Kill List (2012)

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  May 25, 2012

  MrMarakai

  In 2009, Ben Wheatley made his directorial debut with crime drama "Down Terrace". It gained him some recognition but he wasn't overly talked about. A mere two years later, he delivered this. Like it or not, Wheatley has now captured the attention of many.
  Having not worked for ... read morenearly a year, contract killer Jay (Neil Maskell) is nagged by his wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) to start earning again. As a result, he takes on a new assignment with his partner Gal (Michael Smiley) to kill three successive targets that will pay lucratively. Things look simple on the surface but darker events soon begin to unravel.
  As the movie opens, a white symbol scribes upon a black background. It almost resembles one of Anarchy or possibly the Occult. It could easily be ignored but it would be wise to pay heed as it may give you a better understanding of this discordant mystery. As quick as the symbol appears... it's gone. We then delve straight into working class British drama territory; an arguing dysfunctional family, financial constraints and characters with dangerous demeanours. Credit must go to the director for his use of a rarely static camera in the opening. It adds to the complete involvement of the viewer and the contribution from his editor Robin Hill also deserves mention. The clever editing techniques add to an ever growing intensity as we become embroiled in bigger and more deadly affairs.
  In gritty urban drama's there are normally people that are tortured or struggling souls but rarely is a deeper moral scale explored from the perspective of the everyday man. The lead character of Jay loves his family but he also happens to be a hired killer. Him and his friend Gal are painted as being human with in-human actions and they even see their murders as justifiable. They don't conform to society as a whole and as we observe their "Kill List", white captions appear on-screen informing us of who the intended victims are - "The Priest", "The Librarian" and "The M.P." Do these 'hits' reflect or allude to their eradication of religion, academia and politics from society? Their anarchistic behaviour alluding to the film's opening symbol? That's only part of the ambiguity involved here. Some actions from the key characters are unexplained, not to mention the unravelling of the film. There is an extreme shift in genre. It discards it's dramatic approach completely and heads full-on into horror territory as it explores the possibility of inner demons and evil at work - this time, the allusion of the symbol being related to the occult. This in turn throughs up questions as to the stability of the protagonists mental health. The shift in tone is uneasy and it's audacity throws you off but it's nonetheless intriguing.
  Whether there is a message involved or not, will no doubt confound and insight debate. That, in my eyes, is always a good thing and at the very least, there's no denying this type of unconventional filmmaking is admirable and well delivered.
  Director Ben Wheatley could very well have a big future ahead if this is anything to go by. The same could be said of the leads in Neil Maskell and Michael Smiley; they show a good camaraderie together and deliver realistic and powerful performances.
  Be aware that the ending of this film travels far down the road of ambiguity. Don't expect it to make complete sense but what you can expect, is for it to deliver visceral, unsettling and thought provoking material.

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  April 7, 2012

  rubystevens

  gah! ok i really don't wanna say too much but i don't understand the rave reviews this film got. it has a terrific buildup but that makes the complete lack of payoff even worse! for two thirds of the film i was on the edge of my seat...and then it sailed off into some painfully ... read moreobvious homage to a beloved cult classic. needless to say i knew exactly what would happen from that point onward. i hate it when that happens!

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  March 13, 2012

  LorenzoVonMatterhorn

  "Thank you..."
  
  Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
  
  ... read morelbook">REVIEW
  Kill List is one of those films that tells it's story in a deliberately oblique way; we think we are watching one thing when we are, in fact, watching something else entirely so that we are as essentially clueless as to what is going on as Jay is. We, at least, get the chance to rewind in order to figure out just what's been going on - and trust me, you'll have to watch Kill List at least twice to even begin to figure it out.
  
  The final fifteen minutes almost seem to be from a different film at first, but what appear to be unimportant early scenes are given a resonance by what occurs later - the knockabout family game in the garden, for example - and the plot follows a rigid course marked with signs that, in retrospect, clearly illustrate the reasons such a brutal fate awaits Jay: his psychotic capacity for violence which is held at bay by the pills he takes, his 'acceptance' of an offering which he believes to be from the family cat, his clash with the born-again Christians, all offer subtle clues as to how and why he is singled out by the members of a Satanic cult.
  
