Ekin Koç appears in The Things You Kill by Alireza Khatami, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Bartosz Świniarski
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Bartosz Świniarski

THE THINGS YOU KILL Review: Revenge and Regret Ruin Everything in Turkish Chiller [Sundance 2025]

An American-educated Turk with a complicated family life is haunted by his own nature in Alireza Khatami’s The Things You Kill. Celebrating its World Premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, this simmering supernatural(?) thriller raises questions about a person’s responsibilities to their family, and whether fighting your own nature is as futile as trying to fight systemic corruption. 

Struggling to start a family with his wife, Ali (Ekin Koç) is forced to confront the darkest parts of himself, his father, and his country in the wake of a heartbreaking diagnosis. And after discovering some troubling secrets about the people closest to him, Ali convinces a drifter to help him exact a revenge that unlocks a darker part of his personality which spider webs into every facet of his life. In in simplest form The Things You Kill is a very bare bones story, but it has a pull that keeps you hooked even when it feels like nothing more than a pessimistic slice of life. 

“…carries a creeping sensation of doom that feels tangibly inevitable”

As horror fans we can all sniff out an “Elevated Horror” like burnt toast. It’ll take you about 3 minutes to know exactly what you’re in for, but don’t hold that “Elevated Horror” moniker against the movie. In some respects, The Things You Kill is a lot like a David Lynch film…but definitely not in the way you’re expecting. Of course, this all depends on your read of Lost Highway (hit us up in the Nightmare on Film Street Discord and we’ll discuss theories in more detail), but The Things You Kill employs a similar perspective shift that adds a brilliant Topsy Turvy wrinkle in an otherwise straight forward story. 

The Things You Kill is by no means “The Scariest Movie of The Year” but it does carry a creeping sensation of doom that feels tangibly inevitable. As a filmmaker, Khatami is clearly more interested in the horrors of the real world but finds subtle ways to weave in the weight of a supernatural mood without ever leaning into gimmicky tropes. It’s still burdened by the pace and patterning of every Elevated Horror but rises up the ranks with some great cinematography and absolutely electric performances from the entire cast. No hyperbole. The Thing You Kill is a Horror movie for the Drama crowd (a Sundance staple) but a Horror-Drama that plays like the overture of a nightmare that stretches out into the rest of your days.

“…finds subtle ways to weave in the weight of a supernatural mood without ever leaning into gimmicky tropes”

Alireza Khatami’s The Things You Kill celebrated its World Premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Click HERE to follow our continued coverage of the festival and let us know what your favorites of the fest were in the official Nightmare on Film Street Discord!

Ekin Koç appears in The Things You Kill by Alireza Khatami, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Bartosz Świniarski
THE THINGS YOU KILL Review: Revenge and Regret Ruin Everything in Turkish Chiller [Sundance 2025]
TL;DR
The Things You Kill is by no means "The Scariest Movie of The Year" but it does carry a creeping sensation of doom that feels tangibly inevitable. It's still burdened by the pace and patterning of every Elevated Horror but rises up the ranks with some great cinematography and absolutely electric performances from the entire cast.
Story
70
Performances
90
Mood/Atmosphere
80
Horror
50
73
SCORE

Hot at the Shop:

nightmare on film street horror movie tshirts nightmare on film street horror movie tshirts
nightmare on film street best horror movie podcast background mobile
nightmare on film street best horror movie podcast background