Kill List (2011) Reviews

• As many have said, this is a hard movie to appreciate.

  Tehmeh2013-08-27

  To me, this is an absolute gem. Watched it on Netflix, just because I had nothing better to do. I didn't know anything about this beforehand - and that's the way this is meant to be watched. I was captivated, baffled, horrified and never did I guess what is going to happen next, not once. There are more or less subtle hints throughout the movie that not only shed some light on the bizarre ending but also keep building that disturbing mood that grows stronger and stronger as the movie progresses. Why this is a hard film, for many, to watch: The acting is phenomenal. Damn you Brits, you really sometimes surprise me. The characters feel like real people. Handling of music, cinematography, editing...you really can see how well this movie is crafted, seems like nothing is rushed or forced and many things are definitely missed on the first viewing. This might look like a cheap, unambitious film at first, but I really think it's quite the opposite. This is, in my mind, an intelligent film. Not a slasher, but an intelligent, shocking story. This is a hard movie. Hard to watch because of the brutality, hard to totally comprehend because of the ambiguity. But it got me. I was thrilled all the way to the end. Possibly the most disturbing movie I've seen in years, and I've seen a lot of questionable stuff. I don't remember having such an emotional response to a movie for a long, long time. I don't know if I'm going to see it again, because it really disturbed me so much. But I know this: I was captivated, thoroughly at the mercy of this movie, and it didn't let me go. If you like weird thrillers, check this one out. There's some serious quality and effort here.

• The best of films, the worst of films

  BJBatimdb2011-09-09

  The Kill List is totally brilliant - and absolute rubbish. More specifically, the first 75% of the movie is fantastic - sharply written, wonderfully acted, supremely directed, and filled with tension and realism. And then it all goes wrong. I'd heard a few reviews of this film before choosing to see it, and it irks me that not one of them revealed that the last quarter of The Kill List is so divorced from the first that it's like watching a different film altogether. It reminded me of Charlie Kaufman's brilliant Adaptation, where the lead character's idiot brother suddenly steps in to finish the movie. Hilarious in that case - mystifying in this. Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump start by crafting a stunning examination of the family life of a suburban hit-man that makes The Sopranos look glitzy. Neil Maskell is unnerving as Jay, whose long hiatus from 'work' has led to constant fighting with his wife. Their son witnesses the discord, and the tension and humanity is palpable. Then Jay is drawn back into doing a well-paid job by his old crony, Gal, and the plot starts to thicken. Gradually the low-key family realism gives way to a realism of a far nastier kind, coupled with sudden moments of real mystery and total surprise. Wheatley layers the non-action with skill, and really knows how to ratchet up the intrigue. The three main characters are all very good, and even the smaller roles of the son and girlfriend are well played and brilliantly written. You get the feeling you are watching something very special unfold on screen, with no indication of how it will all be resolved. I am a hardened end-guesser and am often right, but with this movie I had NO IDEA where it was going, which is exciting and rare. However, just as I was preparing for a stunning denouement with all the seemingly-impossible ends tied up, The Kill List turned an ankle and tripped into a ditch full of dung. O. M. G. I'm not into writing spoilers - even when the filmmakers have done more spoiling than I ever could in this case. Suffice to say that 'and then he woke up and it was all a dream' would have been a more credible ending, and would at least have made sense of SOME of the set up, instead of none of it at all. If there was ever a progression of narrative here, it is lying somewhere on a cutting room floor, crying its eyes out at the wasted opportunity. When the credits came up, there was a stunned silence in the packed cinema and someone turned to his mate and said:'That's the last time YOU choose the effing film'. Judging by the snorts of sympathetic laughter it caused, I'd say it was the best review I'd heard of The Kill List. I've never been so disappointed by a film that promised so much.

• Wheatley has nothing to say

  Roel19732015-09-12

  KILL LIST is a sham. The terrific first act, in which traumatized hit-man Jay is lured away from his wife and son by his partner Gal with the promise of a simple job and a big pay check, plays like a Ken Loach kitchen sink drama. Very convincing. The second act builds up the mystery. There are clues that Jay, unbeknownst to him, is at the center of an occult conspiracy. But then we get to the third act, in which writer-director Ben Wheatley tries to shock us with an ending that has no basis in his screenplay whatsoever. The obvious example here is The Wicker Man, but what Wheatley missed was that everything in Anthony Shaffer's script eventually leads to that shock ending. It flows logically from everything that's happened before, and still it comes as a surprise. That's great writing. Moreover, it is necessary for Shaffer to make his point about religion. Wheatley makes no point at all. Still, with all the seemingly meaningful details in KILL LIST, he suggests some internal logic to the proceedings. But it's all a pose. His lazy, hollow ending proves that he has nothing to say about anything. Why does that bother me so much? Because the rest of KILL LIST is so damned good! It's impeccably cast and acted and well made. And the way Wheatley handles different genres in this one movie (relationship drama, gangster film and occult horror) is exceptional. But I hate it when film makers have nothing to say and at the same time pretend that they do.

• One of the Creepiest, Most Disturbing Films I Have Seen in a Long Time

  soncoman2012-03-14

  It's been a while since I've seen a film that both attracted and repulsed me. "Kill List" has managed to do just that. It's a difficult film to describe. Suffice it to say, it's been tagged a horror film and that the "similar" films referenced in other reviews give too much away. Let me just attempt to give you some idea of what you might experience if you choose to take a chance and seek out this film. Before I begin, it must be said that this is a British film, and some of the accents are thicker than the Great Grimpen Mire. Sit back, and let your ears adjust. The first third of the film might give you the impression it's a family drama. It isn't. The second third of the film might give you the impression that it's a crime drama. It isn't. Then comes the final third. It will make you question everything you've seen up to that point and either infuriate you or cause you to manually lift your jaw off the sticky theatre floor. It's out there. Waaaay out there. The film does a terrific job of building a mood and layering suspense with discomfort. It is an incredibly violent film, graphic in a way I haven't seen since Gasper Noes' "Irreversible." The violence is intrinsic to the film and to its protagonist, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch. This film bothered me, and except for the extreme violence, I can't really explain why. It left me feeling uneasy and uncomfortable - but I couldn't stop watching. I have so many questions about what I just watched that I will probably watch it again – and I will probably still be bothered. When's the last time you said that about a film that wasn't a documentary? www.worstshowontheweb.com

• Interesting idea, but a failed execution

  nickpalmer572011-10-03

  I caught Kill List at SxSW and was pretty disappointed. There were a number of things I did like about it. The acting was all really strong, and the best moments came when the director just took a step back and let the actors perform. The director also did a great job building tension throughout. The thing most people will be talking about is the crazy left turn the story takes in the 3rd Act. (Spoiler Alert!) After close to 2 hours of a straightforward hit man movie, it suddenly becomes a bizarre occult horror flick. It's a huge departure from everything that's come before it. My issue with it isn't that this departure makes it feel like two completely different movies (which it does). My issue is that it doesn't do either of those movies very well. The hit man plot is as stale as it gets: Guys heading into 'one last job' before hanging it up for good. They even use the Tarantino-esque title cards between scenes, which I thought went out of style in '98. The only surprises come from how gory some of the violence gets. I was completely bored and disengaged by about halfway through, so when these two stumble into a witchy sabbath I was actually pretty excited for the change of tone. Sadly, the horror part is a big letdown too. The filmmakers don't manage to build any real suspense, and the big SURPRISE at the end lacks any emotional resonance since we don't care about anyone involved anyway. They pulled off a similar twist in A Serbian Film with a much more powerful result.