TILL DEATH: An Empty Film With Empty Vows

Vendettas interlaced within horror can easily become the most intriguing and crafty creations in horror. All too often, revenge elevates a story, bringing varying levels of unpredictability and emotional instability to the big screen. Yet, like the character seeking revenge, for many of these films, it would have been best to leave well enough alone. In the case of Till Death, from director S.K. Dale, it couldn’t be any truer.

Till Death’s premise is enticing, its trailer slightly reminiscent of Gerald’s Game, all while building the intrigue around what events unfolded to bring our central character to the moment of waking handcuffed to her husband’s dead body. You can feel the malicious nature oozing from the screen as the trailer flies by, only further compounded by the arrival of intruders looking for their biggest score. I would be lying if I didn’t say the trailer had me hooked.

Apathy in Predictability

But not all films live up to the promise trailers deliver. From the moment Till Death opens, the vibe and the energy feel wrong, literally drained in color, editing, and narrative progression. With no heightened intensity and a disjointed introduction, there is no foundation or intrigue to make viewers initially care for Emma (Megan Fox). Not because it is immediately revealed she had previously been cheating on her husband, but because there is no energy, no central direction immediately presented.

As the film transitions from one moment to the next, closing the door on her affair and opening a chance to rekindle with her husband, Till Death immediately begins to drag its feet. It lays the pieces to the puzzle, albeit obvious, further compounding its exuberant slow burn, leaning into its highly predictable storyline. Sadly, Till Death becomes a slow and boring marriage of narrative tools and poorly framed camera shots of intensity.

While the film’s most shocking moment is presented to viewers the moment Emma wakes up, the surprise does not last long, the film plunging once again into the predictability it originally maintained, leaving viewers with even more apathy in its wake.

Characters are people too

What I found most offensive in Till Death was its use of its characters strictly as narrative tools, rather than the encompassing personas they were intended to be. No amount of acting could have saved these shallow characters as pushing the narrative appears to have been the central focus of the filmmaker – with Till Death running a tight 88 minutes.

The husband, Mark (Eoin Macken) is used as the film’s catalyst to set the true elements of the film in motion. Viewers are given a slight peek into his personality and how he may have been as a husband. But the film also presents a softer side through the use of images scattered throughout, possibly of a man much different from the one we briefly come to know. Yet, there is no deep dive into the relationship he shared with Emma, no idea of a failed marriage from the start or the steady decline of one. We are left as viewers to strictly be defined by the hard lines of good and bad, leaving obscurity in its wake.

Emma too is left with a straight-lined character profile. While she is originally presented as a cheating wife looking for the redemption she may or may not receive, viewers are given little more than speculation as to why she would have chosen to cheat rather than leave the man. Her actions of cheating seem to severely contradict the battered wife and victim of a previous crime persona the filmmakers want you to conclude on. I wanted more of her story, a deeper understanding of both her marriage and the life she had prior to it. Till Death touches on it, without ever being brave enough to dive in.

But it is not only the shallow presentation of Emma as a character but the inability of the filmmakers to allow Megan Fox to break free from the “Hot Girl” roles she continually finds herself in. This was a horror movie with violence, gore, and a fight for survival. Other than blood on the face, Megan Fox is continuously maintained to perfection throughout the entirety of the film. No cuts, scrapes or bruises. No blue tint no to the skin or lips as she trudges barefoot in the snow to evade her attackers. A face of perfection constantly captured throughout the entirety of the film leaves both Fox and her character strictly as a tool, not for narrative or character progression, but as an objectified tool for attendance and objectivity.

Conclusion: Till Death

Horror lends itself to the implausibility of the situation, yet it is the thrill that invites viewers to leave their sensibilities behind and enjoy the ride. With Till Death, the implausibility far outweighed the enjoyment, its unlikely scenarios, and escapes more of an eye sour than an experience. Furthermore, its characters lack depth and a reason to care, all while the film is more concerned with capturing the beauty of its star than the horror she finds herself in. Slow and overall boring, Till Death only slightly leans into the intensity and intrigue it promises.

What did you think? Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below!

Till Death was released on July 1st, 2021, and is currently available on VOD. 

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