I have discussed this numerous times on The Dorks Deduction Podcast but I don't scare as easy as sane human beings. I was desensitised to gore and violence at quite a young age, having older siblings I often watched whatever they watched instead of the usual Disney animated films which would have been more appropriate. In theory the lack of fear would seem to be a good thing but it's truly not, I see what people go through when watching a film they deem scary. The shock, the awe and the excitement in their faces wasn't something I remembered experiencing, instead all I did was think about how it wasn't scary in the slightest. Then Kill List happened.
I recently professed my burgeoning obsession with the work of Ben Wheatley which started off with my viewing of his 2011 film Kill List. I knew almost nothing about it before watching it other than it's name and from that I assumed that it would be a thriller because what else would it be? I'm happy to say I was incorrect. Kill List on the surface seem like another British gangster flick, following two contract killers on assignment. If it had followed that format it would have been far less interesting and my jaw wouldn't have dropped so low that I had to have it wired shut, it was that shocking.
The protagonist, Jay (Neil Maskell), is a former soldier who is making attempts to provide for his family by using his specific skill set, killing people. He and his partner, Gal (Michael Smiley), agree to complete a job to kill people on a list provided to them by an employer who signs the contract by making a blood pact. At this point I probably should have realised that this was not the ordinary thriller fare but I just thought that this guy was a little odd. What ensued was a mess of violence which was expected but not in the way that's usually portrayed in the genre that I originally believed this to be. It's very rare that I see contract killers in films receiving a list like this and even rarer that the victims are yearning for the brutal murders and thanking them they are committing the act. That was when I finally realised that this was no ordinary thriller.
It turns out this was a film about a cult and I had no idea, just like Jay. These bizarre things are occurring to him and the viewer is in the dark too, following his grotesque story unfolding which is great! I didn't expect these offbeat fragments of the story line to happen so I truly felt the shock and I felt like cowering my eyes behind my sweaty palms at some moments in the film. This is the exhilaration that I'd been waiting for, what everyone else had been experiencing. The result of watching "what the fuckery", a term I have coined for describing Wheatlean films (yes, I've coined that term also). The climactic ending to the film almost topped me over the edge, so unforeseen but made sense in the context of the film. I. Loved. It.
I would've enjoyed it even if I wasn't slightly on the sociopath spectrum, it is a brilliant film. The scripting was fantastic, stylistically is was superb and well acted all around. Wheatley did what I didn't think anyone could do, he put the fear of Satan in me so I applaud him for that. This is truly a must watch, but if you scare easily maybe watch it during the day with the drapes open.
Live Long and Blog!
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