BURY THE DEVIL movie poster | ©2026 Brainstorm Media

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Dawn Ford, Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez, Bill Rowat, Mark Krupa, Jason Cavalier, Steve “Liquid” Hawley
Writers: John Petrizzi & Brad Hodson, story by Adam O’Brien
Director: Adam O’Brien
Distributor: Brainstorm Media
Release Date: August 21, 2026

BURY THE DEVIL begins with a quote from THE BOOK OF ATTRITION (invented by the filmmakers), which cites the demon Elim as a being who wears down his adversaries until he can absorb them. Fair enough.

We then get a long shot of what looks like an isolated facility, engulfed by flames, and hear a woman screaming.

We then get a bracing notice that we’re going to flash back to “75 minutes ago.” On the one hand, that promises fast pacing. On the other hand, that seems a bit short for attrition to set in. Maybe BURY THE DEVIL should have used a different ominous statement to introduce Elim.

We are momentarily confused when we find ourselves looking into the windows of a large residence that nevertheless doesn’t seem to be as enormous as it appeared from the outside. A thunderstorm is raging.

We see an old woman, Evelyn (Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez), brushing her hair in the mirror. The camera seamlessly goes through the window. Then we meet Julia (Dawn Ford), a young woman who is new on the job as Evelyn’s caregiver. Julia is patient with her charge when Evelyn repeats things or addresses Julia as Sarah, Evelyn’s daughter who passed away.

Evelyn invites Julia to say bedtime prayers with her and has quite an unusual version of “Now I lay me down to sleep.” This cues the audience into what’s likely going on, though we can’t blame Julia for thinking it’s just the eccentricity of a woman whose mind is wandering.

However, we can and do fault Julia for how she deals with Evelyn’s former husband, Randall (Bill Rowat). Randall shows up at the house unannounced in response to a letter that Evelyn sent to him.

The action ramps up more slowly than we might expect given the running time (minus credits, BURY THE DEVIL is 78 minutes in length).

By then, director Adam O’Brien and screenwriters John Petrizzi & Brad Hodson, working from O’Brien’s story, have provided fewer scares than unanswered mysteries. By the finale, we can surmise who hired Julia and why, but why now?

Additionally, given what the various goals are, why did Evelyn send the letter to Randall? Why did it take the letter to get him to come over? Why doesn’t Randall give Julia an easy-to-understand explanation (“you know Evelyn has dementia; I’m concerned she may be dangerous”) so that she can accept his presence? Why does the demon decide to provide Julia with audio exposition? When we arrive at the conclusion, we have even more queries.

The upshot is that we’re so preoccupied with trying to understand the storytelling that other elements don’t carry the impact that they should. There’s meant to be symmetry between Evelyn’s guilt about her daughter and Julia’s guilt about her mother, but we hear it rather than feel it.

BURY THE DEAD doesn’t have visible edits, so that the whole film appears as one long uninterrupted take. Those familiar with techniques as to how this can be accomplished will recognize crossover points, but these are handled smoothly and everything looks good. It’s just that this stylistic choice doesn’t add much in terms of speed or effect.

BURY THE DEAD has been made well on a budget, but narratively, it comes up short.

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