Kill List

A uniquely terrifying experience, director Ben Wheatley's down-and-dirty chiller moves confidently from edgy soap opera to intense crime thriller to stark satanic shocker. An ex-soldier-turned-contract killer is talked into doing "one last job" with his best mate, but their mysterious employer's hit list brings them into direct contact with the occult. Drawing upon the recurring nightmares he's had since childhood, Wheatley's scares are palpable thanks to the improvised playing of his fresh, sit-up-and-take-notice cast. And the flip from emotional Mike Leigh territory into startling Grand Guignol takes the horror further beyond the comfort zone. Confounding expectations the same way he did with Down Terrace, Wheatley's tale of the unpredictable owes as much to The Parallax View as it does to Race with the Devil. It is darkly comic, brutally violent and a dynamo of dizzying fright stuff.