Zazie Beetz Shines in Thrilling, Gory ‘They Will Kill You’ Review
A new action-horror-comedy set inside a Manhattan luxury tower delivers gory set pieces and blunt social barbs. The picture opens in the Virgil apartments, where cloaked tenants perform ritualistic murders of staff. Director Kirill Sokolov and co-writer Alex Litvak trade subtlety for spectacle.
Cast and performances
Zazie Beetz leads as Asia, a combative maid-turned-avenger with a prison-brawl past. Myha’la plays her sister Maria, another recently hired domestic worker. Patricia Arquette appears as Lily, and Paterson Joseph plays her husband Roy.
Tom Felton and Heather Graham turn up as members of the robed cult. Their masks and robes often obscure character depth. Still, Beetz dominates screen time with physicality and cool composure.
Plot and setting
The story unfolds across nine floors of the Virgil. Asia must fight upward to a fire escape at the building’s roof. The tenants possess a major supernatural advantage that raises the stakes.
Floors are said to be themed on deadly sins, but few themes receive full exploration. The film tends to favor confined tunnels and shafts over more imaginative floor set pieces.
Direction, influences and debut
Sokolov, who directed Why Don’t You Just Die!, stages relentless action. The film premiered at SXSW, shortly after another genre entry from a similar cycle. It opened in theaters on Friday, March 27.
Stylistic references range from The Raid and Dredd to John Wick, Sergio Leone, and Tarantino. The director embraces video-game and animé energy rather than subtle reinvention.
Visual style and violence
The movie cranks violence into comic extremes. A sword decapitation and flaming axes punctuate several sequences. Slow-motion furniture tosses and mattress stuffing falling like snow emphasize the film’s gleeful tone.
A major gruesome twist supplies the most shocking imagery. The filmmaker prioritizes spectacle over character development throughout.
Themes and criticism
Class resentment is sketched through a simple line of dialogue. The wealthy tenants are framed as monstrous, justifying on-screen carnage. But the film rarely expands that idea beyond surface-level satire.
Many supporting roles remain thinly written. Accents and small affectations, such as Arquette’s Irish inflection, draw attention without adding clarity. The result is an energetic, but occasionally hollow, exercise in set-piece filmmaking.
Practical details and verdict
The picture is rated R and runs approximately 94 minutes. It arrives as a crowd-pleasing, blood-forward experience. In this review, Zazie Beetz shines in a thrilling, gory entry that will satisfy viewers seeking visceral fun.
Filmogaz.com finds it short on nuance but long on inventive mayhem. Fans of over-the-top violence will likely leave content. Those seeking deeper themes may feel let down.
