The Things You Kill

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The Things You Kill

2025

1h 53m

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

45 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. As long-buried family secrets resurface, the police tighten their noose, and doubts begin eroding his conscience. Ali has no choice but to look into the abyss of his own soul.

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Critics Consensus

A ruminative thriller that brings life or death stakes to deeply existential questions, The Things You Kill is a marvelous work by writer-director Alireza Khatami that stimulates the mind as much as it punches the gut.

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Namrata Joshi

The New Indian Express

Jan 14

The Things You Kill is an unhurried but riveting ride of a film, rich in subtexts and profundities and the many riddles, meanings and metaphors that Khatami leaves for the audience to plumb into and decipher.

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Soham Gadre

Chicago Reader

Dec 2

Khatami’s direction is unpredictable. He cuts at precise moments to keep the narrative’s core mystery intact, only revealing bits of shocking information later.

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Bob Mondello

NPR

Nov 21

The filmmaker's first name provides a not-insignificant clue as to what's going on, as his filmmaking deconstructs the story and his protagonist in initially confusing, and then riveting ways.

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Peter Keough

Arts Fuse

Feb 3

Khatami makes a bold but miscalculated choice halfway through the film – like many Iranian directors, he challenges not only social and political conventions but cinematic ones as well.

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

Jan 3

The Things You Kill is a twist-filled psychological drama about the harmful effects of domestic violence on a family. The movie has a character switch that will confuse many viewers, but it's a dark story about denial and leading a double life.

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Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

Dec 28

3/5

Spiraling and twisting without arriving at anything truly revelatory, The Things You Kill won’t make you sweat—its surreal dimension adding too little substance to justify its ambitions.

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MB C

@MB.Cinema Jan 18

The Things You Kill is a slow burning crime drama that uses restraint and psychological tension over conventional thrills.....What begins as an intimate portrait of family pressure and grief gradually slips into moral ambiguity and quiet menace.....The script reframes revenge not as catharsis, but as a mirror reflecting inherited violence and fractured identity.....Its symbolism and silences are carefully woven into the narrative, rewarding patience rather than demanding shock....The deliberate pacing may test some viewers, especially before the central conflict fully emerges....Still, The Things You Kill is a haunting, thoughtful film that lingers by asking whether confronting the past truly frees us or reshapes us in its image.....

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Robert S

Dec 23

I suppose some will see this exercise in existentialism fascinating. I found it confounding and unnecessary. Two-thirds of the way through the film, actors playing one role switch to assume a different role. And one actor becomes a substitute for a dog. Tiresome and over-thought.

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Vincent S.

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies Dec 17

This is a little overrated but still a compelling revenge thriller with a story that gets you involved in the plot and all the characters. I do think halfway through the story crumbles a little but the performances are outstanding!

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Ian S

Nov 12

Truly beautiful, I did get a little confused midway through but ultimately a most rewarding experience.

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Alireza Khatami

Director

Ekin Koç

Ali

Ercan Kesal

Hamit

Hazar Ergüclü

Hazar

Erkan Kolcak Kostendil

Reza

Serhat Nalbantoglu

Behri

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Synopsis

Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. As long-buried family secrets resurface, the police tighten their noose, and doubts begin eroding his conscience. Ali has no choice but to look into the abyss of his own soul.

Director: Alireza Khatami
Producer: Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff, Cyriac Auriol, Mariusz Włodarski, Alireza Khatami, Michael Solomon
Screenwriter: Alireza Khatami, Alireza Khatami
Distributor: Cineverse
Production Co: Fulgurance, Remora Films, Lava Films, Tell Tall Tale, Band With Pictures, Sineaktif
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Turkish
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 14, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 53m

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