Over the past few years, we've seen a surge in
the Indonesian film circuit from a variety of genres. Probably the most notable
films to come out of the country recently would be "The
Raid: Redemption" and its sequel; they are certainly the most high profile
and well known, being box office successes outside of the country and drawing
considerable critical acclaim. So when I saw that a new film was coming out
made by several of the people that worked on "The Raid" films, my interest
was immediately peaked. What I was expecting was another nonstop action roller
coaster, what I got was pretty far from that. What I got, was a movie that
could be listed among the classics of the psychological thriller genre.
"Killers"
follows the story of two men living in two countries; a young and wealthy
sociopath named Nomura Shuhei in Japan, and a journalist named Bayu Aditya
living in Indonesia. Nomura went off the rails after his sister killed herself
when he was young, and has since started killing people for pleasure and taping
the executions then uploading them on the internet; usually young women who
looked like his sister. Bayu is divorced, barely holding on to any close
relationships, whose career was destroyed when he went after a corrupt
businessman. Towards the beginning of Bayu's story two men attempt to rob Bayu,
but he fights back and kills them. Despite being in shock, he decides to film
one of the men who is slowly dying and upload it to the internet; likely inspired
after watching one of Nomura's videos earlier in the day. After uploading it
online, he is traced by Nomura who then makes contact. Bayu realizes there is
something inside of him, something that wants to kill. He then sets out to kill
the businessman who ruined his life and slowly slips into his own darkness.
Simultaneously, Nomura attempts to cultivate a real relationship with a young
woman, only to find that it is more difficult than he thought it would be. Both
men set out on their own paths rifled with twists and turns, and while they may
not want to admit it, both know that they will crash eventually.
Great psychological
thrillers are few and far between now-a-days; the only recent one that really
stands out would probably be David Fincher's "Gone girl." The genre
just seems to be a lost art, with only a few modern directors like David
Fincher being able to pull it off properly. Earlier I said that
"Killers" was not what I was expecting, and that is a good thing;
because alongside "Gone Girl", it is one of the best psychological
thrillers I can think of released these past few years. This movie does what it
is supposed to do; it is absolutely thrilling and incredibly suspenseful during
several scenes. I attribute this to the directors, who did a great job. As I
said earlier, this movie was put together by several of the people who worked
on "The Raid" movies, and you can definitely see the impact those
movies had on "Killers." The cinematography, style, and even the
score are very similar, which is a good thing. This movie looks beautiful, and
it has a certain professionalism we don't see from many movies like it. To be
honest, I would say this movie falls under the sub genre of torture porn. For
those who don't know, torture porn movies are usually horror or thrillers in
which it derives entertainment from people dying. It's a sub genre with a niche
following; and depending on the film, I may be a fan. And I will say
"Killers" is one of the best, and most professional looking, torture
porn films in years, What helps isn't just the style and the look of the film,
but the acting as well. The two leads actually do a very good job in their
roles, with each bringing something to their character. They are helped by a
well written script with interesting themes of pleasure and retribution. The
movie almost acts as a character study. Nomura, a man who has walled himself
off from the rest of the world, does attempt to have an actual relationship
only to realize that it is much more difficult than he realized it would be.
And Bayu, a docile and unimposing man, attempts to take action into his own
hands and failing stupendously. The way they evolve and change is very
interesting to watch, and it is effective. Despite how much I was impressed by
this movie, it does suffer some problems. First off, the movie is borderline
misogynistic. All the female characters are poorly portrayed, and most are
there just to be killed at some point. The movie is also about 15 to 20 minutes
to long. If this movie was just under two hours long, it would have been
perfect. And one thing worth noting, while it's not a problem for me, I should
mention this movie is not for the faint of heart. It is incredibly violent; the
opening scene is a woman getting beaten to death with a hammer. If you can get
past that scene you should be fine, but if it makes your stomach turn this
isn't the movie for year. I think what I liked most about this movie was that
it was both different and better than what I thought it would be. From the
opening scene to the thrilling final moments, "Killers" is an
incredible piece of blood and carnage. Fans of the genre will watch this and
instantly fall in love, others will turn away and call it sick; but if you can
sit through it, "Killers" will be a movie that stays with you.
Pros: Solid performances from the leads,
beautiful cinematography, great directing from the Mo Brothers, well written
screenplay, very suspenseful and downright thrilling, interesting character
study, fitting music, themes of pleasure and retribution, the best torture porn
film in years.
Cons: Poorly portrayed female characters, not
for the faint of heart, 15-20 minutes too long.
4.5/5 Stars
