Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Written by Ronnie Gorham
Zazie Beetz and Patricia Arquette try to kill the absolute hell out of each other in the blood soaked horror comedy, They Will Kill You. The story follows Asia Reeves (Beetz), who, on one terrible night, tries to escape her abusive father and flee with her little sister, Maria (Myha’la), only for everything to go violently wrong. The outcome lands Asia in prison and her sister back into the custody of their father. A decade later, Asia, free from prison, tracks down her sister. The trail leads her to The Virgil, a hotel with a satanic past and a present that’s somehow even worse.
They Will Kill You is directed by Kirill Sokolov from a script co-written with Alex Litvak (Predators). The film makes it clear from the jump that it has zero interest in easing you in. Instead, the movie comes out swinging with a raw, in your face grindhouse energy that feels both stylish, chaotic, and a little unhinged in the best way. Beetz channels that off-the-rails energy from the first time she steps on screen. You feel invested in Asia immediately. She’s riddled with regret, fueled by determination, and carrying a weight that many viewers can relate to.
What you won’t relate to but will absolutely love are insane moments of gratuitous violence like people getting chopped in half with axes, limbs flying everywhere like confetti, and even a deserving kid getting punched square in the face. Aside from that, the movie has the kind of outside-of-the-box outrages, carnage and blood that would make Sam Raimi proud. And the pacing allows enough time for a joke to hit or body part to fall to let the viewer react. But beneath all that beautifully unhinged chaos, there’s a real sense of cinematic intention guiding Asia Reeves and that starts with the influences Beetz pulled from to shape her performance.
Lady Snowblood (a Japanese film from the 1970’s) was a major inspiration for how Beetz shaped Asia Reeves, but the film also pays homage to a whole legacy of cinematic female badasses. You can feel Pam Grier’s Coffy in Asia’s swagger, especially in the sawed off shotgun moments. There are flashes of Kill Bill in the choreography and attitude. And woven through Asia’s entire presence is a tribute to the black women who carved this path decades before: Tamara Dobson’s towering cool in Cleopatra Jones, Gloria Hendry’s grit in Black Belt Jones, Teresa Graves undercover fire in Get Christie Love. In the modern era, you can trace the lineage straight through Viola Davis, Danai Gurira, Taraji P. Henson and Lashana Lynch, women who redefine strength every time they step on screen.
Beetz doesn’t just join that lineage in They Will Kill You, she pushes it forward. Asia Reeves is the kind of character that shatters stereotypes and replaces them with something powerful, stylish and unapologetically inspiring. And she’s not carrying the film alone. Heather Graham, Tom Felton and Paterson Joseph all bring their own brand of crazy to The Virgil. But the biggest thorn in Asia’s side is Lilith Woodhouse (Arquette) the hotel manager, a woman with secrets, motives, and a few twists of her own.
A lot of Beetz’s power and inspiration comes from the film around her. Composer Carlos Rafael Rivera fuels the tension and blood-curdling mayhem with a brilliantly timed score—especially during nail biting climatic fights—including a haunting track called “The Sister” that lingers long after the credits roll. Sokolov and cinematographer Isaac Bauman match that intensity with dynamic crash zoom angles straight out of the Tarantino playbook, sharp whip pans that elevate key moments and in-your-face camera moments, and in-your-face camera work that makes the film a fun and engaging thrill ride.
The only place where the film leaves you wanting more is The Virgil itself. For a satanic hotel with a crazy past we don’t get to explore nearly as much of its twisted architecture as you’d want. The movie teases you with flashes, strange hallways, and blink and you’ll miss an entire sex floor, but it never dives fully into the building’s dark, tucked away secrets. The Virgil feels like a character with secrets we only get to brush past and a deeper peek into the darkness might have made it an even wilder place. Perhaps, if there’s a sequel or prequel, we’ll learn more about The Virgil.
They Will Kill You isn’t just a great film, it’s a reminder of what happens when a filmmaker hands a powerhouse performer the keys and lets them tear the place apart. Beetz turns Asia Reeves into a force of nature, a woman fighting her way through trauma, violence, survival and a hotel full of lunatics all for the love of her sister. By the final climatic scene, you’re not just rooting for her, you’re witnessing the birth of a new cinematic icon. If you’re looking for a film that hits like a shotgun blast to the face and leaves you smiling through the chaos, this is it.
