Kill List
Ben Wheatley
StudioCanal
For a second feature, Kill List is a remarkable accomplishment of the kind that usually comes much later in a director鈥檚 oeuvre. On the surface, it鈥檚 simple: one for the boys, with its 鈥渃ontract killer on a mission鈥 narrative and the sometimes truly visceral accompanying violence. Stick with it, though, because it鈥檚 actually far cleverer.
In fact, it turns out that all of the action surrounding Jay鈥檚 (Neil Maskell) determination to complete his task and dispose of those unfortunates on his kill list is expertly engineered towards a shattering climax that throws everything off-kilter and begs you to rewatch. Think Pulp Fiction meets The Wicker Man via Sheffield.
Without giving too much away, watch out for Jay鈥檚 off-duty life, centring on a family closeness that鈥檚 beautifully established and humanised by the naturalistic acting of a relatively unknown cast. Providing a shock factor that鈥檚 often lacking in film today, and taking us mentally and visually into a grey, forbidding world, Kill List leaves its indelible mark on the psyche long after its triumphant end.
Grace Henderson