Sundance Review: “The Things You Kill”

The Things You Kill (Alireza Khatami, 2025) 3½ out of 5 stars

In The Things You Kill, director Alireza Khatami (Oblivion Verses) crafts an allegorical thriller filled with metaphysical mystery. Using deft cinematic strokes, he creates a patriarchal landscape where crimes repeat from one generation to the next, his characters prisoners of a behavior they can never fully escape. The result fascinates, even if many of the deepest truths remain hidden within the elliptical narrative.

Ekin Koç (Brother’s Keeper) plays Ali, a literature professor in his early 40s back in Turkey after a 14-year stint in the United States. Married to the younger Hazar (Hazar Ergüçlü, The Wild Pear Tree), Ali is distressed to learn that it his low sperm count that is preventing them from having a child, a truth he initially conceals from her. As much on his mind as that fact is the evidence he sees of neglect, and possible abuse, of his frail, elderly mother by his father, a man he clearly despises (the feeling is mutual). Adding to his distractions is the news that his course on translation will most likely not be renewed next term.

Outside the city, Ali keeps a rural garden which he frequently visits as a haven away from his troubles. One day, a dusty, thirsty stranger shows up there, looking for water and a job. This is Reza (Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Heartsong), and despite misgivings, Ali hires him. It’s a decision with profound consequences.

Before the two men grow closer, Ali’s mother dies from a fall. Or is it a fall? Investigating her death further, he becomes convinced that his father killed her, though the details are murky. Twisted thoughts lead to twisted actions, and then to a plot twist that this viewer did not see coming, because we switch over into the surreal. Aficionados of Luis Buñuel and David Fincher will rejoice, while others may be confused. There’s joy in the mental chaos, however, as deciphering a filmmaker’s intent can prove quite captivating.

It undeniably is here, even if this viewer is convinced that many layers of significance passed him by. As Ali and Reza engage in an existential pas de deux, wreaking havoc on Ali’s marriage and upending his work environment, Khatami explores the way that toxic behavior is passed down from generation to generation, whether one wants it to be or not. Ali may despise his father, but perhaps there’s more of dad in him than he realizes.

The director begins and ends with a framing device that both clarifies and obscures the central enigma. Who is what and what is who? One thing is certain, however: you will think long and hard about what you’ve just watched and ponder its core meaning. It’s cinema as brain teaser.

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.