From Australian writer/director Zak Hilditch (1922, These Final Hours), comes a terrifyingly realistic new zombie movie, “We Bury The Dead.” As the synopsis says, “We Bury the Dead’ is a gripping and emotional thriller set after a military experiment decimates the people of Tasmania.” As usual, it is the United States that is responsible for the deaths (500,000 victims). One scripted line, alluding to Ava’s U.S. citizenship, says, “I’m surprised we’re letting the Yanks chip in at all.” [Me, too, in today’s world.]
A U.S. experimental weapon has totally annihilated Hobart. Ava volunteers for a body retrieval unit, hoping to make her way to Woodbridge where her husband, Mitch, was attending a work retreat at the Enso Resort. Some of the victims, who fell dead instantly in this catastrophe, are re-animating for brief periods.
Cast: Daisy Ridley’s Powerful Performance
Australian Writer/Director Zak Hilditch of “We Bury the Dead” at SXSW 2025/ (Photo by Connie Wilson).
Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) stars as Ava, a desperate woman who joins a “body retrieval unit” as a volunteer in the hopes of finding her husband alive. Some of the victims have been “coming alive” briefly and that means there might be hope for restoring life, perhaps. Ava’s husband, Mitch (Matt Wheelan, “Narcos,” 2015), when he departed, was on the outs with his wife. We don’t find out why for a very long time in the 94-minute movie.
When we do discover the reason, however, and when Ava finally finds her spouse, it humanizes all the horrors she has endured and triumphed over on her way to the Enso Resort. It also sets up the only false note, for me, of the entire film, but, since it is the very end of this SXSW entry, you’ll have to see it for yourself to find out what that might be. It was an original and unique denouement, however, whether I bought into it or not.
The body retrieval volunteers are assigned partners, and Ava draws a hunky, long-haired motorcycle-riding he-man named Clay (Brenton Thwaites, “Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead Men Tell No Tales,” 2017). After seeing flashbacks of Ava’s nuptials with husband Mark, one wonders if she might consider dumping Mitch for Clay, based on looks alone. But, of course, this is not a skin-deep movie based on sex appeal. Ava is going to go through hell to try to find her spouse, and, when she succeeds, she will be in for some surprises.
Grief and Loss: The Heart of the Story
Australian Writer/Director Zak Hilditch at a SXSW screening of “We Bury the Dead.” (Photo by Jeff Peterson).
“We Bury the Dead” is an exploration of human grief, which grew out of Writer/Director Zak Hilditch’s loss of his mother to breast cancer. When he was cleaning out her house and her things, said the Director in a Q&A session following the movie’s screening at SXSW, he realized, “There’s no handbook when it comes to grief.” Hilditch began thinking about the ramifications of disposing of all of the bodies for some sort of mass catastrophe.
Hilditch admitted that there was much DNA from the 2002 film “28 Days Later” in this film. That early influence contributed to the idea of playing around creatively with the problem of how you would handle the corpses of 500,000 people who had dropped dead while having breakfast (or, in one case, at a bachelor party with strippers). And what if some of the deceased started to “come back,” which a few do. Would the Army want to study those that temporarily revive, to see if they could be restored to life somehow? (Answer: no). What would the undead dead look like? You know the answer, but the rheumy eyes of those who are “awakening” and the mastication noises of teeth grinding (kudos to sound designer Duncan Campbell and Tom Heuzenroeder ), plus the gorgeous cinematography from Steven Annis all contribute to a first-rate viewing experience. The zombie make-up was top-notch. This one was exciting to watch and also beautiful in its many images of the Australian landscape.
Cinematography: Hauntingly Beautiful Tasmania
The aerial shots, (which are many and numerous, from Cinematographer Steve Annis and company), added a great deal to the film. The use of choral music (Handel, et. al.) during body removal scenes was both original and eerily fitting. The Director told us that a British composer now living in Melbourne composed the score. He is listed as Clark (first name, Chris). Shots of the still-burning hills instantly took me back to the recent panoramas of the Los Angeles fires. The truly interesting camera shots from overhead angles really added to the film’s patina, despite a relatively limited budget. One shot of the sun coming up was breathtaking. There are great coastal scenes when Ava and Clay are riding a borrowed motorcycle to evade the road blocks on the way to Woodbridge and the Enso Resort. The music was great in those scenes, also.
Close Calls: Survival Against All Odds
Australian Writer/Director Zak Hilditch of “We Bury the Dead.”* (Photo by Nic Duncan).
Ava displays a great deal of courage in several encounters with the zombie hordes and, in one case, with a military man (Mark Coles Smith as Riley) who has lost his pregnant wife to the disaster. He imprisons Ava for a short time in a bathroom, During her brief imprisonment, Clay escapes. When Riley comes to let Ava out of her cell, he asks for one dance during which she will impersonate his now deceased wife. The poor guy insists that Ava dress precisely the way his wife would have, complete with wearing her wedding ring. That’s when trouble starts. We learn that Ava is no slouch when it comes to taking care of herself, using violence, if necessary.
Unforgettable Moments: A New Zombie Classic?
There were so many human moments and so many unique touches that one viewer announced to the crowd that “We Bury The Dead” was now his favorite zombie movie, replacing “28 Days.” Never a fan of the Walking Dead,” nevertheless I had attended with someone who worked on that series. He gave this update high marks for creativity and realism. I know my eyes were fixated on the stripper (Crystal Heo) with pink hair, the barn full of zombies in chains, the Viking funeral of husband Mitch, Ava assisting a victim to bury the rest of his family—all felt fresh and unique and were so well filmed and scored that I’d have to agree with the viewer who announced it as his new “favorite zombie movie.”
Q&A with the Director: Behind the Scenes
Hilditch gave great credit to Daisy Ridley for her work, saying, “I think it is the most amazing performance of her career. She knew what to do. And she is just the easiest-going person.” Scenes while on an airplane on the way to volunteer that called for tears seemed natural and effortless. Said Hilditch, “I think she’s the only actor in Hollywood who reads and reads fast.” It took one year to prep the film. Hilditch sent Daisy Ridley the script within 72 hours of zooming with her about the part..
Conclusion: A Riveting Indie Triumph
This one, released on March 9th after its SXSW debut, deserves to find an audience. It is riveting, well-paced, and human—not necessarily characteristics of all zombie movies. In a week that saw me take in multiple features, “We Bury the Dead” was my favorite feature film. I look forward to seeing it again. At the end of the screening at the Hyatt Theater (new this year), the director, once again, mentioned the low budget and said, “All hail indie cinema!”
Amen.
