Words By Madeline Harris
Photos By Erik Robinson
Burgindie Pictures’ film The Angel is a one-of-a-kind project that infuses horror with the niche history of the Mormon pioneers, resulting in 19 minutes of uncomfortable captivation and the analysis of unspoken lore. The film premiered in 2024 and has since made the rounds in some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, including Cannes in France. Adding to its effect, The Angel is tastefully soundtracked by a mobile configuration of reverent strings, Adamic incantations, and thunderous, tell-tale echoes of the otherworldly.
This genre-bending piece goes to great lengths not only to accurately depict the unsettling reality of Utah’s polygamous past, but to also explore what supernatural horror might look like in that context. All of its details are painstakingly accurate, from the 1876 scriptures to the witchy whisperings that too have connections to the LDS tradition.
This precision has largely to do with the fact the majority of the creators and crew are BYU alumni, allowing for specialized insight and perspectives. Directors Barrett and Jessica Burgin aimed to use their “insider information” to present a story that teeters between mystery and familiarity, all the while keeping the general audience’s accessibility in mind. “One viewer said it feels like a Church History film,” Barrett notes, “and that was kind of the point.”
The opening montage of the film is a visually welcoming, two-minute long introduction to the setting and characters and is accompanied by charming fiddle and cello compositions. The sunny southern Utah atmosphere almost sparkles in the subtle grain of analog film, and the rustic ambiance is homegrown and deceptively innocent. The film presents its polygamous context in a way that omits immediate judgment and leaves the viewer with no option but to take in that reality and learn to understand its dynamics.
A huge piece of this effect is the work of Sam Cardon, a well-established force in the contemporary composing world. His creative resume boasts a massive categorical range: from music featured in the popular video games Overwatch and World of Warcraft, to signature arrangements in the 1988 and 2002 Winter Olympics, to two Billboard #1 classical records. And, unsurprisingly, he composed the scores for The Work and the Glory films – historical fiction about early Mormon pioneers.
For The Angel, he worked with audio engineer and BYU alumnus Gavin McMahan to weave an intricate and terrifying web of sound that grips the viewer and does not let go. In this process, it was very important to include real instruments played by real musicians to contribute to this raw, inexorable presence. “Humans are magic,” Cardon notes. “Our cello player, for example, was watching footage while playing and you can feel it.” Cellist Nicole Pinnell and fiddler Ryan Shupe construct the feel of the film with instrumentals so tangible they are not just heard, but experienced by the viewer.
“The music in the opening montage is not too major and not too minor,” Barrett explains, “and it kind of creates this sense of reverence for the West.” It succeeds in audible world-building, and as the plot unfolds in twisted and unnerving ways, the music too evolves in complexity and intensity.
When the spectral, supernatural angel emerges with unsettling news, he does so amid a droning whirl of echoes and ascending tension. It plays on the nerves, and in this moment, it becomes clear that sinister themes will soon emerge. The angel is played by renowned horror veteran, Doug Jones, known for his ability to emulate nonhuman characters in a beautiful, alarmingly uncanny way in roles like The Bye-Bye Man and Abe Sapien from the Hellboy franchise. As The Angel’s title role, he is transcendental, enigmatic and hauntingly ethereal.
A moment of peak intensity occurs when two characters break the fourth wall in inescapable intimacy, and eerie strings take flight as the plot takes a dark turn. As things unravel, these strings persist as a subtle but insistent reminder of underlying suspense. Near the end of the film, it becomes entirely impossible to feel at ease; at any given moment, layers of wind and whispers play in the background, drawing the viewer in and invading the subconscious. This distressing audio texture accelerates and builds until the film’s conflict reaches maximal stress; and ultimately, the viewer’s psyche does, too. Ritualistic percussion indicates impending doom, and the cherry on top of this maddening sonic collage is the spine-chilling inclusion of Adamic incantations.
“Whereas many Catholic films use Latin, I thought it would be significant to use Adamic,” Barrett notes. Contextually, the Adamic language is tied to Joseph Smith’s translation process and is purported to be primordial, pure, and undefiled. Barrett researched the language and “reverse engineered” a phrase to include:
Eve-ondi-Ahman-Angls-man
meaning “Eve—in the presence of—an Angel.” The phrase is witchily repeated in urgency at the climax of the film by Sophie Determen, Madeline Huff Krogh, and Barrett himself.
“We were extremely specific and tried to be as attentive to historical detail as possible.”
The result of this dedication is an experience that is entirely immersive and at times unavoidably real. Its palpability and immediacy make it difficult for the viewer to sever themselves from the depicted reality. The audio in this film is the glue that bridges art and life. It’s riddled with complexity, nuance, and exploration, and perfectly encapsulates the equivocal nature of the film.
The Angel will be available to stream online at the beginning of next year, but there are tons of upcoming screenings to check out in the meantime. To stay in the loop about when and where you can indulge in this thrilling, chilling treat, you can subscribe to the Burgindie Pictures newsletter via their website. Don’t forget to check out the film’s trailer below!
[UPDATE: April 6, 2026]
The Angel was recently featured on ALTER, one of the most prominent short horror platforms on YouTube. You can now watch the film in its entirety below!