Kill List. A Show Town Story.

Directed by James Millar

2023

We open a new short from Midlands filmmaker James Millar with the sounds of muffled police radio reports, sirens blaring and some hard-hitting music which immediately brings an audience into its world of urban crime.

Nighttime shots of a city help set up the dark state of affairs we’re about to enter, whilst gloved hands on a steering wheel hint at possible mysterious misdeeds from the outset.

Millar’s short continues its scene-setting with a mobile phone message voice asking how it feels to kill two people, followed by a hint that three more people are next on this deadly list. And before long, we are introduced to a man smoking by his car as his mobile buzzes to provide a map and headshot photo of his next target.

This protagonist hitman (Ashley Millar) heads into a funfair and here the director uses some impressive “shoot the rodeo” shots. This is a term coined by Red Letter Media to describe films who use pre-existing events (“a Rodeo is coming to town”) as a backdrop for their own project giving production value and interesting locations at little or no cost. And it’s well-handled here.

As winner of Best Cinematography at this year’s Midlands Movies Awards, the short is also a feast for the eyes. It contains Drive-style coolness combined with some John Wick neon from the funfair rides. And a few sunset shots enable the short to have a cinematic look that’s suitably impressive for a low budget film.

Back in the plot, our protagonist proceeds to order junk food which shows his nonchalant and seen-it-all-before attitude, and this is complimented by excellent intensity-raising and pulsating music from Chris Datson to create more tension.

As we head towards its conclusion, the film does seems like a proof-of-concept project or part of a larger piece as the ending is sudden and appears to explain little of the full picture.

We don’t need it spelt out but some greater development or even an exchange of dialogue (the Gosling-inspired almost-mute Drive character definitely shines in this aspect) could have helped the plot development. What is provided is just about enough to put things into context but I would have liked more to clarify plot and character.

Also, with only a 4-minute runtime, the 1-minute of credits seemed overkill as although some shots provide the setup, it is mostly time wasted in projects of this length.

That said, as the hitman finally comes across his drug-dealing target there are ambiguous flashbacks to other crimes filmed well in stark black and white. Millar cross-cuts these moments with the modern day footage in cleverly edited sequences before gun shots ring out during the film’s finale.

Kill List A Shoe Town Story has promise and hopefully can be completed in further instalments or with the addition another short to really flesh out its intriguing crime-filled story. The technical side including its music, shot composition and of course the cinematography, is exceptional and impressively handled. In the end, whilst the film has a few gaps, the brief runtime still packs a short-sharp violent shot of moody revenge and hitman homicide to enjoy.

★★★½

3.5/5

Michael Sales