They Will Kill You is an intense thrill ride you have to see to believe

During my trip to South by Southwest 2026, I attended the world premiere of They Will Kill You. Is it as intense as the marketing says? Read on to find out.

They Will Kill You is directed by Krill Sokolov (No Looking Back, Why Don't You Just Die?) with a script written by Sokolov and Alex Litvak. The film stars Zazie Beets (Joker, Deadpool 2), Myha'la, Paterson Joseph (Wonka, The Beach, Jekyll), Tom Felton (Harry Potter, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Heather Graham (Scream 2, The Hangover, Suitable Flesh), and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood, Lost Highway, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3). The film is also produced by Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (IT: Chapter One, IT: Chapter Two, Mama) with a score from Carlos Rafael Rivera.

The film opens with an intense backstory revealing how the film's main character Asia Reeves (Zazie Beetz) and her younger sister Maria (Myha'la) are separated. In the present day, Asia is freshly released from prison and looks for a job as a housekeeper at the ominous New York high-rise, "The Virgil." Inside waiting for her is a satanic cult hellbent on making her the latest in a long line of sacrifices. This particularly familiar sounding premise left me curious on how this film would fair. I, as well as many others, walked in expecting a style over substance knock off of 2019's Ready or Not. Thankfully, however, They Will Kill You is so much more.

They Will Kill You is rated R, and it makes damn sure you know it. The film's bloodshed is unlike any other I've seen in quite some time. The film's unique twist to the seemingly unending waves of cultists makes sure that the film isn't short on bodies to slice, stab, tear and tangle with. On top of that, the film's excitingly fast paced action makes all that blood splatter all the more fun, with fight sequences akin to that you'd see in a John Wick flick.

Tom Felton in They Will Kill You

On top of its violence, the film is garnished with a particularly fun shooting style. Cinematographer Isaac Bauman (Bloodline, Faces of Death) utilizes the camera in ways that paint leading lady Beetz a bonafide badass. Nearly every scene of hers frames her as a force of nature not to be reckoned with, so much so that I couldn't help but draw comparisons from this film to Kill Bill. Beetz is most certainly the samurai slinging killing machine Uma Thurman in that analogy. I would also be remised to mention the fact that almost all of this carnage is accompanied by a killer score from Rivera.

Alongside Beetz being an unrelenting terminator, she gives a really charming performance as a woman who will stop at nothing to save her sister. Speaking of, Myha'la gives an immensely impressive performance as Asia's captive sister. The two share a fantastic and undeniable chemistry as siblings with Myha'la especially shining in the film's second act where her presence is a lot more palpable. On the other side of the coin of performances, the sadistic cultists are as fun as they are bloodthirsty. The standouts are Graham and Arquette as the matriarch of the cult that rules with an iron fist and her husband Ray, played by Paterson Joseph, who is starting to grow tired of the constant cycle of death in the Virgil.

The film's third act had me giddy with excitement as we reach a cinematic as hell boss battle with one of the most inspired and insane monster designs I've ever seen. The film's pacing makes good work of its breezy 94-minute runtime and not once did I feel the need to take my eyes off the screen. While the film's script could have been heftier in emotional substance, the amount of bloodshed and the intensely badass ways the blood gets shed makes this one a fun watch, especially with an audience.

Overall, They Will Kill You is a devilishly good time, one that must be seen to be believed. It's a twisted blend of samurai action, satanic cultists and Sam Raimi Evil Dead inspired gore and effects.

They Will Kill You is in theaters this weekend

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