🎬 A 2011 Jeffrey Dean Morgan thriller with a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score? Fans are still obsessed. 🤔

It’s hard to ignore The Walking Dead star, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, but this 2011 true crime thriller might surprise you—even with a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score! 😱

Why are TWD fans still recommending it, despite the low ratings? 🤨

Some say it’s a hidden gem that delivers suspense and a performance you won’t forget.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is currently reprising his role of Negan Smith on The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2, which has reunited him with his infamous bat Lucille. But while many consider Negan to be his most memorable character, the actor has appeared in countless movies, including a 2011 movie that shouldn’t be overlooked. In 2025, he voiced Wolf Fang in an episode of the Disney Channel animated sitcom Big City Green, and he also appeared alongside Jack Quaid in the thriller Neighborhood Watch.

While waiting for new episodes of The Walking Dead: Dead City every Sunday evening on AMC, fans can also check out Morgan’s 2011 thriller, which once again proves he’s an impressive actor who takes on a variety of interesting roles.

The Walking Dead Fans Will Love Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s 2011 Thriller Texas Killing Fields

Jeffrey Dean Morgan starred in Texas Killing Fields as Brian Heigh, a homicide detective in Texas City. Heigh works alongside Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) on a haunting and disturbing case involving a girl’s murder. When Ann Sigler (Chloë Grace Moretz) goes missing, Brian knows that he can’t turn his back on this case, and he’s determined to discover the killer. Like Negan’s most haunting The Walking Dead episodes,

Morgan has starred in many horror movies, including The Possession and the 2024 slasher Bloody Axe Wound, but Texas Killing Fields is more somber than those two films. That’s because the movie is based on a true story. The real events were also the subject of the limited series Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields. According to Netflix.tudum.com, the bodies of 35 women were discovered in an area in-between Galveston and Houston, Texas.

Whether playing a hardened detective like in Texas Killing Fields or an agent in the 2018 monster movie Rampage, Morgan has a likable quality that makes him memorable. The movie also came at an interesting time in his career. He played earnest patient Denny Duquette on Grey’s Anatomy from 2006 to 2009, starred in 2009’s Watchmen, and took on the true crime genre in Texas Killing Fields in 2011. At that point, he was known for playing likable characters.

Then, in 2016, as he was wrapping up his arc as Alicia Florrick’s (Julianna Margulies) love interest Jason Crouse on The Good Wife, he began playing Negan. In a 2016 interview with Variety, the actor reflected on being cast as Negan and compared his TV background to his new villain character, who made a big impression on him. Morgan said:

“The last few years I’ve always been a decent guy, a good guy, so to speak — a little gruff and rough around the edges but basically a good guy — in TV anyway. And Negan, I realize he’s a bad guy and I realize that he’s maybe one of the most well-rounded villains that we’re gonna see on any screen in a long time.”

Texas Killing Fields Had A Low Rotten Tomatoes Score, But Fans Praised The Performances

Texas Killing Fields has a low Rotten Tomatoes score of only 39%. It’s also rated 28% on the Popcornmeter. However, there are many positive reviews of the film on Rotten Tomatoes, and many people praised the performances. One wrote, “Strong movie, good acting.” Another said, “well cast and well acted.” Another review said, “Powerful script and powerful acting.”

What other cast members starred in Texas Killing Fields?

Jessica Chastain
Sheryl Lee
Annabel Gish
Jason Clarke

In an interview with Fangoria.com, director Ami Canaan Mann shared that Bradley Cooper was originally cast as Heigh, but wasn’t able to appear in Texas Killing Fields after all due to his schedule. While Cooper, who has starred in underrated movies like Midnight Meat Train and voiced Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, would have been great, Morgan’s knack for playing complicated characters made him the perfect choice.