Director Zak Hilditch attempts to breathe new life into the zombie sub-genre with We Bury The Dead, a film that follows events after a catastrophic military disaster leaves an entire region of Australia in ruin, and overrun with the dead. Set against the stark, desolate backdrop of Tasmania, the story follows Ava (Daisy Ridley) as she joins a body-retrieval unit in a desperate search for her missing husband. Whilst entering a quarantine zone, she uncovers the horrifying truth: the undead are growing more violent, more relentless, and more dangerous with every passing hour.
Hilditch does a great job in delivering a haunting, atmospheric experience that manages to breathe new life into a sub-genre often criticised for being over-stuffed and void of anything new to say. What makes the film stand out is its distinctive take on the zombie genre. Rather than relying on the traditional shambling hordes or high-octane gore, Hilditch presents the undead as confused, tragic remnants of humanity. The zombies here are unsettling precisely because they don’t immediately feel like monsters; they feel like echoes of the people they once were. This shift turns the traditional survival-horror formula on its head, moving the focus away from “how to kill” and toward “how to mourn.”
The film excels as an emotionally resonant meditation on grief and closure. Ridley gives a powerhouse performance, grounding the supernatural elements in raw, human vulnerability. The narrative is driven by her internal struggle to let go, making the stakes feel deeply personal. The tension built throughout is masterful. Instead of cheap jump scares, the film utilises a slow-burn dread, aided by a disquieting sound-design – specifically a recurring teeth-grinding sound from the corpses that will likely stick with you long after the credits roll. The pacing keeps you on edge, mirroring Ava’s own exhausting and harrowing journey through the wreckage of her life.
While the film is beautifully shot and emotionally heavy, there were moments where it could have leaned even further into its darker theme. The premise of a “body retrieval unit” and the existential horror of “living” corpses offers a goldmine of philosophical and psychological darkness that occasionally felt a bit restrained. There is a version of this story that pushes into even more uncomfortable territory, and while the humanity of the film is its strength, exploring those bleaker shadows could have made the climax even more gut-wrenching.
We Bury the Dead is a thoughtful, tense, and visually striking entry into the genre that prioritises character over carnage, Those looking for a return to the zombie films of old might be left a little underwhelmed, but those looking for a different take on the sub-genre, and a horror movie with a whole lot of soul, will get plenty out of it.
We Bury the Dead is available on Digital HD 2 February, and on Blu-ray and DVD 16 February.
