"Kill List" isn't your average run of the mill horror movie. In fact, while watching it you're not really aware you're watching a horror movie until the last 15 minutes of the film. "Kill List" is a sort of gangster/horror movie hybrid that settles itself into the dark recesses of your brain and stays there long after it has ended.
The film centers around Jay (pictured above) a skilled hit man who suffers from post traumatic stress after a botched assignment. Jay wants nothing more then to leave his morally ambiguous profession behind him to spend time with his wife and son. He is convinced by his best friend and partner Gal to take one last assignment before retiring. The assignment is to assassinate three targets: a priest, a librarian and politician. Personally I would have spared the priest and librarian and skip right to the politician but that's just kooky old me.
The assignment is handed down to Jay and Gal by a mysterious aristocrat who appears to know more about Jay then Jay himself.
It becomes very clear to Jay that this isn't a normal hit *DISCLAIMER* I realize "normal hit" is sort of an oxymoron but in actuality this is definitely not your usual hit *END DISCLAIMER* Before they meet their demises each of the targets thank Jay and tell him it was an honor to meet him. None of them make any sort of effort to fight back either. They accept their fates without fear which leads Jay and Gal to believe there is more to this assignment then meets the eye. I'm not going to spoil anything mostly because I believe there is a special spot in hell for folk who spoil movies (not sure what specific circle of hell but I'm assuming its the same circle inhabited by Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and people who listen to dubstep) Jay and Gal are completely correct in assuming that something wicked this way comes.
The plot of "Kill List" unfolds in three acts. The first act deals primarily with Jay and his family. I found Jay to be a sympathetic character. Yes he is a trained killer but he is seeking redemption by becoming a better husband and father. There is a beautifully filmed scene in the beginning where Jay his son and wife partake in a mock sword fight that is actually quite heart warming. The scenes in the first act are brightly lit creating the warm feel of a family film.
The second act of the film deals with Jay and Gal completing their mysterious assignment. The warm and fuzzy family film feel of the first act is shed for a darker and almost Guy Ritchie feel. There is an air of mystery surrounding the second act as Jay and Gal attempt to figure out the mysterious nature of their mission at hand at the same time tracking down their three targets. Shocking and brutal violence awaits the viewer in the second act. Some of the violence will probably have you begging to go back to the films care free first act."Kill List" contains something that is seldom seen in horror cinema these days CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!! The viewer knows everything about Jay. In the first act his relationship with his family is examined in full and in the second act his relationship with Gal is also shown in full.
Then we get to the third act of the film. In the first two acts there are little hints and teases that this gangster flick you are watching and hopefully enjoying might turn into a horror flick around the next dark corner. Let me tell you my readers tread around that corner lightly. I'm not going to say much about the third act other then it is completely TERRIFYING,NERVE WRACKING,BONE CHILLING, TRAUMA INDUCING!!!! Prepare yourselves wanderers and say goodbye to sleeping well for a long time!
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