I’ve always had a particular fondness for low-budget films that, for lack of a better word, look cheap. These are the kinds of movies that struggle to bring together the basic elements that make a film a film. They’re either made by eager young directors at the start of their careers, where you can feel the influence of every movie they’ve ever loved in nearly every frame, or they’re directed by industry veterans who seem exhausted, beaten down, and present solely because they’re getting paid, with that fatigue hanging over every second of the finished product.
That’s exactly why I love these “failed” films. Because rather than simply watching a story unfold, they also give you an opportunity to think about the industry itself. Besides, what is failure, really? Failure has a certain charm of its own, and I’ve always appreciated that charm. Til Death Do Us Part is exactly that kind of “failed” movie.
The film tells the story of a woman who backs out of her wedding at the very last moment and finds herself in serious trouble because of it. Honestly, it’s a pretty clever title. At its core, the movie feels like a mashup of Ready or Not, Kill Bill, and John Wick. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Similar comparisons were made about They Will Kill You, one of this year’s films that I enjoyed quite a bit. And let’s be honest: Ready or Not wasn’t exactly the first film to tell the story it told. Wealthy people gathering together to sacrifice someone less fortunate is hardly an uncommon theme.
That’s why I try not to be one of those people who watches a movie they dislike and immediately dismisses it by saying, “It’s just the same as that other film.” Let’s face it—the greatest story ever told was told two thousand years ago, and ever since then, every story we’ve told has been some variation of another story. That’s how storytelling evolves. That’s how all art evolves. So the fact that this movie resembles Ready or Not or other films doesn’t bother me in the slightest.
Til Death Do Us Part is an action-heavy, darkly comedic thriller that twists the classic wedding vow of “till death do us part” into something far more literal. After fleeing on her wedding night, a young bride suddenly finds herself hunted by her former fiancé and a team of seven professional assassins who also happen to be his groomsmen. The film alternates between a bloody cat-and-mouse chase inside an isolated house and flashbacks to a previous mission in Puerto Rico. While the fragmented structure and constant back-and-forth arguably make an already modest viewing experience even less engaging, I still appreciate the film’s attempt to tell a deeper, more layered story.
I won’t go into further detail about what happens next. If you’ve seen more than five movies in your life, you’ve probably already guessed not only where the story is headed, but how it ends as well.
The film’s star, Natalie Burn, delivers a performance with such conviction that it feels as though she’s not only fighting off the groomsmen sent to kill her, but also waging war against the industry’s chronic shortage of female action protagonists. While her emotional performance can occasionally feel somewhat flat—there are moments when it’s difficult to tell what she’s actually feeling—she absolutely shines during the action sequences, which, as far as I’ve learned, she performed without a stunt double. Once someone is this good in action scenes, their shortcomings in more dramatic moments start to matter a lot less.
Put your hand on your heart and answer honestly: is Jason Statham such a great actor that you can spend hours dissecting the subtle meanings hidden in his facial expressions? If not, then this particular flaw doesn’t bother me here either.
And by the way, in case you somehow missed it despite the fact that it’s written on the poster in larger letters than the film’s title itself, one of the film’s producers is Jeffrey Reddick, the creator of the Final Destination franchise—one of many childhood traumas shared by an entire generation. That alone might be reason enough to give this movie a chance.
Verdict: Borrowing freely from bigger and better films, Til Death Do Us Part is a messy, predictable, and undeniably cheap-looking thriller, but its energetic action, Natalie Burn’s physical performance, and sheer determination kept me watching anyway.
Score: 6/10
