When you tell me there’s a movie from the creators of The Raid being released, you’re immediately going to have my attention. Last year, director Gareth Evans produced a film called Killers, a tense thriller and wonderful sophomore effort from the Mo Brothers that, if it isn’t already, should be on all genre film fans’ must-see lists.
When an anonymous person starts posting horrific murder videos online, the videos go viral and eventually gets the attention of a disgruntled and disgraced Indonesian journalist named Bayu (Oka Antarra) who, while disgusted, can’t turn away. He is also dealing with a separation and a daughter that’s stuck in the middle so his mind is vulnerable. Soon after, Bayu is confronted with a life or death situation and eventually kills his adversaries to survive. After that first unplanned kill, Bayu develops a taste for more, but wants to do it for the better of society, not for the thirst for blood like his anonymous Japanese counterpart named Nomura (Kazuki Kitamura). When Bayu posts his first killing online, it kick starts a chain of events that lead to a brilliantly intense ride that’s both unsuspecting and completely satisfying.
There are a lot of great scenes in Killers that makes for some serious “holy hell” moments that genre fans will eat up. Naturally, since this is an Asian crime thriller, you can expect to see some twisted things throughout that you probably weren’t expecting when it comes to dueling series killers but, rest assured, this movie will keep you glued to the screen. Don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil them for you but two of the major ones relate to Bayu and his first two killings.
It’s fun to see the completely different styles of the two killers throughout the film. One is incredibly careful, meticulous, clean, strong, wealthy, and carries all the typical traits of a serial killing sociopath. Nomura has some deeply rooted family issues that have caused him to become the man he is while Bayu’s taste for killing comes from the frustration of hitting rock bottom and seeing others succeed when they really shouldn’t. The two connect online and you could see Nomura feeding Bayu’s dark side, trying to nourish and teach him the ways so that he can have someone to talk to about the joyous act of killing.
My favorite part of the film, which I also found to be the most interesting, was the fact that throughout the film, it seemed like the two men were slowly swapping roles. Bayu was falling deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, becoming an angrier and more violent man, both at night and with his family while Nomura met a woman who he seemed to connect with. She seemed to slow down his need for killing, helping him deal with his issues of loneliness and also giving him an outlet to teach his violent ways to someone else who could channel his violence for him. This mental shift for the two men was fascinating to me, watching it unfold separately and while they communicated is what helped elevate the film and really distinguish it from other murderous thrillers.
Outside of being a little long and having some minor issues with the acting, there wasn’t much I disliked about Killers. I thought the film was an excellent entry into the serial killer genre, a great combination of a brooding atmosphere, quality storytelling, solid pacing, sadistic set-ups and very violent murders. It’s got everything you want in an Asian thriller like cool twists and crazy kills, but the best part is that the film manages to find a way to manipulate you much more than you thought it possibly could, that’s the part that sticks with you long after the credits roll.
Review Overview
Unfortunately, while the movie looks terrific on Blu-ray, there are no special features outside of sneak peeks and trailers for other films from the distributor. I’d rather not taint the film’s overall review score with a low Blu-ray rating because people need to see this flick and it wouldn’t be fair to the Mo Brothers.
Killers is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Well Go USA
Recent Comments