What Is Buried Must Remain – Movie Review (2/5)

WHAT IS BURIED MUST REMAIN on SCREAMBOX is a Lebanese found-footage horror movie hybrid. It has some good elements, but also feels too long and predictable. Read our full What is Buried Must Remain movie review here!

WHAT IS BURIED MUST REMAIN is a new SCREAMBOX addition. This time it’s a found-footage hybrid, which is to say that while it is found footage, it also goes beyond this and uses an outside POV. As long as this is the premise and it isn’t billed as a classic POV found footage, I have no problem with the mix.

Also, this is a Lebanese horror movie, which isn’t something we see much. I was intrigued about it but found it too predictable to really get under my skin. On the other hand, I loved how it used some practical effects and the old “cut-away”-trick when the special effects would’ve been too tricky.

Continue reading our What is Buried Must Remain movie review below. On SCREAMBOX from April 12, 2024.

A modern ghost story

In What is Buried Must Remain, we’re essentially getting a ghost story set in Lebanon. While you might expect it to be centered on the wartorn country, the ghost story goes back further. A French industrialist who was a brutal and ruthless man was accused of murdering his family.

Now, three young filmmakers have decided to make a documentary about the French industrialist in the house where he supposedly murdered his family.

It begins as a found footage horror movie, where we only see what happens via a smartphone or camera, but this changes once supernatural forces come into play. As a modern ghost story set in present-day Lebanon, but covering events from decades ago, using a hybrid style makes sense to me.

Watch What Is Buried Must Remain on SCREAMBOX

The director of this found-footage horror movie hybrid is Elias Matar. He also wrote the screenplay along with Edward E. Romero and Israa Samman. There is definitely a passion to this project which comes across in moments throughout the film. It just isn’t a very complete experience.

While I do not speak Arabic, I have watched enough movies in Arabic to have an idea of the flow of the language. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like the actors in What Is Buried Must Remain were very strong. Sure, they have good moments, but also some very flat and unemotional scenes.

Overall, it’s a good effort from both cast and crew, but not the most impressive result. Just know this and then give it a shot as it has an impressive edge at times. Had it been a little tighter and stronger in all acting performances, it would’ve been a more efficient horror movie.

What Is Buried Must Remain is on SCREAMBOX from April 12, 2024.

Details

Director: Elias Matar
Writers: Elias Matar, Edward E. Romero, Israa Samman
Stars: Asma Jumaa, Hassan Alkhefe, Hamza Zahab, Ahmed Alrefai, Farouk Zaroura, Ahmed Khreta, Nour Al Zahab, Dahlia Nemlich, Ahmad Dalati, Altaf Al-Assi, Khalil Rdeini