Russian filmmaker Kirill Sokolov began his career with a low-budget chamber drama that takes place almost entirely in a single apartment and focuses entirely on its two main characters, a police officer and his daughter’s new boyfriend. But what at first sounds like a dry social drama turned out to be a dry social drama in “Why Don’t You Just Die!” as a mercilessly exaggerated battle of life and death – whereby the brutal, bloody violence (with television sets and jigsaws) is repeatedly seasoned with dark black humor. This is reminiscent of the works of Quentin Tarantino, but at the same time it is much more than just a homage. With surprising twists and an absolute lack of inhibition when it comes to excess brutality, the debut became a celebrated fan favorite at international genre film festivals.
After the similarly mercilessly brutal action grotesque “No Looking Back – Without Considering Losses” (2021), Sokolov moved from Russia to the USA – although before realizing his new project he first had to absorb the rules of the US film market, including cultural differences, as he emphasized in an interview. Nevertheless, during the production of “They Will Kill You”, he managed to push many of his own wild ideas out of the script with the necessary persistence – which, however, is not always good for the blood-soaked horror action comedy with a strong Zazie Beetz (“Deadpool 2”) in the lead role.
Anyone who has ever seen a film by Kirill Sokolov will not be surprised that Zazie Beetz, among other things, attacks her opponents with a burning axe.
After a ten-year prison sentence, Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz) is looking forward to finally embracing her younger sister Maria (Myha’la) again. However, she has not been seen since she took a job as a housemaid at The Virgil. Since there are many mysterious stories about missing employees of the luxurious apartment complex, Asia expects the worst – and applies for a job herself under a false identity.
After a friendly welcome from housekeeper Lily Woodhouse (Patricia Arquette), she is allowed to move into her room. But on the first night, the defensive Asia receives an uninvited visitor who proves to be surprisingly resilient. The residents of the house belong to a satanic cult that grants them immortality – at least as long as they regularly make human sacrifices in return…
Visually there’s also the full roar
The new production company Nocturna celebrates its debut with “They Will Kill You”. It was founded by “ES” director Andy Muschietti and his producer wife Barbara Muschietti, who together are committed to high-quality horror fare. And probably also because they are filmmakers themselves, they gave the creative Kirill Sokolov a largely free hand on his US debut. The first major action scene is technically incredibly ambitious: Asia, lying on the ground, defends herself with her sword against attackers clad in dark robes – while the camera, maneuvered by Isaac Bauman (“Deliver Us”), circles around the protagonist.
A skirmish in a completely dark banquet hall, in which Asia rams her flaming ax into dozens of attackers before she jumps in slow motion and cuts a henchman lengthwise, is also a scenic and visual treat. Speaking of optics: When an eye with an attached optic nerve follows Asia through a vertical passage in the ventilation shaft, it is not only disgusting, but almost cartoonishly silly. But even that is just a small foretaste of the downright crazy finale with mediocre CGI, which ultimately goes way over the top in terms of madness.
“Harry Potter” villain Tom Felton is also one of the murderous devil worshipers.
Given the high pace and the never-ending firework of ideas that Sokolov fires off here, the already thin story quickly falls under the wheels: interwoven flashbacks are either not very productive in terms of content or present a supposedly surprising twist on Maria’s employment relationship, which genre fans in particular have already smelled miles into the wind. The slaughter marathon, enriched with knife fights and fountains of blood à la “Kill Bill” (2003) and accompanied by hard beats, is enhanced by the stylish interiors, which give the historic walls a sophisticated charm with wood paneling and antique furniture.
In terms of acting, Zazie Beetz sets the strongest tone as a defensive action heroine who has to take a beating in the fight against the immortal disciples of Satan. Especially in the sensitive scenes between her and film sister Myha’la (known from the HBO series “Industry”), you can clearly see that Sokolov is making at least certain concessions for the US market – and that the cast of characters is no longer quite as consistent and harsh as in his previous films. It’s just a shame that neither Oscar winner Patricia Arquette (“Boyhood”) as the diabolical housekeeper nor Heather Graham (“Boogie Nights”), who loses her (regrowing) head, are given many scenes.
Conclusion: Lots of visual ideas and almost as many severed limbs make the unpredictable and bloody action surprise bag “They Will Kill You” an entertaining and crude horror happening. The Hollywood debut of brute artist Kirill Sokolov would have benefited from a little more content.