Rotten luck has plagued They Will Kill You. It comes out a week after Ready or Not 2, using almost an IDENTICAL setup with just a different cast. Like our heroine, the movie is in the wrong place at the wrong time at the theater…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun. In fact, I would pick this one over the overwrought Samara Weaving sequel, and not just for the fact that Zazie Beetz can probably kick Weaving’s ass any day of the week.
Zazie plays Asia Reaves, a recently ex convict looking for her lost sister Maria (Myha’la) after years in prison. Asia tracks her down to a weird exclusive high-rise in New York City called the Vigil. Asia was hired by Lilith Woodhouse (Patricia Arquette) to be a maid for all these well to do people like socialites Kevin Sullivan (Tom Felton) and Sharon Vanderbilt (Heather Graham). On Asia’s first night though, she quickly learns that perhaps those ominous devils on the front of the building were foreboding something, um, more real and tangible at her expense.
The Vigil is exquisite at a battleground. Director Kirill Sokolov has a lot of fun with the space to make They Will Kill You stand out a bit. The trailer shot of the lights going out is stellar on the big screen, as one by one darkness comes closer and closer to Asia. And that’s just the hallway of one floor. When we move into the secret underground passageways, the camera becomes more claustrophobic as you might expect. We get a darkness fight. And an elevator shaft battle. The perspective shifts keep They Will Kill You interesting, as Asia gets closer to the roof where the inevitable crazy climax is going to take place.
But that backdrop only works if the fight sequences mix it up as much as the locations. Early on, the element of surprise works wonders, as Asia decisively wins her battle against the rich morons; Zazie Beetz looks great as our lead action hero, taking a beating but also delivering one too. But then Kirill’s master plan comes into play, as do the wider array of battles now at his fingertips. The chase through the basement has a stellar payoff, that cements the movies demented dark sense of humor. Need a hero sequence? How does a burning axe battle in a room of darkness and devils suit you? We get a 300 style shot there, with real time mixed with slow motion to show off how cool Zazie Beetz is, then back to normal time. The ending gets away form Sokolov a little, but at least it keeps in tone with the movie, providing a very stupid fun capper on a solid time at the movies.
The producers clearly said They Will Kill You to this film by dumping it when they did. But as you all should learn, not everything that’s buried remains buried. Fun films like this one will find their people, and come back with a vengeance. Also, doing Zazie Beetz dirty after watching this movie doesn’t seem like the greatest idea ever either. Can’t wait to see what else she has in store for here badass career!