Kill List is certainly one of the more interesting and unconventional horror films I've had the pleasure of watching recently. The film begins as a slow-burn violent crime thriller before morphing itself into a terrifying, visceral horror by the ending. Knowing director Ben Wheatley's other work (Sightseers, A Field in England), you'd expect this film to throw some surprises at you and it doesn't disappoint.
The film follows Jay and Gal (played by Neil Maskell and Michael Smiley, respectively), former British soldiers who have become contract killers in order to make a living. They accept a big job from a shadowy client that involves killing three targets. However, Jay appears to still be disturbed by an unspecified event that occurred during his time in Kyiv, and this manifests within his behaviour on the job that continues to spiral out of control.
The violence is brutal and unrelenting, and the atmosphere is kept deeply unsettling throughout by the use of a score that bears resemblance to Robert Egger's The VVitch (2016). There's a constantly bubbling unease under the surface veneer of the film, as we the audience feel there's something more going on than what we are presented. This mystery viciously bubbles over to the surface and reveals itself in the most uncompromising of manners that will shock you to your core.
Reminiscent at times of films that I won't name for the fear of giving the game away, Kill List is a deeply disturbing affair that will leave a mark in your mind and cause even the most seasoned horror veterans to break out in a cold sweat.
The film follows Jay and Gal (played by Neil Maskell and Michael Smiley, respectively), former British soldiers who have become contract killers in order to make a living. They accept a big job from a shadowy client that involves killing three targets. However, Jay appears to still be disturbed by an unspecified event that occurred during his time in Kyiv, and this manifests within his behaviour on the job that continues to spiral out of control.
The violence is brutal and unrelenting, and the atmosphere is kept deeply unsettling throughout by the use of a score that bears resemblance to Robert Egger's The VVitch (2016). There's a constantly bubbling unease under the surface veneer of the film, as we the audience feel there's something more going on than what we are presented. This mystery viciously bubbles over to the surface and reveals itself in the most uncompromising of manners that will shock you to your core.
Reminiscent at times of films that I won't name for the fear of giving the game away, Kill List is a deeply disturbing affair that will leave a mark in your mind and cause even the most seasoned horror veterans to break out in a cold sweat.