Directed by Russian filmmaker Kirill Sokolov like someone with something to prove, They Will Kill You is a feral, blood-gushing genre hybrid that kicks the door down, drenches the walls in arterial spray, and dares you to keep up. It’s messy, excessive, and often ridiculous, but it’s also undeniably alive in a way that so many safer, more polished studio efforts simply aren’t. Anchored by a ferocious lead turn from Zazie Beetz, this gonzo satanic horror-actioner wastes very little time getting to the good stuff. Even if it occasionally stumbles when it tries to convince you it has more on its mind than carnage, this is a worthwhile thrill ride for genre fans.
We open with a quote that serves as a blunt thesis statement: “When the poor give to the rich, the devil laughs”. Or at least, you’d think it’d serve a greater purpose, as it’s a line that signals the film’s interest in class commentary, but that’s not something that ever feels completely followed through with. Thankfully, it quickly pivots into something far more immediate and compelling: survival. Beetz plays Asia Reaves, a woman forged in violence after enduring a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her father. After shooting him and serving time, she takes a housekeeping job at the Virgil, a mysterious New York high-rise with a reputation for disappearances and deeply unsettling tenants.
From the moment Asia steps inside the Virgil, the film establishes an off-kilter rhythm. The building itself feels like a character; it’s an oppressive, watchful space where every hallway seems to hum with danger. The staff is strange, the residents stranger, and presiding over it all is Lilith (Patricia Arquette seemingly trying out an Irish accent in real time), the building’s superintendent and the quiet architect of a Satanic cult operating within its walls. It’s obvious that Asia has walked into something far bigger and more sinister than she realizes, but crucially, she’s more than equipped to handle it. In fact, she’s actually here (and armed) in search of her missing younger sister, Maria (Myha’la), and she’s not leaving without her.
That’s where They Will Kill You finds its identity. Asia isn’t a typical victim like you’d see in more standard horror fluff. She’s a survivor in the most literal sense, someone whose entire life has conditioned her to claw her way out of this kind of nightmare. When the cult inevitably makes its move on her as she sleeps, the film erupts into a showcase of kinetic, bone-crunching violence that establishes its tone with thrilling clarity. The first major action sequence comes quick and is a brutal, stripped-down fight that leaves Asia bloodied and bruised with several bodies in her wake, establishing the scrappy, unhinged, and dynamic style that the film impressively manages to maintain.
Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die!, No Looking Back), who also wrote the film alongside Alex Litvak, leans hard into visual flair for his English language debut. Cinematographer Isaac Bauman (Loki, Faces of Death) has the camera glide, snap, and zoom with a zany confidence that elevates even the most absurd moments. There’s a clear lineage here - you’ll see people compare this to the likes of Kill Bill and its own Japanese revenge cinema influences, Evil Dead, and in an odd bit of timing, horror genre hybrids like Ready or Not - but the film never feels entirely derivative. Instead, it plays like an intentional remix of those influences, stitched together with a love for excess and a willingness to push every moment with a magnetic lead holding it all together.
The violence here is gleefully gnarly, with inventive gore gags and a recurring emphasis on the cult’s disturbing resilience. These aren’t enemies who go down easy, which allows the film to build a surprisingly fun dynamic between Asia and the group of Satanic goons hunting her. Rather than an endless parade of faceless bodies, the antagonists have just enough personality (thanks in part to talented performers like Heather Graham and Tom Felton) to make their repeated encounters feel like a series of genuinely escalating fights. It’s a smart structural choice that keeps the film from becoming monotonous even as the body count climbs.
At the center of it all is Beetz (Deadpool 2, The Harder They Fall) who fully commits to the violent, hard-hitting action on display. This is the kind of role she’s long deserved; a truly physical, commanding, and vicious lead performance. Asia is always thinking, adapting, and scraping her way out of whatever life throws at her, and Beetz sells every moment. Whether she’s flicking her samurai-themed lighter (a not so subtle wink at this film’s many influences) in quiet contemplation or tearing through cultists with brutally messy efficiency, she remains the film’s gravitational force. It’s a strong genre performance that holds everything together, even when the script threatens to pull it apart.
Because for all of its strengths, They Will Kill You can’t quite resist overreaching. The dialogue is easily the weakest element, often straining for a kind of hyper-stylized cool that rarely lands. Characters speak in lines that feel written rather than lived-in, undercutting some of the film’s attempts at more grounded emotional beats. The recurring effort to layer in thematic weight - particularly around class, race, and the exploitation of marginalized people - never fully coheres. The ideas are there, but they feel half-formed, like the film is checking a box it doesn’t entirely know how to fill.
The sisterly connection and conflict is a bit stronger, but it too suffers from its own problems. The use of several flashbacks in particular attempt to deepen Asia and Maria’s backstories but ultimately slow the film’s momentum. It’s not that these moments are without value, but they pale in comparison to the immediacy of the present-day fight for survival. This is a movie that thrives on forward motion, and every detour risks dulling its edge.
Still, when They Will Kill You locks in, it’s hard not to get swept up in it. Each action set piece is distinct, clearly choreographed and shot, and escalating in satisfying ways, building toward a finale that fully embraces the film’s most unhinged instincts. It’s a wild, winking climax that pushes the horror elements front and center, and somehow, against all odds, it works.
This is a messy movie. There’s no getting around that. But it’s the kind of mess that mostly works in its favor - a bloodsoaked collision of influences, ideas, and impulses that doesn’t always fit together cleanly but certainly never feels boring. Strip away some of the half-baked thematic ambitions and clunky dialogue, and you’re left with something leaner and meaner. As it stands, though, They Will Kill You is still a blast: a stylish, vicious, and unapologetically sanguineous ride that announces its director as someone worth keeping a very close eye on.
‘They Will Kill You’ slices its way into theaters March 27th.
