Review: Kill List

Director: Ben Wheatley

Cast: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Burning, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley

Running Time: 95mins

Certificate: 18

Synopsis: Eight months after a disastrous job in Kiev left him physically and mentally scarred, ex- soldier turned contract killer, Jay, is pressured by his partner, Gal, into taking a new assignment. As they descend into the dark and disturbing world of the contract, Jay begins to unravel once again – his fear and paranoia sending him deep into the heart of darkness.

We might as well say it straight out of the box, KILL LIST is one of the best British films in the last ten years easily. That said, there isn’t too much that can be discussed about the film without ruining the mystery behind it.

KILL LIST harks back to the Seventies when the great British films reigned supreme with films like GET CARTER and other, aesthetically low-budget features, bursting with story ideas and potential. The film is full of surprises, starting as a kitchen sink  Mike Leigh-style drama about ex-solider Jay (Neil Maskell), who has a young family suffering from money trouble. He’s been reluctant to return to work for the past eight months which is causing all sorts of strife from his wife. It comes out later through the introduction of his best friend and co-worker, Gal (Michael Smiley) that its due to some sort of traumatic experience that happened in Kiev. He decides to take on a new job.

Now the film takes a swift turn showing that the Northern family man is actually an assassin, albeit one with a conscience, but still a killer. He and Gal meet a man who provides them with a kill list. It contains three names, all of whom we discover are truly horrible individuals, snuff filmmakers and the like. From here Jay loses it as things become sicker and more dangerous than a regularcontract. This is when the film takes another turn which I won’t mention as the end can be easily guessed, but this does not stop the enjoyment of the film.

It is a very intense piece of cinema with many moments of extreme violence such as knees, hands and hands smashed with hammers, hangings, stabbings and a whole manner of other horrors. But while there are many disturbing or incredibly intense moments on the screen, a large portion of these are punctuated with a laugh to dissipate the tension. This works so well due to the lengthy and effective amount of time dedicated to the character at the start of the film that makes you feel for Jay, Shel (the wife) and Gal. This set-up in the first act also helps to create some great foreshadowing which you don’t see ogten any more. Briefly, one of the great things about the film is the sound design in the last act, which again I will not talk about, is hauntingly effective and straight away raises the film above the genre it finds itself in.

KILL LIST is director Ben Wheatley’s second feature and he has already made the talent involved something to watch out for with his skillful genre mixing, character based drama, designing a highly marketable symbol and done for the ultra low cost of half a million.

KILL LIST is out 2nd September 2011, go and see it and hope you don’t find yourself on the kill list.