The Kill Team
3.5/4
Starring: Nat Wolff, Alexander Skarsgard, Adam Long, Jonathan Whitesell, Rob Morrow, Brian Marc
Rated R for Language Throughout, Violent Content and Drug Use
We all love our jerk heroes. You know who I mean: the badass who "gets shit done" regardless of the consequences, doesn't take prisoners, ignores the weak fuddie duddies who are too cautious, the guy who ignores political correctness and "tells it like it is." They're a signature of American culture, particularly in film. The examples are numerous: Tony Stark, any traditional Arnold Schwarzenegger movie or any generic action movie hero. Hell, Tommy Lee Jones has essentially made a career out of playing these types of characters (even winning an Oscar for it). The appeal is easy to identify: we all feel at times like we know best and those who oppose our ideas are idiots. It's nice to find someone who cuts through the bull and does what needs to be done, even if we only experience their success vicariously.
But what if that person turns out to be wrong? In "The Kill Team," which is based on a true story, the villain believe himself to be morally right. That his actions, reprehensible as they may be, save lives. Sure, war is messy and deadly. But a person becomes indefensible when he crosses into murder.
That's what Andy Briggman (Wolff) believes. After his team leader is killed by a mine, his replacement is Sergeant Deeks (Skarsgard), a tough but soft-spoken man. In his word, he's there to do a job and won't tolerate anyone who slows him down. He's intimidating, but seems fair. He loves his son and advises his squad on where to get the best hashish. But Andy senses that there is something wrong when Deeks has him fight it out with a fellow squad member to see who will get a promotion. He keeps his head down until he overhears a shooting. He doesn't see what happened, but he does see Deeks and the rest of his squad ironing out a cover story for shooting a man dead. That's when he decides to act. Unfortunately, the chain of command prevents him from telling anyone about what is going on, and his ex-Marine father (Morrow) is powerless to help him. Making matters worse is that his squad mates are loyal to Deeks, and make it clear that they won't hesitate to act if he squeals.
The frank, no frills approach to this story generates a lot of tension. The film was written and directed by Dan Krauss, who made a documentary about the incident upon which the film is based. He knows this story. He knows the characters (names have been changed from their real life counterparts). Sure, he probably tweaked it a little and massaged it to make it more cinematic, but he never sensationalizes. The musical score is subtle and unobtrusive. There is no flash editing or stylish camerawork. He avoids any overt manipulation. Everything remains grounded, and that's what makes this film so terrifying. Andy is in great danger and also completely trapped. His fear becomes ours.
Part of that has to do with the performance of Alex Wolff, who is top notch. Andy is a regular guy; idealistic and patriotic but obviously naive. He's green behind the gills when he arrives but ready to do his duty. It's impossible not to identify with him. When things go wrong, Wolff never goes over the top, preferring to use his body language and his eyes to communicate his feelings. Andy is smart enough to know that in order to stay alive, he has to keep his mouth shut.
Alexander Skarsgard has played his share of creepy characters, although not always in the best movies (I still haven't forgiven him for "Hold the Dark" and "War on Everyone"). But as the psychopathic Deeks, he really outdoes himself. Deeks is as intelligent as he is ruthless. He is always escalating his game of psychological warfare to keep Andy in check. That he is well aware of what Andy is doing and believes that he can shut him up is what gives the film its punch. It makes him even scarier.
The film is on less certain ground when it comes to the supporting characters. I never bought their blind loyalty to Deeks. Sure, it's easy enough to intuit that they are high on the power rush and the adrenaline, nor are they mature enough to consider the morality of their actions. And it doesn't take a genius to guess that Deeks is encouraging their threatening behavior (never has a shooting range been so terrifying). But not showing this, even with a subtle eyeliner match or brief conversation, is a mistake. It weakens the story's foundation. And it isn't as if Skarsgard is bad at acting with his eyes; some of the film's creepiest moments are when Krauss focuses on them.
"The Kill Team" is as terrifying as any good horror movie. The hero is in constant danger, and there is a very real possibility that he may not be alive to see the end credits. Such intensity and unpredictability is hard to pull off, but Krauss does it with this movie. It's sure to end up on my Top 10 list this year.
