Real-time possession shocker Bury The Devil burrows deep into the dementia-horror sub-genre, forcing evil to the surface with structural finesse, credible performances, and sinuous visuals.

Home care nurse Julia is looking after dementia patient Evelyn on a stormy night. As the evening progresses, strange events and behaviours convince Julia that Evelyn needs protecting; however, she soon realises that she must fight for her life against sinister forces. Director Adam O’Brien shows major improvement from his debut, the engaging but flawed Mom, with this technically accomplished and genuinely creepy chiller. Confident yet restrained, he vaunts the key attributes needed to handle a much bigger budget.

The real-time setting serves as an immersive tool to shape the narrative and pacing rather than a cheap gimmick. However, the one-shot dynamic is an illusion with many fade cuts detectable, but this doesn’t harm the film in the least, with one particularly flashy through-the-keyhole transition proving the filmmakers were never intent on fooling anyone.

As for one take, well, the first section of the film seems to be so, with a clear dialogue stumble left intact. After that, the film takes a direction into more conventional artistic territory. Once again, this helps rather than hinders the viewing experience as the cinematic mechanics ramp up in symbiosis with Julia’s chaotic spiral into sheer terror.

This mix of styles could have been messy, but with clever editing, earthy effects, and genre savvy payoffs, the result is a beautifully paced fright flick that ebbs its way to a satisfyingly morbid conclusion in a seemingly organic fashion. As such, we become dragged into the geography and emotional infrastructure of an end-of-life care nightmare through visual manipulation and plausible characterisations.

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There is much to admire in terms of sound design and camera trickery, but it is the exceptional acting work and astute screenplay that place Bury The Devil on a superior footing to other low-budget possession flicks. The character interactions swing between humility and acrimony, yet always flow with the same enveloping authenticity essential to audience empathy.

Dawn Ford is riveting as the gutsy Evelyn, a woman of great artistic talent and hidden survival instincts. She brings dignity, depth and sensitivity to a challenging role that could easily have slipped into tawdry emotional profiteering. Likewise, Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez is quietly sensational as the nurse struggling to equate professional dedication with knicker-shitting devilment. Intrinsically altruistic and fiercely protective in her obligation to shield vulnerable patients, her portrayal is grounded yet highly affecting.

Very few medical conditions hit harder than dementia, and any film looking to use its misery as a conduit for horror entertainment has a responsibility towards sensitivity. Bury The Devil skates on thin ice in this regard, but smart plot twists and underlying empathy keep it from crashing through into heartless waters. All in all, it’s an innovative and vigorous terror treat that is essential viewing for demonic possession fans and those who appreciate independent horror with heart in its technical endeavour.

★★★★

Screened at Glasgow Frightfest on March 6th / Jason Cavalier, Dawn Ford, Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez, Mark Anthony Krupa  / Dir: Adam O’Brien / Blue Finch Films / TBC

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