KILLER HEAT Trailer (2024) Shailene Woodley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

KILLER HEAT Trailer (2024) Shailene Woodley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

KILLER HEAT Trailer (2024) Shailene Woodley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
© 2024 - Prime Video

"For some people jealousy is a lot like love. Maybe that's just how I see it..." Prime Video has revealed an official trailer for a crime thriller film called Killer Heat, set on the gorgeous Greek island of Crete. Based on the short story "The Jealousy Man" by Jo Nesbø. This film is debuting streaming on Prime Video in a few weeks, skipping theaters entirely with no festival premieres either. Hmmm. "Jealousy can drive you to the edge." The film follows twin brothers who find themselves in a dangerous love triangle on the island when an American P.I. tries to find out what happened in the accidental death of a young shipping magnate. The investigation is given to "The Jealousy Man," a wounded detective. Despite the sun-drenched beauty of its exotic Mediterranean locale, Nick finds darkness at every turn: where the rich and powerful Vardakis family rule like gods, where jealousies run deep, and anyone could be a suspect. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Richard Madden, Clare Holman, Babou Ceesay, and Abbey Lee. While Crete does look seriously stunning, this seems like a very generic and uninteresting crime + murder thriller.

Here's the main official trailer (+ poster) for Phillipe Lacôte's Killer Heat, direct from PV's YouTube:

Killer Heat Poster

A thrilling, contemporary mystery in classic noir style, Killer Heat follows private eye Nick Bali (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an American expat in Greece, hired to investigate the supposed accidental death of young shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden) on the Greek island of Crete. The victim’s sister-in-law (Shailene Woodley) doesn’t believe the official police report. But what exactly happened and why? Despite the sun-drenched beauty of its exotic Mediterranean locale, Nick finds darkness at every turn: where the rich & powerful Vardakis family rule like gods, where jealousies run deep, and anyone could be a suspect. Killer Heat is directed by Ivory Coast filmmaker Phillipe Lacôte, director of the films African Metropolis, Run, and Night of the Kings previously. The screenplay is by Matt Charman and Roberto Bentivegna. Based on the short story "The Jealousy Man" by Jo Nesbø (also exec producer). Produced by Brad Weston. Amazon will debut Lacôte's Killer Heat streaming on Prime Video starting September 26th, 2024. Who's curious?
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was thrilled to work with Shailene Woodley again on their new murder mystery movie.

While speaking with PEOPLE recently about his new Prime Video movie Killer Heat, Gordon-Levitt, 43, says it was "such a pleasure" to reunite with Woodley, 32, on the new film, which releases eight years after the pair costarred in the 2016 thriller biopic Snowden.

"When I called Shae it had been a few years since we'd spoken," Gordon-Levitt tells PEOPLE of recruiting Woodley for Killer Heat. In Snowden, Gordon-Levitt portrayed title character Edward Snowden, while Woodley played the whistleblower and former CIA contractor's wife Lindsay Mills.

"You know when you have a real good friend and it's been awhile, you just fall right back into all the comfort and friendship that you've had in the past, that's how you know it's a real good friend? That's just like it was with Shae," Gordon-Levitt says of reconnecting with Woodley for Killer Heat.

"I was like 'Hey, want to go to Greece?,' " he added. "And I'm so happy it worked out."

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley in Killer Heat
Shailene Woodley (left) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Killer Heat. Patrick Redmond/Prime
In Killer Heat, Gordon-Levitt portrays a private detective named Nick Bali, who travels to the Greek island Crete to investigate the accidental death of a young man from a rich family on the island. Richard Madden plays both victim Leo Vardakis and his identical twin Elias, while Woodley portrays Elias' wife Penelope, who hires Nick on the hunch that something suspicious happened to her brother-in-law.

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"It's funny because he is just such a sweetheart," Gordon-Levitt adds of his other costar in Madden, whose dual performance brings much of the tension at the heart of the movie. "And he's playing this really diabolical — two guys, and both of them in different ways are pretty damaged, nasty character. And Richard himself is kind of a teddy bear, a real sweetheart."

Gordon-Levitt, Woodley and Madden shot the film — which is based on author Jo Nesbø's The Jealousy Man — on location in Greece, to which Gordon-Levitt says he felt "so lucky" to get to work against such beautiful scenery on the island.

