There are lots of horror flicks hitting the 2026 movie schedule this month, including Undertone (which is so scary you may not want to watch it alone) and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. There’s also been a lot of anticipation for Zazie Beetz’s next project, They Will Kill You, which sees her character Asia Reaves, an ex-con, take a job as a housekeeper in a New York City high-rise that houses a satanic cult. Critics have seen the film, and they can’t stop talking about Beetz’s ferocious performance.
They Will Kill You features an impressive cast around Zazie Beetz, including Myha'la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham and Patricia Arquette. Chase Hutchinson of IGN gives it a “Great” 8 out of 10, praising the lead actress for her action skills. The critic also compliments the choreography and camerawork, calling the movie “a gonzo, gruesome, gutsy little gem.” Hutchinson continues:
Everything from the choreography to the editing makes you lean forward in your seat so as not to miss a single moment of the bloody glory that’s unfolding before you. It’s electrifying action cinema where bodies and limbs fly all over, making clear that this film is not messing around. A gleeful twist revealing how Asia, even with all of her skills as a fighter, will have her work cut out for her, further ensures that you’re completely strapped in for a ride that only gets more wonderfully, violently ridiculous from that point on.
Zachary Lee of The Wrap says Zazie Beetz embodies such “ferocity” that we see her earn her stripes as an action hero in real time over the course of They Will Kill You. The critic calls the movie “live-action anime” for its zany sense of play, writing:
Article continues belowSokolov delivers one of the most bonkers and madcap action films to ever come from the studio system. Gleefully violent and propelled by its own sense of whimsy, it’s a raucous joyride like no other. At the cost of trying to deliver vibes, it may lose some of the thematic weight that usually accompanies these kill-the-rich stories, but what it lacks in depth it more than makes up for with a thrilling sense of carnage.
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting rates the movie 3.5 skulls out of 5, calling Zazie Beetz an “unstoppable force of nature” whose performance is well worth the price of admission. The actress takes director Kirill Sokolov’s stunt-heavy romp by the throat and never lets go, Navarro says, writing:
Sokolov’s striking composition, dedication to carnage-fueled stunts and fight choreography, and an all-too-game cast anchored by a dedicated and fierce Zazie Beetz prevent this slight but energetic crowd-pleaser from careening off the rails. They Will Kill You has little meat on its bones, but it’s so brazen and unabashed in its pursuit of cinematic thrills and splatstick chills that it succeeds in its aim, which is to deliver a riotously great time at the theater.
Katie Rife of IndieWire gives it a B-, questioning how such a gory, excessive, super-stylized movie that’s hellbent on excitement can end up feeling so anticlimactic. Rife explains:
Paired with the elaborate action choreography and Sokolov’s fondness for in-your-face direction — think slo-mos, GoPros, and other flashy touches — the result is exciting for a while. Then it becomes overwhelming. Once the overstimulation sets in, it’s difficult to move beyond it, and the resulting numbness may explain how a film that has so much going on can go from exhilarating to underwhelming over the course of 94 action-packed minutes.
Siddhant Adlakha of Variety admits that Zazie Beetz is “wonderfully committed” as our blood-soaked heroine, but he ultimately agrees with the above critic that it all becomes too much — just a series of energetic action moments thrown together with little connective tissue. Adlakha says:
The pieces are all in place for a viciously enjoyable midnight action romp, which the film most certainly is when the bloodshed first begins. However, the twists of its premise soon end up souring it conceptually, resulting in rapidly-diminishing returns, with derivative formal flourishes that largely recall other, better films. It is, by the time its credits roll, completely exhausting.
Critics’ opinions of They Will Kill You are overall positive — especially when it comes to our action/comedy/horror hero Zazie Beetz. The movie stands with a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes ahead of its opening, so if you want to witness all of the zany action in theaters, you can do so starting Friday, March 27.
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