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Like any genre of film, but perhaps more so than others, the expectation for what a horror movie is or should be is often straight to the point. Some blood, some jumps, and if we're lucky... some nudity. But every once in awhile, a horror film comes along and tells us explicitly what we can do with our preconceived notions. Right now, that movie is called Kill List. A film that perfectly blends psychological-slasher horror with pulp-crime-thriller flair.
Director Bill Wheatly's Kill List is not concerned with body counts or overly stylized gore, instead, Wheatly concerns his film with exploring the evil that can be found in true to life questions: How does a man who has seen the worst in war return to suburbia and reconnect with his family? Or, how do financial struggles at home (something I think many Americans can relate to at the moment) affect the relationships we cherish the most? And, how far is one willing to go to provide for the people he or she loves?
These are only a few questions Kill List raises and attempts to answer over the course of its 95 minute run time.
The film opens with an intense verbal dispute taking place in the kitchen of married couple, Jay and Shel. Shel, played by the gorgeous MyAnna Burning, belittles Jay (Neil Maskell) for his failure to secure steady work for the last 8 months. Jay defends his current state because of a hit job that went awry in Kiev. Wheatly interjects shots of Jay popping pills and drinking to cope with a condition that his wife insists is all in his head.
Realizing that he must start to provide for his wife and 7 year-old son again, Jay takes a job offered to him by long time friend, Gal. Played by the gruff and snarky Michael Smiley. The job is simple as Gal proposes: 3 quick hits, low stress and easy money. As the two contracted hitmen begin their "dispatching" journey, so does the audience. The audience is purposefully left in the dark about the nature of the contract, we only know what Jay and Gal know, and it isn't much.
Reviewing Kill List is extremely difficult because the less one knows about the film, the better the viewing experience will be. What can be said is this: Moments of high tension are brought to a climax with a score reminiscent of The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Sounds are distant, yet close at the same time, schizophrenic then suddenly soothing. It's a marvelously orchestrated score by Jim Williams. The acting is tight, organic, and the Jay-Gal relationship offers up plenty of funny quips to help relieve their anxiety (and the audiences) about the disturbing arc of the mission. Direction is spot on, with the editing and camera movements capturing Jay's already fragile psyche.
Kill List unravels like a terrible nightmare you want to wake up from but simply can't. Sure the twist ending, with its homage to The Wicker Man and Rosemary's Baby, has it's share of detractors. What does it all mean blah, blah, blah. And yes, after the final scene plays out you will likely have more questions than answers. But watch Kill List with a close eye and I assure you all the answers are there, they just aren't shown in plain sight. Wheatly knows where great evil comes from, where it thrives, it lurks in the shadows and the lurid recesses of the mind. Kill List is horror of the highest art and the best horror film to come out of England since Danny Boyle's pseudo-zombie thriller 28 Days Later. If you're a horror fanatic looking to have your world turned upside down, Kill List is one contract you won't regret signing.
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