I would be lying if I went along with the consensus and dismissed "They Will Kill You" as just another "Ready or Not" riff. Doing so would be a massive disservice to the absolutely wild, kinetic ride this film actually is. Watching this dragged me right back to a very specific, deeply nostalgic childhood feeling: the illicit thrill of stealing a DVD from your parents’ shelf that you knew, with absolute certainty, you were far too young to watch. Back then, every cinematic choice felt dangerous, and every drop of fake blood felt infinitely heightened. As we get older, that sensory overload naturally dulls down, but Kirill Sokolov’s latest effort resurrected it entirely for me. Sitting in front of the screen, I felt like that kid again—completely in awe of just how mental, big, bold, and unapologetically insane the action sequences felt.
Sokolov directs with the manic, caffeine-fueled precision of a madman, injecting the exact same off-kilter, ultra-violent energy that made one of his previous films, Why Don't You Just Die!, such a wildly enjoyable ride. The filmmaking style here isn't just a vehicle for the story; it’s an active participant in the chaos. He leans heavily into stylized, hyper-kinetic camera work that practically assaults the viewer in the best way possible. From the nausea-inducing dolly zooms and aggressive, comedic whip pans to the dramatic, snapping transitions and punchy sound design, the cinematography constantly amplifies that grindhouse euphoria. It's a technical flex that ensures the film's pulse never drops below a frantic, adrenaline-soaked rhythm.
At the dead center of this maelstrom is Zazie Beetz, and I fell utterly in love with her for the entire runtime. Playing a character trapped in the exclusive, cult-infested Virgil high-rise, she is a formidable, "no fucks given" badass whom you simply should not mess with. The film masterfully flips a traditional horror dynamic on its head, and it's bloody marvellous. There's nothing quite as satisfying as watching arrogant villains—who genuinely believe they are the apex predators—suddenly realize they are the prey locked in a cage with a monster. Beetz's swagger and the effortlessly cool way her character is written make her a magnetic, terrifying presence; honestly, I would have happily let her chop my head off a thousand times over.
That effortless cool bleeds directly into the film’s comedic sensibilities. This is exactly my kind of humor: utterly unfiltered, told through the lens of a creator who simply doesn't care about playing it safe. The movie never strains to be funny, which makes it infinitely more hilarious. The comedy arises naturally from the sheer absurdity of the carnage and the apathetic, deadpan reactions to the escalating madness. It’s equal parts ridiculous and brilliant, striking a tonal balance that most horror-comedies strive for but rarely achieve.
And then, of course, there is the bloodletting. "They Will Kill You" is a non-stop, unapologetic gore-fest from early on to the end credits, layered with marvelous choreography and inventive set pieces. Limbs are severed, heads are chopped, faces are brutally mushed, backs are axed, and shotguns meet faces in a glorious symphony of violence. And I absolutely f*ck with that. Trapping an elite killing machine in a sprawling hotel filled with immortal, cultist cocks who simply refuse to stay dead—yet remain stubbornly determined to kill her—is a brilliantly simple premise. It’s pure, heavenly chaos that strips away the fat and leaves only a relentless grindhouse of constant, spectacular carnage.
8/10
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