WE BURY THE DEAD

While this isn't a big-budget film, it has the feel of one. It doesn't complicate the story with science about how the deceased are coming back, or add a whole lot of backstory about the tragedy that led to their demise. We're thrown into the story with Ava landing in Tasmania, as we're quickly brought up to date with just enough details to get us through. At the end of the day, this isn't another 'Dawn of the Dead' or 'World War Z'. It's a woman's single-minded mission to locate her husband - she believes for the sake of hope, others for closure.

The journey that Ava and Clay embark on reveals why authorities haven't allowed civilians into this part of the state yet; it's a physically challenging, frequently dangerous territory with no one to help them. They discover that those who have come back "online" (as the military refers to it) tend to become increasingly aggressive over time. In a story thread that feels complementary to '28 Days Later', Ava and Clay soon discover the undead aren't the most dangerous things out there.

I said this is a big film, not only because it tries to feel like a Hollywood blockbuster, but because of the emotional complexities it manages to squeeze into its 95-minute run time. As we learn more about Ava and Mitch's relationship, we soon see her objective isn't just about dealing with loss, or clinging on to hope - it's about finding some closure. One character who's lost his entire family reflects on the cruelty of the immediacy of the fatalities; at least someone with a terminal illness has the time to say goodbye to loved ones. This parallels what we learn about the dead who come back "online", and in a way makes 'We Bury the Dead' an amalgamation of a zombie story and a ghost story.

This requires a gentleness and ferocity to walk between these two worlds, and it's adeptly navigated by Daisy Ridley. It's a delight to see her talent outside of a 'Star Wars' film, here delivering a powerfully emotional performance. While desperate to get to her husband, she's no superhuman - what she must experience is beyond the realm of regular daily life, and we see that toll. She's a tightly-wound spring with little release. Brenton Thwaites is the antithesis of this; his Clay is a rough and rude larrikin who, even when trying to do the right thing, is often not. Thwaites is effervescent in this role, bringing energy and essence to a film so centred on death. He somehow becomes Ava's companion on this journey, and the two actors are the perfect platonic pair in this strange road trip movie.

It's interesting that Western Australia is a stand-in for Tasmania in the film (for funding reasons, most likely) - not that on the whole you'd notice; it's perhaps a little more arid and a little less lush than the real thing. The most telling giveaway that this is not a big film budgetarily are the visual effects. Unfortunately, a lot of the large-scale destruction we see takes us out of the story.

While ‘We Bury the Dead’ technically is a zombie film, its horror comes from a much darker, more terrifying place - the fear we face when we lose the ones we love, and how we can possibly come to terms with that. Daisy Ridley offers us her best performances in years, along with Brenton Thwaites in one of the most off-kilter yet impeccable pairings we didn’t know we needed. Experience the thrills and the sentiment that inundates ‘We Bury the Dead’ - you’ll be better for it.