Kill List

Plot synopsis:
A poorly executed job in Kiev has left Jay mentally scarred, a soldier turned hitman, is now pressured by his partner, Gal, into taking a new assignment. As they get to the final hit, Jay begins to unravel once again - his paranoia sending him deep into the heart of darkness.
Hitmen Jay and Gal haven't had a job for about 8 months, Jay is married to Shel and has a son around the age of 10 called Sam. Gal isn't married but does have a mysterious looking girlfriend, Fiona. Prior to the dinner they have together at Jay's, Shel and Jay argue frequently as Jay can't pay for things as he isn't working, or hasn't got a job as such.
During the dinner they have together Shel and Jay have another argument, shouting in the kitchen as Fiona sits awkwardly at the table, Gal goes upstairs to explain to Sam how his parents will still be together even though they are arguing at each other. A few drinks later and Shel and Jay are good again, laughing and cuddling outside with Gal whilst he sits back into his chair to relax. However during this scene Fiona is nowhere to be seen,instead she is in the house in the bathroom upstairs looking into the mirror. She then takes the mirror off and carves a cross with a triangle on it, the image first shown at the start of the film. She then picks up the tissues Jay used to wipe his cut whilst shaving in the morning and places them in her bra, hanging up the mirror and then leaving.
The dinner was so that Gal and Jay could talk about the new job they had got, they would meet up with the person who demanded their services and that would be that. The Client cuts Jay on the palm and also cuts his, signing his paper with the blood from each hand.
The first victim on the kill list is known as The Priest, easily enough the two wait for him to walk back into his office where they have covered everything, 'Turn around' Jay says pointing a gun at him, he does so and replies 'Thank you', as Jay puts a bullet through his head.
The next is The Librarian, Jay and Gal catch him walking out of a lock up and wait for him to leave before going inside to check out what The Librarian has to hide, it turns out to be a 'Wank bank' as Gal turns the computer on to his disgust, Jay then watches too, his expression one of disgust and of no mercy. The next day the two go to The Librarian's house, punching and knocking him to the floor as they enter and Gal close the door. They sit him down as he says 'There must be a case of mistaken identity', but no, Jay asks him about the videos and who films them, after a beating The Librarian gives them a location, also telling Gal where his safe is. As Gal goes to open the safe, The Librarian says to Jay 'He (referring to Gal) doesn't know who you are'. Jay looks at him confused, as he opens his toolkit and takes out a hammer and smashes The Librarians knee. In the safe Gal finds money, and then a folder, with multiple files in it, Jay then smashes the hand of The Librarian before placing his head on the table and standing in front of him with a hammer. 'Thank you, thank you' The Librarian says as Jay repeatedly slams the hammer into his head. After this Jay tells Gal they're going to the address he gave them, where Jay kills all the film crew in a gory manner.
The last name on the kill list, is an MP. Before they go to kill him Shel makes Jay an appointment for his hand as it has become infected from the cut. He meets The Doctor, who does anything but look at his hand, asks Jay about what he does day to day and if he's stressed. He then says something along the lines of 'The past is forgotten, the future is yet to come, but what we do now is a moment' to Jay. Later at home, Jay is laying on his sofa as he takes two pills, Shel then calls him, where he finds their pet cat wrapped up in string hanging in front of the front door. Gal comes round and talks to Shel, telling her that Jay needs help and that they should stop with the job. The next day Gal and Jay meet with The Client who says if they don't go through with the killings then their families will be killed, Gal asks why theses people needed to be killed to which The Client replies 'A new formation'.
Gal and Jay camp out in the woods with a view of the house, however as they get ready to watch as night falls, they are faced with a different kind of problem.
A group of men and women walk through the woods with torches, some naked and others in robes, all with masks made out of straws. One woman has a thorn crown which has been pulled down her face to cover her eyes causing them to bleed. Gal and Jay follow them to an area surrounded by torches and a noose attached to a wooden structure. A woman walks up in a beautiful dress and places the noose around her neck, she then waves before kicking the stool she stood on, as she struggles all the cult members clap. Jay then decides he that enough is enough and opens fire, all the members chase after the two who are now running through the woods trying to escape.
