Killing Emmett Young

Killing Emmett Young

In order to avoid the debilitating effects of a terminal illness, a young detective orders a hit on himself.

2002104 min5.4 / 10

A dark, existentially weighted thriller about a dying detective racing against his own arranged death while hunting a serial killer, grappling with mortality and meaning in his final days.

In the Philadelphia police department, Emmett Young is a hotshot, a workaholic newly promoted to homicide. He learns he has a disease that will soon kill him painfully, so he hires a stranger to arrange his own death. With one eye on the calendar (he's allowed a few days' grace before his murder), he pursues a final case, the serial killing of young women. Emmett develops a profile of the assailant. Meanwhile, his fixer hires an ex-cop to kill Emmett, a lonely security guard whom the fixer taunts and belittles. In this limited time, can Emmett sort out what's important?

Essence

Ensemble

Closest match

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same mood

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Go darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Something gentler

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Hidden gem

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.