Starring: Nat Wolff, Alexander Skarsgard, Adam Long, Jonathan Whitesell, Rob Morrow, Brian Marc
Rated R for Language Throughout, Violent Content and Drug Use
We all love our jerk heroes. You know who I mean: the badass who "gets shit done" regardless of the consequences, doesn't take prisoners, ignores the weak fuddie duddies who are too cautious, the guy who ignores political correctness and "tells it like it is." They're a signature of American culture, particularly in film. The examples are numerous: Tony Stark, any traditional Arnold Schwarzenegger movie or any generic action movie hero. Hell, Tommy Lee Jones has essentially made a career out of playing these types of characters (even winning an Oscar for it). The appeal is easy to identify: we all feel at times like we know best and those who oppose our ideas are idiots. It's nice to find someone who cuts through the bull and does what needs to be done, even if we only experience their success vicariously.
But what if that person turns out to be wrong? In "The Kill Team," which is based on a true story, the villain believe himself to be morally right. That his actions, reprehensible as they may be, save lives. Sure, war is messy and deadly. But a person becomes indefensible when he crosses into murder.
That's what Andy Briggman (Wolff) believes. After his team leader is killed by a mine, his replacement is Sergeant Deeks (Skarsgard), a tough but soft-spoken man. In his word, he's there to do a job and won't tolerate anyone who slows him down. He's intimidating, but seems fair. He loves his son and advises his squad on where to get the best hashish. But Andy senses that there is something wrong when Deeks has him fight it out with a fellow squad member to see who will get a promotion. He keeps his head down until he overhears a shooting. He doesn't see what happened, but he does see Deeks and the rest of his squad ironing out a cover story for shooting a man dead. That's when he decides to act. Unfortunately, the chain of command prevents him from telling anyone about what is going on, and his ex-Marine father (Morrow) is powerless to help him. Making matters worse is that his squad mates are loyal to Deeks, and make it clear that they won't hesitate to act if he squeals.
The frank, no frills approach to this story generates a lot of tension. The film was written and directed by Dan Krauss, who made a documentary about the incident upon which the film is based. He knows this story. He knows the characters (names have been changed from their real life counterparts). Sure, he probably tweaked it a little and massaged it to make it more cinematic, but he never sensationalizes. The musical score is subtle and unobtrusive. There is no flash editing or stylish camerawork. He avoids any overt manipulation. Everything remains grounded, and that's what makes this film so terrifying. Andy is in great danger and also completely trapped. His fear becomes ours.
Part of that has to do with the performance of Alex Wolff, who is top notch. Andy is a regular guy; idealistic and patriotic but obviously naive. He's green behind the gills when he arrives but ready to do his duty. It's impossible not to identify with him. When things go wrong, Wolff never goes over the top, preferring to use his body language and his eyes to communicate his feelings. Andy is smart enough to know that in order to stay alive, he has to keep his mouth shut.
Alexander Skarsgard has played his share of creepy characters, although not always in the best movies (I still haven't forgiven him for "Hold the Dark" and "War on Everyone"). But as the psychopathic Deeks, he really outdoes himself. Deeks is as intelligent as he is ruthless. He is always escalating his game of psychological warfare to keep Andy in check. That he is well aware of what Andy is doing and believes that he can shut him up is what gives the film its punch. It makes him even scarier.
The film is on less certain ground when it comes to the supporting characters. I never bought their blind loyalty to Deeks. Sure, it's easy enough to intuit that they are high on the power rush and the adrenaline, nor are they mature enough to consider the morality of their actions. And it doesn't take a genius to guess that Deeks is encouraging their threatening behavior (never has a shooting range been so terrifying). But not showing this, even with a subtle eyeliner match or brief conversation, is a mistake. It weakens the story's foundation. And it isn't as if Skarsgard is bad at acting with his eyes; some of the film's creepiest moments are when Krauss focuses on them.
"The Kill Team" is as terrifying as any good horror movie. The hero is in constant danger, and there is a very real possibility that he may not be alive to see the end credits. Such intensity and unpredictability is hard to pull off, but Krauss does it with this movie. It's sure to end up on my Top 10 list this year.
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