American Murderer (2022)

American Murderer is the kind of true-crime thriller that hooks you less with shock value than with the unnerving thrill of watching charm turn predatory in real time. Tom Pelphrey gives a magnetic, slippery performance as Jason Derek Brown—someone you can’t quite look away from—even as the film keeps tightening the screws with an eerie, cat-and-mouse momentum opposite Ryan Phillippe’s stubbornly focused FBI agent. Director Matthew Gentile leans into a sleek, tense vibe that feels both entertaining and quietly unsettling, the way the best crime dramas make you feel complicit just for being fascinated. It’s not for viewers who shy away from R-rated language, drugs, and some violence, but if you like dependable genre thrills anchored by a standout lead, this one delivers.

American Murderer wants to be a slick, true-crime cat-and-mouse thriller about charm, greed, and the slow tightening of the net, and you can feel the ambition in the setup. The problem is it plays out in a pretty workmanlike way—more like a dramatized case summary than a tense, stylish ride—so the suspense rarely lands and the familiar beats start to show. Tom Pelphrey does solid work selling Jason Derek Brown’s charisma, but the film around him doesn’t dig much deeper than the standard con-man template, and Ryan Phillippe’s FBI pursuit can feel more dutiful than gripping. If you’re hoping for a sharp, inventive crime drama with real edge and momentum, this may disappoint; if you just want a straightforward true-crime reenactment with decent performances, it’s serviceable.