Till Death Film

“Till Death” is a recent released horror film directed by S.K. Dale from a screenplay written by Jason Carvey. The action thriller stars Megan Fox as Emma a wife unhappy in her marriage and struggling with her PTSD from a previous attack. The film opens up with Megan Fox’s character Emma in a steamy moment with Tom played by Aml Ameen, and ends the relationship and gives insight to the viewers that she is having an affair; and this particular night is the anniversary to her husband Mark played by Eoin Macken. As she travels to see her husband for their anniversary dinner we learn that Tom is actually Mark’s employee; when the three of them are in an elevator making small talk and pretending not to know each other.

Emma is struggling with Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder from when an assailant attacked her previously; during the altercation with the attacker she managed to stab the man in the eye with her keys. The attacker received a 10 year sentencing. During dinner it is incredibly lucid that the luster in the marriage between Mark and Emma has fizzled out and they are entertaining the concept of pretending to look married. At the restaurant there is a woman who was being proposed to and it triggers a conversation between the couple where Mark acknowledges “You use to be like that too”, reflecting the happiness she once felt in the marriage. The ominous vibe between the couple paints an ugly marriage with very little but specific dialogue. The dinner talk is obviously a disinterested moment for Emma and the couple proceeds to gift exchanging. Emma obviously picked something just to give something and Mark picks a strange distinct necklace. He is prompt to placing the necklace on her.

As the couple heads to the car there is one last surprise awaiting Emma; which is a black blindfold to wear in the car. Emma is not interested in wearing the blindfold but does so anyway. During the car ride, again the dialogue is so specific there are hints to what will unfold next. The conversation in the car leaves the viewer feeling tense with obvious hints from Mark that he is aware of the affair Emma was having with Tom. During their conversation she becomes uncomfortable and removes the blindfold only to realize, Mark was driving her to a secluded lake house they used to visit during their happier times; as he mentions.

It is a beautiful lake house with a frozen lake. Emma immediately comments how different the lake house looks in the winter, indicating that regardless of how long they have been married they have obviously never visited the place during the winter. They arrive to the house and Emma begins roaming around the house. She makes her way to a red room where photos are to be developed and we hear “Falling Leaf” by Bud Ross and The Asylum play and you hear “Lies” as the opening; it is beyond a reasonable doubt that Mark is aware of Emma’s affair. These film hints lead the viewer to think the husband is the horror aspect of the film and you may even dare to picture a “Death Becomes Her” or “War of The Roses” with a dark spin on it.

Mark acknowledges that the marriage is not what they would like it to be and asks for a second chance; they spend the night making love. Emma wakes up in white sheets emulating a blissful piece of Heaven. Mark is sitting on the edge of the bed and already dressed. Mark asks Emma “Did you dream of lovely things?”. Emma is concerned about his tone as well as confused; as she begins to sit up she realizes she is handcuffed to her husband as he is entering a short specific speech again; and the husband lasts says to her “It’s time to wake up”. An over the shoulder camera angle showing Emma trying to get the handcuff off of her is disrupted by a loud bang; Mark blew his head off while handcuffed to Emma. They both fall to the floor and Emma’s ears begin to ring; it takes her a moment to realize what is truly going on. Her husband is dead and she is handcuffed to a heavy corpse.

Emma instinctively begins to try to remove the handcuff only to not find a key and grabs the gun Mark used; there was only one bullet in the chamber and Mark already used it. Her only option for survival is to drag Mark’s corpse around in order to try to get help. Emma struggles to drag the weigh of an adult man around the house and ends up at her closet which has no clothing in it except her wedding dress. A strong theme of symbolism begins to carry itself through the film; the viewer gets the impression that the husband has committed suicide from the pain he feels of an unfaithful wife. As a viewer you begin to feel for the husband and question how she is going to react to this and there is an expectation of her mentally and emotionally deteriorating after witnessing such atrocities.

Emma tries to make her way downstairs with Mark’s corpse but they both fall down the stairs; with Mark landing on top of her. Emma is finally able to get up and begins to look for things that she needs. She attempts to call for help but the phone line has been disconnected. She finds that her cell phone has been fully submerged in a flower vase and no longer works. She finds the car keys in the trash can and decides to make her way towards the garage; she struggles but manages to place her husband’s dead body into the car so she can drive for help. She turns on the car and tries to ready the engine when the sound of her husband’s voice plays out in the car; Emma jumps out of her skin.

