With a title like They Will Kill You, one might expect the 2026 film to bring a violent tale of some sort. One would assume correctly as it focuses on action and horror, albeit with a comedic side as well.

A decade after she goes to prison for an assault on her abusive father (David Viviers), Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz) gets a position as a maid at a fancy New York City high-rise called the Virgil. As it happens, Asia takes this job because her younger sister Maria – who remained in their dad’s custody - (Myha'la) works at the Virgil and Asia wants to find her.

The Virgil hides many spooky secrets. Asia needs to fight for her life as she deals with these challenges.

Most films of this sort would take their time to get to The Big Twist. We’d slowly become acquainted with Asia and the rest of the characters before the bottom falls out and craziness ensues.

With only 95 minutes at its disposal, Kill doesn’t force us to wait for prospective curveballs. We see the insidious side of the Virgil and its inhabitants surprisingly soon.

This choice allows the movie to go where it wants at its heart: into bloody and over the top action. Does the decision to forego much exposition and launch into gory mayhem right away work?

I suspect that depends on your perspective. If you want a film with rich characters and a complex narrative, Kill likely won’t fit your bill.

However, if you dig the John Wick aesthetic and like your violence without bothersome story nuances, then you’ll find yourself much more pleased with Kill. Not that it truly disposes with those elements, of course, as we do get information about Asia’s life and motivations.

Matters launch with a prologue that shows “10 years ago” Asia and Maria and later brings various flashbacks to explain different elements. These return to the present rapidly so the flick can get back to violence.

Though I alluded to Kill as a project in the John Wick vein, I actually feel it fits into the Tarantino mode more clearly. Writer/director Kirill Sokolov stages the action in a manner more than slightly reminiscent of QT’s style, with a vibe that reminds me of Kill Bill.

At times the style over substance impression threatens to make Kill monotonous, especially because the absence of much real character development means it can feel like a filmed videogame. Basically Asia battles her way through foes and “levels” as she seeks to rescue her sister and win.

Still, Sokolov stages it all in a vivid manner and finds enough variety to ensure the mayhem doesn’t become monotonous. Sokolov understands the assignment and ensures that the flick evolves at a brisk pace.

Nothing here turns Kill into an action classic, mainly because it lacks the depth to take it to a higher level. However, as a giddy and gory romp, it works.

They Will Kill You appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. A native 4K product, the movie boasted a pleasing Dolby Vision image.

Overall sharpness worked well. Some wider shots veered a smidgen toward the soft side, but they remained in the minority during this largely accurate presentation.

I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes remained absent. Outside of some intentional and stylized specks on a few occasions, print flaws also failed to become an issue.

In terms of palette, Kill favored a mix of heavy red/orange and teal/blue. The disc reproduced these as intended, and the disc’s HDR added impact and power to the tones.

Blacks looked dark and deep, while shadows seemed smooth and concise. HDR gave whites and contrast extra punch. I felt happy with this high-quality presentation.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the film’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack added involvement to the proceedings. The channels used music in an involving manner, and various effects also broadened the soundscape in a winning way.

Packed with action, Kills came to life enough to work the speakers well. Various horror elements related to the thrills moved around the room in a convincing pattern to contribute life to the tale.

Audio quality worked well. Speech seemed concise and distinctive, while effects appeared accurate and natural. Louder moments boasted fine punch.

Music was warm and full, with a good level of punch from percussive elements. All of this left us with a satisfactory “B+” soundtrack that just narrowly fell below “A-“ level.

Four featurettes appear here, and Director’s Log runs seven minutes, 36 seconds. It brings remarks from writer/director Kirill Sokolov, producers Andy and Barbara Muschietti, unit production manager Carl Hampe,and actors Heather Graham, Tom Felton, Patricia Arquette, and Zazie Beetz.

The reel looks at the inspirations for the movie and its story/characters, cast and performances, and various effects. "Log" mixes fluff and facts to become a decent but erratic piece.

Developing the Virgil goes for seven minutes, 49 seconds. We hear from Arquette, Graham, Andy and Barbara Muschietti, Beetz, Sokolov, Felton, Hampe, and production designer Jeremy Reed.

As implied by the title, "Virgil" examines the design of the movie's sets. It becomes an informative summary.

Next comes Asia Reaves’ Attacks. This one spans seven minutes, 11 seconds and delivers material from Beetz, Felton, Andy and Barbara Muschietti, Arquette, Sokolov, and actor Myha'la.

Unsurprisingly, "Attacks" digs into the movie's action, with an emphasis on the parts that involve Beetz. It becomes a combination of insights and happy talk.

Finally, Crafting Carnage lasts five minutes, 11 seconds. We hear from Sokolov, Beetz, Andy and Barbara Muschietti, Hampe, Felton, Graham, visual effects supervisor Marc Smith, prosthetics supervisor Jaco Snyman, makeup and hair designer Marika Weber Collop, special effects coordinator Patrick Diesel, stunt performer Andy Huang, and on-set prosthetics supervisor Lise-Marie Bothma.

The film's effects become the focus here. It turns into a pretty worthwhile take on the topic.

Not exactly a deep tale, They Will Kill You focuses mainly on action. While it lacks real dramatic impact, it comes with enough giddy violent shenanigans to keep us with it. The 4K UHD offers very good picture and audio along with a few featurettes. Expect an over the top bloodfest here.