Gal finds an entrance to a network of tunnels which the pair take, running through the pair get split up and Gal Kills a few with his trusted shotgun, however one member catches him by surprise jumping on him and stabbing him in the stomach even though Gal then shoots him in the head. Jay finds Gal bleeding out, and carries him for a while, however Gal tells him to leave, and we see Jay walk out of the forest area the two arrived in. In the car Jay has flashbacks of the memories he had with Gal, whilst picking at the infected cut on his hand. He returns to Shel and Sam, who aren't in their previous house. As Gal looks to the window he can see flames burning. He then runs outside and shoots randomly, running back inside and giving Shel the gun. He then goes out, trying to find whoever is out there. Shel sits in a room, waiting for anyone to walk in, with a gun she shoots the first person twice and then kills another.
The camera then finds Jay, on the floor without his shirt on, someone then places a straw mask on his face as he stands up, he finds himself surrounded by the cult members in a circle. Opposite him stands another, covered in a white sheet, somewhat crippled. He is then given a knife and they fight each other. Jay's expertise comes out as he is able to slash at his opponent and repeatedly stabs them in the back once they have fallen to the floor to secure the kill.
He then stands up, removing his mask and moving to see who he has just killed, removing his opponents mask he finds his wife, bleeding and then laughing as blood flows out of her mouth, he then moves to remove the cloth and finds his son, who he had unknowingly stabbed furiously, now dead. He stands their, paralysed. The cult masters remove their masks, revealing The Doctor Jay had seen, The Client and Fiona. The Client places a crown atop Jay's head, as he stands there, victor of the battle, killer of his wife and child.

Tags: mystery, murder, cult, horror, violence, flashback

Review:
There are more or less subtle hints throughout the movie that not only shed some light on the bizarre ending but also keep building that disturbing mood that grows stronger and stronger as the movie progresses.Why this is a hard film, for many, to watch:It is extremely violent.
Lodging itself eventually in the creepy-people-doing-creepy-things tradition of religious/occult horror films like The Wicker Man and Rosemary's Baby, director Ben Wheatley's hit-man horror flick Kill List comes on, initially, like a bad-boy bit of British Social realism.It's rough around the edges, shaggy and idiosyncratically edited, with dialogue so unpolished and authentic-seeming that it's occasionally hard to decipher.
Although I will mention plot here, I strongly advise those wanting to see it to read and watch as little as possible; it's a film best experienced going in blind, as they say.Anyways, Kill List follows two old friends who happen to be hit men carrying out their first job together in months.
The complex resolution is explained through image more than dialogue, and if you are not paying attention to seemingly insignificant mise-en-scene you may miss it entirely.Overall I think this is the best horror film I have seen this year.
I wanted to really like Kill List, I mean really like, because I am a fan of 'film' and this little movie is the one that film lovers seem to be talking about at this moment in time.
Call it arse?If you haven't seen Kill List, but love film, go and watch Down Terrace.Shane Meadows has nothing to worry about.So why the five stars after a review like this.
It was a bizarre attempt to make a good film without actually coming up with a decent story.Oh yeah, I remember reading a review in a national newspaper which alluded to a plot that takes a sudden unexpected turn.
A film that's more disquieting for the overwhelming sense of dread than anything resembling extreme ultraviolence (it's far tamer than most of the SAW movies), I walked into KILL LIST totally blind to what it was about and came out a huge fan.
This movie after an hour was on course for being an awesome film but it was spoilt, the 3 main characters were excellent and were played brilliantly but for some reason the movie took a turn in mine an a lot of other people I have spoke to's opinion for the worse, when I say terrible ending, I use the word ending very lightly as it had no particular ending and leaves the viewer very much unfulfilled and confused, the director seems to have wanted to end it with a twist to maybe shock and wow the audience but it does neither, in the end it was too obvious and a pretty much a pathetic attempt.