  Although the film is ultimately a horror movie, it begins as some kind of Mike Leigh domestic drama before changing into a character study, then briefly going off at a tangent to become a revenge thriller. Nothing and nobody are as they seem, and already the internet is littered with theories and interpretations as to what it all means. However, that ending, although on analysis entirely logical, when first viewed does not sit well with the rest of the film, and will leave most viewers (including myself) asking too many questions. The acting, by a largely unknown cast, is great, especially from the two male leads, who are helped immeasurably by a realistic and naturalistic script by the director and his wife.

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  January 27, 2012

  romy861

  I would say this movie had potential, but it was executed badly.
  The pacing in the beginning is excruciatingly slow. A man with a wife and young son has been out of work for eight months and the money has started to run out causing arguments. You then find out his profession i... read mores a hit man, and even stranger, the wife has no problem with it and leaps at the chance for him to do some more "jobs" with an old colleague.
  Thrown into the mix is the old colleagues new girlfriend, Fiona, who seems to be slightly satanic and the fact that this man starts to enjoy the killings too much to the point he seems to be losing his mind.
  Between Fiona's strange behaviour and the way the man is behaving, and the way all his victims keep thanking him as he does unspeakable things to them, it seems like something quite interesting might be coming in the story.... unfortunately it's not.... it's actually quite stupid and not only does it make no sense, you will probably be cross you wasted your time sitting through the boring (and revolting killing scenes), to get to it.

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  January 4, 2012

  SirPant

  Absurdly over-hyped by film-folk, I can't believe Total film gave it 5 stars!!! Ben Wheatley has talent and knows his stuff but I can't help but think he got this one wrong. It is full of suspense and it has it's powerful moments of uncomfortable intensity which I won't deny are ... read morevery well done, it's just that in the end what you essentially have, is a Brit Gangster film vs. Brit 70's horror filmed in a Dogme style without being as good as that might sound. I understand the conclusion as well, I realise the situation - I just didn't think it was very clever and the build up only added to the feeling of being let down in the end. Michael Smiley was good though, he will always be Tyres O'Flaherty to me though.

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  December 25, 2011

  fb100001050230219

  Ben Wheatley's ''Kill List'' is like 3 films in one. It's a character study, an intense thriller and a terrifying horror all wrapped into one. But where ''Kill List'' succeeds is how it blends these three things together to make a very effective horror/thriller film. The performa... read morences are terrific, with Michael Smiley standing out in my view. Ben Wheatley's direction is terrific and the script has some great lines that make for some great dark comedy at points.
  ''Kill List'' will stay with me for days. Though the last 15 minutes may seem out of place to some, it was the most effective part of the film for me. The film explodes into action here and the tension that Wheatley has so wonderfully created throughout the film is increased to new levels. The final 5 minutes in particular are brutal, intense and shocking (not due to the violence, but in terms of the story). ''Kill List'' is a very uncomfortable film to watch, but as I believe that was Wheatley's intention, it makes it a very effective horror film with real drama and engaging characters.

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  September 23, 2011

  mumby1988

  It's fast becoming a cliché of my reviews to say that a sign of a promising filmmaker is their ability to retune generic conventions to create something both unique and conscious of its place. Like Guillermo Del Toro's Cronos some 18 years before it, Kill List is a triumph on the... read morese terms, moving between distinct genres in a smooth and disturbing manner. And while it never entirely live up to the hype, Ben Wheatley's second film is nonetheless a nuanced, brutal and remarkable thriller.
  
  Kill List's relationship with genre is such that it can move between the territories of three completely different films in a way which is totally seamless. It begins very much in the verité, kitchen-sink style: the dinner party scenes are shot with intimate hand-held cameras, and contain the same level of repressed, explosive tension which is present in the work of Mike Leigh. In its middle act it moves firmly into hitman thriller territory, showing our two male characters going about their business and struggling to pass the time in between jobs. Finally it moves into full-blooded supernatural horror, with an ending which, while somewhat incoherent, is strange and terrifying.
  
  The film's relationship with horror is anchored in two particular films. The first is Angel Heart, Alan Parker's stylish and graphic re-telling of Faust which retools the conventions of film noir. There is the same feeling of the world, or perhaps the devil, slowly closing in on our troubled central protagonist. Like Harry Angel, Jay unknowingly refuses every offer of help and disregards any chance of salvation. While Harry turns down an egg, saying that he has a thing about chickens, Jay threatens the leader of the Christian group at the hotel, saying he will make him swallow a plate if he doesn't stop playing his guitar.
  
