FILM · 2026 · USA
They Will Kill You
20 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (20)
- #001
Director and co-writer Kirill Sokolov said the idea for the film came to him after he and his wife moved into a large apartment building and he jokingly imagined that all their neighbors belonged to a cult. Seeing Rosemary's Baby later helped shape the concept.
- #002
Patricia Arquette praised Zazie Beetz's endurance and determination, describing her performance as a constant marathon throughout the production.
- #003
The scene featuring the hidden passage between neighboring apartments was inspired by a hole Kirill Sokolov discovered while renovating an old apartment.
- #004
Patricia Arquette deliberately allowed her character's Irish accent to waver, reflecting a woman who has lived among Americans for centuries.
- #005
Kirill Sokolov praised Zazie Beetz for meeting the film's physical and emotional demands without ever losing focus during the production.
- #006
The scene in which Zazie Beetz's character Asia sets the axe on fire was carefully prepared. The stunt team performed it repeatedly to get it right and ensure it was safe, and all the actors, including Beetz, used plenty of flame retardant to reduce the fire's heat. Beetz said she could still feel it drawing in the oxygen.
- #007
Because Zazie Beetz appeared in nearly every scene and reportedly worked the entire shoot without a single day off, Kirill Sokolov nicknamed her "Cyborg."
- #008
Kirill Sokolov said one of his primary goals was to keep the film from tipping into excess despite its increasingly ugly premise.
- #009
The film was shot in Cape Town; the South African Mutual Life Assurance Society building at the intersection of Darling and Parliament Streets (33°55'27.22"S 18°25'21.29"E) was chosen to be used with CGI as the apartment building "The Virgil."
- #010
Heather Graham said the film required more stunt work than any role she had played before.
- #011
The flaming axe scene required numerous safety rehearsals and extensive fire protection measures for both the actors and the stunt team.
- #012
Director Kirill Sokolov described the Virgil as a loose nod to Dante's Inferno, with the building's floors functioning like successive circles of Hell.
- #013
Myha'la's real-life husband, Armando Rivera, appears as one of the cult members.
- #014
For the practical fire effects in the flaming axe scene, the production created a fire-resistant wig to protect Zazie Beetz's hair.
- #015
Kirill Sokolov cited his love of 1980s and 1990s horror films and preferred practical effects wherever possible.
- #016
Zazie Beetz said filming the rain scenes was physically more demanding than the film's fight scenes, because they required repeated takes through the night under cold artificial rain.
- #017
Zazie Beetz described the film as one of her first major studio productions in which she carried the story as the lead character.
- #018
The film was shot in Cape Town, South Africa, with visual effects used to transform the local architecture into the apartment building known as the Virgil.
- #019
To cope with the blood used in nearly every scene, all the actors got manicures every other day.
- #020
After the fight scene with the flaming axe in the dining room, the building's sprinklers went off and soaked Maria and Asia (a nod to their final parting after Asia shot their father and fled). Yet a few minutes later, when they left the room, both were dry.
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