Our Deadly Vows

The last few years have been good ones for African American horror, with a number of new talents making a big impression. Alongside the mainstream successes of Jordan Peele have been independent works like Bad Hair, Antebellum and Death Ranch, all speaking to previously neglected audiences. Still, there’s a long way to go to achieve a proportionate presence in genre cinema, so it’s good to see a contribution from Chris Chalk, whose talent as an actor made him a standout in the likes of Gotham, Detroit and Godzilla Vs. Kong. Unfortunately, whilst his direction is effective and the acting is good all round, the script falls short of the mark.

Chalk plays Chance, whom we see in the opening scene exchanging wedding vows with Grace (KD Chalk). A year later, they’re preparing to move to another state where Grace has got a job. She’s written a successful book but feels that it’s time to focus on making a reliable living, whilst Chance continues to try and develop his (ahem) more prosaic writing career and worries that she lacks the confidence to really develop her potential. Her friends, he says, are always putting her down or getting in her way. Nevertheless, he’s agreed that before they go they will visit some of those friends, Remy (Eden Marryshow) and Mila (Cesa Pledger), who are hosting a combination anniversary and leaving party for them in their remote woodland home.

“Wait a minute,” you may say – “Is that a cabin in the woods?” Well not quite, but it may as well be. A white neighbour loiters by the fence, giving them suspicious glares, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone else within screaming distance. Before long they are joined by other friends: the woman whom Mila is having a secret affair with and her unwitting other half, plus a guy who is persistently a dick to Chance for no good reason, and his partner, who apologises for him frequently, even when she’s the one in the firing line. Intent on showing everyone how manly he is, this guy has also brought a bow and arrows to the party, but when push comes to shove, it will take more than that to survive the night.

The characters are mostly pretty well fleshed out and the actors have fun developing them. Early scenes in which we get to enjoy the group dynamic comprise the most interesting part of the film, and some of the tensions between the friends are more compelling when explored in this low key way, keeping us guessing as to when discoveries will be made or somebody will run out of patience. Chris Chalk’s own absence from the screen for a significant part of the film is disappointing but understandable – it’s tough directing and acting at the same time, especially when one has limited experience of the former. As the film shifts gears and moves into slasher movie territory, he does a good job of keeping viewers nervous, building on the affection we’ve developed for (at least some of) the characters and using the tight confines of the house to good effect visually.

Despite these assets, the film begins to struggle at this point. Some of the pacing is off, with acts of violence feeling rushed and a bit peremptory, and at times it’s not really clear what’s going on. It’s easy to become distracted wondering about what’s happening offscreen at times when the director clearly wants us to focus on what we’re looking at directly. Whilst the central idea could have been made to work (even if it’s not all that original), it’s clumsily handled at the denouement. KD Chalk works hard to add some ambiguity to a key scene but the film squanders it.

Every writer who watches this will sympathise. It’s all too easy to find oneself in a situation where a narrative isn’t quite coming together, and become frustrated to the point of trying to force it. Our Deadly Vows simply needed more time at the development stage. It still has a lot going for it, and showcases a fair bit of talent, it just isn’t ready to do the job it sets out to do. One really hopes that Chalk and his team will get another chance.