If You’re Hooked on ‘American Hostage,’ Watch This 106-Minute Bill Skarsgård Crime Thriller

MGM+’s American Hostage series has been thrilling audiences with the real life story of Tony Kiritsis, an Indiana man who, in the 1970s, took hostage the mortgage broker he blamed for having ruined his life. The show, which stars Giovanni Ribisi as Kiritsis and Jon Hamm as radio host Fred Heckman, has been earning rave reviews, but it’s not the only adaptation of Kiritsis’s story. In fact, it wasn’t even the only attempt to tackle the tale in the last 12 months. Last year, iconic director Gus Van Sant released a feature film version of the events, Dead Man’s Wire — this time with Bill Skarsgård, refreshingly out of the monster makeup, as the infamous hostage taker.

‘Dead Man’s Wire Keeps Its Focus on Tony Kiritsis

In 1977, Tony Kiritsis, a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana, made national headlines when he decided to take matters into his own hands in violent fashion. Feeling that he had been wronged by Richard Hall, a mortgage broker, Kiritsis took Hall hostage, taping the muzzle of a shotgun to the back of his head, with a “dead man’s wire” attached. If anyone tried to shoot or subdue Kiritsis, the wire would be tripped and Hall killed. Kiritsis’s goal wasn’t to murder his perceived oppressor; he wanted to be heard and have his wrongs made right, taking his grievances to TV stations and radio anchor Fred Heckman.

American Hostage and Dead Man’s Wire take different approaches to the material. The series centers its focus mainly on Hamm as Heckman, while Van Sant’s adaptation instead keeps the attention glued on Kiritsis, with Colman Domingo in a smaller role as Heckman. This decision is everything. Since American Hostage is a series, it could step back, taking its time to examine the bigger themes of greed and its effects on society. While Dead Man’s Wire touches on this through Kiritsis’s words, it lives in the moment of the hostage taking.

Van Sant, as he has proven often, is not out to be sensationalist. Just as his previous provocative film, Elephant, didn’t exploit school shootings and turn them into an action spectacle, American Hostage is not about pulsating music, camera zoom-ins and Kiritsis shown coming unglued as some madman stereotype. Instead, the film plays out at a slow pace, almost like a documentary. This can be frustrating for some, with the lack of Hollywood dramatization lessening the impact, but Van Sant sees the value of the realism, including an impressive attention to detail in catching the feel of ’70s Midwest muck. This isn’t Hollywood. It’s life without glamor.

In an interview with Collider, Van Sant spoke about how Dead Man’s Wire was filmed before the 2024 Presidential election or the murder of Brian Thompson in New York City by Luigi Mangione. He wasn’t trying to speak about larger themes going on today; rather, he sought to connect with the audience by “speaking to the stress of modern life.” Without Donald Trump or Mangione, the issues everyday Americans struggle with still remain. “Business as usual, like today, is kind of stressful,” Van Sant offered. “I mean, mortgages in particular, bank accounts, insurance, everything is stressful anyway.” Dead Man’s Wire hooks the viewer with a message we can all relate to. You don’t have to want to hurt those in power who have held you down to understand what caused Kirtisis to take such desperate measures.

Bill Skarsgård Challenges Himself in a Move Away From Horror Monsters

Image via Row K Entertainment

Dead Man’s Wire is filled with incredible talent. Besides Domingo, there’s Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) as Hall, who is portrayed as a man scared for his life, not an archetypal rich villain we can’t connect with. Van Sant doesn’t want the viewer to root for his demise. Al Pacino has a bit part as Richard Hall’s father, M.L. Hall. This is fitting, as Dead Man’s Wire shares so much in common, from its themes to its raw visuals, with Dog Day Afternoon.

To capture the genuine pain and realism of such a story required a special actor in the lead, and Van Sant found the perfect man for the job in Skarsgård. This is his movie, a nice change of pace from his usual portrayal of monsters like IT‘s Pennywise and the titular vampire of Nosferatu. Still sporting a mustache, Skarsgård is purposely restrained, letting the immense weight of his eyes tell us what Kiritsis is feeling. Van Sant could have easily dramatized the man with over-the-top scenes of a maddening breakdown and violence. But if you want that type of predictable suspense, you won’t find it here. Kirtsis is just a man who could be you or me. He’s awkward, and he has no clue what he’s doing. Desperation has driven him to a breaking point, and with his down-to-earth nature and sense of humor, Kiritsis could be someone worth wanting to know — if not for the gun he holds to another man’s skull. Still, he’s not a man to be taken lightly. He’s an unpredictable ball of tension who can pull the trigger at any moment.

American Hostage is a great series worth checking out. It accurately captures themes still prevalent in society half a century later. Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire captures the man. It pulls the viewer in with its immediacy and a realness that doesn’t disrespect the story. This is a man in America pushed too far. It doesn’t need Hollywood tricks to add anything else.

Dead Man’s Wire

Release Date

January 9, 2026

Runtime

105 minutes

Director

Gus Van Sant

Writers

Austin Kolodney