They Will
Kill You
2026
Director- Kirill Sokolov
Cast- Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Patricia Arquette, Heather
Graham, Tom Felton, Paterson Joseph, Angus Sampson, James Remar
If you’ve
seen the trailer for this film, its marketed like a Tarantino version of Ready
or Not, and it is superficially similar to that film. The core plot involves a
woman trapped, trying to escape a group of Satanists determined to kill her.
But that is where the similarity ends.
I won’t be
too specific because I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises. To be sure,
there is definitely a Tarantino flavor. There is an effective use of songs that
give some of the scenes, briefly, that music video quality. The violence is very
bloody. There is even a little bit of foot fetish that would make Tarantino
proud.
But They
Will Kill You goes beyond any simple formula. It starts off grim with the story
of two sisters trying to escape an abusive father. Its not a depressing story,
for the most part, but it does occasionally take time to insert realistic trauma
among the cartoon violence, maybe as a way of anchoring the story in the real
world. The film doesn’t hit you over the head with a political message, but
there is definitely an ongoing theme about class and the uneven relationship
between the haves and have nots. At the same time, it regularly dips its toe into
the fantastic as there is a definite supernatural element that is on full
display from very early in the film.
The
violence is very well choreographed and some of the fight scenes clearly took
time to orchestrate and film. The violence is coupled with a fair share of
gore, some that will make you laugh and some that will make you wince.
The film
also boasts an ensemble cast of genre favorites. Zazie Beets (Joker, Deadpool 2
and the supernatural indie film Slice) is the gutsy protagonist. Tom Felton,
known to the world as Draco Malfoy, and Heather Graham (From Hell, Boogie
Nights, Suitable Flesh) are Satanists trying to stop her. The best performance
though is by Patricia Arquette (Lost Highway, Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Ed
Wood, Little Nicky, Stigmata). She plays the soft spoken nemesis of the film. There
is even an appearance by James Remar (The Warriors, Blackcoat’s Daughter, It:
Welcome to Derry). See if you can spot him!
They Will
Kill You is filled with WTF moments from beginning to end. I won’t spoil anything,
suffice to say, whatever you are expecting to happen, it will likely be
something else.
