Ben Wheatley’s horrible horror is still horribly magnificent.
Put simply, there are hundreds of film reviews hidden away within my archives as well as hiding away inside behemoth articles cataloguing a film’s director’s entire career as at the time of writing. I’ve included a link at the bottom of this paragraph to my original blog article I penned on the career of director Ben Wheatley starting with his underrated masterpiece Down Terrace from 2009 through to Free Fire in 2016. Ben has subsequently directed three further films in the past six years, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, Rebecca and In The Earth and all are on my ever lengthening watch list!
So here’s a link to my adoration of the cinematic career of Ben Wheatley (2009–2016) as well as a full reproduction of my original review article for Kill List written almost a decade ago.
Ben Wheatley and 6 highly recommended British films
Down Terrace, Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England, High-Rise and Free Fire. 7 years. 6 incredible films. Lovingly…medium.com
“You shouldn’t shout at Mummy”
At just 95 minutes long, this horror/thriller has damn near everything. The scene is set from the very first shot, very first look, and the film is unrelenting until the final scene. It’s difficult to classify as a horror/thriller as it’s so much more than that and even after several re-viewings it still surprises with the touches you missed the first time which are more evident, yet still you see something, and yet another piece of the puzzle on further viewings. Not strictly a three act structure, more a fluid film weaving a narrative between the main characters. I’ll briefly appraise the opening act, fully explore part of act two and leave the rest to your imaginations and hopefully your DVD and Blu Ray players.
It’s a film that simply must be seen.
“Jay” (Neil Maskell) has been out of work for nine months and with money problems mounting, this is clearly affecting his relationship with wife “Shel” (MyAnna Buring), as is very starkly demonstrated by their furious arguments followed by awkward and unconvincing reconciliations. The tension is always evident and with subtle jump cuts even within a simple series of scenes (a tearful telephone call cuts to a slow motion play fight with rubber swords and shields), an air of dread and tension continues and we quickly arrive at the pre-arranged evening dinner party with friends “Gal” (Michael Smiley) and “Fiona” (Emma Fryer). A fractious dinner party ensues, always bubbling with innuendo, caustic wit, accusations and an unrelenting tension that finally snaps before a gear changing “breather” scene drains away the tension, to be replaced by a proposition from Gal.
A kill list is available: 3 targets. Big money.
Towards the end of Act One another “breather” scene is brilliantly played, equal parts terrifying and funny, there follows a contract that is quite literally signed in blood and Jay and Gal prepare for their first kill professionally and meticulously and not “as gang bangers…..in a hail of bullets”. The kill list is made up of three individual targets and the film pronounces these targets with simple slides before each contract kill, “The Priest”, “The Librarian” and “The MP”. Here is my dissection of The Priest:
Staking out a picturesque church from their car, Jay and Gal approach the church and another of the film’s themes is used again, that of a scene continuing quickly with jump cuts and continued dialogue becoming a short narration. This time it’s Gal as he protests “For the record, I’ve hardly done any terrible shit” as they break into the church we cut quickly to the Priest continuing his ceremony, a pattern of constant cutting back and forth between the two scenarios is set, however the audio from each scene has been replaced by a mournful orchestral track which is also replaced with a sinister “hum” as the Priest packs away the last of his Bibles.
Gal crosses himself (Jay in background with nonchalant stare at the door) before they both prepare their killing zone, methodically and professionally. The Priest enters his office slightly bemused at the see through plastic covering the entirety of his desk area and with a faint but frightened smile sees Jay pointing a pistol directly at him. “Turn Round” is the order from Jay, with a simple “Thank You” response from The Priest.
With no expression from either Gal or Jay, the body is unceremoniously dumped from a height, bundled quickly into their waiting car and burnt at an incinerator. “Why do you think he had that smile on his face?” enquires Gal to which Jay dismissively replies “Probably at peace, you know”. The scene itself continues but rather than continue in detail, I’ll note a continuing theme of the film and that of the nature of the killers themselves. The scene continues with Jay and Gal checking into yet another hotel, another bland, soulless, and crucially, low key hotel. Their preparations and discussions are seen, a monotonous grind of every day interactions within a low key hotel room juxtaposed against a life away from which are anything but monotonous or unremarkable. The same can be said for the other main characters, both of whom have a duality of character not always visible, but this theme is a constant throughout the film. All characters have a matter of fact nature about them, an ends justifies the means Machiavellian response which often unnerves you.
Act Three contains fifteen minutes of truly terrifying suspense and anxiety. It is unrelenting and sometimes difficult to watch and on many levels, comprehend. The clues have been laid out throughout the film, but to list them or even hint further would be to spoil the story which is not my intention. Jim Williams original music score was mentioned in my dissection of The Priest scene above and is a haunting, thoughtful joy, heightening the tension slowly throughout. There’s often only a faint “whistling” as a score, which is also unnerving at times. An outstanding support cast in mainly cameo roles is headed by a lovely performance from the youngest cast member, Harry Simpson as Jay and Shel’s son “Sam”, his early tender scenes with Jay so funny and joyful. Struan Rodger as “The Client” is superb and there are returning roles from previous Wheatley directed films for both Robert Hill as “High Priest” and Robin Hill as “Stuart”.
The comparisons with The Wicker Man become stark and very apt, but being a little biased, I love this film far, far more. Employing regular subtle jump cuts similar to his previous film, and brief blank slides to literally cut between the scenes, the Director moves this brief film along at a pace despite some scenes giving an air of normalcy, of vacuous routine. But the sense of dread, and of intrigue and apprehension is always there, sometimes leaving the film a difficult watch. The violence is at times horrific, blatant and graphic, the lead up to the violence often far worse and similar in theme to his previous film Down Terrace. Expertly helmed by Wheatley, he brings the absolute best out of his four stars yet again.
“Jay” (Neil Maskell). His background unexplained, his bad back a cover for deeper psychological wounds and so very desperately over the edge, Neil Maskell is just outstanding. Central in every scene, we see his stark descent so vividly, so inexplicably and so painfully. A stellar performance.
“Gal” (Michael Smiley). Teetering on the edge and the joker of the two hired killers, Michael Smiley is sublime in his second collaboration with Director Wheatley and as one of his biggest fans, Smiley is ridiculously good again here.
“Shel” (MyAnna Buring). The mirror to her husband’s descent, MyAnna Buring is just stunning with a heart breaking portrayal. The film’s pulse and heart beat.
“Fiona” (Emma Fryer). The smallest of the four star roles but a fantastic performance from Emma Fryer. Nuanced and underplayed, but wait for the smile! Oh, and wait for the hotel visit too!
As with Down Terrace, Ben Wheatley wrote, edited and directed this masterpiece. Co-written with Amy Jump who also edited with Ben and the returning Robin Hill. Special praise is reserved for returning Director of Photography Laurie Rose for the film as a whole naturally, but for two scenes in particular, the hotel visit of Fiona as briefly mentioned above and for a series of scenes that I’m not even going to hint at for spoiler reasons. When you’ve seen them, you’ll know the exact scenes I’m referring to.
My favourite film of 2011 and it had a lot of competition. 25 total credited roles in a 95 minute film of pure majesty. Ranks alongside The Blair Witch Project as a film I immediately want to dive into a conversation with someone and dissect it scene by scene. Horrific at times, but so brilliantly portrayed.
It’s my Blair Witch of the decade so far.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film and television articles are linked below or there’s well over 100 blog articles (with 300+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” — A retrospective
The multi Oscar winner remains a beautiful gem.medium.com
“Moon” revisited from the dark side of Sam Rockwell
Duncan Jones cinematic debut is still a disturbing joy.medium.com