Death Waits For No Man, 2017.
Directed by Armin Siljkovic
Starring Angelique Pretorius, Bradley Snedeker, Corey Rieger, and Travis Myers.
SYNOPSIS:
A neon art collector seduces a lone drifter into killing her abusive husband.
Death Waits For No Man is an intriguing but uneven thriller by writer and director Armin Siljkovic. His first full length feature, it follows a lone drifter called Uzol (Snedeker) who ends up in a cat and mouse game when abused wife Lily (Pretorius) asks him to kill her husband Sinclair (Rieger). Stuck in the marital home, the power between the trio continually shifts until it all comes to a violent head.
With an 80 minute run time, there’s a lot to pack in to this film and whilst it does keep a speedy pace in terms of drama and is never dull; this does mean that a lot of ideas are raised and then left unexplored. We learn little about Uzol other than he’s just left the military, has had some kind of wound to his lower half and has to inject himself with testosterone. The whole film takes place on Veterans Day and Sinclair spends his time recounting his army days and continually labouring the point. Is this a comment from Siljkovic about the treatment of veterans or is it merely a plot device? At times it seems that the film is about different types of masculinity but it is never clear and ultimately feels quite muddled. Whilst a film should always make you think and ask questions, there are so many here that it feels almost redundant to even start looking for an explanation.
The performances from Snedeker and Rieger are solid. Rieger in particular gets the most character development and his menacing presence throughout the film is what holds it together. Pretorious doesn’t fair as well with little to do then flit between being a damsel and a femme fatale.
Where Death Waits For No Man succeeds is in its style. Lily is a neon art collector and Siljkovic uses the various colours to demonstrate the tone of each scene and there are a number of effective transitions that elevate this to more than a standard thriller. The score is also put together exceptionally well and the single setting utilises the space and the tension between the trio is elevated. There are no gimmicky camera angles or student film traits, just solid direction from a promising film maker.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Helen Murdoch
Originally published September 20, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
