KILL LIST Review: A Brutal and Enigmatic British Horror

By Robert Beames / August 31, 2011

rating: 4.5

You'll have to forgive me if this review is vague when it comes to the plot of buzzed-about British horror movie Kill List. Only, it's not the sort of film you really want "spoiled". All I feel comfortable giving away is that it's set in Yorkshire and follows two long-time friends and veteran hitmen, Jay (Neil Maskell) and Gal (Michael Smiley), as they set out on their first job in eight months - with Jay suffering from some mental derangement following an unspecified incident in Kiev. However, pressure from his wife (MyAnna Buring) to pay the bills sees him return to work and the duo soon receive the titular list of targets from a mysterious client, enjoying the mundane comforts of a generic budget hotel whilst they get the job done. It would be dishonest to say that the horror element comes from out of nowhere - there are musical cues and a couple of creepy moments which sow the seeds of the insanity to come - but nothing could (or should) quite prepare you for where the film ends up. Tight and tense, with a level of technical competence that belies its small budget, at times it even recalls the work of the Coen Brothers such is the quality of the dialogue which manages to sound authentic whilst being highly stylised. A razor sharp wit underpins all but the most tense and uncomfortable moments, whilst Maskell and Smiley make for a terrific double-act, trading insults and getting on each other's nerves in between sadistic acts of intense ultra-violence. But as funny as they are, our "heroes" are never mined for Tarantino-esque nerd-cool and there is really no ambiguity about their moral standing, with both men allowed to come across as pretty horrible. For categorisation fans, Kill List is strictly neither a straight horror nor a straight hitman thriller: a fact which won't surprise those familiar with Ben Wheatley's similarly indefinable first feature, Brighton-based 2009 crime drama Down Terrace - mis-sold as a Brit gangster flick when it's really so much more. His second film combines elements of the 70s horror film, the gritty kitchen sink drama and the crime thriller with the blackest sense of humour, feeling at times like a Ken Loach directed riff on In Bruges with added ultra-violence and gore. In fact some of the deaths are so brutal and shocking that you'll want to watch through your fingers, as Wheatley allows one of the sickest of revenge fantasies to play out with intentionally jarring results. After this the laughter of the first half gives way to an unrelentingly grim tone as we're dragged us to the film's harrowing climax kicking and screaming. Those expecting a formula horror movie might be scratching their heads for about three quarters of Kill List, wondering where the scares are. Likewise some might really enjoy the black-comedy hitman thriller aspects and will feel the ending hitting them from somewhere out of left-field. But if you can stomach the strong violence, and if you are prepared to go in with an open mind, this is one unusual, enigmatic and thoroughly gripping piece of British cinema which confirms its maker as an interesting and unique voice. Kill List is released in UK cinemas from Friday September 2nd.