  The other horror reference point for Kill List is The Wicker Man (although, as I mentioned in my review, its status as a horror film could be disputed). The main comparison is in the role of a pagan or supernatural cult, drawing our protagonist to a certain place and time where he will, to coin a phrase, cast off his former nature. There is a subversion of The Wicker Man's climax in the ending of Kill List: rather than being sacrificed by the cult, he is subversively accepted, with the murder of his final victims being an initiation. But the film utilises pagan-esque imagery through, particularly in the recurring image of the three-pronged gallows.
  
  In terms of its contribution to the horror and thriller genres, the film attempts to do what Dead Man's Shoes did for the revenge thriller. Shane Meadows' gripping film, perhaps the best of its kind since Get Carter, pushes the revenge conventions as far as it can, and then pulls the rug out from under us with an ending which shows the deep humanity which has been destroyed by what has unfolded. Kill List doesn't quite achieve that level of power, but it still manages to find the human suffering in amongst the brutal violence and generic conventions, and for that it deserves to be praised.
  
  In its opening sections, Kill List examines the mental and psychological state of soldiers returning home after military action. Jay loves his family but is unable to readapt to the demands of modern life. When his son asks for a bedtime story, he recalls a mission in the Middle East, changing the place to 'Baghdadistan' in a vague attempt to claim it wasn't real. Even something as simple as doing the shopping is beyond him; at the beginning of the film his partner berates him for coming back with nothing but tins of tuna and wine. These scenes tread close to the closing section of The Hurt Locker (amongst others), but they don't feel half as choreographed or forced.
  
  The film, and its opening section in particular, hangs on the brilliant central performance of Neil Maskell. Having worked solidly in small supporting roles - including an appearance in Basic Instinct 2 - this could be the performance which brings him the attention he deserves. Jay is a complex ball of violent energy, being equally well-meaning and sociopathic, and displaying the same impulsive passion for violence as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. You spend the film trying to figure him out, wondering exactly what happened in Kiev, while all the time being terrified that if he looks at you the wrong way, you could be next.
  
  When it becomes a thriller, Kill List uses the various killings of Jay and Gal to hold up a mirror on society's attitude to violence. There is an implication that the targets are involved in creating or distributing extreme forms of pornography; although we never see the evidence, we come to believe that children are involved. The film is a snapshot of public outrage at sex scandals and paedophilia, with each of the people on the list being associated with such acts: one is a priest, one a librarian, and one an MP. Jay is the expression of the public's anger, the embodiment of all those vitriolic texts and letters to tabloid newspapers. By having him go so far to achieve his goal, the film demonstrates that, if provoked in a particular way, we are capable of acting without any concept of mercy, morality or restraint.
  
  When Ben Wheatley was interviewed about Kill List, he compared it to the Arthurian legends, particularly the stories of various knights proving their worth to join the Round Table. This would explain the connection with witchcraft and ties in further with The Wicker Man, with Jay's actions being one elaborate ruse to bring him into a demonic cult. The brutal nature of Jay's murders, coupled with the shocking death of his final victim(s), subvert whatever moral implications his actions had. In going so far in the name of what he thought was right, he has sunk further into the darkness; he has proved his worth, and been left a broken shell.
  
  There are subtle hints throughout the film that Jay may be the mark in this elaborate and macabre operation. When we first meet Gal, we find him likeable and jovial enough, but during the scenes in the hotel we begin to suspect that he may be more deeply involved. The meetings in the hotel, where Struan Rodger pays Jay and Gal for the killings, are akin to the scenes in Angel Heart where Louis Cyphre engages the services of Harry Angel. Finally, all of Jay's victims to heard to say "thank you" before he kills them - something which has drawn criticism because of its relationship to the violence.
  
  Kill List's biggest asset is its amazing sense of atmosphere. Its brilliant sense design, masterminded by Martin Pavey, creates an almost Lynchian level of unease. The film is deeply unnerving and intensely claustrophobic, and the recurrence of bells in Jim Williams' soundtrack hints at both the death knolls of the victims and the slow death of Jay and Gal as they journey deeper into the abyss. The moments of humour in the film, such as Gal explaining why they use an Astra rather than a BMW, are both brief moments of relief and every bit as awkward as the events around them.
  
