[soliloquy id=”3966″]
Personally, I love Kill List.
Directed by Ben Wheatley, it’s different, it’s refreshing, it’s mind-boggling and it’s a clever movie.
Jay (Neil Maskell- Atonement) and Gal (Michael Smiley- The Other Boleyn Girl) are ex-army, estranged friends and old partners in crime. After a rowdy dinner party at Jay’s with his ex-partner and creepy new girlfriend Fiona (Emma Fryer) in tow he agrees to get back to business and take a big money job to help his disintegrating marriage to Shel (MyAnna Burling- The Descent) get back on track.
The job in question is a murder contract and the hit list targets are all responsible for various manifestations of evil though it’s not always explained what some of them did. One thing they all have in common though is that they are thankful to be killed by Jay. Something that not only bewilders the audience but Jay himself.
Kill List sneaks up on you and there is an uneasy hint of something growling beneath the surface, but the actors and their actions seem explainable on the level of ordinary reality.
Wheatley layers the non-action with skill, and really knows how to rack up the intrigue. Though Kill List’s deception sometimes seems messier than deliberate, it has controlled mystery and its dreadful final image has a lasting impact. Ben Wheatley not only knows how to make a movie, he knows how to make three at the same time.
Kill List is a bit of a slow burner, but by the end you’ll realize you’ve been sitting on a bonfire and your skin is blistered.
If you get excited by guessing plots when it comes to movies, Kill List will get the brain wondering what the hell is happening. And hell is happening.
Beware of the Hunchback.
I would definitely recommend Kill List to horror fans or anyone that is looking for something a bit different.
WICKED RATING: 7/10 [usr 7]
Title: Kill List
Directors: Ben Wheatley
Writer(s): Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump
Stars: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley
Year: 2011
Studio/ Production Co: Warp X, Rook Films
Budget: $500,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 95 mins
Sub-Genre: Crime, Thriller
