Kill List

Name: Kill List
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: February 3, 2012
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 67

2012

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Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 57 Ratings

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6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 57 Ratings

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Kill List

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: February 3, 2012 | Not Rated

Summary: Eight months after a botched job in Kiev, Jay is an out-of-work hit man with no job, money, health insurance and a wife constantly on his case. But when his business partner Gal comes over for dinner and pressures Jay into taking a new assignment, Jay quickly finds himself back in the game with the promise of a big payoff after threeEight months after a botched job in Kiev, Jay is an out-of-work hit man with no job, money, health insurance and a wife constantly on his case. But when his business partner Gal comes over for dinner and pressures Jay into taking a new assignment, Jay quickly finds himself back in the game with the promise of a big payoff after three assassinations. Although the hits start off without incident, soon things begin to unravel and Jay's paranoia reveals itself as he is plunged into the heart of darkness. (IFC Films)… Expand

Director: Ben Wheatley

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Boxoffice Magazine Todd Gilchrist

Jan 29, 2012

Kill List is a major breakthrough for writer/director Ben Wheatley, whose assured and painstaking handling of this difficult material makes for an unforgettable viewing experience. Read full review

Joshua Rothkopf

Jan 31, 2012

There's still tremendous vitality here, and Wheatley's avoidance of yet another Guy Ritchie gabfest is a pleasure in itself. Read full review

Andrew O'Hehir

Feb 2, 2012

There's no disputing the ingenuity and even the brilliance of this mind-bending mashup, which begins as a gritty recession-era marriage drama - the opening scene features a couple arguing about whether they have the money to get the Jacuzzi fixed - and then descends into ominous violence and finally total insanity. Read full review

Ty Burr

Mar 1, 2012

A scuzzy little cross between a crime movie and a horror freak-out that gets under your skin and stays there, even if you can't understand half of what the characters are saying. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

Feb 2, 2012

That assured style is the spackle that holds Kill List together: when the plot doglegs into insanity, and the characters follow suit, this brutal fever dream refuses to fall apart. Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Feb 29, 2012

Viewers will find themselves well into this intriguing movie before they get a sense of what it's about and where it's going. And even then, they'll never correctly predict the film's outcome or foretell its bizarre ending. Read full review

Joe Neumaier

Feb 2, 2012

It would be easy to say that the final minutes of this mixed-up thriller make everything before it meaningless, but that would indicate the odd conclusion has meaning, too. Read full review

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User Reviews

ianmustard

May 10, 2016

This movie is really stunning. You can't go into it with the expectation that it is a traditional horror movie, or that all of your questions will be answered in the end; and, although the movie is terrifying, I wouldn't go in asking to be scared with jump-out scenes and blood and cheapThis movie is really stunning. You can't go into it with the expectation that it is a traditional horror movie, or that all of your questions will be answered in the end; and, although the movie is terrifying, I wouldn't go in asking to be scared with jump-out scenes and blood and cheap gimmicks. There comes a problem with making a film to fit a genre: a horror, a slasher, a psychological thriller--this movie encompasses all of these things and more. Incredible music and cinematography, a visual and auditory work of art as well as being damn good entertainment, it shook me to the core.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

snailmovies

Feb 9, 2012

In Ben Wheatley's horror-thriller, two hit men go on a traumatic and soft objective into the occult. It's so extreme that some will look away.

If you're a hit man by business, then you've already created a cope with the demon, even if those you remove tumble into the type of people spend ofIn Ben Wheatley's horror-thriller, two hit men go on a traumatic and soft objective into the occult. It's so extreme that some will look away.

If you're a hit man by business, then you've already created a cope with the demon, even if those you remove tumble into the type of people spend of the drug-dealing, kidnapping, warmongering type. So really, it should come as no shock that Jay and Gal, the eliminating blokes in the draped horror-thriller "Kill Record," have gotten themselves into a unusual fix, though having to close a agreement in our blood should have been a tip-off.

The revealing if not exactly fulfilling night that penetrates into every part of this newest English transfer from movie maker Ben Wheatley requires it is time getting to the serious evildoing that the movie director and his co-writer, Amy Leap, have in thoughts, however.

Instead, it starts with a shouting go with between Jay (Neil Maskell) and his spouse, Shel (MyAnna Buring). After botching a job, Jay has been out of perform for several weeks, charges and stress are flipping up, all of which Shel sits out with agonizing invective. To which Jay replies in type.

That units the level and the overall tone for this grown-up home of disasters. His old associate Gal (Michael Smiley) wants him to consider one last job together. He does, but there is a cost. It includes three visits, with Jay progressively more unhinged, each get rid of more chaotic than the last. Gal is incapable to control him in; their justifications about what is and isn't appropriate when it comes to eliminating still won't make you for what's on display.

This is a far more extreme movie than Wheatley's first, 2009's "Down Rooftop." Though it had criminal offense at its middle as well, it was sensible by a dry paradox and far less our blood. There is no counteract in "Kill Record," with one world so constant in its gore that it creates the infamous lift world in "Drive" light in evaluation.

