Review: Kill List

   There are at least six promotional postcards for Kill List that can be found in the foyer of any good cinema showing Ben Wheatley’s visceral hitman thriller. On one side is the poster (a friggin’ ace poster. see above) and on the other side is a stark black and white image of something that plays an important part in the film; images range from a hammer to a noose to some malevolent woods. I have all six of these postcards on my wall, not only that but I have laid out twelve of them in a, if I do say so myself, aesthetically pleasing poster kind of format displaying the poster six times next to each of the aforementioned black and white images. That should give you some sense of my feeling towards this film. I absolutely, positively loved it. It is easily my favourite film of this year.

  So, this is a somewhat biased review. However I will do my darnedest to tell you why I love this film so much and not simply put “It’s excellent. Go and see it” over and over again.  

  Kill List tells the tale of two ex-soldier/hitmen who are carrying out their first job together in months. As the story unravels it becomes clear that their last job didn't exactly go according to plan and that Jay isn't the most calm and collected man you'll meet. After a tension filled dinner party and a quick chat in the basement Gal (Michael Smiley) persuades Jay (Neil Maskell) to “get back on the horse” and Jay firmly and aggressively gets back on that horse, and then proceeds to ride, flog and smash the crap out of said horse before using it to kill a guys face in… metaphorically of course.

I swear the car was in the Red car park

 Kill List is a beautifully constructed flick; it excels in areas that films of its ilk usually miss entirely. Firstly the relationship between the characters are so real and so brilliantly acted as to almost instantly draw us into this story. Jay and Gal’s relationship is a particular strong point, the repartee they have together is executed with such style, wit and panache as to occasionally make us forget that these are actors and not real people we are flies on the wall to. The moments of black comedy between these two friends is so genuine and actually funny as to instantaneously make you root for the pair and make you feverishly question what happened to make them go to the increasingly manic lengths they go to. (A particular comedic highlight involves a restaurant, an acoustic guitar and orange juice. It rivals a lot of actual comedy films for genuine laughs “Double Orange Juices all round.”)

   Also the visual style of this film is second to none, introducing each new person on the list with a stark white on black intertitle simply telling you who’s about to meet their end. It’s a top technique and one that is both simple and unrelenting, much like the film. The choppy, quick editing style trims all of the fat that could come with this kind of film. It’s lack of coherent reason for those on the Kill List may irk some, but far more worthy of your attention is the gradual disintegration of Jay and Gal as they sink deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. Plus the excellence of this sublime British horror.

  The film starts on a high and never lets up, as Jay and Gal work their way through the eponymous Kill List, the intensity grows, so does the mania of Jay and the fear of Gal. Yes, there are some truly brutal moments of gore and horror but that should in no way deter you from the brilliantly humanistic tale that is unfolding before you. A mystery movie, a road-movie, a buddy movie, a gruesome horror all rolled into one brilliant British package of beautifully brutally acted breathtaking bad-ass’ery. Like I said, this is my film of the year.

(So far)

And the guy that plays Gal? That’s Tyres from Spaced!

 You Lucky People.

...Or Benny from Luther. If that's how you roll.

SO