STACK #262 August 2026

FEATURE MOVIE

DYK? A third instalment is being developed. Where the first movie was set before the tournament and the second during the tournament, the third film will be set post-tournament.

FLAWLESS VICTORY! MORTAL KOMBAT II M ortal Kombat II delivers exactly what fans of the blockbuster video game franchise have been waiting for: bigger GENRE: Action adventure RUN TIME: 1h 56m Bigger fights, iconic fighters, and Johnny Cage’s long-awaited arrival.

Karl Urban

he’s fallen on hard times,” says Urban. ”When Sonya Blade and Raiden seek him out and tell him that he’s been drafted into the role of defender of Earthrealm, he’s entirely reluctant to get involved. He has a complete lack of self-esteem. ”The journey for Johnny is one of how he finds himself, how he discovers his inner power, and becomes the Johnny Cage fans know and love from the games.” Co-producer James Wan says Urban was the perfect choice for the role. ”I think what makes his character so endearing is that he’s kind of just like one of us. He’s a B-movie action star like a lot of us grew up with in the ’90s. We get

ever worked with, and I’m super excited for audiences to see what we came up with.” Whether you’re a lifelong fan of the games or enjoyed the 2021 reboot, Mortal Kombat II promises the biggest and most faithful cinematic

fights, more iconic characters, and a story that finally puts the brutal Mortal Kombat tournament front and centre. Returning favourites Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, and Max Huang are joined by Karl Urban as fan-favourite Johnny Cage, with the The Boys star bringing both humour and heart to the action. When audiences first meet Cage, however, he’s far from the confident fighter fans know. ”His career is in the tank, and

Director Simon McQuoid

to make fun of him, but also ultimately

really embrace him.” Preparing for the role meant more than learning dialogue. Urban immersed himself in martial arts culture before immediately diving into the film’s ambitious stunt work. ”When I landed at the airport to start filming, they drove me straight to a stunt rehearsal,” he recalls. ”From day one, I was thrown in at the deep end. We had one of the best stunt teams I’ve

• Mortal Kombat II is out Aug 5

adaptation of the legendary franchise yet. Gill Pringle

Mortal Kombat: Battle of the Realms, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match, Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind

FINISH THE FIGHT WITH THESE ANIMATED MORTAL KOMBAT ADVENTURES:

MAID TO KILL! THEY WILL KILL YOU Just when horror fans thought they’d seen it all comes They Will Kill You , an outrageously fun, balls-to-the-wall genre movie with a final act that has to be seen to be believed. Fun Fact: So much fake blood was used during filming that most of the cast needed a manicure at the end of each day’s shoot to clean it from their skin and beneath their fingernails. GENRE: Horror action RUN TIME: 1h 35m

Inset: Director Kirill Sokolov Right: Zazie Beetz

A t first, the film feels a little familiar, treading similar ground to the recent Ready or Not movies. But from the moment the first major twist smacks you in the face (quite early on), all bets are off, and there’s no Sokolov, whose previous films Why Don’t You Just Die! and No Looking Back established him as an exciting new voice in genre cinema, the movie is a visceral smorgasbord of oddities. The story follows a woman named Asia, who answers a housekeeper-wanted ad at a mysterious New York City high-rise linked to several disappearances. Once she’s hired... well, that’s the thing. We can’t tell you what happens next because They Will Kill You is telling where the heck it’s going next. Directed by Russian filmmaker Kirill

loaded with misdirections and twists from beginning to end. What we can say is that there is a satanic cult involved and that the cast is stacked. Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham, Tom Felton, Myha’la, and Angus Sampson headline this chaotic, ultra-violent romp. Adding to its horror pedigree, the film is also produced by Andy and Barbara Muschietti, the filmmaking duo behind Stephen King’s It films. The easiest way to describe They Will Kill You is to imagine the comic book-style ultraviolence of Kill Bill , the relentless corridor chaos of Ready or Not , and a dash of Rosemary’s Baby thrown in for good measure. Speaking ahead of the film’s release, Tom Felton sang Sokolov’s praises.

”Kirill is so playful and excited. He's almost like a 13-year-old child in a comic book shop.” Sokolov says the film was built around subverting audience expectations. ”We wrote a movie that we would love to see as an audience. So we started with a trope, but then we worked on how to make it more twisted. This movie turns itself upside down every ten minutes and

• They Will Kill You is available now

immediately goes in directions you don’t expect.” Glenn Cochrane

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2, Boy Kills World, Evil Dead 2, Abigail, Random Acts of Violence

9