Although one action horror from 2026 failed to set the box office alight upon its original release, the movie’s unexpected success on streaming proves that it still has franchise potential. It’s infamously hard to mix action and horror in the same movie. While 2026’s upcoming Evil Dead Burn and Resident Evil are both ambitious action horror projects, the subgenre has produced plenty of major critical failures that were too chaotic to be truly scary, but too focused on their horror elements to satisfy fans of pure action movies.
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The historical unpopularity of the action horror subgenre might explain why They Will Kill You, a genre-blending action/horror/comedy/mystery, was a box office failure upon its March 2026 release. Starring Zazie Beetz as an ex-convict, Asia, who is searching for a new home, They Will Kill You follows Asia’s increasingly unsettling story as she becomes a housekeeper at the Virgil, a ritzy, exclusive high-rise in NYC. The lucrative role seems to good to be true, and indeed, Asia soon discovers the Virgil’s secrets are darker than she could have ever imagined.
They Will Kill You’s Streaming Success Proves 2026’s Action Horror Movie Needs A Sequel
Essentially a high-octane blend of Rosemary’s Baby and The Raid, They Will Kill You shifts gears when Asia discovers the terrible truth behind the building’s many shady disappearances over the years. They Will Kill You’s sudden transition from a moody horror movie into a brutal, bloody action thriller was enough to put off some viewers, but just as many critics praised the movie’s audacious jump from one genre to another.
Much like the earlier Ready or Not movies, They Will Kill You takes time setting up the movie’s wealthy villains before finally forcing its resilient heroine into a bloody battle against them. Unlike 2019’s Ready Or Not, They Will Kill You wasn’t a box office hit, earning only $19 million on a budget of $20 million. However, this doesn’t mean that the movie should be designated to the trash heap of loud, silly action horror movies that satisfy fans of neither genre.
Unlike most infamous action horror movies, such as 2002’s Ghosts of Mars, the Underworld movies, 2009’s Daybreakers, or 2011’s Priest, They Will Kill You never commits the cardinal sin of taking itself too seriously. Instead, like the best action horror franchises such as The Mummy movies or 2004’s Van Helsing, the movie’s tone keeps its tongue firmly planted in its cheek throughout its brisk runtime. As such, They Will Kill You is perfectly primed to receive a streaming sequel after proving a huge hit online.
Ready Or Not’s Sequel Proves They Will Kill You Deserves A Streaming Sequel
The critical and commercial success of Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come proves that there is an appetite for more movies like They Will Kill You, even if this action-forward riff on Rosemary’s Baby evidently wasn’t meant for the multiplex. The success of the Zazie Beetz vehicle on streaming means that They Will Kill You’s sequel should be released straight to streaming, bypassing the cinema and avoiding another underperformance as a result. Thus, They Will Kill You could still spawn the series the action horror deserves, albeit on a more modest scale.
