Bury Me When I'm Dead

This was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Mitch from Millennial PR. He reached out to see if I'd be interested in watching the screener for review. I confirmed that this film was in the horror genre. Other than that, I knew the title. I came into this one blind.

Synopsis: after failing to keep his wife's dying wish, a series of tragic events leads Henry to believe she's returned to get revenge.

We are following a couple. The lead is Henry Samsa (Devon Terrell). He's married to Catherine (Charlotte Hope). They are planning to move to California, so they're finalizing details. One of which is buying a van. Henry and Catherine own a flower shop together. They have an employee named Rebecca Gregor (Makenzie Leigh). Something of note, Henry and her seem more friendly than normal. Things get derailed when Catherine has a seizure.

It turns out after a series of tests; she has terminal cancer. She decides to forgo treatment. They visit her parents, Patricia (Roxanne Heart) and Gary (Richard Bekins), to break the news. They ask Henry to give them privacy so he goes to the car. Gary follows him out to make an ultimatum. Catherine's last wish is her remains is to be buried in a clearing near a cabin that the family owns in New Hampshire. Gary warns him that if he goes through with it, he will make his life a living hell. He wants her body returned for a proper burial.

On their drive up, we meet a local who knows Catherine well. His name is Buck Campbell (Mike Houston). He is friendly toward Henry, but he's closed off. It is also on this drive that Henry gets a voicemail from Rebecca confirming that they were having an affair. She's also pregnant. Abortion is her first option, but that changes as she considers it.

At the cabin we see that Henry is doing what he can for his wife. She takes him to where she wants to be buried. Tells her about what she wants done with acorns. It is also during this stretch that we see Henry isn't a great husband. He is an alcoholic. He purchases a bottle, gets drunk in the car and passes out. When he comes inside, Catherine is up. She cannot feel her legs and needs to be cleaned up. It isn't too much longer from here that she passes away.

Henry does what Gary wanted, but this older man doesn't hold up his end of the deal. There are a series of events that go into motion which include being told to vacate the condo, his car gets towed, his assets are frozen and someone attacks his lawyer. Desperate times call for desperate measures and he starts to wonder if he's cursed for not honoring his late wife's final request.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that I'm not fully sure that this is a horror movie. I'll still include it since it is listed that way on the Internet Movie Database and Letterboxd. The tone is dark and depressing. That could also make it a drama. I know that Henry believes he's seeing things. There were a couple of surreal dream sequences. As things continue to happen to him that are bad, he finally believes it is a curse from his deceased wife. I don't recall seeing anything outside of misfortunate events happening to someone I don't necessarily care for. That's where I want to end my opening thoughts.

Let's then start with our lead character Henry, since this is truly a character study of him. Terrell plays this emotionless. It is interesting because from the start to finish, there is very little we get out of him. He is so stoic. That's not to say there isn't character growth. He makes me mad that he is cheating on his wife. He seems to care more for Rebecca, but he is planning to move in with his wife until her diagnosis. That feels like he's getting his cake and eating it too. Now bad things do happen to derail that. By the end, he almost makes a horrible decision that I wouldn't fault him doing. He then decides to get clean before the most horrific things happen continuously. I didn't care for Terrell's performance since Henry comes off as a sociopath.

Now I know that I've already laid out what could make this a horror film. Is Henry cursed, or is bad karma creating self-fulfilling prophecies? His only recall is surreal nightmares, like sex with Rebecca changing into Catherine. Good filmmaking used focus and close-ups well. Henry tells Rebecca that he saw a ghost, but nothing indicates this. Gary is messing with Henry, as he said he would. This feels more like Henry's bad actions are being punished by the universe, not a ghost seeking revenge.

That should be enough for the story so over to the acting performances. I've already said that I didn't care for Terrell. Hope was fine. We get an idea of who she is before she passes away. Regardless if there is a haunting, her specter is plaguing Henry mentally. Leigh is fine in her role as the other woman. It bothers me that she is messing with a married man, knows it but doesn't necessarily seem to care. The true villain is Bekins. He has money and power to ruin this guy's life. It would be one thing if he knew he was cheating on her, but I don't think he ever knows. Hart and Houston were fine in their roles. The rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking aspects. This is where I'll give credit. This is well-made. The cinematography does well in capturing where this is set. I love showing nature and how remote things are when they go to the cabin. They do well with the framing and the look of the dreams. I love the use of colored filters there. That is a good touch to incorporate in the surreal feel. This is limited in the use of effects. It also doesn't need them. This is more about the journey for our lead character, then as we go on for Rebecca. The sound design and music were good to help build the atmosphere.

In conclusion, this is a film that ultimately functions more as a dark drama than a traditional horror movie. While it flirts with the idea of a supernatural curse and revenge from beyond the grave, the narrative largely focuses on Henry's downward spiral and the consequences of his actions. Despite strong filmmaking aspects like cinematography and sound design, the lack of a compelling lead performance and the ambiguity around its genre classification make it difficult to recommend to those specifically seeking a horror experience.

My Rating: 6 out of 10.