Jacob Elordi and Zachary Quinto’s monkey business get murderous in road trip thriller He Went That Way
He Went That Way. // Photo by Jacinta Hayne
2023 was the year that Jacob Elordi took centerstage on the cinema landscape, graduating from his role on Euphoria to spotlight roles as sexualized superstars in Saltburn and Priscilla. With his star on a seemingly unstoppable rise ahead of award season, anyone sitting on another Elordi project would be a fool to not release it right now.
That’s how we get the surprise drop this week of a film 18 years in the making, based on a true story of a serial killer meeting a famous monkey, and the feature film directorial debut from someone who died in 2022.
Set in 1964, He Went That Way is a taut thriller based on a true crime story that puts a wicked spin on the buddy road trip film. The film follows 19-year-old serial killer Bobby (Jacob Elordi) as he is picked up by a celebrity animal handler, Jim (Zachary Quinto), on a desolate stretch of Route 66 with priceless cargo in tow: Jim’s chimpanzee, Spanky, an American TV darling. As stress between Bobby and Jim rises and their fiery personalities combust, the road only becomes more treacherous the farther they go.
He Went That Way is based on the true story of celebrity animal trainer Dave Pitts and his famous TV chimp Spanky, the stars of their traveling entertainment show The Ice Capades, and their fateful three-day encounter with serial killer Larry Lee Ranes.
The film is also based Luke Karamazov by Conrad Hilberry, a true crime book about a pair of brothers who were serial killers and Hilberry’s conversations with them while they served their sentences as well as their families and others who knew them.
Behind the lens, He Went That Way marks the feature directorial debut of Jeffrey Darling, who previously worked as a cinematographer on the films The Crossing, Young Einstein, Princess Kate, and The Place at the Coast. Sadly, Darling’s first movie is also his last, as he passed away in March of 2022. This film, 18 years in development for the screen, releases at a perfect time for it’s trending star and much of it subject matter, but only started debuting for audiences on the festival circuit after its helmer passed on.
He Went That Way. // Photo by Jacinta Hayne
With so many meta-narratives around the film and its subject matter, what does He Went That Way actually do with the material? Both more and less than you would expect. Does the film ever become more than its weirdo story of serial killer meets celebrity animal trainer for a multi-day kidnapping/road trip? No, the narrative does stray too far from dramatizing the events that occurred, but murderous roadtrip with famous chimp is certainly more than enough to work with. While there’s not much in terms of groundbreaking storytelling, Quinto and Elordi go “full theatre kid” on the material in the best possible ways. There’s a surprising heartfelt, tender tale at the heart of this, brought to life with a mix of bleak humor, character work, and queer exploration. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, and while it doesn’t reinvent the genre of leave you with any scenes that’ll stick in your memory, the overall piece is worth catching just for the skill on display throughout. Darling built something here from dedication and love, and it shows.
He Went That Way has limited theatrical release on January 5, 2024 and On Demand January 12, 2024.
