Andy Muschinetti and Barbara Muschietti know a thing or two about pushing the boundaries of genre storytelling. The filmmaking siblings, known for bringing emotional depth to spectacle-driven cinema, were immediately drawn to They Will Kill You because of its fearless mix of horror, comedy and social undertones. Their instincts proved right.
They Will Kill You follows a woman (Zazie Beetz) searching for her missing sister (Myha’la) who becomes trapped in a dangerous cult, forcing her to confront trauma, power structures and survival. Beneath the film’s action and chaos lies a deeper commentary about control, injustice and the human need for connection.
Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur spoke with the Muschiettis about their horror roots, their upbringing in Argentina and why the film’s themes of power and injustice resonate far beyond the screen.
Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur: First of all, congratulations. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Totally mind-blowing. What attracted you both to this film?
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Barbara Muschietti: That we wanted to see this movie. We read it—we read a lot of stuff—and when we read this, we said, what is the fastest way we can actually see this movie? Let’s make this movie.
Andy Muschietti: Yeah. For me it was the combination of horror and comedy. Some of the humor that you see in the movie was very much present in the script. Some of it was created in the execution because there’s a lot of slapstick and visual sarcasm that isn’t necessarily in the script, but it was already kind of there.
So that was my first attraction to it. And then meeting (director) Kirill (Sokolov), who’s a lunatic—in the best way—and adorable. He’s very communicative. He’s a scientist, a physicist, and he’s excellent at explaining what he wants. That made it very easy for us because we knew what he wanted to do. Our job was about protecting what he wanted to do and giving him the tools to do it.
Chuck Creekmur: Did you all grow up watching horror and loving horror?
Andy Muschietti: Oh yes. A lot. Our parents got us into it by letting us watch things.
Barbara Muschietti: Our parents weren’t huge genre fans. They just left the TV on and we saw things we probably shouldn’t have seen.
Andy Muschietti: We saw Dr. Phibes when we were like six and seven, and that changed things forever. But when they saw we were attracted to it, they didn’t keep it away from us, which was great. It became a great family activity.
Every Saturday night there was a program in Argentina—we grew up there—and we would sit in front of our 12-inch black-and-white TV and watch movies. We watched The Omega Man, Dr. Phibes, The Manster, The Hand, Night of the Scarecrow, The Illustrated Man, and a lot of Hammer horror films. That’s how horror was imprinted in us.
Chuck Creekmur: This movie touches on a lot of underlying themes as well. Is that relatable to you in any way? I know you’re working on documentaries and you’re from Argentina.
Andy Muschietti: Well, we grew up in Argentina. If you grow up in South America, no matter what sector of society you’re in, you understand how structures of power work. You grow up with a sense of injustice and corporate greed. Corruption—government corruption—has been around for decades in countries like Argentina.
So you grow up understanding social injustice is real. There are cultures that are maybe a little more numb to that. When we came to America, because things seem to work better here than in parts of South America, people weren’t necessarily as aware or fighting against those things. Should I stop talking?
Barbara Muschietti: No, I think lately people are more aware. We were hyper-aware as kids, like many Argentinian kids are, about how horrible things can go. We grew up during a military dictatorship. The transition out of that when we were 13 and 11 felt like a miracle.
When we came to America, it was weird to see so many people our age who were apolitical or not very involved. But now, with everything happening, young people are becoming…really into changing.
