Thanks to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the floodgates have been opened for R-rated content to make its way to the family-friendly company’s streaming service, but it’s brand new feature film Boston Stranger that’s snuffed out the competition to become one of the platform’s biggest hits.
While it may have been marketed and released as a Hulu original in the United States, the 1960s-set deep dive into how trailblazing reporter Loretta McLaughlin became the first person to connect a string of murders in the titular city has been unleashed upon unsuspecting Disney Plus subscribers in a multitude of international markets.
As a result, writer and director Matt Ruskin’s slow-burning and hard-hitting historical investigation has soared right to the very top of the viewership ranks in no less than 27 countries around the world, per FlixPatrol. Just when you thought no more on-demand curve-balls could be thrown, along comes an R-rated serial killer thriller to take its place at the summit of Disney’s streamer.
Well-received by critics and largely appreciated by audiences, Boston Strangler may not be the most salacious or sensational entry in its genre of choice, but several standout performances – with Keira Knightley in particular reminding everyone why she’s touted as one of her generation’s top talents – ensuring that the overwhelming obsession we collectively have for death, slaughter, and mass murder has thrown up another winner.
You wouldn’t expect Disney to be the culprits, though, but given that the studio is now overseeing Alien and Predator to name but two, it’s something we’ll need to get used to.