Our look back at Ben Wheatley's directing career and movies continues today as we put Kill List in the spotlight.
Kill List
Wheatley is back in the director's chair this week as he returns with High-Rise, a big screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard. The book was adapted into a screenplay by Amy Jump while Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, and Sienna Miller lead an all-star cast list.
It was back in 2011 when Wheatley took up the director's chair for Kill List, which was the second movie in his filmmaking career. As well as being in the director's chair, Wheatley teamed up with Jump to pen the film's screenplay. Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, and Michael Smiley made up the cast list.
Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
Kill List saw Wheatley bring together elements of crime/thriller with horror in his latest film, which proved to be the breakthrough movie for the director.
I love Kill List for the visceral experience that Wheatley delivers; it is a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat as well as delivering some dark humour. The director proves that he is a master of suspense as he create the tension and a sense of dread with each and every scene - the final bombshell really is a terrific moment in the film.
Wheatley expertly builds the tension without ever sacrificing the character development or the story. This is a film that may start off as a bit of a slow-burner, but the ferocity that Wheatley weave into the story by the end will truly shred your nerves.
Neil Maskell is perhaps one of the most underrated British actors and you tend to find that he is cast is similar sort of projects - which is a real shame. He gives the performance of his career in Kill List that is ferocious and truly terrifying.
The power that he brings to his performance and the character of Jay is really what drives the film. He was rewarded with a Best Actor nomination at the British Independent Film Awards in 2011 and was one of a string of nominations that Kill List picked up that year.
Kill List may not have been a huge commercial hit upon release, but the film was met well critically and made just about everyone sit up and take note of Wheatley as both a writer and director.
Kill List was one of the best British films to hit the big screen in 2011, it showed that Wheatley was a director on the rise while he continued to champion home-grown acting talent. If you are a fan of Wheatley's more recent work, Kill List is a film that you really have to check out.
High Rise is released 18th March.
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