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Killer Heat
Killer Heat poster. Amazon MGM / Prime Video
"I just consider it such a privilege. I feel so lucky," he says. "I've gotten to go to lots of different places and there are very, very few places I've been that were more beautiful than the island of Crete. I've never been to Greece before getting to do this movie, and it's a cliché — the beauty of Greece — but it's a cliché for a reason. It's flipping beautiful!"

Killer Heat begins streaming on Prime Video Sept. 26.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley team up for a murder investigation set in Greece.

PEOPLE has the exclusive first trailer for Amazon MGM Studios' Killer Heat starring Gordon-Levitt, 43, as private detective Nick Bali working on the Greek island Crete. He is hired to investigate the accidental death of a young man from a rich family on the island.

Richard Madden plays both victim Leo Vardakis and his identical twin Elias, while Woodley, 32, is Elias' wife, who suspects someone in the Vardakis family conspired to murder one of the twins.

As detective Bali embarks on the investigation, he finds the wealthy family controls much of what happens on the island and reckons with his own difficult past and estranged family.

"There's a part of me, as I think there's a part of so many of us, that just loves reading a good mystery," Gordon-Levitt tells PEOPLE of the movie and the short story it is based on, Jo Nesbø's The Jealousy Man.

He, Woodley and Madden, 38, filmed much of the movie on location in Crete, and Gordon-Levitt recalls that filming the movie satisfied a lifelong urge to travel for his work.

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Killer Heat
Killer Heat poster. Amazon MGM / Prime Video
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"I just consider it such a privilege. I feel so lucky," he says. "I've gotten to go to lots of different places and there are very, very few places I've been that were more beautiful than the island of Crete. I've never been to Greece before getting to do this movie, and it's a cliché — the beauty of Greece — but it's a cliché for a reason. It's flipping beautiful!"

The movie marks a reunion for Gordon-Levitt and Woodley, who last costarred in 2016's Snowden. Gordon-Levitt says he and Woodley had not spoken in a few years but they lept "right back into all the comfort and friendship that you've had in the past."

"That's how you know it's a real good friend, and that's just like it was with Shae," he adds. "I was like, 'Hey, want to go to Greece?' I'm so happy it worked out."

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley in Killer Heat
Shailene Woodley and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Killer Heat. Patrick Redmond/Prime
"I think if you're like me and you are enticed by some juicy characters, gorgeous settings, Shea and Richard both are so good in the setting of island of Crete, you really couldn't ask for a more beautiful place in a world," Gordon-Levitt says. "If you want to just let a vibe wash over you, I think you'll enjoy this movie."

Killer Heat is streaming globally on Prime Video Sept. 26.
One Prime Video project that's flown under the radar but is starting to catch some eyes just released its first major look. The official Prime Video X account unveiled the first trailer for Killer Heat, the romance drama starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, and Abbey Lee. The film follows Nick Bali (Levitt), a detective hired by Penelope Vardakis (Woodley) to look into the murder of her brother-in-law. She believes he was killed by her husband, Elias, but Elias is in the pockets of all the local police and Nick is the only one willing to give the case a fair look. In addition to Levitt, Woodley, and Lee, Killer Heat also stars Richard Madden, Clare Holman, and Babou Ceesay, and the film is slated to release exclusively on Prime Video on September 26.

Killer Heat is based on the short story The Jealousy Man by Jo Nesbø, who is also credited as a writer on the film. Matt Charman and Roberto Bentivegna both wrote the screenplay for Killer Heat, with the former's most famous work coming on Bridge of Spies (Tom Hanks) and the latter being best known for writing House of Gucci (Adam Driver). Philippe Lacôte will direct Killer Heat, fresh off helming the 2020 drama-fantasy film, Night of the Kings, which is currently streaming on Tubi. Lacôte also directed Run and African Metropolis, and several other French films, and will now make his debut on a major project which will have more exposure due to premiering on Prime Video, which is the second-biggest streaming service in the world behind Netflix.

