Review: Til Death Do Us Part
Coming from the creator of the Final Destination series and directed by Timothy Woodward Jr., Til Death Do Us Part finds a runaway bride having to go to bloody lengths to try and escape her old life and start a new one.
Natalie Burn is the Bride, who flees her wedding before walking down the aisle and retreats to her father’s remote cabin. Followed by her fiancé’s groomsmen, led by a sociopathic Cam Gigandet, the groomsmen have orders to keep the Bride in place but she and the groomsmen are all actually trained killers working for the mysterious “University” and things quickly escalate into a battle for survival. If you’re a fan of movies like Ready or Not or You’re Next, Til Death Do Us Part has similar vibes with its bloody action and action localized to one place. There’s a great stylistic choice at the beginning of the movie where it feels like a Lifetime movie with soft focus and glittery titles and it slowly reveals its true nature as it progresses. There is a bit of looseness that takes away from the tension and excitement at times, where the groomsmen will see the Bride on the roof or know she’s in a room but seem to lack the urgency to pursue. If the editing was tighter, Til Death Do Us Part would definitely have more thrills and better pacing.
Natalie Burn is excellent as the Bride and Til Death Do Us Part is definitely a showcase for her physicality. She does everything from tango dancing to going into splits that would make JCVD proud and her physical presence carries the movie. The fights are sufficiently brutal and utilize a wide array of objects found around the cabin, like golf clubs, bed sheets, and, most memorably, a chainsaw and there’s plenty of blood and practical gore to be had. Cam Gigandet seems to be reveling in devouring scenery as the Best Man, dancing like a psychopath to the movie’s jazz and big band soundtrack and constantly trying to give his Best Man speech. When he and the Bride finally clash though, it’s a bit anticlimactic given the build-up and it doesn’t really play into any of the running beats they were laying out. Orlando Jones is also great as the secondary Big Bad and he has some fun asides and complaints directed at Gigandet as they bicker about the best way to proceed. Jason Patric pops up in a flashback storyline that runs throughout the movie and is a fun presence, delivering a few monologues and some drama that ties into the main plot. Ser’Darius Blain is also great, having great chemistry with Burn that is sexy and flirtatious in the flashbacks but has a completely different tone later on in the movie, even as there are scenes that mirror each other.
Til Death Do Us Part is a solid action thriller with a fantastic central performance from Natalie Burn, especially in the physical fighting and stunts aspect, and fun fights and brutal kills. It probably could have been tighter in the editing and plot but if you’re looking for some brutal B-movie action, Til Death Do Us Part is worth checking out now in theaters.