“We Bury the Dead” is a Disney+ Gem
We Bury the Dead is an intimate, Australian zombie horror-drama directed by Zak Hilditch that follows Ava (Daisy Ridley), who joins a civilian body retrieval unit to find her husband after a military weapon detonates near Tasmania. As she works with a contractor named Clay, she discovers that the 500,000 blast victims are reanimating, forcing her to confront both aggressive, evolving corpses and her own intense grief. The film serves as a somber meditation on loss, utilizing its horror elements as a metaphor for the difficult process of letting go. The film takes a refreshing approach at the zombie genre by mixing and changing the cause and behaviour of the living dead. The fact that the dead’s re-animation capacity and behaviour is not standardized it adds an elevated level of tension, even in what are the “safe” scenes.
Actress Daisy Ridley has built a highly diverse slate of recent film projects, stepping away from a galaxy far, far away to showcase her impressive emotional range.
Notable Recent Releases
- We Bury the Dead: A haunting psychological horror film where a grieving woman named Ava searches for her husband in Tasmania following a catastrophic military disaster that triggers a zombie outbreak.
- Cleaner: A high-stakes action thriller following an ex-soldier turned window cleaner who must save hostages after eco-terrorists seize a corporate gala in a London skyscraper.
- Young Woman and the Sea: A critically acclaimed Disney biographical sports drama starring Ridley as Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
- Magpie: A tense, neo-noir psychological thriller exploring marital isolation, gaslighting, and deception.
- Sometimes I Think About Dying: An intimate indie drama depicting an introverted office worker who struggles with human connection.
She is also slated to eventually return to her iconic Star Wars role in the upcoming Star Wars: New Jedi Order film. It’s nice to see Daisy Ridley delivering sound performances and really reminding audiences and critics that she always delivers on her film projects with diverse and engaging characters.