What Else Is There To Stream on Prime Video While You Wait for ‘Killer Heat’?
Prime Video may never take the lead from Netflix to become the biggest streaming service, but it does have a vast library of content for all to enjoy. The Lord of the Rings spin-off series, The Rings of Power, has been topping the Prime Video charts since it premiered its second season several weeks ago, with other Prime Video original series such as Fallout and The Boys also hanging around the top 10. On the film side of the aisle, John Cena and Awkwafina's Jackpot! has been one of the top movies on the platform, with Jason Statham's Beekeeper and Channing Tatum's 21 Jump Street also filling out the list.

Killer Heat premieres on Prime Video in two weeks on September 26. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates and coverage of the film.
While Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley both admit they’re not big fans of the true crime podcasts or shows—more on that later—they were both happy to explore the intricacies of the murder mystery genre in their new film Killer Heat.

Directed by Philippe Lacôte, the new Prime Video original movie debuts on the streaming service Thursday.

Gordon-Levitt stars in Killer Heat as Nick Bali, a private eye who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who plunged to his death during a free solo rock climb. Since the wealthy Vardakis family owns the police, authorities insist Leo’s death was an accident, but his sister-in-law, Penelope (Woodley)—who is married to Leo’s idential twin, Elias (Madden)—is convinced he was murdered.

As Nick digs into the case, he think’s nailed down potential suspects. However, as the PI soon discovers, there’s much more to the case than meets the eye on the island—which is ruled by violence and extortion by the Vardakis family.

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In a recent Zoom conversation with Gordon-Levitt and Woodley, Gordon-Levitt said signing on to star in Killer Heat was easy since he’s such a big fan of movie murder mysteries.

“Mysteries are fun. There's something kind of undeniable about it. You know, we've been making these types of movies for a hundred years in Hollywood and these stories were being told before the invention of movies,” Gordon-Levitt said. “Then, if you can take a murder mystery and put it in a beautiful setting—we got to go to the island of Crete—I feel so lucky that we got to do that … [It’s a] fun movie-watching experience.”

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While Woodley loved the movie’s script and her trip to Crete, the thing she was most excited about working 0n Killer Heat was the opportunity to reunite with Gordon-Levitt after they first teamed on film in 2016’s fact-based drama Snowden.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Richard Madden in "Killer Heat."Prime Video/Patrick Redmond
“That project was much more serious and it was a very different beast in and of itself,” Woodley said. “So, [I liked] the idea of getting to go to Greece and have fun while working on a murder mystery.”

One thing Woodley particularly loved was the opportunity to “volley back and forth” with Gordon-Levitt on Killer Heat because “there is a fun rhythm to film noir that you don't get to always explore with other films.”

Perhaps the best part of their exchanges, Woodley added, was seeing how Gordon-Levitt constructed Nick right before her eyes.

“Watching him create that character—I think he’s so brilliant,” Woodley enthused. “He’s being honest and real, but also elevated in a way that's entertaining and fun and relatable.”

Levitt Equally Admired Woodley’s Process In ‘Killer Heat’
While Joseph Gordon-Levitt was impressed by the way the plot was constructed for Killer Heat, he noted that the most exciting aspect of the film was watching the way the characters develop as the story unfolds.

In fact, Gordon-Levitt said, great character development is a hallmark of many of his favorite murder mystery films—including recent entries in the genre from his longtime friend and collaborator Rian Johnson.

“What I love watching about detective movies is not usually the plot, believe it or not, it's always the characters. The ones that really stand out, whether it's The Maltese Falcon or even Knives Out. I love the plotting of that. Rian Johnson is a genius with the clockwork of his plots,” Gordon-Levitt explained. “But to me, what makes those movies so special is the characters. Rian comes up with unique, very human and heightened characters. Those movies have their own kind of unique tone and take on the genre.”

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As for the uniqueness of Killer Heat, Gordon-Levitt said his favorite part of the experience was watching Shailene Woodley redefine the role of the femme fatale in the film.

“She hit all of the marks of what classic performances deliver, but she also brought something I think is honest,” the actor said of Woodley. “The femme fatale comes from a chauvinistic tradition, and she managed to take what's fun about it and then turn it on its head and say, ‘Here’s a real human being and not your stereotypical femme fatale.’ You see that especially toward the end of the movie when you get to see underneath the surface of her character.”

