Matvey (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) stands at a door of his girlfriend Olya’s (Evgeniya Kregzhde) parent’s apartment. Hammer in hand, he is ready to commit murder to right a wrong. Of course things don’t go as planned. In the fast-paced action comedy WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! (aka Papa, sdokhni) from writer-director Kirill Sokolov nothing goes as planned and that’s what makes it so fun. The crackling black comedy repeatedly yanks an endless stack of carpets out from under the viewer as the story unfolds in a hyper-stylized, farcical fashion.

Of course, Matvey is invited into the apartment out of awkward courtesy by his target Andrey (Vitaliy Khaev). Oh and SURPRISE, Olya’s mother Tasha (Elena Shevchenko) is home too. Sooner rather than later, the fighting ensues. Tables are smashed, TV’s broken, guns are drawn, and Matvey discovers that the family couch is stuffed with money. If you think you know where this is headed think again. Sokolov’s tight script relishes in red herrings, misdirections, and backstories told well after the fact. WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! is a relentlessly paced crime comedy on par with Guy Ritchie’s SNATCH, just scaled down and in a single one bedroom flat.

To reveal much more would be a crime as one needs to let the film have its way. Suffice it to say that the performances are all great with stand nods to Kuznetsov and Khaev as the two men at the center of the mayhem. Matvey has a sure moral compass whereas Andrey, when he isn’t shoveling food into his face, simply cannot be trusted. Then there are the supporting cast including Andrey’s police partner Yevgenich (Michael Gor) who is a bumbling paradox of cynicism and contrition. Wonderful work here all around.

Director of photography, Dmitriy Ulyukaev has a field day packing as much style into every frame as possible. Meanwhile Viktor Zudin’s saturated and somehow maudlin look makes sure we know this is a comedy while depicting the bleakest of spaces. Also acting as editor, Sokolov pulls out every trick that he knows to frenetic and mostly positive results. This is swift storytelling that you have to keep up with.

WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! wears its influences proudly on its sleeve aping and mimicking the likes of Tarantino. A good source to draw from to be sure. But what makes this particular film unique is the use of farce and black comedy. While the dialogue crackles like any Tarantino pic, we also have notes of Bogdonavich and broad farce as blood gleefully sprays forth. That’s not to mention some gross out comedy too involving fishing a bobby pin out of a bath drain with one talented tongue.

In short, definitely check out Kirill Sokolov‘s first feature film WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! If you give it half a chance you will be pulled into the madhouse of an apartment as the characters are and you will be giggling and gasping until the credits roll. Just don’t answer the door.

8 out of 10 stars

WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE! will be available on Blu-ray and Digital on 4/21.