They Will Kill You
They Will Kill You is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated R. Common Sense says 16+
A woman (Zazie Beetz) takes a job as a housekeeper in a NYC high-rise, unaware of the building's history of disappearances. She soon realizes the community is shrouded in mystery.
STORY: F
Nothing new to see here.
Satanic cults, abusive fathers, and a human sacrifice scheduled for midnight.
These ingredients aren’t what make this a dull film. It’s the fact that every element — the structure, the dialogue, the plot —lacks inspiration. It fails to plumb a potentially intriguing premise for anything new or interesting.
PEOPLE: D
Zazie Beetz fails to take the lead.
To be clear, Beetz is a fabulous actor. If you haven’t seen her in Nine Days, do yourself a favor and check it out. She is a great talent.
Beetz shows off some impressive physical acting during the fight sequences, but her line delivery is shaky. No matter how tough she’s asked to be, every time the supposedly invincible hero opens her mouth, she sounds weak. Audiences accept a lot of unbelievable things in a movie like this, but we still have to believe the hero’s got the stuff to succeed. When we don’t, we detach.
FILM NERD STUFF: C-
Lo-fi gore leans into kitsch.
The special effects are terrible, but they do jibe with the film’s tone. The film’s highlight for me takes the expression, “Keep your eye on them!” to literal and rather amusing extremes.
ONE BIG LESSON: N/A
Sometimes your dream job can be a nightmare(?)
There’s no real theme in the film. However, no points will be deducted since the film isn’t trying to say anything deep, nor should it.
FINAL COMMENTS:
I love me a good dumb-fun film. But (as the name implies) if it’s not fun then it’s just dumb.
Some will love this movie for the fact that it delivers exactly what it advertises, even if every little bit of it sits at the lowest common denominator.
For me, I need more. A good dumb-fun movie should try to add some fresh twists, deliver creative kills, or at least revel in its own stupidity. This movie does none of those things.