AceShowbiz - The 2023 horror-comedy-action film They Will Kill You offers a relentless, fast-paced experience that paradoxically allows the mind to drift amid its nonstop carnage. The movie’s premise involves a sinister cult residing in a luxurious Manhattan high-rise, the Virgil, whose members practice dark rituals and require yearly human sacrifices to maintain a form of conditional immortality. This setup unfolds through a story about two estranged sisters caught in the deadly web of this occult society.

Director Kirill Sokolov, working from a script co-written with Alex Litvak (known for Predators), crafts an environment where villains lack complexity, resembling the generic rich antagonists seen recently in films like Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. Among the Virgil’s residents are Heather Graham as Sharon, a founder of an anti-aging beauty company, and Tom Felton as Kevin, a stereotypical sneering rich man. These characters highlight a tradition in horror cinema of positing Lucifer-worshipping elites as antagonists, which draws on real-world moral panics but often unfairly conflates actual Satanists—usually sex-positive, atheist subcultural figures—with these fictional evils.

The story centers on Zazie Beetz as Asia Reaves, an ex-convict determined to rescue her younger sister Maria (played by Myha’la Herrold), from becoming the cult’s next sacrificial victim. Asia’s violent resistance against the cult’s hooded, masked adherents introduces the film’s signature feature: the Virgil’s inhabitants and staff can regenerate from injuries, regrowing limbs and body parts, which prolongs the combat sequences but also drains their impact over time. The film indulges in graphic, Tarantino-esque violence, using swords, axes, and even flaming weapons in its elaborate fight scenes. There’s also a grotesque, almost surreal moment involving a detached eyeball chasing Asia through crawl spaces, blending horror and dark humor.

While the body horror elements offer some initial novelty—such as scenes where Heather Graham’s character’s head is severed and only partially regrown—the film’s fascination with regeneration quickly becomes repetitive. Sokolov’s direction includes inventive camera work and avoids frenetic editing during fights, allowing action to unfold more clearly. Despite this, the invincibility of the cult members makes the battles feel futile. Asia’s combat skills make her a formidable opponent, yet the film struggles to maintain momentum or a coherent plan for the protagonists. They slaughter cultists, escape, get recaptured, and flashbacks intermittently reveal the sisters’ troubled past and how they ended up at the Virgil, but these sequences fail to build sustained tension or depth.

They Will Kill You also attempts to explore an intriguing idea through its depiction of the Virgil’s staff, who enjoy a conditional immortality akin to the cult members but remain perpetual workers whose existence can be erased by missteps. Paterson Joseph plays Ray, a disgruntled staffer who assists Asia and Maria in navigating the fortress-like building. The staff’s leader, Patricia Arquette as Lilith Woodhouse, is an Irish woman married to Ray; their interracial relationship, accepted at the Virgil but rejected by the outside world a century ago, introduces an intriguing social dynamic. Unfortunately, the film neglects to develop these elements, missing an opportunity to explore what it means to belong to an eternal underclass, even at the cost of one’s soul.

The movie opens with a quote attributed to Benvenuto Cellini: “When the poor give to the rich, the Devil laughs,” hinting at potential socio-political commentary. However, despite its abundant bloodshed and occult themes, They Will Kill You falls short of delivering meaningful critique or emotional depth. It remains surface-level, unable to land a sharp narrative or thematic blow, instead settling for a repetitive cycle of violence without clear stakes or progression.

Interestingly, the film’s atmosphere and pacing evoke the contemplative tone of the 2022 documentary Realm of Satan, which portrays Satanists in mundane, everyday settings, challenging sensationalized stereotypes. While They Will Kill You embraces the sensationalized, supernatural evil cult trope, the documentary’s grounded portrayal of actual Satanists highlights the contrast between reality and horror fiction’s exaggerated narratives.

Ultimately, They Will Kill You offers some moments of inventive gore and spectacle but struggles with pacing, characterization, and narrative coherence. The regenerative immortality mechanic, designed to intensify action scenes, instead diffuses tension and dulls the impact of fights. The lack of a solid plan or forward momentum for the protagonists, combined with underexplored social themes, leaves the film feeling like an overlong grindhouse exercise that fails to fully engage or satisfy beyond its initial thrills.