Burial (II) (2022) User Reviews

Remember Death

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 26 September 2022]

The film starts Christmas 1991. A man breaks into the home of Anna Marshall (Harriet Walter). She subdues him and they exchange words. She tells him of her work as a Russian intelligence officer during the war. This skin head believes she has evidence that Hitler survived the war and is covering it up.

The film regresses back to Berlin 1945 where Anna, now known as Lt. Brana Brodskaya is with a crate that is about coffin size. Not hard to guess what is in the box as the IMDB by-line spoils the plot. They are to take the box back to Stalin and do so very quietly. Along the way the run into trouble in Poland with Werewolves (German snipers who stayed behind).

The film is more interesting when you don't know what is in the box. I would have preferred a real werewolf or vampire. While it is not a bad film, the ending was hardly climatic and there were no real great scenes except for the one with the werewolf in it.

Guide: F-word. Off screen rape. No nudity.

Uncertain

[avindugunasinghe · 5/10 · 28 January 2023]

Burial is decent enough post WWII story that was horrifyingly mislabeled. Only substance that's even remotely haunting is that a group of soldiers carrying a casket around. In aspects of a war movie Burial manages to present yet another side story of the post WW society that's still grasping the new realities. Gloomy skies with dark woods beneath are tone setters for a darkness refusing to cease it's existence. Cast puts up a fine performance to portray the exhausted soldiers struggling to finish up the final assignment. Apart from it's historical value there's hardly anything that sparks for this flick. But it would pass the time just fine.

Not a horror movie! Not a werewolf movie!!

[robls87 · 4/10 · 2 August 2023]

The tagline "attacked by nazi werewolves" is extremely misleading. The term is also used for nazis behind enemy lines fighting guerrilla style. There are no supernatural elements in this movie. As soon as I figured that out I turned it off.

I can't tell if this is a purposeful misdirection or just sloppy marketing. It definitely does not belong in the horror category, which also adds to the 'werewolf' misdirection.

The problem is I am sure this is a pretty decent movie. From what I saw everything looked well done and well acted. The story itself seemed interesting enough, it's just when I turned the movie on I wanted a werewolf movie.

Misleading and inaccurate

[sillylilpuppet · 3/10 · 12 January 2023]

As others said, this movie has no supernatural or horror elements besides some intense moments with out of place music. Annoying, since it keeps popping up with actual supernatural horror and werewolf movies. It also has a lot of historic inaccuracies, far more than justifiable for plot, so I can't even recommend it for history buffs. It's also somewhat hard to follow at times as while the audio is 99% in English (with mostly English actors as well), they're supposed to be switching between Russian, Polish, and German with only a throwaway sentence to indicate the change in language. Three stars if only because it does look decent for the budget and none of the actors are completely terrible.

Werewolves?

[terrymike-77740 · 1/10 · 20 September 2022]

I hate tuning into movies that are advertised as being horror films, and turn out to be anything but. "Burial" is one of those movies.

The premise is that Russian soldiers near the end of WWII find Adolf Hitler's remains, and are tasked with transporting the corpse to Moscow so that Josef Stalin can see the body with his own eyes. According to the promos for this farce, the Russian soldiers are targeted by Naxi werewolves who are intent on recovering Hitler's corpse.

Instead of horror movie lycanthropes, however, the "werewolves" are Nazi soldiers and sympathizers. One of them even runs around in a fur suit with an attached wolf head. There are no supernatural creatures in this movie at all. It's a war film, not a horror movie, and it's not even a very good one. So, don't be mislead and tune in expecting horror movie.

Some films should stay buried.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 30 August 2022]

Starring Tom Felton: that was enough to raise red flags, but I was willing to give the film a chance -- after all, surely a WWII film with werewolves can't be all bad. Sadly, despite the film premiering at London's FrightFest, Burial isn't a horror film at all: the werewolves in question aren't of the hairy, fanged, supernatural kind, but are instead German resistance fighters (known as Werwolf). This is a war film, and a bloody boring one at that.

