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The Things You Kill (2025) movie poster

Characters & Themes

The Things You Kill (2025) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2025 · 1 h 54 m · Turkish
Echo score 77
JustWatch #5,121 13
Directed by
Alireza Khatami
Starring
Hazar Ergüçlü, Ercan Kesal, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Ekin Koç, Selen Kurtaran, Serhat Nalbantoglu

Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, university professor Ali forces his mysterious gardener to carry out a cold‑blooded act of vengeance. As long‑buried family secrets surface, the police tighten their investigation, and mounting doubt gnaws at his conscience. Cornered, Ali is forced to confront the darkness within his own soul.

On this page (9)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Characters explained (4)
  3. 3 Where & when it takes place
  4. 4 Themes & meaning (3)
  5. 5 Character & meaning questions
  6. 6 Movie threads
  7. 7 Movies like The Things You Kill
  8. 8 Categories
  9. 9 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch The Things You Kill (2025)

Where can you watch The Things You Kill? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Prime Video, Philo and Fawesome: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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4 main characters · contains spoilers

The Things You Kill Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of The Things You Kill (2025), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Ali (Ekin Koç)

    Ali is a Turkish literature professor whose life begins to crumble under his father's abuse, his own infertility, and job insecurity. He hides personal humiliations and attempts to maintain control, but his mounting stress leads him into dangerous actions. The film tracks his emotional isolation as his relationship with his wife Hazar deteriorates and his attempts to reclaim agency collide with brutal consequences.

    • 🎭 Complex
    • 🧠 Psychological
    • 👨‍🎓 Academic
  • Hamit (Ercan Kesal)

    Hamit is Ali's father, a controlling patriarch whose violence and cruelty have shaped the family for years. He undermines Ali in private and public moments, maintaining power through fear and manipulation. His actions set in motion the cycle of violence that drives the plot.

    • 🎭 Cruelty
    • 🏠 Patriarch
    • 🗝️ Control
  • Reza (Erkan Kolçak Köstendil)

    Reza is a hired gardener who becomes Ali's ally but quickly reveals himself as a manipulative force. He drives the plot by suggesting illegal plans and using fear to bend Ali to his will. He seizes control of Ali's life and becomes central to the story's turn toward violence.

    • 🎭 Manipulative
    • 🧠 Calculating
    • 🏚️ Rural
  • Hazar (Hazar Ergüçlü)

    Hazar is Ali's wife who becomes estranged as he withdraws into himself. She leaves him, and later returns as the couple navigates their precarious situation and the donor issue, highlighting the emotional costs of the patriarchal pressures on their relationship.

    • 🎭 Complex
    • 🧠 Psychological
    • 👩‍❤️‍👨 Partner

Last updated: January 06, 2026 at 10:48

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Setting

Where and When Does The Things You Kill Take Place?

The setting of The Things You Kill (2025): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

The events unfold in a contemporary Turkish context, with references to university life, professional insecurity, and familial pressures. The story touches on modern social issues such as infertility, donor restrictions, and the legal or ethical implications of medical choices in Turkey.

Location

Turkey, farm on the city's outskirts, desert

Set primarily in a dilapidated family home in Turkey and a farm on the city’s outskirts, the film contrasts cramped indoor spaces with open desert terrain used for concealment. The locale underscores the tension between tradition and modern life, and the frequent moves between domestic interiors and external spaces show the fragility of safety. The story's sense of place is intimate and claustrophobic, highlighting how home becomes a site of coercion and violence.

  • 🎭 Drama
  • 🏚️ Rural
  • 🗺️ Contemporary

Last updated: January 06, 2026 at 10:48

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3 major themes

The Things You Kill Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is The Things You Kill (2025) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Power and Control

    Power and control permeate every relationship in the story: the father Hamit exercises domination over his family, belittling Ali and maintaining authority through fear. Ali's sense of agency shrinks under family pressure, while Reza manipulates circumstances to seize control of Ali’s life. The film examines how power is contested, resisted, and ultimately redirected through violence.

  • Violence and Guilt

    The plot escalates from domestic abuse to murder, with Ali forced to confront the consequences of his actions and the violence around him. The murder of Reza becomes a catalyst for Ali's self-preservation and survival in a suffocating environment. The story uses physical harm to probe moral compromise and guilt.

  • Truth and Facade

    Characters wear masks of respectability while harboring secrets; Ali hides infertility and fear of his father, Hamit projects authority, and Reza pretends to be a cooperative ally. The film explores how appearances conceal deeper truths and how longing for control can drive people to extreme actions. The tension between what is shown and what is real drives the story toward its violent climax.

Last updated: January 06, 2026 at 10:48

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Character & theme questions

The Things You Kill Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about The Things You Kill (2025): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is The Things You Kill set?

The movie is set primarily in Turkey, taking place in a dilapidated family home and a farm on the city's outskirts. The contrast between cramped indoor spaces and open desert terrain creates tension, with the domestic setting becoming a site of coercion and violence.

  • turkey setting
  • family home
  • desert location
  • turkey drama
Q2

What does the family home represent in the story?

The dilapidated family home represents a suffocating environment where tradition and modern life clash. It highlights the fragility of safety, as the once-familiar domestic space transforms into a place of control, abuse, and ultimately violence, reflecting the internal corruption of the family.

  • family home
  • domestic space
  • turkey house
  • claustrophobic setting
Q3

When does The Things You Kill take place?

The story unfolds in a contemporary Turkish context, featuring references to university life, professional insecurity, and familial pressures. It addresses modern social issues like infertility, donor restrictions, and medical ethics in Turkey.

  • contemporary turkey
  • modern setting
  • time period
  • turkey 2025
Q4

What does The Things You Kill say about power and control?

