“ ‘I love you with all of my heart. Till death do us part’ ” – Megan Fox, Till Death (2021)
When it’s time for romantic Valentine’s Day movies, it’s time for anti-Valentine movies as well. That was the route that felt right this time around. There is a recent movie that fit everything I was looking for: Till Death by S.K. Dale, starring Megan Fox. I wanted something suspenseful, wintry, and fortified with romantic style. Till Death brings all of that in a sophisticated and original film.
The story begins with Emma Webster (Megan Fox) breaking things off with Tom (Aml Ameen), the man with whom she’s having an affair. Although unhappy in her marriage, she cannot stand the guilt. She visits her husband at his law firm on their anniversary and sees a file on his desk. It is on the man who attacked her years previously when she was photographer. When Mark (Eoin Macken) enters and she asks why he has the file, he says the man (who Mark convicted) is up for parole. It is evident right away that Mark controls every aspect of Emma’s life. After a tense anniversary dinner, Mark reveals that they are going somewhere overnight. With Emma blindfolded, Mark drives them to their lake house.
After a romantic night, Emma wakes up to Mark sitting up on the bed beside her and the house freezing from the winter conditions outside. She stretches her arms and notices something around her right wrist: one half of a pair of handcuffs. The other is attached to Mark’s wrist. He looks at her, says “It’s time to wake up,” and pulls out a gun. He shoots himself in the head, covering Emma and their bedroom in blood. Emma sits in shock as her reality eventually comes together. She gets to work to find a way out of her unexpected situation.
Strenuously dragging Mark’s body after being unable to break the chain that connects them, Emma finds that her phone has been destroyed, the car they came in is siphoned of gas, and all objects that could be used to free herself have been removed from the house. All of this she learns from a recording Mark left for her, where he admits his desire to punish her for not being more grateful for how being with him has benefitted her. As the day unfolds even more, Emma discovers that her punishment is far from over. Another threat inches toward her, and it involves the man who was sent to prison for assaulting her. Surrounded by an oppressive winter landscape and trapped with more danger on the way, Emma fights for her life with everything she has left.
I honestly did not have high expectations for this movie when it first came out, but it pleasantly surprised me. The literal and symbolic horrors in this story added layers to this that I did not expect. Emma’s desperation is felt in every second once the story takes its turn. Till Death shows that as long as people intermingle in each other’s lives, there will always be material for horror stories.
Until next time,
Jordan
By Night 