We Bury The Dead(2026)(Review)

A short story of context before we begin. Last week, my aunt and some of my cousins came up to visit for the holidays. On a day where it was a single-digit temperature here in New York, I went with my highschool-aged cousin and my father to go see this film in theaters. None of us had any idea what we were getting into, especially since I’d never even heard of this film until about an hour before we left for the theater.

“We Bury the Dead” tells the story of a tragedy in Australia. By mistake, an EMP-like explosion occurs off the shore of the island, immediately killing over 50,000 people within minutes by essentially short-circuiting their brains. After the island is declared to be radiation-free, a large team of volunteers are assembled to collect the dead and look for survivors. This is where we are introduced to our main character, Ava (played by Daisy Ridley), who volunteers from America to aid in the efforts because her husband had gone to the island for a business trip shortly before the incident occurred. She is partnered with a man named Clay (played by Brenton Thwaites), and they do their part up until Ava reveals her ulterior motive.

But as the dead are collected, we do find survivors who are sort of inconsolable. They are zombies, but this is a type of zombie we haven’t really seen before – almost harkening back to the voodoo-era of zombie stories instead of anything Post Romero. They all have a dead-stare, they range from being catatonic to being overly aggressive, and they are recognizable by this squirm-inducing teeth chattering sound effect. This really amps up when the horror part of the story does finally kick in.

As a whole, this film is a weird one to really put my finger on. Other humans we encounter along the path add their theories to the lore and reasoning behind why only some of the dead seem to be resurrecting instead of all of them, but there’s not really a definitive answer. The trailer for this film makes it look like another Zack Snyder-esque action zombie spectacle.. but this film is anything but that. This is a slow burn arthouse flick through and through. I say this to the point that the zombies almost serve as ghosts instead of cannibalistic monsters.

There is a real deep heart beating at the core of this experience. It’s a beautiful, melancholic tale that only gives us the horror and gore in small spurts. So when it does happen, it’s very effective. But there’s a lot of space inbetween the set pieces where you are forced to meditate on the idea of death, and why some of the recently departed might return.

Since the film is only a week old at this point (in theaters, atleast), I really don’t want to spoil anything. But the film does hit a halfway point where you almost feel like tapping out, but the climax of the scene that puts you there completely changes your perspective on the entire thing. And then there’s one particular scene involving an RV in the middle of nowhere that really just made my jaw drop. And I will not elaborate at this time.

So, here’s where we are landing, and I’m still up in the air on it. Would I recommend this film? Yes.. but only to those are looking for an arthouse flick instead of a horror film. I personally loved it, my highschool-aged cousin kept saying it was interesting and weird but didn’t necessarily say if he liked it or not, and my father absolutely fucking hated it – to the point that at the halfway point he literally said outloud in the theater “this is fucking stupid.”

It will not work for everyone. But for those who specifically want something weird and different in the smorgasbord of zombie entertainment, I’d say to check it out.

3.5/5

“We Bury the Dead” is now playing in theaters.
‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra

The Gruesome Gazette

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