Sombre, understated and atmospheric, this indie thriller toys with the question of whether the fateful consequences that follow a young woman’s death are supernatural or coincidental. While it has its own stylistic flourishes, it’s one of those ‘ghostly’ tales that leaves its audience to ponder if anything otherworldly has taken place.
Thirtysomething slacker Henry (Devon Terrell) finds his life turned upside down by the terminal cancer diagnosis of his wife Catherine (Charlotte Hope). Her dying wish is to be buried in the remote forest near her childhood home. But while Catherine is a hippy wild child, her domineering and extremely wealthy father Gary (Richard Bekins) will not countenance his daughter’s final resting place being anything other than the family’s cemetery plot. When Gary threatens to strip Henry of all of the assets and property he might otherwise inherit, Henry reneges on his commitment to honour Catherine’s wish. What Henry soon discovers is that his betrayal of his dead wife will change his own life forever.
Writer-director Seabold Krebs leans into a slow-reveal, restrained style of storytelling. Aside from one intense moment that shows Henry’s grief-fueled night terrors, Krebs settles for a minimalist, naturalistic aesthetic. Henry is written as an emotionally distant character, and Terrell resists any temptation to invite easy audience sympathy for his plight. Krebs’ script helps to make Henry an unlikable protagonist, as the audience learns that this final betrayal of Catherine is not his first. The film delivers some decent payoffs, albeit with a logic-stretching Tales of the Unexpected vibe. But Bury Me’s determination to keep things ambiguous will frustrate those looking for ghost stories with sharper edges.
BURY ME WHEN I’M DEAD is released on UK streaming platforms from July 28th.
