Displaying items by tag: Tom Felton

THEY WILL KILL YOU

US, 2026, 94 minutes, Colour.

Zazie Beetz, Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham, Tom Felton, Myha'la, Patterson Joseph.

Directed by Kirill Sokolov.

Over the top – sometimes physically with gymnastic leaps of fights with knives, axes, swords. This is a hyper-terror and menace film, though with an increasing amount of horror. It begins with some violent human interactions but soon veers into a Manhattan covenant of Satanists.

Probably best first to alert audiences who find a lot of bloodletting and slashing in films that they will probably find this one too much (understatement). Those who with glee describe thei response to this kind of ultra-violence as “fun”, definitely their film.

The title is accurate. However, there is an underlying plot which gives the film some character and dramatic momentum. The film opens with a brutal father, his daughters trying to flee, the confrontation, the shooting, the older daughter, Asia, caught, in prison, the younger, Maria, back to her father’s control. When Asia gets out, it looks something like a possible revenge story on the father as well is the rescue of her sister.

But…

Who would have thought of an enormous Manhattan building, old classic style, corridors reminiscent of The Shining, a huge staff of maids, a collection of self-indulgent, rich clients? Well, perhaps a lot of screenwriters. But, this is the work of a Russian director, Kyrill Litkov, successfully invading the territory of American slasher screenwriters. He is a director with the courage of his intentions, no holds barred, especially in the continuous, incessant, confrontations, one-to-one, group attacks – with a surprising discovery, especially by Asia, that while these inhabitants can die excruciatingly, they have the satanic power of rising from the dead, an everlasting cycle of death and new life.

As with so many of these terror films, there are also sequences so exaggerated, they are played for laughs, part of the fun. A lot of the resurrections from the dead are parodies of the violence – and special note for that gouged-out eye that scurries along the crawlspaces spying.

The star of this film is Zazie Beetz, tough, prison-hardened, willing to take on everyone. And she does. And over and over… There is an interesting supporting cast including veterans Patricia Arquette (acting like a cousin of Amy Madigan in Weapons – but Patricia Arquette already has an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), Heather Graham and, a long way from Hogwarts, Tom Felton.

Zazie Beetz has to portray one of the most put-upon screen heroines for a long time, a will to survival, a will to save her sister, and a will to destroy Satan himself.

Just as well, They Will Kill You is definitely anti-Satan.