Interview With the Assassin (2002)

67% of critics liked it
(57 reviews)
51% of users liked it
(1,226 ratings)

The old man who lives across the street, Walter Ohlinger (Raymond J. Barry), invites his neighbor, Ron Kobeleski (Dylan Haggerty), over because he has a secret that he's never told anyone: He claims he was the grassy knoll assassin who shot John F. Kennedy and wants Haggerty to document his… More The old man who lives across the street, Walter Ohlinger (Raymond J. Barry), invites his neighbor, Ron Kobeleski (Dylan Haggerty), over because he has a secret that he's never told anyone: He claims he was the grassy knoll assassin who shot John F. Kennedy and wants Haggerty to document his confession. He has the bullet casing which he saved and says there is one witness left alive who can prove his story. The two search for the man that hired Ohlinger, but are thwarted by mysterious forces who seemingly wish to keep Ohlinger's story suppressed. Interview With the Assassin is shot almost completely from the perspective of Haggerty's video camera and it ties in a number of well-known Kennedy-assassination-related conspiracy theories, though doesn't mix them all up like Oliver Stone's JFK. ~ Adam Bregman, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Neil Burger
Written By: Neil Burger
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: May 9, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Jun 17, 2003
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
I haven't yet decided whether Burger is exposing our paranoia or exploiting it, but if people are more inclined to believe him than the Warren Report, is that his fault?
Walter Dawkins, Variety
Interview With the Assassin is a satisfying picture that like a pot of water on the stove keeps heating up until it explodes.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
This film offers a compelling scenario of what could have happened.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
[Barry] gives Assassin a disquieting authority.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Begins as a promising meditation on one of America's most durable obsessions but winds up as a slender cinematic stunt.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
In the end, the movie bogs down in insignificance, saying nothing about Kennedy's assassination and revealing nothing about the pathology it pretends to investigate.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
it adds no substantial insights into the mind of an assassin
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Rises above its modest production values and fairly simple idea by way of veteran character actor Raymond J. Barry's riveting performance.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Fascinating.
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
This schlock shocker, at once blunt and fine tuned, is a revealing sendup of America's peculiar paranoid affair with gun love culture and tabloid mythology.
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
It could've been a great thriller, but not once does Burger create a believable moment.
Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews
As for the script, it wanders around in circles when it should be building a sense of paranoia and menace.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
Barry convinces us he's a dangerous, secretly unhinged guy who could easily have killed a president because it made him feel powerful.
Marta Barber, Miami Herald
There are no big-name actors and no fancy camera work. But that's what makes it interesting.
Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Writer-director Burger imaginatively fans the embers of a dormant national grief and curiosity that has calcified into chronic cynicism and fear.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...best seen as speculative history, as much an exploration of the paranoid impulse as a creative sequel to the Warren Report.
Mike Ward, PopMatters
A Blair Witch-inspired mockumentary that, while based on a brilliant premise, is disappointingly bumpy nonetheless.
Robert Wilonsky, Dallas Observer
Works because we're never sure if Ohlinger's on the level or merely a dying, delusional man trying to get into the history books before he croaks.
Paul Salfen, Supercala.com
...an impressive and challenging piece of work.
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online
Whereas Oliver Stone's conspiracy thriller JFK was long, intricate, star-studded and visually flashy, Interview with the Assassin draws its considerable power from simplicity.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

William G

Intriguing enough mock doc about JFK's second shooter is propelled by performances.
alan j

loved the concept....effective camera work and superior acting by Barry..this makes the film all the more believable and is a chilling variation on the JFK conspiracy