dark, My Sweet. The Kill Off's US release would arrive in the same year as the aforementioned films.

Director of photography Declan Quinn shot the film with low lighting; at times, footage of characters more than a few feet from the camera can be difficult to see. This was done to mirror the stylistic photography of the film noirs of the 1940s and 1950s.

Filming took place over a twenty-one-day schedule in January 1989 on a budget of less than $1 million. Exterior shots were filmed in the New Jersey seaside town of Keansburg, where the Keansburg Amusement Park can be seen in the background. Interior scenes were filmed on sets in New York.

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