By Becca Johnson - February 6, 2025
Directed by Richard Friedman (Doom Asylum), who has been creating movies for the horror genre since the 80’s, Thou Shalt Kill is an intriguing new serial killer thriller starring the fantastic Augie Duke (Spring) and Vince Lozano (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl). Duke plays a distraught ex-alcoholic mother with nothing to fear in life, who finds herself confronted in her car by a crazed serial killer who can only kill those who fear him.
Taking place in one single night and incorporating flashbacks to help tell the story, it explores themes of religion and addiction through a dialogue driven approach. Cleverly written with excellent development of its themes and good lead performances, Thou Shalt Kill is a competent single-location thriller. However, the dialogue waning around the middle and obvious flaws when it journeys away from its simplistic nature prevents it from being memorable.
Single location movies are a favourite amongst film fans - when done right. Many would agree that the success of a strong single-location thriller rides mostly on the script, as intriguing dialogue and an engaging story is pivotal. Thou Shalt Kill might not entirely master this, but the script is competent enough to keep the run-time afloat. This is largely down to the interesting themes at play, that offer up many an engaging conversation between our two central characters. Tackling intense themes of religion through our serial killer, and addiction through our victim, the pair are quite the match, and their debates and disputes give plenty to chew on. The ideas might be a little surface level and familiar to what we’ve heard before, but the script does well to see both sides and raise many relatable points. There are times when the dialogue loses steam, particularly around the middle, but the plot twist during the exciting third act picks things back up again and ends things on a high note. It utilises its single location just fine, and though some of the conversations lack intrigue, it has its ways of winning you back.
Another necessity for a solid single-location thriller, especially one with a small cast, is good performances. Lozano and Duke are both great, working exceptionally well together to deliver their heavy dialogue. Lozano’s serial killer is cold, calculating and menacing, which he aces effortlessly. On the flip-side of that he’s overtly religious, talking his way out of blame by quoting Bible verses. Believable from start to finish, Lozano entirely becomes his character and does enough to make the audience feel cold when he’s around. Duke’s Shannon is a very complex individual, who we learn more about as the run-time progresses. Still recovering from alcohol addiction and the complications this has caused to her health, whilst tackling a divorce and the possibility of losing custody of her son, Shannon has a lot on her plate. Instead of this stressing her out all the more when a serial killer enters her car, she’s quite the opposite. Fierce, fearless and brave, she’s a fun lead to follow and makes a change from the damsel in distress. Both characters are well developed, particularly Shannon, whose life we get a very thorough look into. The side performances leave much to be desired, but 98% of the run-time is spent with Duke and Lozano who thankfully both excel.
Unfortunately, whenever Thou Shalt Kill is doing anything other than following the discourse between our two lead characters, it’s incredibly weak. There isn’t much gore or many kills on offer, but any blood or body parts we do get don’t look good. The editing gets playful with colour and visuals at times, but these moments are so rare that they don’t feel in keeping with the rest of the flick and stand out like a sore thumb. There are also occasions where the visual effects are lacklustre, especially where fire is concerned, though this is likely down to budget restraints and doesn’t happen often enough to cause too much concern.
Flashbacks are used throughout the run-time to showcase segments of both our characters lives that would normally be rendered to conversations between the two. On paper, this sounds like an interesting way to jazz things up, but these sequences are poorly written, badly shot and acted terribly by the supporting cast. Taking away from the movie more often than adding to it, these sequences prove that simplicity is often better. These flashbacks do propel the run-time by giving audiences something a bit different, but they feel misplaced and therefore jarring. Finally, due to its unreliable narration from the alcohol addiction Shannon is suffering from, it too often misdirects the audience and makes us question whether what we’re seeing is real. This gets a free pass occasionally, but the overuse here is grating.
Overall, Thou Shalt Kill offers up many an intriguing idea, interesting dialogue delivered by great leads and commendably thorough development of its characters and themes. Many viewers will enjoy the movie for its intense discussions on religion, and the third act pulls it out of the bag in terms of shock factor. Cutting out unnecessary scenes and keeping the cinematography and editing more simplistic would’ve improved Thou Shalt Kill tenfold, as whenever it gets too edgy, it loses its focus and flair.
Available now on digital platforms.
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