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Welcome back to Creepy Catalog’s daily horror digest! Today’s movie isn’t quite what I expected, but you can read all about it below. Plus news and daily trivia!
Movie of the Day
From time to time we’ll cover movies on this site that aren’t strictly horror. Sometimes that’s because the movie is close enough to horror that it warrants discussion on a site written by and for horror fans. Other times we’ll cover a non-horror film because it is labeled and marketed as horror, and we don’t know that it isn’t labeled correctly until we actually watch it. Today’s movie of the day, Bury Me When I’m Dead, falls into the latter category.
Bury Me When I’m Dead is essentially a dark drama. There are numerous elements of a psychological thriller in there too, but it isn’t horror. Not in my opinion. The story is about a man, Henry, whose wife dies of a brain tumor caused by cancer. Her last wish is to be buried in a forest, but because of pressure from his awful (and litigious) father-in-law, he doesn’t honor her request. Henry’s life starts falling apart, and his guilt, combined with heavy drinking, leads him to believe that his former wife is getting revenge on him from the afterlife.
That sounds like a horror movie, sure. But it isn’t. The focus is almost entirely on the drama. The few hints that something supernatural might be happening can be explained easily through psychological means and the film’s subjective point of view. The movie is okay overall, but going into it expecting horror might set viewers up to wait for something that never happens.
As a dark drama, Bury Me When I’m Dead is okay. The first half of the movie sets the story up nicely, but the second half is a bit of a letdown. A random event (or is it karma, or Henry’s wife?!) plays a huge role in the finale, and another almost-random event ends the movie on a sour note. Now, I love dark and depressing endings, but this one just feels kind of empty. There are positives in the film, and I talk about them a little more in my full review, but overall Bury Me When I’m Dead is just okay.
If you want to check it out, it’s available as a digital rental on Prime Video. Just please don’t pay attention to the trailer. It contains a gigantic spoiler.
Related Movie Recommendation
Released in 2024, Bag of Lies is a low-budget film that has a vibe similar to Bury Me When I’m Dead, but it is most definitely horror. Claire is dying of cancer, and her husband Matt is having a hard time dealing with that reality. Matt decides to perform a ritual using a mysterious bag that he’s told has the power to heal. After the ritual, Matt starts experiencing unsettling supernatural events that increase in intensity, while at the same time he is growing more distant from Claire. I wrote a review about it, and you can stream Bag of Lies on Tubi.
In the News
- In a Violent Nature 2 will begin production in Canada this September. (Variety)
- Other trailers released yesterday:
- A new trailer for Predator: Badlands
- The Rows
Birthdays
Willem Dafoe was born July 22, 1955. Willem’s latest horror movie is Nosferatu (2024), and he has a good number of additional horror roles throughout his career. He was Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Donald Kimball in American Psycho (2000), Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse (2019), and the nameless co-lead (credited as He) in Antichrist (2009). He’s reportedly in talks to appear in Robert Eggers’ Werwulf.
Sharni Vinson was born on this day in 1983. Sharni’s horror roles include You’re Next (2011), Bait (2012), and House on Willow Street (2016).
Events on This Day
The Hills Have Eyes premiered in theaters on July 22nd, 1977. Wes Craven didn’t necessarily want to make another horror movie after The Last House on the Left (1972), but with limited options, he agreed to make The Hills Have Eyes. It turned out to be an even bigger success than his previous film.
On this day in 2005, The Devil’s Rejects was released. This sequel is somehow even darker than the movie that preceded it, House of 1000 Corpses. In my opinion it’s also the superior film, and Rob Zombie’s best movie to date.
The surprisingly good supernatural horror movie Lights Out started its wide theatrical release on July 22nd, 2016. Rumors of a sequel began circulating years ago, but to this day nothing has happened with it. Our fingers are still crossed.
Jordan Peele’s Nope came out in theaters on July 22nd, 2022. The movie combines spectacle and sharp commentary to create a truly unique take on a science-fiction monster movie.
Thanks as always for reading. Hopefully tomorrow’s movie will be more horror-forward in its approach!
