If the title wasn’t enough of a clue, They Will Kill You relishes in its blood-soaked nature. A mix of balls-to-the-wall brutality, sisterhood redemption, moneyed villainy, and an unexpected Satanic underbelly, it’s not hard to see why this SXSW hit from director Kirill Sokolov was a bit of a crowd pleaser during its festival run. Though, it begets the question of how enjoyable all this samurai level blood-spurting can be when put against its weaker narrative and central relationship.
Before we dive head first into the craziness, They Will Kill You lets us into its initial conflict that will carry through. From a violent act against their captor, Asia Reeves (Zazie Beetz) becomes separated from her younger sister, Maria Reeves (Myha’la). Asia is taken to prison as Maria is forced to remain with her abusive father that’s basically taken her hostage.
From here, we jump ten years ahead to Asia’s first (and only) night at a sinister New York residence called The Virgil. Her welcome into this ominous lair by its unsettling host (Patricia Arquette) may seem a bit predictable through its obvious intentions, but Asia’s presence certainly flips the “final girl” idea totally on its head as she gets going.
Once the action kicks off, you see where a lot of the attention went. Sokolov and his cinematographer Isaac Bauman implement long takes that dance around these fight sequences brilliantly. It’s a welcome respite from the countless Greengrass-style action editing with a jarring cut every other second. Here, we’re able to bask in the glory of this impressive choreography and these talented stunt performers for everything from limb removal to a very entertaining bit with a literal fire axe and much more. Especially in its first standout scene, Bauman’s camera almost imitates a breakdance as it swoops around the room. It all may get a tad repetitive as it goes, but never fails to entertain, even more so with its absolutely berserk finale.
Where it doesn’t quite hit the mark is in all of this other stuff going on behind the action. The central relationship between Asia and Maria is unoriginal and doesn’t really get the time or emotional emphasis to make us feel this strained connection as well as the narrative wants us to. In addition, most of this isn’t meant to be taken too seriously as limbs fly off and blood shoots out at ludicrous speed, so when the tone shifts in the scenes around these sisters, it tends to feel forced.
They Will Kill You also tries its hand at an overt commentary on wealth oppression by having the Virgil stand as a beacon for the immorally wealthy bent on punishing those beneath them. The residents we meet include Heather Graham’s Sharon, Tom Felton’s Kevin, and Willie Ludik’s Bob. Their goal is clear, but the movie doesn’t do enough to separate these figures from any generic, rich adversaries we’ve seen time and time again. Sure, they may have a supernatural quirk that makes them a bit harder to kill than expected. But, as far as the characterizations go, these all are rather inadequate when you look past anything besides their passion for murder.
The entire concept here revolving around an “eat-the-rich” (or maybe I should say beat-the-rich) doesn’t feel fully formed. Not only does it require some pointed writing focused on filling in expositional gaps it doesn’t need to fill, but fails to introduce and expand on any worthwhile ideas regarding wealth disparages. A quote from Benvenuto Cellini at the opening tells us “When the poor feed the rich, the devil laughs”. Though this provocative message helps to link our minds to this larger class conflict to come, it never finds a place of resonance to make any genuine commentary. As it stands, the villainous wealthy here are simply morally expandable figures for Asia to tear apart.
With clear influences from action/gore titans like Quentin Tarantino, Sam Raimi, and Robert Rodriguez, They Will Kill You really nails its violent excess and keeps you planted in your seat with its consistent unpredictability and wild ambition. And while the spectacle definitely outweighs the substance, it’s hard to not have a raucous fun time with all of the bloody madness.