I am so disappointed with the ending as I absolutely loved the first hour of this film, Neil Maskell was fantastic, and his character was too, he had a great mixture of psychotic and humour, backed by Michael Smiley and MyAnna Buring who too were brilliant, I cannot fault their acting at all, the dialogue too was good and the film up to the last 20 Min's kept me intrigued and entertained, but unfortunately it just fell apart, in the end I was left frustrated and so disappointed that they could build this movie up so well just to absolutely ruin it with a pathetic attempt of a shock/twist ending.
I'm a movie fan - watched thousands - I know what they were trying to do here but they really missed the target.The only reason this isn't getting a 1 is b/c the idea, although very unoriginal, is somewhat sound, some of the performances are actually good, as are parts of the plot transition.
The best thing about Wheatley's films though are the endings that you don't see coming, Kill List is no exception..
Jay (played with unbridled intensity by Neil Maskell) has problems getting back into the "game" eventually after being coerced by family & best mate Gal (Played by Michael Smiley) They acquire a KILL LIST from their benefactors who have hired them to "clean" certain people who are bad.They kills start out clean, fast, & smooth.
The thing about this movie is it doesn't stay on one level, it allows you to get comfortable after every shock so you stay unhinged throughout the film, right up until the shocking finale which takes the hit-man genre for a complete mental mind blow!Aside from the acting this film has a solid storyline that's not only original, but as one reviewer stated 'A Cult Classic in the making'.
Good actors/acting though.The weirdness in the film never gets explained, there are no tying up of loose endsIf you like social realism (quarrels and fights) and weird things that don't get explained and a loot of violence then you will like this movie.I did not like the movie and I think most people will dislike the movie as well..
The kill list unveils paedophiles which stir up the underlying anger, and then the couple uncover a cult like gang, which leads into a ferocious but ultimately shocking (yet impressive) ending.If you like dark, and enjoyed films like Dead Man's Shoes, then this is for you.
His best mate Gal (Michael Smiley) offers him a new job, as a contract killer, after being offered an assignment by a mysterious man (Straun Rodger.) Unable to adjust to civilian life, Jay goes ahead with it, but as he learns more about the people he's killing and how they're all connected, he finds himself driven by hate and vengeance rather than professionalism, and the final client pushes things in a completely different direction.Opening with a dark, moody style and tone that it maintains throughout, Kill List at first appears to be a study of a former solider struggling to contain demons tearing away inside him and how he's adjusting to family/civilian life, and spends a good deal of time establishing this atmosphere, without really taking it anywhere or giving it much of a coherent direction.
The film's main problem is that it seems unsure where it wants to go with itself, a stirring broth of different themes and plot devices that create quite a curious film indeed.It gets a bit more engaging as it goes on, carrying on as it does with the two lead characters going through the motions and by the numbers as genre conventions allow, but finally comes the most bewildering moment of the film, the ending.
Although it made little sense and just felt like the writer coming down with a bit of block, it didn't ruin the film for me, rather added to the weird style it had already set itself.One of the most brutal, cult films you'll have seen in ages, Kill List makes a whole load of something while coming from not very much at all.
Okay, so I finished watching Kill List and have been sat here trying to figure out just what the hell it was all about.My advice would be to go into it blind without knowing anything about the plot - so if you've not seen the film - stop reading this review now.Still with me?
Then we find out he's a hit-man, and not one that works for the state or for vigilantes.The film unfolds as Jay finds out some gruesome facts about the people on his "list".
Personally, it felt like someone had violently beat the script into being "Horror", and that's a shame.I might have been more impressed with the ending had I not seen it coming the moment the scene began, perhaps my fault for having watched a few Horror films before this one.It's just my personal humble opinion, of course, but I can't say this film was any good.
