Terror in Tassie: WE BURY THE DEAD (2025)

Imagine an Australia without Tasmania. Most of us already do without realising, but director Zak Hilditch presents a grim fate for the island state in his latest feature, We Bury the Dead, which was released on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray last month by Umbrella Entertainment.

When an experimental weapon of mass destruction is accidentally detonated by the United States military off the east coast of Tassie, the capital city of Hobart is destroyed in a firefly instant while the remaining population is left effectively dead. As the clean-up begins, volunteer Ava (Daisy Ridley), who is in search of her husband, must face the new nightmare of a small but dangerous percentage of the dead re-animating, some more violently than others.

We Bury the Dead mixes the catastrophic bleakness of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road with classic elements of Romero-brand zombies and Danny Boyle’s ‘Infected ’. The juxtaposition of what is largely an untouched and picturesque landscape littered with rotting flesh creates a feeling of emptiness that rarely subsides. Yet even though the fate of Ava’s husband is all but certain, her journey towards closure carries a spark of hope that also seems to reside in some of the living dead, alluding to the eventual rebirth of Tasmania.

As a horror movie, We Bury the Dead is undoubtedly familiar due to its connective tissue with the zombie sub-genre. There’s the usual constant threat of attack by the relatively silent monsters, but Hilditch does attempt to differentiate them from the more typical examples by adding a partial characteristic of teeth grinding, which is highly unnerving, in addition to acting as an eerie alert of their presence for our characters.

Daisy Ridley’s ascent from a galaxy far, far away has been gradual, but her role as the strong-willed Ava results in a standout performance, along with Brenton Thwaites as her partnered volunteer, the seemingly compliant but well-written Clay. Naturally, we learn the greater threat comes from those who are still living, personified by an intimidating Mark Coles Smith as a lone Army soldier, Riley, who, to paraphrase Smith’s summary of the character, is “somewhere between a broken heart and a broken mind.”

SPECIAL FEATURES

NEW! We Have to Go – The Making of We Bury the Dead
NEW! Scene Breakdown with Director Zak Hilditch
NEW! Interview with Director Zak Hilditch
NEW! Interview with Actor Daisy Ridley
NEW! Interview with Actor Brenton Thwaites
NEW! Interview with Actor Mark Coles Smith
NEW! MIFF 2025 Post-Screening Cast & Crew Q&A
Trailer

In addition to the film’s fantastic 4K transfer, this disc’s special features are a further incentive to invest in a physical copy. Turning back the clock to the heyday of DVD, Umbrella includes an hour-long making-of which showcases on-location filming sequences. While a bit of a commitment, this featurette is a nice bonus given that such in-depth supplements are a rarity now. For those with less time on their hands, Zak Hilditch’s scene breakdown of two of the film’s key moments gives an engaging snapshot of the making-of process as well as his 10-minute interview, which also details the project’s inception. Further separate interviews with actors Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, and Mark Coles Smith add extra, personal insight into working on We Bury the Dead. – by Hannah Lynch

VIDEO AND AUDIO

Umbrella Entertainment have gained a reputation for prowess in the 4K market, especially with their catalogue of cult titles, but it also extends to new releases. We Bury the Dead cannot be faulted. The colour grading is perfect, which helps in disguising some of the Western Australia locations as the colder Tasmanian wilderness. The format’s High Dynamic Range (HDR) perfectly balances light with the dark, enhancing the film’s most frightening images presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, while optional DTS HD 5.1 & 2.0 tracks produce a very heavy soundtrack in pristine quality. English subtitles are included.

We Bury the Dead, I think, holds firm in a market that has become a little over-saturated, as destroying the brain takes more of a back seat to character development and exploring the greater themes of loss, forgiveness and environmental calamity.

Umbrella Entertainment have two 4K editions available via their website. The standard is currently on sale for $39.95 AUD, while the Collector’s Edition is $80.00 AUD, which includes a 48-page booklet, a rigid case with original art, an A3 reversible poster and 8 art cards.

WE BURY THE DEAD
(2025, director: Zak Hilditch)