The film opens as a man breaks into the home of an old woman, a Russian soldier during WWII, looking to learn about her secret wartime mission. The old woman tasers the intruder, handcuffs him to a radiator, drugs him, and recounts her tale about how she was tasked with transporting Hitler's body back to Stalin in Moscow...

Writer/director Ben Parker seems to be under the illusion that he is saying something profound about the nature of evil, directing with all seriousness, despite the hilarity that ensues from the terrible script and even worse performances. Not one of the actors playing Russians attempt an accent: most sound like they're from London, although I did detect an Irish accent at one point; meanwhile, the Germans are played by Estonians, as if vaguely European would do the trick.

The dull as ditchwater WWII scenes see the Russians encountering the Werwolf, who have been ordered to retrieve Hitler's body; the fighting that ensues is tedious and difficult to follow (especially when you're fighting the urge to take a nap). Felton plays Lukasz, a Polish man of German heritage who helps the Russians to evade capture, and proves to be an even worse actor than Daniel Radcliffe. Hitler's dead body gives the best performance.

About the only positive thing I can say about Burial is that it guaranteed that the next two films of the day would be more enjoyable.

Good film, but not horror

[matthewmillerwriter · 7/10 · 1 January 2023]

It was on Shudder, which is a horror channel, so I watched it. I thought it was very good, especially for a lower-budget film. The acting was great, the concept was interesting, and it was certainly a thriller with a good plot. No doubt.

It was not, however, a horror movie. Thrills? Yes. Horror? No. There was also nothing supernatural in it.

I mean, when the title talks about Wehrwolves, and yes, I know who they were, you are expecting, I dunno, a werewolf or two? Nope. Nothing supernatural.

I supposed war itself is horror, yes. But it's basically a war film with an interesting premise, some good characters, some good action, and some thrills. As a film, it is good.

Definitely not a Horror film.

[ReelReviewer911 · 3/10 · 10 September 2022]

This movie was categorized as a horror film on Amazon. What a mistake! Definitely not a horror film.

With that being said, I was totally disappointed with this 6.99 rental. The film is watchable but more of a lower budget war film. War is horrific but this is not a horror film. Absolutely zero horror here. If looking for a decent lower budget war movie about small group of Russians transporting the dead body of Hitler, give it a shot otherwise I'd say run from this mess. This one is a bit of a bore with just enough to keep one viewing. This on could have been great given the premise but came up quite short.

Not supernatural but tense

[jmbovan-47-160173 · 6/10 · 2 January 2023]

This is a tense film detailing a Soviet group who are transporting back a coffin to Stalin at the end if the European side of WWII. In Poland, they are attacked by Nazis and have to fight their way for survival. There isn't anything supernatural as a main plotting in this film, but there are a couple moments that suggest something eerie is occurring. Don't expect more than a flash or two on this front. Still works simply from the force of the female lead as she pushes through the chaos around her as she desires to complete her mission. Overall, interesting film but some confusion given similar appearance of actors. Still worth a watch.

It's watchable

[jclenz · 4/10 · 3 September 2022]

For a low-budget movie Burial is ok. There's is one good scene in the forest that shows that the director has potential.

But really annoying is how the different languages of the charakters are managed:

The Russians and the Germans speak English among each other, but sometimes they speak Russian or German what really makes no sense in this context.

If the director wants to know how this is done, he should watch Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

Actually I was hoping for something interesting to happen at the end, but there's no twist or revelation.

The visual effects are good, especially the scenes of Berlin in ruines at the beginning of the movie.

The actors perfom well, I think I never saw any of them in a movie before.

The movie should only be watched when I do not find a better movie, but it should be easy to find a better movie.

Nifty Little WW2 Action Thriller

[jollyjumpup · 10/10 · 21 October 2022]

From the opening scene it's clear that we're dealing with a superbly directed, well-produced, well-written thriller. Despite an assumed modest budget, every aspect of this film is first class.

It starts with a very smart script, written by someone with above average knowledge about WW2, including the unique political landscape in Poland following the war. Like "Inglorious Basterds", this is a slice of alternative history, but less frivolous, told with a smaller budget but more compelling authenticity.

