I missed the SXSW premiere screening for They Will Kill You, which honestly stings a little, because SXSW premieres have a special significance. You get the cast, the Q&A, that electric “we’re all seeing this first together” energy. Instead, I caught the second screening. Still a packed room, still buzzing, just without that post-movie victory lap from the filmmakers and talent in the same room.
And yet… SXSW crowds don’t play fair. They elevate everything. There is something about sitting in a theater full of people who actually want to be there that just raises the ceiling. Jokes land harder, action feels bigger, and even the messy stuff gets a little extra grace. It is not better than a normal theater experience, it is just… different. More alive.
Directed by Kirill Sokolov and starring Zazie Beetz, They Will Kill You throws you into a story that feels familiar on paper. A working class woman takes a job in a luxury high rise and quickly realizes something is very wrong with the people who live there. Disappearances. Secrets. Rich people behaving like like creeps. Yeah, we’ve seen shades of this before. You will probably think of Ready or Not at some point. I definitely did.
But here is the thing. I do not get tired of watching terrible rich people get absolutely wrecked. Same way I will never get tired of a masked killer in a slasher film. Some formulas just work if you execute properly. And this movie definitely executes.
This is really a Zazie Beetz vehicle. She has always been great in supporting roles, popping up in things like Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train, but this is her chance to carry something brutal on her back. And she does. She is covered in blood for a good chunk of this movie, and somehow still manages to ground the chaos. You buy her fear, her anger, her survival instincts. Even when the movie goes completely off the rails, she keeps you locked in.
This Movie Is Absolutely Unhinged in the Best Way
Let me set expectations. This is not grounded. This is not logical. This is not trying to win a debate with you about realism. It lives in a heightened reality where physics politely steps aside. People fly through tables. Limbs go places they should not. Blood sprays like someone turned on a fire hydrant. It feels closer to Tarantino samurai flick than a modern action thriller.
And honestly? I loved it.
The practical effects are insane. The cinematography is sharp and confident. Wide shots actually show you the action instead of hiding it behind shaky cam nonsense. You can tell every sequence was planned, not just thrown together in an edit bay. There is a looseness to it too. I feel like the director actually wants you to have fun. That feels weirdly rare right now.
We have gotten used to action movies that feel like they are trying to pass a realism test. Everything needs rules. Everything needs explanation. This movie does not care about that. It just wants to entertain you. And more importantly, it wants you to laugh a little while people are getting obliterated.
It leans into that horror comedy energy that studios seem weirdly scared of lately. The tone walks that tightrope between absurd and sincere, and for me, it worked way more often than it didn’t.
Watching this at SXSW definitely boosted the experience. There were moments where the audience just collectively lost it. Gasps, laughs, that shared “did you just see that?” reaction you do not always get on a random Tuesday night at a regular theater. It reminded me why festival screenings feel special in the first place.
Even without the premiere perks, it still felt like an event.
Final Verdict 4 out of 5 Stars
They Will Kill You, is not the most original setup, but none of that matters if you’re entertained. The execution, the performances, and the sheer chaotic confidence carry it. This is the kind of movie that knows exactly what it is and refuses to apologize for it. And honestly, I respect that.
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