CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: KIRILL SOKOLOV / STARRING: ALEXANDER KUZNETSOV, EVGENIYA KREGZHDE, VITALI KHAYEV, MICHAEL GOR, ELENA SHEVCHENKO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
What do you get when you mix Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie with a creative dose of Edgar Wright? You get Kirill Sokolov’s Why Don’t You Just Die! of course!
The film follows the chaotic events surrounding Matvei, who is asked by his girlfriend to kill her father, Andrei, who committed heinous acts upon her. When Matvei arrives at the apartment of his lover’s parents, shit truly hits the fan as an all-out blood-soaked battle ensues between them. However, as Matvei continues to defy human nature and consistently get up after the beating he takes, secrets and true colours are revealed as not everyone is who they seem. Throughout the runtime, we get interspliced section of narrative revealing new character traits for those who get caught up in this web of deceit, corruption and gore.
Independent cinema is always restricted by a lot of factors, primarily location and budget, so when a filmmaker uses the limitations to their advantage to create an incredible blend of action, comedy and dark twisted humour that rivals that of any big studio production, you have one hell of a film on your hands.
Director Kirill Sokolov, who even said in our interview with him that Tarantino is an icon in Russian cinema, takes all the best of the legendary filmmaker and puts his own spin on it, with inventive camera work, powerful action set-pieces and a compelling story that keeps you invested from the first frame. Every single punch and weapon strike hits you, the audience, with the force of a massive truck as much as it does the characters on screen.
Why Don’t You Just Die! is a masterclass of filmmaking that should be used in film school when teaching on how to make the most with very little. We fully expect to see Sokolov continue to excel in this field (considering that he wrote, directed and edited the film) and we for one can’t wait to see what he does next.
Special Features
The Arrow Video Blu-ray release of Why Don’t You Just Die! is a must-own for gore fans and for fans of foreign cinema. It contains a wonderful array of extras from Behind the Scenes to the director’s catalogue of short films to see where this talented filmmaker began.
- Why Can’t We Just Leave? [25:32] – a brand new interview with Author and Critic Kim Newman, exploring Why Don’t You Just Die! within the context of the long-standing tradition of single location cinema.
- Behind the Scenes [27:18] – various Behind-the-Scenes featurettes.
- Short Films [1:23:34] – a selection of Director Kirill Sokolov’s short films.
- Could Be Worse [13:38]
- The Outcome [10:20]
- The Flame [29:54]
- Sisyphus is Happy [25:42]
- Theatrical Trailer [1:24]
