SXSW ‘They Will Kill You’ Review: A New Kind of ‘Evil Dead’
4.5/5 bloody swords
Kirill Sokolov’s They Will Kill You brings a story of female rage to life that isn’t rooted in revenge. Instead, it is about two sisters just trying to revenge. With a lot of blood and gore. And a fun little eye.
Asia Reeves (Zazie Beetz) and her sister, Maria (Myha’la) were separated for ten years when Asia decided to come back find her. The problem is that a satanic cult is trying to kill her at every step of her journey. Trapped in a hotel of horrors called “The Virgil,” Asia has to navigate rooms of people trying to kill her.
Sokolov and Alex Litvak’s script is off the rails in how it explores themes of anger, betrayal, and love between these two sisters. What really makes this work though is Sokolov’s approach to the violence in the film. Imagine a water fountain of blood pouring out of someone’s neck and you’ll get it.
They Will Kill You doesn’t go for the “realistic” approach. Instead, it leans into the absurd and it benefits from that energy throughout the entire movie. Sokolov mentioned his influences and when he brought up Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead movies, it really explained the intention behind a film like this.
Zazie Beetz, the star you are
Movies like They Will Kill You are only as good as their lead. Luckily, Zazie Beetz really brings a level of pain and vulnerability to Asia that helps you understand her anger. She can survive on her own and that’s clear in how she is wiping people out while at the Virgil.
But her anger isn’t just a typical “girl angry in movie” situation. Rather, she’s on a mission and her anger is reserved for those stopping her from completing it. That could easily limit a role but Beetz really makes every beat of Asia her own. And look, it is pretty cool watching her get covered in more and more blood as the film goes on.
Just a weird, fun, wild ride
It has been a while since we’ve had a movie as weird and fun as this one. Creativity like Sokolov’s gets watered down more often than not and to see how weird he can get with a movie is part of the fun. They Will Kill You has so many incredible characters to love (and hate) throughout the film, including Patricia Arquette’s Lily and Tom Felton’s Kevin. But it is really nice to see the sheer amount of women getting their due in this film.
We’ve seen action movies with a female lead before. Kill Bill instantly comes to mind. And yet They Will Kill You finds a new balance between a female action star and the story being told. Beetz, Myha’la, Arquette, Heather Graham, and more all color the scenes in Sokolov’s weird cult hotel and I loved every single moment of it.
It is weird and fun and a movie you will want to see in theaters with as many people as possible. They Will Kill You hits theaters on March 27.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
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