Review of Kill List (2011) by Darren H — 06 Jan 2012

Jay is a retired contract killer, who is trying to live the domesticated life. He has a wife and child and although he struggles sometimes in his new role, he left a life that left him mentally scarred and unhinged.

One night his partner, Gal, convinces him to join him for one last assignment involving a kill list of three individuals which leads Jay once again down a dark path. Kill List is Ben Wheatley's follow up to his little seen film, Down Terrance.

It is a dark film that expertly builds an overwhelming sense of dread through its visual compositions, lighting and character development. This film really does a strong job of blending multiple genres which leads to a finale that is horrific and shocking.

The viewer is really kept in the dark, wondering just as much as our main protagonist where this Kill List job is going to lead and how these strange occurrences which continue to happen as they go through the hit list add up in the end.

For all the hype surrounding the film's ending as both shocking and thought provoking, which it is it does feel rushed and almost just tacked on at the end. I believe these problems could have been corrected by developing this aspect of the story a bit more with an extended running time.

Its really hard to talk about this films ending without revealing much. I understand the thematic notions and commentary involved in a Jay's voyage back into this dark place and how the ending is a sort of commentary on that but I just think the film could have spent a little more time building the structural aspect of how the ending fit together, without feeling a little bit rushed or forced.