Kill List Has the Feel of a Grainy Home Movie, but That Adds to the Authenticity
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Kill List follows the life of a man who seems to be one way, then another, with sacrificial horror along the way.
Written by The Horror Czar
December 29, 2011
Release: January 4, 2011 (VOD)
Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Written by: Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump
Starring:
Neil Maskell as Jay
MyAnna Buring as Shel
Harry Simpson as Sam
Michael Smiley as Gal
Emma Fryer as Fiona
Jay (Neil Maskell) is unemployed, and his lovely wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) takes every opportunity to make sure he doesn’t forget it. This is a household prone to screaming and yelling at each other, so when Jay’s friend Gal (Michael Smiley) and his date Fiona (Emma Fryer) come over for dinner the liquor gets the best of them and a public yelling match spoils the party. Well, doesn’t totally spoil the party because clearly yelling matches are commonplace around these parts and when it’s over everyone gets back to partying like drunken Irishmen.
Before the dinner party is over Gal convinces Jay to come back to work – turns out they are hit men and a near-death experience turned Jay off to that line of employment… but once he gets back to work it’s clear to see that Jay is extremely good at his craft; Ruthless in fact. Funny thing though, that during a new assignment to kill several folks on a Kill List the victims look Jay in the eye seconds before their demise and thank him. Is Jay on some kind of killing quest with a purpose other than knocking off the enemies of the employer?
Kill List is a very interesting movie that builds in complexity and intrigue with each passing minute. The switch-ups start fast and continue throughout the film until the surprising and shocking conclusion. I am reminded of a television commercial where a woman is talking in gentle tones about how glad she is that her husband bought life insurance, and it isn’t until the end of the 60 second spot that we realize that the woman’s husband is still alive… Kill List uses a similar tact to lull the audience into a comfort zone of believing that what’s happening is understood, only to turn it all upside down with unexpected realities.
For those of us in the United States the strong accents can be
pretty hard to understand, which is a bit of a distraction in the film.
The refined and globalized British accents we’ve all
heard are not to be found in Kill
List, but instead the harsh native speaking of the inland areas
rule the day making it extremely difficult to pick out the words at
times, particularly those spoken by Michael Smiley. Smiley hails from
Northern Ireland and although the dialect from that part of the world
is rugged and real, it is also difficult for some of us from other
areas to comprehend. On the other hand, the authenticity of the speech
as well as the lack of slickness of the film’s production contribute to
a feeling that we’re seeing a piece of real life rather than a
manufactured piece of entertainment. Kill List is nothing if
not real.
The down side to Kill List is that it has a tendency to drag. In spite of how much is going on and how interesting the transformations and changes are, the film leaves plenty of opportunities to make a run for the restroom or grab a snack. Character-driven thrillers are a fantastic sight to behold, but it can be difficult to hold the attention of an audience if they’re not careful. Kill List was not quite careful enough.
Dragging points aside, this is a quality film that deserves the award nominations it continues to rack up. Granted, most of these nominations are from British film festivals and culturally the Brits have a different film sensibility than U.S. filmgoers, but regardless this film has something to say and says it well.
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