The Burial Society

November 27, 2017
In this underwhelming psychological thriller from Sadowsky (Just Fall), 18-year-old Natalie Burrows finds her father, Brian, slain in the family’s Paris apartment. The police assume that a robber did the deed, but Natalie and her 21-year-old brother, Jake, remain unconvinced and launch their own investigations. Meanwhile, Brian’s murder catches the attention of a mysterious figure identified only as Catherine, who helps troubled women vanish and start over. Three years earlier, Brian’s adulterous wife, Mallory, began receiving anonymous threats. Mallory was already considering leaving Brian for her lover, so she reached out to Catherine for assistance. Before they could meet, Mallory went missing and is now presumed dead. Mallory’s disappearance still haunts Catherine—particularly now that Mallory’s children are orphans—so, to ease her guilt and satisfy her curiosity, Catherine assumes an alias and endeavors to determine whether both spouses were killed by the same person. Ill-defined stakes and a dearth of action sap tension, while clichéd characters with a penchant for melodrama rob the story of emotional heft. Agent: Emma Sweeney, Emma Sweeney Agency.