In February 2024, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions announced the upcoming Indian action movie Kill, directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. Shortly after, Lionsgate released a teaser trailer for the Hindi-language film, hinting at unprecedented levels of gory action drama. True to its hype, Kill has received rave reviews, with Variety calling it “as brutal a film as the country has ever produced.”
Here’s what critics are saying about Kill
The Telegraph reported that Kill, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), was “inspired by real-life train robberies in India by a class of criminals known as ‘dacoits.'” The film follows Amrit as his seemingly ordinary train journey transforms into an action-packed ride. Critics have lauded it as an edge-of-the-seat action thriller unlike anything seen before in Indian cinema.
Variety praised Kill as a “shockingly graphic action showcase from an industry that typically plays violence in a more cartoony register.” The film’s intensity and graphic depiction of violence have set it apart from traditional Indian action movies.
The body count in Kill is also likened to that in the John Wick series, and the sound effects are described vividly. Variety added, “The foley artists pulverize more melons and celery stalks than your typical V8 processing plant. Countless veggies were harmed in the making of this movie just to get all those juicy sound effects.”
Bhat’s “sublimely savage” Kill has drawn comparisons to Indonesian action films like The Night Comes for Us and The Raid. Reviewers have also highlighted how the action differs from a video game-like progression, further noting the variety of bandits the hero faces and the creative methods of his takedown.
Lionsgate‘s Kill features debutant Lakshya alongside Raghav Juyal and Suitable Boy’s Tanya Maniktala. The film will be released in theaters on July 4, 2024.
