Review of Kill List (2011) by Marissa K — 07 Aug 2013

This dark and twisted ride through the British countryside, brought to you courtesy of director Ben Wheatley, is so bizarre that I found myself just admiring it for its sheer desire to turn the notion of the narrative completely on its head.

Honestly, months later, I'm still affected by it, and for that alone, I had to give it four stars. It's an experience more than a story, and a film that's reliant more on atmosphere and visceral reaction than on any sort of logic.

If you sit down to watch this, you should be prepared to give it your full attention, because it refuses to treat you as a casual audience member. You're in this, you're part of this, and towards the end, you feel a bit like an accomplice.

The final sequence has to be one of the, hands down, most memorable scenes I've watched in a while. Frightening and odd, it feels like the result of someone who views the world through the lens of Lord of the Flies, and the most terrifying part is that it almost all makes sense.

It's not one that I'll be able to watch very often, but I appreciate that it brought something that felt mostly new to the table.