The cast is uniformly excellent and appealing. Charlotte Vega is both convincing and adorable as a Soviet officer leading a Russian squad on a secret mission. Nazi officers and "werewolf" guerillas are determined to thwart the mission, while some Polish peasants and partisans are caught in the middle, not happy to have either sets of "guests" in their country.

The production values are topnotch. The cinematography and period details are outstanding.

The costumes, right down to the proper fabric, are far above the usual for an indie war film.

The "werewolves" are obviously what cause the confusion about this being a horror film. The term refers to the real historical unit of Hitler youth and diehard Nazi sympathers formed with the intention of carrying on the war after Germany's surrender. Depicted in the film wearing animal skins to terrify the local peasantry, this apparently confused some less observant reviewers - who also missed the dialog explaining this in the movie.

If you're in the mood for a taut, fast-moving story and gritty hand-to-hand combat and realistic shoot-outs, you won't be disappointed.

What ... remains

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 10 October 2023]

No pun intended - I did not think this was going to be a horror movie. But I did not watch this on Shudder (which is known for being mostly horror movies - or is it solely? I don't know) ... what I can say is that the story or rather the storyteller and the character that sort of kickstarts the story hour ... well they are way more interesting than the main story we get to see.

Which is a fine story and well told. But the dynamic between the two characters at the beginning and the end .. well you can feel the tension and it is really quite something. Very well acted ... I would not have minded a ... sort of play with them two. But I also know it would only fill a short movie ... running time wise. Decent, but if you only watch a certain amount of movies, you might as well skip this one.

a rather dull...

[ops-52535 · 3/10 · 5 September 2022]

Silverscreen escapade blearing over the 20th centurys biggest conspiracy theories, is/was hitler still alive. The myth lives on among young extreme right wingers of the world so its no doupt why a film plotted this way has been made.allthough its historical preface it has not a clue of truehistorical basis, so its a mumbo jumbo mock up for the easy baited audience, including me the grumpy old man.

It has an interesting intro with a little ol lady handling a hudlum making me giggle with joy, but thats it. The rest is just a multi burialistic picnic on wooded sideroads from berlin to moscow, and a little by rail too. Theyre trying to pull it of with cgi's but its more of a dreamwork than a framework.

The cast is british, and 1 star is permitted to the descision not to use russian accent when recording the soundtrack, the acting effort is highly scripted and full of bull.... of nonsense.

So let this dramahorror pass by, werewolves neither exists, nor did gulliver, its a no recommend.

Misleading! The horror is I watched this retched film.

[ronbailey-21425 · 1/10 · 2 July 2023]

Sorry I had to copy and paste BA Harristons review but I couldn't come up with the required 600 words to say what an awful film this was. The horror part was this film is actually out for viewing. Starring Tom Felton: that was enough to raise red flags, but I was willing to give the film a chance -- after all, surely a WWII film with werewolves can't be all bad. Sadly, despite the film premiering at London's FrightFest, Burial isn't a horror film at all: the werewolves in question aren't of the hairy, fanged, supernatural kind, but are instead German resistance fighters (known as Werwolf). This is a war film, and a bloody boring one at that.

Save yourself from this abomination

[sidrova5543 · 1/10 · 2 September 2022]

I have watched some howlers in my time, but I always look for a redeeming feature. Sharknado is a self-aware piece of silliness, Plan 9 is delightfully insane. This, however, is the product of a challenged individual who should be finger painting in a secure environment.

It is devoid of accuracy, intelligence, artistry, originality, imagination (other than a foetid one ), and a scintilla of talent.

The actors must have desperately needed the money. The writer/director should go and work where he can no longer inflict suffering on innocent viewers.

Had I been able to give a minus score, I would have done so. This travesty stinks as much as Hitler's corpse.

If you care to look into what actually happened to ' Dolphie's ' remains, you will see the true potential of an accurate portrayal has.

