‘They Will Kill You’ review: Zazie Beetz fights back in Kirill Sokolov’s high-octane horror

Dir: Kirill Sokolov. US. 2026. 94mins

For his third film – and his first in the English-language – Russian writer/director Kirill Sokolov returns to the same extreme horror vein he successfully tapped in previous features No Looking Back (2021) and Why Don’t You Just Die? (2018). It is a genre he knows well, and fans of his breakneck debut will be thrilled to see him serving up more of the same manic intensity and extreme gore here, in a propulsive, bloody, entertaining horror.

Propulsive, bloody, entertaining horror

The story of a down-on-her luck woman who takes a job as a maid at an exclusive New York address, only to discover it is a den of satanic iniquity, proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, While it begins to run out of steam in its final third, it’s bouyed by Sokolov’s commitment to his crazed vision and the infectious enthusiasm of his starry cast – which includes rising stars Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2) and Myha’la (Industry) alongside Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham, Tom Felton and Patterson Joseph.

Having premiered at SXSW, They Will Kill You, which includes IT (2017) director Andy Muschietti amongst its producers, rolls out worldwide from March 25, hitting the US and UK on March 27. It should appeal to genre fans looking for a fun night out, and the presence of Beetz and Myha’la should attract younger audiences – although its extreme gore could curb its reach. That is, however, likely to result in strong word of mouth amongst horror fans, and it could enjoy a healthy onward journey on streaming.

A prologue sets up the relationship between Asia Reaves (Beetz) and her younger sister Maria, who are running from an abusive father when Asia makes a split-second decision that will separate them for a decade. When we next see Asia, 10 years later, she is answering a help-wanted ad at an exclusive New York City address (although the film shot in South Africa) – a looming building with demonic carvings all over its frontage. Subtle it is not, and Sokolov and co-writer Alex Litvak (Predators) don’t hide the fact that Asia is in grave danger the moment she walks through the door. The knowing is part of the fun.

It also means that the film doesn’t have to waste precious time waiting for Asia to figure out her predicament and can throw us straight into the action. A bravura early sequence, in which Asia takes on several cloaked figures at once, demonstrates both Beetz’s incredible physical prowess and the killer blend of expertly choreographed action and pitch-black humour that will fuel the rest of the film. As Asia fights her way through swarms of devil worshippers – including the matronly Lily (Arquette, wielding a haphazard Irish accent), Sharon (Graham) and Kevin (Felton) – Sokolov pushes his threadbare premise to its most intense (and gory) limits. And the stakes kick up a notch when Asia discovers Maria (Myha’la) is working as a maid in the building.

They Will Kill You is gleefully engorged with all the usual genre cliches – black hoods, blood curses, depraved rich people – and takes pleasure in executing them with abandon. Influences, too, are unsubtle; most obvious is Tarantino, seen in Beetz’s sword-wielding protagonist and Carlos Rafael Rivera’s spaghetti western inspired soundtrack. The film’s inspired use of a multi-storey space is reminiscent of the cranked-up claustrophobia of Gareth Evans’ The Raid – although, of course, Sokolov also made fantastic use of a single apartment setting in Why Don’t You Just Die?.

There will undoubtedly be those who roll their eyes at Sokolov’s familiar playbook – and the several tired male-gazey moments of Asia rolling around in her underwear. It is also true that any emotional drama surrounding the estranged sisters, any obvious ‘eat the rich’ satire that stems from a bunch of wealthy satanists using the lower classes as ‘offerings’, is drowned out by a barrage of sound and fury. 

But Sokolov does not intend for his film to be cerebral, envelope-pushing horror, just a damn good time. It is given that momentum by an impressive visual style, which scales up the inventive choreography and immersive camerawork seen in Why Don’t You Just Die?. Cinematographer Issac Bauman makes superb use of every inch of this building, utilising its rooms, elevator shaft and vents to superb effect. A sequence in which Graham’s Sharon chases Beetz’s’ Asia through a tiny crawlspace, both of them on hands and knees, is played for maximum gross-out humour; a tone which escalates until a frenzied climax brings things to a brilliantly bizarre head.