"Kill List" Review

A lot of films ascribe themselves as some sort of nightmare. As if the filmmaker is trying to say that their film has some either surreal or extremely over indulgent artistic moments that it's easier to describe the film as a nightmare. Rather than say a film has some sort of artistic embellishments.

Aside from 'Dreamscape' cinema (aka; The Nightmare On Elm St. series, that are actually about dreams, I think there are only 3 real films I would call . . . (outside of the extremely art house) dreams. . . Jacob's Ladder, An Andalusian Dog, and Ben Wheatly's unusual hit-man for hire horror film "Kill List".)

The plot of "Kill List" is very simple an out of work hit-man for hire and his friend team up for a job . . . assassinate 4 people; a priest, a librarian, a politician, and a hunchback. And there in lies the puzzle. Our main hit-man has an obvious temper and a family. But his temper is out of control, he fights with his wife, his friend, and ultimately channels his rage violently on the people he's meant to assassinate creating much of a mess. During the job they were hired to do a bunch of weird stuff happens, like the man they hired him to to the job with cuts our main hit-man's hand open. They are bound to finish this job. And both men are evil. Despite the fact that it seems like they are assassinating other evil men we get no real sense of goodness in the film. During the hits they take on one by one they discover a sick underground cult that our main hit-man becomes obsessed with eradicating. It's strongly hinted at that this cult indulges in rather sick rituals. And as they get deeper in their quest they they become entangled with the cult to an ending that if it doesn't shock and disturb you it's destined to puzzle and intrigue you.

This film is dreamlike in the simple way it's shot and edited. Moment's dissolve and flood into other moments almost arbitrarily. It takes it's time at some points . . . and then cuts directly to other points, it's incredibly disorienting. But for horror fans looking for a film with a different vibe and dare I say different 'message', check it out. It's very bizarre but gets my moderate thumbs up.