How on earth anyone in there right mind would call this a masterpiece, a classic, a terrifying experience, when truthfully it is a load of C***P.There is no story, there is no plot, there is no nothing, a couple of very inept "hit men", and i mean inept, i would not employ them to sweep the roads, let alone pay them thousands of pounds to do some "wet work".Totally boring for the fist 45 Mins, totally incoherent for the last 45 Mins, and don't even get me started about the ending.If i were reading the reviews and had not seen this film, i may be tempted to give it a try, all i can advise you is, FORGET IT..
This story excellently bends genres; feeling like a slow domestic drama (including an extended dinner party scene) to begin with, then a taut, violent thriller, before descending into deep psychological horror toward the end (this transition into horror may be too sudden for some to enjoy).
The plot sounded promising and by all accounts it was a dark, disturbing, uncomfortable film with superb acting.Well, I can't argue with the last bit - all of the performances were fantastic, but particularly the three central characters, whom I liked very much.
I enjoyed the very appropriate black humour and the uncomfortable relationships.However, as the film got further into the action, the plot seemed to start slowing down, and ended up going in a direction that I didn't find interesting at all.
But when a mysterious client (Struan Rodger) offers the men another 'hit list' to complete, the contract sets off a chain of events which shatters the lives of everybody involved, subsequently leading to a horrifyingly brutal final act conclusion.To describe 'Kill List' as an outright horror would be doing a massive disservice to the film.
While the camera most often than not utilizes close-up shots coupled with Williams score bringing the audience to the forefront of the emotional pain involved, Jay after all, first and foremost is a male in the patriarchal role who is struggling to provide for his family.'Kill List' isn't a nicely packaged film full to the brim with concrete conclusions and flawless narrative developments, but it is a film which provokes thought and discussion over the little things in life.
Down-on-his-luck contract killer Jay (Neil Maskell) and his best pal Gal (Michael Smiley) accept an assignment that slowly draws them into a world of satanic horror from which there is no escape.Kill List's choppy editing style, intense characters, gritty atmosphere, improvisational performances, and gut-churning moments of extreme brutality all make for a very uneasy viewing experience, but once director Ben Wheatley introduces his film's satanic element, its a growing sense of familiarity that makes for a less than comfortable watch.To put it another way, the film is bordering on brilliant until Wheatley's influences become blatantly obvious, after which it loses much of its initial impact.
As Kill List progresses, it becomes possible to draw more and more parallels to several other horror titles, most notably Race With The Devil, The Wicker Man, and A Serbian Film, and as a result the film is difficult to admire as a whole.Fans of really violent movies should check this out purely for one incredibly nasty scene—a well executed, extremely vicious hammer attack that leaves the victim with several irreparably broken bones and his brains on the outside—but be prepared to feel more than a bit frustrated by the time the film's final predictable twist is brought into play.9/10 for everything up to the 'torch-light procession through the woods' scene, 3/10 for the rest; although this averages out at a fairly respectable 6/10, it's still a disappointing score for a film that, for a while, looked like it might have been a modern classic..
The plot is about Jay and Gal, two hit men, who are given a list of three people to kill by a mysterious client.
But the film is also so much more than those expectations of a run of the mill Brit gangster flick being a thriller, tense drama and of course horror too and as for the ending well you'll just have to wait and see.I found the characters believable and sympathetic even when events take a turn for the worse.
Night Shyamalan - and this isn't a compliment - with all cheap effects and surprises which aren't at all (the hunchback, nobody saw it coming miles away ^^).In my opinion, it looks like the film-maker began the movie with no idea where it was supposed to go and got inspiration from nastier and nastier alcohols and drugs as time went by.
Kill List (2011) last night for first time, I just could not get into the movie at all, the leads actor just got annoying.I not really big fan of Hit man movies, there kind of bore me, then, I so bored at 45 min mark, not horror actually happen.
