FILM REVIEW: 'KILL LIST'
U.K. Filmmaker Ben Wheatley Directs a Cult-Like Film High on Shock Value
(IFC Films) There are sensibilities European filmmakers and audiences are accustomed to that require a little more patience among American counterparts. Ben Wheatley’s Kill List is one such film where audiences across the pond may be more amenable to the amount of gore and shock-value scenes than the typical American moviegoer. Then again, Kill List is not a film for a laissez-faire film fan. Starring Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Michael Smiley, and Harry Simpson, Kill List may well be one of the best “horror” films of 2012. Why the quotes? Well, Kill List is actually quite a genre-bender, but the film’s gory peaks and payoff finale are all too strong to not at least consider the film predominantly horror, albeit not a horror flick by traditional markers.
Perhaps Kill List could be best identified as a psychological horror -- a film delving into the depths of humanity’s darkest corner. Add in a substantive mix of deep family drama and raw action-thriller, and what audiences get is a gripping film filled with intense storytelling dashed with shocking jump-out-of-your-seat gore. Topping it all off is a shocking, twisted ending that is sure leave audiences questioning just how dark humans are capable of being.
What makes Kill List quite an intriguing production is, ironically, its subtlety. The irony exists because Wheatley appears to hold nothing back, be it a series of hard husband-wife arguments in the presence of their son and close friends, or when the film’s lead character, Jay (Maskell), turns a human head into a piñata -- leaving nothing to the imagination.
Despite quite a few boldly graphic scenes – including a rabbit-skinning and the viewing of the insides of a man’s entire midsection – Wheatley’s big payoff actually sneaks up on you. One moment, you will think you are watching the exposition of a man struggling to keep his domestic and professional lives in order. As the film progresses, Kill List has the look and feel of a taut thriller, telling the story of an almost-lonesome hitman and his disturbingly dark partner taking on a series of assignments in order to make ends meet.
By film’s end, Kill List is every bit the horror film it advertises itself to be, with every character we were quietly introduced to earlier suddenly – and quite loudly – descending upon eerie and rural woods far detached from civilization. The jump from testy domestic life to a family fighting to stay alive amidst being attacked by a mysterious and bloodthirsty cult is so subtle, it is easy to miss the changes. Interestingly enough, the entire story is laid out for audiences. If it were not for a few shockingly disturbing scenes and some intense drama, audiences would probably be able to pick up on the film’s gradual transitions.
That is what makes the film so intriguing. Wheatley delivers a captivating story that manages to maintain a high level of intensity while ever so slightly tweaking the way he tells his story. Kill List is as sadistic and shocking as it is subtle and sorrowed.
The story itself is seemingly straightforward. Jay is a former military man who has been out of work for eight months. His nagging wife, Shel (Buring), constantly reminds him of the financial struggles that lay ahead. One day, Gal (Smiley) visits the couple for dinner with his girlfriend (Emma Fryer). Gal comes bearing an assignment that would result in a solid payday for both him and Jay.
Of course, the devil is in the details, and what seems to be a routine hitman gig soon turns out to be an assignment Jay no longer wants to be a part of, big payday be damned. Hitting the eject button is not so easy, it turns out, and before he knows it, Jay is suddenly subjected to his own fear and paranoia – all of which leads to a hair-raising and wildly horrific finale.
To be sure, Kill List is not for everyone, yet it may indeed earn a spot on the must-watch lists of many film fans this year looking for something edgy and off the beaten path.
For Fans Of: Down Terrace, A Film with Me in It, A Very British Gangster
Why We Like It: Twisted ending, graphic scenes, genre-bending
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