Written and directed by Zak Hilditch, We Bury the Dead premiered at the SXSW Film and Television Festival on March 9th, 2025. It is now released theatrically in the US as of today, January 2, 2026, after a festival run last year. The film is a drama and does contain some horror because of the catastrophic event and what happened to the people in the area. Dead, yes, rising from the dead, yes – some of them. Can it be considered “zombie horror” yes, but to real die-hard fans of horror films, especially zombie horror, they may be a bit disappointed. I am clarifying this for film fans who like dramas and thrillers, but don’t often follow horror films. A great drama, but anticipate seeing the outcome of the disaster.
SYNOPSIS: After a catastrophic military disaster, the dead don’t just rise – they hunt. Ava searches for her missing husband, but what she finds is far more terrifying.
The film stars Daisy Ridley, Mark Coles Smith, Brenton Thwaites, Matt Whelan, Kym Jackson, Holly Hargreaves, Deanna Cooney, Elijah Williams, Chloe Hurst, and Salme Geransar. The performances are strong, effective and feel authentic.
Ava (Daisy Ridley) is married and her husband Mitch (Matt Whelan) leaves for a business trip abroad. She learns about the catastrophe from the bomb that goes off the coast of Tasmania. Worried about him, not knowing if he is alive or dead, she volunteers with a relief group to help bury the dead, and to be closer to obtaining news of his status. It is not until she is abroad, helping from house to house, that she learns some of those individuals impacted by the bomb are coming back to life.
Ava is paired with other helpers, varying in personalities, and the young, carefree young man, Clay (Brenton Thwaites), seems to have a very different reason from Ava to be volunteering. They work well together as they discover more individuals that are dead or in the process of rising. Despite being instructed by the military to report sightings of any zombies so they can be executed, Ava notices the humanity that remains in a few. This does not mean they can relax because some can go into attack mode quickly. Hearing a zombie grinding its teeth together is unsettling and put audience members on alert. A sullen military soldier, Riley (Mark Coles Smith), discovers Ava while heading to restricted areas. He is still mourning the loss of his wife. The scenes with Ava are quite creepy. The forbidden zone is not safe.
We Bury the Dead is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “strong violent content, brief drug use, language, gore.” Running time: 95 minutes.
Source: Vertical
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