As for their feelings about the true-crime genre, Gordon-Levitt and Woodley said Killer Heat is as close to the subject of murder as they’d like to get.

“I love listening to podcasts but and I'm well-aware of the whole like true crime genre … I feel sad listening to those,” Gordon-Levitt said. “[I don’t like hearing about] the horrible things that have happened to people … I certainly no judgment of anybody that does enjoy those but I like my murder mysteries fictitious.”

“It's not my cup of tea,” Woodley added. “Fictionally I think there’s something fun in [murder mysteries] because it's fictionalized. It’s generally not as gruesome, awful, tragic and terrible.”

Rated R, Killer Heat is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.
Killer Heat

Release poster
Directed by Philippe Lacôte
Screenplay by
Roberto Bentivegna
Matt Charman
Based on "The Jealousy Man"
by Jo Nesbø
Produced by Brad Weston
Starring
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Shailene Woodley
Richard Madden
Cinematography Andrew Dunn
Edited by
Jay Cassidy
Neil Smith
Music by Joseph Shirley
Production
companies
Amazon MGM Studios
Makeready
Faliro House
Distributed by Amazon Prime Video
Release date
September 26, 2024
Running time 97 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Killer Heat is a 2024 American crime mystery drama film directed by Philippe Lacôte, and written by Roberto Bentivegna and Matt Charman. Based on Jo Nesbø's short story "The Jealousy Man", the film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, and Richard Madden.

On a remote Greek island, twin brothers (Madden) are caught in a violent love triangle. A damaged detective, Nick Bali, also known as "The Jealousy Man" (Gordon-Levitt), is brought in to investigate the case.[1]

The film was released by Amazon Prime Video on September 26, 2024.

Plot
Private detective Nick Bali "The Jealousy Man" is secretly hired by Penelope Vardakis to investigate the death of her husband Elias' identical twin brother Leo. As the wealthy family on the remote Greek island controls the police, she cannot get them to investigate the death, as officially it was a climbing accident. The family fears publicity could harm the value of their shipping company's stock.

Nick is haunted by memories of his daughter and his marriage gone horribly wrong, so drinks excessively to block them out. He is allowed to see the coroner's documentation of Leo's injuries and is told officer Georges Mensah is in charge of the investigation. Nick visits Mensah pretending interest in Leo's life insurance claim but is rebuffed.

Finding the Vardakis family yacht, Nick observes Elias leaving, so follows him to a climbing spot at a cliff face pretending to be an investigator from the Greek National Intelligence Service looking into Leo's death. Elias warns him to stay clear of his mother Audrey. Nick convinces him to be interviewed over coffee.

To Nick's surprise, Elias insists he had not seen Leo for weeks, as they had a major argument explaining that their father had encouraged them to fight and compete with each other from a young age. When Elias receives notice that Nick is not with the INS, Elias abruptly leaves.

Nick approaches Mensah, who he saw conducting surveillance on them, and offers to team up. Once he comes clean, admitting he is a former NYPD detective turned Athens P.I., they share information. Penelope contacts him, warning him about speaking to the family directly.

Nick explains how his own obsessiveness has helped him better work as a P.I. He recalls the moment when he first experienced intense jealousy over his wife, which eventually led to her cheating, then their split.

Penelope takes Nick to the cliff where Leo fell, and talks about meeting Leo and Elias; that she met Elias after Leo, as he started at Oxford a semester later; that Elias tricked her into believing Leo was coming over to study, but quickly talked her into a tryst; that they started seeing each other regularly; and that she met their parents and saw how overshadowed Leo was.

Penelope manages to get Nick clothes and an invitation to an exclusive political fundraiser event hosted by the Vardakis family on their yacht. Approaching Audrey, he tries to get her to respond to allegations of foul play, but is thrown off the boat and ordered to leave the island. Mensah later tells him he cannot have more contact with him.

Undeterred, Nick follows Elias the next day, but gets beaten up when Elias's goon spots him. Mensah helps him, cleaning him up. In the morning Nick meets up with Penelope, who tells him the obsessed Elias would never let her leave him. He asks her about her affair with Leo, which he deduced when he found her hair tie at his place.

