Bury the Bride (2023) Movie Review – Horror on Tubi

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we will be reviewing Tubi Original horror movie Bury the Bride from 2023. Did you also get a little shiver when you saw those words – Tubi Original? It is actually starting to become the most terrifying phrase in horror for me. Every time I see it I have flashbacks to legions of awful horror movies, terrible acting, and people in their mid 30s acting like they are 17.

Well, perhaps Bury the Bride will be different? Let’s take a look at the synopsis. “A bachelorette getaway turns deadly”. That doesn’t sound too promising. Starring 34 year old Scout Taylor-Compton, 39 year old Krsy Fox and 34 year old Lyndsi LaRose. Son of a bitch. Better buckle up for some more of us millennials trying our best to hold back the years. Let’s take a look.

Yet Another Tubi Original

Man, Tubi are putting a lot of these movies out, aren’t they? Are they willing to slap the Tubi Original label on anything? Is there nobody vetting the applications to see whether these movies might actually be watchable? I can only assume not because some of these movies are awful. We have recently covered a bunch of low budget horror on Tubi. I even put together a list – Low Budget Horror Movies on Tubi – The Good, The Average and The Fugly. Spoiler alert, there was more fugly than good.

I promised I would keep on adding to the Tubi Horror category. Because, frankly, there is a serious problem when it comes to honesty regarding these movies. I see a lot of sites genuinely overrating most of the stuff that’s available on Tubi. I get it! The horror review community is pretty accepting of any kind of movie. But when people are recommended films that are legitimate crimes against horror like #Float. You know there is something deeply wrong with horror reviewers in general.

I’m not going to do that. If a movie is shit, I will tell you. Most of these movies are absolute garbage. Most of the Tubi originals are garbage, too. Some of them, I’m looking at you The Amityville Curse, are barely even watchable. Bury the Bride, to be completely truthful, isn’t much better. I will say, though, that it is infinitely better than #Float. That movie can drown in a pool of its own garbage juice for all I care.

A Bit Difficult to Review

Bury the Bride follows a group of 30 somethings as they party at a cabin in the middle of the desert. June (Scout Taylor-Compton) is finally getting married and she has invited her friends along for one more night of fun and bitchy arguing. What starts as a rather underwhelming night of drinking soon turns horrifying when June’s fiancee (Dylan Rourke) turns up with a few of his friends.

To be honest, this is a tough movie to talk about without spoiling anything. Bury the Bride sort of gives some of its plot away in the synopsis. The trailer absolutely tears the story to pieces, as well. Revealing every last twist and turn. But the best way to go into any horror is blind. Something I always insist on doing with Tubi horror. It’s part of the fun, right? But that makes this movie difficult to review without spoiling. 

The best way to describe it is as a revenge movie with a twist. There is a heavy focus on “girl power” and themes of women fighting back. But that doesn’t stop Bury the Bride from falling into a whole bunch of horror cliches. With a script and story that is quick to present female relationships as bitter, resentful, and fraught with feelings of jealousy. As well as presenting certain characters as sexually motivated and lacking in self preservation. Bury the Bride does things very “by the book” and is guilty of frequently indulging in played out horror tropes.

More Millennials Behaving Badly

This is definitely a bit of a theme on Tubi. Be it Shark Bait, The Amityville Curse, Mercy Falls or Captive. So many of these movies feature people in their mid to late 30s acting rather childlike. I get it, I am a 90s kid. I played the original Resident Evil on release. I’m at that point where I seriously need to consider the position I am lying in before I go to sleep. But life doesn’t stop when you hit your mid 30s. I do find it hard not to wonder why we aren’t casting Gen Z actors, though?

Bury the Bride’s cast is a mix of familiar horror characters, only aged up a bit. We have the bookish nerdy girl; the cheerleader type who is all boobs and booty shorts. The girl who is a bit sophisticated and enjoys the occasional Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The yoga instructor and the bride to be who likes a bit of rough. Imagine your standard horror movie high school aged cast but with more responsibilities, more experience changing nappies, and more indigestion.

The Real Horror is Age Related Back Pain!

Surely it would feel a little more organic seeing people in their early 20s getting drunk. Rather than seeing a bunch of people with crow’s feet for days and receding hairlines acting like they are still too young to legally drink alcohol. I find it a bit weird. With all due respect, though, if #Float is representative of Gen Z casts then give me people in their late 30s. In fact, give me anything other than that bunch of prick holes.

I actually think we should see more people in their 40s and 50s in horror. With that being said, you poor unfortunate bastards who have kids waking you up every morning jumping on the bed. Probably won’t be remotely phased by the threat of a serial killer or angry spirit. You have already seen the worst that life has to offer; you are hardened to it. You will probably be greeting the sweet kiss of death with open arms. Peace at last.

A Veteran Cast 

With all of that being said. The cast here has been around for awhile. With Scout Taylor-Compton feeling like she has been gracing horror for decades. Originally starring as Laurie in Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween. You might be surprised to learn that she is still only 34. We have a bit of a six degrees of separation thing here. Bury the Bride is directed by Michael Cummings aka Spider One. The younger brother of Rob Zombie. I guess Scout has signed a deal with Tubi? Because this is her second movie in a year, along with her starring role in Captive.

