Jamie (Jacob A. Ware) can’t cope with the death of his wife Julia in a car accident. Somehow, he learns of a ritual that can bring her back to life, for a price. He needs the help of Julia’s twin sister Ava (Christine Nyland), who reluctantly agrees to his crazy request. So, on the anniversary of Julia’s death, the two go into the woods where she died to commit their ritual. Things don’t go quite like anyone expected or wanted, not just because of the price for the ritual Jamie never quite got around explaining to Ava but also because some broken things can’t be mended.
This is a thoughtful movie about grief, the horrible things we’d do to reawaken our pasts, and prices not worth paying. It is a very simple movie, as well, but simple because it, like the folk song that gave it its title, has been pared down until everything superfluous is gone. Directed by Terence Krey (who co-wrote with Nyland), this is certainly going to be one of those “not for everyone movies” I do particularly tend to like, moving slowly but surely, and avoiding everything big. Even the characters’ pain is treated in measured, even tones that lack melodrama; they don’t lack in emotion, though, it’s just emotion quietly whispered, expressed in glances of desperation and grief instead of loud and demonstrative ways.
Given this tone, the film obviously avoids big horror set pieces and jump scares, favouring the horror inside its characters, only providing those obvious shocks the narrative truly needs to function as a narrative instead of a pure mood piece. For me, this is a sign of focus, of filmmakers trusting in what they want to do and say instead of the things that would make their work easier to sell; in this case, without things devolving into self-indulgence. In fact, if there’s a thing An Unquiet Grave seems to indulge in, it’s the showing the truth about its characters.
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