The film is about a former soldier Jay (Neil Maskell) who hasn't worked since returning home from Kiev and finds life in the civilian world difficult to deal with. Coupled with ongoing financial concerns, makes for a strained relationship with wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) and their young son Sam. They host a dinner for friend Gal (Michael Smiley) and his rather odd partner Fiona (Emma Fryer) which was excruciating to watch as the tension builds up between Jay and Shel leading to a heated argument off camera.
Gal talks Jay into accepting some work as a hit man (something they previously did together) but this job is shrouded in mystery, particularly after they meet the person ordering the hit who decides that in order to 'seal the deal', he has to slice Jay's hand. This was an injury that never quite heals throughout the film and seems to be a metaphor for the film itself in many ways.
The couple work through the list and we are never given the reasons why these people are on the list, but their demises are grisly and needless to say, Jay takes out all his frustrations on each hit. This is something that Gal finds difficult to work with and eventually warns Jay to stop acting crazy.
Then the film goes off onto another tangent, involving a cult which involves naked people in a forest at some kind of ceremony. These are the film's most disturbing scenes (even more so than the acts of violence which are shown in full, unflinching detail); partly due to the lack of light within the scenes as you are never sure who is attacking who and what becomes of them.
The final twist in the film is completely unexpected and particularly gruesome and in many aspects, completely unexplained or justified.
This film is deeply disturbing, very claustrophobic but brilliantly made given its very low budget. As I have already mentioned, you leave the cinema with more questions than answers and after chatting to two seasoned cinema goers, it would appear I was not alone in thinking this.
The two central performances were very engaging, and you easily empathised with the issues that Jay was struggling with. The dialogue was very realistic, the script was tight and there were absolutely no lulls in this 92 minute film. However, I was frustrated by the lack of a proper, conclusive ending and having thought about it overnight, this really acts as a disservice to the film. The violence is raw and unwavering, but as it was clearly the right approach for this film, this wasn't an issue for me. However, people with a more delicate constitution should be aware that the violence is very much in your face.
Verdict: A gritty, disturbing but well made Brit flick which deserves the plaudits it will receive, however the lack of a proper ending will frustrate many cinema-goers. Memorable, but only for the fact that this is the first film I've seen where an audience member fainted mid-way.
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