Piercing is a 2018 American psychological horror-thriller film written and directed by Nicolas Pesce, based on the novel of the same name by Ryū Murakami.

It stars Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, and Laia Costa, and features Maria Dizzia, Marin Ireland, and Wendell Pierce in supporting roles.

Piercing had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018 and was theatrically released on February 1, 2019, by Universal Pictures, to generally positive reviews from critics.

Reed stands over his infant daughter with an ice pick, while his wife sleeps across the room unaware.

However, he actually intends to rent a hotel room, hire the services of a sex worker, and go through with his meticulous plot of killing the person with an ice pick, while getting away with the crime.

They continually speak in double meaning, either conveying ideas of sex or murder, yet neither knows which intention the other has.

They eat, and Reed begins to suffer from violent and nightmarish hallucinations of people he's killed, notably his domineering mother who tortures him with a lit cigarette.

In February 2017, it was announced Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, Maria Dizzia, Marin Ireland and Wendell Pierce had joined the cast of the film, with Nicolas Pesce directing from a screenplay written by himself, based upon the novel of the same name[2] by Ryū Murakami.

The critical consensus states, "Stylish with a sadistic streak, Piercing pairs gripping lead performances with a smartly macabre story that delivers unpredictable thrills.

"[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.