Scotland’s murky rural woodland is the perfect setting for Kill, a sinister yet sombre thriller centred on generational trauma and brotherhood.
Kill, director and writer Rodger Griffith’s feature debut, follows three volatile brothers in their bid to avenge their mother and put a definitive end to their father’s abusive tyranny.
A shallow grave, a forgotten element and copious amounts of whiskey later, the boys return the morning after the act to find their father’s body gone. Cracks in the brothers’ bond appear.
Distrust, paranoia, and fear corrupt their relationships with one another, leading to a 90-minute long thriller drenched in tension and tenacious drama.
Starring Daniel Portman (Game of Thrones), Brian Vernel (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Calum Ross (Wednesday), and Paul Higgins (The Thick of It), it’s a star-studded nearly all-Scottish cast. The exception is Welshman Ross, who puts on a magnificent accent.
As the plot unwound, the devotion and talent of the cast kept the film mesmerising and mysterious. Not one character obtained the full trust of the audience- to the point that it felt like a whodunnit. All performances were blatantly impressive, bewitching, and convincing.
Each performed wonderfully, doing their bit to make this film a complete nail-biter. The performances by Higgins and Portman were particularly riveting.
The score, composed by Max Aruj and Steffan Thum, also contributes heavily to the feeling of complete tenterhooks throughout the film.
Ominous as it resounds amongst the hills and the trees, the score’s grip on the film’s mood is suffocatingly tight. The music amidst the rain and rustling of rural Scotland gives an excellently eerie feel, well befitting of a thriller.
Visually, the film’s immense beauty adds to the solemn and solitary feel. Shot on an estate in Kilmarnock, the forestry and farmland give an unshakeable feeling of spooky isolation.
It almost makes the film feel like a survival horror, especially when some unexplained sights and sounds start appearing in the woods.
The script is another element that adds to the film’s authenticity. The naturally Scottish dialogue, written by Irishman Griffith who now lives in Glasgow, makes the conversations and spats engaging and believable.
Not many filmmakers could do what Griffith has done on a 21-day shoot in East Ayrshire. Emotional and terrifying, Kill is a stellar example of Scottish-Irish cinema. It’s absolutely worth seeing if you get the chance.
Feature Image Credit: CAA Media Financers
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