But why?...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 11 October 2022]

Stumbling upon the 2022 war thriller "Burial", and never having heard about it, of course I had to sit down and watch what writer and director Ben Parker had to offer. I didn't even read the movie's synopsis, so I literally didn't know what I was in for here.

And while the movie was watchable enough for what it turned out to be, then I can't claim that "Burial" was a movie that I took away much enjoyment or entertainment from. The storyline just felt somewhat bland and also somewhat pointless really. Sure, there were interesting concepts here, but the overall viewing experience of writer and director Ben Parker's war thriller just didn't cut it for my liking.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble here, but I will say that the actors and actresses managed to put on good enough performances, despite the fact of having a subpar script, characters and storyline to work with.

Visually then "Burial" had a good enough World War II feel to it, however you're not going to find yourself in for a visual tour de force if you sit down to watch this particular movie.

The fact that everyone was speaking English just didn't really work for me. Sure, I get that it is for a more easy viewing experience and to get out to a larger audience, but it just takes away from the authenticity of a movie set in a non-English speaking environment.

While I managed to sit through the entire 95 minutes, then I was only slightly entertained. This is not a movie that you will find me recommending people to rush out and get to watch. Nor is it a movie that I will ever sit down to watch for a second time.

My rating of "Burial" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Not that bad.

[Macfeetie · 7/10 · 6 February 2023]

When I saw the ratings, I thought I was in for a bad film but I took a chance anyway.

It's not brilliant, but it's a good little flick.

Simple, but somewhat thoughtful and timely in a world where the manipulation of truth to influence people's actions has become an interesting & relevant conversation.

Based on some historic realities, it spins a tale that about the truth, remembrance, and the ugly sides of war.

The performances are reasonably solid though - again- not earth moving or award winning. Felton holds his own. Harriet Walter is strong. And Barry Ward shows some real charisma in an ancillary role.

It would seem the reviews were a tad harsh, imo.

I was expecting werewolves.

[EmJayElCee · 5/10 · 8 July 2023]

There were no werewolves. Not a horror movie at all. We both fell asleep by the end. I think if we had actually known what it was going to be about we may have liked it more, but we're let down. My husband is a big fan of werewolves, so we were excited! At this point I'm basically just writing more characters so this review goes through so anyone else who thinks they're about to watch a kitschy werewolf nazi low budget horror movie know that that is not what they're going to be watching. It will be a meh movie that pulls you in because you think it's going to have werewolves, but only has werewolf.

No Werewolves To Be Had Here

[deedee_2000-985-341635 · 6/10 · 3 January 2023]

Wow, when i going over the reviews for Burial before watching it, i was kinda surprised. Everyone seemed to hate it. I mean really, really hate it. But i'm nothing if not up for a challenge, so i prodded on... and i'm glad i did.

Burial isn't a horror film, even if it was on Shudder. I suspect that was the reason for all the hatred. But what Burial was is a thoughtful, moving film about a subject i've always found fascinating..what if Hitler really didn't die in that bunker? What if he survived? How would history have changed? Some very intriguing questions that i'm so thankful we never had to face, but i can imagine the terror that the men and women of Europe must've felt back then during that time.

So to sum up: don't expect any supernatural elements in Burial. They're just not there. Sorry.

Watch Burial for an interesting glimpse into a historical era that shaped our past.

And again, there are no furry werewolves in Burial.

Watch Dog Soldiers if you're in the mood for a gory good time. You can thank me later.

Not that bad if You are from East Europe

[maert100-882-910230 · 5/10 · 7 October 2022]

This is a Director Ben Parkers 2nd movie, give him time. There's a little insight at Polish people misery in WWII, which I am sympathetic as an Estonian. Our nation suffered kind a similar fate in WWII, like a meat grinder between nazi and soviet forces.

Overall, a simple war movie. No big battles, no big fancy special effects, no big budget. Idea is good, I think, but something is lacking. Or maybe it is bad editing. There are some really odd moments. Like if actor takes his hand form under coat and it is full of blood looks like homemade movie. But then again if it would have been Tom Hanks maybe it had been ok. But anyways director Ben needs to keep going.

