Killers (2014)

Indonesian journalist Bayu (Oka Antara) attempts to report on the crimes of a corrupt politician but finds that the whole system is corrupt. His anger and resentment causes friction in his marriage, and is perhaps why he finds himself drawn to a dark site on the web where a Japanese serial killer regularly posts videos of the violent murder of young women he has abducted.

An altercation leads to Bayu accidentally killing a pair of thugs, and he finds himself recording their dying moments and uploading the video to the snuff site.

Soon after he is contacted by the serial killer (Kazuki Kitamura), who tells him that after he's killed once he won't be able to resist killing again, and next time he should choose a target that will really satisfy him. Corrupt politicians come to mind.

It's quite hard to write a synopsis for KILLERS without just describing everything that happens, because it has quite an unconventional structure - there's no hero's journey, or a conventional protagonist /antagonist situation. My description above really only scratches the surface of the film, and if you think you can guess what happens from it you're wrong.

There are definitely shades of AMERICAN PSYCHO in there. The film is essentially a character study of two people who have arrived at killing from very different directions - but that doesn't really describe it well either.

The film is an Indonesian-Japanese co-production and is filmed in both countries, but with Indonesia's Mo Brothers directing it's more Indonesian than Japanese. Production values are very high, with some splendid camera work and some suitably gruesome violence. It's by no means as bloody as Timo Tjahjanto's more recent THE NIGHT COMES FOR US - but then again not much is.

It's an interesting film, one which puts a novel spin on what could have been cliched and predictable in other hands, but Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel manage to keep you guessing how things will play out for most of the not insubstantial duration.