‘They Will Kill You’ Review: Zazie Beetz’s Gonzo Action-Horror Movie Is Some Killer, Some Filler

Kirill Sokolov’s guiding principle for “They Will Kill You” is simple. At every moment, in every situation, the Russian director seems to be asking himself: “Does this look awesome?” A lot of it does, from a moment that sees Zazie Beetz blowing someone backwards with her shotgun to the climax in which Patricia Arquette fuses a severed pig’s head to hers with the power of Satan.

It’s gory, excessive, hyper-stylized, and ultra-violent, all of which are meant as compliments. So how could a movie so hellbent on excitement feel so anticlimactic by its end?

Sokolov — making his American studio debut after a pair of indies that were well-received on the genre circuit — is clearly a devotee of Quentin Tarantino, both by the typical definition and in the sense that his films are all remixes of his inspirations. Sometimes those things overlap, as in the scene where Asia…