Kill List

2011, 18, Directed by Ben Wheatley
Starring: Neil Maskell, Harry Simpson, MyAnna Buring, Emma Fryer

If there’s one thing that you should know about Kill List, it’s that knowing as little as possible is key. What can be said is that on the surface we follow two soldiers-turned-hitmen (Neil Maskell and Harry Simpson: both fantastic) who are handed a ‘kill list’, and so embark on one last job before turning clean. On the surface. For what this inventive British shocker actually is dissolves into an extreme workshop in genre-weaving. What you think you know, you basically don’t. Here, Ben Wheatley - director of the equally manipulative Down Terrace - issues a master-class in how to trick the watchful eyes of the audience, and ultimately how to gut-punch. It goes without saying that gruesome violence abounds (you’ll never view a hammer in the same way), but for all the viewers who can’t stand the sight of gore, through paying attention to the cleverly deployed narrative, it will be hard not to be impressed. The rational manner that Wheatley depicts life for Jay and Sam, not ignoring the equally as important wife of Jay (MyAnna Buring) and random girlfriend of Sean (Emma Fryer), ensures that later events prove that bit more disturbing and uneasy to view, not to mention captivating and inspiring - much like the films this homages (to even whisper these films would give the game away). Avoid Google and watch with immediacy; Kill List should earn a placement on your must-see list.

4/5