This is the first feature from actor Jordan Peele, who both wrote and directed it. His acting career has veered between comedy and more serious fare, such as his role in the hard-boiled TV series Fargo. For his debut movie he has chosen horror as the genre, laced with just a touch of comedy to relieve the tension. Overall this is a terrific film, certainly one of the best, and most thoughtful, horror films to appear in the last few years.
The background to Sicario’s story is the premise that the war on drugs cannot be won by playing by the rules. Or even that the war on drugs cannot be won at all, as it it has become a self-defeating prophecy: an endless war with drug lords pursuing ever more creative ways of going underground and at the same time embracing ever more violent ways to achieve their goals. Trying to get some kind of control back over this is not for the weak.