Kill List

 



Name: Kill List

Directed By: Ben Wheatley

Subgenre: Thriller

Series: Spooktober 2018 entry #26

Review: Two soldiers facing financial woes after their discharge agree to take on the job of contract killer for a shadowy provider. The first hint of the plot being something more than a mere crime thriller happens when the broker opts to seals the new contract in blood. Kill List a slow burn crime thriller that eventually dives deep into visceral, graphic horror. It's a good set up, but the dialogue ranges from banal to incredibly uncomfortable (with the jarring and abusive relationship between the main characters and their significant others)--the execution (pardon the pun) can either come across as feeling a bit wooden or perfectly realistic depending on your perspective; for me, it was a bit of both. The details of the two lead characters' pasts are only subtly gleaned from their conversations, and details about the nature of the plot and its culmination are ultimately left unanswered. Some like a plot wrapped clean and tidy; others like the mystery and unknown--the film definitely caters to the latter. In terms of gore, there's one main unflinchingly graphic scene, but the rest are relatively on-par for the horror genre. While the plot is engaging, it feels so partly because it crafts a mystery that is built up but never fully resolved even after the grizzly climax that's reminiscent of another gruesome flick out of Serbia. I've mentioned before that ambiguity is often the most fertile ground for horror; while I didn't initially appreciate the lack of concrete resolution, coming back to this review several years later, I've found that the film, like some macabre verdant thing, has grown on me quite a bit in the interim. There's a reason why Kill List is often added to various Top Horror lists. If you're craving for a brutal crime thriller that descends into unflinching madness, then look no further.




Overall Score: 4 out of 5 Chads trying to avoid being put on the list. Did Kill List scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: Kill List is available on these platforms.


Official Trailer



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