They Will Kill You (2026) – Review and Summary

They Will Kill You stands out amongst the recent wave of satanic cult movies by bringing the action, above average villains and a familial bond which doesn’t feel lukewarm.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“They Will Kill You” Film Details

  • Director(s): Kirill Sokolov
  • Writer(s): Kirill Sokolov, Alex Litvak
  • Distributor: Warner Bros.
  • Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 34 Minutes
  • Public Release Date (In Theaters, Early Screening [AMC Scream Unseen]: March 23, 2026
  • Genre(s): Action, Horror
  • Content Rating: Rated R
  • Primary Language: English
  • Images © of / Courtesy Of Warner Bros.

Movie Summary

10 years ago, Asia failed to protect her little sister, Maria, from their abusive father. Now, after a jail stint, she plans to infiltrate a high society satanist den, called “The Virgil,” in order to free her sister, not knowing what she is about to face at all.

Cast and Characters

Asia (Zazie Beetz)

  • Character Summary: The eldest of two, Asia did her best to protect her sister after the death of their mom. However, a gunshot led to ten years in prison. But, with being in prison came a lot of fighting, hardening, and Asia building up the strength to take on whoever she needed to in order to redeem herself and reunite with her sister.

Maria (Myha’la)

  • Character Summary: Maria is Asia’s younger sister who, after Asia went to prison, found herself stuck with their father, being abused, until she eventually found herself in the care of Lily, working at The Virgil as a maid.

Lily (Patricia Arquette)

  • Character Summary: Lily is the superintendent of The Virgil, who rose to her rank after many years of working as a maid. It isn’t said who was formerly in her position, and why they aren’t anymore.

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

The Violence Is Notable [84/100]

While Asia does have some Rambo qualities, in terms of taking on a multitude of people and barely slowing down, you will barely care about the logic. What you’ll instead enjoy is that Asia knows how to kick ass, whether it is with a shotgun, a machete, or using her hands.

To me, considering a lot of people were comparing this to Ready Or Not, this is where They Will Kill You starts to take the lead and stand out. This film goes beyond exploding people and has decapitations, limbs cut off, people set on fire, and them getting launched thanks to being hit with a shotgun blast up close.

All of it pushes you to truly take note of Asia’s adventure through this 9-floor residence and what it will take for her to save her sister.  

The Villains Are Above Average [82/100]

Just because Lily is one of the few villains whose name you are going to firmly grasp, that doesn’t mean the others are just fodder for Asia to run through. Whether she is in fight or flight mode, watching her deal with these various people is always entertaining.

How and why? Well, because they have diversity. They can just as easily take on Asia and do their best to maim her as they can be funny or tell a joke. Nothing to the point of making They Will Kill You a legitimate comedy, but enough to get a chuckle out of you.

I’d even say, though their collective backstories are thin in general, you can appreciate Lily’s. It may not be tear-inducing or justify her actions, but you get it.

You Care About The Heroes [83/100]

Let me say, do they employ a sob story when it comes to Maria and Asia’s background? Yes. However, I wouldn’t say they go as far as to try to make you emotional or get deep into, if not repetitively address, Maria’s abandonment issues. They Will Kill You finds that sweet spot between giving background to set up why Asia does what she does, and Maria does what she does, without pushing either actress to shift what genre the film is in.

This makes it so that as the sisters get stabbed, snatched, and more, you care about them because you have a natural affection for them rather than because you feel guilted into it. I’d even add that seeing Black women save themselves and each other was very sweet to see. Especially since it isn’t a common thing in horror movies that get a theatrical release.

On The Fence

Wishing It Played Up The Floor Themes More [76/100]

From what it seems, the movie takes place in a Dante’s Inferno-type building with each floor dedicated to a sin. Unfortunately, this isn’t fully tapped into. We do see a glimpse of an orgy (Lust), and you can tell one floor is gluttony due to the kitchen and huge dining room. However, the movie skips the majority of levels referenced in Dante’s Inferno.

You understand this keeps the film from going on too long, but it did feel like a missed opportunity to give the location a bit more personality. For with nearly every floor having the same hallway which leads to the elevator or grand room, with tenants’ rooms in between, things do get a touch monotonous. Also, while the grand room is supposed to represent the circle of hell the floor represents, only the last one is worth taking note of. But, perhaps the real kicker might be, despite tenants picking their floor based on their desires, when Asia is facing dozens of people on, for example, the gluttony floor, they all wear the same cloak disguise and don’t have any unique branding. It could easily be the exact same actors (or rather stunt people) from previous floors.

It all pushes the idea that They Will Kill You wanted to cut the fat from its budget, and despite the flavor visuals often given to action-oriented films, never mind satanic horror, it wasn’t a priority.

Overall

Our Rating (81/100): Positive (Worth Seeing)

They Will Kill You stands out among recent horror movies since its protagonist knows how to fight, the villains aren’t bland and completely reliant on stereotypical satanism to be interesting, and to boot, it is about a Black woman saving her sister. It creates what feels like a rare combination that you want to see more of – just not in the form of a sequel.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.