They Will Kill You

Despite bursting onto the scene as part of the main cast of Atlanta a decade ago, and showing up in films ranging from box office smashes Joker and Deadpool 2 to smaller dramas like Soderbergh's High Flying Bird and the devastatingly beautiful Nine Days, Zazie Beetz has never led a feature. The latter two (amongst others) have given her more of a chance to shine, elevating her to critical supporting character from start to finish. But that someone with her talent and energy and charisma has not topped the call sheet has been baffling. She's notable enough for a cameo in Bullet Train, and for Gore Verbinski to tap for (and underuse in) Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. Why did it take relatively unknown (in the US, at least) Russian director Kirill Sokolov to finally elevate her?

Whatever the reason, we get to reap the benefits. Beetz hurls herself into the gonzo world cooked up by Sokolov and co-writer Alex Litvak to great effect. The ferocity in her eyes erases any doubt of her ability to overcome any and all attackers, no matter the size difference, through scrappy hand-to-hand combat and practiced skill with a variety of ranged and melee weapons. Sure, the idea she learned to fight like this "in prison" is nonsense; you mean to tell me they teach swordplay in the yard? But the quick comedy cut to her taking on half a dozen women in a nondescript room sans a backing score communicates that this is all meant to be ridiculous, just making excuses to show us a bonkers good time.

Not that the stakes are quite so silly, even as their presentation keeps the story from ever getting too deep or dark. Asia Reaves (Beetz) abandoned her sister Maria (Myha’la) ten years ago, leaving her to deal with their abusive, piece of shit father. Recently out of prison, Asia has tracked Maria to The Virgil, getting hired as a maid in a large building that caters to the richest of the rich. Why is she doing so much fighting? Well, turns out they're all Satan worshippers, and their Lord demands occasional human sacrifice. So they come for her in the night, only to discover they've severely underestimated this woman.

Adding to the fun is the main cast of wealthy patrons, most of whom seem quite practiced at hunting their prey. Admittedly, there isn't much to distinguish them, but that doesn't seem to bother Tom Felton, Heather Graham, Willie Ludik, David Viviers, or Gabe Gabriel one bit. None have had much opportunity to play roles quite like this, and the tremendous amounts of fun radiating off the screen imply they're delighted to be here. Even Patricia Arquette leans in, despite her role as staff manager Lily Woodhouse involving less action in favor of overseeing the events and eventually sending the rest of the help after Asia, dialing up the menace from the moment she opens the door for her new employee.

All of that is before considering a key reveal that comes twenty-ish minutes in, which changes the nature of the fracas, and ratchets it into even higher-gear cartoon bonanza. But given the marketing's omission of it, and my own joyful reaction at its discovery, I'll leave it for you to discover on your own.

None of this is meant to give the impression They Will Kill You is some sort of action-comedy masterpiece. Its structure is remarkably familiar, the central conceit of "rich people who worship the Devil hunting a 'lower-class' person for sport to retain their power" is so well-trodden that it was the second such new release I'd seen that day, and the drama is pretty thin. Some of the plot beats seem to come out of nowhere, lacking motivation save for "wrong-foot the audience". It wears its influences on its sleeve, most recognizably a pastiche of Tarantino, 70s exploitation, and martial arts movies, with a dash of Wes Anderson's camera and Scott Pilgrim's unreality. The humor has its share of whiffs, not to mention a few prolonged stretches where it's entirely absent. But it's all worth it for the extended section in which Asia and Ray (Paterson Joseph) are frantically crawling through tunnels, not realizing they're being followed by a single eyeball, rolling along the floor, complete with a still attached optic nerve.

Because what makes this thing work is the dedication of all involved, and the skill at pulling off their ideas. There are plenty of small-scale instances of creativity: some truly beautiful compositions, a whole sequence that takes place in a dark dining, room, little flourishes of backstory or references within some of the copy-pasted characters, and flashbacks that feel like delineations rather than distractions. There's even a creation at the end of the film that caused me to involuntarily exclaim "Hell no!" out loud. But the bulk of what carries it through is extreme competence on display. The fight scenes absolutely rule, the score is unexpected but fits quite well, and the energy never drops, as the action hits a few floors themed after the seven deadly sins. It even finds a few ways to cleverly integrate common action movie cliches without frustrating the viewer.

Its biggest thematic concerns are the recognition that for all family is important, so is determining when they're too far gone to be worth your time, and fighting like hell for those who can still be saved. Sokolov is just most interested in saying that through wuxia-inspired fight scenes. And sometimes, that's all you need.