Kill List (Ben Wheatley)

[soitgoes...]

KILL LIST
Director: Ben Wheatley

IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1788391/)

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee171/soitgoes22/KillListPoster.jpg

[Rowland]

Hmm. I like how the horror insidiously creeps into what is otherwise a pretty good kitchen-sink drama/hit-man thriller mash-up, enlivened by its glancing way with narrative and subtextual detail. It's not as scary, and a bit more predictable, than I'd hoped, the climax especially deprived of impact because I'm sick enough to have guessed the identity of the final "hit" well before the reveal, but it's still a heavy-hitting, dramatically sound film on the whole.

[transmogrifier]

(Vague spoilers regarding the ending, so only read if you are intending to see this well-made piece of trash)

39/100

Cold, distant and unsettling, for the first half at least. Because it takes great pains to offer as little context as possible, you are gradually drawn into the relatively complex domestic problems of the financially-strapped husband and wife team. When his actual job is revealed, it deepens the film as you come to realize the deadening effect it has (subconsciously, mostly) on this aggressive, tightly coiled guy. And it's shot well, the close ups for example at the dinner party subtly trapping everyone into the inevitable meltdown.

But then, of course, the filmmakers start to veer off into territory they can actually make a name for themselves with, so cue the brutal violence (explicit for no real reason than to obviously make it part of the conversation) and half-arsed revenge (some reviewers suggest it is supposed to be an indictment of the audience, watching our nominal hero break hitman protocol to get revenge on some pornographers, but for me, it provided nothing but a distraction from what was supposed to be the mystery behind the kill list itself)

Of course, I would have accepted more blood and guts hitman work had I known that the last 20 minutes were going to be some tiresome Wicker Man retread with an abysmal last minute reveal that does nothing to unveil the message of the movie, but again seems to exist only as cheap irony and a ploy for word-of-mouth chatter.

So yet another example of a talented visual director with nothing much to say, but a lot of blood packs and blanks with which to say it.

[max314]

So awesome that even the offensively nonsense parts — which are significant — become awesome by default.

The adage "far better than it has any right to be" has never been more aptly used than in relation to this film.

★★★★★

[dreamdead]

This resonates in parts. The sewer chase sequence was genuinely horrifying, and aspects of the music score, which wonderfully juxtapose the everyday scenes, placed me in a constant sense of unease. As the narrative starts to unfold, though, it becomes less than the sum of its parts. Certainly some sections work, but I feel that Fiona's marking on the back of the mirror needed a follow-up to help answer some of the obliqueness.

I treasure how this sustains its power to terrorize me, but the endgame seems a bit too simple. Even taken as an allegory and thus entirely symbolic, it doesn't entirely work for me.

[megladon8]

Really unsure how to feel about this one, but my initial reaction is one of slight disappointment. While perhaps an unfair criticism, too much of it felt predictable (neither Jen or I had read anything about the film going in to it, but we were able to "call" that it was...

a) some Wicker Man-esque cult plot
b) going to end with the wife and son being killed
and c) that the "humpback" was the wife with the son strapped to her back

...which was frustrating.

Wheatley is certainly an accomplished visual filmmaker, with many striking and eerie images (the shot of Fiona waving to Jay from a distance through the hotel window, and the tunnel chase being particularly striking examples) but it all felt slightly half-baked. A film leaving the viewer with questions is one thing and can be quite satisfying in a way, but here it felt like even the filmmaker(s) didn't know the answers, leaving me with the overall questions of "so what?"

The slow burn of the story reminded me of the films of Ti West, but even his most frustratingly ambiguous (Trigger Man) had a more clear vision. The violence is there to shock, but why? And the sudden twist is there to confuse, but why? What was the point of it all?

[MadMan]

Loved it. That's all I've got right now since I just finished watching it 5 minutes ago on Instant Viewing.

[MadMan]

Okay here's my sad attempt at reviewing this movie, reposted from my blog:

http://vulturehound.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/kill-list.jpg

A strong feeling of harsh gloom lingers, as gray clouds overcast the sky. That feeling that something terrible is about to happen enters your mind like a parasite burrowing its way into your brain. There is no escape, only fear and loathing, misery and slow loss of sanity. Strange men have given you and your partner a job-a “Kill List”-which must be completed at all costs. Regret over agreeing to murder for profit again begins to quietly wash over you, damaging the mind and the body. Only when the two of you encounter the truth do you realize the true horror of the situation. Darkness has taken over and revealed to thyself thy true form. Monster is thee.

Sinister purposes, odd symbols and rituals and the thought that none of this makes sense pervade this tale of murder and gore-crimes committed by well dressed men in tailored suits. Is what happens to Jay and Gal fate? Cosmic karma? Even with the final, haunting frame we the viewer are never quite sure. I have questions and I admire the film as it does not give any easy answers. Jay and Gal embody lies that obscure the truth. They pretend to be gentlemen when they are really professional thugs. Jay carries on the false pretense that he is a family man. Its odd and funny how easily we adopt falsehoods, especially when they serve our own twisted ends. Yet we never question the why. Even when its too late and the bloody answer was starring us right in the face.

PS: I know enough of the original Wicker Man to know that Kill List is scantly referencing it at best. Someone on IMDB.com actually had a fantastic take on the film about how it was really channeling Macbeth, and another mentioned a 70s horror film called Race With The Devil that seems to have had more of an impact on Kill List. Oh and btw the scene with the doctor reminded me heavily of Rosemary's Baby for some reason.

[Skitch]

So I'm just catching up on this...and feel like I was totally left out of the loop that this turned to horror. This isn't what I was expecting at all. Had I known this was gonna go all House Of The Devil I wouldve watched it a long time ago. Cult shit still really freaks me the fuck out.