We Bury the Dead (2026) [Movie Review] — A Poignant, Haunting Twist on the Zombie Survival Tale

Zak Hilditch’s We Bury the Dead reframes the zombie genre as an elegy rather than a spectacle. Set after a catastrophic electromagnetic blast off Tasmania leaves entire communities frozen mid-gesture, the film follows volunteer cleanup crews who confront not only corpses but people who look heartbreakingly familiar. Daisy Ridley leads the cast as Ava, a woman who joins the mission hoping to find her husband, while Brenton Thwaites plays Clay, a reckless partner whose impulses contrast with Ava’s grief-fueled quiet. This is a zombie survival horror that centers on mourning and memory as much as menace.

Direction & Tone

Subdued dread over jump-scare theatrics

Zak Hilditch directs with restraint, pushing against the genre’s standard of nonstop carnage. Instead of cheap shocks, the film relies on a slow-building atmosphere of loss and uncanny stillness. The tone is elegiac and contemplative; horror here emerges from the tableau of lives interrupted. Hilditch’s approach makes the movie feel less like a fright-fest and more like a meditation on catastrophe, trauma, and the rituals we invent to process mass death.

Performances

A tour-de-force lead and empathetic supporting turns

Daisy Ridley anchors the film with a layered performance that charts the stages of grief—denial, bargaining, sorrow—without ever tipping into melodrama. Her Ava is haunted yet determined, and Ridley makes each quiet beat resonate. Brenton Thwaites provides a rugged counterbalance, his Clay both a foil and an uneasy ally. The supporting ensemble—including Mark Coles Smith and Matt Whelan—brings lived-in weariness to their roles, making the cleanup crew feel like a small community carrying collective trauma.

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Screenplay & Themes

Mourning, memory, and the ethics of survival

Hilditch’s script reframes the undead as the dearly departed rather than faceless antagonists, which complicates the usual imperative to “kill or be killed.” The moral ambiguities—how do you treat someone who looks like your sister but moves like a predator?—are where the film is most interesting. Themes of grief, the aftermath of sudden disaster, and the depersonalizing effect of large-scale death are explored thoughtfully. While some flashbacks that illuminate Ava’s marriage feel perfunctory, they still help ground her desperation and the emotional stakes of the search.

Cinematography & Atmosphere

Empty streets, frozen gestures, and a world drained of sound

Visually, We Bury the Dead excels. The cinematography captures an eerie stillness—streets, homes, and public squares rendered as open-air mausoleums. Steve Annis’s camera composes tableaux that evoke Pompeii-like snapshots of ordinary lives cut short, producing images that are both beautiful and deeply unsettling. The film’s soundscape, often spare, amplifies the sense of desolation and makes silence a character in its own right.

Flaws & What Works

A mournful triumph with a few narrative tugs

The film’s focus on atmosphere and grief is its strength but also its limitation. At times, the pacing leans toward monotony, and the emotional beats in some flashbacks could have been pruned or deepened for sharper impact. A few plot moments—particularly revelations about the cause and scope of the disaster—feel under-explored. Still, these are minor quibbles in a movie that consistently earns its quiet, mournful priorities.

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Verdict

A fresh, affecting entry in zombie cinema

We Bury the Dead is a thoughtful reinvention of the zombie survival horror, trading relentless gore for sorrowful reflection. With a committed Daisy Ridley at its core, measured direction from Zak Hilditch, and haunting visuals that linger long after the credits roll, the film is a powerful exploration of loss in apocalyptic times. It’s not the loudest zombie movie you’ll see this year—but it may be one of the most emotionally resonant. Recommended for viewers who prefer their horror with heart and atmosphere rather than just shocks.

Rating: 7.5 / 10