Kill List

Kill List is a major breakthrough for writer/director Ben Wheatley, whose assured and painstaking handling of this difficult material makes for an unforgettable viewing experience.

There's still tremendous vitality here, and Wheatley's avoidance of yet another Guy Ritchie gabfest is a pleasure in itself.

Displaying both a nasty edge and a playful sense of humor -- but thankfully, never at the same time -- Brit import Kill List is several cuts above its fellow midbudget horror brethren.

A scuzzy little cross between a crime movie and a horror freak-out that gets under your skin and stays there, even if you can't understand half of what the characters are saying.

There's atmosphere and tension and dark humor and some truly shocking gore throughout. But the positive impression all of that makes pales next to a headscratching finale that is admittedly well-executed but is also undeniably perverse and borderline random. Maybe you'll go with it, simply out of shock. I, alas, could not.

It's all very sub-Tarantino showy and empty - at least, until the head-scratching climax, which tries to be "Eyes Wide Shut," "The Wicker Man," and "The Twilight Zone" all at once, but only makes you wish that you were watching one of them instead.

It would be easy to say that the final minutes of this mixed-up thriller make everything before it meaningless, but that would indicate the odd conclusion has meaning, too.

A gruesomely entertaining scary flick. It demands to be talked about seen again and again. It's hard to say anything about the plot but there are so many intricate themes and interpretive parts of the plot that will leave you thinking about it long after you've seen it . A mesmerising picture.

This was kind of all over the place pacing and tone wise, it does feature one of the wildest final 20 minutes ever which was cool.

Kill List works extremely well as a taut, quite terrifying horror film about an out-of control British hitman. Neil Maskell is mesmerising as Jay, a frustrated ex-soldier who returns to his past career of contract killing to support his family, but as his emotions begin to intrude, the stress and paranoia linked to his morally dubious job steadily fracture his sanity. Michael Smiley also impresses as Gal, Jay's level-headed long-time hit partner and friend, as does MyAnna Buring as Jay's loving but frustrated wife Shel. The first half of the film is excellent, with tight plotting, steadily building tension and a semi-improvised script. The second half unfortunately becomes a little incoherent and difficult to follow (possibly a deliberate decision by director Ben Wheatley to reflect Jay's unstable state of mind) and the finale, where the film goes all Wickerman is just plain stupid. Kill List works as a film when it keep things real and close to home. When we're following Jay, his family, and the impact his job has on himself and his family, the film is great - dramatically effective, terrifying, and socially relevant all at once. When the film becomes weirder, more fantastical and surreal, it unfortunately becomes silly and pointless. Luckily, this element of the film is very small, only emerging towards the end, so doesn't have the chance to do much lasting damage. If it weren't for its annoying final act, Kill List could have been a British horror classic. A film that begins so well, that offers so much promise as a relevant, scary horror, deserves a much better payoff, and unfortunately this means the film as a whole is good, but not anything exceptional.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This poor excuse for a movie is like some sort of bad acid trip. You just want it to end so that you can get on with your life. How this disgusting film garnered one award, let alone many, is beyond me. This is garbage.