Review of Kill List (2011) by Jacob F — 21 Apr 2017

Wow Kill List is definitely something special. I had heard of this film before, but had never really thought of truly giving it a chance. I've seen Ben Wheatley's High Rise, and let me just say he did a much better job with this than he did with High Rise. That film left me feeling cold, bored, and overall just disinterested, despite some cool visuals. Kill List on the other hand left me invested, tense, and shocked at times.

The acting in this film is great. Each actor does a good job bringing life to their character and makes them feel human. The friendship between the main character Jay and his best friend Dal felt extremely genuine, and well realized. The fights and overall relationship with Jay and his wife were extremely believable, showing the conflict but also the love between them.

Wheatley does a great job creating tension with tight camera work, that keeps the film moving along at a sometimes slow but always engaging pace. The script that he also co wrote helps the mystery and intrigue build until it reaches its erratic and terrifying final twenty minutes.

So what didn't I like about Kill List? Well mainly how open to interpretation it is. I get that's what they were going for, something that will spark debate and repeat viewings, but it just left me with too many unanswered questions. What happened in Kadiev? What did the symbol mean? What were his wife's true intentions? What were the cults intentions? Plus a few more.

However whether or not you like movies that are open to interpretation you'll still find a dark, well acted, and directed drama/thriller with a little bit of horror thrown in as well.