Get Carter meets The Wicker Man. “A brilliantly constructed horror-drama that is put together in such a way that its grim twists surprise and engage.” — Screendaily
It’s directed with the sure hand of a man who knows precisely which corners of darkness he wants to take his audience.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2011
Kill List 2011
Ben Wheatley’s quasi-vérité UK horror-thriller starts off in Mike Leigh territory, with a cringe-inducing dinner party, before spiralling into a world of paranoid pagan terrors. Unemployed ex-soldier Jay and his Swedish wife Shel are on shaky ground with money woes and a marriage that’s unravelling. When Jay’s cheerful war buddy Gal and his new girlfriend Emma turn up, the wine-fuelled celebration turns downright nasty as Jay’s ever-simmering temper erupts. Later on, Gal lures Jay back into their murky past life with promises of a big payout for a few dodgy missions. On one of these missions Jay discovers something so depraved he switches from work-for-hire guy to vicious moral avenger. The film delicately shifts in tone from a kitchen sink melodrama to a funny buddy movie, to an edge-of-your-seat horror film in its final reel. A masterful assured second feature from one of the most exciting new genre directors working today. — AT