Don't pay ANY attention to ANY bad ratings. AWESOME movie!!!

[thisismyemailmichaelstein · 8/10 · 5 September 2022]

Please know this is my only SECOND review here (actually ANYWHERE) and I'm 55 years old.. Yes, there were a very few not so great parts and that's why I didn't give it a nine or a ten. I do understand we all see things (and movies) in different ways so all I want to put here is don't NOT watch this because of others negative **OPINIONS** of it...or because (SPOILER!!🙄🙄)...NO supernatural werewolves (which of course would be interesting in a different type of movie...NOT this one🙄😏lol). I watch a lot and I mean A **LOT** of movies and television shows and any time...ANY time I clap (whether with someone watching it with me or alone...this one I watched alone) it has to be a pretty darn good movie/tv show. I will also add this...If by chance you happen to be a small minded Nazi loving idiot, you might NOT enjoy seeing it😊.... BUT...if you truly enjoy watching a 'good' to 'great' movie I believe you won't regret the time spent to do so watching this one. I put " 'good' to 'great' " because (again) we all see things (and movies) in different ways and just because 'I' thought it to be 'great', 'you' might just think it's good. Lol OPINIONS ARE LIKE A.....I think I'll stop right there.😂🤣🤣lol. (Enjoy😊)

Disappointed

[ashfordofficial · 1/10 · 4 September 2022]

1. I'm a fan of Charlotte Vega, so I was very excited to watch this film since she cast in the lead role. Even though the film failed to live up to my expectations, I'm happy she delivered an outstanding performance with lots of charisma and beauty.

Such a shame because I actually thought this was a horror film with lycanthrope mayhem. Alas! It was nothing like I imagined and I get baited and disappointed watching a war film with nothing out of ordinary. But I loved the striking visuals and cinematography.

2. I'm a fan of Charlotte Vega, so I was very excited to watch this film since she cast in the lead role. Even though the film failed to live up to my expectations, I'm happy she delivered an outstanding performance with lots of charisma and beauty.

Such a shame because I actually thought this was a horror film with lycanthrope mayhem. Alas! It was nothing like I imagined and I get baited and disappointed watching a war film with nothing out of ordinary. But I loved the striking visuals and cinematography.

Bland

[corytrevorson · 3/10 · 1 January 2023]

First off, this isn't an actual werewolf movie, but that's not really why it's bland. It's a war movie, and not a very good one. The actors and actresses were fine, although Russian accents would have added a little more realism. There's not really much as far as action is concerned that you haven't seen before done better. The lack of a story and no background of the main characters is what makes it so uninteresting. Not really recommended.

First off, this isn't an actual werewolf movie, but that's not really why it's bland. It's a war movie, and not a very good one. The actors and actresses were fine, although Russian accents would have added a little more realism. There's not really much as far as action is concerned that you haven't seen before done better. The lack of a story and no background of the main characters is what makes it so uninteresting. Not really recommended.

Unintentional Comedy - Burial

[arthur_tafero · 2/10 · 19 October 2022]

What brilliant bureaucrat bought this script for the studio? They must surely be unemployed by now. There are no actors or directors for this film; just people moving around and spouting dialogue. The werewolf scenes are pretty funny, though. But I believe the writer intended them to be serious. The plot is based on historical fact; Stalin was a hard guy to please. Hitler's death, by the way, was verified by a German dentist's assistant. Stalin's reward was eight years imprisonment for her. So these bones meant nothing without the dental records. So, basically, the plot of the film is useless as well.

Terrible

[elsanestiers · 1/10 · 15 May 2023]

Honestly, maybe the worst movie I have seen until now. Extremely inaccurate, bad actors, especially Felton who was probably the most famous but who is (in every movie he has starred) a terribly bad actor. Don't waste your time on this atrocious "movie". Nothing makes sense. I was hopeful as I looove war movies but this is a shame to every people that has lived the war. If most of the critics are bad it is not for nothing. That's all I can say as nothing is memorable except how terrible every details is. And I'm not even a mean person so this totally honnest but seriously i still can't believe how in the world someone validated this movie.