By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"THEY WILL KILL YOU" OVERDOES THE CHAOS AND UNDERDELIVERS THE THRILLS
"They Will Kill You," the new action/comedy-horror movie from director
Kirill Sokolov ("No Looking Back") and co-writer
Alex Litvak, ("Masters of the Universe") quickly reveals itself to be more familiar than frightening.
Despite a promising setup--a recently released ex-con taking a housekeeping job in a mysterious New York high-rise--the film leans heavily on genre cliches without adding much that feels fresh or inventive.
It opens with a tense prologue that hints at emotional depth, but that thread is soon buried beneath a barrage of stylized violence and chaotic plotting.
Zazie Beetz ("The Dutchman" and TV's "Lazarus") leads the film as Asia, bringing a strong physical presence and just enough grit to make her character compelling, even when the script doesn't fully support her.
The story places her inside The Virgil, a century-old luxury building harboring a dark secret involving immortality and ritual sacrifice.
Along the way, she encounters a mix of eccentric and sinister residents played by a notable cast including Patricia Arquette (TV's "Murdaugh: Death in the Family" and "Severance"), Heather Graham, ("Gunslingers"), Tom Felton ("As Deep as the Grave") and Myha'la ("Dead Man's Wire"). While the ensemble is game, their characters are reduced to exaggerated archetypes, existing mainly to push the film further into its increasingly absurd and bloody set pieces.
To its credit, "They Will Kill You" does show flashes of visual flair, particularly in its early sequences where Sokolov builds tension through clever camera movement and confined spaces. But those moments are quickly overshadowed by an overreliance on shock value. The excessive profanity grows tiresome too, and the relentless violence--often played for grotesque laughs--feels less impactful the longer it goes on.
What starts as a potentially clever genre mash-up ultimately devolves into a loud, chaotic spectacle that mistakes excess for excitement. By the end, "They Will Kill You" feels less like a thrilling ride and more like an endurance test.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
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"THEY WILL KILL YOU"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
