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Swedish action star Dolph Lundgren has seemingly played every kind of tough guy imaginable. Kicking off his career in the ‘80s, he played a KGB agent in a Bond film. He fought Rocky Balboa in the ring. He even played He-Man. And, since then, he’s played everything from soldiers to villains. And in Don’t Kill It, he takes on the supernatural.
Don’t Kill It stars Lundgren as Jebediah Woodley, a traveling demon hunter who’s tracking an ancient demon in Chicory Creek, Mississippi. As the demon rampages through town, leaving a sea of corpses in its wake, Jebediah saunters into the police station and explains to the local law enforcement how the demon works. This one, it seems, is especially sinister—and if someone kills the host, the demon simply moves on to killer, who then sets off on his own killing spree. So it’s up to Jebediah and FBI Agent Evelyn Pierce (Kristina Klebe) to find a way to stop it.
Dolph Lundgren may be a relatively well-known action star, but he’s definitely not an A-list action star. So it’s really no surprise that Don’t Kill It is far from a blockbuster thriller. It wastes no time in getting to the action—in fact, it’s almost instantly gruesome—but that action is often hysterically bad, with effects that can’t even keep up with decent TV-quality effects. Each possessed host can be identified by their all-black eyes and their horrendous shrieking, which then leads to another ferocious killing frenzy. And while director Mike Mendez certainly gets points for creativity, the wild massacres are usually more hilarious than horrifying.
The story, meanwhile, quickly gets repetitive. Time after time, Jebediah tracks down the demon—often even planning the demon’s demise—and, time after time, some idiot comes along and kills it, unleashing more mayhem. And after it happens a couple of times, even the outrageous killing spree that follows starts to feel a little old.
Fortunately, though, everyone here generally seems to be in on the joke. With its dim-witted characters, its over-the-top action, and some bizarre touches (especially Jebediah’s unusual weapons), it’s clear that no one’s taking this movie too seriously. Lundgren, especially, simply seems to be enjoying the sheer B-movie insanity of it all.
Don’t Kill It definitely isn’t the kind of movie that you need to seek out. It’s campy and ridiculous, but it feels a little drawn-out, too. But, thanks to its digital release, you don’t have to seek it out; if you’re really in the mood for a crazy Dolph Lundgren thriller, you can simply rent it and host your own midnight showing.
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