Power and control dominate every relationship in the story. Ali's father Hamit maintains authority through fear and manipulation, while Reza manipulates circumstances to seize control of Ali's life. The film examines how power is contested, resisted, and ultimately redirected through violence.

  • power and control
  • domination
  • manipulation
  • authority themes
Q5

How does the movie explore violence and guilt?

The plot escalates from domestic abuse to murder, forcing Ali to confront the consequences of his actions. The murder of Reza becomes a catalyst for Ali's self-preservation in a suffocating environment. The story uses physical harm to probe moral compromise and guilt.

  • violence
  • guilt
  • murder
  • moral compromise
  • consequences
Q6

What is the theme of truth and facade in the movie?

Characters wear masks of respectability while harboring secrets: Ali hides infertility and fear of his father, Hamit projects authority, and Reza pretends to be a cooperative ally. The film explores how appearances conceal deeper truths and how longing for control drives people to extreme actions.

  • truth and facade
  • secrets
  • appearances
  • deception
  • masks
Q7

Who is Ali in The Things You Kill?

Ali is a Turkish literature professor whose life crumbles under his father's abuse, his own infertility, and job insecurity. He hides personal humiliations and attempts to maintain control, but his mounting stress leads him into dangerous actions, resulting in emotional isolation from his wife Hazar.

  • ali character
  • professor
  • main character
  • protagonist
Q8

Who is Hamit and what role does he play?

Hamit is Ali's father, a controlling patriarch whose violence and cruelty have shaped the family for years. He undermines Ali in both private and public moments, maintaining power through fear and manipulation. His actions set in motion the cycle of violence that drives the entire plot.

  • hamit
  • father
  • patriarch
  • abusive father
  • family antagonist
Q9

Who is Reza and why is he important to the story?

Reza is a hired gardener who becomes Ali's ally but quickly reveals force. He drives himself as a manipulative the plot forward by suggesting illegal plans and using fear to bend Ali to his will, ultimately seizing control of Ali's life and leading the story toward its violent climax.

  • reza gardener
  • manipulator
  • antagonist
  • ally turned enemy
Q10

Who is Hazar and what happens to her relationship with Ali?

Hazar is Ali's wife who becomes estranged as he withdraws into himself due to mounting pressures. She leaves him, then later returns as the couple navigates their precarious situation and the donor issue, highlighting the emotional costs of patriarchal pressures on their relationship.

  • hazar
  • wife
  • relationship
  • estranged
  • donor issue
Q11

How does the movie address infertility in Turkey?

The movie touches on infertility as a source of personal humiliation and marital strain for Ali. It references modern social issues in Turkey, including donor restrictions and the legal or ethical implications of medical choices surrounding infertility, which contribute to the family's internal tensions.

  • infertility
  • turkey medical
  • donor restrictions
  • family pressure
Q12

What is the overall tone and atmosphere of the movie?

The film has a dark, psychologically intense tone dominated by themes of familial abuse, betrayal, and the corrupting nature of revenge. The pacing is steady with deliberate escalation toward the climax, creating a pervasive sense of dread through psychological pressure and unsettling imagery.

  • dark tone
  • psychological thriller
  • atmosphere
  • emotional weight
  • dread

Movie threads

More Movies Like The Things You Kill, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes The Things You Kill tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about moral corruption like The Things You Kill

Stories about seemingly ordinary people unraveling under the weight of vengeance. If you were captivated by the grim progression of moral decay in 'The Things You Kill,' explore these other films. This list features intense dramas and psychological thrillers where protagonists are consumed by revenge, secrets, and their own darkening conscience.

  • psychological
  • tense
  • moral dilemma
  • gloomy
  • oppressive
  • paranoid
  • Tone: dark, bleak, psychological
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a character, often starting from a position of relative normalcy, who initiates a plan for revenge or justice. This initial act sets off a chain reaction, forcing them into increasingly desperate and immoral actions. The story is a chronicle of their internal breakdown, where the line between victim and perpetrator blurs, leading to an ambiguous or tragic resolution.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped together because they share a core focus on the psychological cost of vengeance and the loss of innocence. They create a similar viewing experience of grim fascination, making the audience complicit in a character's irreversible moral collapse through steady pacing and a dark, psychological tone.

Claustrophobic family thrillers like The Things You Kill

Thrillers where domestic walls conceal dark secrets and simmering tension. For viewers who enjoyed the oppressive atmosphere and unraveling family secrets in 'The Things You Kill,' this list offers more films in a similar vein. Discover tense dramas where police investigations collide with dark domestic histories, trapping characters in a web of their own making.

  • claustrophobic
  • tense
  • family secrets
  • gloomy
  • oppressive
  • paranoid
  • Tone: tense, oppressive, dark
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The plot revolves around a family unit grappling with a hidden, often violent, past. A triggering event—like a death or an investigation—acts as a catalyst, causing long-suppressed secrets to erupt. The narrative structure is tight and focused, with tension escalating as the characters become trapped both physically and emotionally by the truth.

Why they belong together: These movies share a specific, potent blend of the thriller genre with deep family drama. They are united by an oppressive, claustrophobic mood, a steady pace that builds dread, and a central theme of secrets festering within a domestic sphere, leading to psychological breakdown and moral ambiguity.

If you liked this

Movies Like The Things You Kill

Similar movies to The Things You Kill: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

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Categories

Movie Lists Featuring The Things You Kill

The Things You Kill appears in these hand-built movie categories. Each one groups movies by a specific mood, theme or story type, with their plot summaries and endings explained.

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Every angle

The Things You Kill (2025) Explained: Plot, Ending, Timeline & Characters

Everything about The Things You Kill in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning, the ending explained and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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