Mensah and Nick deduce which boat was used when Leo was killed and its location. In an exchange of gunfire, two of the presumed killers go down, but a bullet also gets Mensah. Racked with guilt, Nick goes over the details of the case. Realising the broken fingers were likely caused by someone stomping on Leo's fingers, he calls Penelope to send away their security, keep Elias there and wait.

Once Nick has Penelope, Elias and Audrey gathered, he reveals that the twin present is Leo. He caused Elias to fall from the cliff by stomping on his hand. A furious Audrey, realizing he killed her adored Elias, shoots Leo dead. Nick is about to fly off when an idea comes to him.

Returning to the Vardakis's, Nick finds Penelope. She reveals that the plan had been for Leo to set her free, but he decided to take Elias's identity and also force her to stay. This is why Penelope had hired Nick, to expose Leo.

In the end, Penelope convinces Nick to return home for his daughter.

Cast
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Nick Bali
Shailene Woodley as Penelope Vardakis
Richard Madden as Leo and Elias Vardakis
Clare Holman as Audrey
Babou Ceesay as Georges Mensah
Abbey Lee as Monique
Production
The adapted screenplay was penned by Roberto Bentivegna with revisions by Matt Charman. Makeready's Brad Weston produced the film, with Faliro House serving as the local production entity. Joseph Gordon-Levitt executive produced alongside Jo Nesbø, Niclas Salomonsson, Tom Karnowski and Makeready's Collin Creighton.[1] Principal photography began in April 2023.[2] Filming locations include the Greek island of Crete.[1]

Release
The film was released by Amazon Prime Video on September 26, 2024.[3]

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 19% of 21 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.2/10.[4]

References
Jackson, Angelique (April 3, 2023). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden to Star in 'Killer Heat' for Amazon Studios". Variety. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
Villei, Matt (April 20, 2023). "Richard Madden's Next Film Is 'Killer Heat' and It's Filming Now". Collider. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
McArdle, Tommy (September 12, 2024). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley Get to the Bottom of a Murder in Killer Heat Trailer (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
"Killer Heat". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
External links
Killer Heat at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
vte
Jo Nesbø
Harry Hole series
The Bat (1997)Cockroaches (1998)The Redbreast (2000)Nemesis (2002)The Devil's Star (2003)The Redeemer (2005)The Snowman (2007)The Leopard (2009)Phantom (2011)Police (2013)The Thirst (2017)Knife (2019)Killing Moon (2022)
Other novels
The Son (2014)Macbeth (2018)Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder series (2010–2018)
Other works
Stemmer fra Balkan (1999)Karusellmusikk (2001)Okkupert (2015)
Adaptations
Headhunters (2011)The Snowman (2017)The Hanging Sun (2022)Killer Heat (2024)
See also
Di Derre
Categories: 2024 films2020s American films2020s English-language filmsFilms shot in GreeceFilms shot in CreteFilms based on Norwegian novelsFilms based on works by Jo Nesbø
Killer Heat is a crime thriller film featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley in the lead roles. It is directed by Philippe Lacote, and Roberto Bentivegna has done the screenplay with Matt Charman. It is already streaming on OTT.

Where to watch Killer Heat?

Killer Heat is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The streaming platform shared the trailer on X and captioned, "Jealousy can drive anyone to the edge. Killer Heat, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden arrives September 26."

Jealousy can drive anyone to the edge. Killer Heat, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden arrives September 26. pic.twitter.com/4t4LMxvugT

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) September 12, 2024
Plot

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The plot revolves around a strange murder that takes place on an island. But things take an exciting turn when a woman calls a detective, Nick Bali, to investigate the case because she doesn't trust the local police. As time passes, Nick finds the case more complicated. Will he be able to uncover the truth? The film reveals this.

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Cast and production of Killer Heat

The cast of the film includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Nick Bali, Richard Madden as Leo Vardakis / Elias Vardakis, Shailene Woodley as Penelope Vardakis, Clare Holman as Audrey, Abbey Lee as Monique and Babou Ceesay as Georges Mensah, among others.

The crime thriller film is an adaptation of Jo Nesbo's book, The Jealousy Man. It is produced by Brad Weston under Amazon MGM Studios, Faliro House, and Makeready. The cinematography is done by Andrew Dunn and Jay Cassidy has edited the film with Nail Smith.