  Even for seasoned horror fans, the violence in Kill List is incredibly brutal. It is perhaps the most brutal depiction of violence since Irreversible, which starts with someone getting their head smashed in with a fire extinguisher. The argument for the violence in Kill List is the same as it was 9 years ago: it is brutal and repulsive because there is nothing about these actions that are justifiable. One's tolerance of the violence will depend on the strength of one's stomach, something reinforced by the unflinching nature of Wheatley's camera. The knee-capping sequence is the real test, and many will regard this as being over-the-top.
  
  The more unsatisfying element of Kill List is its ending. In terms of narrative and genre, it adds up; there is nothing nonsensical or absurd about what happens to Jay and Gal. But this is also the point where the camerawork becomes deficient, and the film threatens to tip over into the more histrionic and boring end of found-footage. The tunnel sequence is really, really terrifying, but by the time we get to the fight it has started to drag, and the constant cutting to black does become annoying.
  
  Kill List is a remarkable second feature which is destined for cult status among horror fans. It fulfils the promise of Down Terrace as a film which is mindful of its place in genre but which also has thematic and character ambitions beyond that. It isn't quite the masterpiece that critics have claimed: the ending is a little incoherent, and many people will struggle to sit through the brutal violence. But there can be no denying its worth as a socially pertinent and deeply scary horror film, which at its best gives Angel Heart a run for its money.

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  January 13, 2012

  Nutterjr

  Although I suspect this is not everyone's cup of tea, if you see it through the end, you will find it hard to forget. An ex marine becomes a hit man upon his return from war. On his last assignment something (we never find out) goes horribly wrong which puts his whole psychosyn... read morethesis in an emotional rollercoaster. These internal battles and externalised violence, climax in a horrific ending.

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  September 21, 2011

  danieljparsons

  Kill List is a deeply upsetting but engrossing and well made film - for it's first hour anyway. Tension is mounted to perfection as our two assassins' decide to take on a new job after a prolonged sabbatical; three hits - a priest, a librarian, an MP. It should be straight... read moreforward, but of course it isn't. Jay (Neil Maskell - who is excellent) is clearly still messed up from some unspecified hit gone wrong in Kiev, and when the librarian's 'stash' is discovered, the pair realise they may be up to something sinister, and decide to go 'off list'. Up to this point the film never puts a foot wrong - the acting is superb, the dialogue feels natural (it was semi-improvised), the violence is both realistic and repellent and the story is gripping. The relationships are spot on. Strange touches add to the feeling that Kill List is something very different from your usual thriller. It's with the introduction of the 'horror' element when things start to go iffy. I'm a massive genre fan, and have absolutely no problem with a film making an about turn. But here, despite earlier 'clues' (what was that strange insignia scratched on the back of the mirror? what's with the dead cat? why all the "thank-you"s?) the change is like a completely different, and I have to say, utterly unoriginal film has been pasted over the final reels. I'm surprised just how many critics don't have a problem with it, citing the like of The Wicker Man as a clear influence and praising a purity of vision. From my point of view, I was more reminded of the terrible ending of The Last Exorcism, and in the final reveal, A Serbian Film (which is not something to be proud of). I kept hoping for a different resolution that would make more sense, or ate least leave me satisfied. It didn't happen, and in the end I was left feeling cheated. It's a shame, as the cast and crew clearly have loads of talent, much of which is evident in the more successful first two thirds. Hopefully the director's next project will be better.

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  January 10, 2012

  John2223

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• Neil Maskell as Jay
• Michael Smiley as Gal
• MyAnna Buring as Shel
• Emma Fryer as Fiona
• Harry Simpson as Sam
• Struan Rodger as The Client
• Esme Folley as Hotel Receptionist
• Ben Crompton as Justin
• Gemme Lise Thornton as Kiera

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

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  The Last Exorcism (100%)
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  A Serbian Film (100%)
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  Dead Man's Shoes (50%)
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  Martyrs (0%)

• • Jay: One, two, three.
• • Jay: They should suffer.

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