I KILL GIANTS. How to conquer despair [REVIEW]

A teenage girl named Barbara is both a typical and an atypical American middle schooler. On one hand, she cuts herself off from the outside world, finding comfort in the realm of her own imagination. On the other hand, this seemingly average loner hides a secret — and it’s not just a fondness for Dungeons & Dragons or listening to old baseball broadcasts. The protagonist of I Kill Giants claims she’s fighting epic battles against dangerous giants that are destroying everything in their path, all right under the noses of the oblivious townspeople. According to Barbara (at least in her eyes), she bears a massive responsibility: protecting her town from recurring attacks by ruthless giants.

But could all this just be the result of an overactive imagination — a way for her to escape everyday struggles? Scenes showing Barbara’s difficulties with school peers or tense encounters with the school psychologist (played by Zoe Saldana) certainly suggest as much. She’s strong, confident, resourceful, and fully committed to her mission. But once we step inside her home, it becomes clearer why she might prefer her fantasy world. With absent parents, Barbara and her siblings rely on their overworked older sister, Karen (Imogen Poots), to keep things afloat.

Financial hardship causes constant tension, and the future looks bleak. Barbara’s strength is, in many ways, a front. Her greatest battle is fought within her own mind — and when she finally experiences friendship, thanks to a classmate named Sophia (Sydney Wade), she fears letting her guard down and potentially putting her new friend at risk through her “life’s mission.” Director Anders Walter keeps the audience in suspense for much of the film, never revealing outright whether — or to what extent — Barbara’s stories about giants are real.

While the general direction of I Kill Giants may be somewhat predictable, Walter skillfully doles out just enough information to keep the mystery alive. The truth isn’t even hinted at clearly until near the end, and the ambiguity is a key part of the film’s intrigue — its strongest and most compelling quality. Discovering the secret is enjoyable, thanks largely to the charismatic Barbara. Madison Wolfe, best known from The Conjuring 2, delivers a fantastic performance as the feisty, likable outsider.

Without her (and a strong supporting role from Imogen Poots), I Kill Giants would likely have had a much weaker emotional impact. Even though Wolfe’s charisma carries much of the film, it’s not an unbearable burden, since the story itself — and its ultimate message — are quite straightforward, echoing films like Bridge to Terabithia or A Monster Calls. The theme of coping with hardship has developed its own narrative formula, and I Kill Giants sticks closely to that. Still, the concept of visualizing a painful personal issue (no spoilers here) as a battle against giants who threaten not just the heroine but everyone around her, doesn’t feel overly derivative.

It keeps the viewer emotionally invested in Barbara’s internal and external struggles, especially since the giants themselves aren’t left entirely to our imagination. Walter knows that mystery alone isn’t enough — audiences crave at least a touch of visual spectacle. And while the film isn’t a visual effects extravaganza, it manages, with limited resources, to spark curiosity and deliver a poignant conclusion. Although I Kill Giants, based on the graphic novel of the same name, doesn’t break new ground in portraying how children deal with trauma, it captivates through its well-constructed mystery and the strength of its central character. Barbara is, after all, a brave girl in bunny ears who longs for friendship and safety — and isn’t afraid to throw a punch when needed. Together with this fierce young heroine, the director takes us on a journey into a fantasy world that blends seamlessly with reality, offering a universal, uplifting, but also bittersweet moral. Barbara might carry a giant magical hammer hidden in a tiny handbag — but that hammer isn’t always the solution to every problem.