OOP DVD
Ladies and Germs, I’m a B-movie junky. I fully admit to watching and enjoying Sci-Fi Channel original films. Anytime I can watch a B-movie, I do. There’s never any pretension when watching a B-movie, they know what they are…you know what they are…no sense pretending they’re anything other than cheap mindless entertainment. There are, however, exceptions to the “cheap mindless” label. Sometimes you’ll come across a low budget film that really grabs you by the jewels.
Having my jewels grabbed is exactly the feeling I got when I was first able to sit down and watch Alan Kelly Rowe’s I’ll Bury You Tomorrow. Imagine watching a B-movie with the gothic atmosphere of Hammer, artistic corpse lovin’ mayhem of a Jorge Buttgereit and shot-on-video PBS aesthetic and you’re halfway there. Watching I’ll Bury You Tomorrow was like watching a ‘60’s Brit comedy gone very very wrong.
IBYT is a unique and original film; a disturbing piece of independent cinema destined to be a cult classic. Alan Kelly Rowe is independent horror’s answer to John Waters.
When the mysterious Dolores (Zoe Daelman Chlanda) rolls into Port Oram on the train, she’s a woman on a mission. She’s got her eyes set on the mortician’s assistant job at Beech’s Funeral Home. Percival Beech (Bill Corry of Header) invites her in and she’s introduced to Mr. Beech’s wife Nettie (Katherine O’Sullivan), makeup artist Corey (Alan Kelly Rowe) and odd job man Jake Giraldi (Jerry Murdock) and invited to watch Mr. Beech work on the recently deceased. So impressed by her knowledge, Mr. Beech allows Dolores to work on the corpse herself!
Nettie takes a liking to Dolores as she reminds her of their dead daughter Sharon and she convinces Mr. Beech to hire Dolores on and they give her room and board at the funeral home. Not all is quite right with Dolores though, she seems to be having disturbing visions and a sick sexual attraction to the dead!
Port Oram may be a quiet town but evil is most definitely afoot! Jake and Corey are running a little body theft ring selling stolen corpses but the stakes are getting higher as the buyer begins demanding younger bodies. Jake is also concerned that Dolores, now that she’s living in the funeral home, may get in their way.
Tragedy strikes Port Oram when Eddie (P.J. Mehaffey), the younger brother of local barmaid Ellen (Kristen Overdurf), dies at the scene of a car accident, local lawman Mitch Giraldi (Jerry Murdock) suspects he may have been run off the road. Eddie’s body offers Jake and Corey the perfect opportunity to secure themselves a younger corpse. Dolores also has her sights on Eddie though…for some good old fashion corpse humpin’!
Will Mr. Beech discover Jake and Corey’s corpse stealing operation? Will Dolores finally reveal her true reason for coming to Port Oram? What vile deed is Dolores hiding in the trunk in her room?
Jake is on to Dolores, Jake’s brother Mitch is on to Jake and Corey is about to become a casualty of a most heinous murder! Who will be left standing in the end?
I’ll Bury You Tomorrow is a fantastic example of what a serious independent filmmaker can do when he sets his mind to it. There was no need for Frat house humor or gross out tactics, IBYT is a classy, well-written tale that harkens back to the days of original, atmospheric horror…true horror. You know, come to think of it…that’s exactly what I’ll Bury You Tomorrow is…CLASSY.
The acting, despite being low budget and indie, was quite good with stand out performances by Zoe Daelman Chlanda as Dolores, director Alan Kelly Rowe as Corey and Jerry Murdock’s incredible performance as brothers Mitch and Jake. I was actually shocked to find out they were the same person! Jake Giraldi is this sleazy, icky cokehead; you can almost smell the whiskey, Brut cologne and unwashed ass. Mitch, on the other hand, is a clean-cut, upstanding guy and an honest cop to boot. You can just smell the Old Spice can’t ya?
The “gore” sequences are effective; the characters were interesting and the dialogue solid. Not to take anything away from the actors and their wonderful work but the true stars of IBYT are director Rowe and whatever genius secured all those phenomenal locations the film was shot at! It’s so rare to find a film with such beautiful sets and locations on low budgets these days.
Alright, I’ll stop raving. I’m sure some of you are wondering if there were any downsides to this film and I’m being as truthful as I can when I say…there are none. The cinematography was top notch, the production design was inspired and the soundtrack was never distracting. Perhaps the only thing I could say was there was occasionally some “issues” with the sound. *shrugs*
If you’re all about intelligent horror that emphasizes mood and story over cheap scares and tits, this is a must-see. If you’re all about cheap scares and tits, well…Zoe’s got a great rack and she ain’t afraid to show it! There’s something for everyone and extras galore.
Heretic Films and Alan Kelly Rowe should be commended! I highly recommend watching I’ll Bury You Tomorrow! You won’t be disappointed. Enjoy!
