WE BURY THE DEAD: Something a Little different

WE BURY THE DEAD (Blu-ray)

2025 / 95 min

Vertical Entertainment

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

You might be thinking one of two things: Oh great…another zombie movie. Or Yay! Another zombie movie! Either way, We Bury the Dead is something a little bit different, which could be either a good or bad thing. I’m leaning towards the former, though I can certainly see some people hating it.

It’s got a great premise. An experimental American bomb accidentally explodes on the island of Tasmania, instantly killing everybody…or so it initially seems. Some people wake back up, but not quite alive. Why some are reanimated and others aren’t is never answered (though the question is asked). At first, they’re still essentially brain dead, but as time passes, they become increasingly aware…and aggressive.

Daisy Ridley plays Ava, who volunteers with others to go to the island and help locate bodies for disposal. If they come across one of the undead, they’re to signal the military, who’ll come and finish them off. But she has an ulterior motive…her husband was on the island for a business retreat during the explosion, and even though she suspects he’s already dead, Ava wants to find him in hopes that he’s reanimated. After managing to convince her volunteer partner, Clay (Brenton Thwaites), to take her, the two hop on a motorcycle to look for him.

Daisy wins another argument.

We’ve all heard that term, It’s not the journey, it’s the destination, which certainly applies here. Along the way, they meet a soldier, Riley (Mark Coles Smith), who recently lost his pregnant wife and turns out to be disturbingly psychotic. It’s also revealed that Ava’s marriage was actually falling apart and she’s possibly looking for closure. The undead themselves are initially lethargic and docile, but grow more menacing as the story unfolds.

However, those seeking zombie hordes and the usual gut-munching should take a hard pass. We Bury the Dead boasts a few gruesome moments - and a final scene that’s kinda jawdropping - but overall, the deliberately paced narrative is more focused on Ava and her state-of-mind than the ghouls she encounters (which are actually few and far between). As such, the film isn’t without its rewards, including some affecting ones.

The film is well written and directed by Zak Hilditch (whose These Final Hours still haunts me) and features good performances by the two leads. Having seen more than my fair share of zombie flicks - good, bad and ugly - I appreciated the effort to make this one just a little bit different.