I am honestly always surprised when someone make a new zombie movie that feels fresh and is entertaining. There are so many zombie films that you'd think all the plots have been done and there were no more new stories to tell. The Zombie genre is a real zombie-genre... a genre that won't die, and writer/director Hilditch's new one shows that once again there are still narratives worth telling.
While I didn't think We Bury the Dead is the second coming, or anything, I still felt it had a compelling story that didn't feel exactly like something we had seen before. The idea of a woman seeking closure after her husband dies in a catastrophic event, and she hopes that he will come back to undead life was quite interesting and emotionally powerful. The film explores some dark places with Smith's subplot which brings the film to a rather satisfying conclusion (no spoilers). This ends up being a rather worthwhile entry into this film category.
Anchoring this is Ridley who continues to show what a good actor she is especially in genre films. I found her performance was subtle yet moving and lent itself to the challenges of this particular story. Supported by Smith with a quietly demented performance and Thwaites as the himbo who manages to be three dimensional, the film works because its cast pulls it off.
While We Bury the Dead may not be one of the essentials of zombie film making, it is a worthwhile addition. I do wonder if it is the sort of film that might have thrived more on streaming than in cinemas, as it might be the sort of film more people would be willing to sit down to watch than to go out to see. Perhaps there is where it will find life.
We Bury the Dead
Starring: Daisy Ridley, Mark Coles Smith, Brenton Thwaites
Writer/Director: Zak Hilditch
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