The October Project 2: Day 22

 

"They should suffer."

 

Kill List  (2011)
Directed by Ben Wheatley 

This is a tricky film to write about because it strikes a very delicate balance among it's varied genre elements. I'd call it a thriller, primarily, with a touch of middle-class family drama spiralling inexorably toward a devastating, horrific, conclusion. So the less said, the better.
A British hit man is dragged reluctantly from retirement for "one last job", a series of  murders in which the victims seem to peacefully, even joyfully accept their fates. There is so much more to it than that, but I feel to say anything more would be telling too much.
However, I'll happily talk about director Ben Wheatley. I've seen three film by this gifted British director, this one, the darkly comic Sightseers and the phantasmagoric A Field in England and I can tell you, he is the real thing. A filmmaker to watch, he combines an truly individual approach to horror and suspense with an almost Mike Leigh level of character development. What a talent!