by James Fletcher
Having honed his genre chops directing the acclaimed short films Tommy (2020) and The Coatmaker (2018), Australian filmmaker Scott Dale, who now operates as S.K. Dale, delivers his first feature length film Till Death.
Landing somewhere between a darkly comedic survival thriller and psychological horror, the film stars Megan Fox – in a welcome return to the horror genre – as Emma, a disillusioned trophy wife whose indiscretions eventually leave her trapped in a remote lake house during the dead of winter, handcuffed to her dead sociopathic husband while a deranged killer is out for revenge.
And while it sounds like a lot, Dale’s deft handling of the narrative, and his inspired casting, which also includes Eoin Macken in a small but pivotal role and Australia’s own Callan Mulvey, has produced a tense cat-and-mouse actioner with Fox effectively carrying the film from start to bloody finish.
“When I came on board as the director, we spent a few months developing the script,” explains Dale from his Melbourne apartment, “and then we decided to start casting for our main protagonist.
“It was actually Jeffrey Greenstein, the producer from Millennium Films who put Megan Fox’s name out there. And, I admit, I was a little bit taken aback.
“I figured we were just going to have to wait a month, and then hear a ‘no’ from her. I honestly didn’t understand why we were going for her, for someone that big.
“But, about a week later I got a call saying that she had said ‘yes’ and she wanted to talk.”
While Fox’s name managed to add star power to Till Death’s modest beginnings, the actor’s recent controversies surrounding her verbal feud with former directors and her activism toward women’s rights and shared experiences in the film industry has drawn certain targets on her projects of choice, a situation Dale reveals he was aware of, but chose to ignore, instead betting on the probable benefits outweighing any negative stigma.
“Yeah, it wasn’t that it wasn’t taken into account,” he elaborates when the subject arises. “But I’m such a big fan of Jennifer’s Body. And so, I was excited to see her come back into a genre film. I just knew people would be ready to see her take on a role like this, and in a genre like this.
“I was excited by that. Jennifer’s Body didn’t get a whole lot of love when it first came out, but over the years it’s built up this large cult following.
“So, it was really exciting to me, this idea of Megan re-entering this genre and trying different characters; someone that’s a little bit more grown-up and mature, but still being able to play in this ballpark.”
A ballpark which S.K. himself has firmly embraced with his own particular brand of storytelling; haaving garnered acclaim with his 2018 short film The Coatmaker, a masterful four-minute supernatural horror, which he also wrote and produced, S.K. credits his feature length début to the success of his fledgling efforts.
“The Coatmaker, which was a little horror, jump-scare type of short, got me a bit of attention. And through my manager it set me out with a few meetings and that led me to the script for Till Death.
“I definitely love playing in his genre. Hopefully, I can expand into other genres and create different characters. But I definitely found it suitable, as a first time director, to come into this genre.
“I believe that the horror genre is one of the only genres left where you can still be original. You don’t have to have something based on IP, and you can try something a bit different.”
Originally penned by producer/writer Jason Carvey, whose previous efforts include the VHS Massacre films and the 2006 John Krasinski starrer A New Wave, the script for Till Death spent time on Hollywood’s ‘Blood List’, a kind of short-list for the best un-produced horror screenplays, before landing on Dale’s desk, where it underwent a number of rewrites to incorporate the Melbourne born director’s own touches, including his panache for darkly ironic humour.
“I mean, for me, especially the first time I read it, it felt like it was about this woman who was stuck in a lifeless marriage… and now she’s stuck, literally to a lifeless husband, and that was really compelling.
“And so, we developed the script in a way to take the audience down memory lane, whether it’s the wedding dress, those photos in the dark room, the wedding song, all those elements were designed to give you a little taste of her past. She obviously had a lot of trauma that she’s gone through, and that’s slowly coming back to haunt her.
“It’s an action packed thriller. One of those films that’s just a rollercoaster of a ride.”
Till Death is available on Digital and DVD from August 4, 2021
