Bury Me When I’m Dead

New Age hokem is always a headache, but that will be especially true for Henry Samsa. His terminally ill wife Catherine made him promise to bury her in the woods with acorns embedded within her body, so she could blossom into a tree, or something like that. Instead, he brings her back to civilization for a proper burial, so now she is apparently haunting him in director-screenwriter Seobald Krebs’ Bury Me When I’m Dead, which releases today on VOD.

Samsa has a lot to brood over and brood and brood and brood. He cheated on his wife with their floral shop employee Rebecca Gregor, but she let him off the hook for that. She only asks for her natural burial (which probably violates multiple laws, as well as health and environmental regulations). However, her powerful father, Gary Higdon, secretly lays down the law with Samsa—bring her body home, or else. So he does, but Higdon does the “or else” anyway.

Basically, Higdon financially ruins Samsa out of spite. To make matters worse, the bereaved husband starts having visions that lead him to suspect his wife is haunting him. However, it is a subtle, quiet haunting. At least Samsa never turns into a bug, like his Kafkaesque namesake.

Remember when horror movies were fun? Clearly, Krebs aimed for an “elevated” “post-horror” kind of vibe, but the results are acutely angsty and often downright dreary. This is no Don’t Look Now, not by a long shot. Honestly, watching this film felt like homework.

Still, if you appreciate watching people intently stare off into space, then you will be enraptured by the primary cast. Whereas, for those of us with more plebeian tastes, the film quickly grows listless and tiresome. Easily the most interesting and energetic performance comes from Mike Houston playing Catherine’s childhood friend, who claims to have also attended some of the sex parties hosted by her parents. If you’re wondering, “huh, what?,” unfortunately Krebs had no idea how to follow-up on that out of left field admission.

Give Krebs all due credit, because he rigorously adheres to his languorously detached aesthetic approach. It feels like being trapped in someone else’s bad dream. Regrettably, the boldness of his efforts does not convert into a grabby viewing experience. Not Recommended, Bury Me When I’m Dead releases today (7/18) on VOD.