We Bury the Dead

We Bury the Dead: A US weapons test goes wrong, devastating Hobart and killing the rest of Tasmania's inhabitants with an Electro-Magnetic Pulse, their brains are dead. Ava Newman (Daisy Ridley), joins a "body retrieval unit", her husband was in Southern Tasmania. She is warned that she cannot go south as Hobart is still in flames. Bodies have to be removed from houses, they are found in gardens, in garages. Some volunteers find it too much and Ava is partnered with Clay (Brenton Thwaites), an enigmatic biker. Not everyone stays dead, some rise again and become more violent as time passes. Soldiers dispatch them with bullets to the head. With Clay's help Ava heads south to try to find her husband. Not just a horror film, this is about grief and loss, wanting to say goodbye. More than one character is going through traumas unable to accept what has happened. We Bury the Dead is a superior zombie and post apocalypse thriller, the zombies don't dominate the narrative but they are always there in the background. As are bodies and crashed cars on the roads along with a smoke filled Hobart. Elements of 28 Days Later and I Am Legend also inform the unfolding of this tale. Some critics admired the human and psychological elements of the film but were annoyed that it kept returning to horror. But this was primarily meant to be a horror film, it puts a new spin on the Zombie trope. Written and Directed by Zak Hilditch. 8.5/10.

No pun intended - it is something one can say - though of course you would hope that people would live a more fulfilling life ... more years that is ... and not being taken away for no reason.

Literally that is - the event that kicks off the movie and sends out main character on a journey. Now you may question her motives ... but if you do that, you won't be able to enjoy the movie. This is also more a drama than horror movie - there are scares, but they are few and in between.

Still there are some gruesome effects - in case you were wondering. Daisy Ridley of Star Wars fame - I was a bit surprised she would do a low budge road movie. But it really works for her and the viewer ... the theme of Dead coming back to life is not new (wouldn't call them Zombies - more "undead" ... also able to be fast moving in case you care).

Acting is good - and there is some sort of redemption ... will it be satisfying?

We Bury the Dead is a wild, ash-covered ride through a post-apocalyptic Tasmania where the dead don't stay down and the living barely hold it together. Zak Hilditch (These Final Hours) delivers a grim, gutsy zombie survival tale that balances gnarly body horror with unexpected heart-and a healthy dose of black comedy.

Daisy Ridley is a revelation as Ava, a grief-stricken physiotherapist who volunteers with a military-run body retrieval unit after Hobart is wiped out by a rogue U. S. weapon. She's no gun-toting hero-just a woman trying to find her missing husband amid the chaos. Ridley plays her with raw humanity, slowly evolving from cautious outsider to desperate survivor.

Brenton Thwaites, as the unfiltered, foul-mouthed Clay, is a scene-stealer. His bogan banter, filthy humour, and cracked machismo bring much-needed levity to the film's bleak landscape. He and Ridley make for an unlikely but compelling duo, stealing a motorbike and heading south through a Tasmania ravaged by smoke, rot, and shambling undead.

The world-building is intense: mass graves, deserted towns, rotting livestock, and beaches littered with downed planes. Hayley Atherton's gruesome makeup and Jason Baird's prosthetics are revolting in the best way. The practical effects, paired with Merlin Eden's seamless VFX and Christopher Stephen Clark's thrumming electro score, make for a visceral cinematic experience.

Mark Coles Smith adds further depth as a hardened soldier whose run-in with Ava and Clay triggers one of the film's most tense and morally complex moments.

While it leans slightly sentimental in the final act, the journey is so grimy, gut-wrenching, and gripping that it earns every emotional beat. It's an apocalyptic road trip where love, loss, and chaos collide-and it never forgets to be fun.

Hilditch swings big here, delivering a uniquely Aussie take on the zombie genre that feels ready for cult status. Think 28 Days Later meets Mad Max with a slab of Bogan comedy and a very sharp shovel.