We Bury the Dead (2026) Vertical/Horror-Thriller RT: 94 minutes Rated R (strong violent content, gore, language, brief drug use) Director: Zak Hilditch Screenplay: Zak Hilditch Music: Clark Cinematography: Steve Annis Release date: January 2, 2026 (US) Cast: Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, Mark Coles Smith, Matt Whelan, Chloe Hurst, Kym Jackson, Dan Paris, Deanna Cooney.
Rating: ***
I’ve been hearing a lot of hate directed at We Bury the Dead since last night’s AMC Scream Unseen. I get it. It’s more of a survival drama than a zombie horror movie. It centers on a young woman looking for her husband in the aftermath of a man-made catastrophe. She runs into a few “zombies” along the way. She fights them off when they attack, if they attack. Audiences went in expecting something like George A. Romero; it’s actually more like The Road. They complained it was too slow and boring. I didn’t think that at all. I found it very interesting.
A military experiment gone wrong simultaneously ends all life on the island of Tasmania. That is, save for some victims who’ve mysteriously come back to life. Naturally, the soldiers sent to maintain order and oversee clean-up have orders to kill on sight. All Ava (Ridley, Cleaner) wants is to locate her husband who was there on business when the s*** hit the fan. She volunteers for body retrieval with the intention of looking for her missing husband. When told to stay where she is, she escapes with the help of Clay (Thwaites, Gods of Egypt). Together, they embark on the perilous 200-mile journey to hubby’s last known location.
Along the way, they encounter Riley (Smith, Last Cab to Darwin), a soldier looking for somebody to fill the void left by the death of his pregnant wife (if she’s actually dead). He, of course, sets his sights on Ava. She needs to get away from this psycho ASAP.
The problem with We Bury the Dead isn’t the movie (which is good not great), but how it’s being marketed. Vertical is selling it as a horror movie, a zombie invasion flick, and it’s not that. It’s a human drama with a little more gravitas than the average zombie horror. It’s closer in spirit to 28 Days Later in how writer-director Zak Hilditch adds emotional weight to the formula. It’s not a perfect balance with the jump-scares, but it imbues the film with a palpable sense of humanity. You don’t often find that in a zombie invasion movie. This is all well and good, but how do you sell a movie like this to mainstream audiences looking for a frightful good time just after the holidays?
Daisy Ridley, who many still think of as Rey from the recent Star Wars movies (2015-19), delivers a solid performance as Ava. She’s really coming into her own as a lead actress. I thought she did a great job in last year’s Die Hard knock-off Cleaner. Here, she digs a little deeper to play a woman looking for her husband. She has unfinished business with him. They didn’t part on good terms and there are things that need to be said. She desperately hopes that he’s the one of the ones who didn’t “die” in the catastrophic event. Thwaites is pretty good in an underwritten role, but We Bury the Dead definitely belongs to Daisy. It’s her movie!
Even if We Bury the Dead isn’t wholly a horror movie, it’s still pretty visceral. The zombies have a habit of violently grinding their teeth to the point where they crack. You could feel the collective “YEESH!” in the theater. I haven’t been this disturbed by a sound since the wooden counter chewing scenes in last year’s Bring Her Back. You also get sad moments like when Ava helps one of the undead bury his dead family.
In the end, We Bury the Dead is more serious than one would expect from a zombie movie. I’d even say it’s somber. The low-key cinematography by Steve Annis illustrates this perfectly. The whole film has a sad hue hanging over it. I think it works in the movie’s favor. Hilditch is going for something different here and he mostly succeeds. He doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel with We Bury the Dead, but he shows how it could be built differently to achieve a different end.
