They Will Kill You

I’ve been pretty vocal with friends lately about how the whole “one person vs. an army” action movie trend is starting to feel a bit overdone. The funny thing is, I love a great action movie—The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2 are two of my all-time favorites. So is it me… or is it the movies?

I’m leaning toward the movies.

Even when they’re good, a lot of them start to feel repetitive. Still, with each new one, I keep hoping something will come along and shake things up a bit—something that pulls me back in. And that brings us to Kirill Sokolov’s new film, They Will Kill You. It definitely tries to do something different… but is it enough?

Life hasn’t been kind to Asia Reeves (Zazie Beetz). She and her sister Maria (Myha’la) grew up with an abusive father and nearly escaped him. But things didn’t go as planned. After Asia shoots him, she ends up serving time, and what happened to Maria remains a mystery to her.

Now out of prison, Asia is focused on one thing: finding her sister.

That search leads her to a job at a building known as “The Vigil.” But once she’s inside, it quickly becomes clear that something is very wrong. The building is home to a satanic cult—and Asia has been brought there as a sacrifice.

The problem for them? Asia came prepared.

She suspected something shady going in, but what she finds is far worse than expected. And for Asia, nothing matters more than finding her sister. She doesn’t care how many people—or floors—she has to fight through to get there.

For us, that’s where the fun begins.

Written by Alex Litvak and Sokolov, They Will Kill You leans into familiar territory but takes a route that’s easy to enjoy. It feels like a mix of Kill Bill and The Evil Dead (the Sam Raimi version), borrowing from both but still fully becoming its own thing. What it delivers is bloody, chaotic fun—and honestly, that was enough for me to have a good time.

The film isn’t afraid to embrace its violent, campy energy, but not everything lands. The biggest issue is that, with so many clear influences, it sometimes struggles to find a distinct identity. At times, it feels like a mash-up of things we’ve already seen before.

But for some viewers, that might not be a bad thing. After all, everyone enjoys a good “greatest hits” collection.

What really helps the movie stand out is Beetz. She’s fantastic here—both as a convincing action lead and as someone carrying the emotional weight of the story. She brings depth, humor, and a real sense of presence to the role. Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a more badass guide through this kind of chaos.

Sokolov brings a ton of energy and clearly has a deep love for cult films, and that passion comes through on screen.

At the end of the day, They Will Kill You is pretty hard to resist. It’s straightforward, bloody, and built to entertain. It’s the kind of movie that gets cheers, laughs, maybe a few screams—and most importantly, delivers a really fun time at the movies.