‘They Will Kill You’ Review: Zazie Beetz’s Gonzo Action-Horror Movie Is Some Killer, Some Filler

SXSW: “Why Don’t You Just Die!” director Kirill Sokolov’s English-language debut is a gory and hyper-stylized contradiction that's both extremely eventful and strangely anticlimactic.

Kirill Sokolov’s guiding principle for “They Will Kill You” is simple. At every moment, in every situation, the Russian director seems to be asking himself: “Does this look awesome?” A lot of it does, from a moment that sees Zazie Beetz blowing someone backwards with her shotgun (it’s Heather Graham, which is especially entertaining, and it’s not the first time it will happen) to the climax in which Patricia Arquette fuses a severed pig’s head to hers with the power of Satan.

It’s gory, excessive, hyper-stylized, and ultra-violent, all of which are meant as compliments. So how could a movie so hellbent on excitement feel so anticlimactic by its end? 

Sokolov — making his American studio debut after a pair of indies that were well-received on the genre circuit — is clearly a devotee of Quentin Tarantino, both by the typical definition and in the sense that his films are all remixes of his inspirations. Sometimes those things overlap, as in the scene where Asia (Beetz), the film’s self-trained samurai heroine, stands defiantly at the end of a hallway surrounded by the bodies of her adversaries and announces her vengeful intentions.

The moment can’t help but evoke Beatrix Kiddo calling out to O-Ren Ishii in “Kill Bill: Vol 1,” which was itself a callback to the formal introductions of Japanese ninkyo eiga. 

One advantage of this double-backflip cyclical remixing is that Sokolov also has a deep respect for practical effects and stunt work. The director’s enthusiasm transfers to Beetz, who spent four months training to do her own stunts in the film. The fighting sequences in “They Will Kill You” reflect this commitment, particularly a scene in which Beetz charges into a dining room full of robed cultists swinging a flaming ax. Sokolov hangs back, allowing the choreography to unfold in complete movements so that it’s clear that these people, and in particular this movie star, are actually doing this crazy, audacious thing. And it does look awesome.

“Kill Bill” isn’t Sokolov’s only lodestar here, though. In practice, “They Will Kill You” mostly plays like “The Raid” crossed with “Rosemary’s Baby,” as Asia fights her way up nine floors of an exclusive Manhattan apartment building in search of her sister Maria (Myha’la), who she thinks is being held captive by a group of ultra-wealthy Satanists. The truth is both straightforward and more complex, as Asia learns once the residents she kills come back to life. The burden of explaining how the hell that happened is on head housekeeper Lily (Arquette) and her husband Ray (Paterson Joseph), both of whom have a commanding enough screen presence to make the exposition bearable. 

Another significant influence on “They Kill Kill You” is Sam Raimi, whose “Looney Tunes” approach to extreme violence is another key element of Sokolov’s style. Characters don’t just get shot, they fly several yards backwards upon impact. The immortal cult members don’t just regenerate, they skitter around with their spines sticking out of their neck holes after their brains explode into jelly. The most amusing of these cartoon touches is a stray eyeball that’s left over after one of these goopy head shots, a sort of mascot for the movie that flings itself through passageways and up air vents by its exposed optic nerve. This was accomplished practically, with a puppet attached to a rod; some more obvious digital VFX later in the film are less charming, but they get the job done. 

This all takes place against a stylized Art Deco backdrop dominated by shades of green and gold, paired with typical old-money accouterments like dark wood, antique paintings, and bronze relief sculptures illustrating the building’s occult origins. Paired with the elaborate action choreography and Sokolov’s fondness for in-your-face direction — think slo-mos, GoPros, and other flashy touches — the result is exciting for a while. Then it becomes overwhelming. 

Once the overstimulation sets in, it’s difficult to move beyond it, and the resulting numbness may explain how a film that has so much going on can go from exhilarating to underwhelming over the course of 94 action-packed minutes. “They Will Kill You” starts to lose momentum almost immediately after its hard-hitting action kickoff, and rather than escalate, its events start to blur together. A supernatural shock in the climactic scene briefly recaptures the magic of the inciting bloodshed, but the jolt doesn’t last. 

For viewers who aren’t already fans of this type of cheeky, referential gonzo bloodshed, this means that the final hour of “They Will Kill You” will feel like it lasts approximately forever. (The pun on the title writes itself.) For those who are, the effect is more like sitting on a slowly deflating whoopee cushion soaked in arterial spray. 

Grade: B- 

“They Will Kill You” premiered at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival. Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema will release the film in theaters on March 27, 2026.

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