Written and directed by Zak Hilditch, after a catastrophic military disaster, the dead don’t just rise—they hunt. The military insists they are harmless and slow-moving, offering hope to grieving families. But when Ava enters a quarantine zone searching for her missing husband, she uncovers the horrifying truth: the undead are growing more violent, more relentless, and more dangerous with every passing hour. Starring: Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, Mark Coles Smith, Matt Whelan, Chloe Hurst and Kym Jackson.
Trying to make an original zombie outing these days is setting yourself up for a challenge straight out of the gate, so realistically the goal doesn’t have to be to create something stellar, it’s to make something entertaining and worthwhile, within those constraints. Zak Hilditch definitely does that with We Bury the Dead, but it doesn’t get much further. There are some choices that feel like a slight step away from the usual playbook, but they aren’t quite enough to completely set it apart. Particularly as the visual is hit and miss, the more it stays within an intimate realm, the stronger it is but when it takes a step back and tries to add in sweeping landscapes that require special effects, it undermines itself.
However, it’s nice to see Hilditch make the story more about Ava (Daisy Ridley) and her emotional journey, rather than the zombies themselves. The threat is handled well, the level of danger is raised nicely as We Bury the Dead progresses. It very heavily moves into the classic territory of sometimes the monsters aren’t the real threat, which is always a great choice and accurate. The atmosphere is another solid element, it’s a little bit eerie, has some good, consistent tension and there are touches of humour here and there. That’s definitely a factor that could have boosted the film further, if it had been weaved into the script more. Especially with the chemistry between Ridley and Brenton Thwaites, there was room for some extra banter and comedy in the face of calamity.
That chemistry is a big advantage to We Bury the Dead, it’s arguably the strongest part of both Ridley’s and Thwaites’ performances. While Ridley certainly does well in the tense, emotional moments, as is usual for her, it’s most enjoyable to watch her when she lets go. Her determined, blunt and reckless sides are her strongest, whereas her accent work is one of the questionable elements. Although the surprise here comes from Mark Coles Smith’s performance as Riley, which is unexpected, intense and broken. The delivery of his dialogue is perfectly suspicious, and he immediately puts you on the back foot as to what to make of him, and the evolution of his character is well done.
We Bury the Dead is a solid zombie outing, coming in at just over ninety-minutes it’s in the sweet spot, it’s entertaining with plenty of tension and a good amount of violence. Daisy Ridley and Brenton Thwaites make for an enjoyable pairing and Ridley gets to explore a little range here which is well within her wheelhouse. Both the visual and writing are stronger in some moments than others, there’s a few divisive choices here and there but it’s still decently consistent. Although, trying to elbow in Help I’m Alive by Metric as the credits roll, purely because of its ironic connection was a bad idea, it ends the film on a strange note and feels like they didn’t read the room.
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