Baltimore rings in the new year under a very different kind of countdown, as an FBI manhunt closes in on a person terrorizing the city.

What is To Catch a Killer about?

"To Catch a Killer" opens on New Year's Eve in Baltimore, when a wave of violence disrupts the city's celebrations and puts investigators on the clock. A young police officer with real talent but a troubled personal history catches the eye of the FBI's chief investigator, who pulls her into the case as it develops. Together they work to build a profile of the person responsible, piecing together fragments of evidence and behavior while the pressure to stop further harm keeps mounting. The film leans into procedural detail, following how a task force reads a scene, argues over theories, and narrows a list of possibilities under a ticking clock. At the center of it is the officer's uneasy partnership with a seasoned federal investigator who sees potential in her instincts even as her methods clash with protocol. Their search for the person behind the attacks becomes as much about her own reckoning with the job as it is about the investigation itself, set against a Baltimore that feels both festive and on edge.

About the cast

Shailene Woodley anchors the film as the troubled young officer pulled into a high-stakes investigation, with Ben Mendelsohn as the FBI's chief investigator who recruits her. Jovan Adepo and Ralph Ineson round out the task force, alongside Rosemary Dunsmore, Jason Cavalier, Mark Camacho, and Darcy Laurie in this 2023 thriller directed by Damián Szifron.

Context & significance

Directed by Damián Szifron, best known for the sharp ensemble storytelling of "Wild Tales," "To Catch a Killer" trades dark comedy for a grounded, procedural crime thriller. At 119 minutes, it gives its manhunt room to breathe, favoring the texture of investigative work over pure spectacle, and it fits squarely alongside other character-driven American crime dramas that treat the hunt for a culprit as a study of the people conducting it.

Watching To Catch a Killer on Ktime

"To Catch a Killer" is available on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, so Farsi-speaking viewers can follow every beat of the investigation naturally. A free K-Time account login is all that's needed to start watching, and the platform's Farsi-first design is built specifically for the Iranian diaspora, keeping the whole experience in Persian from browsing to playback.