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Kill List2011 | 95 min | BBFC: 18 | 2.39:1
The best horror movies tend to include the audience on the doomsday celebration, creating a sizable point of entry to develop a lasting feeling of dread. “Kill List” is a deliberately incomprehensible offering of terror from Ben Wheatley, a filmmaker with an obvious command of the motion picture arts, but not someone interested in laying down a welcome mat for visitors to his dark imagination. He’s a fascinating creative force carrying an unusual amount of aggression, with “Kill List” a feature sure to disturb anyone able to make it past the leisurely opening act. Mumbled and intentionally impenetrable, the effort is a taxing sit with enormously skillful screen elements, molded into an interpretive shocker that’s often not worth the time to unravel. 
Lost to depression and unemployment, former soldier Jay (Neil Maskell) is unable to provide for his aggravated wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) and son Sam (Harry Simpson). Growing tired of the arguments and the pressure, Jay turns to friend Gal (Michael Smiley) for help, accepting his partner’s offer to join him as a hitman, earning money picking off a diverse range of targets. At first in tune with the gig, Jay quickly uncovers a greater evil in play that begins to consume him, struggling to comprehend his assignments and their connection to one another. Trying to remain focused on the job, Jay and Gal work themselves into something sinister that threatens to overtake their lives. Wheatley is perhaps best known as the creator of “Down Terrace,” an extended plunge into the world of “kitchen sink” dramas, coordinating a largely improvised attempt at social realism, taking on working-class discontentment with two meaty hands. “Kill List” is a kissing cousin to his previous picture, detailing the roughhouse environment of Jay’s fractured household, where money troubles have created a divide between the hotheaded couple, who argue on an hourly basis, only to make-up when their venom is fully spent. Wheatley commences the story in a familiar manner, observing the dissolution of the domestic situation, finding Shel ready to tear out Jay’s throat, while Sam sits frightened up in room, dreading the separation of his parents. The opening act captures vicious arguments and mounting anxieties, leaving Jay with a refreshingly plausible motivation to join the cruel business of murder, having been depleted of his good sense and patience long ago -- a character trait the script ties to a mysterious event in Kiev during his tumultuous period of military service. 
The fights are bitter but the interplay is casual, frighteningly so, watching as the combatants take to verbal and physical sparring in a nonchalant manner -- a feel for chipped-tooth bonding that works into several moments of the film. However, once Jay and Gal set off on their underworld mission, “Kill List” switches gears, though not in any exaggerated manner. Wheatley and co-writer Amy Jump aim the material in a certain subtle direction that touches on sensitive spoiler territory, and while I won’t reveal the surprises of the picture, I will note that any concepts of a Statham-esque action playground of growls and guns is thrown out the window early on, replaced by etched cult symbols, contracts signed in blood, and victims who thank Jay and Gal profusely for the finality of their services. Wheatley loves to play obscure with “Kill List,” and he does so in a manner that doesn’t invite intense inspection. It’s almost an abstract viewing experience, barely tending to clues or suspicions, relying heavily on piercing soundtrack cuts (a classic David Lynch impulse Wheatley strokes until raw) and unspeakable violence to unnerve. Coherence isn’t the goal here, preferring an immersion into the unknown, making analysis practically impossible without understanding key pieces of the evil gradually swallowing the lives of the characters. “Kill List” can be a frustrating sit (with Brit accents as thick as gravy and often communicated through clenched teeth), building toward a revelation that’s loaded with intriguing shock value but annoyingly ill-defined, requiring a little more dramatic investment from the writers to penetrate in full. 
By the end of “Kill List” (a derivative climax, but potent nonetheless), it’s somewhat clear that the journey, with all of its conversations and unfinished puzzles, is the goal here, not a fleshed out portrait of Jay’s haunted existence. I could see fans devouring the symbols and vague behaviors on display here for years to come, but I’m not confident the pieces fit together, or were even meant to. Had “Kill List” revealed a little more of its internal logic and purpose, there might’ve been something substantial to dissect. Instead, the feature revels in its ambiguity, leaving behind an appreciation for its technical accomplishments, but growing impatience with its fruitless mystery. Starring: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley, Struan Rodger Director: Ben Wheatley » See full cast & crew |
 
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