Naman Shrestha
With Kirill Sokolov at the helm, ‘They Will Kill You’ is a psychological thriller movie that follows an ex-convict named Asia Reaves, who signs up for a live-in housekeeping job through a cryptic advertisement at a luxurious high-rise apartment building in New York called the Virgil. As she arrives at her new job, she learns about the building’s mysterious history of disappearances over the decades and the residents’ possible association with a dangerous satanic cult.
The high-octane, gory tale unfolds mostly within the building as Asia uncovers her new family’s deadly secrets and must survive the twisted death trap she finds herself in. Starring Zazie Beetz, Myha’la, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette, the action-mystery film is set in the aforementioned high-rise in the Big Apple, serving as an additional character that hides a satanic cult behind its luxurious facade.
They Will Kill You Filming Locations
‘They Will Kill You’ was filmed primarily in South Africa, particularly in and around Cape Town. From what we can tell, principal photography for the Kirill Sokolov directorial got underway in September 2024 and went on for about three months before wrapping up in December of the same year. Carren Marchant of the Costume and Wardrobe Department shared a few words about her experience on the set. She stated, “To the weirdest, most fun job I’ve ever worked on.. If you can even call it work. I had the most incredible actors, such wonderful humans to play with every day… And memories to last a lifetime.”
Cape Town, South Africa
Although the narrative is set in New York City, the capital of South Africa, Cape Town, served as the primary production location for ‘They Will Kill You.’ The filming unit made the most of the city’s diverse architectural features to make it stand in for the Big Apple. Using the facilities of a Cape Town film studio, the team built the interiors of the NYC high-rise apartment where the action-packed thriller unfolds. In the strategic establishing shots of Cape Town, you are likely to notice quite a few buildings and landmarks, including Portside Tower, 1 Thibault Square, Golden Acre, the Cape Town Civic Centre, and Foreshore Place.
During a conversation with People, Zazie Beetz, who portrays Asia Reaves, explained how shooting the rain scenes was the most challenging. “Those are bits and bobs throughout the movie, but when you’re doing it, it feels like it’s the entire shoot,” she said. “…they have to use cold water because there’s rain machines and because warm water steams in the camera.” Describing Zazie’s time on the set as “a constant marathon,” her costar, Patricia Arquette, who features as Lily Woodhouse, added, “Like, you watch this movie—it’s breakneck speed nonstop from beginning to end—but she had to do multiple takes of each of those shots. So it’s like 16 takes of running down the hall and then, from another angle, 16 more takes of running down the hall. So it just was an incredible amount of stamina, an incredible amount of commitment.”
The DOP, Isaac Bauman, revealed that the climax was shot over nine days, and he believed that it was the biggest lighting challenge during the shooting, as it features a sacrificial altar lit with candles. He also moved the massive 18k light back and forth for different setups. He told CamNoir, “I realized right away that if I tried to shoot anything with the light in the same place, there was no way to have it work. Even though it cost me 20 minutes to move the light back and forth, over a dozen times, we’re going to keep this consistent. We’re going to have a game plan.” Apart from ‘They Will Kill You,’ Cape Town has hosted the production of various other movies and TV shows, including ‘How to Make a Killing,’ ‘The Last House on the Left,’ ‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure,’ ‘The Terminal List,’ and ‘Our Girl.’
Read More: They Will Kill You Ending Explained: Does Asia Escape From The Virgil?
