‘Til Death Do Us Part’ Review – An Unhinged Revenge Movie Led By A Stunning Natalie Burn

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

The runaway bride theme is not new in the film industry but has gained momentum over the last few years. This is thanks to great movies such as Ready or Not and The Invitation. They have a clever script, an excellent lead performance, a solid supporting cast and an eye-catching cinematography. We’re now getting another feature about a bride with too many (pre)wedding jitters as Til Death Do Us Part hits the big screen. While this latest film by Timothy Woodward Jr. (Studio City) is undoubtedly kick-ass and beautifully shot, the rushed script and the lack of care for detail make it feels very unhinged.

Having nerves pre-wedding is normal. No matter how long you’ve been planning the wedding (some of us start planning at the age of five), marriage is the most significant commitment in life, and therefore, it’s normal to question whether you can go through with it. While many brides overcome their nerves and doubts with the help of their friends and maybe some booze, the bride (Natalie Burn) in this movie isn’t one of them. She sees too many red flags, fleeing her wedding and leaving her groom (Ser’Darius Blain) at the altar. She goes to their remote cabin in the woods to calm down and plan the next stage in her life without her partner.

While she’s done with him, he isn’t, as he sends his best man (Cam Gigandet) and seven groomsmen to the cabin. All they have to do is keep her there until he arrives to ‘talk things through’. But just as any good best man or groomsman, the friends take their wedding assignment a bit too seriously. Instead of just surrounding the house and maybe sabotaging the car so the bride can’t leave, they enter the cabin to rattle her up with more violence than necessary. However, if they believe defeating and detaining the bride will be easy just because she’s a woman, then the friends have another thing coming. The bride gives them the most kick-ass, cold-blooded and violent surprise with some deadly consequences. It is until death do us part, but who will die?

As you probably noticed, the premises isn’t 100% original. To give it much more personality, writers Chad Law (The Getback) and Shane Dax Taylor (The Best Man) and director Woodward Jr. had to add some new elements, and the one that probably has the most significant impact on Til Death Do Us Part is the bride’s secretive storyline. In our interview with Woodward Jr., he mentioned that “the bride has a major backstory, and we created a whole world for her. It’s not only about the bride leaving the groom.”

While that’s true, we don’t know whether that darker background story did this feature any good. Keeping the audience on their toes and making them figure out what happened in the past is great, but if you don’t give any or enough background information, it becomes confusing and frustrating instead of thrilling. We don’t know enough about the bride, the groom and some mysterious people they meet during the flashbacks to get into that dark past until right at the end.

Luckily for us, what we get from almost the get-go, is the stunning performance by Burn (Black Adam). She’s outstanding as the bad-ass bride who’s certainly not afraid of taking things to a physical level. Whether it’s picking up the chainsaw for the usual horrific scenes, swinging a golf club while holding one of the groomsmen in a deadlock position or kicking someone full-on in the face, she does it all with a lot of power, determination and flair. In the very 90’s looking start, which is probably the most excellent surprise of them all as it will certainly throw you off guard, she can even show us her emotional side. Burn has the force and the personality the storyline lacks to keep the audience engaged the whole time. If she had gotten a script, à la Ready or Not, we’re sure Burn would have excelled in this film.

While almost none of the opponents can give her a run for her money, Gigandet (Violent Night) certainly tries the hardest. Initially, his best man lets the groomsmen do the hard and bloody work for him. During those moments, Gigandet charmingly, literally and figuratively speaking, dances throughout the feature. However, when it’s time to pick up the knife himself, the murderous, dark, but still charming side of his character comes through beautifully. During the kick-ass moments between Burn and Gigandet, the movie finally finds its feet. The almost ballet-like choreographed, kick-ass fight sequences are the strongest scenes, thanks to Burn’s stunning physicality and Gigandet’s tongue-in-cheek acting.

Til Death Do Us Part is not as good as its modern predecessors. This is mainly due to the non-linear approach and the lack of (background) information to fully understand the flashbacks and the characters. However, this doesn’t mean you have to let this movie slide because if you’re up for a low-budget, revenge film with stunning cinematography, some great performances and a campy undertone, then you will love Til Death Do Us Part.

Til Death Do Us Part hits U.S. theatres on the 4^th of August courtesy of Cineverse