Daisy Ridley finds something to live for in the contemplative zombie movie We Bury The Dead

Hilditch does a fine job laying out the necessary specifics of the event, the repercussions, and the unexpected undead twist which begins more as a mystery than an overt threat. More importantly, all of the setup is used in service of Ava’s physical and mental journey into this foreign reality. As she engages in the bleak, voyeuristic work of intruding into these abandoned homes to recover the dead, Ava is forced to knock on her own doors, confronting and acknowledging the unresolved complexities of her marriage. It’s through a series of flashbacks framed as Ava’s remembrances that the audience gets a more truthful taste of who she and Mitch were together before. A once blissful marriage is increasingly laid bare as desperately complicated and damaged by years of infertility issues, blame, and guilt.

Initially, Ridley conveys much of Ava’s numbness and interior conflict through her amply expressive face, with little dialogue and to great success. The opening third of We Bury The Dead provides her a rich succession of scenes that are allowed to breathe as she finds her moorings in this disturbing wasteland of lost futures and abrupt endings. Ridley’s work is supported by rich sound design which provides space for Ava’s solitude while also gently building an aural tapestry for this island—which includes the spine-chilling noises associated with the “waking,” including their signature teeth-grinding. It’s sparse in execution but intensely effective in conjuring immediate tension whenever they appear. 

Hilditch and his editor Merlin Eden set an unhurried pace for Ava’s journey that might seem antithetical to modern horror, but it facilitates the way this place changes her—slowly, but thoroughly, so she’ll be ready to face the answers awaiting her. The inclusion of two challenging male characters also allows us to see how Ava holds herself when placed under the eyes of others. With fellow body retriever Clay (Brenton Thwaites), she develops an unconventional bond as he is bracingly candid and seemingly apathetic about the death around them. His lack of social niceties allows Ava to shed the less attractive parts of her own nature. And with Riley (Mark Coles Smith), a soldier who is also mourning the loss of a spouse, comes a disturbing encounter that grounds the story in the realities of a woman traversing any landscape alone. It’s the most terrifying horror sequence of the film. 

As for those awoken by this disaster, Hilditch takes the existential path. That means there are plenty of unanswered questions, but questions which bolster Ava’s quest to determine what she wants out of life now that she may be alone. She’s remarkably unafraid of those who now straddle the living and the dead and more intrigued by what she can still recognize in an ambling corpse, or a newly woken father that bestows one last act of love to his dead family. If these recently dead can still hold onto the best of themselves, what keeps the living from doing the same? For those looking to delve into more philosophical horror, We Bury The Dead is a thoughtful trek into the unknown. As Ava moves towards her own discovery, she ends up finding more truth in what remains unresolved—by experiencing what grief dredges up in the living.

Director: Zak Hilditch
Writers: Zak Hilditch
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Mark Coles Smith, Brenton Thwaites, Matt Whelan 
Release Date: January 2, 2025

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