We Bury the Dead(2026) Review: A Quietly Devastating Zombie Film That Chooses Grief Over Gore

Most zombie films ask how long humanity can survive.

We Bury the Dead asks something far more uncomfortable: what do we do after survival stops meaning anything?

Written and directed by Zak Hilditch, We Bury the Dead is not interested in jump scares, rapid infection spreads, or heroic last stands. Instead, it delivers a restrained, emotionally heavy survival story where the undead are less terrifying than the grief left behind. Premiering at SXSW 2025 and releasing theatrically in the U.S. on January 2, 2026, the film stands out as one of the most unexpected and human zombie films in years.

A Zombie Film That Refuses to Follow the Rules

Set in Tasmania after an experimental weapon renders the island’s population unconscious — and in some cases undead — the film follows Ava Newman, played with quiet intensity by Daisy Ridley.

Ava volunteers for a grim cleanup operation tasked with retrieving and disposing of bodies. Her motivation is deeply personal: her husband Mitch is missing, and hope — however irrational — is the only thing keeping her moving.

From the outset, We Bury the Dead signals that this is not a traditional apocalypse narrative. The undead do not swarm cities.

There is no collapse montage. Instead, the horror arrives slowly, through:

• Moral compromises

• Institutional cruelty

• Emotional isolation

The scariest moments aren’t attacks — they’re silences.

Daisy Ridley’s Most Restrained Performance to Date

Ridley carries the film almost entirely on her shoulders, delivering one of the most subdued performances of her career.

Ava is not brave in the cinematic sense. She is exhausted, fearful, and emotionally hollowed out. Ridley plays her as someone operating on muscle memory — waking up, moving forward, refusing to stop because stopping would mean accepting loss.

Her performance is especially effective because it avoids sentimentality. Ava doesn’t give speeches about hope. She simply keeps going.

This restraint allows the film’s emotional payoffs to land harder — particularly in moments where Ava is forced to confront not just death, but betrayal, truth, and the limits of love.

Horror Rooted in Human Behavior, Not Monsters

The undead in We Bury the Dead are unsettling, but they’re not the primary threat.

That role belongs to the living.

A standout section of the film involves a lone soldier, Riley, whose grief has curdled into something disturbing and dangerous. What begins as uneasy companionship slowly reveals psychological horror far more unsettling than any zombie encounter.

This sequence is a turning point, making the film’s thesis clear:the apocalypse doesn’t create monsters — it reveals them.

The undead, by contrast, are sometimes eerily calm, even cooperative. One of the film’s most haunting scenes involves an undead man quietly digging his own grave — not attacking, not raging, simply completing a task.

It’s a moment that redefines what “zombie” means in this world.

A Story About Grief, Not Survival

At its core, We Bury the Dead is about grief — how it mutates, how it traps people, and how it can be survived without being “overcome.”

Ava’s journey is not heroic. It’s messy, uncomfortable, and emotionally destabilizing. The revelation surrounding her husband is deliberately cruel, stripping away the last illusion she clung to — that love alone justified the journey.

Yet the film doesn’t end in despair.

The final act introduces something rare in zombie cinema: earned hope. Not the kind that saves the world, but the kind that allows one person to keep living.

The closing moments — quiet, symbolic, and deliberately understated — reframe the entire film. It’s less about what was lost, and more about what might still be possible.

Direction and Atmosphere: Sparse, Bleak, Effective

Zak Hilditch’s direction is controlled and unflashy, favoring:

• Naturalistic performances

• Long, contemplative takes

• Bleak Tasmanian landscapes

• Minimal score and ambient sound

The pacing may frustrate viewers expecting constant tension, but it perfectly serves the film’s emotional goals. This is a slow burn by design — one that prioritizes psychological realism over genre thrills.

Supporting Cast: Strong but Secondary

While Daisy Ridley dominates the screen, supporting performances from Mark Coles Smith and Brenton Thwaites add texture without distracting from Ava’s arc.

Their characters function more as reflections of Ava’s choices than fully developed protagonists — and that focus works in the film’s favor.

Critical Reception and Ratings

• Rotten Tomatoes: 84%

• IMDb: 6.2/10

The split in ratings reflects the film’s divisive nature. Viewers looking for traditional zombie horror may find it slow or unsatisfying. Those open to a more introspective approach are likely to find it deeply affecting.

We Bury the Dead is not a crowd-pleasing zombie film — and it doesn’t want to be.

It’s a quiet, unsettling meditation on loss, denial, and the small, fragile reasons people choose to keep going. By stripping away genre excess and focusing on emotional truth, the film delivers something rare: a zombie story that feels painfully human.

This is not about outrunning death .

It’s about learning how to live beside it.

For viewers willing to meet it on its own terms, We Bury the Dead is one of the most thoughtful genre films in recent years.