Review of "I'll Bury You Tomorrow" (2002) DVD

Whatever happened to "so bad they're good" low-budget horror movies like Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Eating Raoul and Evil Dead? Nowadays it's mostly dismal, depressing "so bad they're bad" low budget horror flicks like Vulgar, Gacy, and I'll Bury You Tomorrow.

We meet the main characters in quick succession as an innocent-looking blonde stranger, Dolores Finley (Zoe Daelman Chlanda), blows into town with a mysterious and very heavy steamer trunk. She doesn't want anyone to touch it -- hm, what could be in there? She soon takes a job at the local "mom and pop" mortuary which is run by an odd couple, Nettie and Percival Beech (Katherine O'Sullivan and Bill Corry), and employs even odder workers (Jerry Murdock, and director/actor Alan Rowe Kelly). I'll Bury You Tomorrow whips through horror standbys like necrophilia, grave robbing, murder and insanity like a dwindling tornado, leaving us with a not-so-surprising "surprise ending".

When I read that I'll Bury You Tomorrow had won six international film festival awards, I was hopeful. Those hopes were, sadly, dashed just a few minutes into the movie. I'm willing to overlook bad acting in independent films; inexperienced actors seem to be par for the course in these things. I'm willing to accept some amateurish directing; after all, there is a learning curve for most people and a lot of auteurs have cut their teeth on horror. But when you pile bad acting on top of amateurish directing, then add appalling lighting and awful cinematography to the mix, the pyramid -- no matter how enthusiastic the cheerleaders -- must fall. There are too many continuity errors to count and even worse, several sequences on the DVD have dialogue that is not properly synched.

While I will admit there is a certain Grand Guignol appeal to I'll Bury You Tomorrow, and the over the top gore and special effects are well done, it just doesn't have oomph enough for me to recommend it. The awards and others -- including Canada's respected indie horror magazine, Rue Morgue -- do recommend this movie so I suggest you take it all with a grain of salt and make up your own mind.

If nothing else, it's an interesting lesson for potential filmmakers on what not to do with blocking, lighting, cinematography and editing. Or… maybe it's a really great, campy piece of shock/shlock cinema and I just missed the boat.

The DVD doesn't miss the boat when it comes to additional release material. If you are a fan of the film, then you will have plenty of extras to keep you entertained: There are trailers, deleted scenes, and bloopers.

Review by Staci Layne Wilson for Horror.com