Kilo Two Bravo: War thriller as gory, gripping as a horror flick

Thriller. Horror flick. We throw around movie-genre descriptions too easily, like John Wayne casually tossing enemy soldiers in the insane 1968 "war film" The Green Berets.

But here is the British-made Kilo Two Bravo, a white-knuckle war movie as gory, horrific and gripping as any Texas-chainsaw Halloween. The first feature from Paul Katis is based on a true story involving British paratroopers trapped in an Afghanistan minefield in 2006. It starts off on a ridge, where bored but alert soldiers are on guard against a Taliban enemy who don't seem to be around. Then a three-man patrol heads into a valley, where all war breaks lose – a hell of chaos, blood and blown-off limbs.

But not one bullet flies. Instead, it's landmines left over from the Soviet-Afghan War that do the damage. Medics and other soldiers come, but the rescue is hampered by logistics and miscommunication. More mines detonate, the men hold on, the humour is the gallows' kind and the audience's gut is as tight as the tourniquets on the hurt soldiers' stumps. At least the walkie-talkies work: Kilo Two Bravo, we read you loud and clear.