Zazie Beetz and Myha’la gross it up in gory giggle fest

Why are swanky apartments in New York the scene of evil, bloodthirsty cultists? There was Roman Polanski’s uber creepy Rosemary’s Baby (1968), based on Ira Levin’s eponymous 1967 novel.

The movie, now streaming on Netflix (watch it before the dreaded suitcase appears), tells the story of an actor making a deal with the devil.

Polanski famously flew celebrated hairstylist Vidal Sassoon from London at the cost of $5,000 to cut the lead actor, Mia Farrow’s hair, in what proved to be a canny publicity stunt, though in all fairness, Rosemary does get a haircut by Sassoon in the book as well.

Even the sweet and hilarious Only Murders in the Building features a bunch of murders happening in a posh apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. It must be the insane rents and the lovely old buildings in New York that give rise to all sorts of speculation — something like if you were to get a lovely apartment in Whitefield or HSR Layout for an incredibly low rent, you could be sure of some sort of hanky-panky behind the soaring concrete and glass façades.

And so it is that we are in another New York apartment building, the Virgil, of the same vintage; more than a 100 years old, whispering of wealth, privilege, and of course Satanism. Asia (Zazie Beetz) comes to The Virgil looking for her sister, Maria (Myha’la), who was last heard of working there.

Asia has been in prison for the last 10 years for attacking their abusive father, and feels guilty for abandoning Maria. Although the man (Angus Sampson) helping her find Maria warns Asia against The Virgil, Asia heads for the apartment building in the pouring rain.

She is met by the superintendent, Lilith (Patricia Arquette), who shows Asia her room and introduces her to some of the wealthy residents, including Kevin (Tom Felton) and Sharon (Heather Graham).

Asia goes to bed in a seemingly comfortable room only to be woken up at 3.18 am (which, as we all know, is devil time) to hooded figures out to get her. Then follows a crazed chase through the building where Asia manages to stay just half a step ahead of her tormentors, who refuse to stay dead, and learns the dreadful truth about The Virgil, literally from a pig’s head on a stake (Lord of the Flies, anyone?).

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The movie is beautifully shot, and Kirill Sokolov has created the different circles of hell reminiscent of Dante’s Inferno. The roving eye is a fun detail, and while evocative of Kill Bill and 6 Underground is its own gloopy creature. Keeping the action contained within a building for 90 minutes is no mean feat, and Sokolov manages it with flair.

There are lovely soaring, swooping shots of lifts and corridors. The sequence of Asia going up a crawl space is excellent and creates a gaming look and feel. The movie might have got repetitive with the killings and decapitations, if it were not for the tight plotting, generous dollops of humour, and Beetz’s wholehearted commitment to the role. Short, fast, and furious, They Will Kill You is a different, gory, but equally enjoyable summer film.

They Will Kill You is currently running in theatres