Title – We Bury the Dead (2024)

Director – Zak Hilditch (Rattlesnake)

Cast – Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, Mark Coles Smith

Plot – When a catastrophic accident occurs on the Australian island of Tasmania, American Ava (Ridley) volunteers to assist with the clean-up operation in hopes of finding her husband amongst the chaos.  

“Volunteers needed”

Review by Eddie on 10/03/2026

Gaining many fans locally and abroad with his 2013 effort These Final Hours, Australian director Zak Hilditch hasn’t found his breakout hit in the proceeding decade with many (myself included) hoping the Tasmania set (West Australian shot) We Bury the Dead would be the film to make everyone stand to attention.

Enlisting the support of international star Daisy Ridley, here playing the role of grieving American wife Ava, Hilditch’s unique take on the zombie genre is a frustrating viewing experience, as it often comes perilously close to unlocking something great, yet while it’s far from an out and out failure, Dead squanders too many chances to be seen as a success.

Struggling to find an audience locally on Australian shores and coming and disappearing from American cinemas within the blink of an eye, Dead is that odd beast of a genre film that isn’t a straight up drama yet is far from a stereotypical zombie film as Ava and newfound friend Clay (one-time next big Australian export Brenton Thwaites) traverse the devastated landscape of a decimated Tasmania that has seen its population be either killed-off instantaneously or in rare cases, be turned into zombie-like impersonators of their once vibrant hosts.

Starting out well enough as Ava and the viewer gets thrown into a chaotic scenario full of mystery, death and possibility, Dead shows early promise of being something special and there are similarities here to Hilditch’s fine work on These Final Hours but as we make it to the half-way mark of the film, Dead has entered into a stale and stagnant procession of events that never combine to create an overall satisfactory final product.

It’s always tough for a “zombie” film to do anything different in a space that has been mined about every which way you can imagine, with Dead not doing enough to stand out from a crowded marketplace and even with a game and committed Ridley front and centre throughout, Dead also lacks a character worth attaching ourselves to, with Mark Coles Smith’s mid-point introduction Riley a character in particular that grates and in turn halts the film just when it potentially was about to launch into more unpredictable and thrilling territory.

Looking the goods and trying to do more than your average run of the mill Australian feature, Dead can be commended for dreaming big and pulling off some production outcomes not often seen locally but despite its potential and the goodwill it initially gathers, Hilditch’s film is more of a chore and a bore than a must-see horror with a heart.

Final Say –

A film you wish desperately would’ve come off better than it has, We Bury the Dead has some commendable elements but overall, this big-dreaming Australian production lacks the nuance and storytelling genius to fully succeed.

2 1/2 borrowed motorbikes out of 5