Maskell is excellent as the borderline unhinged Jay, and Smiley complements this in counterpoint as the wry, sloth-like Gal. MyAnna Buring as wife-cum-handler Shel is intense in her fearless comforting and hazing of Jay. Their love and problems never seem less than authentic and pressing.The plot, involving the two hit men working their way through a Kill List supplied by amoral upper class employers, fizzes along nicely, the two men's increasing reluctance punctuated by moments of explosive violence.
I can't comprehend someone giving this film one star--although perhaps the fact that Kill List can elicit such hate speaks more to its strengths than its weaknesses.Watch this film knowing as little as possible about it.I think people dislike it because it is surprising--it is not a relationship film, it is not a hit-man film, and it is not a horror film.
The film starts of as a sort of domestic drama, and then turns into a hit-man thriller and finally an occult horror.
(Rating: 18, 95 mins) Written by Zen TerrelongeStarring – Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Michael Smiley.Kill List is a hit-man film like never seen before and with good reason – if anyone thought this up a few years ago they'd possibly have been burned at the stake or less dramatically, sectioned.The opener shows off the distinct sound that director Ben Wheatley toyed around with personally, as the rumbling noise of a knife scratching on wood creates the film's symbol on the screen.The plot follows former soldier Jay (Maskell), turned idle layabout and burden to his exhausted wife Shel (Buring) and as their funds run low, enormously explosive rows between the two go off, something their young son is a constant witness to.During a dinner date at their home, best friend to Jay, Gal (Smiley) visits with new squeeze, the 'glary-eyed phantom' Fiona.
Some great hand-held shots, close ups, over the shoulder, as well as sudden and delayed cuts create an edgy, tense experience.A sprawling British countryside landscape complete with grey, drizzled skies displays the out of city gig that the film is set.The locations of the hits all look quite nondescript but it's the sheer graphic violence that takes place within that will imprint on the audience.The film overall is quite silent, it makes for an underwater sensation and then lapping over the top of the silence comes ringing ominous tones.Wheatley may have been mildly inspired by one blood-loving man (no, not Edward Cullen), as it seems he and Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino share a fondness for chapter titles with Kill List ensuring select scenes are complete with introductions.Maskell is brilliant as the erratic wideboy with varying personalities, his time of service clearly plays a factor to his mental state, the numerous rows between Maskell and the bold and beautiful revelation that is Buring are genuinely awkward, and the intensity projected from them both is incredibly real.The screams wash over you as though you're in the room with them not knowing where to look or like you're a neighbour next door cursing whilst pumping up the volume on the TV to mask their domestics.Arguably the film could be deemed a pitch black comedy, one so dark it's blue, the line execution, particularly that of Smiley's is hilarious as he and Maskell bounce off of each other.Throughout the film I was hooked, totally compelled as the kill scenarios gradually got darker and more disturbing but what disappointed me was the ending.Until that point I was riveted and the mind was fully switched on, having seen that conclusion, I think my mind will stay permanently wired in a way Red Bull can never achieve until I can figure out just exactly what it was I witnessed.Genre has been a big debate, many consider it a horror, it's horrific but it's not a horror, it's a graphic, dramatic thriller with unbelievable tension and mystery building up throughout.Killer casting, killer direction but a not so killer finish.7/10Brought to you by zentertainmentweekly.com Kill List is out in cinemas now..
Unless I get amnesia or something.Kill List is one of the best British horror films I've seen.
It seems to be one of the main reasons people do not like the film, and while it does require an open mind, there have been clues throughout the film (again though, I only noticed these on a repeat viewing) and it is a chilling end to the film, the final denouement being both tragic and shocking.As for the violence, there is not a lot of it but when it comes, well its hard to watch.
Taking it's time to build up suspense and tension; allowing the audience into it gently then finishing of with a surprising ending that you don't anticipate.The sound for this film was so good that it alone left me scared and terrified.I watched this not knowing it was a horror as I normally can't stomach them.
What starts as a slow movie where you wonder how this will turn into horror or a thriller will end in a pool of violence.
If I had a true enemy on this earth, I'd buy them this film for their birthday, as they'd likely want to end themselves after the torturous hell that is watching Killing List.