Starring: Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley, MyAnna Buring, and Emma Fryer
Confused and Disturbed. That would describe my feelings at the end of viewing Kill List. WTH would also be appropriate. Kill Listis the story of Jay (Neil Maskell), an ex-British soldier who has hit hard financial times. He has not worked in over eight months and his wife Shel (Myanna Buring), also a former soldier, is irate. The film begins with them bickering at a dinner party and actually getting physical with one another in front of their son. Shel and Jay have a love-hate, hate-love sort of relationship.
In order to make ends meet, Jay joins with his friend Sam (Harry Simpson) for a little contract killing. Sam and Jay are hired by a mysterious gentleman (Struan Rodger) who provides them with a list of three people who are on the “hitlist.” This client just radiates pure evil. Jay and Sam then proceed to methodically stalk and execute their victims. But as the film progresses, Jay becomes increasingly vengeful. He spirals out of control and his contract killing leads him to the ultimate darkness.
Kill List is part thriller, part horror, part drama and for the most part unpredictable. There were scenes during which I turned away from the brutality and scenes where my heart was literally racing from the intensity. The cast is stellar. Sampson in particular stood out to me as almost a moral center for the film, which is certainly unusual in a hitman.
Where the film lost me a bit was at the end. It seemed abrupt, and a bit disjointed. For the most part, I think viewers will either love this film or hate it. I actually fall in the middle. I loved it initially, and then the ending left me a bit incomplete. All in all, a couple of glasses of Merlot may help you make it through the scary scenes. Kill List gets a 0.06 rating.
