Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- foreboding
- bleak
- paranoid
- late night horror viewing
- arthouse horror night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an expertly executed, sensitively acted slow-burn crime thriller that morphs into visceral, disturbing horror.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jay's paid-killing assignment begins as a grounded hitman story before transforming into cult-centered horror.
Hotels, homes, roads, and woodland spaces are rendered with seductively rough textures and an arthouse-realist mood.
Jay's post-traumatic stress and domestic instability intensify as the killings draw him into increasingly disturbing encounters.
The hitman's contemporary investigation leads toward cult ritual, pagan imagery, and a rural atmosphere of ancient menace.
Films like Kill List, and why
The Wicker Man
Shares a slow-burn british folk horror atmosphere, rural menace, cult mythology, and escalating dread.
The Empty Man
Combines a grounded crime narrative with visceral horror, psychological destabilization, and a disturbing genre shift.
A Field in England
Shares bleak domestic realism, occult mystery, brutal violence, and an emotionally punishing descent into darkness.
Movie Details
- Director
- Ben Wheatley
- Release Date
- 2011-09-02
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (918)
Cast
- Neil Maskell
- MyAnna Buring
- Harry Simpson
- Michael Smiley
- Struan Rodger
- Emma Fryer
- Esme Folley
- Ben Crompton
- Gemma Lise Thornton
- Robin Hill
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Sundance Now
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Kill List about?
- A traumatized hitman’s routine contract becomes a brutally surreal descent into cult violence and existential dread.
- What is Kill List like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Kill List as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Kill List violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Kill List as graphic.
- What did critics think of Kill List?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an expertly executed, sensitively acted slow-burn crime thriller that morphs into visceral, disturbing horror.
- Which films are like Kill List?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wicker Man, The Empty Man, and A Field in England.
- How long is Kill List?
- Kill List runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch Kill List?
- In United States, Kill List streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Sundance Now.
