The most memorable and affecting horror films often examine how we process grief. That notion of dealing with unimaginable loss and the disastrous paths it can lead to constitute the backbone of Terence Krey’s An Unquiet Grave, a heartbreaking and eerie masterclass in low-budget horror filmmaking.

On the one-year anniversary of his wife’s death in a car crash, Jamie (Jacob A. Ware, Graves) enlists his wife’s sister, Ava (Christine Nyland, also of Graves), to help him perform a ritual that he insists will allow them to speak with her again. However, Jamie hasn’t told Ava the full extent of his devious plan; the ritual does bring his wife back, but her mind is resuscitated within Ava’s body. Confused and distraught after her return, she tries to come to grips with her new lease on life and her confusing relationship with Jamie, while struggling with the fate of her beloved sister. Meanwhile, something in the woods surrounding their cabin is inching closer, setting up a haunting confrontation.

An Unquiet Grave is a riveting and ultimately tragic story of grief, told in a minimalist style that emphasizes the two main performances from Jacob A. Ware and Christine Nyland, who does a convincing job of playing both Ava and her sister (Nyland also co-wrote the script with director Terence Krey). A two-hander like this lives or dies by its actors and the pair of them do incredible work showcasing the wide range of conflicting emotions they go through in this single day.

Terence Krey makes the most out of a modest budget by emphasizing the terrifying stillness of the secluded woods they perform the ritual in, and the confused looks on “Ava’s” face when her sister begins to understand that she has returned from the grave, and the incomprehensible reason she is back.

High concept horror films and effects-heavy gore fests have their place, but you can’t beat the impact of a well-told supernatural film like this, which feels like a late-night campfire story come to life.

An Unquiet Grave streamed as part of the virtual NIGHTSTREAM festival. You can rent the film through October 14; tickets are available here. 

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