They Will Kill You - Bloody Violent Action Horror Comedy Movie

Yesterday this movie was released in Indonesia after playing in the US for a week. It was something that I was interested in since it sounded and looked good. I managed to convince my wife to accompany me despite having no knowledge what it was all about except its genre. Anyway, I'll just get right on it now.

Brief Story Line

Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz - Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, Deadpool 2 etc) who had been separated from her younger sister Maria (Myha'la - Leave the World Behind, Dead Man's Wire etc) for many years, took on a job as housemaid for an old building in New York managed by Lily (Patricia Arquette - Boyhood, Medium TV series etc). Asia met with few occupants including the wealthy business woman Sharon (Heather Graham - Boogie Nights, The Hangover etc) and also Kevin (Tom Felton - A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting, Origin TV series etc). She would also later met with the mysterious Ray Woodhouse (Paterson Joseph - Timeless TV series, Wonka etc). 

Apparently the building was not what she expected and her life was really threatened. Using her experience and survival instinct, Asia had to fight all night long to escape from the building while finishing what she came for.

So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this film.

End of Brief Story Line

When I read the brief synopsis in the cinema website, the movie was said to be full of epic bloody fights. Turned out it was really as advertised and we got to see the gore action scenes multiple times. Although few of those were a bit over the top, but it did not reduce the entertainment value. However these kind of actions might not be for everyone's taste. I think this is the type of movie that audience either dig or just plain hate it (not really in between). My wife and I were part of the first category and thought it was a cool film.

I also like the story telling with a bit of intro in the beginning to provide a little background. But everything became truly entertaining ever since Asia came to work in the building. There were a bit of early terrifying scenes but not the supernatural horror kind that would totally scare us. I think it was also the reason why I did not hesitate to ask my wife to accompany me. In addition, there were some flash backs that were not done in a confusing manner, plus they were a bit humorous too. The dark comedy was rather strong through out the movie as well which made it more fun. But obviously the main attraction was the brutal & violent fight sequence.

Got to admit though that despite seeing Zazie Beetz in some movies earlier, I had my doubts if she would be capable of being the lead woman. However, she managed to convince me with her ability in doing the action scenes as well as in other areas. I read that she did most of her own stunt here and even got minor injuries during those scenes. Aside from the names I mentioned above, there were also appearance of the familiar face of Angus Sampson (The Lincoln Lawyer TV series, Next Goal Wins etc) as Asia's friend/PI? and to my surprise James Remar (It: Welcome to Derry TV series, Dexter TV series etc) as the voice of a character that I better let you find out yourself.

This movie was directed by Kiril Sokolov whose prior movies were Russian dark comedy hits Why Don't You Just Die! and No Turning Back that I had not seen before. He was also credited as writer of the film together with Alex Litvak who had written some movies like Predators, Secret Society of Second Born Royals etc. Oh I did notice the name of Andy Muschietti (director of It, its sequel and The Flash) with his sister Barbara as producers here. Btw the film only has 94 minutes duration which was just nice as it did not feel too long. It has a satisfying ending with a little twist that my wife easily guessed. There was no mid or post end credit scene so you can immediately leave the theater if you have been holding it in. 

Overall this was something unique, interesting and enjoyable for me and my wife. There were few moments where audience and both of us chuckled due to the ridiculous situation, but there were also many times where we felt the suspense and admired the awesome action scenes. Critics were pretty receptive with the film whereas audience seemed to be enjoying it too. However it might seem challenging to be profitable as despite its relatively low budget, the Box Office performance till now only recovered half of it during its first week of release. So if you are in the mood for a gore action horror comedy movie, then you are welcome to give it a try. But if you are more into a supernatural scary horror film, then you won't find it here. The choice is yours.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars