A woman recently paroled from prison fights through a satanic cult to save her younger sister in They Will Kill You, now playing in Prague and cinemas worldwide after debuting earlier this month at the SXSW Film Festival. Bravura stylistic flourishes, kinetic fight sequences, over-the-top gore effects, and general weirdness assure this one of at least minor cult status, but untethered to any sense of reality it’s a little less satisfying as a standalone story than 2024’s similar Boy Kills World.
They Will Kill You stars Zazie Beetz as Asia Reaves, an ex-convict who infiltrates a mysterious New York high-rise known as The Virgil under the guise of a housekeeping job. Her real goal is to locate her estranged sister Maria (Myha’la), who has become entangled with the building’s residents—an elite group of satanic cultists played by Patricia Arquette, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and others who have achieved immortality through ritual sacrifice. What begins as a covert rescue mission quickly spirals into a full-scale siege, as Asia is discovered and forced to fight her way through increasingly bizarre and violent encounters.
Director Kirill Sokolov structures the film almost like a video game, with each floor of The Virgil functioning as a new “level” featuring a new setting and an increasing number of adversaries. Early on, Asia dispatches a group of masked attackers in her apartment, only to discover that they cannot be killed: their bodies regenerate in grotesque fashion after she slices off limbs and even heads. From there, the film escalates into a series of extended set pieces, including a flaming axe rampage and a climactic free-for-all that pushes the carnage to absurd extremes.
Along the way, the film attempts to flesh out both the mythology of the cult and the backstory between the two sisters, frequently pausing for exposition dumps and flashbacks that explain motivations already apparent from context. Even late into the runtime, the narrative continues to interrupt its own momentum to underline emotional beats, creating a stop-start rhythm that undercuts the otherwise propulsive action.
They Will Kill You gestures toward themes of trauma, control, and personal agency, particularly in the dynamic between Asia and Maria. Both sisters are shaped by an abusive upbringing, and their diverging responses—Asia’s violent resistance versus Maria’s accommodation within the cult—offer the outline of an interesting emotional conflict. But the film rarely lingers long enough to meaningfully explore these ideas, instead treating them as functional motivations to propel the next action sequence.
This lack of thematic depth is compounded by the film’s internal logic, or lack thereof. Once the rules of the world are established—most notably the immortality of the cult members—the film shows little interest in engaging with them in a meaningful way. Asia repeatedly confronts her enemies head-on, dismembering opponents she knows will simply regenerate, without ever adapting her approach or seeking alternative solutions. The result is a sense that actions lack consequence, draining impact from the violence and tension from sequences that should otherwise feel suspenseful.
If anything, the film’s relationship to its own premise feels secondary to its commitment to style. Sokolov throws every conceivable visual trick at the screen: long tracking shots, whip pans, exaggerated compositions, and hyper-stylized transitions that call to mind influences ranging from Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, with shades of The Raid and Takashi Miike’s genre work thrown in for good measure. It often plays like a big-budget student film in the best sense—an exuberant showcase of technique from a filmmaker eager to deploy every tool at his disposal.
That approach pays off most clearly in the film’s action sequences, which are staged and choreographed at an impressively high level. The extended fights are inventive, fluid, and often exhilarating, making dynamic use of confined spaces within the Virgil’s labyrinthine interior. Isaac Bauman’s cinematography keeps the single-location setting visually engaging, constantly reconfiguring the geography of the building to sustain visual interest.
The film’s gore effects are another standout. From a rolling eyeball trailing its optic nerve to a grotesque shrunken-head gag reminiscent of Beetlejuice, the practical effects work is consistently imaginative and queasily effective. Yet even here, the impact is somewhat blunted by the narrative’s lack of stakes; when no one can truly die, the carnage becomes spectacle for its own sake rather than a source of tension.
Beetz anchors the film with a commanding performance that fully commits to both the physical and emotional demands of the role. She brings a grounded intensity to Asia that helps sell even the film’s more outlandish turns, and proves more than capable as an action lead. The supporting cast make fleeting impressions, but are largely overshadowed by the film’s relentless focus on its central character and set pieces.
A pulsing soundtrack, blending Carlos Rafael Rivera’s original score with well-chosen hip-hop and rock tracks, further enhances the film’s momentum, particularly during its standout action sequences. Combined with its aggressive visual style, it creates an audiovisual experience that is consistently engaging, even when the narrative struggles to keep pace.
Ultimately, They Will Kill You is a film that thrives on excess. Its story may be thin and its internal logic shaky, but its sheer commitment to style, spectacle, and controlled chaos makes it hard to dismiss. Anchored by a star-making turn from Beetz and executed with relentless energy, it delivers exactly what it promises: a blood-soaked, visually inventive ride that may not fully hold together, but proves consistently entertaining on its own unhinged terms.