In the car, we learn what Mark truly had in mind and his only regret was not seeing the look on Emma’s face while she struggled. He acknowledges that if she made it this far he is impressed; which is hinting that perhaps he truly is bitter about the affair. He acknowledges the affair on the tape but admits that he could not stand by and allow her and Tom to be happy. Mark created a plan to leave Emma to die; and this is where the point of the film begins to take off and drag you with it. Emma is stuck in a car where the gas has been siphoned and must figure out how she will survive.

As Emma is stuck with Mark’s corpse she is trying to figure out ways to get out of these hand cuffs. She ends up in a red room meant to develop photos of how clear it is that Emma was heavily watched and the largest picture is a photo of the man she stabbed in the eye during her previous assault. Marks sets up a world of psychological trauma triggering her PTSD panic. While Emma is managing her PTSD, at Mark’s office there local law enforcement are ready to arrest Mark for multiple counts of tampering with evidence. Mark knew his career was going to be over and wanted to drag Emma down with him and finishing the sentence of “till death do us part”.

Tom arrives at the lake house thinking Emma needs help because he received messages from Emma’s phone that were sent by deceased Mark. Together Emma and Tom revel in their information and Tom informs her that the police wouldn’t believe the truth of what is happening and suggests that they should “manage” the truth. In the distance they hear another car making it’s way towards the lake house and Tom tells Emma to go hide; Mark’s corpse is still attached to her. A man approached Tom stating his name was “Jimmy (played by Jack Roth) and states he was hired to fix some plumbing but Tom’s skepticism leads him to offer money. Jimmy’s partner in the car grows impatient and exits the car to kill Tom; this reveals that Jimmy’s partner is actually Bobby played by Callan Mulvey, the attacker from Emma’s past.

Mark is dead. Tom is dead. Emma is still attached to Mark’s corpse. Bobby’s introduction is the ultimate symbol of hatred towards Emma from Mark; this is the one man that already attacked Emma and was put in jail for attacking her. Emma’s fight or flight kicks into high gear. The stakes of survival are extremely high and a cat chase mouse game ensues between the trio. Bobby and Jimmy are looking for Emma because they need a passcode and fingerprint of the couple to get inside of a safe.

Emma drags Mark’s corpse into a shed where there’s an anchor near a small boat and utilizes it to free herself form mark. As soon as she frees herself Jimmy stumbles into the shed and she hides in the boat. As soon as Jimmy see’s the body he goes running for his brother Bobby. The brothers enter into an argument where it is revealed that Mark was the person who actually hired them to come here after investing in obtaining false statements to have Bobby released from prison. Revenge on this level is beyond petty and exhausting; but I digress. In the midst of their argument both brothers come to the realization that Emma could not have traveled that far and has to be in the house; she has no supplies or proper clothes.

Emma finds gas for the car and attempts to fill the car quietly. Bobby makes his way towards the garage and walks around the car carefully only to discover she was trying to put gas in the car; Bobby’s response was to stab holes into the tires. Emma sneaks out of the shed in fear while Bobby is not looking only to spot Jimmy dragging a body and she ducks into the lake house’s basement through the basement shelter doors outside. The brothers are gaining on Emma rapidly on finding where she is at and when Bobby gets too close she activates the car alarm as a distraction; and Bobby falls for it and goes running immediately to the car. Bobby finds his brother Jimmy and they begin fussing and then Bobby realizes it was just a distraction.

The brothers begin to search the house. Bobby hears movement on the floor boards above him while Jimmy enters the same red room Emma found with photos of her assault, Bobby’s mug shot. While Bobby was distracted Emma surprises him with a swift hit in the head with a golf club and he lands to the next floor. Emma runs to where Jimmy is and locks him in the red room. Emma runs for Tom’s car and grabs his phone that was charging in the car and attempts to call 911; but Bobby is in high pursuit of Emma. Bobby catches up to Emma and takes the phone and breaks it in half, slams Emma onto the floor in the snow and puts his foot on her chest; land Bobby kicks her in the face.

