We’re due for an old style, no-nonsense zombie film within the grand George A. Romero custom.
The final decade has introduced Zom-coms, undead musicals, micro-indie shockers and different spins on the zombie menace. Something however a simple story of brain-chomping ghouls.
“We Bury the Useless” isn’t keen on old-school zombie thrills. As an alternative, the somber story delivers a treatise on therapeutic as a lot as a horror.
Sure, the undead litter the panorama, however author/director Zak Hilditch has different plans for his bedraggled characters. What emerges received’t quicken your pulse, but it surely may make you take a look at loss in a complete new method. It’s a disgrace that Hilditch isn’t at all times certain which model of zombie film he’s making.
Daisy Ridley, no stranger to style movies in her post-“Star Wars” life, stars as Ava. Her character volunteers to determine our bodies following a U.S. Army accident that unleashed a brand new kind of weapon off Australia’s coast.
The EMP-like system introduced demise and destruction on a serious scale. Now, it’s as much as the navy to choose up the items, with an help from courageous volunteers.
Ava indicators up for private causes. Her husband (Matt Whelan) is presumed useless following the unintended assault, and she or he must see the physique for closure.
Or is it extra difficult than that?
She’s joined by a seemingly dense volunteer named Clay (Brenton Thwaites), who treats the work as casually as a McDonald’s fry cook dinner. They couldn’t be extra totally different, however he’s open to serving to her get to the place her husband was final seen.
Will navy officers allow them to occur? And what in regards to the useless our bodies that, in response to early experiences, refuse to remain useless?
Hilditch (“1922”) is aware of the way to uncork a grisly zombie sequence. He additionally leverages the undead for optimum creeps. “Useless” is akin to a “Paranormal Exercise” movie the place it pays to observe each a part of the display screen always.
It’s usually price our whereas.
Extra of Queen Daisy Ridley at The Kelly Clarkson present as she talks about horror movies & a clip from We Bury The Useless♀️#DaisyRidley #WeBuryTheDead pic.twitter.com/LPF1gKJhRI
— Daisy Ridley is queen! (@Scavenger_Jakku) December 16, 2025
The poor undead right here click on and grind their enamel, a sound that’s unnerving at first and by no means loses its shock worth. Neither do the spare FX, together with zombie close-ups that provide a stark departure from the same old undead aesthetic.
Besides this isn’t a typical survivalist yarn or blood-drenched affair. Ridley’s Ava is inconsolable, and she or he should see her husband one final time. She’s even holding out hope that he’s one of many victims who could spring again to life, even when mentioned life is little greater than a grunting spectre of his outdated self.
“We Bury the Useless” presents a grounded, tonally darkish character examine that calls for loads of its lead actress. Ridley is as much as the duty, even when the screenplay can’t at all times say the identical.
It may be … boring, with out sufficient backstory or character improvement to maintain our curiosity. Probably the most intriguing component is one thing the film unveils in methodical vogue. Ava’s marriage might not be as picture-perfect as these flashbacks counsel.
The movie proves superior to “Dealing with the Undead,” figuring out that even a stoic style movie wants the occasional jolt to maintain the stakes elevated. One such scene, teased within the trailer, reveals Hilditch can uncork a dizzying set piece on par with one of the best zombie auteurs.
It’s so good, in reality, that we’re left teetering between B-movie thrills and a haunting portrait of grief. At its finest, “We Bury the Useless” finds frequent floor between the disparate types, providing a zombie story nicely price your time.
HiT or Miss: “We Bury the Useless” presents a textured take a look at grief and therapeutic, all via the lens of a zombie-like outbreak.