What is the appeal of hitmen in movies? Although their occupation requires the killings of others, they for the most part have a likeable presence, from the cool-outfitted Chow Yun-Fat in The Killer to the darkly humourous duo from In Bruges. In the case of Ben Wheatley’s follow-up to his debut Down Terrace, there is nothing cool or funny about the two central protagonists in Kill List.
Following eight months of unemployment, Jay (Neil Maskell) is having financial troubles as well as personal issues with his family including his suffering wife (MyAnna Buring) and young son. When he is reunited with his old friend Gal (Michael Smiley), the two become contract killers for ominous employers, but unfortunately Jay spins out of control as his past begins to resurface.
While there is nothing in the film to laugh at or indeed feature any heroic bloodshed action, what we see with Kill List is a throwback to those British crime films from the Seventies and Eighties. On the other hand, as much as the narrative consists of the violent nature of the two leads, Wheatley directs this like an atmospheric and psychological horror, in which the character of Jay is the scariest thing on screen, while the music is cranked up in a way to shake the audience up (much like Jonny Greenwood’s score in There Will Be Blood).
As someone who has seen many, many hitman flicks, this critic was utterly impressed by the originality of the film, as Wheatley (and co-writer Amy Jump) presents this as something authentic in terms of the character relationships, as well as the action being very claustrophobic particularly towards the unexpected climax. Speaking of the climax, without giving away too much, I would say it features the most terrifying sequence of the year that would seem like a left turn but in fact is cleverly set up from the beginning of the story.
Having no knowledge of the acting talents of Neil Maskell, I felt he truly dominates the screen as someone who is in fact unsympathetic, as shown in the opening moments where he constantly argues with his wife and then ruins a perfectly decent dinner with friends. Despite the fact he will always be remembered as Tyres in the TV sitcom Spaced, Michael Smiley is terrific as Jay’s best friend/partner in crime, but is also someone who questions his line of work as well as the people they are targeting. As for MyAnna Buring, there is an interesting role there as the suffering wife who knows about her husband’s occupation and Buring does her very best, if only she had more screen-time.
With a strong level of brutality and a third act that seem leftfield, Wheatley’s second feature is a truly terrifying experience, making it the horror film of the year. The King’s Speech may be the British box-office sensation of 2011, Kill List is the real highlight.
Kill List is released in cinemas 2nd September 2011.
DIRECTOR: BEN WHEATLEY
STARRING: NEIL MASKELL, MICHAEL SMILEY, MYANNA BURING
COUNTRY: UK
RUNTIME: 92 MINS
Film Rating: 