Emma wakes up to being handcuffed to Mark’s body again in the bedroom; it seems love can be quite heavy. The brothers begin explaining they are there for diamonds and they need the passcode from her because it is the day Mark proposed to Emma. Emma is skeptical that if she gives them the information they will still kill her and Bobby reassures that fear by threatening her to cut off her toes. Jimmy has a thief personality but is not a murderer and he grabs Mark’s gun that was on the floor and points at Bobby to make him stop. Mark’s gun is empty and only Emma knows that. Jimmy makes a deal with Emma that they will release her if they get the passcode and Emma only agrees but on the basis that Jimmy removes the handcuffs off of her.

Bobby opens the safe with Mark’s fingerprint and code but finds a safe that does not have diamonds; but in fact has a saw with an engraved message “The diamonds you seek lay close to her heart. Emma, Bobby and Jimmy realized the diamonds are in the anniversary steel necklace Mark put on Emma. Jimmy and Emma frantically try to figure out how to get the necklace off but Bobby says “He doesn’t want us to cut the necklace off of her. He wants us to cut her off the necklace.”; and without hesitation goes to saw off Emma’s head. Jimmy does not agree with his violent brother and they begin to get into a scuffle while Emma calls to Jimmy for help. During the struggle between the brothers, Bobby accidentally impales his brother Jimmy with a coat hanger from the wall behind him; his brother’s body slides off of the coat hanger and hits the floor.

Bobby is beyond a feverish rage and blames Emma for Jimmy’s death; and is filled with more determination to cut off Emma’s head. Emma and Bobby begin fighting and Emma is stabbed in the leg, Bobby is hit in the face with pliers; which knocks him over. While Bobby is trying get up Emma grabs the handcuffs and cuffs him to Mark’s dead body. Both the protagonist and antagonist are running on fight-or-flight hormones with Bobby dragging Mark’s body with much more ease in comparison to Emma. Emma tries to drive a car but the car slides on the ice and hits the shed after she clips Bobby with the car.

Bobby catches up with Emma and now they are fighting on top of the frozen lake. Bobby is handcuffed to Mark and is very determined to kill Emma and no longer cares about the diamonds. Bobby is taking his military knife out and trying to stab Emma again but during one of his stabbing motions; he misses and hits the ice. During their struggle Emma grabs the knife and hits Bobby in the chest. The audience hears the cracking of the ice and it seems to turn on Emma’s additional panic that she realizes the ice is about to give them to the lake. The iced lake has a breach where Mark’s corpse drags down the hole bringing Bobby with him; but Bobby is not dying alone and he grabs Emma underneath with him.

Bobby and Emma are fighting under water and Emma is trying her best to swim to the top. We see Bobby’s face realizing his obsession to kill Emma has led him to his doom and looks back at Mark’s body that is floating to the bottom of the lake; his determination grows to hold onto Emma. Emma curls into Bobby and takes the knife out and stabs Bobby in his remaining eye like she did during their first encounter. Emma struggles to swim to the top but can not find the opening again. Emma nearly drowns but uses the knife to pierce the ice and climb up to safety. Emma drags her body out of the freezing waters and lays down on the surface; the last motion Emma makes is to take her wedding ring off while the police sirens ring in the distance. Emma’s breath grows quiet after her wedding ring rolls into the hell hole she just climbed out of.

—————————————————————————————-

Megan Fox as an actress has been stuck in the hot girl zone for quite some time and after the scandalous tabloids running stories about her; it seems in Hollywood she was given a hard way to go. Megan Fox carries an air of darkness around her naturally and I think that is what makes her so sultry; like Angelina Jolie. Megan’s “Jennifer’s Body” was an introduction to her dark side but there was too much focus on her sexual vibes. “Till Death” brings on the ambiance of a cold marriage and love does not live in that household. Megan has what I have, resting bitch face; and even on my happy days people think I’m ready to commit murder. This role allowed Megan to utilize her natural dark nature, sultry mean face in a tasteless marriage to her estranged husband Mark; and this moves the story along perfectly!

The dialogue between every character were all consistent dropped hints to the plot with surprises if the viewer is truly listening. There was no “useless” dialogue meant to confuse the audience and I love that. This brought to life love and marriage crossed over with a suicidal game of clue. Then film is inviting and keeps you hooked to the screen; there is an on going need to know if Emma survives and how she survives.

If you are looking for a fun psychological action thriller for Halloween then I would recommend watching the King of Pettiness with “Till Death”