Los Angeles, 1985. Soon-to-be-wed Lisa (Amalia Holl) is in a bridal dress shop for a fitting, fretting over the impending big day with her friends. Her biggest bugbear is the amount of ex-partners her fiancé Joseph has.
Meanwhile, Joseph (Kevin Hoffer) is busy trying on his suit elsewhere, while declaring his love for Lisa to his younger brother John (Macleish Day). He’s so committed; he even gives up his infamous ‘black book’ of girls’ names and numbers. "But you’re a stud, bro!" protests an incredulous John.
Come the wedding day, everything runs smoothly at the church: both the bride and groom seem much more settled. However, as the priest begins to read their vows, the church doors burst open and in stagger a trio of Joseph’s former girlfriends. Perhaps this wouldn’t be overly troubling in itself, only … they’re very dead … and yet roaming around, preying on the flesh of the wedding guests …
As panic ensues and the wedding party flee to a nearby room (where the priest attempts to continue his blessing), questions are raised as to why the zombies are there: who actually summoned them, and how?
TILL DEATH US DO PART was made available to review as a downloadable online file only, and therefore is not reviewed as a DVD would be. Although, for the record, it looked great in its sharp and vibrant widescreen presentation. Audio was English with forced Spanish subtitles.
Spanish film-fan/director Julian Lara has come a long way since his debut short, 2002’s EVIL NIGHT. That film was gory fun, an extension of his moviemaking aspirations which as a youngster were manifested through crude drawings and homemade efforts on his dad’s old video camcorder.
From there, Lara progressed by way of more short films to directing two features: DEADHUNTER: SEVILLIAN ZOMBIES and its sequel KILLING TWICE: A DEADHUNTER CHRONICLE.
Both films were micro-budget digital affairs that required a forgiving audience who could see past their obvious limitations to sift out the promise contained within. Happily, Lara makes good of any promise his earlier work showed with this 13-minute, English-speaking (his earlier work has all been in Spanish) piece.
First of all, it has to be said that TILL DEATH looks great. Shot on film and composed in luscious widescreen, it’s a highly colourful, attractive proposition. Aesthetically alone, it marks several significant leaps forward for the rising filmmaker. From the animated, Tim Burton-esque opening titles onwards, you know you’re getting something stylish.
And Lara does not disappoint. Not only does his film look extremely polished and even elegant, it benefits from a cast who can actually act. Editing is tight and proficient; FX are basic but reliable. Most of all, the director’s script manages to be funny and snappy without force: Lara has enough experience behind him to know how to approach humour and horror, and that he doesn’t need to push either to gain maximum effect. His growth as a storyteller is in tandem with his growth as a director.
My only gripe (I can live with the Nickelback-esque closing song, I swear) is that the whole thing is too short and therefore plays toward a mildly satisfying punchline when a longer running time would surely have allowed for a bigger and better climax.
Still, as trite as 13 minutes of screen time may seem, Lara’s film fits in a fair amount of gags (even repeated ones, such as when the groom’s brother finds love in the form of ‘pressure in the chest’ – just as his brother had previously suggested) and an escalation in tension which wholly convinces.
First and foremost, this is a comedy. And it’s a Spanish comedy at that, despite the English dialogue. From the opening music onwards, the Spanish influences are clear. Just try to take in its mixture of vivid colour, dark humour and quirky characters without thinking of Alex De La Iglesia or early Pedro Almodovar. It’s telling, too, that Lara lists the likes of Guillermo Del Toro and Paco Plaza amongst his closing titles ‘thank you’ list (along with Romero and many others).
Look out though for fanboy-pleasing gag nods to the likes of DAWN OF THE DEAD and BACK TO THE FUTURE …
A bit of a Jack-of-all-trades, Lara performs many roles in his films (including this one): producer, writer, director, contributing towards the FX, occasional actor etc. But this is the first of his films that really intimates how good he has the potential to be. Given a proper budget and a feature running time, I believe Lara now has the clout behind him to produce something truly worthwhile.
In the meantime, TILL DEATH US DO PART is an enjoyable, stylish but slightly frustrating (too short – it feels like a pre-credits sequence to a bigger and better feature) taster of what is hopefully to come.
Review by Stuart Willis
| Directed by Julian Lara |