Don’t Kill It (2016)

I watch a lot of movies in addition to the stuff that I cover for the Horror Dude Blog. One of the genres that I never review here are Action movies. I love them especially those from the ‘80s. When I heard that there was a horror movie starring Dolph Lundgren that didn’t suck and might be worth checking out I immediately tracked down a copy down. Did it live up to the hype? Time to chat about Don’t Kill It.

Things get kicked off with a bang… literally. There is a hunter in the woods who shoots and misses a deer. He sends his dog off after it but when he catches up there is no deer and his canine companion attacks him. We then see the hunter return home and kill his family, which sets off a sequence of violence as a couple more families get slaughtered. Then things move along to Jebediah, Lundgren’s character, sitting in a bar. After a decent fight and some fun with a lady of the night he hears the news report of the killings and sets off for the small town where it took place, Chickory Creek. Jebediah is a demon hunter and knows that a hell spawn is loose.

It takes a while for him to convince the local sheriff and an FBI agent, Evelyn, that there are demons loose. Though after a few more bodies pile up they buy into what he is selling. Together they set off to capture the demon. The tricky part is that you can’t kill it. If you kill the body it possesses then it just jumps into you! You have to trick it into jumping into someone that is dying and then capture it in a bottle. We know this because that is how Jebediah and his father caught it in the first place. It was he who misplaced the bottle in the first place. Meaning that what is happening in Chickory Creek is his fault.

Dolph has been killing it lately in genre flicks!

I was surprised by how much I liked this one. I knew that I would enjoy Lundgren’s performance as he is always decent in everything that I’ve seen him in. Many times, the material isn’t very good, but he is. Here he is given something to work with as the story is solid and paced well. There aren’t any dead spots with something fun onscreen from start to finish. Hell, before we even see Jebediah there are a ton of gruesome kills that let you know things are going to be crazy. Torsos are shot gunned and cleavers are buried in noggins’. Good times are had by all. When we do see Lundgren, he chews up the scenery being a badass. Not only is he great in the action sequences but he also delivers some great lines. There is a funny bit involving a preacher and rubber bullets, as well to references to the Exorcist and Masters of the Universe!

Toss in another crazy bloodbath at a town meeting, an evil kid, an attempt to kill the demon that is foiled by some stupid FBI guys and you have a movie that delivers the goods. Is this art? Hell no, but it is a crap ton of fun. Good body count, lots of blood, and funny situations/dialogue add up to a nice way to spend your evening. I recommend Don’t Kill It.

© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer