They Will Kill You

They Will Kill You is a high-octane action-comedy-horror film directed by Kirill Sokolov and co-written with Alex Litvak, produced under Andy and Barbara Muschietti's Nocturna banner for New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures. The story centers on Asia Reaves, an ex-convict bearing deep emotional scars from past trauma, who arrives during a stormy night to accept a live-in housekeeper position at The Virgil—a historic, ultra-exclusive high-rise in New York City.

Asia is greeted by the complex's eccentric, seemingly hospitable superintendent Lily Woodhouse and introduced to an elite cadre of wealthy residents. However, beneath the polished marble, vintage architecture, and lavish decor lies a dark and sinister history of unexplained disappearances that haunt the complex.

As night falls, Asia realizes that The Virgil is the covert sanctuary for a demonic cult of ultra-wealthy elites requiring an annual human sacrifice. When the masked cultists corner their intended prey, they quickly discover they have severely underestimated her. Utilizing lethal combat skills honed over a decade behind bars, Asia turns the luxury residence into an explosive, blood-soaked battleground in a desperate fight to survive.

Kirill Sokolov uses the splatstick action-horror genre as an allegory for socio-economic parasitism and generational exploitation. The core message examines how ultra-wealthy elites insulate themselves from consequence by consuming and commodifying the vulnerable underclass. Simultaneously, the film explores guilt, trauma, and maternal-sisterly devotion, framing Asia's violent ascent as an earthly inferno crossed to reclaim familial bonds and personal autonomy from corrupt institutional abuse.

The narrative can be analyzed through several distinct thematic lenses:

Released in March 2026, They Will Kill You contributed to the wave of Black-led horror and kinetic dark-action hybrids like Ready or Not, The Raid, and Abigail. It marked Russian filmmaker Kirill Sokolov's entry into the American studio system under New Line Cinema and Nocturna.

Premiering at SXSW 2026, the film cultivated a dedicated following among midnight-movie and cult-action fans, grossing approximately $19.4 million against a $20 million budget while sparking discussions on high-energy genre blending.

Critical and audience reception was moderately positive to mixed, earning around a 72% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 51 on Metacritic. Critics widely praised Isaac Bauman's kinetic cinematography, Zazie Beetz's charismatic physical performance, and the inventiveness of the practical gore set-pieces.

Conversely, critiques focused on a thin narrative structure, repetitive combat sequences in the middle act, and a polarizing third-act tonal shift involving a porcine demon that veered toward cartoonish farce. It was broadly embraced as a stylized, crowd-pleasing B-movie triumph.