A self-awareness regarding certain specifications in getting his film made along with a universality in conjunction with its narrative, writer/director Alireza Khatami goes beyond genre conventions with The Things You Kill, a twisted thriller that breaks apart what it is to transform.
At one point in the film, the language professor at the centre of the Turkish-set film, Ali Özdilek (Ekin Koç), lectures his class about the origins of the word “translation”, and how within the word are ancient notes that lead to its meaning of carrying something from one place to another. Furthering this, one of his students points out the usage of an Arabic word embedded within, indicating “destruction.” This is a conversation that ultimately informs the story, but it also comes as a meta wink from Khatami himself, as he wrote the original script in Farsi, and that Iranian censorship demands saw him move the story to another country.
Initially something of a straightforward telling, with the story adhering to a more slow burning character study temperament, The Things You Kill tells us of Ali’s homelife, and how his time away in the United States has kept him from knowing a series of unnerving truths around the dynamics of his parents’ seemingly abusive relationship. When visiting his sick, homebound mother, we immediately see the pain she’s in and that the environment of her dwelling is not remotely suitable for her condition. The arrival of her husband, Ali’s father, Hamit (Ercan Kesal), only exacerbates this mentality, with his uncaring nature immediately on display.
Psychological droplets pertaining to Ali’s self-destruction regarding his own masculinity start to pepper throughout Khatami’s script, with the reveal of his low-sperm motility bringing such into question, not to mention how differently his stance is against his much more gruff father. The worry that he may not be able to father children with his wife, Hazar (Hazar Ergüçlü) lingers in the background, but it’s the eventual death of his mother and the suspicions he has towards his father’s role in that that drive the film towards its haunting and poetic conclusion.
The arrival of a drifter, Reza (Erkan Koçak Köstendil), sets things truly into motion, with him walking upon Ali’s garden property on the outskirts of the city and, near-immediately, negotiating payment for a job to tend to the land. His boldness, again, offsets Ali’s usually softer demeanour and it’s here that the film indulges in the overlapping of their characters; the fact that each has sone-half of the director’s name is certainly not a coincidence. Whilst not doubles – looks wise, you won’t mistake one for the other – The Things You Kill plays with the fact that this drifter possesses certain features that Ali lacks, and as the film moves forward, Khatami offers little explanation in his ultimate action, but offers up symbolic, psychological answers for those that stick with him across the 114 minute running time.
Whilst The Things You Kill is ultimately Ali’s story and just how Reza influences such, there’s a wealth of characters across the board that all earn their share of dimension, speaking to Khatami’s strength in respecting his ensemble. Ali’s sisters and how they view their parents relationship, a key student in Ali’s class and the implication of how she progresses despite a lack of interest in the studies, and the supposed other woman in Hamit’s life – this latter character earning one of the film’s most effective scenes – all hold their own baggage, informing Ali’s (and Reza’s) actions in ways that are more subtle in their subliminal output.
Though The Things That Kill is likely to confuse all viewers at some point in proceedings, the fact that it slowly reveals its intentions within its puzzlement is what makes it, ultimately, so intoxicating. As suspenseful as it is profound, Khatami exercises near-perfect genre poise.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Things You Kill is screening as part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, running between January 23rd and February 2nd, 2025 in person, with select titles available online for the public between January 30th and February 2nd. For more information head to the official Sundance page.
