They Will Kill You – Movie Review
If you took a little of Tarantino’s Kill Bill stylism, a touch of Raimi’s horror weirdness, the bare bones of Ready or Not’s plot, and a pinch of John Wick action, put it all together in a pot and then set the entire pot on fire and threw into a room of Satan worshipping cultists, then you would get Kirill Sokolov’s new action-horror hybrid flick (that kicks a lot of ass), They Will Kill You.
Led by Zazie Beets, in her most awesome role to date as Asia, They Will Kill You takes place over one crazy night at a 100 year old New York high-rise occupied by the “elite”, where Asia is beginning her new job as a maid. She is shown around by the building’s live-in manager, Lilith (Patricia Arquette), where a few of the building’s oddities begin to reveal themselves. It’s not before long that we discover Asia is not the maid that Lilith was expecting, rather she is armed and ready to kill in order to find her missing sister (Myha’la) who is believed to be working as a maid in the building. What Asia did not expect to encounter that all of the occupants of the high-rise are actually Satan worshipping lunatics who need to sacrifice Asia by dawn in order to fulfill their dark lord’s commands.
Clocking in at a racy 94 minutes, They Will Kill You is a relentlessly fun, absurdly chaotic, and action packed film which sees Zazie Beets take complete control of the film as the action heroine who takes no shit and kicks serious ass, but has a great time doing it. Sokolov takes a lot of inspiration from films like Kill Bill and John Wick, wearing the stylistic homages so vehemently on the film’s sleeves, but executing the elongated and wildly choreographed action in such a dynamic and exciting way, and in an entirely unique horror setting, that it’s easy to forgive Sokolov for sticking so closely to his stylistic inspirations.
The story also isn’t afraid to get weird… and I mean fucking weird. Completely and unabashedly leaning into the supernatural horror of it all, the campy and darkly funny tone leads to regenerating body parts, the journey of an unattached eye, and at one point the physical manifestation of Satan through the head of a pig. Credit must be given to Sokolov, because he doesn’t just dip his toe into the absurdity to see if the bloody waters are warm, he dives completely into the insanity, and the movie is more fun for it.
Also contributing to the nasty fun tone is the supporting cast, which includes the aforementioned Patricia Arquette, whose all over the place Irish accent but complete dedication to her villainous nature is a hoot to watch. Other standouts are Tom Felton as the bratty chickenshit Kevin, and Heather Graham as Sharon, who gets some of the films most hilarious physical humour.
The film’s most glaring flaw is its paper thin plot that relies too heavily on the audience investing into Asia’s mission to find her sister, but failing to really get to the emotional core of the journey. It’s not for a lack of trying though, with the opening scene and various flashbacks throughout giving context and substance to that narrative, but these are the moments where the film lags the most, having the audience itch for more of the bloody chaos that they’ve had a taste of already.
They Will Kill You is an acquired taste for sure. It’s violent, gory, swear-y, and absolutely ridiculous and insane. It’s a whole lot of style over substance, but if you’re after a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, is a hell of a lot of fun, and has some kick ass horror-action, then this is the taste for you!
They Will Kill You is in Australian cinemas March 26
