They Will Kill You

★★⯪☆ (👍)

They Will Kill You (2026)

Runtime: 94 minutes

MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language and brief sexual content/nudity.

It was the year 2019 when I was vacationing with my family in Australia. After enjoying our time walking around the streets and admiring the beach, we checked back into our hotel, and as I washed up, the television was already displaying a movie. In it, a woman in a yellow motorcycling suit was savagely slaughtering people in a Japanese restaurant, severing heads and limbs, causing blood to spray out everywhere. The title at the top-right corner read: Kill Bill: Volume 1.

I was reminded about this in Kirill Sokolov's They Will Kill You, where a person's head gets cut off with a sword, causing blood to spray out in the same, ridiculous fashion. There are aesthetic and narrative inspirations, sure, but They Will Kill You has other and much simpler aspirations. Asia Reeves (Zazie Beetz) answers an advertisement to work as a maid in a luxury New York City high-rise called The Virgil. She barely even gets to rest, when she's attacked by a group of people and supposedly kills them. However, she simultaneously learns that not only are her pursuers immortal, but that the residence is secretly a satanic cult that has to offer human sacrifices in exchange for immortality. Her intention to save her sister Maria (Myha'la) couldn't have gone worse. It isn't anything particularly novel, and there isn't much narrative meat on the bones, so let's begin the massacre!

And so it goes. The filmmakers' intention is clear; deliver a bloody and entertaining actioner where immortals get chopped up, heads blown off and bodies cut in half before resurrecting and pursuing Asia again. When they're focused on this, it's deliriously fun. Various items like axes, shotguns, swords, even axes on fire get thrown into the mix, and the well-choreographed, clearly composed and fluid action is a blast. It also helps that Beetz's physicality and no-nonsense approach adds humour and intensity to the picture. It isn't taking itself seriously, and it knows it.

When they're not focused on the thrills, however, the limitations become clearer. They Will Kill You's concept is a launching pad for deeper themes that it suggests across the board, like human sacrifice, immortality, racism and socioeconomic status. Unfortunately, they don't have much to say about these, which would have added greater weight to why all of the proceedings matter. Apart from the perfunctory broken family and arcs, there also isn't much to Asia or Maria, diluting the emotional connection to them, as a stronger one would have made a larger impact towards its finale. The eclectic and talented supporting cast - including Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham and Tom Felton - don't get much to do either, them being reduced to aggressive captors who want to catch Asia alive and sacrifice her to Satan for their continued longevity.

So yes, it is somewhat derivative and unexceptional, but those complaints were largely kept at bay. They Will Kill You occasionally peels back like Weapons (to a lesser degree), providing basic context for what happened to Asia and Maria after they were separated a decade ago. There's also just enough fun subversions and twists to the narrative to keep you watching, as it heads to its bloody, flammable and explosive conclusion. Even at a brisk 94 minutes, one might feel that it runs slightly longer than it actually is, although this is more of an observation than a complaint. What matters is that They Will Kill You is efficient, straight to the point and doesn't pretend to be something it's not. A few missed opportunities at something deeper is inevitable, but hey, it's a decent diversion that gives you exactly what you'd expect. You could do a lot worse.