What would you do if you had the opportunity to bring back the ones you loved and lost? Premiering at this year’s Nightstream Film Festival is Terence Krey’s emotional thriller, An Unquiet Grave, a film that explores the grief that follows the death of a loved one in our protagonist, Jamie (Jacob A. Ware), a man who lost his wife, Julia, to a drunk driver in a tragic car crash a year prior. Jamie employs the help of Julia’s twin sister, Ava (Christine Nyland), to return to the site of the accident where Julia died and perform a ritual. Unbeknownst to Ava, however, is Jamie’s true intention with this ritual and the dire consequences that lay ahead.

“I don’t know how to be here with you like this.” An Unquiet Grave will haunt you, and not just because of the idea of reanimation. Grief is something everyone will experience, an emotion that can permeate every part of your life, making the fears here felt universally. This is a powerful display that shows through the great performances of our two lead characters that no matter how hard you try, nothing will ever be the same after losing someone, even if everything in your life looks the same on the outside. There is a permanent emptiness that can be felt not just emotionally but also physically, as if the skin on your body is just barely holding you together, and An Unquiet Grave perfectly encapsulates this. 

An Unquiet Grave is ultimately about reaching acceptance. Krey puts forth a film that seems as though it was never there to scare you, but in a way, to comfort and to bring us through the various stages of grief until we reach an end that feels so familiar.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Jacob A. Ware, Christine Nyland

DIRECTOR: Terence Krey

WRITERS: Terence Krey, Christine Nyland

SYNOPSIS: Jamie, a man who lost his wife in a car accident a year ago, employs the help of his sister-in-law, Ava, to perform a ritual.