Out Now: Till Death

The surprising thing about Megan Fox's recent comeback isn't that she's pivoted to lead roles in direct-to-home action thrillers - she clearly still has enough name recognition to draw in viewers - but that the movies she's making are actually not that bad.  

Rogue turned out to be a decent "it's Predator only in the present day and the monster is a lion" action movie; Midnight in the Swtichgrass features Bruce Willis so let's move on; and now with Till Death she takes a stab - literally - at a high concept thriller.

Trapped in a loveless marriage to possibly-evil, definitely-rich dude Mark (Eoin Macken), Emma (Fox) is pretty much sleepwalking through her life, having just broken off an affair with Mark's underling Tom (Ami Ameen). Come their anniversary, Mark gives her a steel necklace, takes her out to dinner, and then drives her out to their lakehouse, which seems a bit suspicious as it's the middle of winter and the place is covered in ice and snow.

It's pretty much all downhill from there for Emma, who soon finds herself handcuffed to a corpse. With no way to free herself, no way to escape, no warm clothes to put on, and a couple of very dodgy characters roaming around outside, it's safe to say this isn't exactly the anniversary party she was expecting. 

Set almost entirely in and around one house, Till Death is the kind of thriller (verging at times on survival horror) that creates an impact by ratcheting up the twists rather than big set pieces. Within the fairly limited parameters of one house, a handful of characters and no way out, this manages to generate a fair amount of suspense without ever going too far over the top.

First time director S.K. Dale brings a bit of style to proceedings, especially in the early, pre-lake house scenes where it's unclear exactly where things are going. A subtly unbalanced performance from Macken, who seems like a typical dick but also shows moments of tenderness, adds a lot to the early unease.

As the damsel in distress, Fox really only has two gears: depressed zombie early on, pissed-off survivalist later. She handles both well (though in another context those early scenes could easily look like bad acting), and while initially this seems like a thriller with one basic idea - how will she survive the elements chained to a corpse? - the story keeps a few surprises up its sleeve.

Giving the characters a bit more personality (and having that personality play a role in the story) wouldn't hurt, but the plot is solid enough to make sure this is never less than watchable. Dale brings enough flair to the action to make him a director to watch, and Fox remains a performer who can sell a struggle to survive. Gripping in its own right, it's the kind of film that leaves you wanting to see what those involved will do next - even if a sequel titled Do Us Part seems unlikely.

- Anthony Morris