Krsy Fox, who you may remember having a completely different maiden name and surname in Underworld, writes, stars and produces. Which is something that I want to quickly rant about. Because I couldn’t imagine writing myself into a starring role in a movie. It seems super egotistical. A background character or “Friend number 3” or something, fine. But a main character? Nah that’s a bit strange. So many writers do it, though. It’s like producer Cody Frank thinking he is the only one capable of playing “Sexy Vampire Lead Man” in Captive. Have some humility, people. Give other struggling actors the work. 

Everyone else is a mix of “also-rans” and “JAGs”. With the exception of Chaz Bono who just so happens to be the son of Sonny and Cher. And Adam Marcinowski who lists having played with some decent football players, in college, among his accolades on IMDB. A strange flex but a flex no less. The cast here is pretty experienced, anyways, which begs a few questions. The first of which being.

Why is This Movie So Disappointing?

So much of Bury the Bride feels amateurish that you would think it was made by a bunch of college students. It is extremely poorly done and lacking in care. Aside from the slightly interesting premise. This movie has very little to offer. Kills are dull and uneventful. The story is ridiculous. Characters are utterly stupid, consistently putting themselves in danger. The cast is unlikable and the light, slightly comical, style of the movie falls flat thanks to some terrible pacing and a messy cut.

The sad thing is, there is some real promise here. I am a huge sucker for revenge movies and I love anything that features bad ass women. There are some moments here that hint at something potentially great. When the movie is firing on all cylinders, it is pretty watchable. Unfortunately, it feels like something always comes along to stop it in its tracks. Be it a worn out horror trope, a nonsensical plot point, or a sequence of events that simply go nowhere. 

Characters are actively anti-life. Doing anything they can to be brutally murdered. Be it wandering off into the desert with a bunch of weirdos or simply running straight into danger. It is beyond stupid and makes the movie extremely predictable. Almost to a frustrating degree. There is zero creativity here and nobody has stepped in to question the writing. Just one person actually saying “would this character act like this?” would have benefited this movie tremendously. That’s only part of the problem here, though.

Direction and Editing are Poor

Spider One clearly takes a lot of inspiration from his brother Rob Zombie. There is an attitude and approach to Bury the Bride that is distinctly Zombie-esque. His direction very much lacks the style of his brother’s, though. It also lacks the constant flashing of Sherry Moon’s ass which is a blessing or a curse depending on your own personal perspective. He seems to lack the technical ability of his brother, too.

There are so many issues with pacing and continuity, here. Scenes flow from day to night with no obvious time progression. It’s very jarring and can make the movie difficult to follow. Seeing characters run through, what can only be described as, an entire day night cycle in one shot. With nothing in between; not even a cut to demonstrate the passing of time. It is an extremely strange way of doing things. This is a problem throughout. There is a distinct lack of care on display here.

Wine is poured in a glass in one shot. Only for five glasses to be fully filled in the next. Lapel mics are placed clumsily in plain site between the boobs of a character wearing a vest. Looking like a rather large, superfluous, third nipple. Character’s hair moves about in between shots. Low quality audio plagues every shot. With certain scenes having been boosted to the point of being little more than hiss and compression artifacts. Camera work is shoddy and low quality. And it all just feels so cheap and so poorly put together. This movie was begging for someone with some serious experience to help out on set and in the editing room. 

Any Positives?

Acting is fairly competent with Scout Taylor-Compton being her usual confident self and Krsy Fox obviously having a good time and doing a great job kicking ass. Dylan Rourke puts his back into being a bit of an obnoxious redneck character. Again, clearly having a good time on set. And generally fitting the role very well. Lyndsi LaRose is fun as Carmen though I’m not sure about her extended three minute dance scene that feels nothing short of painfully awkward.

The themes of female camaraderie are nice. We need way more of this in horror. Nobody has done it as well as Unseen did it, this year. But it’s always a really welcome approach to horror. Even though the writing gets in the way frequently, here. Playing to horror cliche with the women at each other’s throats for much of the movie’s length. Some of these moments do provide a few laughs, though.

There are a couple of fun scenes here and there and when the movie works it works quite well. The end is fairly fun though is let down by some pretty dumb character choices. I also applaud the movie for doing something a bit different with an old horror theme. But, all in all, Bury the Bride consistently gets in its own way.

Final Thoughts and Score

Bury the Bride is a run of the mill horror movie that offers a lot but never manages to deliver. A somewhat interesting premise and a slightly different take on an old horror formula. Unfortunately never manages to rise above a whole barrage of issues. Poor writing, dumb characters, an unlikable cast, tons of horror cliches, terrible editing and poor direction all drag this movie down tremendously.

There are just too many problems here to recommend Bury the Bride. It’s okay if you are not overly bothered by technical issues and don’t need decent characters to invest in. You may enjoy the themes of girl power and appreciate the somewhat surprising plot. But, other than that, I suspect that most viewers will be left wishing they didn’t RSVP to June’s wedding party invitation. 

Thanks for reading. This was a big one but it is kind of what I do. Substantial horror content written by a horror fan for horror fans. If you are a complete lunatic and looking for more terrible horror movies on Tubi. Why not check out our section dedicated to movies from the free streaming service? It’s growing all the time because I am a total sucker for punishment. We are currently running our Summer Scares Feature which we will be adding to a couple of times a week. We only just started but it runs until September. You can also check out our Horror movie Reviews, our Horror Movie Ending Explained section or even check out a few Horror Movie Lists.