Until Death (2002) User Reviews

Tries to be many things all at once but does nothing with them

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 26 January 2013]

Until Death doesn't look too bad and the acting, apart from the kids who are shambolic, is decent with the actors doing what they can but not embodying their roles. There is even a scene with Jamie Bower riding away from an explosion on a child's bicycle that I found absolutely hilarious but arguably for all the wrong reasons. Other than these, Until Death is a failure. The biggest problem is the story, it tries to be horror, drama and thriller all at once and fails at all three, with the supernatural horror elements suffering from a lack of genuine terror and nobody seeming to care about their situation, the dramatic elements felt forced and predictable and the thriller elements also fail because there is nowhere near enough suspense. The flashbacks just leaps about and only succeeds in confusing the story rather than developing it. On top of that, the whole movie is dully paced and the ending is way too obvious. The script is also very muddled and all-over the place, like the story it would have benefited much more if they had stuck to one genre instead of trying to do too much. The music is overbearing and generic, especially in the ending where it goes well overboard in the dramatic effect department, while the direction shows someone who had little idea of what to do with everything and the characters have no substance whatsoever to them. Overall, a dull and unsatisfying movie that tries to do too much, thankfully it is competently made and acted and has one fun moment that saves it from total disaster. But if you're wondering whether that is counting towards a recommendation, I'll say nowhere near close enough. 3/10 Bethany Cox