You know Dolph Lundgren. He’s the guy who broke Apollo Creed. He’s the massive, stoic Swede who usually spends ninety minutes punching people in the face or shooting things in Eastern European warehouses. But then there is Don't Kill It.
Honestly, it’s a weird one.
Released in 2016 and directed by Mike Mendez—the guy behind Big Ass Spider!—this movie isn’t your standard action fare. It’s a supernatural horror-comedy that basically asks the question: "What if Ivan Drago played a demon hunter with a tactical vape?" If that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it absolutely is. Yet, against all odds, it works. It works because it leans into the absurdity of its own premise while delivering some of the most creative gore effects seen in the last decade.
The Problem With Killing the Demon
The plot of Don't Kill It is built on a very specific, very frustrating rule. Most horror movies are about finding a way to kill the monster. Here, that’s the worst thing you could possibly do.
The entity at the center of the film is an ancient demon that hops from body to body. The catch? It possesses whoever kills its current host. You shoot the demon? Congratulations, you are now the demon. You stab the demon? Same deal. This creates a fascinatingly chaotic bottleneck for our protagonist, Jebediah Woodley.
Woodley, played by Lundgren, is a man who has clearly seen too much. He rolls into a small town in Mississippi—the kind of place where everyone knows everyone and nobody believes in ancient evil—carrying a massive leather satchel and a world-weary attitude. He isn’t there to be a hero in the traditional sense. He’s there to manage a disaster.
Usually, when we see Dolph on screen, he's the muscle. In Don't Kill It, he’s the brains. Sort of. He spends a lot of time explaining the "rules" to skeptical local law enforcement, specifically FBI agent Evelyn Pierce (played by Kristina Klebe). The dynamic is classic: the "crazy" expert versus the "rational" fed. But because the demon is currently tearing through the town’s population like a woodchipper, the "rational" side of the argument falls apart pretty fast.
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Mike Mendez and the Art of the "Splatstick"
If you aren’t familiar with Mike Mendez, you should be. He’s a director who understands that if you don't have a hundred-million-dollar budget, you’d better have a lot of imagination and a lot of fake blood.
There is a sequence in a town hall meeting that is, quite frankly, legendary in indie horror circles. It starts as a tense standoff and quickly devolves into a Rube Goldberg machine of accidental homicides. Because nobody can "kill" the host without becoming the next host, the carnage becomes a game of hot potato. It’s grisly, it’s hilarious, and it’s deeply uncomfortable.
The practical effects are the star here. In an era where even low-budget movies rely on terrible CGI blood splatter that looks like it was made in MS Paint, Don't Kill It uses real squibs and physical props. When someone gets hit with a chainsaw or a shotgun blast, you feel the weight of it. It’s messy. It’s tactile.
Mendez balances the tone perfectly. It never leans too far into pure parody, which would rob the movie of its stakes. But it also never takes itself so seriously that you feel like you’re watching a dour Exorcist rip-off. It lives in that sweet spot of "midnight movie" energy.
Why This is Dolph Lundgren’s Best Late-Career Role
Let’s be real. A lot of aging action stars sleepwalk through their direct-to-video releases. They show up, say three lines, let a stunt double do the heavy lifting, and collect a paycheck.
Dolph didn't do that here.
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He’s clearly having a blast. He plays Woodley with a strange, eccentric energy. He’s got this weird little habit of using a vaporizer, he wears a long duster that feels like a nod to heavy metal westerns, and he delivers exposition with a rhythmic, almost Southern-fried cadence that you wouldn't expect from a Swedish powerhouse.
He gives the character a history. You get the sense that Woodley has been doing this for decades and he's just... tired. He’s tired of people not listening. He’s tired of the demon winning. It’s a nuanced performance in a movie that features a demon-possessed dog. That’s not easy to pull off.
Breaking Down the Lore
The movie doesn't over-explain where the demon came from, and honestly, it shouldn't. We know enough:
- It's ancient.
- It's opportunistic.
- It feeds on the desire to "stop the bad guy."
The brilliance of the Don't Kill It hook is that it weaponizes the hero's instinct. In any other movie, the climax involves the hero shooting the villain. Here, the hero has to find a way to incapacitate or trap the villain without actually ending their life. It turns an action movie into a high-stakes puzzle.
The Reality of Low-Budget Distribution
It's a shame that Don't Kill It didn't get a massive theatrical push. It’s the kind of movie that thrives with a crowd. It premiered at Fantastic Fest and Screamfest, where it was met with rave reviews from genre fans. But for the general public, it mostly exists as a "hidden gem" on streaming platforms like Tubi or Shudder.
The cinematography by Jan-Michael Losada makes the most of the limited locations. Small-town Mississippi (actually filmed in Alaska, funnily enough) feels claustrophobic and isolated. The lighting is moody, relying on naturalistic shadows that make the sudden bursts of violence even more shocking.
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Is it a perfect movie? No. Some of the side characters are a bit thin, and the ending leaves a lot of doors open that might never be closed. But in a landscape of sanitized, PG-13 horror, it stands out as something with actual teeth.
How to Approach This Movie If You’re a Newcomer
If you’re going into Don't Kill It expecting The Expendables, you’re going to be confused. If you’re expecting The Conjuring, you’re going to be disappointed.
Go into it expecting a bloody, tongue-in-cheek western-horror hybrid. Look for the small details in Dolph’s performance. Pay attention to how the camera moves during the chaotic possession sequences. It’s a masterclass in how to film action when the goal isn't just "hit the guy," but "avoid hitting the guy at all costs."
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Night
If you're planning to finally check this out, keep these points in mind to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch it with friends. This is 100% a social movie. The "What would you do?" factor of the demon's curse makes for great conversation after the credits roll.
- Don't skip the intro. The opening five minutes sets the tone immediately. If you aren't on board by the time the first "transfer" happens, this might not be for you.
- Check out Mike Mendez’s other work. If you enjoy the vibe here, Big Ass Spider! and his segment in Tales of Halloween are essential viewing.
- Pay attention to the rules. The movie actually plays fair with its internal logic. Once the "Don't Kill It" rule is established, the script sticks to it, which makes the finale much more satisfying.
There aren't many movies that can make you laugh and recoil in horror at the exact same time. Don't Kill It manages to do it while giving an action icon one of the most interesting roles of his career. It’s weird, it’s wet, and it’s wildly entertaining.
Stop scrolling past it on your streaming queue. Just hit play.