• Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
• Video Codec: AVC MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
• Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
• Region: A (Region-Locked)
  
• Rating: Not Rated
• Run Time: 95 Mins.
• Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
• Studio: MPI Media Group
• Blu-ray Release Date: August 14th, 2012
• List Price: $29.99

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Overall
[Rating:4.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

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The Film

[Rating:5/5]

Kill List tells quite the interesting story of Jay (Neil Maskell), a man left with nothing after a disastrous hit job has left him emotional and mentally shaken. When his best friend and partner Gal (Michael Smiley) brings up the idea of being part of a lucrative three-part assignment, Jay seems interested. But, once Gal reveals that the three-parts involve killing a priest, a librarian, and a member of Parliament, Jay jumps at the opportunity (seemingly at least) in hopes that it will drag him out of this rut. Once the two begin their killings, Jay will soon find himself experiencing violent visions, some that send him into a world of darkness he has never seen before. What results is a shocking, at times brutal film, that had me completely floored from moment one on.

Films like Kill List work on the level they do because once the film ends, you have so many questions burning in your mind, you know that you’re going to revisit the movie very, very soon. Akin to that of the always consistently great Christopher Nolan and his 2010 work Inception, we left that movie wondering many things about the characters, and the plot we had just watched. Kill List doesn’t ever openly tell you the answers to said questions, rather it would have you think and come up with your own final answer. What also helps  is the film’s brooding, sometimes haunting score by Jim Williams (which, in all reality, helps elevate the film to the greatness that it is). Williams’ score hits all the right notes, down to the extremely chilling cues between jobs, or the simple, quiet moments. It’s almost if Williams and company knew they were creating a work of art with Kill List. Oh, and trust me, they have. They have indeed.

Video Quality

[Rating:5/5]

This 2:35:1 framed, AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer is downright excellent. Shot using the Red One Camera, the film’s color palette, despite featuring numerous sequences of very dim, low-lit shots, fully uses the color spectrum on both sides. Bright interiors, the yellows, blues, whites, all looked great. Darker moments (and there are a ton) never lose detail, while contrast levels are accurate as can be. Facial close-ups result in a very natural, clean looking feel to them.  All in all, this is a fine effort from MPI, one that in my humble opinion ranks as one of the best of the year.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

The provided DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track hits all the right notes perfectly. Dialogue is expertly reproduced with no instance of drop out via the center channel. Atmosphere is excellent, particularly that of the random ambient sounds composer Jim Williams has added in. Little aspects like of the whooshing of the wind has never sounded so…well….creepy. LFE hits deeply at times, giving us solid low-end that rattles the room. Truly the sound mix all but helps to bring Kill List to another level, with this fine DTS-HD offering from MPI.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:3/5]

The included supplements are featured in High Definition:

• Commentary with Director Ben Wheatley and Writer Amy Jump
• Commentary with Actors Neil Maskell, Myanna Buring and Michael Smiley
• Interviews with Ben Wheatley (Director), Neil Maskell and Myanna Buring (Actors), and Claire Jones and Andrew Starke (Producers) – Wheatley’s interview runs 7 minutes in length and has him mostly discussing the film’s origin. Maskell and Buring’s interview runs 11 minutes and has them discussing their involvement with the film, as well as what drew them to the project. Lastly, Jones and Starke’s interview runs 8 minutes and has them discussing the film’s themes.
• Making Of – This runs just shy of 8 minutes in length and features a few behind-the-scenes glances into the film via raw footage.
• Featurette –
• Trailer – The film’s original trailer is shown.

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4.5/5]

Kill List may not appeal to everyone, but those who are willing to allow their minds to open, to think, to wonder, will definitely find something of real merit here. Equally impressive is MPI’s Blu-ray, with a perfect video presentation, fine, creepy audio, and a few nice features. This one comes nothing short of Highly Recommended for an immediate viewing.

Additional Screen Captures

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Purchase Kill List on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3/5]

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