What "Kill List" and "Down Terrace" discuss is Wheatley's really like of heavy planning, though like Jay, you wish someone would sometimes control him in too. His are testimonies that need interest and usually compensate, losing enticing parts along the way, then conclusion with a hit. Now Wheatley is enthusiastic about the heart and how it can be damaged and co-opted. Black products, but it gives the characters a lot to perform with.

Maskell and Buring confirm the best couple, warm as they simple the love-hate of a plagued wedding. And viewing Maskell change from a type of Wally Mitty of hit men to gigantic is, I have to confess, interesting.

The street here brings Gal and Jay toward the occult. Associates and guests keep flipping up in unanticipated methods, and the unusual ritualistic methods that include demon praise begin materializing. Including to the common unease is the gritty, documented look obtained by movie director of photography Laurie Increased, who taken "Down Terrace" as well. The camera is unflinching, and so is Wheatley, as the tale goes toward the impossible. It's eventually left to you when and whether to look away.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

cabrita

Sep 30, 2012

A gruesomely entertaining scary flick. It demands to be talked about seen again and again. It's hard to say anything about the plot but there are so many intricate themes and interpretive parts of the plot that will leave you thinking about it long after you've seen it . A mesmerising picture.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

Halfwelshman

Feb 24, 2012

Kill List works extremely well as a taut, quite terrifying horror film about an out-of control British hitman. Neil Maskell is mesmerising as Jay, a frustrated ex-soldier who returns to his past career of contract killing to support his family, but as his emotions begin to intrude, theKill List works extremely well as a taut, quite terrifying horror film about an out-of control British hitman. Neil Maskell is mesmerising as Jay, a frustrated ex-soldier who returns to his past career of contract killing to support his family, but as his emotions begin to intrude, the stress and paranoia linked to his morally dubious job steadily fracture his sanity. Michael Smiley also impresses as Gal, Jay's level-headed long-time hit partner and friend, as does MyAnna Buring as Jay's loving but frustrated wife Shel. The first half of the film is excellent, with tight plotting, steadily building tension and a semi-improvised script. The second half unfortunately becomes a little incoherent and difficult to follow (possibly a deliberate decision by director Ben Wheatley to reflect Jay's unstable state of mind) and the finale, where the film goes all Wickerman is just plain stupid. Kill List works as a film when it keep things real and close to home. When we're following Jay, his family, and the impact his job has on himself and his family, the film is great - dramatically effective, terrifying, and socially relevant all at once. When the film becomes weirder, more fantastical and surreal, it unfortunately becomes silly and pointless. Luckily, this element of the film is very small, only emerging towards the end, so doesn't have the chance to do much lasting damage. If it weren't for its annoying final act, Kill List could have been a British horror classic. A film that begins so well, that offers so much promise as a relevant, scary horror, deserves a much better payoff, and unfortunately this means the film as a whole is good, but not anything exceptional.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

TryASummersault

Aug 6, 2015

British gibberish with some killing scenes mixed in and a brutal ridiculous twist. I had read somewhere that this one of the best horror films of that last decade, and it is in no way.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Fb29

Feb 21, 2015

You know how No Country For Old Men very powerfully expresses the senselessness of violence? So that even if it's not entirely clear why everything happened somehow the point lands and you don't question the ending.

This movie is not like that. This movie has senseless violence with a bitYou know how No Country For Old Men very powerfully expresses the senselessness of violence? So that even if it's not entirely clear why everything happened somehow the point lands and you don't question the ending.

This movie is not like that. This movie has senseless violence with a bit more nonsense thrown on top. It's not very scary. The script is fine. The acting is quite good in my opinion. But it doesn't land.

It's 2015, and I find it hard to believe that you have seen all 100 movies and dozen tv shows that you should catch up from 2012 to today instead of this film. But if you have pretty much watched everything, this is worth watching.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

marc5477

Jan 23, 2016

This movie is not good. Its not really horror in the traditional sense, it is more of a psychological thriller. The audience is placed in the shoes of a hit-man... a very stupid hit-man with little to no will power and no measurable intelligence. How he became a hit-man is a mystery but IThis movie is not good. Its not really horror in the traditional sense, it is more of a psychological thriller. The audience is placed in the shoes of a hit-man... a very stupid hit-man with little to no will power and no measurable intelligence. How he became a hit-man is a mystery but I suppose the fact that he was broke tells us what we need to know. The movie starts off as a domestic drama and changes tones as the hit-man gets a job. We then follow him while he does his job and we find out that there was more to it than simply killing a target. Here is where it all falls apart. Apparently this employer was targeting him from the start and who was the employer? Some sort of cult. What is their motivation? No one knows. We can speculate... but but that is just boring so I wont bother since there are thousands of possibilities. The hit-man is captured by the cult (they could have done this any time) and placed into a fighting arena against an unknown gladiator in a mask (they could have done this any time as well). Well without giving it away, his torture was complete by the end of the death match. All the cultists remove their masks and that is the end of the movie... the problem with the movie is there was a plot hole almost every 10 minutes and about 5 plot holes in the ending.... but its not worth rambling about any further. The movie is not good. It needed some serious character development especially for the cultists who were not creepy, scary or anything. I also did not care for the hit-man, his wife, his friend or anyone else so it really did not matter how things turned out in the end.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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