By Chris Chavez
We Bury the Dead is not your typical zombie film. It steps away from many of the familiar tropes of the genre and instead offers something far more intimate. Starring Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, and Mark Coles Smith, the film is set in the aftermath of a catastrophic military disaster that leaves an entire region changed in unsettling ways. Ridley’s character, Ava, joins a body-retrieval unit in a desperate attempt to find her missing husband, but what unfolds is far from what she, or the audience, expects.
While the film delivers moments of tension and unease that horror fans will appreciate, its true strength lies in its emotional core. We Bury the Dead is a meditation on grief, loss, and the dangerous hope of holding on when everything else says it’s time to let go. Rather than relying on excessive gore or constant jump scares, the film asks deeper questions about humanity, love, and the emotional cost of survival.
This focus gives the movie a fresh and thoughtful spin on a well-worn genre. Daisy Ridley delivers a standout performance as a grief-stricken wife, bringing raw vulnerability and quiet resilience to Ava’s journey. Her portrayal grounds the film, making the emotional stakes feel deeply personal and earned.
Elements of The Last of Us can be felt throughout the film, particularly in its focus on humanity rather than the undead themselves. The threat isn’t just what’s walking among the dead, but how people respond when everything familiar is stripped away. The film invites you to ask uncomfortable questions: if these events unfolded in real life, how would we cope? How far would we go to protect the people we love? And like Ava, would we risk everything by joining a body-retrieval unit, clinging to the hope that those we’ve lost might still be found?
Ultimately, We Bury the Dead strikes a careful balance between horror and heart. It’s a film that lingers with you, not because of what you see on screen, but because of what it makes you feel.
Chris Chavez is a contributor to the MMM Journal
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