ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Sometimes, the film release calendar feels like it’s winking at you. This weekend marks the debut of “How to Make a Killing,” a stylish thriller-comedy starring Glen Powell, and “Psycho Killer,” a well-shot, poorly-written serial killer slasher. Read our reviews of the deadly duo below.

“HOW TO MAKE A KILLING” (2026, 105 min., directed by John Patton Ford)

At this point, Glen Powell is doing it on purpose.

Following in the footsteps of Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” where Glen Powell kills people, wears silly disguises and falls in love, and Edgar Wright’s “The Running Man,” where Glen Powell kills people and wears silly disguises in the name of love, writer-director John Patton Ford’s “How to Make a Killing” features Glen Powell falling in love, killing people and wearing silly disguises. This is a delightful trademark for one of Hollywood’s fastest rising stars.

Fortunately for Powell’s penchant for playing a plethora of personas, the plot of “How to Make a Killing” necessitates kooky costumes.

Powell stars as Becket Redfellow, the youngest heir to the Redfellow family, a billionaire dynasty of New York elites. Becket, however, was born without a silver spoon in his mouth, thanks to the ostracization of his mother from the family following her teenage pregnancy. Becket’s mother later dies from a terminal illness, but tells her son to seek out the life he “deserves.”

Years later, fired from his job, Becket decides to murder every other family member who can make a claim to the family inheritance, which he has an irrevocable stake in, courtesy of a binding clause in a former Redfellow’s will. This is where the costumes come into play, as Becket dons guise after guise to kill the guys and gals in his way.

(Courtesy: A24) Glen Powell is killer in “How to Make a Killing.”

Upon Becket’s big decision, the film unveils itself as black comedy commentary on the lengths at which society will go to get rich. At least, it thinks it does. Like many of Becket’s subsequent assassinations, the movie is messy.

On one hand, the plot is straightforward enough, told mostly through flashbacks as present-day Becket relates his story to a priest mere hours before getting sent to the chair. Powell has a great voice for narration, but even without that added bonus, most of “How to Make a Killing” is creative, exciting and often very funny. The buildup to the first two kills, especially, is deliriously fun.

The film also looks great, shot by Todd Banhazl, costumed by Jo Katsaras and featuring handsome production design by Christian Huband, all of whom have yet to achieve the level of success they deserve.

(Courtesy: A24) Margaret Qualley gives a performance of middling quality in “How to Make a Killing.”

On the other hand, “How to Make a Killing” yearns to be a nihilistic indictment of the corruptive power of wealth, but its gags are a little too silly for its message to be taken seriously. Its performances are a little scattershot, too. Powell is terrific, but his co-stars run the gamut of quality, especially Margaret Qualley. Established character actors like Bill Camp, Zach Law and Ed Harris crush it as eccentric members of the Redfellow brood, but Qualley, who plays a love interest and antagonist to Becket in the film, does a baffling impression of Sarah Michelle Gellar in “Cruel Intentions” in most scenes, but brings a sly, cunning humor to others.

However, put your hands together for the real standout of the film. Jessica Henwick is undeniable.

Henwick, mostly known for small parts in Netflix fare like “Iron Fist,” “The Gray Man” and “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” is lights out in “How to Make a Killing.” Henwick plays Ruth, a woman Becket falls for during his familicidal crusade. The “girlfriend” role in Man Commits Crime flicks is notorious for being pretty thin, but Ruth is written with intelligence, agency and personality on the page, accentuated by Henwick’s naturalistic performance. The actor gave her most benign lines a spike of something interesting.

(Courtesy: A24) Jessica Henwick is the standout player of “How to Make a Killing.”

It helped that Henwick and Powell are electric together onscreen, just like Powell and Adria Arjona in “Hit Man,” Powell and Zoey Deutsch in “Set It Up” and Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones in “Twisters.” Powell would have chemistry with a rock. The energy between the two is hot, heavy and totally believable, which creates some legitimate tension when Becket risks the romance with his murder spree.

I hope “How to Make a Killing” makes a killing at the box office. This is one to seek out.

Rating: 3.5/5

“PSYCHO KILLER” (2026, 92 min., directed by Gavin Polone)

(Courtesy: 20th Century Studios) The “Satanic Slasher,” the titular murderer of “Psycho Killer.”

“Psycho Killer,” is scribed by Andrew Kevin Walker, who wrote “Se7en,” one of the greatest serial killer movies ever made. This is hilarious, considering on a script level, “Psycho Killer” is among the worst serial killer movies I’ve ever seen. Welcome to the first fun bad movie of 2026!

“Psycho Killer” stars Georgina Campbell, one of the preeminent scream queens of the 2020s. In “Psycho Killer,” Campbell scares up another quality performance as a state trooper on the hunt for the “Satanic Slasher,” the titular murderer played by the gravel-voiced James Preston Rogers. Campbell does her best with the material she is given, hollow, dumb and clumsy as it is. The “Barbarian” star has the sort of screen presence that makes her characters feel competent even when the lines she has to deliver are not.

The visuals aren’t the issue, either. Unlike the legions of bad cat-and-mouse detective film and television that followed “Se7en” and “The Silence of the Lambs” – the other obvious influence on this film – “Psycho Killer” looks pretty good. Director Gavin Polone and cinematographer Magnus Jønck rustle up some inventive camera angles and well-lit ambience for the uninspired kill scenes and laughably stupid detective work. Even if you want to laugh watching it, you can’t scoff looking at it.

“Psycho Killer” is a mishmash pile of serial killer tropes, but I’m hesitant to spoil which ones when I had such a hoot. My advice for a killer time? Grab a couple of bad movie loving buddies and go see it for yourself.

Rating: 2/5