Ali, a Turkish-born university professor teaching in the United States, is enraged by the suspicious circumstances of his ailing mother's death in Turkey.
During his grieving process, Ali reveals his resentment for his estranged father and befriends a gardener named Reza whom he enlists to avenge his mother's death.
Carlos Aguilar of Variety gave the film a positive review, calling it an "astutely written exercise in paying attention to how one is perceived and using that knowledge to rewrite one’s own narrative".
[4] Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire gave the film an A- grade, writing that it is "like a bad, sweat-breaking dream that leaves you dazed and feverish — and a black-hearted gaze into the poison patriarchy oozes into men’s veins just as much as women".
[5] Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter was critical of the film, calling it "stale" and writing that "there’s something about The Things You Kill that ultimately leaves the viewer cold, even if all the strange and awful stuff Ali goes through leads him to finally open up and, perhaps, lighten up".