Film Review: KILL LIST (2011)

Director: Ben Wheatley
Writers: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump
Running time: 95 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Horror/Thriller
UK Release date: 2^nd September 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 9^th December 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I must admit I knew very little about this film before seeing it; I know there is much talk about its director, Ben Wheatley, at the moment with the release of his latest film, Sightseers. Some may find this one quite disturbing in places with scenes of extreme violence and also some very strong language. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Jay (Neil Maskell) is a former soldier who lives with his wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) and son Sam (Harry Simpson). They are in financial trouble because Jay has been suffering psychological problems after a job went wrong in Kiev eight months previously. Jay’s friend, Gal (Michael Smiley), persuades him to take on a new contract with him and they go off to meet the client. I should point out that their work is in the contract killing game. The client (Struan Rodger) seems very interested in Jay and before he leaves, he cuts Jay’s hand with a knife. The pair set about their work but things don’t exactly go to plan and they find themselves embroiled in a very bizarre world indeed. But is there a way out?... I had better leave it there.

The film starts with what looks like an average domestic drama with Jay and Shel constantly falling out and making up. But once Jay and Cal set about their work the whole atmosphere of the piece changes. There is a great sense of mystery with several aspects of the plot not fully explained, leaving it to the audience to decide, this I really liked. I should warn potential viewers that there are scenes of very extreme violence and an awful lot of swearing (so be prepared). Over all, I found it a decent watch with some very nice aspects and an ending that’s left wide open to interpretation… A Brit flick well worth a viewing.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.4/10

IMDb Score: 6.2/10 (based on 10,885 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1788391/

MetaScore: 67/100: (Based on 22 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 75/100 (based on 81 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 57/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 6,434 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kill_list_2011/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
None available.

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.kill-list.com/
Trailer: