They Will Kill You (2026) Movie Review

They Will Kill You is a 2026 action horror film directed by Kirill Sokolov and co-written by Alex Litvak. It stars Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette. Produced by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, via their company Nocturna, and distributed by New Line Cinema.

Asia Reaves (Beetz) escaped from an abusive household in her youth and now works as a housekeeper in a strange New York City high-rise, but unbeknownst to her, the building hides a sect of devil-worshippers who are bent on committing a bloody sacrifice.

While you might expect some kind of grindhouse-style wild and exaggerated action flick judging by the trailer and the tone this film presents itself with, in the end the influence isn't so much exploitation cinema itself, but rather, the films that were already paying homage to cult films. The needle drops, the camera movements and the type of shots are all reminiscent of Kill Bill and Django Unchained. They Will Kill You takes more influence from Tarantino and the likes than anything else. It's the homage to the homage dressed in a layer of modern day preoccupations with race, trauma, a tragic past linked to social issues and even fights between the economic classes. Nothing of this is really pointed out by the film itself but the implications in the film's storytelling elements are pretty evident.

The main story is pretty straightforward, deliberately simple and direct so the filmmakers can construct a variety of action set-pieces with almost absurd levels of violence on display, which are truly the main focus of the movie. This deranged blood-soaked violence is honestly kind of weightless and too wacky to fully work, people will get their body parts cut off with no effort and while the choreographies themselves aren't bad, the way the script resolves the action sequences isn't very satisfying the majority of the time. The CGI gore isn't bad, and there's a fair amount of practical special effects, but the way the film is shot and color corrected makes it feel a bit dry and lacking flavor, something the Tarantino films had.

The bizarre antics and inner workings of the villains is just a very controlled attempt at being insane, the ludicrous final fight scene had its fun moments but the forced looniness of it never actually registers as genuinely mad, it's just juvenile and slightly weird, this is especially the case if you have seen a lot of faux grindhouse movies that truly commit to the over-the-top factor and give you some unreal and demented images. This film never actually goes out of its way to achieve that, but it's a film that works well since the actors are competent, the effects are well made, the brawls and fights are dynamic and fast, sometimes even creative. It's nothing else but an entertaining popcorn movie, not that it tried to be anything but that, but it can only reach that level.

Outside of some reservations, I do recommend the film as it's a very effective fun romp from beginning to end, only ninety minutes and ultraviolent. You can't really go wrong with it if you know what to expect.