Mixing survival horror with fast-paced martial arts usually gets fans excited, and "They Will Kill You" definitely delivers an undeniable visual punch in its first few minutes. Directed by Kirill Sokolov, the movie starts off strong with a Tarantino-meets-Raimi vibe, turning the luxurious Virgil sky... Mixing survival horror with fast-paced martial arts usually gets fans excited, and "They Will Kill You" definitely delivers an undeniable visual punch in its first few minutes. Directed by Kirill Sokolov, the movie starts off strong with a Tarantino-meets-Raimi vibe, turning the luxurious Virgil skyscraper into a suffocating, claustrophobic arena. However, this frantic energy quickly burns out. The over-the-top stylization—which often feels like a visceral comic book or a fast-paced video game—starts to bury the actual tension, and the sense of real danger fades away. The biggest issue comes from the movie's own fantastical premise. While the hand-to-hand combat is brutal and packed with great sound and visual design, the fights lose all their stakes because the cult members have instant regenerative powers. When a bad guy can just get up minutes after taking a lethal blow, completely intact and ready for round two, the desperate fight for survival turns into a repetitive cycle. The extreme violence stops being shocking and just goes on autopilot, draining the story of the genuine threat it needed to stay afloat. Zazie Beetz is the absolute anchor of this movie. She delivers a magnetic, fiercely physical performance as Asia Reaves, perfectly balancing genuine panic with explosive rage as she desperately searches for her sister. She does the absolute most with the material she’s given, but the script just doesn't do her talent justice, leaving her character's emotional depth pretty shallow. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast suffers an even worse fate. Patricia Arquette is wasted as a one-dimensional villain who basically just hands out orders and sadistic smiles, while big names like Heather Graham and Tom Felton are literally and figuratively masked, reduced to immortal punching bags for the protagonist. It’s incredibly frustrating to see so much acting potential thrown away just to boost the movie's promotional posters. Even the setting eventually loses its charm. The New York skyscraper initially offers a cool contrast between opulent luxury and gory carnage, but it quickly devolves into generic dark hallways and poorly lit rooms that add nothing to the suspense. The movie tries to shoot in all directions, attempting to blend the dark humor of "Ready or Not" with the frantic battles of "Kill Bill," but it fails to build a solid identity of its own. Even the social commentary about the elite sacrificing the working class for immortality feels totally superficial. It acts as a mere excuse to kick off the bloodbath rather than actually exploring the hypocrisy of the super-rich. By the time the rushed, messy climax hits, the repetitive fights have already numbed the audience, making the final showdown feel convenient and unrewarding. It’s a classic case of a movie that had all the right pieces to be a genre standout but took the loud and shallow route instead. Still, if you're just looking to turn off your brain for an hour and a half and watch some mindless, uncompromised carnage, it definitely has its shock value. It is worth checking out just to feel the chaotic pacing Sokolov tries to create—and to see if the choices that fell flat for others might actually work for you. After all, the most honest metric for any movie is always your own experience watching it.

I'm not sure what exactly it is I just watched. I AM sure that if I had ingested some adult substances, it would have made more sense and I probably would have enjoyed it more.

What his lacks in story it makes up for in visual flair and spectacle. The casting is solid, the action rightfully over the top and the direction very solid. The relationship between the two main protagonists is a bit convoluted, and hard to relate to, but the movie gets on well without their bond being that well worked out. The ending is fittingly bonkers. It is fun, if not the most substantial movie you will see.

This is another one of those films where the best bits are definitely in the trailers. We are quickly briefed that siblings “Asia” (Zazie Beetz) and “Maria” (Myha’la) are being abused by their father, but when the former adopts a more permanent solution to their problem, she is incarcerate... This is another one of those films where the best bits are definitely in the trailers. We are quickly briefed that siblings “Asia” (Zazie Beetz) and “Maria” (Myha’la) are being abused by their father, but when the former adopts a more permanent solution to their problem, she is incarcerated and many years pass during which the sisters lose contact. Upon her release, “Asia” gets herself a job working as a cleaner in a grand looking New York skyscraper, but little does she appreciate just what services she will be required to provide to “Lily” (Patricia Arquette) and her coterie of staff and hedonistic residents. Luckily, she might be able to rely on “Ray” (Paterson Joseph) who is married to her new nemesis but who has become disillusioned with things - but even together, is there any chance they can combat their uniquely armed foes? I did quite like the last ten minutes, but otherwise this is all too familiar and predictable, with shades of a demonic version of “John Wick” running through most of it, and very little comedy once we establish the Hammer-style nature of the scenarios. I suppose it does look good, but I find these one person army features increasingly repetitive to watch and I felt this recycled itself once to often for me.